(One Month Later)
I walked toward the teleportation gate where Elder Virion told me to meet him. He was standing there, by himself, and I approached him with my gear and cloak on. I think he was sending me somewhere.
"Gramps." I said as I stopped in front of him. "What's going on?"
"I know for the past month you told me, and I am taking your word for it, that you have not had any issues with your Beast Will. Today, I'm sending back out into the field, nowhere special, but I know you don't like sitting in the castle." Elder Virion opened the door to the teleportation gate I was taking, and inside was Callias.
"There he is!" Callias exclaimed. "We are going back to the dungeons!"
"Haha." I laughed and turned to Elder Virion. "Is that true?"
"Sort of." We walked up to Callias, I shook his hand. "I'm sending the two of you to a dungeon we already cleared, and it's a very low rated dungeon."
"Just the two of us?" I asked him, hoping for it.
"Yes, you are going to Widow's Cyrpt." I remember this place, I've never been, but this where the school went on their trip. "There isn't as many mana beast there, but there are some, I want you to get the feel for being out in the field again."
"Okay, that sounds fun, but why is Callias coming." I turned to him and smiled. "I don't think he'll help me at all."
"Shut up." He pushed me. "I'm coming to make sure you don't lose control, and also to train as well."
"Fine." I nodded, not caring, at least it was only the two of us. "Snarlers or Gnolls?" I knew one of those where the type of mana beast in there.
"Gnolls." Elder Virion told me. "Light work for you, right?"
"Yeah." I turned toward the portal. "Alright, how far in should we go?" If they already cleared it, that meant there probably wasn't a mutated beast.
"Go down as far as you want, be safe though." Elder Virion gave me a look of confidence, like he knew I would be fine, which I did, then spoke again. "Go on, come back when you're ready."
"Understood, Commander." Callias jumped through the portal first.
"Make sure he doesn't get hurt." Elder Virion told me as I was about to step through the portal.
"I will." I assured him as I appeared in the abandoned base inside of Widow's Crypt. "It's so weird here with no soldiers."
"Yeah." Callias agreed with me. "So, you ready, cause I am, I am ready to see the Devil of Dicathen in action again."
"Listen, don't call me that when we are together." I laughed as I started to walk toward the exit of the base.
"Fine, I'll come up with something else." Callias shot at me. "I can't call you a Devil or a Demon, that's just too ordinary."
"Then, call me Veer." I shrugged as I opened the door leading out of the base and activated "Blood Oath."
"Lame." Callias nudged me as he pulled his sword out. "What do you want from me? I want to train, but I know you want to kill them all."
"Let me take out the second and third floor by myself." I told him as I had fire form over my right hand, and ice over my left. "If that is okay with you?"
"Not like I'll be killing a lot anyways." I sensed the mana beast on the second floor, there were only forty of them. I could kill all easily with one spell, but I want to use multiple spells on them, try everything out. "You know I hit light yellow while I was in the last dungeon."
"Wow, good for you." I spoke nicely to him as we entered the cavern. "I'm white core now." He froze at the entrance of the cavern, in shock. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you." The gnolls turned to us, and I got ready to strike. "You stay there and contemplate."
They came running me as I walked toward them, the first wave, which was five of them, died instantly as a spike made of ice punctured their chest. The next ten came at me, I waved my right hand and fire spread toward them and lit them up.
The fire ate away at their bodies, and eventually killed them, then I took a step and ice covered the floor causing it to be slick for the gnolls. I conjured an ice sword and slid it into the chest of a gnoll as it fell to the ground in front of me because of the ice.
Five more came at me slowly, I pulled my sword out of the chest, and threw it at another, then conjured water around me, and shot it out like bullets towards the gnolls, killing a couple.
One got by, swung a hand, but I froze it in place, then pointed my hand at it, and flames shot through its chest like a rocket.
With there only being twelve left, and them running at me, I found it pointless to keep using these small spells, so I felt for each one's blood, and ripped it all out like it was nothing. I turned to Callias who was walking through the carnage toward me.
"You are a white core mage now?" Callias finally asked.
"Yes, I am." I nodded my head. "And you are now a light yellow, which is also impressive, Callias."
He shook his head no. "Shut up, shut up, you make zero sense to me." I laughed, what did that mean. "A ten year old, White Core Blood Deviant."
"Come on, let's keep going." I started to walk away from him, but he still was in shock, it was funny, Callias has truly turned into someone who acts like an older brother to me.
We walked in silence as we made our way to the third floor, which had ten more mana beast than the last, so it was going to be light work for me. "Stay back like you did in the last floor." I told him as the cavern came into view.
