POV random adventure

"This was some kind of lunacy, carnage". - the adventurer sighed deeply, a large group of people had gathered around him and were listening intently to the story.

"A day like every day in the level 18 I worked at the forge repairing weapons for half free."

"Keep dimming, every resident of Orario knows that you rip off repairs like a soma." - shouted someone from the crowd.

"Right, sooner pigs start flying than I'll believe it" - confirmed another.

"Ekhm... So as I was saying, I was repairing weapons at a reasonable price when I saw them."

"Monsters?"

"What no, potential customers."

"At the front walked a beauty. An Amazon with a purse filled to the brim. How beautiful she was. All filled with coins, glittering with every step. Oh, if only I had her. A few million valis..."

"Cut the crap! Tell us about the monster!"

"Don't interrupt I'm already getting to the point"

"It was the Artemis Familia"

"Normally, the family lives outside the city as far as I know, but from the conversation I learned that they foresaw the appearance of a certain weapon, a spear it seems. I don't know why but it seemed important to them."

"Returning to the main thread, however, an hour after their arrival something began to happen. Level 18 is designated as safe, but at that moment a crystal broke off from the ceiling and a black goliath came out of it!"

"And what next?"

"Carnage" - there was silence

"Goliath, monsters everywhere"

"We didn't stand a chance, all the damage we managed to deal immediately this beast regenerated. I don't know how or why it appeared. We decided to do the only thing we could. We ordered a retreat"

"Unfortunately, during the retreat, the exit was blocked by a falling rock, separating Artemis Familia from the rest." - the atmosphere in the air was getting heavier and heavier.

"We don't know what happened to them, but so far none of them have returned, the Gods have decided to close the dungeon until they find an explanation for all of this.

In the meantime, the prince was heading towards the surface after winning the battle.

The longer he thought about it, the more he came to the conclusion that this was not his underworld. Despite the familiar feeling that everything wanted to kill him, the room did not resemble either Elysium or Asphodel.

At that moment Zeagrus pierced the head of the white ape attacking from the shadows.

After though the new opponents were no match for the goliath, more worrying was the state of his weapon. If he continued walking without a second thought, his weapon would soon crumble into dust.

"If only I had Varath with me now." - the prince sighed.

Continuing his journey and avoiding any open spaces where he might encounter groups of monsters, Zeagrus paced upwards.

This time unfortunately already without his weapon, it ended its life together with the oversized armadillo.

"Achilles never mentioned some of these creatures in his stories, yet they look too strong to belong to the world of the living" - thought the prince.

Recalling the hero's wisdom "If you are not sure you can win, and fighting is not your goal, do not fight."

Or that was his thought when he forgot to meet Megaera.

"Yep, there is no reason to fight without a weapon".

The journey took at least a few hours, at first the time flew by faster but with every hour the avoidance of monsters became more and more monotonous.

Then for the first time Zeagrus felt something he had never experienced - hunger. In the world of the dead or on the olympus, there was never a need for food. One ate rather for pleasure or to kill time, but not because of hunger.

Remembering Achilles' story of the fall of Troy, hunger was a self-induced plague and the mortal world was distinguished by this.

It is not known how much time passed, nor how many levels he overcame, but finally he heard something different from monsters, or at least it seemed so to him.

Well, whether something is a monster is not determined by the number of horns or having fangs. This is how the prince saw monsters in human skin for the first time.

Trying to remember his father lessons:

[...The dead in Tartarus are here, in general, because they did not deserve a noble death. They were knaves, scoundrels, cutthroats - the worst that mortals have to offer. Even now, reduced merely to shades, they are compelled by evil thoughts, and take to brandishing about crude weapons washed down by the River Styx…]

"Have you collected the crystals yet?" - asked adventurer

"Lili is collecting as fast as she can."

"Hmm, maybe we are too generous to pay you anything, what do you think Joel." - exclaimed the man

"Maybe you're right, after all just seeing the lower levels is the privilege of the few."

"Lili is grateful for the help of strong adventurers like you."

"Of course she is, now throw us the bag of crystals."

"Lili wouldn't want to be a nuisance, Lili knows it's up to the helper to carry the heavy stuff"

"Stop pretending, Joel take her bag"

"But Lord"

Joel grabbed the little girl by the throat. On his tunic could be seen the symbol of the chalice and the moon, the sign of Soma. His eyes were filled only with the lust for money. If Lili was able to think calmly she would realise that no words would be able to convince him. However, since her life was at stake, she tried anyway

"We know guys like you, you'd give us up for a few valis".

"Right, the dungeon is currently under a ban"

At that moment Joel pulls out a young ant from his backpack

"Please don't do this, I won't tell anyone," cried Lili

The dagger came closer and closer to the ant's body.
"Wait, in the third house from the inn, at the second fork of the dedala street I have money hidden"

"Continue" Joel stopped the knife.

"If you let me live I will tell you where they are hidden"

"I don't think you are in a position where you can dictate terms"

Lili clenched her fist "By the bed under the cabinet, under the right board"

With the end of her sentence, the dagger pierced the body of the ant, who let out a shrill scream.

"Only the dead don't tell tells".

Stories like these happened quite often in the underground. But they remained only as speculations, because the dead do not tell tales.

The adventurers fled, leaving their ex-companion to die. The story would probably end tragically. But what these adventurers did not know was that this time fate would not favour them.

As a horde of ants began to gather in the room, an unexpected figure appeared from behind the wall. The Prince of the Underworld.