Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Dungeon Prep

After the trio exited the guild, they began their walk into town. Curious about where and why they were going, Zycor inquired, “So, what are we doing? Aren’t we supposed to be headed to the dungeon?” 

Baz and Mylon looked at each other, then back to Zycor. “Are you serious?” Baz asked. 

Mylon rested his head in his right hand and mused, “I see now why Adria was so insistent that you go along with someone. Kiddo, do you know how far the dungeon we are headed to is?” 

Annoyed at the way Baz and Mylon continued to address him, Zycor ignored Mylon’s question and snapped back, “It’s Zycor.” 

“Excuse me?” Mylon asked, caught off guard by the out of place statement. 

“My name is Zycor, not ‘kiddo.’” Zycor said in an almost pouting tone. 

Baz began to laugh in the background as Mylon sighed, “You have got to be kidding me. Are you that upset about it?” 

Zycor gave a decisive nod. “Ok Zycor,” Mylon started again, “do you know how far the dungeon is?” 

“No.” Zycor replied. 

Mylon muttered, “Oh my goddess, how did I end up in this situation.” Changing his tone to speak up, Mylon continued, “Okay Zycor, the dungeon is around an eleven hour or so journey northward. Going on a trip like that requires preparation, if you are serious about being an adventurer you need to get used to preparing for things.” 

Baz interjected, “What are you talking about Myl? I don’t prepare and things go fine for me!” 

Mylon, eyes closed in annoyance, responded, “Yes, because I am the one who is constantly cleaning up and doing damage control for you, ya big oaf.” 

Baz, annoyed at the statement, crossed his arms and snorted, “Well fine, no need to be an ass about it.” 

Mylon, about to lose his mind, took a deep breath and looked at Zycor. “Zycor, I beg of you, please for the love of all that is good and holy, do NOT use Baz as an example.” 

Zycor nodded, acknowledging Mylon’s statement and its validity. 

The trio spent the next one to two hours getting supplies: travel provisions, some weak fire runes, a tent, along with an assortment of other things. 

“Are we all good to head out?” Mylon asked. 

Zycor nodded while Baz, rummaging through the supplies, replied, “Where’s the booze, Mylon? I was promised booze.” 

Mylon sighed, “I will get your booze, Baz, Calm down.” 

Baz, in an attempt to annoy Mylon so he would not forget, sarcastically said “Oh, wherefore art thou my dearest mead~. Without you, how will I go on~” 

Mylon let out an mentally pained ‘ugh’ as he dragged his hand down his face. After they sorted out Baz’s booze issue, the trio headed to the gate to begin the adventure.

As they arrived at the northern gate, Adria and Aislin were there to meet them. When the two parties met, Adria gave Zycor a big hug and said, “You be good and stay safe. Don’t cause trouble for these two, alright?” 

Adria released Zycor, and he was immediately knocked on the head by Aislin, who chuckled, “Try not to get yourself killed out there, alright? It would be far too quiet and boring without someone to constantly torment.” 

Zycor, confused, stated, “But you don’t torment me all that often.” 

Aislin replied, “I wasn’t referring to you, I was referring to Aisha. Damn it’s fun to mess with her. Easy, too.” 

Finishing up their goodbyes, the trio left the city of Abros and began making their way to the dungeon.

The trip there was relatively uneventful. There were a few encounters with some large boars and a bear or two, but being normal ones, they were not a problem. As they neared the dungeon, the trio left the forest they were in and entered the flat plains area surrounding the dungeon. 

“Alright,” Mylon began, “Let’s set up camp here. We are about three hours away from the dungeon. We will finish the trek and head inside tomorrow.”

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As the trio set up camp and began to get the meat they got from one of the boars they killed, they began talking about the journey. “I still can’t believe it’s possible to cleave a bear's head off in a single strike.” Zycor stated, genuinely impressed, “How did you do it Baz?” 

Baz chuckled as he opened one of the sealed mugs with liquor inside, “Lots of practice Zycor. But Damn kid, credit where credit is due, you're a fast little bastard ain’t ya?” 

Mylon, curious about Zycors way of fighting, inquired, “You are fast, but I have to ask, why are you using your magic so inefficiently?” 

Confused, Zycor asked, “What do you mean? I’m just using it the way I always have.” 

“I see, you have not learned about magic orders yet.” Mylon responded in realization

Zycor, on the edge of his seat, asked, “What is that?!” 

