The Tower of Quinteps, a place Griswold remembered quite well, as it was one of two dungeons he had to bail on, which was obviously something he was not at all proud of. Whereas one had been a dungeon where he and his partner were simply outclassed and outmatched, the same could not be said for his encounter within the tower. If only that were the case, it would have made things a whole lot easier on him, but for reasons that should have been obvious by now, that was not it. Instead, the reason why he had chosen to bail was because of a mostly inapt party of magic knights that seemed to have trouble figuring out the difference between left and right, would trip over their own shoelaces and ran the risk of probably plummeting to their deaths over a loose brick when given the chance. Even though at least one of them seemed like a capable mage and the other seemed like he just needed to learn more of the ropes, the other just seemed like a complete and total idiot.

When he tried to warn people of quicksand, he managed to barge right in and get himself stuck in it, going as far as to blame Griswold for letting them drown, which the others bought into for some reason. More than that, when he made sure to do his best by scouting ahead and making sure they would be able to make their way through a cavern unscathed, he went out of his way to undo all that he had done by utilizing a spell that created a bright light that signaled just about everything in the cavern to their location, waking everything that they might have otherwise evaded. When that got piled up on top of how he had been blamed for being okay with letting his own team die, even though he had clearly tried several times to move ahead as a means of keeping them safe, the former magic knight reached that point where he had to make an important decision. He was either going to punch another knight straight in the teeth and risk punishment and potential incarceration, or he was going to leave to keep things from erupting in a violent manner.

Having chosen to go with the latter, it was quite obvious that he would not be able to see things through all the way to the end, and that was something that bugged him quite a bit. Recently however, he had taken it upon himself to make his way through another dungeon he had once failed as a means of rectifying things for himself, as well as erasing the lingering feelings of weakness he had experienced almost every day since he had been forced to turn his back on it. And now, the time had come for him to rectify another mistake, even though he really did not see it as one at the time of his departure. But now, roughly two months after the time of his self-imposed departure from the dungeon, he was ready to try again. And this time, he had come prepared. Leaving his broom in a safe enough position underneath a large rock, he had braved the sandstorm on foot this time, finding that doing so was a whole lot easier than trying to navigate it from the air while also trying to keep his broom level.

By the time he had made it through, it seemed like the tower was still there, looking exactly like it had when he had last come here. Even the vines blocking the door had fully grown back into place, which could only mean a few things to be honest. Either the last party had failed, meaning they would likely encounter their corpses somewhere along the way, or the place really was magical in nature and had just reconstituted itself to the way it had been originally. Regardless of whether it was magical or not, he was going to enter, so the vines would need to get taken care of. Reaching over his shoulder, he grabbed onto the hilt of his bastard sword. With a powerful downward swing, he removed the vines in a single blow, freeing the door that was located directly behind it. Knowing exactly what was directly behind it, he knew opening the door was going to let quite a bit of heat escape the building, though he was quite prepared for that.

Placing the sword back into the holster that was hanging on his back, he tossed his black scarf back where it belonged so as to mostly cover it up. With the dark gray shirt under a black jacket, a brown leather belt holding up his black slacks that had been tucked into his black leather boots, the blond haired man with the emerald green eyes and stubby beard could for all intents and purposes be considered a potentially dangerous individual. While those who knew him would know better, it was a mistake that could be forgiven as he mostly dressed this way as a means of scaring off those that might try to rob him or attack him out in the countryside or on the open roads. Reaching for the door handle, it was about time for him to get back into this old tower and see for himself what all of the fuss was about.



Floor 1:
Entryway: 907 / 600 (Finished)

Wondering exactly who this guy was and why he just suddenly popped up here to tell him what to do, there was a part of him that wanted to just let him walk on ahead and do exactly what others had done before him. Walk right into quicksand and maybe get dragged down to however far the depths of the tower went, though luckily for the new arrival, he wasn’t that vindictive. Using the sword he held in hand as a means of blocking off the path heading to the front door, he gave the guy a look before gently attempting to shove him back a bit with the crystalline blade of his sword. As he did, he would take a step forward into the opened doorway. Feeling the far warmer temperature from inside of the tower greeting them the moment the door opened, he reached out to one of the many lianas hanging from the ceiling before addressing the kid standing next to him.

“While I appreciate the gesture, I can take care of this place on my own fairly well. I’ve been here once before, and if there is one thing you do not want to do, even if it were just to avoid your shoes filling up with mud and grime, it would be taking another step forward. This first level of the tower is a primordial marsh, and the floor is made almost entirely out of quicksand. Watch and learn kid.”

