"How the hell did that happen?!" Alex asked furiously.
"Like I know!" Lara shouted back at him.
Alex didn't bother going on commissions with the party, mainly because he had no experience in parties. And he felt more than just rejected.
Ros sighed, putting his hand on his forehead, clearly frustrated.
Alex deeply inhaled and exhaled to relax himself, before turning to face the golden-haired adventurer, wearing a simple robe fit for a Support.
"We need to find him. Now," he ordered.
"Who died and made you the leader—" Lara blurted, her eyes avoiding his, before Ros cut her off.
"I asked the receptionist. He headed for a Corrupted Tower. By himself," Ros said with a low, but serious tone.
Lara showed a stiff expression, not knowing whether to be shocked by this or by the fact Alex was going with them.
But Alex had no reason to go with them. If anything, going alone was better. He'd make it quick, he thought, clutching the hilt of his undrawn sword.
He flew above the flat grassy lands where he had once fought both the slimes and wolves. He was headed for the Corrupted Tower.
Or, they were.
He tried his best to convince them not to come at all, but ultimately he failed. Lara and Ros were both using a flying technique, an air spell.
He followed just behind them, barely able to catch up due to the concentration needed for this to work. One wrong move, and he'd be kissing the ground.
He swallowed as he looked down on the plain, grassy fields.
He noticed the unique terrain, with hills on one side and a forest in the distance he could barely make out.
More minutes passed as they used more air to boost their speed, until they finally reached it. He was able to see it in the distance.
A Dungeon — based on what he knew — was a large tower, completely spiraling from the outside.
Inside, it looked to people more like a dungeon. It was also known as the Dungeon of Virelith.
The dungeon was dark and filled with many beasts, corrupted ones at that.
It was very tall, he'd say about a hundred meters.
He was completely taken by the size and length of it. With one look, everything was clear.
It'd be hard clearing this dungeon, or even escaping it. He looked at Ros and Lara worryingly, hoping for nothing bad to happen.
Finally arriving next to the large entrance, they all flew downwards, landing and starting to walk again.
Ros and Lara landed without much trouble, but considering this was very new to Alex, he stumbled a bit as he landed.
Lara looked at him with an amused face as he didn't even bother to look back at her.
Finally, they were right in front of the entrance to the tower. It was a large gate, colored with dark blue and jet black.
Without hesitation, Alex stepped up and held the handle of the gate, forcing it open.
It was somewhat heavy, but in the end he managed to open it, as Lara and Ros kept staring silently.
At least lend a hand…
Then they all entered, one next to each other. Alex gritted his teeth as he prepared for the worst to come.
What stood in front of him was a medium-sized hallway, built completely out of stone.
Ros cast a spell to let them see under the darkness. The spell shone brightly with a light yellow color.
Ros suddenly spoke as they walked down the hallway, "Be on your guard."
He spoke very seriously, and Alex felt he was determined and focused for this. That was only natural, considering their circumstances.
They walked, continuing ahead, but nothing happened. Nothing showed up.
It was dead silent; everybody was as concentrated as they could get, aware of everything nearby.
Suddenly, Alex felt a small twitch on his back, as if an ant was crawling on him.
While concentrating, something even as small as that made him jump. But he didn't.
Every fibre of his body was telling him not to move a single muscle.
He stopped walking; the others noticed but his expression said it all. His eyes were widened in fear and surprise.
He slowly clutched the hilt of his sword before breaking the complete silence by instantly rotating to the other side as he drew his sword quickly to slice what was behind him.
To his surprise, there was nothing. He'd just mistaken it for a Corrupted.
He turned his head around to face Ros and Lara. "False Alarm—" he said before cutting himself off.
Lara and Ros were nowhere to be seen.
His body shivered as he felt that crawling feeling once more. He blinked, dumbfounded, only to find the place changed.
He was standing in a large field of snow, with tall and wide trees covering the whole place.
"Lara! Ros!" he shouted desperately to get an answer.
His eyes twitched; he was annoyed by this sudden outcome. He felt more worried for his party now.
He walked slowly in the large field of snow, snow towering barely enough to cover up his whole feet.
The air bit at his skin, but the wind carried an unnatural warmth, as if the cold was only pretending.
This place couldn't have been any weirder. It seemed as if he'd just gotten transported to a different part of the world.
He walked and looked around as he stood high on his ground.
But the more he walked, the more he saw nothing. It was like a loop.
He marked one of the trees next to him to see if it was an actual loop. He started walking again in the snowy field and checked every tree on his path.
And the mark was on the same tree.
He'd just been walking around in a circle. But if that was the case, then how did he even get out and meet with his party again?
Was it an illusion? Some type of ability? But in any case, he had to get out. And quick.
He scanned his surroundings, looking for a way to escape. He was slowly getting more paranoid by the second from this eerie place.
He noticed there was some black moss on one of the trees, and a purple color emitting from it.
Another tree, next to it, had the same look, but it cast no shadow at all.
Slowly, fear started building up in him.
He went to check the black moss, but before he had the chance he heard a voice he could recognize in the distance.
"Alex! Come out!"
Lara shouted, but in a gentle tone. Almost too gentle for her.
His eyes widened slightly as he turned back instantly towards the voice, but as soon as he got to where the voice first appeared, he heard it again, but more in the distance now.
He grew more suspicious of this. It repeated the same lines, with a tone that didn't even sound like Lara. It was most likely a trap.
But, he already fell for it.
A shadowy figure charged at him through the wide gaps between the trees, and he barely noticed it.
He drew his sword quickly and focused on it solely. But, without even realizing, there were more charging at him from multiple directions.
He took a quick look and he was already surrounded by them. They numbered almost twenty. Each one of them was charging at him with a horrific amount of speed.
Shivers ran down his spine as he tried to think of something, but he couldn't. He was too late. All of them encircled him before he had the chance to even draw his sword.
"Shit!" he cursed loudly.
Then suddenly, the same light that Ros used as a torch to guide them in the dark appeared in front of him. His vision went dark as the light went directly through his head.
"… up!" A muffled voice came from nearby.
"Wake.. up!" Lara shouted at him, slapping him directly on the face.
He was on the stone ground; Lara was staring at him as she poured healing magic over him.
He shifted his gaze and noticed Ros fighting the same figures he saw.
He instantly snapped back to reality, but the memory of the fake Lara flashed back in his head.
"Are you real?" he asked Lara as he stared into her wheat-colored eyes.
"Do you need me to slap you again?" Lara answered. This time, he knew this was her by her tone.
He hesitated slightly, but he still got back on his feet and drew his sword quickly as he stepped to take Ros' position. He was a Support, after all.