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Chapter 15: Stealthy
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Dio spent the next few days with Mr. Rey Hearth and his crew as they traveled towards the Northwest Territory. Just as promised, Dio went with them as one of their guards aside from the hired adventurers.
"Dio, it's time for my shift. You can rest inside the carriage."
Dio carried the sleeping kitten on his lap as he nodded to the adventurer who called out to him. He moved to enter the carriage and sat at the corner, away from the other adventurers who were chattering during their breaks.
"This road is too peaceful. I wonder why Mr. Hearth would hire a bunch of adventurers." A young man in his 20's complained as he rested his body on the wooden floor of the carriage.
"Didn't you know that peaceful roads like this are more dangerous than the ones with lots of monsters and bandits?" an archer said.
"There are reasons why this road is peaceful. It's either a bigger monster annihilated the monsters living here or the smaller monsters are just in hiding
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Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 16: Romanov Territory
The traveling Hearth Merchant Guild Crew reached the northwestern lands safely. They entered the Romanov territory, the biggest territory in the northwestern lands, which was ruled by Marquis Romanov. While inside the carriage, Dio felt uneasy when he realized whose territory he was in.The vast lands that he saw a while ago were all part of the territory. With just one look, he could already say that the lord was a good leader who governed the land towards prosperity. Was he a good man? Did his people respected his ways or did he rule by using fear? There were so many questions in his head that he wanted to seek answers for but something inside him was holding him back.You don’t have to involve yourself with them. They are nothing but strangers to you now.He clenched his fists. Going to the northwest territory brought about many unwanted thoughts. He was starting to regret joining Mr. Hearth in his travel.“This is our last stop, D
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 17: C-Rank
The carriage stopped in front of the adventurer’s guild. Dio and his bond hopped out of it and went to the carriage where Mr. Hearth was in.It had been three days since he arrived in the northwest, the day had come for Mr. Hearth to uphold his part of the deal.“Have you decided? I have a lot of connections to the Northwest Adventurer’s Guild,” Mr. Hearth said confidently.“Are you sure this will help me find a reason to live?” Dio said in a bored tone.He leaned closer and whispered, “You’ll never know how important life is unless you are on the verge of dying.”“What nonsense. You know how strong I am.” Dio shook his head in disappointment.“That’s right. I know that you are strong but did you know the limit of your potential?” Mr. Hearth smiled. “I am introducing you to a world where you can challenge yourself and surpass your limit. There are too man
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 18: Dungeon City
After receiving some advice from Joe who seemed to be fond of him, Dio went to the Whiro Dungeon. It is said to be the biggest dungeon in the empire which was known to be a dungeon city. Most elite adventurers are found there since it also was the most dangerous dungeon. Lucky for him because it was also in the territory of Marquis Romanov.They stopped in a forest near the entrance of the dungeon where a huge open space could be found. Blur, after it shrank to hiskitten form, leapedto Dio’s head.The place didn’t give off a dangerous vibe despite all the adventurers moving back and forth from the entrance. Dio, with his hands on his pockets, moved to the entrance and he was welcomed by an elegant atmosphere.“Welcome to the dungeon city! Are you a new adventurer?” a kind-looking middle-aged man said with a smile.Dio nodded his head as a response to the warm greeting he received. He watched the old man smiled and then
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 19: The Upper Floors
“Are you guys rookies?” A man who entered the safe zone with his party asked Calyx. “Yes. This is our first ascent,” Calyx helped with the treatment of those who entered with injuries. On the other hand, Dio just sat at the corner with his eyes closed. “If you guys are still rookies, I think it would be better for you to descend with us,” the leader who introduced himself as James suggested. “Sur--” “If you are coming with them, I’ll be leaving you behind,” Dio cut Calyx off. “Stop being so cold, Arkin. They were extending their help to guide us as we go lower, we should be grateful,” Calyx explained. “I don’t need their help.” He looked at the party members one by one. There was something about them that made Dio feel uneasy. “Rookies who insist that they don’t need help from their seniors always end up dying within the upper floors. You shouldn’t underestimate the dungeons, kid.” James gave him a proud grin. “Just accept our
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 20: Tenth Floor
The following floors weren’t too challenging for Dio and Calyx. They spent a few hours dealing with the monsters they encounter on their journey deeper to the dungeon. Blur, on the other hand, kept his silence as he was comfortably curled on Dio’s head. “Finally, we’re moving on to the sixth floor.” Calyx threw himself on the foldable bed made of feathers when they entered the fifth floor’s safe zone. “We’ll set off after a few hours of rest.” Dio put the sleeping kitten on his lap after lighting a fire to keep them warm. “Arkin, are you not lonely?” Calyx asked out of the blue. “I don’t know. How does it feel to be lonely?” “You don’t even know what loneliness is?” The young man said in disbelief. “I forgot.” “You’re weird.” “Not as much as you.” Calyx shook his head and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, he was already in deep sleep while Dio was on guard. Dio looked around the cold room with two do
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 21: Berserk Mage
