Chapter 42: The Flux Gate II

"Not every gate can be managed that way. Some are too unstable, or their monsters spread too quickly. Others can be kept under control for a long time." Rovan said.

Cush gave a lazy nod as Rovan explained. "That’s where the money is. Clear a section, gather what you can, and come back next week to do it again. Infinite money loop, hehe."

"Until the gate becomes dangerous," Amda said.

"Which is why the Guild keeps records and sends people to check."

Listening to all this, Keane looked ahead. "So the assessment ends before the heart."

"Correct," Rovan said. "We’ll reach the designated point, then return."

As for Keane, he had no particular interest in closing a dungeon for free. If the Guild wanted to keep it open for profit, that was their business, he was here to earn a rank, and so far, the trial had been simple... Too simple, perhaps.

Soon enough they reached a broad chamber with a low ceiling and several branching passages. Rovan stopped near a stone marker embedded in the floor.

"This is the designated endpoint." He said.

Keane looked around, noting how empty thay area was, possibly a safe zone. He asked, and to his surprise , that was what it was called, just slightly different, a safe area.

Rovan checked the map once more.

"We’ll take a short break, then move around to search for two more return stones. Somehow, we all forgot to bring enough." He said, glancing at Cush who gave a weary laugh, since he was the one who hadn’t brought his.

Just then, before they could even find a place to sit, Keane turned toward the passage behind them, and defineteky too clear to be his eyes playing tricks on him, something moved in the darkness beyond it.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Wait." He said, causing the others to stop.

As though on queue, a low rumble rolled through the chamber.

The stone beneath their feet vibrated, though not violently. Curtis didn’t waste time drawing his weapon, ready for anything.

"What now?" He said.

Keane’s eyes were still locked toward the passage as he observed. Somehow he could pick up things about the environment clearer than before.

As the sound grew louder, something came charging out of the darkness, rushing towards them.

It was a large, heavily armored beast, roughly the size of a horse, with thick limbs and a broad, plated head. Its body was covered in overlapping stone-like scales, and its horns curved forward like hooked blades.

Rovan’s expression changed.

"That’s a Stoneback Ravager!"

"That’s not supposed to be here." Cush said, stepping back a few steps while drawing his weapons out.

The monster’ roar shook dust from the ceiling as it caused the place to vibrate. With all the shaking that was going on, Keane became increasingly concerned about the entire place caving in on them than anything else. All of a sudden, the sight was no longer beautiful, just a collection of wrongs that could happen at anytime.

"Formation!" Rovan shouted

Immediately, the beast charged straighahead like a bull.

Curtis who was up front moved first, meeting it head-on. His blade struck the creature’s armored shoulder, producing a sharp metallic clang. The impact slowed it, but didn’t stop it.

The Ravager swung its head, forcing Curtis to dodge, he barely avoided the horns, stumbling backward as the monster crashed through the space where he’d been standing.

"Amda!" He called.

Before he even called her name, she had long gotten to work, it turned out she was a mage. She lifted her staff, and a pale barrier flashed into existence around Curtis just as the Ravager’s tail swept across the chamber. The impact sent him skidding across the stone, but the barrier held long enough to keep him from being crushed.

Cush rushed in from the side, striking at the beast’s exposed flank.

His weapon bit into the scales, but the monster barely reacted.

"Damn it!" He groaned, falling back as Cush and Rovan attacked.

Keane watched the fight that had basically started before him, without allowing him a chance to even intervene.

The Ravager was clearly stronger than the monsters they’d encountered earlier, and it was moving far too aggressively for a creature that should have been in a deeper section. Or perhaps that was all the more reason why it should.

Just then, the darkness behind it moved again.

More monsters emerged, pouring out from the darkness.

A pair of armored lizards, larger than the ones Keane had killed earlier came rushing out, followed by several smaller beasts. They poured into the chamber from two separate passages, and soon the entire place was very much populated as a forest should be, compensating for the lack of wildlife it has suffered before.