Using the liana as a means of swinging himself across the floor towards another liana, he really only needed one hand and his legs to clamp down on the nature-grown bit of rope hanging from the ceiling. Securing his grip and swinging once more, he landed on the staircase leading up into the tower. Landing while also securely sticking the blade of his sword into the stone staircase, he remembered quite well just how slippery the damn thing was. And as a means of not just tripping and slipping back into the swampy soil surrounding the stairs, the use of his sword was a handy little addition that he did not possess the last time he had come here. That, and he did not have a “team” of idiots around him this time, which was really just saving him quite a bit of time and effort as he might not need to actually drag anyone out of the quicksand. At least, not if this new face had some ears on his head that worked.

“You’ll want to either use some fancy magic to get across, or use the lianas so you don’t get your ass sucked into that crap. If you do swing however, be mindful of the stairs being slippery from the bottom to the top. Try moving to fast, you’ll trip and drop down all the way back, and the swamp might still claim you.”

When he finished giving his directions, he would allow the guy a chance to make his own way across. Judging by the way he carried himself, he was going to at the very least be capable of doing that much. And if he didn’t, he would just need to cry out and Griswold would just haul his ass back down and drag the kid out by his feet if he had to. Even though he did not know the guy at all, he very well might be a serial killer or a part-time birthday clown, though it would not really matter in here. Even if he was strong enough to take care of himself and the threats he had seen in here, having someone around who could take care of a couple of things himself would be quite useful for him, even if it was only because it meant not having to be the only guy burning through mana just to make his way to the end of the place. To those ends, he would allow the kid to prove whether he was too big for his breaches or not. And if he did mess up, at least he had a former magic knight to hold him back.

[FLOOR 2 | ROOM 1]

Using his sword to stab into the staircase as he made his way up, he remembered quite well how slippery the place had been when he ventured up the first time he had been here along with his fellow Crimson Lions. It also meant that he was quite aware of exactly what was going to likely be waiting for them once they ventured into the caverns at the top of the stairs. For as angry as he had been the last time they came here, what with the most idiotic magic knight ever just sending out a wave of light to alert every single creature in the place to their location and instantly destroying any chance they had at taking them out in a slightly stealthy manner, it had allowed Griswold a chance to look at the creatures that were hanging from the ceiling. What with their weird bodies and long tendril-like tentacles hanging from the ceiling, there had been quite a bit of them around.

Making his way to the top of the stairs as he ventured into the cavern, he could hear how the other guy was also in the process of making his way up. That said, his thoughts currently weren’t with the new guy as much as they were with the guys he had been here with previously. Knowing that they would either be running into a much smaller pack of whatever the snail-like fungal creatures were that waited along the ceiling for their prey or into a relatively large pack of them with the remains of three magic knights scattered somewhere along the cavern floor, he hoped the former to be the case. As much as he despised at least one of them in particular for being as dumb as a sack of potatoes, he did not want to actually come across their clean-picked bones here. So as he pressed on, he came within range of the ceiling-dwellers not much later as he could see their tendrils hanging down thanks to the light shining in from the end of the cavern.

Without wasting too much time, he formed an orb of solar mana in the palm of his free hand, taking but a moment to properly aim and fire two of them into the ceiling with rapid succession. Once they came into contact with the solid surface of the ceiling, the orbs would erupt in a wave of flame that would wash over everything that was directly near it, setting the creatures he could hit with this fairly simply spell alight. Dropping a total of nine bodies down from the ceiling that were still cringing in pain as the flames quickly killed them, a single one remained. Ready to begin the attack, there was not a whole lot it could really do from this distance, which made it into the perfect target for another assault. However, that assault was not going to be his. Turning around at the guy that was undoubtedly following him still, it was time for him to show what he could do.

“You see that thing up there? Why don’t you show me what you can do by killing it so we can pass through this damp cave and see what’s on the other side?”

1250 (2157)

Floor 1
Entryway: Finished
Room 1: Finished
Floor 2
Room 1: 544/800

Sensing the same rancid scent the boy had mentioned, it appeared as if he had found the appropriate passage for the two of them to pass through, even going as far as taking the lead as he made his way to wherever it would lead them. As he passed through, Griswold remained for a moment longer to see whether or not there were any human remains around where the snail creatures had dropped to, believing it would only make sense for any of their victims’ bones to have fallen down into the exact same area. When it turned out that there did seem to be any bodies or bones or scraps of clothing left behind, he just shrugged and continued down to where the other guy had just passed through into the next location. Even though he would not physically show it, he was quite glad that the people he had left behind here had not in fact met their ends at the hands of these lowly creatures, meaning they had possessed at least some level of skill.

