Determination of the Soul Walking down the several thousand stairs to reach the dungeon, Yuu wanted to experience the darkness of the dungeon. He's been craving the dungeon like food ever since a adventurer entered the tavern and told the civilians one of his spectacular tales. "I faced hardship, but I overcame the creatures of the dungeon," the adventurer said, Yuu remembering that one singular statement from the man which made Yuu use another sick day - his boss was getting tired of it, though, Yuu was a hard worker. Once he reached the bottom of the staircase, he examined the inner core, several adventurers and supporters passing by him. The chatter in the area was high, and Yuu couldn't hear himself speak nor think. It was stressful, but it didn't annoy him like the tavern did! With that, he began his adventure, running to merely jab his right side into another's. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings when he started his sprint and knocked somebody over who was equipped with heavy armor. The man plopped onto the floor, grunting as he did. "Who just knocked over the divine knight - Alexandre," the squeaky voice said, wanting to know who. Yuu stood there, scratching his scalp in utter shock. The man's voice didn't match his attire. Alexandre, the divine knight, sluggishly stood up. He turned around towards Yuu, his facial proportions manly in appearance. Comically, Yuu brought out his imaginary notebook, and began writing with his imaginary pencil - attempting to understand how this man existed. "Standstill your foolish witticism," Alexandre demanded, stomping his iron foot onto the floor. "I've been mocked and insulted for too long," Alexandre continued, unsheathing his short sword. Yuu, amazed with his debut into the dungeon, moved forward towards the squeaky man, disregarding his toy sword. "Apologies, I'll do anything you want for today," Yuu calmly responded. Alexandre, now pleased, began menacingly smirking. The certain smirk most people wouldn't like to see - his teeth were horrible. "Fine, fine, you may assist me peasant," Alexandre smiled, adding in an uncalled for insult. Alexandre sheathed his shortsword, then began approaching Yuu. Once he was close enough, and you knew it due to the rancid smell of his breath, he smiled. "Today, you will be my little assistant," he told Yuu, chuckling. Yuu couldn't comprehend the term "little assistant" due to the vagueness of his statement or maybe Alexandre's breath was destroying his brain cells. "What exactly would I be assisting you in," Yuu wondered, raising his left brow. Alexandre rubbed his brown beard. The man resembled a viking in Yuu's eyes. "Well, lets see," Alexandre said, striving to communicate with his "assistant" over the chattering adventurers. "adventuring the dungeon and you will receive nothing earned from this trip at all," he laughed, his squeaky voice becoming an annoyance to their surroundings. Yuu shrugged, scratching his head, looking at the man. "Well I acquire gold for every post anyways," Yuu responded, confusing Alexandre. "Another reason I rarely head to work," he added. Alexandre, severely confused, glared at the boy, then forgetting about what he just heard. "Whatever, anywho, come haste like. We have ferals to eliminate and currency to acquire even though I am keeping 100% of the earned gold," Alexandre happily laughed, demanding Yuu followed him. Knowing he only entered for the adventure, he carried on.