Looking at the situation, Rovan’s face tightened and he shouted, "Fall back! We need to—"

Before he could finish his words, the Ravager lunged again.

Amda was still maintaining her barrier around Curtis who was at the forefront acting almost as a tank, while Cush tried to draw the beast’s attention, but the smaller monsters were already closing in around him.

With the others preoccupied, Keane moved.

He crossed the chamber in an instant, catching one of the creatures by the head and throwing it into the wall. The impact cracked the stone.

Another beast turned toward him, but he struck it once, sending it tumbling across the floor.

The others barely had time to react, while Keane didn’t bother holding back his strength one bit.

The Ravager broke through and swung its head toward Amda while she was still focused on Curtis, and the monster’s charge was too fast for her to escape.

Just when they all looked in peril, Keane appeared between them.

He caught one of the horns with his hand, the force behind the charge driving him back half a step.

The sudden stop caused the beast’s massive body to shudder as Keane held it in place.

For a brief moment, nobody moved as they stared wide eyes at Keane.

’That’s heavier than it looks.’ Keane thought to himself.

It tried to charge from there again, but he tightened his grip and twisted. The Ravager’s head was forced sideways, and its charge broke apart. Keane drove his fist into the side of its neck, and the impact sent the beast crashing onto its side.

It hit the ground hard enough to shake the chamber.

Keane stepped away a few steps, but noticed the Ravager trying to rise.

He appeared before it again and kicked it once in the neck.

The monster slid across the stone and slammed into a pillar, its body going still after a brief struggle.

Then Keane glanced toward Amda. "You okay?" He said.

She stared at him for another second before nodding."Y-yes."

"Good." He said.

He turned toward the remaining monsters, and with ease, moved through them like a breeze. With just a few direct strikes, it was enough to put them down, and his movements were fast enough that the others could barely follow, though they could still see him.

Within moments, the chamber fell quiet again, monster corpses everywhere.

Keane stood among the bodies, breathing normally, apparently not having exerted himself.

Curtis lowered his weapon slowly.

"What... are you?"

Keane just looked at him briefly but didn’t answer.

Rovan stepped forward, his expression serious.

"That was far beyond what we expected from an unranked candidate." He said.

"Guess the Guildmaster wasn’t wrong." Keane said with a shrug.

Cush let out a short laugh, though there was still tension in his face. "That’s one way to put it."

"You stopped it with one hand... How?" Amda asked, looking at Keane for a moment before her eyes strayed towards the dead beast.

"Timing." Keane answered, rolling his shoulder.

It wasn’t a complete lie, though.

"This doesn’t make sense." Rovan said, moving closer to the beast. "A Stoneback Ravager is supposed to be a boss creature in this type of gate. It shouldn’t be roaming around the middle section."

Curtis looked toward the passage it had emerged from. "Maybe it escaped from deeper inside?"

"How many times have you heard that happen? And if it did, certainly not without reason," Rovan said.

Keane turned slowly, looking at the branching passages.

The chamber didn’t match the map, the monsters were stronger than expected, and now a creature that should have been guarding the heart of the gate had appeared in the middle section, and then he remembered Amda’s warning at the entrance.

’She wasn’t imagining it.’ he said to himself. ’Is this one of those things that happens in fantasy stories?’ he questioned himself.

Just then, a faint vibration passed through the stone beneath his feet. The crystals along the walls flickered at that.

Rovan looked down at the map again, then toward the passage behind them. His expression hardened.

"The gate has shifted. I guess it’s no reason to wonder anymore... We might very much be inside a Flux Gate."

Hearing that, the expressions of the others shifted also, but somehow, Keane seemed to not be part of their conversation, as his attention was drawn elsewhere.

[MonsterDefeated]

[Monster Defeated]

[ExperienceAcquired]

[Experience Acquired]

[LevelUp!]

[Level Up!]

[ You have reached Level10!]

.

’What the hell? Is my system completely broken?’