[FLOOR 2, ROOM 2]

As soon as he made his way through the passage after the boy, the entire tower seemed to suddenly begin shaking, albeit not in a violent manner that might cause everything to collapse akin to an earthquake. Doing the first thing anyone should do when venturing into new terrain, which was exactly what was going on right now, Griswold looked around to get the lay of the land. As the cavern had been the last location he had actually managed to get to before he had decided to bail on the whole expedition, everything he currently saw was entirely new to him. And what he saw was nothing short of majestic, a truly beautiful sight to behold. Noticing open skies, as well as a massive body of water that seemed to be quite hot, what with various steam vents located around the two mages, as well as the lake itself, it seemed like what he had perceived earlier was quite true.

When he had first been to the tower and had a look around the swamp area at the very bottom of the tower, he had noticed that the plant life, as well as the insectoid life there was vastly different from the things he had encountered in his travels. Due to a dragonfly landing on his sleeve, he had gotten the chance to get a good look at it, which inspired the notion that they might not be in a place that had been touched by the outside world in a very long time. Moreover, it was as if time itself had left the place untouched, meaning the beings that were trapped in here were never forced to evolve or go through extinction level events, meaning creatures that had disappeared from the face of the planet many thousands of years ago were still very much alive out here. Poking at one of the steam vents with his sword to make sure they would not go off when triggered by anything they did, he wanted to make sure they would not just be wandering into any traps with open eyes.

Feeling quite content, he started leading the way from the cavern area into this new open place. Looking at the ancient trees and the massive blue fungal growths that were located all around the lake, primarily near the water itself, he felt like this was exactly the kind of place in which he could spend the rest of his days. Just by looking around, he saw that there was probably plenty of edible stuff around, a lot of fresh water and steam vents he could use for heat. If anything, the place seemed a lot like the strong magic region his people had lived quite close to, though there was one massive difference that had to be mentioned before he continued with his train of thought. For the further he wandered into the prehistoric open space, the more he could feel like they were being watched… stalked. Stopping in his tracks and keeping his sword handy, he heard some chattering sounds as several small dinosaurs approached them.

Judging by their shapes and size, they were the kind of creatures that would prefer feeding on carcasses of creatures brought down by larger, more powerful hunters. However, given the fact that they had tiny but sharp claws on their limbs, legs built most likely for running or chasing something and a maw filled with tiny, razor sharp teeth, they would probably be quite capable of killing prey larger than themselves if they attacked together in a pack. Believing them to be a lot like wolves in those regards, he knew exactly how he had to deal with these creatures. After all, the sheer amount of times in which he had been forced to deal with either wolves or their larger Warg cousins, it seemed likely that they would try to move around them by creating a diversion while one of them would go for the throat. Because no matter what kind of creature you were or how much strength you possessed, the throat was and always would be a weak point for just about every living being on the planet, modern or… well, technically extinct.

Holding out his blade, Griswold used his free hand as a means of making a fist which he held up. While it was primarily a code used by the military as a means of non-verbally ordering people to stay put in situations where making noise might pose an issue such as during stealthy encounters, he used his senses as a means of estimating when the first of the creatures would strike. Feeling that they were all already in his range, he wanted to wait until they were all focused entirely on taking down their prey so none of them would think about moving back once he would begin his counter offensive. So as soon as the ones in front of them began darting back and forth, snapping their tiny fangs at them, he could feel how another was approaching from the side in an attempt to bite into him or the archer. That was exactly the que he had been waiting for as he unleashed a spell of his own making, creating a burst of solar mana that would come forth from his body and lay some serious hurt on any that got caught by it.

Luckily for the archer boy, his spell was designed in a way that it allowed him to differentiate between hostile individuals and allies standing within his range. Even though there was really no telling who this guy was or what he was after, he could not accurately tell if he would prove to be hostile to him or not once all of this was over and done. For now though, he did not want the kid to get hurt as the burst blasted forth, setting fire to the tiny dinosaurs and sending them flying across the open space or into the water. Dealing with all of them at once as if they were never even there to begin with, he exhaled as he had used a fair bit of mana to deal with the creatures. So while they could have taken the time for a momentary break, Griswold really did not have the time for such things as he decided what to do now that they were moving forward. Taking the time to ask the guy a question as he would decide, getting to know him a bit better might not be the worst thing.

