[You have Entered a Dungeon]
[◊ Kazzan Tor ◊]
Julian's focus increased the knowledge from the game and reality merging as he concluded he made a mistake.
'How could the dungeon be so different...'
"What's wrong, Julian?" Maria asked with a curious expression.
Her hands were cupping two orbs of water, which illuminated her face in a beautiful azure blue. The sound of footsteps shifting faded as the group stopped movement.
'I've never seen him look so concerned, even when he thought I was an intruder...'
"Julian?"
Not just Maria but even Fran reacted—his steps became slow and more calculated, as if he were worried about making a mistake when he reached the second archway.
"It's..."
'No, I cannot lie to them.'
He planned to say it was nothing, but then shook his head. 'I swore to treat the game like reality, as if the devils have already invaded!'
"What's wrong, Julian?"
"The enemy here are too strong. Thus I must summon additional guardians. Maria, Fran!"
"Eh, really?"
He turned to Maria with a stern gaze, then Fran, as his face looked pale.
"NEVER step away from Nocta and Umbra."
Julian's shades could sense his emotions and assess his mental state through their link, instantly Nocta moved away from him for the first time, while Umbra's shadow became violent, flickering and distorting as she moved closer, her hand reaching out... about to touch him.
A sense of resistance and reluctance obvious to those watching, before she snapped away from him and wrapped around Fran.
'Good... thank you Umbra, Nocta. I couldn't do this without you.'
"Are you sure, won't you be in danger if they help us?"
Fran's ears flicked from side to side—she seemed slightly pale from the moment Julian told her about the enemies.
'I can hear their footsteps... ten, maybe twenty are lingering around us constantly shifting.' Her exceptional hearing surpassed even Julian's, but at first she believed in his words, thinking it would be an easy dungeon.
However, he told her the enemy was too strong!
Snap!
Julian snapped his wrist, flicking the black wooden wand in the air, swishing it around as he performed the summoning ritual for the first time since Nocta.
'Strange...'
He couldn't sense the same foreboding feeling when he summoned Umbra and Nocta... It was like putting his hands into a slimy goo.
The dark energy formed black and purple runes around his body, making the elemental circle on the floor crackling with the intense mana he poured into the spell.
'I see... I can use my Quick Cast with this spell too.'
Once the circle was complete, a low grumble echoed through the dark, murky cavern before the spell's light fizzled—and something... should have appeared.
"Huh?"
Julian's eyes widened, unable to sense anything...
'What's going on, did it fail?'
He looked at his status and noticed that his CP now used 15/20.
It meant he summoned 'something' but didn't know where or what that something was!
"Sir Julian... your shadow!"
"Hm?"
"Wow... it's moving, haha... why does your shadow have breasts?"
Fran pointed towards his back, while Maria made a joke and also pointed at the flickering darkness along the walls.
'What the hell is that?'
A slithering object which resembled his shadow... Julian focused on the strange shape before a screen popped up in his face, causing him to gasp.
'Is this how it answered my hopes?'
Eclipsa • Abyss Hound • 5 CP
• Level: 12
• HP: 530
• MP: 1
• Attack: 5
• Defence: 23
• Speed: 5
• Magic: 5
• Total: 38
Description:
The Abyss Hound is a silent guardian woven from living shadows, ever-bound to her master's defence. She lingers within their shadow, shielding them from harm. Emerging to intercept attacks, she swallows threats into the void and vanishes before the light can touch her.
Her defence is equal to her master's highest attribute.
All other attributes are equal to his lowest.
• Eclipsing Guard: Vanish into the master's shadow, absorbing the next incoming attack on their behalf and reducing its damage by 70%. (Cooldown: 15 seconds)
• Umbral Infusion: Channel shadow energy into the master, granting them a 20% increase in movement speed and damage resistance for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 25 seconds)
——
The sheer amount of information overwhelmed him, but he couldn't help but smile—with this, he didn't know if he could win, but survival would be easier.
'High level monsters will give significant experience increases.'
"Ah?! It looks like Fran!"
Maria's voice caused Julian to break out of his little world.
He noticed Eclipsa making shapes in his shadow, alternating between Fran and Maria. Then, it took the form of Sena, but...
'How does she know what I did with Sena?!'
"Oh my~ is this what you were doing in her room before I came into the kitchen?"
"No comment..."