They immediately arrived at the location where Trixie’s party was fighting with a lot of chirops. Judging by the way they were catching their breath, it seemed that they were too tired to fight the monsters and it wouldn’t be long before their stamina would be depleted. “Aaaaah!” A girl screamed in fear as she ducked to avoid the chirop’s attack. “Argh!” A man groaned as his ax tried to slash the chirops in front of him but he was clawed by the chirops behind him instead. Another man was struggling to fight a few meters away from the two. By the looks of it, the man who wore a brave mask was their leader. Dio made sure that he was all healed when he raised his hand and envisioned sturdy vines spurting from the ground and piercing the flying monsters. “Vine fountain!” Spear-like vines started growing from the ground and pierced the chirops that were flying around. Since most of the monsters were skewered by the vines, those that were left alive
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 22: The Difference in Status
“Why are you guys still here?” Dio asked with an irritated expression. He was advised to recover for two weeks so he was still staying in the infirmary. However, the people who left the dungeon with him were also there tending to him though he already told them that they could go on their separate ways. “I want to explore the dungeon with you. We’re partners aren’t we?” Calyx smiled. “C-can I join your party?” Randall said as he frowned when he remembered his dead comrades. “Join our party, we will welcome the three of you,” Cyrus said. “I don’t plan on joining a party.” Dio closed his eyes and sighed. “Just go now.” “Fine, we’ll leave for now but don’t you dare ignore us if we ever see each other in the dungeon, okay?” He heard footsteps and the creak of the door being closedso he felt relieved. “You’re all I need, Blur. You won’t leave me, right?” His bond curled beside his head and the act left a smile on his f
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 23: Retention
After that encounter, Dio continued on exploring the dungeons on his own as he tried to master the skill he received after the awakening. The retention skill has the ability to take in the techniques of another person just by seeing it firsthand and make it his own. It was one of the reasons why he accepted to be an adventurer. There was no place better than the dungeon to master his newly received skill. He used his stealth as he peeked at the party who were fighting the monsters on the fifteenth floor. The party had 2 mages, 1 swordsman, 1 spearman, and 1 healer. He quietly watched them as he took in every spell that both the mages uses. “Even adventurers from other regions come here for the experience. I think I chose the best place, right Blur?” Dio brushed Blur’s fur with his fingers and his bond purred in response. When the party moved to the safe zone, Dio took the chance of being alone to test his skill. Dio stared at his hand for a while before he he
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Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 102: Silver Gray
“You finally decided to show yourself,” Absalom chuckled when Amir, Joe, and Vince went towards him. The stars and their masters’ were confused about what was happening between the captain and him. The crackling sound from Dio’s lightning dagger was heard by the others. Though some couldn’t accept the truth that Dio was a multi-element mage, there were people who genuinely wished to see him not holding back. Dio’s vines grew around the area to attack Absalom but the other three captains moved to protect him. “You need to go through us if you want to hurt him.” Dio couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “So there are also people you wanted to protect?” It was a sarcastic laugh filled with bitterness. There were people whom he failed to protect: his mother and grandfather. Those were his family who loved and cherished him, but he lost them because of the midnight serpents. He continued to live on for the sake of revenge and because of that, he fou
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 101: A Choice To Make
Cassiel merged with her phoenix guardian while Andriel merged with his thunderbird. With fire and lightning, they merged their powers and created attacks that were supposed to be hard to dodge. However, Captain Joe and Captain Vince were veteran fighters so fighting them was hard for the two.Cassiel cast a fireball and Andriel merged it with his lightning bolt. The ball made of fire and high-voltage electricity crackled as it went on a straight path towards Joe. The speed of the attack was too fast that Joe didn’t fully dodge it and left a small cut on his shoulder.“Not bad, you two. However, I’m not your only opponent,” Joe smirked when the two realized that Vincent was nowhere to be seen.Suddenly, a black whip covered with high-voltage electricity came to attack the two and they barely dodged it. They looked around and saw Vince a few meters away from them, holding the base of the whip. He laughed evilly when he saw the anxious expre
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 100: School Attack!
Dio pulled Lewis’ shirt when he tried to step back. He also used his dagger when Lewis tried to slash his hand and smirked. “Let’s finish this.” Lewis, with all his strength, pushed Dio away from him. He kept his distance from him since he was informed that Dio’s strength was his melee fighting, though he also needed to be wary of his casting. However, he didn’t know that the information he received was taken when Dio was still an adventurer. As a student of the academy, Dio honed his casting skills and practiced them by helping the other casters in the elite class. Dio used his vines to capture Lewis who always dodged his attacks and his attempts of getting closer. Since Lewis was naturally fast, it took him a lot of time just to catch him. He set a trap and drove him to the way he planned for him to go and there he created a pit deep enough so he wouldn’t escape. Dio held the mouth of the hole and ice spread from his hand down to where Lewis stood.