“So you’re an archer, I guess that means you’re more the kind of hit and run type of mage. Tell me, what makes you believe I underestimate your abilities? I mean, judging by the fact that you’ve only shot a single arrow up until now, there’s not a whole lot for me to go on now is there.”





Without the tinysaurs, the way forward was now a whole lot clearer, though a decision had to be made as to which route they were going to take. So as he waited for the boy to respond to him, he noticed that there was either a small and narrow path to take that seemed relatively safe if not hard to maneuver, as well as a path along the waterside. Deciding to go with the waterside, the narrow path offered him too little maneuverability in case they were to actually be attacked by something, in which case he might end up getting himself or the archer hurt in the process of defending themselves. So as he moved towards the path along the water, he could feel something beneath the still waters, something very large. Immensely so, at least when compared to the tiny critters they had just faced down mere moments ago. Speaking of, with a quick snap, he saw how something dragged one of the dinosaur bodies down into the water one by one, leaving only a few seconds of time between each grab, as well as an amount of blood rising to the surface.

Realizing he had picked a potentially dangerous route, perhaps more so than the other one, he kept himself ready for whatever it was that was hiding under water. If they were lucky, the carcasses that had been launched into the lake would be enough to sate the creature’s appetite, even though he knew better than to place his bets on such things. So as the two moved onward, a large head attached to a very long neck suddenly burst forth from the water in an attempt to snap at Griswold, who was luckily still keeping his sword handy just in case of such things happening. Preparing for a counter attack, there was a surprisingly short amount of time between the attack and the moment at which it would snap at the former magic knight. As such, now would be the perfect time for the archer to show what he was worth, if he were to be worth anything at all. Regardless of whether he would attempt to aid him or not, a counter attack was coming up any moment now, and it was going to be one of the most highly destructive abilities he currently had up his sleeve.

1736 [3893]

Floor 1
Entryway: Finished
Room 1: Finished
Floor 2
Room 1: Finished
Room 2: Finished
Room 3: 394/800

About as soon as the creature launched itself out of the water in an attempt at biting into Griswold, it seemed that the other mage would use this chance to make a break for it, likely going on ahead to search for whatever valuable artifacts might be around here before the former magic knight would be able to get to it. While some might be upset by such actions, the same could not be said for Griswold, who was really not surprised that things turned out this way. What with the things the guy had already said about him not needing to know a single thing about him and how he jokingly made a play on not being able to let him leave, the very notion just made the older magic knight shrug. If he wanted to, he could reduce the guy to nothing more than a stain on the floor or the side of a rock, leaving him for whatever packs of tiny dinosaurs might yet be skulking about to feed on.

At this point however, he had other things to worry about, for as soon as the guy darted away by using what could only be considered light magic, he wondered if he could do anything even close to what the vice-captain of the Crimson Lions could do, considering the fact that she had used her own light magic to save him once by killing a psychopathic murderer with a light sword. Judging by how he carried himself however, he did not seem anywhere close to that kind of power, as he was most likely the kind of guy that could only dart around like a little butterfly and shooting a bunch of arrows from a safe distance. To Griswold, this just meant that there was little to no honor in his fighting style, just like there had been no honor in abandoning the guy that had been keeping him quite safe from the moment they first wandered into the tower.

For how vast the beast could move his head towards him, it was likely that the beast would be quite capable of moving a lot faster while entirely submerged, but while near the shore and trying to snatch up a bit of prey from land, there was nothing going for it that did not already go for Griswold too. On land, Griswold was the apex predator, something the marine creature would soon come to find out. For as its fangs got close to him, Griswold would not use his magic to deal with it, instead taking one quick step to the side while swinging his blade down from the side in the same motion. Using the momentum of the step to put some additional force into his swing, he brought down the crystalline blade right below the skull where the neck began, severing the head of the beast and sending it flying into the nearby bushes. As the long neck kept flailing about like a serpent, spraying blood all over the place, it attracted smaller creatures in the water.

So once the headless neck finally settled, he could see all kinds of smaller aquatic critters gathering up as the blood was spreading across the lake rather quickly. While only bringing in smaller animals at first, it did not take long before larger fish-like creatures resembling sharks began nibbling at the body as a means of checking whether it was actually dead before getting into a full on frenzy but a few seconds after. With the creatures occupied and the direct threat to his safety being taken care of, he did not exactly feel great about having to kill these creatures that had likely been safe behind the doors of the tower for untold amounts of time. However, if this place did house some kind of dangerous magical artifacts that could be used against the clover country, and therefore posed a threat against the peasants of the forsaken region that would not be able to defend themselves, it was something he had to see through to the end.

