Ava had no idea that Shawn was planning to enter the dungeon in the Fire Kingdom. After what happened in Skyland, she realized that she shouldn't be so strict with the people around her.All she knew was that Shawn would never do something crazy, so she didn't want to cause him similar trouble again. She regretted it and blamed herself for his suffering.Meanwhile, Shawn wanted to grab the opportunity when nobody was trying to stop him; he didn't want anyone to get involved with his stupidity. It might sound stupid, but if he could save the kingdom from the upcoming danger, he wouldn't hesitate to do it.Along the way to the Fire Kingdom, Shawn met someone he didn't expect to meet. It was the old woman who looked creepy with her long, curly, black hair that spread around her shoulder.The landlady of a boarding house in the capital city of Owl. Her name was Jessica Marchant. Shawn wondered how she got there.Shawn chatted with Jessica. He learned from her that she decided to move to t
This mysterious world was filled with peculiar creatures, but Shawn didn't want to fight something he couldn't see, like a ghost. A few moments later, he began hearing some weird sounds and laughing around him, making him a little bit uncomfortable.The laughter grew louder and louder, and Shawn noticed that it came from a girl. Her laughter was harsh, like that in a horror movie, but Shawn tried to strengthen his stance. In case there was a ghost, he wouldn't hesitate to run."Who are you?" Shawn asked, with fear in his voice. "Please don't play with me; show your face!"Someone suddenly appeared in front of him. Shawn got into a position of being ready to run as fast as he could, but instead of doing such things and seeing who it was, he couldn't move his feet."Ava?" Shawn asked in a confused tone. His jaw drooped in surprise; he was stuck staring right at the gorgeous lady with long, curly black hair and lilac eyes. "What are you doing here?""What am I doing here?" Ava repeated t
Shawn and Ava have reached the third level of the dungeon, where they will fight some skeletons who are controlled by dark magic. This time, Ava used her skills to cut them into pieces; however, they were going back to their normal state."Step back, Ava," Shawn ordered, as he got an idea on how to defeat those monsters without letting them come back to life, though they were already dead a hundred times. "I have a plan."Ava stopped behind her boy. She watched Shawn carefully as he would defeat those skeletons, studying every move he made and familiarizing herself with how he'd fight, especially when he said he had a plan.Shawn used fire magic to burn them in just one single blow; he turned them into ashes, leaving no trace of their existence in this world. In that way, they weren't able to regain their bones."How did you do that, Shawn?" Ava asked with amazement in her voice. "You didn't even use a spell or magic circles to defeat them. Are you really a magician or what? Can you t
"What did you say, Ruby?" the demon lord, who had two horns on his head, reddish eyes that were ignited by his anger, and sharp teeth, asked his general, who was kowtowing in front of him.The demon lord wasn't as creepy as others thought; he was even more handsome with his high nose, short blonde hair, soft facial lines, and brown skin, despite his age. He looked like a normal adventurer in his figure, more likely to be thought of as a human than a monster."How dare you let those trespassers escape?" The demon lord became so angry that the dark smoke-like thing began surrounding his body. His mana was darker than that of any demon. The lines on his face slowly grew thicker, like the roots of a plant."I'm sorry, Milord. I didn't mean to let them escape," Ruby apologized, bowing again and again on the floor, hurting her own head, which started bleeding.Ruby knew that it was better to hurt herself than be punished by her master, because she knew that it would be so painful that she w
After defeating the priests of death, Shawn, Ava, and the old man proceeded to the next room, where they had to fight another monster called Gordon, a venomous serpent that had a mythological origin. It was actually the queen of the most venomous snakes in the world.Seeing it with his own eyes, Shawn couldn't believe that even mythological creatures also existed in this world. How rare to see such a creepy thing, especially that it wasn't just a normal Gordon, for it had twelve heads and twenty-four eyes.Shawn was about to look at Gordon's face when Ava covered his eyes. "Don't look into its eyes, or you'll become a stone. I don't want to lose you yet," she whispered in his right ear.After hearing Ava, Shawn remembered what he read from books when he was still on Earth: that anyone who looked into Gordon's eyes would turn into a stone, so he was wondering how he would fight it if he couldn't look into its eyes."I know." Shawn removed Ava's palm from his face and looked into her fa
Ava didn't expect to hear those words from Shawn. She knew he had a point; even if it was the old man who attracted the demon lord to attack their kingdom, he didn't kill Ava's parents with his own hands.But what could Ava do? No matter how she put it, the old man was still one of the reasons why her parents died. Her parents, who didn't do anything wrong but fight that dragon who attacked the Land of Dusk, including its surrounding villages."It was supposed to be him who died, not them!" Ava screamed in her mind. "He was the one who led that dragon to our home, but he didn't even fight it. How could he call himself an adventurer?"The old man knew he was such a coward, especially that day when he could have helped eliminate the dragon, but due to his fear, he just escaped from his responsibility.He remembered Ava's parents, who were asking him to take care of their children before their last breaths. What a fool he was to not even care whether they died. Even if it was him who dro