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 99: Diversion
Almost hundreds of monsters inside that dungeon surrounded Dio. Though he knew they outnumbered him, he let everyone leave him alone so that he could use his power to his heart’s content. “Bree, can I trust you to watch my back?” Dio looked around and created a plan in his head. “Sure, master!” Bree twinkled brighter in excitement. “I wish Blur was here too.” “It’s okay, Bree. Blur would assist the others at school.” Dio put his dagger back into its sheath as Bree took care of the monsters that attacked them. After he put the daggers in his space ring, Dio created an electric dagger with his right hand and an ice dagger with the left one. “Now, let’s do this.” Dio helped Bree with cleaning up the monsters. With a single slash of his dagger, the small monsters were cut in half. And since Dio embedded poisons in his daggers, those who were cut and wounded weren’t able to regenerate or heal their wounds, so they end up dying. “I like your eyes an
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 98: Excursion
After their introduction and a few exchanges, the groups went inside the dungeon led by Caspian and Arthur. The other group was silent for it was their first time to enter a dungeon so the elite class tried to reassure them by having conversations as if nothing wrong could happen. Yet, deep within them, they were also afraid because they had a bad experience from a dungeon before. “Don’t you dare act on your own again, Dio.” Keila reminded him. Cassandra walked beside Dio to make sure that he wouldn’t let himself get behind. If they wanted him to behave, they needed to monitor him closely. Dio wouldn’t hesitate to jump ahead if it meant to protect them so someone had to be beside him to stop him if ever. “Are you also worried about me?” Dio chuckled when he realized that almost all the elites were watching over him. He turned to Cassandra with an assuring smile. “I told you not to worry. I won’t do something dangerous again.” Though Dio seemed believa
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 97: Still Grieving
“Dio and Kael, though I know that you already know him, let me introduce Carter von Claude.” Professor Croix gestured his hand towards Carter. “He was promoted to the elite class last week and he will join you in today’s excursion.” Dio bowed his head to Carter. Though he was sad that Mika had been replaced, he knew it was no one’s fault and that the world would continue moving, even after her death. That thought hurt him a bit, but he had to accept it. Those who were left needed to continue leaving. Just like how he did it after his grandfather’s death, he would live his life to honor those whose lives were lost because of him. He had decided. He would talk with Andriel if they meet again. The group went into the carriage large enough to fit fifteen people and settled down. The atmosphere wasn’t as comfortable because of the new member but they lifted the mood. Dio was seated beside Keila and just like their midterms exams, he snuggled close to her and close
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 96: Comfort
Dio and Kael went back to school after a few days of being on leave. It was so sudden and everyone was surprised to hear the news of the Armani Massacre and Mika’s death. Dio couldn’t even smile out of guilt. He couldn’t forget how he promised to go home early just to end up being late and not being able to save her.It was the afternoon lunch break and Dio chose to hide at the back of the building under the shade of the tree. He still couldn’t get over his sister’s death.How could he? All he did ever since he met her was to make her worried about him! Mika gave him a warm welcome, she made him feel that he belonged in the family and treated him as a precious little brother.He hadn’t done anything for her yet. He still had a lot more things to do with her. There were more memories to be shared, but it was too late. He couldn’t make her happy after all the love he received from her.Dio buried his face on his kne
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 95: The Reason Behind
“Our master’s prediction was right. He really came.” A girl wearing black revealing clothes giggled as soon as he reached the second floor. “Hey, boy, do you want to play with me?” She even licked her lips after looking at him from head to toe.He smiled seductively and let the girl touch his chest before she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Was it okay to play with a boy like me?”He scoffed internally. How could she act so shameless right after they planned to kill his sister?The girl licked her lips and looked him in the eye. His eyes never left hers and soon enough, her lips touched his and he had no choice but to open his mouth so that her tongue could have her way.They were both panting when they finished the kiss. Dio smiled and whispered, “That’s one down for me.”The girl’s eyes widen as she held her neck. She was gasping and chasing her breath but the more she struggled
Clandestine Empire: Return of the Lost Chapter 94: An Unexpected Visit
Blur entered the slums so Dio just followed him. The people living there eyed him suspiciously because of his bloodied academy uniform, but he chose to ignore them. Nothing was more important to him than the annihilation of the people who massacred his family. As long as those people wouldn’t stop him, he wouldn’t have anything to do with them.Blur entered a dark alley and Dio moved to follow him. However, a voice of an old man was heard before he could enter the alley.“What’s the business of a young man in there?”Dio stopped in his tracks and looked at the old man who was hiding in the shadows. He smiled innocently but there was a hint of danger in his eyes. “Someone indebted to me is in there so I came to collect the payment.”“Take care. That place is dangerous.”Dio nodded and continued to walk inside. He found Blur waiting for him a few meters away and as soon as their eyes met, Blur con