Hoping the crimson lion cubs that had been in here some weeks ago might have secured the contents of the tower at the time, he could speak for their incompetence and imagine that they likely left half of it laying around in plain sight. That was, if there was truly anything dangerous here to begin with, aside from a plethora of hungry dinosaurs. Maybe in time, he would come back here to see how things were developing after he had been killing a bunch of creatures left and right. For now though, it was more important that he just kept going onward to wherever it was the little coward had launched off to before he would actually be able to make off with anything valuable. Because even if he was no longer a magic knight and was really just a civilian by now, he still had his morals to live by, which told him not to trust someone like him with anything of value.

When he suddenly heard two deafening roars resounding across the terrain, it made him wonder as to whether or not the light mage had done something to cause it. What with his morals that were proven to be quite loose and baseless, as he had shown by abandoning him in the middle of an attack, Griswold would not put it above him. Right now, the only thing he would really be able to do was to make his way over to where he was as fast as he possibly could and hope that the damage he had caused to whatever he had caused it to would not be too great for him to fix.





After sprinting for a little while, he arrived just in time to see how the archer had begun attacking the largest terrestrial lizard he had ever laid eyes on. Even though there was still a large flying dinosaur around, it seemed that the guy had specifically focused on the landlocked one, which had flown into a fit of rage and had started charging after the little speedster. Instead of actively getting involved in the fight, now would be a good time for him to figure out exactly what the guy would be able to do as he seemed to fire arrows of light from his bow in order to inflict as much harm upon the creature as he could. So as the two fought and the focus was entirely on one another, something that was particularly true for the dinosaur that only had eyes for the light mage, he wandered around them in a wide arc in order to get to where the large flying dinosaur had just begun descending towards the ground.

Noticing how the creature had sustained some serious damage, having likely been bitten and gored by the larger terrestrial dinosaur when it had gotten too close, it was bleeding quite a bit. Almost being drowsy from the pain and the loss of blood, Griswold could have placed his focus on helping the guy fight the other dinosaur, though he could also choose the path of vindication by destroying the guy and the dinosaur with the same spell, thus smashing two birds with one stone. But instead of picking the path of destruction, he placed his sword over his shoulder and lodged it into the scabbard on his back while holding up his hands in an attempt to not look violent, threatening or in any way imposing. Closing in on the large prehistoric avian, he made some soothing noises, or rather some noises that were considered to be soothing by the sheep and cows on the farm as he got close to the wound. As dangerous as this was, it was by no means more dangerous than venturing into a demon invested witches’ forest in order to make a map.

Getting close enough to where he could physically touch the wound if he wanted to, he imagined that doing so would spook the creature and make it attack him, which was not what he wanted. Having killed enough dinosaurs for one day, he used the only healing spell he currently had at his disposal as a means of helping this particular creature. While he would not be able to heal the entire wound, he could at the very least heal it to the point where it did not bleed anymore, and might be more manageable for the creature once it took flight again and returned to wherever it had its roost. So as he called upon his solar mana, he could tell that doing so caused the creature to stir for a bit, though the soothing and warm feeling of his spell caused the animal to cease any hostile actions it might otherwise have undertaken towards him. And that was clearly for the best, as Griswold really did not want to have to result in killing it for trying to kill him.

Feeling quite good about being able to actually help someone, or rather something without having to go about killing anything, he would not take his eyes off of the large terrestrial dinosaur, or the light mage that was actively fighting it. If the kid were to somehow die, he would still be left having to fight the creature, which would not be the desired outcome. That said, it was going to be no more desired for the kid to come out on top, only for Griswold to have to kill him instead. Regardless of how things would turn out, for the time being, he would just watch and prepare himself to potentially kill a person or a massive dinosaur. Only time would tell which of the two would come to pass.

1638 (5531)

Floor 1
Entryway: Finished
Room 1: Finished
Floor 2
Room 1: Finished
Room 2: Finished
Room 3: Finished
Room 4: Finished (Boss in need of killing)

Doing his best to heal the large creature for as much as he could, he never stopped paying attention to the fight behind him, as he wanted to gather as much information as he could on this guy before he would probably just disappear again as he had done before. With guys like these, you just knew that they would end up becoming a problem at some point as they were walking beside their own shoes even now. Constantly calling out to him as solar boy or something along those lines, he either had no idea that he was younger than Griswold was, or simply had no idea that Griswold could crush his skull with one hand if he wanted to. For the time being however, he would not act on this knowledge. But one thing was certain however, if he tried to make a move towards him or the avian creature, he would not hesitate to incinerate the guy where he stood.