Outside the adventurer's guild, Ash was sitting on the stairs. His palms on his face and his elbows on his knees, as if he were bored watching the people go back and forth until they slowly disappeared. It was already evening, and he was still waiting for his sister to come back before dinner.Ash couldn't convince himself that his sister, the old man, and Shawn would be alright. Even though he wanted to follow them, Leo and Emma wouldn't let him, saying that he might encounter dangerous monsters along the way."Just what do they think of me?" Ash shouted as he suddenly stood up, making the people look at him with surprised, confused, and worried faces.Ash didn't want to cause trouble, so he sat down again, wondering why these people always treated him like a kid, even though he was already of age and strong enough to take quests and fight those monsters. He didn't even have the chance to show the results of his training.Emma was having a conversation with the guild boss when she he
Inside the dungeon, Shawn, Ava, and the old man were planning how to defeat their enemies. It seemed like the heat of their arguments had begun to fade, and they realized that they should prioritize their survival instead of their personal beliefs."Where did you leave my brother, master?" Ava asked, showing a worried face as she thought about her brother. "He might have caused trouble again."Ava couldn't really focus on what was in front of her if she wasn't sure that her brother was doing fine. No matter where she was or what she was doing, she always put her brother first, to the point that other people thought of her as a single mom."I left him at the adventurer's guild. Don't worry, Ava, I asked Leo and Emma to take care of your brother while we're gone," the old man replied. "We should focus on how to defeat all the enemies in this dungeon if we still want to see him again.""Alright then!" Shawn interrupted. "Tell us about our next enemies. We may be able to use the informati
After an hour or two, the teacher named Selene Franca finally opened her eyes, and the first person she saw was a girl with curly black hair and golden eyes, sitting beside her. She slowly stood up and started asking a lot of questions."Who are you? Where am I? What happened? What time is it?" Selene asked continuously."Calm down, ma'am. Let's answer your questions one by one. I'm Ava, your student. You've fainted in the morning, and you've been asleep for almost five hours," Ava replied kindly."Did I?" Selene asked, showing a confused face, as she had no idea what really happened, as if she had amnesia and forgot even her own name.Selene held her head firmly. Her face contorted in discomfort, and her brows furrowed deeply as she clenched her jaw, fighting against the throbbing pain radiating from her temples."Are you okay, ma'am?" Ava asked worriedly, although she could already see the answer in her facial expression. "You shouldn't force yourself for now. Just rest for a while.
Regular classes have resumed right after the disappearance of the monsters. As usual, Shawn woke up early in the morning to prepare for school. He did his casual routine: taking a bath, wearing his uniform, combing his hair, having breakfast, and he was finally ready to go."Good luck, son! Do your best at school!" Shiela said, seeing her son off. "Don't stay outside late at night, okay?" Although she wanted to be a little loose with her son because the monsters were already gone, she couldn't be complacent."Don't worry, mom. Rest assured, I won't stay outside at night," Shawn replied, showing his charming smile.Shiela thought that Shawn looked like his father when he was young, especially their facial features—his high nose, black hair, brown eyes, and the shape of his face were all inherited from his father."You should go now before you'll be late," Shiela said.Shawn smiled at his mother before leaving, as he wasn't that young anymore to kiss her. Shiela watched him walk away, w
Ava was in a hurry when she heard from Shawn that Emma and Leo were coming tonight. She wanted to prepare the most delicious food she could cook in order to celebrate their victory and also to thank them for saving the life of someone she loved. It wouldn't be good if they couldn't show any hospitality, especially if their visitors traveled from far away."Oh! Where are you going?" The old man asked curiously when he saw Ava rushing outside the house with a basket.Ava stopped at the porch and told the old man about Emma and Leo coming tonight, and she was going to the market to buy some ingredients to cook something delicious since their fridge was empty."Do you need help?" The old man asked. "You can bring Ash with you if you need help. He's just playing games on your phone anyway.""Okay. Where is he?" Ava asked. She remembered the day when Shawn carried all those things they brought from the market. Sometimes, she would suddenly laugh when she remembered those moments that turned
