(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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Boots pounded against ancient stone. Breath burned in their lungs.
-Thud. -Thud. -Thud.
-Thud. -Thud...
The walls of the corridor kept closing in, grinding toward each other with a crushing roar.
"FASTER!" Magna shouted.
Asta reached the end of the passage first and leapt through the exit.
Luck followed right behind him, sliding out just as the gap narrowed further.
One by one—The Magic Knights burst out of the shrinking corridor.
Leopold jumped through while still clutching the small three-headed fire spirit pup.
Nebra pulled Noelle forward, practically dragging her across the final stretch.
The last knight stumbled out—
-SLAM!
The corridor sealed completely behind them. Stone met stone with a thunderous crash.
For a moment—Silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Several knights bent over, catching their breath.
Magna wiped sweat from his forehead.
-Phew!
"…Okay. I hate this dungeon."
Asta laughed nervously.
-Haha.
"Yeah, that was close."
But the dungeon wasn't finished.
The moment their weight settled on the floor—
-Click!
The entire group froze.
Yuno's eyes widened slightly.
"…Trap."
The ground beneath them vanished.
-SWISH!!!
"...."
"...."
"...."
Stone tiles split apart and dropped away.
"WHAT?!" Magna yelled.
The entire group suddenly fell.
Air rushed past them.
Asta flailed midair.
"AAAAAH!"
Luck grinned wildly.
-Grin!
"Free fall!"
Noelle instinctively tried to summon water magic, but the sudden drop caught her off guard.
Leopold held the small fire spirit tight.
Everyone plummeted down a vertical shaft—And then—
-SPLOOSH!!!
They crashed into deep water below.
One after another—Splash after splash echoed through the underground chamber. Cold water swallowed them.
Asta surfaced first, coughing.
-Cough! -Cough!
"Bleh! Dungeon water!"
Magna popped up nearby.
-SPLASH!!!
"Next time warn us!"
Luck floated on his back, laughing.
-HAHA!
"This place is awesome!"
Noelle rose from the water more gracefully, her magic instinctively stabilizing her position.
Yuno scanned the cavern calmly.
They had landed inside a vast underground water chamber, dimly lit by glowing crystals embedded in the rock walls.
Above them—The hole they fell through had already sealed.
The underground cavern was eerily quiet.
Water rippled gently around the Magic Knights as they floated and swam to regroup after the sudden fall.
Asta paddled clumsily.
"Ugh… I hate water missions."
Luck floated effortlessly, staring at the glowing crystals above.
"This place is cool."
Yuno scanned the cavern.
Something felt… wrong.
Then—The water beneath them trembled.
At first it was subtle. A ripple. Then a pull.
-Ripple! -Ripple!
-Ripple!...
Magna frowned feeling the pull on him.
"Uh… guys?"
The entire lake began rotating.
Slowly at first. Then faster.
The current dragged them toward the center of the cavern.
A whirlpool was forming.
"Not good!" Magna yelled.
Noelle tried to gather her mana instinctively—But the previous battle had drained her heavily.
Her hands trembled.
"…I can't cast a barrier right now."
The whirlpool's pull grew stronger.
The group began sliding helplessly toward the spinning center.
Then—Solid stepped forward in the water.
"Move closer!"
His grimoire opened.
"Water Creation Magic: Cubic Shield!"
A massive cube of hardened water formed around the entire group.
The structure locked them together inside a floating protective barrier.
The whirlpool swallowed the cube instantly.
The spinning water dragged them downward like a giant funnel.
Inside the cube, the knights could only watch as the water twisted violently around them.
They were pulled deeper. And deeper. Down a vertical water tunnel.
The pressure intensified.
The glowing crystals vanished above them.
Then suddenly—The cube crossed something strange.
A thin shimmering membrane stretched across the tunnel.
The moment they passed through it—The rushing water disappeared.
The whirlpool vanished.
The cube dropped freely into open air.
"WHAT—?!" Magna shouted.
A second later—
-Splash!
They landed hard onto wet stone.
The cubic barrier shattered into droplets.
-SPLASH!!!
Water pooled around them.
But the cavern they landed in was completely dry.
The membrane above them held back the entire underground lake like an invisible ceiling.
Luck stared upward with wide eyes.
"That's insane."
Asta shook water from his hair.
"…Okay, this dungeon is officially weird."
Noelle steadied herself.
Yuno looked ahead. A long stone corridor stretched forward.
The Magic Knights regrouped quickly after the fall.
Water dripped from their clothes onto the stone floor.
Yuno stepped forward first, eyes calm and alert.
"Stay together," he said quietly.
The corridor ahead stretched long and narrow, illuminated by faintly glowing crystals embedded in the walls.
Indigo. Green.
Their light bathed the tunnel in an eerie glow.