Truth be told, he could probably do that much from where he stood, but that was not the kind of person he wanted to be. Unlike the archer, he did not want to stoop to such levels of depravity like abandoning people in the middle of a fight, shooting someone in the back or while they were occupied with something else. Feeling like that kind of thing was entirely lacking in honor, pulling such crap would only put them on a slippery slope towards greater acts of criminal behavior. And while he himself had killed a man before, he had done so after facing him in one on one combat, and resulting in such drastic measures only because he had gotten quite a firm grasp on the man’s personality and motives, coming to find out that the guy was nothing more than your psychopathic murderer that had developed a taste for killing, for the sport and for the act of torturing someone.

Just like his former vice-captain had taught him, there were people who were beyond saving, who would not be saved by getting put behind bars as they would really only just grow more bitter and determined while they rotted away in a damp cell. So by the time they finally got set free, they would likely just go back at it with a vengeance, having had all the time in the world to think about how to do a better job at things without actually getting caught. It was for that reason that by the end of the fight, Griswold ended up incinerating the man and sending the ashes flying into the oceanic waters beneath the port of Raque. Even if the mission had ended up awarding him with black stars, given the amount of golden stars he had earned by that point, it was just a small stain on an overall great reputation that he had been building up with both of his hands for several months.

While it might not have sounded like a whole lot, it was actually quite something for a peasant without a penny to his name to get drafted into the Crimson Lion as literally the only commoner among nobility, which was truly something he had been quite proud of, and still was. Even though he had eventually stepped down no more than a week ago because he wanted to explore other avenues and find his way through life, there was still the hope that he might one day become the captain of a magic squad if he worked hard enough and helped enough people who might be able to vouch for him. And even if they wouldn’t, it wasn’t as if the people he had helped had been helped solely for that reason. He had helped them because they deserved it, so everything that came with it was just an added bonus, or at least that was Griswold’s reasoning.

And it was exactly for that reason that he was having a hard time figuring out what to do with the light archer, because it was clear that he had wandered onto the slippery slope he had mentioned earlier, and would likely be slipping towards growing acts of criminal behavior over time. Whether it was in an attempt to prove himself or because he wished to prove something to himself, Griswold believed that he was altogether trying too hard to see his own strength, and therefore forgot to look closely at the people around him that might be leagues beyond him. And truth be told, if he had wanted to, Griswold could have easily destroyed him several times already, though he did not yet know whether or not the kid was lost or if he could still be saved by the right people. Not being the right type of person for such a task himself as he was clearly no saint either, he had only ever killed those that deserved it.

Watching the fight as the archer used several light arrows against the terrestrial terror lizard, he saw how he eventually fired an arrow into it’s gaping maw, causing the thing to explode in a luminescent blow that destroyed so much of it’s insides that it just collapsed and died. With a large amount of blood leaking out of it, the thing that was likely the apex predator of this place they found themselves in, the bird at least was no longer in any danger of being killed, which was really a good thing. However, when the kid came up to Griswold and the large avian in a victorious stride, he said a bunch of things that might very well have gotten him killed. In fact, if Griswold did not need to use his right hand in order to maintain a healing spell, he would have actually killed him on the spot over his sheer brutality and disregard for life in general.

Claiming he had slain a dragon and that he would slay the avian too if it did not show him where to go next, Griswold took a few steps forward until he got up in his face, making it quite clear that he did not tolerate such behavior from such a worm. Without really saying anything for the time being, he waited for the archer to say his bit, and maybe make things worse for himself, at which point the former magic knight would just blow him straight to hell where he stood. As it was something he could do without even raising a finger or having to get his bastard sword out at all, he clearly had plenty of mana left to make it happen twice over. Luckily for him, he fixed his attitude by claiming he would never be able to kill such a creature unprovoked, which was exactly what Griswold wanted to hear right now. It meant that the kid was not completely lost, at least not yet, though it was likely only a matter of time before he would.

Had his former vice-captain been here, he knew she would most likely have taken up arms against him and killed him where he stood, just so the world would have one less future villain. And truth be told, the kid really needed to watch his tone, as his mouth was far too big for his present amount of power and mana, which would certainly get him in trouble at some point unless he managed to really drastically increase the amount of power he possessed. It wasn’t entirely outside the realm of possibilities either, especially considering how quickly Griswold himself had grown since the time he had been a mere Crimson Lion cub and came to this very tower dungeon alongside the others. Judging by how “capable” they were when they were here and how much they had all grown by the time Griswold left the Crimson Lion squad, the amount of growth the other two had done when compared to him had been shameful at best.

