The Hero of Vengeance

Chapter 28: Back To Work

After training for several more days, Sir Gordon approached me in one of the castle hallways. He had a serious look on his face.

"Mizik, I need to have words with you," he said.

I shot Isabella a look and she nodded to Sir Gordon. She had become very overly protective of me lately and disliked being away.

I followed Sir Gordon to the training grounds rest area and began speaking with him.

"Is everything alright?" I asked him

"Not really. We've received news of some of the things happening overseas where Queen Evryss was conducting business negotiations. Reports of the Black Ooze spreading over a fairly large region."

I was a bit surprised to hear more about the Queen. I had only heard a few things about her since arriving here.

"Did something happen?" I asked.

"Currently, as far as we know, the situation has not changed. Queen Evryss is on her way home due to security concerns and the country of Falkos where she was staying is on high alert. They have been notably concerned about the plagued region and have made no attempts to enter it," Sir Gordon explained.

I wasn't sure what to say here. My training to get stronger had been significantly delayed due to Cassandra's antics and I currently had no armor.

"Is there anything that can be done?" I asked.

"Not for them, no. I wanted to inform you of the potential danger. We also have reports of nearby caves showing signs of infection," he said.

"Are you wanting me to investigate?" I asked.

"We would be glad to have you take a look considering your history. And there's also the matter of your equipment..."

I raised an eyebrow at his statement and he handed me a folded sheet of paper.

I unfolded it and began reading it to myself.

The paper was a description of a set of powerful armor that had been forged from high-quality magical adamantine. It had been specially enchanted as well. The armor was made to order by high-level national blacksmiths specifically for me.

I had to admit, I was very excited and it showed on my face. So much that Isabella, who had been watching us, came over out of curiosity.

"Did something happen?" She asked.

I showed her the paper and she smiled just as widely as I had.

"Finally! Some proper armor! I can't wait to see you in it Mizik!" She said with a smile.

"There's also the matter of requiring Mizik's attention with dangerous matters," Sir Gordon began. "We will require him to scout one of the nearby caves for signs of the Black Ooze."

"Yes, I shall make preparations as well," Isabella said simply.

Sir Gordon looked somewhat puzzled as he heard her speak.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to enter such a place. Doing so would put you at risk-"

"And you're fine with putting my fiance at risk instead? Hasn't he already been through enough?" Isabella interrupted firmly.

Sir Gordon seemed somewhat conflicted st her response.

"No...that's not what in getting at... It's just-"

"That you think he's expendable? That I'm weak? I'll have both Mizik and Walter to protect me at the very least. Besides, if I'm not allowed to fight, what's the point of all this training?" Isabella said once again interrupting Sir Gordon.

"Very well, your Majesty... I cannot go against your will...however much I disagree..." Sir Gordon said.

"Are you sure you'll be fine, Isabella?" I asked her.

"I'll be alright. I can't bear the thought of being away from you again where you could be in danger. If we are to put our lives on the line, we shall do so together."

It gave me great confidence to hear her speak to me in such a way.

Afterward, I looked at Sir Gordon.

"Well, let's start by getting your armor together, Mizik," he said.

He motioned for us to follow him and afterward, we arrived at the castle armory. He led us to a holding area and I saw a set of gleaming armor in the same style as what I had worn before.

Actually...it looked exactly the same! It still looked like iron!

"It certainly looks...familiar..." I stated.

"I wasn't sure of the style you wanted it to be, but ultimately decided to go with what you were used to. It should feel like an old friend. Also, the armor looks like iron as a result of the enchantments that were placed on it. I had to make sure the mages didn't somehow break it..." Sir Gordon said.

"It's beautiful! Mizik, try it on!" Isabella said excitedly.

I walked over to the armor set and noticed a shield sitting behind the armor stand. I examined the armor.

{Item name: Enchanted Magic Adamantite Armor.

{Description: A powerfully enchanted set of armor.}

{Effects: Magic Resistance +50%

Physical Resistance +50%

Iron Might

Self-fitting

Arcane Binding

Structural Mending

Quality: Excellent.}

{Stats: Hp +400}

{Mp +200}

{P.attack +100}

{M.attack +50}

{P.defense +600}

{M.defense +600}

{Acc +100}

{Eva +200}

{Spd +100}

The bonuses were amazing!

I was curious what the last four effects did, so I checked them out.

