The Beol Mountain range loomed large over the land, dark peaks scraping the stormy sky. These tyrants stood just a day’s travel north of the Adventurer’s city, providing a barrier between it and the northern wastes. A steady wind blew through their passes constantly, pushing around a film of grey dust that drove most would be invaders away. And if that didn’t work, there was always the monsters.

  Goblins let out angry cries as they rushed down the slopes of the mountain trails, riding Hellhound mounts as they bore down on the four travelers approaching the mountain’s base. Behind them, a trio of hulking Hobgoblins rode Ligerfangs and watched the attack unfold impassively, clearly the alphas of this gang. They surveyed the scene with an imperiousness born of ignorance, totally unaware that they had bitten off more than they could chew.

  In the blink of an eye, numerous arrows buried themselves into the throats of the foremost mounts, sending their riders tumbling to the ground. Slashes of green light dismantled the second wave of attackers, the magic carving through the monster bandits like they were made of putty. The watching Hobgoblins grunted and picked up nearby stone spears, moving to smite the intruders who dared slaughter their underlings. Just as they began to take aim, however, a certain silver haired girl finished her chant, calling out the words that heralded their doom:

  “Mighty Protector!”

  The trio threw their spears almost in unison, but they didn’t even have time to register shock before a swift figure punched each projectile mid-flight, causing them to shatter. This figure, outlined in a strange grey light, moved far faster than their eyes could track, and it carved through their henchmen systematically. In blinding flashes of grey and green, the goblin bandits’ burgundy blood watered the midnight stones of the mountain’s foot. First the minions were eliminated, then that figure seemingly teleported to the Hobgoblins where they sat. The leaders brought their clubs up to attack, but they were lying in pieces on the ground before they could even retaliate. The gray man had vanished in their eyes and reappeared behind them, cutting right through them in the blink of an eye. One Hobgoblin’s severed head stared with wide eyes at the glowing man before he vanished from its sight for the final time.

  Level 2 enemies obviously had no chance against a Level 3 Adama, but the speed boost Emi’s Fortis Pugnator spell provided made it such a walk in the park that he hadn’t even gotten to warm up. Still, he didn’t chide Emi for the overkill as he dashed back, recovered Naaza’s arrows, and rejoined the group. There was no time to waste on small fry, after all, and the group of four didn’t even slow down as they entered the Beol Mountains.

  The monsters that dwelt within these mountains were creatures who had escaped the Dungeon before Babel even existed and taken refuge in these remote mountains. Most monsters could reproduce naturally, even without being spawned by the Dungeon, so they were able to breed and live here indefinitely. Since they weren’t separated by floor anymore, monsters who would normally never interact with each other had sometimes formed symbiotic relationships unheard of in the Dungeon. Like goblins riding Hellhounds, for example. They would need to be on guard going forward.

  The tip Airmid had given them was vague, indicating only that there was a secret location further into the heart of the mountains where they could find Morgana’s Lily growing regularly. Normally, Adama wouldn’t put much stock in such a vague rumor. But Airmid said her source could be trusted and Adama trusted the healer from her reputation and from his meetings with her. The reason for the tip’s ambiguities were that the merchant who had given her this info didn’t want to give too many specifics, lest he be undercut in his market. Fortunately, Adama was quite good at cutting.

  They followed the mountain path deep into the range, dealing with several ambushes from some of the locals. In addition to the Goblins, Hellhounds, and Ligerfangs, they also ran into Gun Libellulas and Harpies. The dragonfly monsters that shot spearlike projectiles from their abdomens, Adama had already fought, but he had never seen the Harpies in person before. They resembled women from the waste up, but with large wings for arms. Their bottom halves were that of an avian’s, with pointed, eaglelike talons. The Harpies had their own projectiles, in the form of shooting razor sharp feathers from their wings, and they swarmed the gang of four alongside the Libellulas. Both types of monsters sent out a storm of projectiles toward the travelers, a rain of spears sure to pierce the enemy, only to be shocked when the distant ring of a bell announced a countering storm of green blade magic. The projectiles were deflected, sent clattering to the rock below, and the adventurer’s counterattack was devastating. Rippling Swords and arrows tore through the flying enemies, killing some and routing the remainder in squawks of fear. After the battle, Naaza looked her swordsman companion in question:

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Was that your magic? I didn’t hear you chant anything.”