Having finished healing the bird up to the extent where it would be able to take care of itself now without risking any infected wounds, the bird rose up into the air with a couple of powerful wing beats that nearly sent him flying. Once it was fully airborne, it dropped several sacks of what he could only consider to be scavenged goods down to the floor, likely as a means of thanking the two for what they had done here today. As much as he wanted it to not be so, he had not done everything here today, as the quick action of the archer kid had likely been what allowed them to intervene as soon as they did. Even though the means by which things had happened, what with him being abandoned in the midst of battle and the guy himself really only fighting the terrestrial lizard because he most likely wanted to kill something, it had saved the life of the avian in the process.

So while he wanted to rip the sack out of the guy’s hands and keep it for himself, he knew that the guy had at least deserved this much, though that was quite literally every single bit of praise he was going to get. For all of the crap he had pulled, he should have been lucky to be alive, let alone running off with a bit of loot from the dungeon. As the bird flew back to wherever it had come from, Griswold picked up the remaining bag and tossed it over his shoulder, getting himself ready to deal with the guy if he was going to be a problem again. When he called him solar boy again and made it seem like he was doing Griswold a kindness by leaving the remaining bag for him, instead of being shown a kindness himself by getting to actually keep the one he had put his grubby paws on, the elven mage was going to be sending him off with a few parting words before he too would start making his way out of this place.

“I’ll tell you something else, if you don’t get out of here right now, I’ll give you something to cry about. I’m making an exception on my personal rule by letting someone like you walk out of here, especially after all the crap you pulled here today, but know this. If I run into you again at some point, you won’t be finding me in such a good mood. So if you think your little fancy light bulb spells are something to write home about, I’ll show you what true light is when I shove a sun down your throat. Now git.”

With how fast the kid was speeding towards the exit after their little talk, he imagined his words would at the very least sink in a bit, unless he was truly so delusional as to believe that he would actually stand a chance against him. What with the royal knight exams coming up, as well as the actual magic knight exams taking place roughly a month after that, Griswold was truly feeling like he had something with which he could back up the harsh words he had just tossed in the direction of the kid that had never bothered to share his name with him. That said however, if he had been more forthcoming, Griswold might have actually bothered sharing his own name with the guy, though things had never progressed to that point. But one thing had become clear however, no matter what happened, the two of them were unlikely to ever be on friendly terms with one another.

For once Griswold formed an actual grudge towards someone, that was the kind of thing that would last a lifetime. And while he might be able to temporarily bury it for the greater good, that would not mean that he would refrain from actually striking a killing blow as soon as the actual threat had passed and it was once again down to business as usual. To him, the amount of sheer dishonor the light kid had shown was beyond redemption, not to mention that it was something he had not exactly expected from someone with that kind of grimoire. He had imagined those that used light would be the kind of people that wanted to lead and light the way for others into a brighter future, which was also what he imagined Lydia’s purpose was. After all, everyone got their grimoire for a reason, so just like there was a reason why Griswold had received a grimoire with two magical, so there would have to be a reason why this guy was given a four leaf clover.

Even for a foreigner such as himself, it was common knowledge that the four leaf clover stood for something greater than just the fact that a four leaf clover in nature meant good luck would be bestowed upon whomsoever found it. Though the intention was similar as receiving a golden four leaf grimoire meant good luck to whoever received it, it was also said that such grimoires were only bestowed upon truly exceptional mages, which was saying something. Throughout his time in the land of clover, he had only seen one or maybe two such grimoires, so to think that a kid who behaved like a criminal and lacked all forms of tact was to be given such a thing seemed weird to him. In his mind, he could only justify this by saying that the legends in this country were probably wrong as there was little to nothing exceptional about the guy aside from his exceptional ability to bail on people and leave them to their fate.

Shaking his head at the notion that ones grimoire was supposed to make one great rather than their actions, he made his way from the carcass of the terrestrial giant, especially now that many more of the smaller raptors had come about and began pecking at the remains of the big one. Proving his earlier theory that they were in fact scavengers before they were hunters, their loud screeches and caws were likely similar to the howling of a wolf as it called out to the pack to assemble on their person. Slowly backing out and leaving the area, he kept his sight on the smaller creatures that gradually began swarming in, pecking out small bits of meat while fighting those that tried to snatch it right out of their mouths. For what it was worth, it was good to see that the damage they had caused here had not actually changed the way this strange, magically created world lost in time functioned, as that would have truly been quite the shame.