I walked into the cavern in silence, the gnolls saw me, and I conjured two ices sword in each hand, then set my body ablaze, making sure if anything did manage to get by me, it couldn't hit me without feeling the fire.
I activated "Blood Acceleration" and got ready to strike down the mana beast. I was planning on only using my swords, plus the speed boost I was receiving from my blood magic. I readied myself as the gnolls got closer, growling like the beast they are.
I swung my blade through one, then another, dodged, killed another, shot up into the air, landed, swung both swords, and I cut another in half. Shot out wind, knocking back all the gnolls near me.
My sword entered the chest of another, then I spun and beheaded one, dodged a fist, dodged another, then sent both blades into their throats. A claw came at my face, I ducked, shot wind out from under my feet, pushing me away from them, and giving me time to get ready for the next attack.
A gnoll came at me, I swung my sword, its arm fell off, then I beheaded that one. I ducked, rolled, then killed another, and then another. I deflected an attack with my sword, then brought my other sword into its throat.
It only took me around five minutes to shred my way through each one, I threw my ices sword to the ground afterwards, they were covered in blood. My cloak was covered in blood, it was nice, no it wasn't, I couldn't think like that.
"Damn, white core or not, your sword technique is impressive." Callias said as he walked into the cavern. "I wish I was that good with a sword."
"It's all because of my brother." I told him, thinking about my time with Arthur training. "He'll back soon, now that I think about it."
"I can't wait to meet him." Callias and I started to walk toward the fourth floor. "So, can I help you in this next cavern, or not?"
"There's less in this one, only forty, I can do it myself." He sighed, and I felt bad. "Fine, you can help, we'll stay side by side, so I make sure you don't get over ran by them."
"Yes, finally, some action, I was getting tired of watching you slaughter them." The cavern wasn't that far away, only a hundred yards. Callias's sword was on fire, and he got ready to join me in the fight.
We walked in, the gnolls ran at us like they usually did, I kept the fire and ice on my hands going and got ready to strike. Callias cut through the first one, then I shot a line of fire into another. I shot ice shards into the chest of multiple gnolls, they fell, Callias's fire sword killed another.
I ducked under an attack, then ripped its blood out, and shot more shards of ice at the beast. I created a wall of fire, making the mana beast have to run through it to get to us. The first one that ran through died in seconds at the blue flames ate at its flesh. The other ones noticed this and decided to run around the wall.
Callias took the ones on the right, and I took the ones on the left. I grew a spike, killed one, shot fire, killed another, shot a wind blade, killed three more. They began to drop like flies as I shot spells at the ones coming toward me.
Callias killed one by cutting it in half, then slid his sword into the next, a claw came down on him, I had the blood erupt in the gnoll before it hit him. He turned to me, nodded, and attacked another.
The gnolls on my side stopped coming after I killed the last one, there were three more heading towards Callias. I decided to watch, and not get in the way. He brought a sword down on one, spun, beheaded another, then sliced through the last one.
"See you aren't bad with sword." He didn't look bad there, he cut through them pretty easily.
He glared at me as he pulled his sword out. "Want to call it there? I think you're ready, not that you actually needed this."
"Yeah, that's probably true, this was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be." I was fine with leaving, this was just what I wanted.
"How was your---" Instead of finishing his sentence, he pointed to his head, and then said. "Your mental state."
"Fine, I didn't have any problems." There was one thought that came up, but I managed to push it away before it became anything. "Let's get out of here, I'm sure Elder Virion predicted this."
We both canceled out our spells, he placed his sword back into his ring, and we started to walk back. "So, are we teaming up again in the dungeons, bringing the duo back for everyone to see?"
"I have no clue." I shook my head as we entered the last tunnel. "Were we a duo? I did all the work when we fought."
"You aren't going to give me any credit?" He asked me with a smile.
"Nope." I smiled back.
"Our squad cleared multiple dungeons together, I have to say, I put in some work." Callias and I recalled the past. "I miss Samantha and our old team."
"Same." I agreed with hime.
"And the person who killed her is still alive." Uto was alive, but I bet he wishes he was dead. "I don't understand why they are keeping him alive, well I do, I just don't like it."
"You know I saw him; he wasn't in the greatest shape." He was as crazy as usual, a pleasant person to speak to.
"Good, at least you cut him down to pieces." Callias nudged me. "You defeated a Retainer."
"Yeah, I did." I laughed, recalling the day. "There's going to be a lot more battles ahead."
"No shit, it's a war." Callias said sarcastically.