  Before Adama could answer, Emi jumped in:

  “Yeah, Tim’s been trying to teach us that for a while now. It’s really hard, but I’ve been practicing!”

  Unexpectedly, Lilli also interjected:

  “It is hard. I don’t know how Mr. Tim makes it look so easy!”

  Lilli had magic of her own, Cinder Ella, which allowed her to disguise herself as anyone roughly her size. She didn’t get the chance to use it much in the combat-oriented Dungeon, but it had been quite useful in her days as a conwoman. Naaza looked back and forth between the two of them before Adama clarified:

  “Chantless magic. It’s possible. It’s weaker than the chanted version, but I’ve been working on improving its efficiency and power.”

  Naaza still seemed flabbergasted, but she shook her head and seemingly mastered herself:

  “Maybe I’ll get you to teach me later.”

  With that they moved on, growing closer and closer to the heart of the range, killing nearly everything that got in their way. The only thing they didn’t kill, they encountered on their second day in the mountains.

  The gang had made camp after the sun set, understanding the dangers of trying to navigate the mountains at night, but they started moving again the moment the sun’s rays peeked out from beyond the horizon. Soon after starting back down the trail, though, they came to a halt, then hid away. Their path crossed with another, perpendicular route further up ahead, and the loud footsteps coming from it prompted them to stay back and conceal themselves. Two enormous, gray skinned figures appear out of the morning mist, red eyes gleaming as they crossed the group’s path. They thankfully continued lumbering their own way, heading further east, but Adama caught a thorough image of the monsters before they disappeared from sight.

  They like smaller Goliaths, though very different in structure, with massive, potbellied bodies and comparatively thin arms. Those arms, however, were laced with powerful, ropey muscle and tipped with gleaming silver claws. Their legs were trunklike and powerful, and their chests sported just as much muscle as they did fat, leading to a grotesque appearance. But none of that compared to the ugliness of their heads. They were large, too large even for their bodies, and humanoid, with flat yellow teeth, orblike eyes, and a perpetually hungry expression.

  Adama had never seen these monsters in person, but he’d read about them in the Guild’s library. These were Trolls, some of the most dangerous monsters in the Dungeon above the Deep floors. They dwelt several levels below the Water Capitol and were pushing the upper echelons of Level 4. Individually, they shouldn’t be much stronger than the Green Dragon, and Adama was confident that his party could take them. He was less confident that they could take them quickly and safety, however, and they weren’t here to fight Trolls. So, he let the monsters pass without incident and everyone continued on their way.

  The trail that they were following eventually came to a dead end in the form of the edge of a cliff. Across the way, the trail continued, but between them and that continuation was a lot of empty air. Below was a long, wide valley, nestled between their mountain and the mountain across from them. It was far enough down that even the adventurers would have to worry about a fall. The trail on the far side was also too far away to jump to. Well, Adama could make it, but he was less confident about his companions. Lilli had already made a similar judgement and taken out her map to examine their options:

  “This is the fastest route into the heart of the mountains, no question. We could backtrack and take another route, but the longer way could cost us days, if not weeks. Plus, there’s no guarantee we wouldn’t run into similar obstacles going that way as well.”

  These were Adama’s thoughts summed up exactly, based on his memorized version of the map. They couldn’t jump, but there was a small ledge on the side of the mountain that they could shimmy across. They’d be vulnerable if any flying monsters decided to show their ugly mugs, but Adama thought that was unlikely. A crossing would be quick, perhaps no more than ten or fifteen minutes even at a careful pace, and there were no enemies in sight. Harpies and Libellulas wouldn’t be smart enough to lay in wait and set a trap. Even if they were, they were weak enough that their team should still be okay while fighting on the ledge. Crossing would be a risk, but a calculated one:

  “All right, let’s cross.”

  They began shimmying quickly across the ledge, backs to the mountain and facing outward to handle any possible ambush. When they were halfway across, though, they quickly realized their mistake. They’d been so worried about airborne monsters that they’d forgotten about nature.

  From above, there came a distant rumble, and only Adama had the wherewithal to look up and see the problem in time. A massive torrent of dirt had come sliding down the mountainside toward them, the wall of earth obscuring the sun as it bore down on the adventurers. Quick as a snake, Adama plucked up each of his companions and hastily threw them over to the other side. He was fast enough to get them all, but his last act on that ledge was to pick up Lilli and hurl her to safety.

  Then the wall of earth hit him with the force of thunder, sweeping him off the ledge and into the valley below.