The First Floor Wandering for time, the duo couldn't find any monsters to slay due 90% of the town being on this floor. Alexandre grew infuriated and constantly rubbed his brown viking like beard to clear his stress. With his shortsword unsheathed, he investigated the floor searching for a worthy foe. "It seems the deities of the north oppose me," Alexandre stated, his breath becoming visible cold air. The dungeon was cold, and Yuu shivered from time to time, but there was no reason to head back up. Walking on the side of Alexandre, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets, he softly rotated his head looking around for dungeon monsters. "I guess this floor has been-" before Yuu finished his sentence, a cling emitted in his left ear. Looking to his left, it was the sound of Alexandre's armor getting hit with a rock. It dented the armor - the throw was powerful. Alexandre looked around for his opponent furious, though, he was happy to know there was monsters on the floor. "Who hath sinned against the divine knight Alexandre," he questioned, ordering his enemy to respond. It was quiet for a moment, the duo looking around. Until Yuu nodded his head, folding his arms. "Alexandre you should duck," he requested for him to do. Alexandre looked at the teenager, grinding his teeth. "You are my assistant for today, not the other way around! Now assist me like a good boy and find the damn monster," Alexandre said, his face becoming red like a tomato. "Okay, we're surrounded," Yuu told Alexandre, before another stone smacked against Alexandre's mighty armor. Then, all at once, several more stones smacked up against Alexandre's armor. Yuu, his sword now unsheathed, rushed for cover though protection was minimal. Alexandre however was being stoned to death, the several stones chipping away at his heavy armor. Alexandre, now pissed, concealed his blade and raised his arms to the cavern ceilings as if he was praying to someone. "Thy sins these fools commit shall be severely judged," Alexandre screamed, his squeaky voice bouncing around and echoing in the dungeon. Yuu, looking over at his ally, raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What is he doing? He's open to attacks," he thought to himself. "I, Alexandre the Divine Knight, shall judge these sinners for the mighty deities," he ended, his hands now glowing. The stone barrage stopped when his hands began to glow pure white. Suddenly several spears crafted from light formed in mid-air above Alexandre. Yuu widened his eyes in utter shock. The Goblins surrounding the two, hiding behind boulders, knew they were caught. Alexandre then lowered his hands, releasing the spears to freely destroy what they wished. One spear went directly towards Yuu. "Interesting," was the only thing Yuu said as it seemed his existence was over. The spear then sped up, swiftly passing by Yuu causing the boy's hair to fly up - achieving messy hair. The Goblins tried to flee, but most failed, one Goblin being punctured in the face with spear, the spear expanded into a ball of light, then vanishing. Nothing of the Goblin was left except the small soul gem that laid on the cold terrain. Yuu was marveled by Alexandre's power, and sheathed his sword and let the magic do all the work. After some time, all the goblins were decimated. Alexandre then fell to his knees in heavy breathing. Yuu moved headway towards him, kneeling down to help him. "Nice ability, what type of ability is that," Yuu wondered, helping Alexandre up to his standing position. "It's magic. How do you not know the divine gift of magic," he asked Yuu, his voice now deep. Shocked, once again, Yuu couldn't understand this man, though, he kept his jokes to a minimal. He didn't want to be the next to get hit with a spear. "Well, I've never seen this magic," Yuu responded, looking at the dungeon ceiling, aiding the man as he tried to walk. "I lived in the Slums my whole life experiencing nothing worth memory," he ended. Alexandre grunted, light despair filled his face. "I cant relate much, I was born into a noble family," Alexandre said to his assistant. "Here place me down for a moment, and go collect those soul gems," he commanded the boy, Yuu nodding in acceptance. Once he collected the gems, he extended his hand out to give them to Alexandre. The heavily armored man looked at him, placing his palm up. "Keep them, there'll be a lot more later," he said, Yuu securing the soul gems into his leather pouch. Second Floor From there, they continued their journey deeper into the dungeon. Without noticing, they entered the second floor, running into a party of adventurers. These weren't ordinary civilians who found interest in adventuring the dungeon for wealth - these were bandits of the highest petty. Seeing that Alexandre was now moderately stable after recovering from his magic spell, it made the adventure easier. The bandits surrounded the duo though and again, Yuu was in another fateful situation. "Hey there, you guys look lost," the head bandit said, the most notable thing being his mohawk. Alexandre stepped forward - in fact, directly in front of the bandit. "We aren't. Please step out of the way - my assistant and I have adventuring to do," Alexandre responded, referring to Yuu as his assistant. The head bandit laughed, his teeth cleaner and brighter than Alexandre's ever would be. The whole party then begin laughing, then stopped once the head stopped, perfectly in sync - creepy. "Sure we will, well, if you win our challenge," the head bandit replied, revealing the right side of his teeth. "Challenge accepted," Alexandre said, stomping his foot onto the floor. "You don't even know the challenge yet," Yuu comically said, his lips puckered and his eyes straight lines. The bandit laughed in victory, he knew victory was his. "Alright, that pipsqueak against three of my men," the bandit said, laughing. "Challenge accepted," Yuu said, his eyes flames. "No weapons allowed for your team," the bandit added.
