Miles Tepus
1098 Words
Buzzzzz……”
Sil and miles stumbled forward as the world snapped back into place, the porter gate spat them out in the test dungeon
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Me too,” Miles muttered, pale but composed. “The teleporter really twists your insides. No wonder it’s not popularly Used.”
Sil steadied himself and looked around.
Stone walls. Damp air. Faint blue light pulsing from crystal veins embedded in the cavern ceiling
“We’re in the dungeon.”
The Watch gaven to both of them before entering the the Guild Hall buzzed. And A message was received, Sil read it out loud for miles since he was blind and unable to read the text on the watch screen
E-Rank Trial Dungeon
Objective: Obtain 2 Basic-Tier beast Soul Crystals
Failure Condition: Incapacitation or Time Expiry
Sil exhaled. “Two basic crystals? That’s easy enough.”
He glanced at Miles.
Guess he won’t be in much danger. Since it's an e-rank dungeon, They walked nearly an hour through vast and narrow corridors before Sil finally spoke.
“Miles… earlier in the Guild Hall. Did you read my thoughts? Because spoke as if you knew I was worried about you.”
A pause.
“It’s my passive ability,” Miles replied.
You see
“I’m a E Rank Earth User. I can manipulate soil and stone — barely. But my passive skill called Seismic Sense. Allow me to read vibrations through the ground. Movement. Heartbeats. Muscle tension helping me to see only thin lines of energy object or people emits.”
Sil blinked.
“So you didn’t read my thoughts.”
Miles smirked faintly. “No. You just think loudly.”
Sil scoffed. “Earth is common. But having a refined secondary skill like that? Is rear, many hunter's never gain a passive skill no matter how hard they train.”
“I know.”
There was something heavy behind that answer.
“Let’s keep moving,” Sil said. “We have find a basic tier beast before time runs out.”The corridor opened into a wide cavern.
Crystals glowed overhead, casting soft blue light across jagged rock formations.
“It’s beautiful,” Sil said.
Miles smiled slightly. “Describe it.”
Before Sil could answer—
Scrrrrkkkkk.
The sound scraped across stone.
Five massive centipedes crawled from the shadows, armored segments grinding against the cave floor.
One lunged.
Green acid shot toward them.
Miles slammed both his palm to the ground.
Stone erupted upward, forming a crude pillar.
The acid sizzled harmlessly.
But Miles’ breathing immediately turned heavy.
Sil dashed forward, blade flashing. He drove his sword between thin armored plates — stabbing, and forcing his sword inside space of the creature back until it shrieked and collapsed.
Another circled behind.
Miles shifted the earth again — just enough to slow it for half a second.
Delaying and putting the beast off balance.
And send a spear that was made from earth piecing into the head of the beast killing it on the spot
They managed to bring two down.
Sil was focused on hold off the two that was heading towards them from the ceiling
“We can do this, help me with one of those you earth spear!” Sil said standing in front of miles
No answer.
“Miles?”
The stone shield crumbled into dust.
Miles collapsed.
“Miles!”
Sil barely had time to react— when one of the beast the was coming from their left side rush to attack the weaken miles on the ground
A sharp cold air sliced through the cavern.
Four ice spears tore through the air.
Clean.
Precise.
Instant.
The remaining centipedes were pinned to the crystal walls and ground — frozen solid.
Sil turned.
Two figures stepped from the path both miles and Sil walked from.
One male.
One female.
They moved like the dungeon belonged to them.
The man walked past Sil as if he didn’t exist. He punched through the frozen exoskeleton of a centipede, shattered it open, and pulled out the soul crystal from the beast it was dull and orange in color.
Energy swell within it.
No acknowledgment.
No hesitation.
The woman leaned lazily against the cave wall, wind swirling around her fingers. Her eyes drifted to Miles on the ground.
She snorted and started walk towards her partner
Walking pass Sil who decided not to react
She stepped on Miles.
And as she walked past, she muttered quietly—
“Worm.”
Sil’s blood boiled.
“Are you insane?! That’s my partner!” You stepped on
He moved on instinct, hand flying toward his sword—
—but before the blade could clear its sheath—
Ice crawled up his legs before he noticed.
Fast. He muttered
The masked man was already beside him. A blue oni-styled mask covered only the upper half of his face.
“Stay still,” he said calmly. “Or you’ll be dead in a moment.”
Sil locked eyes with the woman.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said through clenched teeth.
Silence.
Then the wind shifted.
And they were gone.
Only the faint echo of air remained.Sil carried Miles through the dungeon, footsteps heavy. ‘’Judging from their speed they most be both C rank hunter's. Sil thought
“…They took everything,” Miles said angrily . “Didn’t even leave our kill, what arrogance ”
“We’re alive,” Sil replied.
“That was our loot.”
Sil said nothing.
“If I hadn’t collapsed— and held on longer”
“You did what you could” Sil said calmly. “That shield blocked acid that could melt our skin in second and you killed the second beast, So don't beat yourself about it.”
“It wasn’t enough.”
Sil stopped walking.
The silence pressed in.
“I’m not trying to intrude,” Sil said more gently. “But why did you collapse?”
A long pause.
“I have low soul energy capacity.”
Sil waited.
“It drains fast because of my passive skill. I can’t regenerated fast as like an average civilian could.”
That explained it.
“Then why become a hunter?”
Miles’ hand tightened around Sil’s shoulder.
“They think I’ll amount to nothing. Calling Weak and blind.”
His voice didn’t shake.
But something inside it did.
Sil adjusted him on his back.
“Then we prove them wrong together.”
Miles didn’t respond but his eyes lit up.
And his grip tightened.
Yeah we will
.
- Writer
