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Dawn Traveller - Chapter 06 - The Time of The Raging Storm
Dawn Traveller Chapter 6 – Time of the Raging Storm
Yeon Woo soon turned eight. He hadn’t really done anything significant at the preschool near his house, but the time to put on a backpack and go to school had already come.
“You need to listen to the teacher; and if something happens, tell me, okay? If other kids pick on you, you have to tell the teacher or me and not keep it to yourself, alright?”
“Yes, mom.”
Yeon Woo had agreed to do so without a word before leaving the house, but he didn’t really have anything to look forward to in his grade school years.
“I can’t believe I had to hang out with snot-nosed children... I want to grow up faster.”
Including the years he had spent in the other world, he had lived 11 years in total.
Grade school students were thoughtless children at the most. It was nothing compared to exploring dungeons.
By living in both worlds, he was doubling his life span and getting a variety of experiences.
'They wouldn’t cut off heads, throw axes or burn people using magic during a grade school fight, like they did in Marka.'
Yeon Woo was a new grade school student who had seen absolutely everything.
As expected, grade school didn’t have much going on.
He had a very normal welcoming ceremony and met friends who were like lambs compared to the people of Marka.
He wasn’t really interested in being the top for his studies, but since he wasn’t bad either, he was a little above average.
Classes were easy to follow, since he was older than most kids in his grade and had a wider range of experiences.
‘This would be an adequate raise of my allowance to ask to mom. I shouldn’t stand out by studying any more than this. There are many more years of studying left, after all.’
He steadily kept his place as 10th in the class.
If he wanted, he could cheat subtly by reading other people’s minds in the class, but he didn’t really feel the need for it.
“Let’s play, Yeon Woo!”
“Not bothered.”
From girls who tried to talk to him,
“This is the line. Anything that crosses it is mine!”
to a petty partner.
A life in grade school consisted mostly of playing and having occasional fights, but Yeon Woo kept his cool even when he met friends who acted poorly towards him.
What could he do with little kids, even if he felt wronged?
‘It’s not like I’m going to skin their heads and dry them in salt. I should be generous at this point. Hm, if it crosses the line, I could pick a few non-fatal bones and break them.’
'Yeon Woo has quite the kind personality.'
'He has such a gentle and generous nature towards others at such a young age.'
His teachers’ and fellow students' judgments of him improved, too.
When he watched the children play, he found them adorable.
‘Ah, good times. They have a long life ahead of them, but they don’t know what’s going to happen, so they’re enjoying their present.’
Yeon Woo went to school while leisurely drinking his strawberry milk.
*
Jys turned four years old.
He was adapting well to Mareka as his time spent there increased steadily.
His experience and knowledge of tomb raiding increased, too.
“I heard there is a mage who used to live in the Borg area…”
“He wasn’t well known, but he was very skillful.”
“I hear that he’s quite influential in the study of magic as well, though these rumors aren’t that trustworthy.”
He overheard the business conversations between Rendal, Riley and Grona.
The common children there had nothing to do.
There were no toys there, so Jys played around with the water spirits that Grona had summoned for him.
'Stop playing around with us, young human!'
'Nasty child. Real nasty!'
Water spirits disliked Jys, who kept bothering them, but they had to endure it because they were weak and had to follow their master's orders.
“Lets see if the rumors of the mage’s tomb being near his hometown are true. Luckily, it’s not far from here.”
A few days later, they decided that the rumor was worth checking out and headed towards the city of Borg.
Jys accompanied them on their carriage journey, and it was quite natural for him, since he had been travelling and exploring with them from a young age.
He had even jumped over a castle wall on Grona’s back a couple of times.
“I think I sense magic around here.”
Hersey thoroughly searched the mountain near the mage’s hometown and found the entrance to the dungeon, which had been hidden with a mirage spell.
“We can return home earlier than expected.”
“Let’s hurry up and check it out.”
They lit their torches and entered the cave, the cave which had once been the home of the mage.
Mages usually thought alike, and preferred natural caves or hidden basements where they could research anything for as long as they wanted to.
They disliked places near any villages or towns, and preferred large spaces, never mind the monsters that usually surrounded them.
They hid the entrances to their homes with camouflage or mirages, since they knew that their enemies or tomb raiders would also be aware of that fact.
Skilled tomb raiders can see right through these schemes and find the entrances!
“There aren’t many traps, and no monsters live here since it’s such a small cave.”