The Challenge Alexandre felt cheated when he heard the man restrict rules from Yuu. "If you guys are punks," Alexandre screamed, spit emerging from his mouth. Yuu calmly removed his scabbard which held his sword. He walked up to Alexandre, giving him the bag to carry. Alexandre took the bag, grunting as he did so. "Boy, these guys will murder you," He told Yuu, trying to get him to step away from it. "Let's just move back to the first floor, theirs nothing on this floor we cannot find there," he said. Understanding he wasn't an expert in hand-to-hand, he clutched his fist together in the typical orthodox stance. "I got this Alexandre, no need to worry," Yuu said, lightly exhaling before walking to the bandit. Every step he took the dungeon grew quieter and Alexandre became more worried. The bandit laughed, waving his hand, bringing out his three best men. "If you lose, we take everything you guys have," the bandit smiled. Yuu scratched his head, not really worried about losing, he didn't have much. "If you guys lose," he stopped, thinking about their punishment. "You and your men have to wander the dungeon unarmed and butt naked for one hundred days and if you shall even return before the one hundred days are up - let the Gods smite you," Yuu calmly said, Alexandre's mouth wide open at the punishment. "They wouldn't accept! No one would accept that consequence," Alexandre responded. "If they want our stuff, they would," Yuu replied back to Alexandre. The head bandit frowned. "For a kid, you give awful punishments, but fine," the bandit said, spitting into his hand, then extending his hand to Yuu. In return, Yuu did the same even though it wasn't very sanitary. "Deal," they both said, Yuu then stepping back to meet his three opponents. They were muscular and looked like they could take several hits from Yuu, the non-muscular teenager. He knew this was going to be hard since he was more of a swordsman than brawler but couldn't resist the challenge. The men surrounded him, one in front, behind, and to his side. The head bandit then raised his arm to prepare the fighters. The remaining bandit party spectated behind the head, chattering and laughing about Yuu. Alexandre was quiet and worried his assistant was going to be hurt or killed. Yuu, himself, wasn't worried, he loved challenges. Suddenly and swiftly, the head bandit dropped his hand, commencing the brawl. The men hastily moved towards Yuu with their daggers. Yuu stood completely still as a statue. "Who's closer," he thought, mindlessly thinking. Once the men were in attack range, Yuu moved to the side, two of the men stabbing each other in the gut. They groaned, blood running from their mouths. They fell to the floor, the head bandit widening his eyes in embarrassment, "What the hell was that," he screamed at his henchmen. "Are you trying to be stuck in this damn dungeon for one hundred days," he continued on, Yuu now focused on the last person.
Difficult Trial With two of his opponents dead by stabbing one another in the gut, Yuu had one more opponent. Alexandre, the head bandit, and his posse were in utter surprise at the two men killing each other. Yuu looked at their bodies, understanding it was his fault they were dead. He frowned which was rare, and looked for his last opponent who vanished. "Yuu, watch out!" Alexandre screamed, Yuu not able to spot his opponent. What, Yuu wondered, before being stabbed in his side, missing his vital organs. "Gah," He groaned, blood emerged from his mouth. He then looked to his right to spot a feminine girl who looked like she was eighteen or nineteen. I should've detected her presence, he thought as he discarded blood from his mouth. "Sorry I have to do this to you," she said, glaring at the male. She didn't hesitate to skewer Yuu, and this pleased the head bandit. "Yuu!" Alexandre said, continuously calling out to the bleeding out boy. Yuu, slowly dying, needed to stop the bleeding but he had to win the challenge first. Yuu grabbed onto the blade, his teeth clamped together tightly. The girl looked at him filled with amazement. "You're just killing yourself faster," she said with worry in her voice. She wasn't worried about him dying, but more worried about him getting free from her attack. Pulling the blade out of his side, blood ran from his mouth, dripping onto the floor. "Wh-what the hell," she mumbled, trying to force the blade back into the wound. She couldn't do it as Yuu continued