563 Where's The Boss Room, Eins?

I stopped, looking at the solid wall in front of me while considering my next course of action.

This wall in particular looked a little different from the rest… Like… The colouration of it seemed a bit off.

"Aster?" Gwen called out, concern in her voice.

I raised my hand, "You guys might want to step away."

Gwen immediately knew what I wanted to do and obeyed, pulling the other two Rejmars back with her when she saw them still standing there.

I lowered myself into my stance, enhancing myself with [Strength] and [Body Current] before punching forward.

A shockwave blasted out from where I hit the wall, sending a gust of wind that blew past me and even made the Rejmars behind slide back a few feet.

There was a pause before cracks started forming on the wall and it crumbled inwards, revealing another corridor behind it.

Oh, that worked? I thought that I might need to get more Shadow Guards to layer buffs on me before I could break it.

I dusted my hand and turned to them, giving them a smile.

Gwen clapped her hands casually like what I did was considered normal, "Absolutely breathtaking, Aster."

The other two Rejmars were not as composed as she was.

"What… What was that?!"

"Did she just… Break the wall with her bare hands?"

Gwen turned to raise an eyebrow at them, "Why are you all so surprised? Did Aster not already show you how strong she was?"

Olgar pointed a finger at me, "Wasn't she a mage and healer? How is she so strong physically?!"

I raised a finger, "Actually… I'm an all rounder. I just normally occupy the position of a mage and healer because that's what my party is lacking."

Thorn narrowed his eyes, "Hold on, lassie… How many types of magic are you proficient in? Last I remembered, you could heal, burn, electrocute and also light up the dark. Yet you're also physically strong?"

I shrugged, "I'm also proficient in Umbramancy, Aeromancy, Geomancy, Hydromancy, Astromancy and Somatomancy, but my best are the ones you had listed."

The two Rejmars just stared at me with slack jaws.

I cleared my throat, "Ahem… I think we should just continue on. We're still in a Dungeon after all."

Gwen had to physically push them to make them move, though the two Rejmars were still staring at me with a dumbfounded expression.

We walked for at least a minute before Olgar spoke again, "Aster… Are you a Goddess?"

I giggled and chose not to answer.

Walking a little further on, I suddenly felt an odd feeling wash over me, like I had passed over a thin layer of air.

I stopped and looked back and the three Rejmars looked up at me, probably confused why I had stopped.

"Did you feel that?" I asked.

"Feel what, Aster?" Gwen asked.

I moved my hand in front of me, trying to see if I felt the same thin film of air again but this time the feeling did not return.

I even waved my hand around for a bit to see if I would get the same feeling again but it seems like it was a one time thing.

Odd… Did I imagine all that?

"I felt a disturbance in the air just now… I'm not sure if--"

"Aster!" Gwen interrupted while rushing towards me.

I realised that she was looking behind me and I immediately guessed what she was trying to warn me about.

I spun around and unsheathed my sword, raising it just in time to parry a blow away from the Shadow Devourer that had tried to sneak up on me.

The monster stumbled back into the darkness and I frowned when the monster disappeared completely from view.

When I tried to use [Screened] I didn't see the monster stats show up like I thought it would.

I'm pretty sure that meant that the monster was either not there anymore or there was something around here that completely prevented the monster from being scanned by [Screened].

"I think we triggered some kind of alarm… Keep an eye out for ambushes and watch your back," I warned.

The others held their weapons closer and nodded.

"We're getting yer friend and getting out of here, right?" Thorn asked.

I wanted to tell them what Eins saw but I guess that would bring more questions so I think it would be better to just find her first and let her explain to them by herself.

Thus I simply nodded and continued leading the way, keeping my eye out for any more attacks from the Shadow Devourer.

We barely took ten steps before I felt a breeze of air from the side and I slashed my sword in that direction, cutting off the Shadow Devourer's hand that had been reaching for me.

The monster hissed more in annoyance than pain but the sound was quickly cut off when I brought the sword back up to decapitate it.

Of course, I collected the Mana Crystal that dropped from its body disintegrating before continuing forward.

A few steps later, there was another crash and I looked back to see Gwen blocking a strike from another Shadow Devourer.

But before she could counter attack, the monster slunk back into the shadows and disappeared completely.

I had an idea right then and used another [Spotlight] spell to summon another ball of light to hover above us, illuminating even more of the area around us.

That seemed to work as the next Shadow Devourer that appeared came from outside the lit up area, giving Thorn enough time to parry the Shadow Devourer's claws away before lighting it on fire with his torch.

It tried to escape while it was still on fire but maybe because the fire created a source of light in the darkness, it still remained visible.

I finished it off with a quick cast of [Laser] that pierced through its head and killed it, letting the Mana Crystal drop on the floor.

Olgar grumbled, "The darkness is against us it seems… Is there some way to light up the entire Dungeon or something?"

Thorn sniffed, "If there was a way, I hope it could show up in front of us right now."

We continued forward until we reached a specific door that I found quite familiar.

I tried to get a feel of where Eins was and sure enough, I felt her presence from behind the door.

Well… Now to open the door I guess?

I placed my hand on the door handle, preparing to use my full strength to see if I could yank the door open. If I could not, I was already intending to see if I could try and get my Shadow Guards to buff me to break the door down.

But once I tried to pull on the door, I found myself tripping over and falling backwards as the door ended up opening itself without much force.

I would have fallen had Eins not reached out from the cell and grabbed my hand, stopping me mid fall.

"Master," She greeted simply.

"Ah… Hello, Eins. Did anything happen to you?"

She pulled me back up to my feet, "Not at all, Master. After I had found myself in here, nothing happened even after I tried all I could to get myself out of here."

"How odd though… The door doesn't seem to be locked."

"I believe there is an enchantment on the door that only allows it to be opened under specific conditions."

"Right… Oh, err… Let me introduce everyone! This is Eins, guys! She's the companion I was talking about."

Olgar raised an eyebrow, "Are you two twins or something? And what's with that 'master' thing?"

"Ah… Ermm… She's a cousin! And she likes to roleplay and she takes it quite seriously, you see. Don't need to mind her!"

I could already feel how stupid the excuse was without even looking at their faces but hey, what can they prove?

Anyway!! Do what I told you to do, Eins!

"Master, I have something to share," She began, exactly as I had wanted her to do.

I pretended to be intrigued and turned to her, "What is it, Eins?"

"I believe I have found the person responsible for our current plight. If you would allow me to lead you there, I have an inkling we might be able to find a way out of here as well."

"Ohhh~ But how did you find out?"

"I managed to escape from my cell earlier and followed the sound of several voices. There were Shadow Devourers around the voices but they were not being attacked by the monsters in particular. When I tried to get close to the voices however, I found myself teleported into this cell with no way to escape."

Perfectly executed Eins! I would pat you if we were alone right now! Actually, I'll give you a pat once they aren't looking at you so be patient~

I turned back to the others, "What do you guys think? Maybe we might be able to get the mastermind and save everyone else who was also trapped by them?"

Gwen nodded, "It's the best lead we have so far, but what about the teleport trap where she ended up in the cell?"

"Mmm… I guess we can just head to the location first and decide what to do once we see it?"

The other three agreed so we headed to our new destination, Eins smoothly taking the position by my side without a word.

I could see the other two Rejmars looking at her and they even whispered something to Gwen, but our Rejmar maid simply made a face and said "You guys have no chance" before turning away.

I wonder what that was about?