As the group moved deeper, a strange sound echoed through the passage.
-Clink! -Clink!
-Clink!...
Metal striking stone.
Magna frowned hearing it.
-Frown!
"…You guys hear that?"
Luck's grin widened.
-Grin!
"Oh yeah."
Asta tilted his head. "Mining?"
The sound grew louder as they advanced.
Soon the corridor widened—Opening into a vast underground chamber.
The sight stopped them in place.
It was a mine.
Crystal veins ran along the cavern walls, glowing softly as they were chipped away.
Dozens of workers moved through the area.
Swinging pickaxes. Loading crystal chunks into carts.
But something was wrong. Very wrong.
The workers were not people.
They were skeletons.
Bare bones wrapped in torn rags. Empty eye sockets glowing faintly with red mana.
Each one held a rusted pickaxe, striking the crystal deposits rhythmically.
-Clink! -Clink!
-Clink!...
None of them spoke. None reacted.
They simply continued mining like mindless laborers.
Magna blinked slowly.
"...."
"…Yeah, that's creepy."
Leopold tightened his grip on the small fire spirit pup.
"Undead constructs."
Noelle whispered.
"Are they… alive?"
Yuno studied them carefully.
"No. Controlled."
The skeleton workers continued their mining without acknowledging the Magic Knights.
Then—One skeleton stopped.
Its skull slowly turned.
The red glow in its empty eye sockets brightened.
The pickaxe dropped.
-Clank!
Then another skeleton stopped. Then another.
Within seconds—Every skeleton in the mine turned toward the intruders.
Dozens of glowing red eyes locked onto the Magic Knights.
The pickaxes rose slowly.
Luck cracked his knuckles with excitement.
"Oh good."
Asta pulled out his anti-magic sword.
"Guess we found the next trial."
Across the mine chamber—The skeleton army began advancing.
The mine fell silent.
"...."
"...."
"...."
No more clink… clink… clink.
Only the sound of bones shifting.
Dozens of skeleton workers dropped their crystal carts and slowly turned toward the Magic Knights. Their empty sockets burned with faint crimson mana.
Rusted pickaxes lifted in unison.
Magna groaned looking at the next challenge.
-Sigh!
"Seriously? First dogs… now skeleton miners?"
Luck's grin widened he was clearly enjoying his time compared to others.
-Grin!
"Hehehe… this dungeon keeps getting better!"
Yuno raised his hand calmly, wind beginning to swirl around him.
"Formation."
The young Magic Knights instinctively moved together.
Noelle stayed near the center, conserving what mana she had left.
Leopold stepped forward beside Asta, the small three-headed fire spirit perched on his shoulder now watching the approaching enemies curiously.
The skeleton army began marching.
Step.... Step....
Step....
Then—
Asta moved first.
"Leave the first one to me!"
He dashed forward, drawing his anti-magic sword from his grimoire in one smooth motion.
A skeleton swung its pickaxe downward toward him.
Asta didn't slow. He swung.
-SHRAAAK!!!
The anti-magic blade tore straight through the skeleton's torso.
The bones shattered instantly, exploding into fragments that scattered across the stone floor.
The red mana animating it vanished completely.
Magna whistled looking at the shattered skeleton.
"That's one way to mine."
But the rest of the skeletons didn't stop.
More surged forward, climbing over the broken remains of their comrade.
Luck shot forward like lightning.
"Lightning Magic: Thunderclap!"
A bolt crashed through three skeletons at once, sending bones flying across the cavern.
Nearby—
Yuno raised his hand calmly.
"Wind Magic: Spirit Slice."
Invisible blades of wind swept through the advancing undead, snapping rib cages and scattering skulls across the crystal floor.
Leopold ignited his fists.
"Flame Magic: Crimson Burst!"
A wave of fire erupted outward, incinerating a cluster of skeleton miners and melting their rusted tools.
Magna launched another explosive fireball.
"Take that, boneheads!"
But even as skeletons shattered—More kept advancing from deeper within the mine tunnels.
Pickaxes swung.
Bone claws reached.
Noelle watched carefully from the center of the formation, recovering her mana slowly.
"…They're endless too."
Yuno's eyes narrowed slightly.
"...."
"No."
He pointed toward the far side of the mine.
Beyond the skeleton workers—A large crystal pillar stood embedded in the cavern wall.
Dark mana pulsed inside it.
The source. The thing controlling the miners.
Luck cracked his neck.
-Crack!
"Ohhhh."
Asta grinned seeing a way out.
-Grin!
"So we just break that?"
Yuno nodded he too thinks that.
-Nod
"Yes."
The skeleton miners charged again.
Pickaxes raised.
The Magic Knights prepared to carve their way through the mine—Toward the crystal controlling the undead.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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