to remove the blade. Alexandre, still worried, cheered the boy in his conscious, Damn it, I have to sit back and watch this boy be killed, he thought. He wouldn't be in this situation if I hadn't forced him to become my personal slave, he added. With enough force, Yuu successfully removed the blade from his side. Were the sword use to be was now a gash that needed to be treated or bandaged ASAP. Confiscating the blade from the girl, he threw it onto the floor. He then threw the blade onto the floor, blood moving onto the dungeon floor from the blade. Looking back, he threw a right jab at the girl who swiftly dodged by crouching. She then threw a knee directing it at his gut. He placed his palms together, moving it by his gut, successfully blocking the knee. Dropping her foot to the ground, she then hastily jolted her right foot into the air for a roundhouse kick. Understanding what she was trying to do, he crouched onto the floor and did a sweep kick, knocking her off balance. How in the hell, she grunted in mid-air. "You've lost," Yuu screamed, the girl widening her mouth in shock. Suddenly, Yuu hopped into the air. He then did a backflip, kicking the girl in the stomach. Spit left the girl's mouth as Yuu's foot made contact. She then smacked into the dungeon floor, Yuu's foot relaxing on her stomach. The girl was knocked out cold as Yuu stood up bloodied. He was victorious against the girl, but he couldn't hang with reality for much longer without treatment. "Go..do...your..one hundred days," he spurt out to the bandits. The head bandit was enraged and unconcealed his sword, moving headway towards Yuu. Yuu couldn't do much and stood there, trying to stop his blood loss. As the head bandit approached, he prepared to murder the young boy, swinging his sword back. Once he jolted it forward, a iron fist smacked into his jaw, throwing his attack off. It was none other than the legendary Alexandre. "You heard the boy, go do your one hundred days," he said, standing infront of the wounded teenager. The head bandit got up from the attack and wiped himself off. "I'm a man of my word," he said, nodding his head. "I'll do the damn one hundred days," he ended, starting to take his clothes off. Looking at his posse, he jolted his body forward as a threat. "The hell you guys standing there for," he screamed at them. "Take your damn clothes off and get running," he ordered. The posse moaned, but they listened and began removing their clothes. Alexandre turned around to look at Yuu, kneeling. "You got this bud, j-j-just hang in there, I got bandages," he said, assuring the boy he'd live, Yuu nodding, in too much pain to say anything. Suddenly, Yuu felt the group was being watched. Focusing more, he widened his eyes. "Goblins with red skin," he contemplated, mumbling to Alexandre. "What boy, Goblins with red skin," he asked, Yuu nodding. "Damn, this isn't good," he grunted, turning to the bandits. "Put your damn clothes back on and prepare for battle," he ordered the bandits. The head bandit glared at Alexandre. "The hell you mean prepare for battle," he questioned. "We are...surrounded by Crazed Goblins," he slightly gulped, rubbing his head in fear. "You're a damn liar, there was no goblins when we were coming back up this joint," he laughed, relieving his posse of fear. Alexandre had no time to argue with him and was rushing to bandage up Yuu's wound. "Just prepare yourself, they're everywhere," he said, taking bandages out of his bag. Suddenly from the walls around came Crazed Goblins. The bandits became scared and trembled with fear under their leader. "How in the hell are they coming from the walls," the head bandit said, lifting his sword to his chest in a fighting stance. "They are dungeon monsters, they live in the walls, and they watch our every move until they have the advantage," Alexandre said, the head bandit leader scoffing. "They have no advantage," he proudly said, the goblins coming closer and closer. Finally Yuu was patched up and was able to move more, Alexandre assisted him to his feet. Grabbing one of the two swords from his back, Alexandre offered the blade to Yuu. "Take this blade," he said to Yuu. "This is the Pavilion. One of the mightiest swords to date," he continued, breathing heavily. Yuu nodded, grabbing onto the sword, and looked at his new foes. The bandit posse and the duo came together back to back. "Hopefully, we win," Yuu said, twirling his new blade in his hands.