Mylon, uncertain if he should really teach Zycor about something potentially hazardous for his health. After a short deliberation, he shrugged and began, “Well, you can throw magic and spells without using words, as you clearly know. However, depending on the element you are casting with, there are certain words that act as ‘orders’ or ‘directions’ that tell the mana to do something specific. It’s using these words where the different classification of spell types come from. A few examples would be movement magic, strike magic, and area of effect magic.” 

Mylon stood up and aimed his left palm at a nearby tree and fired a bolt of electricity. Upon hitting the tree, the lightning dispersed, leaving the tree relatively unharmed. “I assume you have tried something similar before. Unless you spend a ridiculous amount of mana you won’t be able to do any visible damage with the lightning element this way.” 

Zycor thought back to when he was first experimenting with his magic, he remembered firing at a rock and it shattering before he fell unconscious due to a lack of mana. 

“But if I use an order…” Mylon put his hand back up, aimed at the same tree, and said, “converge.” 

Lightning began to crackle to life in his hand violently before it was fired in a far more condensed and accurate shot. As the bolt of lightning impacted the tree, instead of dispersing as it had previously, it pierced through it to the other side. As Mylon lowered his hand, he continued his previous thought, “As you can see, despite using the same amount of mana, by giving it direction, I am able to greatly increase the force of the attack.”

As he looked back at Zycor, Mylon feared he may have made a mistake by showing a reckless kid something potentially deadly. Although, not grasping how dangerous it was, Zycor smiled from ear to ear, a rare sight, and exuded an aura that yelled ‘I want to try that right now.’ Mylon, in an attempt to prevent him from doing something stupid, said, “Now Zycor, don’t go around doing this randomly. It can be dangerous, especially if you use an order for a different element than what you are casting. Best case scenario, you are knocked unconscious with a concussive blast from an improper reaction of your body's mana flow.”

Zycor nodded, acknowledging he heard Mylon. Though, whether or not Zycor had fully understood him remained to be seen.

Baz let out a massive sigh, “Ugh, are you two nerds done yet? Listening to all of your magic talk is putting me to sleep.” 

He looked at Zycor as he slapped his biceps and grinned, “Listen up, magic can run out and fail you. But these babies are as reliable as they come.” 

Mylon groaned, “Please don’t listen to him Zycor. Yes, your physical strength is important, but you must remember, that loud-mouthed idiot is an orc. He only knows strength. There is nothing wrong with using magic to make up for the fact we are only human.” 

Baz, upset by the orc comment, replied, “Half-orc, you bastard. You know how I feel being called a full orc.” 

“Yeah yeah, my apologies.” Mylon said as he threw his hand up.

After the trio ate, they went into their respective tents and slept in preparation for the day to come. Zycor shot awake, startled by the loud yells from outside. As he peeked out of the tent to see what was going on, he saw Baz with his war axe as he yelled while he split a tree in half. Mylon began “This is a normal thing for him. It's a sort of ritual for him. Before he goes into combat, he will let out a war cry and get pumped up. Think of it as a warm up.” 

Zycor, not sure if he was startled more by Baz’s screams, or Mylon being right next to his tent, asked, “Why are you standing outside my tent?”

“After having traveled with people who were woken in a panic due to this same thing, I found it easier to be here ready with an explanation.” Mylon chuckled

Zycor shrugged and decided to join Baz in his warm up. As he approached Baz, Zycor equipped his gauntlets. Baz, who noticed Zycor, asked, “What are ya doin over here?” 

Without even glancing at Baz, Zycor inhaled deeply. And after a momentary pause, Zycor let out his own war cry and launched towards a thick tree, infusing his gauntlets with lightning magic. Upon collision,  the lightning briefly coated the tree as cracks ran up it. When the rapidly forming fractures reached the top of the tree, all of the leaves fell and buried Zycor. Mylon walked over to join the confused Baz and they both stood as they stared at the leaf pile, at a loss for words.

After a moment, Zycor popped his head out of the leaves and, after a quick inspection of himself, said, “I’m ok.” 

Baz did a dry spit take and started to laugh, “Pfft, hahaha! What the hell are you doing, haha! You really are a fucking riot kid!” 

Mylon closed his eyes, let out a sigh, smirked, then walked back to the camp to gear up. Once everyone had packed up what they needed for the expedition, the trio headed towards the dungeon.

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