Fran gazed at the shadowy figure with her legs spread apart, unsure of what the pose meant. Then Eclipsa started mimicking her movements and actions, causing Fran's cheeks to turn pink.
"Stop it, Eclipsa!"
"!!!"
The shadow instantly folded, becoming a tall yet curvaceous figure resembling nobody Julian remembered.
Eclipsa blinked at him, her deep violet eyes shimmering in the misty vapor.
Her hands wrapped around his back, gripping his chest.
'I can feel her body, as if she were alive!'
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It was a soft, squishy sensation, softer and larger than Sena.
Though the icy cold reminded Julian that Eclipsa wasn't a living creature, Julian felt no discomfort, rather a sense of calm, as her figure faded from sight. He could still feel her hands gently stroking his chest.
"Phew... we should head to the Kel Durn bridge."
'Julian looks different. His face seems calmer than before.'
'Is it thanks to that black shadow?' Fran wondered, while her ears twitched.
The hidden monsters moved closer, and now their numbers increased slightly, but somehow, they seemed hesitant, as if reluctant to strike.
'Should I tell him?'
"Hey, lover boy~ I can't believe that girl's cherry got popped under her father's nose." Maria's voice lingered like a seductive spell, each movement and action almost as if designed to captivate and charm people.
"Well, he'll just have to accept it, no? I mean your dad would be just as bad."
"Eh?" Maria's mouth opened wide.
She reached towards Julian, and a shadowy hand slapped hers away.
However, it was the response that caught her off guard.
'Julian, does that mean...'
Before she could chase for an answer, her gaze fixated on his fluttering lashes while moving away, Frans' desperate voice stirred their emotions.
"Julian! Monsters are waiting to ambush us outside!"
His eyes widened, and he noticed her fluffy ears twitching constantly, like radar.
Suddenly, Maria's words faded from his mind. They were no longer important because the dungeon was nothing like he remembered!
"How many?"
"Julian, what's wrong? You seem so serious, it's a game... relax."
His mind racing with dangerous situations, losing the week of play time and becoming weak and unable to fight back, constantly tormenting him as he turned to Maria with his eyes glowing red.
"You of all people should know this is no game!"
Maria gasped, her mouth agape, as she staggered back. She watched Julian, Nocta, and Fran step towards the archway to leave this murky room.
'He knows... I didn't want it to become like this, isn't it only a six hour penalty now?'
She couldn't know what Julian was facing, much like he didn't know her struggles and issues either, but in this moment of extreme importance, he couldn't give her the tact and gentle facade she needed, which led to him snapping.
'Julian... I haven't seen him look that way since 'that day' happened.'
"I see."
Her face tightened as she gazed at Umbra, who remained beside her. Umbra's sharp red eyes resembled Julian's as if urging her to hurry and stop stalling. Stay connected through Freewebnovel
"I know, let's go. I won't keep your beloved master waiting."
Maria's movements changed, the seductive sway of her hips vanished, replaced by a swift and calculated movement reducing her sound and increasing her speed as she traversed the rocky path and caught up in a matter of seconds.
She grasped a small bottle with a strange, golden liquid shimmering inside, sloshing it from side to side.
Maria never stopped gazing at Julian's face before hiding the potion in her front pouch.
'I won't let anything go wrong, don't worry Julian.'
Julian noticed the changes in Maria's movements and he nodded, curling the corners of his lips into a smile.
'I knew it.'
The two of them had similar thoughts and worries, but now wasn't the time to discuss them. Once they passed through the crumbling archway, an enormous chasm opened up.
"It's beautiful..." Fran said, while gazing around at the beautiful architecture of the dwarves.
Homes were built into the cavern walls, and twisting and complex paths traversed from one side to the other, leading down into the depths where bubble lava and heat rose to the top.
At the centre, a giant forge... almost the size of the chasm itself.
"Is that the bridge you meant?"
Frain's eyes noticed a small bridge, with no railings or safety, but the intricate design of the arch beneath and the weathered rock partially crumbling carried a sense of heritage.
"Behold, the bridge of Kel Düren the greatest creating of the Kazzad dwarves."
'Though it's called Kel Durn by humans... Father always spoke fondly of the dwarves, until they awoke the monster that slumbers in the depths.'
"Then, shall we hurry, Fran how far are the enemies?"
Fwoosh!
A crude arrow shot through the air.