Chapter 28: Monster Invasion

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Monster Invasion

One week later.

The village had finally calmed down. The commotion around Adnan’s arrival had subsided, leaving only whispers about the returning hero. The roads were cleared. In short, everything had returned to normal. Almost.

Arin was home, practicing with his sword. He made a few practice swings.

SWISH!

He adjusted his stance, making another swing.

SWISH!

He stopped and looked at his blade.

"Not good enough."

"You have improved." Ayan said, appearing behind Arin. "You’ve been watching me?" "I have been standing here for ten minutes." Arin blinked. "I didn’t notice." Saira crossed her arms as she sat nearby. "You’ve been practicing too much." "You’re one to talk." Arin replied.

"I don’t need to train."

"That’s what people who don’t train say."

"I can still beat you."

Saira countered, narrowing her eyes

"I know" Arin said.

She raised an eyebrow. "That was surprisingly honest of you."

"I know my limits." Arin said.

Ayan nodded approvingly. "A good quality."

Before Arin could respond, there was a sudden explosion nearby. Everyone stopped and looked around in confusion. Arin’s eyes narrowed. Another explosion sounded not too far from the village.

BOOM!

"MONSTERS!" someone shouted.

"RUN!" shouted another. "GET INSIDE!"

Arin grabbed his sword. "Not again."

Something was wrong, Ayan’s expression said. "Something is not right."

"Many," said Saira. "There are many."

Arin was already running. "Let’s go!"

The village was in chaos. Monsters were attacking the village, and the adventurers were trying to drive them off. "PROTECT THE CIVILIANS!" some shouted. "GET THE CHILDREN INSIDE!" shouted others. "DON’T LET THEM GET TO THE CENTER!" yelled a few more.

Arin ran into the street, where he saw a large monster charging at a group of villagers. He raised his sword. "Hey!" he shouted, getting its attention. The monster turned to face him and charged.

Arin ran forward to meet it. CLANG! He blocked its attack, but the impact sent him flying backward. He quickly planted his feet in the ground. "You’re stronger than expected," He said.

The monster roared in response. Arin twisted his body to the side, avoiding its next attack. SLASH! He sliced off a piece of the beast’s side, causing it to fall to the ground.

[Monster Defeated.]

"One." Arin muttered. He turned around, only to find another monster charging at him from his left. He turned to face it and blocked its attack. He pushed it back, planting his feet in the ground. "Mana Control." He said and mana flowed through his body. He pulled his sword up, causing an explosion.

BOOM!

The monster was sent flying backward. Arin looked at his blade in surprise. "My skills actually work." "They do." Ayan said, landing next to him. Arin turned to him. "Outside the dungeon?" "Yes." Ayan replied. Arin narrowed his eyes. "So that’s what this is about?" Saira appeared next to them. "You think this was an ambush?"."Look at them," Arin said, gesturing at the monsters. "They’re not attacking randomly. They’re attacking specific targets."

A few of the monsters suddenly changed direction at the same time. Instead of attacking the nearest villager, they ran toward certain areas. Ayan watched them carefully. "You’re right." He said. Arin clenched his fist. "Someone is controlling them." A loud roar echoed throughout the village. Adnan appeared in the middle of the street, where a giant monster was charging at him. He raised his sword to meet it. The creature swung at him, but Adnan blocked it. He pushed it back and slashed, killing the beast.

"Keep moving!" he shouted at the villagers nearby. More monsters appeared, and Adnan drove them off. "STAY AWAY FROM THE CENTER!" He shouted. He ran forward, helping to drive the creatures away from the villagers. Arin watched him for a moment. "He’s doing well." "He is a Hero." Ayan said.

Adnan suddenly stopped and looked toward a creature coming out of the smoke. It looked like a monster, but there was something oddly human about its face. Adnan’s eyes widened. "A Chimera..." he muttered. Another one appeared behind it, and another behind that one. Adnan’s grip tightened around his sword. "Those are people." He said.

The Chimera roared and charged at Adnan, but he blocked it. He could have killed it, but he hesitated, and the Chimera sent him flying backward. Adnan rolled across the ground before getting up again. "I can’t..." he muttered. He looked up at the creature. "I can’t just kill them."

Meanwhile, a different sound was coming from behind him. BOOM! Adnan turned around to see Ayan attacking another Chimera. It fell to the ground, and Saira appeared next to him.

"You..." Adnan said, staring at her.

"They’re monsters now." Saira said coldly.

"They were people!" Adnan said.

"They aren’t anymore." Saira replied.

Adnan frowned. "That’s not enough of a reason to kill them."

"It is for us," Ayan said, staring at the Chimera. Something about his tone made Arin look at him. It wasn’t anger or sadness. It was something else. Arin turned to Saira, who was staring at the Chimera with the same expression. "You two really hate them." He said.