In a world like this, where dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures could still live as normal, people such as himself would be better off not coming here too often as such a thing might actually trigger these beings into evolving, meaning in a few thousand or million years, the dinosaurs here might also have gone extinct as they had been replaced by creatures unlike anything the world had ever seen. In a way, it was probably just like the mana beasts that existed in strong magic regions where natural mana ran rampant and twisted the most regular and basic of animals into far stronger versions of themselves, gifted with magical capabilities that might even overcome the power of your average magic knight. Having dealt with a few of these on his own by now, he wondered if they were the next step in evolution, and if eventually all life would take on such qualities, just as humans pretty much all had at least some mana and received a magical grimoire through which to perform their magic.

On the way back to the entrance, or in this case the exit, he passed by a few familiar sights, one of them being the large beheaded marine animal that had tried to attack him and drag him into the water. Had it succeeded, he would have been at a huge disadvantage, especially since he clearly had no aid to count on or fall back on whatsoever. Luckily for him, his senses were sharp enough to actually sense it when something large was skulking about and trying to devour him alive, even if said creature was hiding under water. Noticing how much of the creature had already been devoured, the head was already being eaten into by more of the tiny dinosaurs he had been forced to kill earlier. In a way, he imagined this to be karma, what with the aquatic creature having eaten several of the creature’s own kind when their carcasses had been slammed into the water. But that was what nature was like, as there was only kill or be killed, feeling had nothing to do with it.

Moving away from the water and passing by various steam vents along the way back to the cavern in which the snail creatures had huddled up together along the ceiling, it was not long before the former magic knight had made his way down the passage and back into the cavern itself. Maneuvering this way was surprisingly easy, especially with a bastard sword and a sack of loot hanging over his shoulder and back. Making his way down the passage and into the pile of corpses, he did his best not to actually touch any of the tendrils they called limbs as they might very well have been toxic, meaning they would likely be making his trip back to Hage quite the hassle. Now that he was back in the cave, he temporarily put all of his stuff down so that he could have a more in depth look around the place, just to be sure none of the knights he had abandoned in this place had died to the snails.

Since there were considerably less of the creatures around this time as opposed to last time, it made sense to think that the guys had been through here and did some serious fighting, though the fact that there were still this many around meant that they could not possibly have been victorious. Had they been, this room would have been cleared, as well as any of the other threats the two of them had encountered. That, and since the entrance had been sealed back up when he returned to this place and sought entry, there had to be something going on here. But no matter how hard he looked around the cavern, even all the way up to the staircase leading down into the swamp area, there were no bones to be found. No clothing, no hair, nothing that might prove someone had died here in recent weeks, though that was really a good thing. With that bit of knowledge, he could at the very least leave this place with his head held high for once.

What with how he had more than likely saved the life of the great prehistoric avian, how he now knew the fact and skill set of someone who would likely become a problem somewhere down the line, a sack of contents from within the dungeon itself and the knowledge that he had redeemed himself by going back in here and finishing what he had once started, he felt revitalized and ready to take part in the royal knight exams as soon as they came around. Even if he might be the weakest guy around, the one who knew the least about the procedures or the enemies they would be fighting, the only thing he could really do was give it his best and see whether he qualified for just about anything the three captains might be looking for in a knight. One thing at least was for sure, with the strict training he had gone through, the amount of missions he had undertaken both before and after he relieved himself of his duties as a magic knight and with the knowledge Hania had imparted upon him, he’d at least not be the least knowledgeable person among the recruits.

So as he made his way down the slippery staircase, crossed over the quicksand soil and passed through the entrance, the door suddenly shut behind him as the tower began to shake a bit just as it had done a few times while they were inside. With the door closed, the vines he had cut to bits earlier began growing back rapidly as could be, enveloping the door and closing it off from anyone who might venture in. Clearly the work of magic, it was as if the tower itself was alive, sealing itself up the moment those that had invaded it made their way outside, because he just knew that the light magic user had already made his way out long before he had. Wondering as to whether they would ever truly understand the nature of magic dungeons, he nodded at the tower as if saying goodbye to the place before venturing back through the sandstorm in order to reach the broom he had hidden on the other side so he could make his way back to Hage.

3565 (9096)

Floor 1
Entryway: Finished
Room 1: Finished
Floor 2
Room 1: Finished
Room 2: Finished
Room 3: Finished
Room 4: Finished