Iron Might gave the armor a chance to deflect physical attacks and protect me from damage. A side effect was that it made the armor also look like iron.

Self-fitting allowed the armor to conform to my personal body shape. Meaning, when I grew bigger with age, it would also increase in size.

Arcane binding meant that unless the enchantment was dispelled, the armor would only be usable by me.

Lastly, structural mending allowed the armor to naturally repair itself over time to a certain degree.

All in all, the armor was pretty amazing.

I quickly put the armor on and a message appeared in front of my eyes.

{Enchanted Magic Adamantite Armor binding in 10...9...8...}

I allowed the timer to countdown and felt myself enveloped in a flash of magic.

{Enchanted Magic Adamantite Armor successfully bound!}

I was surprised at how light the armor was. It would he easier to move in this than my old set.

After I was finished, I turned to Isabella and she placed her hands together in adoration.

"It looks great on you!" She said happily.

She's like a girl playing dress-up with someone else... I can't say I mind, though.

"Very well, now let's get to business. This is going to be a relatively short mission. It's just a scouting assignment," Sir Gordon explained.

"Just tell us where we need to go," I replied.

* * *

Isabella and I received our orders and began making our way towards the small rocky outcropping of cliffs and caves southeast of town.

Although I couldn't sense his presence, I knew that Walter was here as well.

Upon reaching the area, a familiar feeling crept over me.

Impending doom.

Without a doubt, the Black Ooze was nearby.

That feeling was apparently associated with the Ooze. Although for some reason, only I could sense it.

I had a deep sense of fear as I looked over at Isabella.

"Isa...Rose, maybe it would be best for you and Walter to stay back here. I'm worried that it might be too dangerous," I said as I remembered that she preferred her adventuring name while in her armor.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Rose said suddenly. I couldn't tell what her expression was, but I knew she was upset.

"We've seen the kinds of things this Ooze can create. It killed my father and uncle. Maybe you should-"

"And what about you?" She said indignantly. "What if something comes after you and I'm not there? Who's going to protect you!?"

"I'm fairly quick on my feet; I should be able to get away easily. It's just a scouting mission, after all," I said confidently.

"Absolutely not. I don't care what you say or what you think, I'm coming with you. I almost lost you once already, and I'm not going through that again!" She shouted.

It seemed like I wasn't going to be able to negotiate with her on this.

Still, her stats weren't exactly ideal or anything, and she was the daughter of a nations' leader.

Suddenly, I heard Walter's voice behind us.

"You need not worry for my lady's safety, Mizik. I'll be here to protect both of you if necessary and even if I fail, you can take her away from here."

"If you say so, Walter. Just know that the Black Ooze is extremely dangerous. Be on constant guard."

"I understand. I saw the creature Cain transformed into as well. I may have been invisible, but I was present for the entire ordeal," he said.

I couldn't see Walter, but I trusted him to be ready. We approached one of the cave entrances in the area and walked inside. Isabella and I unsheathed our weapons and she stepped in front of me with her shield raised.

"Rose, you should let me take the lead, here," I said.

"Hmmm...no."

"I really don't want to put you in danger here..."

"I understand your concern, Mizik. I don't want to be so difficult, but I made a promise to protect you. If anything bad happens, we'll leave immediately and report back to Sir Gordon. Just have faith in me, okay?" Rose said calmly.

I couldn't shake the feeling that we were in terrible danger, but I decided to trust her.

For some reason...this entire thing felt like it had been set up. It felt familiar. My instincts were screaming at me.

I shook it off and just thought of it as a side effect of this strange feeling of impending doom that the Ooze always brought with it.

We stepped deeper into the cave and Rose cast 'Lantern Light' to give us some light. I already had night vision on, so I didn't need it. However, Rose and Walter would still need the light.

As far as I knew, Walter's complete skillset was still unknown to me.

He might have had night vision and I didn't know it.

I knew already that he could use the invisibility passive...but I didn't even know what Honor could do.

Our footsteps echoed slightly in the cave as we moved deeper and deeper. Eventually, we came into a large cavern with a stream running through it.

I looked around and saw several torches that had been doused recently. There were pickaxes and other mining tools in the area as well. It was easy to see why they wanted the place scouted out.

This was an active mining region.

"Do you see anything beyond the light, Mizik?" Rose said to me as she moved close with her shield raised.

I surveyed the rest of the room and could see nothing out of the ordinary.

"This area looks clear to me. It seems like they were mining down here recently, though," I said.