The Wave With their backs together in a group, they prepared for the worst. The Goblins relentlessly emerged from the walls which made victory look impossible for the unorganized party. Yuu, unable to properly breathe, smiled at his enemies. "Fear is the only thing that'll kill you in this situation," he voiced, striving to encourage his associates. After that was said, the wall halted production of Goblins, twenty-four Goblins surrounding the dozen. Everything was motionless until Yuu scampered towards the nearest Goblin. The Goblins started their attack on the group, ready to tear them apart with their razor sharp teeth. Alexandre unsheathed his shortsword and commenced his onslaught, following behind his assistant. The bandits, all together, rushed into one area; hopefully teaming several Goblins would work. Yuu brandished his new longsword, a very light sword, removing the head of a Goblin. After that death, one Goblin jumped for Yuu's head. Yuu, feeling their presence, jabbed the demon in the face with the tip of the sword. The blade went through the Goblin's head, stopping in the middle of the blade. Yuu smacked the blade against the dungeon floor and pushed the Goblin's head off with his leather boots, now covered in Goblin blood. Another Goblin blitz towards Yuu. Acknowledging his presence, the Goblin was too fast. I won't be able to reach him, Yuu calmly mused before the Goblin unsuccessfully chewed his armor, it's teeth getting attached. "Ah, Ahh, Ahhh," The Goblin panicked, his teeth jammed in the armor. Yuu calmly whirled his blade, detaching the Goblin's head from the body. The body descended, meeting the cold dungeon floor; it's final destination. The head and body then dispersed leaving a soul gem. "Help, help, help," a voice familiar voice shrieked in agony. Looking back, the head bandit was alone waving his sword around; he was acting on fear. Stopping his onslaught with Alexandre, he ran towards the bandit, but he moved slow. The Goblins consumed him alive - he screamed for help he knew wouldn't come. It was now Yuu and Alexandre, the original duo. The Goblins stopped their attack and demonically laughed, the laugh echoed off the dungeon. Yuu stepped back, stopping once his back met Alexandre's. "I'd use magic, but I'm no mage," Yuu painfully laughed, Alexandre annoyed at his humor in the current situation. However the joke provided Alexandre with an idea that could save their lives. "Quickly conceal your eyes," Alexandre ordered, kneeling on the hard surface. Nodding, Yuu covered his eyes, the Goblins approaching. "Flash." A bang emitted in the dungeon. Yuu opened his eyes to see the Goblins distorted, rubbing at their eyes to regain vision. "Thy sins these fools commit shall be severely judged," Alexandre screamed, Yuu recognizing the chant. Once again, spears of light radiated the dungeon. The Goblins, unable to see, panicked. "I, Alexandre the Divine Knight, shall judge these sinners for the mighty deities," he ended, a barrage of spears eradicating the distorted Goblins. The Goblins tried to flee but there was nowhere to flee to.
