Chapter 27: Canyon or Cavern?


    [ You have entered the dungeon ''Old Wood Forest Cavern''. ]


    Entering the dungeon, Shinto scanned the area, looking over towards the green mossy walls which were overtaken by nature. Soon after, he turned his head towards the top, quicky scrutinizing the almost non-existent ceiling of the dungeon.


    "Huh? Isn''t this ce supposed to be a cavern? Why is the ce so open-aired?" Frey asked as she looked up.


    The dungeon had ack of a ceiling covering the ''cavern''. With the asional few rocky roofs which cover small portions of the area, it was more like a canyon rather than a cavern.


    "...From what I remember, the townsfolk named this ce that way because this dungeon is split into two parts. One is the open-aired area were in, which leads to the town of Heim at the end." Shinto answered, "Though this ce may be called a dungeon, it really doesn''t fit to be one. It''s more like amon hunting ground."


    "Oh? Then why the heck is it called a dungeon then?!"


    "That''s because of the second part. This area connects to the actual dungeon, the caverns." Shinto pointed over towards the cliffs where many sorts of entrances could be seen, "Do you see that? That''s one of the entrances to the caves. The entrances and exit are all from and to here. Some are dead ends, but mostly they all lead back here."


    "So... They just called it ''Old Wood Forest Cavern'' because they can''t be bothered to differentiate the two ces?"


    "Basically. But if anything, at that time, the townsfolk felt it was more convenient when they named this ce that way in the past, I guess?"


    "Huh, that''s justzy!"


    "Yeah. But it can''t be helped, at present although some people feel the need to rename this ce, it never really went through. So it''s stuck with ''Old Wood Forest Cavern''. The forest being here, while the cavern being the actual dungeon."


    "Ah... If only they could just change the name of this ce... Anyways, how do you know all this?"


    "It was from the quest information which I had done here before. I picked up the knowledge while interacting with the townfolks and doing tasks for them."


    "Oh? There were quests that send you here?"


    "...Yeah? In the first ce, this area is a gathering grounds for herbs and ingredients alike, so there are a lot of quests like these in town since the townspeople covet them. Don''t you have a quest like that?"


    "Errr... Um... Well..." Frey nervouslyughed, "I... Didn''t receive any quests."


    "What...?"


    "I uh... Went straight to fight after getting used to the game..."


    Shinto felt the urge to cough blood at the statement, quickly he calmed himself down as he asked carefully, "You didn''t talk to any NPCs since you started ying the game?"


    "Nope. I just went on about and did that system quest which I got at the start, and then from there went on to level up! Then, I met you and we ended up here!"


    When starting Spirit Warriors for the first time, all yers will receive a set of system quests rting to game mechanics. From fighting a dummy to chatting with the priests at the temple. Afterpleting the quest, yers are given the freedom to do whatever they wish within the boundaries of the game, there is no set storyline any yer must follow as this game was meant to freely let the yers pave their own path.


    ''...This sounds so eerily simr to that one person who constantly spams me''s beginning,'' Shinto thought to himself as he sighed, quickly letting out a cough, ridding away his thoughts on this matter. "I see... Then after this, you should go and do some quests. Don''t just constantly fight..." he said helplessly, would she be spammer number two? He shuddered at the thought, but she doesn''t seem like a person who spams. Though, the passion to fight is too simr.


    "Aww fine..." Frey murmured, "Anyways! What are we waiting for? You don''t expect us to stand around here and do nothing right?"


    "Yeah, let''s make our way towards the caverns. There we can get some loot from the bosses that spawn inside the caves if we stumble on them. If I remember correctly, it has quite some good beginners item thatsts till the twenties."


    "Loot?!" Upon hearing those words, Frey became more excited, as she took a step forward. "Then what are we waiting for?!"


    Quickly, she initiated an attack on a monster in front of her, swiftly knocking them back. Following behind her, Shinto rushed up as he sent a mana spark over to the monster.


    ...


    Making their way through the fields of the dungeon, Shinto''s eyes averted towards the nt-like monsters which roamed the area. The nts were in groups of three, each one eyeing on yers as they walked past them. Soon after, his eyes turned towards the group of newbies fighting against the monsters.


    ''It''s been a while since I saw this kind of scenes huh?'' Shinto chuckled as he continued to walk. When he was still at the top, he was always at the forefront of finding and going through new dungeons, with him being mostly the first time discoverer of the dungeon.


    As a solo-yer, he rarely ever see scenes of groups of people, working together to fight againstmon enemies or group levelling. So this was a fresh feeling for him.


    When he teamed up with any Vain Blood members to do a dungeon run, thepetitive spirit takes root as they go off on their own ways as they fight againstmon enemies individually to see who can fight the most monsters within a given time. The only asion they would show teamwork is during boss fights and crystality matches.


    ''I wonder how they are doing? From what Hikari said things seem to have calmed down.'' He continued to think to himself as he stopped at his footsteps. Soon after he looked up towards the cavern entrance in front of him.


    "Well then, shall we go in?" Shinto looked over to Frey.


    "Let''s go, let''s go!" Frey replied in excitement.


    Nodding his head, the two made their way into the cavern entrance.