"Yes, this area was used for gathering resources, I hear. I believe this was a mid-point to the more active tunnels deeper down," Rose said.

"If the cavern is empty, would the two of you like to rest here for now? I'm sure you're getting hungry," said Walter's disembodied voice.

Rose looked over to me and I nodded.

"It seems like we're mostly safe at the moment so why don't we rest?" I said.

* * *

The three of us sat down together and began eating a small meal that Rose had stored away in her inventory.

Just a simple meal consisting of sandwiches made by Walter and flasks of water.

As we ate, Rose looked over to me and asked a question.

"Mizik, since we're dealing with the Black Ooze down here, why don't you tell us a bit more about your personal experiences with it?" She said. Her helmet was currently off since we were alone.

"Yes, it might be a benefit to us to learn about our potential foe," Walter said.

"Well," I began. "The Black Ooze can warp the landscape. It would be best if we didn't go too far down because we could end up trapped underground. At least that's a theory I have," I said.

The cavern made in the mines outside of Lorelei wasn't natural. It led me to believe that it was possible to trap people in these places.

"That is quite worrying, but please tell us more," Walter said.

I gave a nod and continued.

"The dragon that we encountered in the Lorelei mines was a creature made from the Ooze as far as I could tell. If there's enough space, the Ooze could probably create other monsters like it. Since we know so little about them, it would be best to avoid conflict if possible. Lastly, I'm sure you both remember Cain," I said.

They nodded.

"We didn't see him transform or get infected, but I don't think we could ever forget the monster he became..." Rose said.

"I hate to ask...but what will we do in the scenario that one of us becomes infected? Can we be cured?" Walter asked.

I averted my eyes.

"I don't know. I only saw it once and didn't have the luxury of trying. Not that I would have, that guy was a real bastard. Something tells me, though, that it wouldn't be easy. It might even be impossible..." I said.

I shuddered at the thought of one of us being taken by that vile substance.

Rose cast her eyes downward.

"Mizik...if you get infected, I won't stop until you're cured. I'd rather die than lose you now," she said.

"I feel the same way, Rose. But if I turn into a monster, get away from here."

"Would you stand idly by if that happened to me?" She asked.

Caught me. She's too smart.

I sighed.

"No...I wouldn't... I'd do everything in my power to save you," I said.

"Then you can expect me to fight until my last breath for you as well. The alternative is that I go on without you and be forced to marry a man I hate. I would be miserable for the rest of my life and I'd rather die than go through such a thing," Rose said.

"My lady...I can't allow you to put yourself in such danger..." Walter spoke up.

"Walter, have you ever loved anyone?" Rose said to him suddenly.

"Why yes, I have. Long ago before you were born. She has long since passed, but I still hold her in my heart."

"Then you already know. You would have done everything to save her, wouldn't you?"

"I will not deny it, my lady. So I cannot fault you. Still, you are now the only heir to the throne of Albatross. I can't let you throw your life away," Walter said.

"Then it's settled," Rose said. "We will press on. However, if you two feel it necessary, we can leave at the first sign of danger. Agreed?"

"That works for me. This is only a scouting mission, after all," I said.

As much as it pained me to think about it, I knew for a fact that it was here. But, since I had yet to see any actual sign of it, my personal feelings could still easily be written off as simple paranoia...

And that would be very easy to do, considering my recent disposition.

Unfortunately, we would have to see the Black Ooze before we could leave and that meant potentially walking into a trap.

We sat and continued eating in relative silence for a while after speaking as I thought about these things.

The Black Ooze was controlled by a man called 'The Source'.

We didn't know what he looked like or how powerful he was.

Just that he was capable of destroying an entire world is all...

I shook my head, put away my things, and stood up.

Thinking about the difficult battles far ahead gave me anxiety, and I was starting to feel like something was feeding off of it.

"Mizik? Is everything okay?" Rose said.

"I think so. I'm just anxious, is all. Thinking too much about the Black Ooze..."

I could see the worry in her eyes.

This woman was my fiance. It made perfect sense that she would be concerned. But in all honesty, I would have been much happier if she'd stayed behind.

No matter. I said that I would help her get stronger, and that's exactly what I plan to do. I'll give my life to protect her!

Suddenly, I heard something rustling far away from us.

And a moment later, I looked at the tunnel that we'd used to enter the cavern.

The tunnel was nowhere to be seen.

It was exactly as I feared.