“I think the mage might be weaker than we originally thought.”
“That’s unlikely.”
“Maybe he had confidence in his powers, or didn’t care if anyone raided his home after he died.”
The raiders slowly advanced into the cave while thoroughly observing everything.
They watched out for any signs of magic and disabled traps patiently.
Hurrying and rushing would cause accidents.
Jys felt more comfortable playing and eating in the dungeon than at home.
They mostly explored underground dungeons, so he was used to insects and bats.
If he concentrated, he could read the thoughts of animals, and even insects, depending on their level of intelligence.
'Let’s hurry. Let’s go forward. Let’s follow.'
'Heavy.'
'Hungry. Scared.'
'Where am I? I’m lost again.'
He could read poisonous centipedes' and bats' thoughts in more detail.
'They released four thousand eggs. The red ants’ area is getting too big…'
'Wouldn’t there be cheese crumbs somewhere around here? Humans can make some good food.'
Jys sometimes killed time reading the thoughts of the monsters and insects.
‘Life’s a bit boring right now but I’m going to be able to raid as well when I’m grown up.’
He had to be patient since he wouldn't get bored when he grew up and got to pull his own weight.
Jys sometimes didn’t get to follow them on the last levels of the dungeons, because there was always a dangerous trap or a strong monster guarding it.
He waited in a magical protection aura that his mother had made for him.
His parents almost always returned within half an hour.
“They’re a bit late today.”
Jys chewed the sandwich brightly as he waited.
The sandwiches made by Riley were always tasty.
“The bacon tastes the best.”
While Jys leisurely finished his sandwich… The small room that Rendal, Riley, Grona, Hersey and Nedhand were trapped in started filling with water.
“Dying in a place like this…”
“I’m sorry, everyone. It was a grave mistake to let my guard down for a moment.”
Dwarf Nedhand apologized.
He had missed a trap because he had been busy drinking a beer in that moment.
Even with their well-honed skills, they were in fatal danger after only few years.
Hersey was trying to think of a way out of there, for his level of magic, perhaps he could perform a teleportation spell to do it, but it would be difficult to perform given the circumstances.
The streams of water pouring down from the ceiling ware already pooling up to the dwarf’s neck.
He could try and swim with his short arms and legs, but the water would eventually fill up to the ceiling and soon they would all be dead.
“I’m alright, but Jys…”
Riley cried while thinking of Jys.
A child, left alone in a cave.
He would have forgotten the way in, but probably couldn’t get out anyway, because there were still traps that they had not fully disabled.
Wouldn’t he cry starving to death, trying to look for his parents?
“What about our poor baby Jys, honey…”
Riley could not stop her tears as she thought about the young child eventually tiring out and dying.
When her protection aura faded away, he could be seen by monsters and then surely they would eat him.
Jys had finished his sandwich by then.
“Buurp—Jus’ as I expected, deze sandwiches were de bezt.”
Jys now turned his attention to his parents and concentrated on their train of thought.
'Jys… I can’t believe we’re leaving you behind like this.'
'Warrior Rendal. This is how you meet your end. I won't even be able to rest properly in my death because of Jys.'
'I’m sorry… It’s all my fault… If we make it out alive, I swear on my Dwarf’s honor to cut beer completely.'
“This is why dey shouldn’t let deir guard down.”
His parents were worrying more about Jys than themselves.
“You should have been careful. How can you adults fall for a twap like dis?”
What hardship orphans had to go through!
In the land of Merka where powerless people got trampled on, kids could be sold as slaves without parents to protect them.
‘They fell for a trap not far from here. I have plenty of time to save them.’
Jys concentrated on Dwarf Nedhand’s thoughts and continued walking.
The dwarf was focusing on the trap he’d missed and was regretting it.
'It’s pwobably here. Let’s see…'
He found the mechanism for the trap.
Luckily it was placed at a child’s height to hide it.
Jys clung onto the wooden rod and pulled it down.
Creeeeek
As the sound of the mechanism rang throughout the cave, the floor parted to let out the water and the stone-door was open again.
Inside were people who looked like drowned rats.
“What is this… Jys? How did you get here?”
Jys let out a heavy sigh. It would not be so easy to fake his innocence and ignorance from now on.
'Jys, Jys. Oh, my baby!'
'Gods, you have saved this warrior.'
'Bahahaha. We barely survived! I’m going on a bender as soon as we get out of this cave.'
This chapter was released on Sunday the 4th of December, 2016.
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