Chapter 34: No hope I
By the time Tolu and Ore returned to the outskirts of the town, the sun had already begun to sink.
Neither of them spoke much.
The journey back had been almost silent.
Tolu’s body felt heavy.
His clothes were dirty, his arms ached, and his mind was even more exhausted than his body.
The Ironfang kept appearing in his thoughts.
The trap.
The fight.
The adventurer.
The moment the weapon struck the beast.
And then the silence.
They had failed.
Tolu finally reached the point where their paths separated.
Ore looked at him. "You should get some rest."
Tolu nodded. " Yeah." He forced a smile."You too."
Ore hesitated as if she wanted to say something else.
Instead, she simply nodded. "Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow."
They went their separate ways.
Tolu walked home. Each step felt heavier than the last.He had gone into the forest believing they had a chance. He had spent weeks studying the Ironfang. He had planned traps.
He had prepared escape routes.
He had convinced himself that if they were patient enough and clever enough, they could accomplish something far beyond their strength.
But none of it had mattered.
The beast was dead.
His dungeon had gained nothing.
And the Dungeon War was coming.
Tolu reached his house and barely acknowledged anyone around him.
He went straight to his room.
He dropped his bag onto the floor.
Then he sat on the edge of his bed.
For several minutes, he simply stared at the ground.
He felt tired.
Not the normal kind of tiredness.
He felt as though something had been pulled out of him.
He had been so certain.
Not confident exactly.
But hopeful.
Now that hope was gone.
Tolu lay back.
His eyes closed.
Then something warm touched his finger.
He opened his eyes.
His ring was glowing.
Tolu immediately sat upright.
The light pulsed once.
Then again.
His heart sank. " The dungeon."
The glow became brighter.
Tolu stood.
He didn’t need to be told twice.
Whatever the Dungeon Heart wanted, it was important.
He left the house and made his way toward the forest.
The journey felt longer than usual.
When he finally reached the dungeon entrance, he stepped inside.
The familiar darkness surrounded him.
He moved through the tunnels until he reached the inner chamber.
The Dungeon Heart was waiting.
Its glow illuminated the chamber. "Welcome, my Lord."
Tolu stopped in front of it. "You called me."
"Yes."
Tolu already knew he wouldn’t like what came next. "What happened?"
"The Dungeon War will begin tomorrow night."
Tolu’s expression froze. "Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
He stared at the Dungeon Heart. "But..."
His voice became quieter. "I thought we had more time."
"The conditions have already been met."
Tolu’s stomach tightened. "Then what about the Level Two beast?"
The Dungeon Heart remained silent for a moment. "You failed to acquire one."
Tolu lowered his head. "I know."
"Your chances of victory have therefore decreased considerably."
Tolu looked up. "How bad?"
The Dungeon Heart’s glow remained steady.
"Extremely unfavorable."
Tolu’s chest tightened. "That’s not an answer."
"You asked how bad."
A pause. "The probability of victory is low."
Tolu swallowed. "How low?"
"Low enough that you should prepare yourself for the possibility of defeat."
Tolu stared at the Dungeon Heart. "And if we lose?"
The Heart answered immediately. "You die."
The words were simple.
Almost emotionless.
But they struck Tolu harder than any attack the Ironfang had delivered.
He stared at the glowing object. "Me?"
"You are the Dungeon Lord."
Tolu’s breathing became shallow.
"If the dungeon is destroyed...The Dungeon Lord dies with it."
Tolu took a step backward.
For a moment, the chamber seemed smaller.
His hands began to tremble.
He had known the Dungeon War was dangerous.
He had known he could lose.
But knowing something in theory was different from hearing it spoken aloud.
There would be no waking up afterward.
No retreat.
No second chance.
If the dungeon fell, he would fall with it. "And I don’t have a Level Two beast."
"No."
Tolu clenched his fists. "We were so close."
"I know."
"The adventurer killed it."
"The result remains the same."
Tolu looked down. "Of course it does."
He laughed bitterly. "We spent weeks preparing for that."
The Dungeon Heart said nothing.
Tolu turned away.
His shoulders sagged. "How am I supposed to win?"
"You must find a way."
Tolu stared at the ground.
That wasn’t an answer.
But there was no answer.
He left the chamber.
.....
Elsewhere, far from Tolu’s dungeon, the mysterious adventurer continued deeper into the forest.
His mood had not improved.
He walked beneath the trees with his weapon resting against his shoulder.
The death of the Ironfang still bothered him.
Not because he cared about the creature.
Because of the weeks he had wasted.
He had tracked the beast for a long time.
He had studied its habits.
Its territory.
Its movements.
He had finally gotten close enough to capture it.
And then two reckless Novices had appeared.
He kicked a loose stone from his path.
"Damn brats."
He still couldn’t understand them.
Novices had no business attempting to capture an Ironfang.
Yet they had prepared an actual trap.
Not a good one.
Not enough to contain the beast for long.
But it had been clever.
The boy especially bothered him.
There had been something strange about the way he behaved around the wolf.
It wasn’t merely greed.
The boy hadn’t wanted the beast dead.
He had repeatedly tried to get close to it.
Why?
The adventurer didn’t know.
And he didn’t particularly care.
What bothered him was that the boy’s interference had cost him his contract.
He had no intention of returning empty-handed.
If there was another Ironfang in the deeper territory, he would find it.
The forest was large.
The pack might have another suitable specimen.
He would search until he found one.
His pace quickened.
"I won’t let those two waste my time again."
He disappeared deeper into the forest.
Tolu didn’t sleep.
He tried.
He lay in bed.
He closed his eyes.
He turned over.
Nothing worked.
Every time he started drifting off, his mind dragged him back.
Tomorrow night.
Dungeon War.
Death.
His dungeon.
The beasts.
His friends.
Akin.
Temi.
Ore.
His uncle.
He sat up.
His breathing was uneven.
He couldn’t do this alone.
Tolu stood and left his house.
He walked toward Ore’s home.
By the time he reached her door, his thoughts were already spiraling.
He knocked.