Neither of them responded. Arin narrowed his eyes. "Later." He turned back to the battle. "Right now, let’s just focus on getting rid of them."

Far away from the village, a man stood on a hill, watching the battle unfold. His dark coat fluttered slightly in the wind. The man standing next to him was his servant. The servant watched the fight before turning to his master. "Master," He said.

Zarl Baghud said nothing. His eyes were locked on Arin. The young Dungeon Master was fighting in the middle of the village, his sword raised to protect the villagers. He was driving the monsters off, using his skills. He was learning. Adapting. The servant looked at the battle again. "His abilities work outside the dungeon." He said. "Yes." Zarl replied. "He is stronger than the reports said." the servant added. "Naturally." Zarl said. The servant watched as Arin dodged an attack and retaliated. "He is still trying to protect everyone." The servant said.

"Yes." Zarl said, his expression not changing. The servant hesitated. "Master, should we decrease the attack?" Zarl finally looked at him. "No." "But he is already being pushed." "I know." "The villagers are suffering." "I know." The servant fell silent. Zarl looked back at the village, where Arin was still fighting. Arin was still trying to protect the villagers, even though he was being pushed. He was still refusing to retreat. Zarl’s fingers brushed against the old pendant hidden beneath his coat. The symbol on it was the same as the Dungeon Master’s Mark. A small smile appeared on his lips. "No," Zarl said, watching Arin carefully. "Let’s see what kind of Dungeon Master he is."

Back in the village, Arin was starting to tire. There were just too many monsters. Every time he killed one, two more took its place. His breathing was heavy, and his arms were sore, but he kept fighting. A monster was attacking an injured villager when Arin ran up behind it and killed it with a slash of his sword. The villager looked up at him. "Th-thank you!"

Arin nodded. "Get somewhere safe." He turned back to the battle, where another Chimera was approaching. He raised his sword, but the Chimera ran up to him and slashed at his side. Arin dodged the attack. CLANG! He blocked the Chimera’s next attack and ran forward, slashing its arm. The Chimera stumbled back, and Arin hesitated. It really did look human. Suddenly, the Chimera screamed and ran at him again. Arin blocked its attack. "I don’t want to kill you."

The Chimera pushed him, trying to get him to attack. "I said stop!" Arin growled. He kicked the Chimera in the stomach, sending it flying backward. It landed on the ground, and Arin stood over it. Something strange happened, though. The monsters all stopped fighting. Every single one of them. Arin looked around in confusion.

"What?" he muttered. The monsters all turned toward the forest before slowly walking away. Adnan lowered his sword. "What’s happening?" He asked. "They’re being recalled," Ayan said. Arin turned to look at the forest. "So someone really is controlling them." "They’ve gotten what they wanted," Saira said. "What did they want?" Arin asked. There was a pause before a scream resounded.

Arin turned toward the sound of the voice. "Mira?!" He ran toward his house, where he found the front door wide open. The room was empty, save for a few overturned chairs and a broken glass on the floor. "Mira?" He called. He searched the room, but there was no one there. "Mira!" "She’s gone." Saira said. Arin’s breathing was heavy. Ayan picked up the broken glass. "No blood."

"So she’s alive." Arin said. "Most likely." Ayan replied.

Something fell from above, landing at Arin’s feet. He picked it up, reading the message written on the paper.

[ You want to save your maid, Mira?

Come alone, Dungeon Master.

]

Arin’s eyes widened as he stared at the message. Someone knew about him. They knew about Mira. They knew exactly how to get him to come. A blue window suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[New Quest.]

[Quest: Save Mira]

[Objective: Rescue Mira.]

Arin looked at it in shock. Another window appeared.

[Failure Condition: Mira’s Death.]

His eyes nearly popped out of his head. Then the window flickered.

[Urgency Detected.]

[Quest parameters updating...]

The text on the window changed.

[Target: Mira]

[Current Status: Captured]

[Warning: Chimera Conversion Possible...]

Another line of text appeared.

[Time Remaining: 12:00:00]

Arin’s face went pale. "Twelve hours..."

"Arin what happened?" Saira asked. He turned to look at the forest. His expression had changed. "Someone knows I’m the dungeon master and took Mira." He said.

"We have to save her," Ayan said already getting ready. Arin clenched his fists around his sword. "I have to go save Mira."

Far away, Zarl Baghud watched the last image of Arin disappear. His servant stood next to him. "Master."

"He’s coming." Zarl said, staring at the horizon. The servant bowed his head. "Should we prepare?"

Zarl smiled. "Of course." He ran his hand over the old pendant. "After all..." His eyes narrowed. "...we’ve waited long enough."