There were a lot of things that Shawn wanted to ask Leo and Emma, such as how's their life in this world, if they were already married, and if they were planning to have children, but it seemed like they were in a hurry, so he let them go and decided to go back too.Walking down the road, Shawn was looking down on his feet, as if he were counting his steps, while his mind was wandering. All this time, he has been dreaming of having a safe and peaceful life with Ava. However, even though those monsters were already gone, there was another problem, as Ava was acting weird recently.Shawn's thoughts shattered when he heard someone calling his name. As he raised his head, he saw an angel smiling ahead of him. It was none other than his beloved girl."Ava?" Shawn whispered beneath his breath."Shawn!" Ava shouted while running towards Shawn. She stopped in front of him, gasped for breath, and suddenly hugged him. "I'm glad you're okay. I'm so worried about you.""Oh yeah," Shawn replied no
When they arrived at Charlotte's house, Ava realized something. She shouldn't have let Shawn fight those monsters alone. How selfish of her to hate him despite the truth that he was always helping her. She knew she wouldn't survive in this world without his help."Please bring me back, master!" Ava requested. "I don't want to leave Shawn. It will be my mistake if he dies, and I will regret it for the rest of my life if that happens.""I'm sorry, Ava," the old man apologized. "But I can't bring you back because my mana is low. Shawn also told me to keep you safe here, so you should rest and recharge.""But master—" Ava was about to argue, but the old man interrupted."You don't have to worry too much, Ava. Shawn is the strongest among us. He even defeated the demon lord, remember? So, you better go to bed and rest." The old man tried his best to convince Ava so that she wouldn't go back impulsively like a rebellious girl.Despite what the old man told her, Ava still couldn't relax as s
The sight of the ocean waves was quite relaxing. There were a lot of people around, doing aquatic activities such as swimming, surfing, kayaking, snorkeling, rafting, and many more. Everyone was busy doing their own thing and enjoying their lives at the moment.Some people were just sitting and lying on the seashore, covering themselves with white sand, and wearing sunglasses and sun protection to avoid sunburn. Others were playing games, both passive and active, such as chess inside their tents and beach volleyball outside.The old man, on the other hand, was lying under the shade of a huge umbrella, covering him from the scorching sunlight, with a bottle of beer beside him. He was glad that he joined them, for he realized that he would never get the same moment twice."What a breathtaking view!" Ava exclaimed as she walked towards Shawn, who was waiting for her. "This is such a wonderful place to relax and take a break from our mundane routine and stress of everyday life. I wouldn't
Shawn, Alice, Ava, Ash, and the old man arrived right in front of the forest, where those portals were located. This place looked familiar to them, as if they had seen this forest before. Then they remembered the forbidden forest in another world."It's impossible that not only us but also places that belonged to our world are also transported here. It could take a lot of power to transport an entire place to another world, and there could be a lot of side effects as well," the old man said."Our enemy or enemies must be very powerful, like a god who could create an entire planet," Alice added."But we don't have time to worry about that now," Shawn said. "Let us do what we can and stop worrying about things that are out of our control. Let's do our best until the rest!""Shawn is right," Ava agreed. "We are sent into this world together with these monsters, so it's our responsibility to restore peace and bring things back to where they were supposed to be.""You surely have big burde
Ava and the old man appeared in a forest where nothing else could be heard except for the chirping of the birds and falling leaves, but that peace disappeared and was replaced by the loud sounds of monsters marching towards the city."It seems like you're right, master. Those monsters are coming from here," Ava said, hiding behind a huge tree with the old man while peeking at the monsters."Do you see that thing?" The old man pointed at the shining hole set in the bushes. "There are probably more than that.""What do you mean by 'more than that', master?" Ava asked curiously. "Are you telling me that there are other portals in this forest?""I'm not so sure, but seeing so many monsters coming out of this forest, it's possible that there are more than this. It's dangerous if they see us, so we better go back before they could sense our presence. We can only fight them by using heavy damage equipment, and I'm still trying to find out where I can buy those equipments," the old man said.
Inside the living room, Shiela and Lyon were having a conversation about the giants that attacked their city, as well as those heroes who came to save the people. The television, the radio, the newspaper, and social media platforms' content were all about the same thing."You hear that, darling?" Shiela asked when she heard Shawn screaming from inside his room. "Something might be happening to our son. Let me check on him."Shiela stood up and walked towards Shawn's room, while Lyon stayed on the couch, drinking his coffee. As she opened the door, Shiela's eyes turned wide to find her son lying on his bed while trying to smother himself with his pillow."Shawn, wake up! You're dreaming!" Shiela shouted as she tried to take the pillow from Shawn, but he was too strong to let go, so she just shook his body to wake him up instead."Mom!" Shawn suddenly jolted up on his bed, awakened from his nightmares. He spread his arms around his mother, hugging her tightly, thankful that it was all j