65 A New Adventure Starts (2/2)

At his residence, Clay had set up a transfer array to travel directly to Apollo's Lair. He had hidden it carefully so that no one accidentally activates it and directly combust as they emerge from the transfer magic circle. And to further raise the security, only his energy signature is accepted by the transfer array.

Right after telling his retainers about the quest they had to undergo, Clay used the array to go to Apollo's Lair after leaving a letter on the bed telling Giselle that he will be gone for at most a week.

In Apollo's Lair, Clay saw his body sitting comfortably at the throne he made for himself. After admiring himself a little he went to a room different from the experiment room he uses to conduct varied experiments in. He went to the opposite room across it and closed the door behind him as he went it. Before he had fully come inside, silhouette of monsters could be observed right before the door closed.

***

In the dungeon that recently opened, having only a year in its belt being, it was relatively still popular for adventurers to come in and out of. The monsters after its initial growing period in addition to the Porkers and Slimes were Goblins, their leaders the Hobgoblins, and then another scary monster that appeared out of nowhere, a Homunculus that is often rumored to be evolved from Slimes.

Porkers are boars that charge using their incredibly hardened snouts and kill with their tusks. They average the size of a minivan, standing at a meter. Slimes are typically creatures who prey on other monster corpses or substances that are released by other creatures such as their feces, blood or even sweat. Ultimately, slimes are what keeps a dungeon or their environment clean.

Goblins are monsters that stand at the height of an elementary student. Their faces resemble a human but only if they were doused with acid to the face. They had body odor so foul that other creatures usually kill them and leave their bodies to the Slimes which digest them without complaints. Basically, Goblins are never a choice of food for the hunters, only those desperate enough to eat their flesh and suffer their smell would do so.

Above the Goblins were the Hobgoblins who rule over them. They evolve from the rest to take leadership over a tribe of other Goblins. This ensures the survival of each Goblin tribe that exists in the wilds. Although Goblins are typically not welcomed in the Forest of Despair as they are too weak, Hobgoblins are also not welcomed. They may be stronger than typical Goblins, but their characteristic fetid smell and unappetizing flesh make them the number one eradication target by other predators inside the Forest of Despair.

However, with Claiomh Solais being a newly established Kingdom inside the Forest of Despair, having a dungeon show up in their territory is rather convenient for the adventurers who love exploring regions for treasures and just for adrenaline rush. So, the Goblins inside, although unwanted by bigger predators, could not be touched because people from Claiomh Solais guards the entrance and exit of the dungeon. Isaac had made sure to defend this spot to maintain business opportunities.

The overall threat of the Forest of Despair had already gone down to a level where fully armed groups of people can enter if they stick to the highways which Clay made. As those roads were made with Clay's magic, and his magic energy signature still lingers in them, it prevents intelligent monsters from coming close to it, especially the capital itself. The capital thus, serves as the beacon for Clay to say to the monsters lurking in the forest to \”stay away and there will be peace, invade, and there will be war.\”

Currently, the four of them had arrived at the entrance of the dungeon. The dungeon's monsters had no way of training them further, but Clay insisted that there was a monster that recently appeared that would pose a challenge to the four of them together, so they went without asking any more questions. They did not know then that what awaited them was a bitter struggle for their lives. The monster that waited for them at the end of the road, was something they would have nightmares about for decades.