Goblins Eliminated!? Yuu covered his eyes, watching the dungeon light up. The spears pulverized the Goblins instantly, nothing left but their soul gem. Yuu was amazed by the power that Alexandre held. After awhile, the Goblins were gone. Alexandre, now tired, fell to his knees. Yuu walked over to him and offered his hand. "Here you look like you need some assistance," he smiled, referring to when they first met. Alexandre clutched onto his heart in pain, breathing heavily. "I just need to lay here for a moment," he replied to Yuu. Suddenly, a group of well armored knights emerged from the dungeon. Yuu glared at the group, not able to trust parties due to the last one that was ravaged by the Goblins. The group was small, but seemed experienced in the dungeoneering. Walking ahead of the group, most likely the leader, was a woman with an hourglass figure. She was tan with long messy white hair - her eye color was gold. "You," she said, pointing at Yuu, strutting towards him, showing off her beautiful build. "I'd like your name," she grinned. "I'd like your name first," Yuu responded to the beautiful female. The female's group walked up, sticking spears to Yuu's face, one pricked his nose - blood slowly emerged. "Don't ever talk to our captain like that again," One knight said, infuriated. The female placed her palm up, her defenders dropping their spears to their sides. "Even though he's weak, he could slaughter most of you," she voiced which discouraged her party. "Adelina is my name, leader of the Golden Banner Knights," she proudly said. "Yuu, leader of the Thousand Suns," he calmly said, offering a handshake which she accepted. "It seems you own a guild," she smiled, crossing her arms under her breast. "How many members," she continued. Yuu puckered his lips and his eyes had become simple black dots. "One," he answered, the Golden Banner Knights laughed aloud into the dungeon. "So who is this with you," she questioned, pointing at Alexandre. Yuu looked over at Alex. He looked on the verge of death. "A friend of mine who needs medical attention," he mumbled. Adelina nodded her head, crouching in front of Yuu, now face to face. Using her right hand, she gently scratched Yuu's neck with her pointer finger. Once she reached his chin, she lifted his chin up. "What are you willing to pay for us to help you," she whispered, licking her lips. Again, comically, Yuu's eyes had become casual dots. "I mean," he stopped, rubbing his neck. "I have soul gems, if those are worth anything," he finished, making eye contact with her. She laughed then her whole party began laughing; true followers. "Soul gems are worthless to us, we aren't considered the Golden Banner Knights for no reason," she smirked. "Do you have anything else to give to us, maybe like, your commitment to the Golden Banner Knights," she menacingly smiled. Yuu concealed his sword then rubbed his chin. "No I like the Thousand Suns," he responded, declining her offer to join the Golden Banner Knights.
Golden Banner Knights!? Adelina frowned at his response, standing up, Yuu doing the same. She came closer to Yuu, her facial expression dark. "I've been watching you since you entered this dungeon and you decline me!?" she maniacally grinned. "I see your talent and potential! The Golden Banner Knights will use you to the utmost high, you will become my right hand even," she stated in an attempt to encourage Yuu. Alexandre laid on the floor, Yuu then turned his head to him. He then whirled his head back to Adelina, slightly sighing. "Okay, if you give my friend and I proper medical assistance," he responded, lifting his shirt to reveal the bandaged stab wound. Adelina, now excited, hugged the calm Yuu. "Welcome to the Golden Banner Knights," she proudly said, everyone cheered. The members crowded around Yuu and welcomed him to the guild. Yuu wasn't into the idea of joining the guild since he was a leader, not a follower. Adelina crossed her arms and proudly grinned. "Okay men, we will split into two groups," she voiced, the party stopped their welcoming to listen to her. "The first group will consist of: Yuu, myself, and two others would like to come," she continued. "The second group will consist of the rest of you taking Alexandre to the surface," she ended. Yuu understanding he was leaving his friend, he walked up to him, and unconcealed the Pavilion. He extended his arm to Alexandre then smiled. "Here's your weapon back." Alexandre examined the weapon then looked over at the teenager covered in blood. "It's yours to keep. I gave it to you because your last blade was awful." Yuu bowed his head in appreciation. "Thank you, thank you for everything." Adelina's eyes comically sparkled, she didn't know he was appreciative too! Yuu concealed the blade and walked away with Adelina and the first group. That was the last time the two saw each other, the two groups split, one heading to the surface, the other deeper into the second floor. 2nd Floor: Deeper After awhile of walking, Yuu examined his allies, their faces in agony. His stomach was empty and he understood their pain, though, he didn't care much about himself. "Adelina," he mumbled, causing her to turn around. "What do you need my right hand?" Yuu pointed at the two that were with them. "We need to stop and eat," he responded. Adelina looked at the two and pondered for a moment. She nodded her head, the group eagerly removing their bags from their backs. Swiftly they prepared camp, successfully crafting a fire which Yuu sat by, Adelina approached his presence. "Hey my wonderful right hand, nice work out there," she smiled, speaking about their adventure deeper into the dungeon. "You were on a killing spree. I don't even think I did anything," she laughed, patting his back. He just nodded at her and tried to get comfortable by the campfire. Though as they prepared to rest, enemies approached, and these weren't normal enemies.
