“Perhaps we should come back later?” Arbur suggested nervously as Micro led them onward.

  “Why?” Kira asked.

  “You may not have witnessed a dungeon before, but they can be dangerous places,” Arbur explained with his head lowered.

  “I’m sure Master Micro will be fine in whatever dungeon he chooses to enter. He’s very strong,” Kira assured Arbur.

  “You are my respected senior disciple, young master, but…” Arbur insisted. “Even the area around a dungeon can be perilous. Beasts who reside near them become stronger, transforming into powerful and unpredictable beings!”

  “Cave bears were noisy, but they didn’t seem that strong,” Micro recalled.

  “Cave bears are among the weaker beasts you’ll find near a dungeon’s entrance,” Arbur continued. “My grandfather was confronted by a swarm of light spiders upon completing the Jade Water Serpent Art Dungeon’s trial, and he nearly met his end right there at the dungeon’s entrance.”

  “Light spiders?” Micro asked.

  “They move quickly, and the light their eyes emit is more poisonous than anything the Poison Skill can match,” Arbur warned Micro, though he soon recalled the list of arts he’d been informed that Micro could use during his conversations with Kira. “That is, at the jade level, at least. You, master, may be better prepared…”

  “Spiders, huh…” Micro nodded. “I wonder…”

  “What is it, master?” Kira asked.

  “Do you think eight legs would be easier to walk on than two?” Micro asked Kira in return.

  “I think that’d be twice as hard…” Kolt chimed in, counting on his fingers as he walked.

  “It would be exactly four times harder, Kolt,” Kira called out with a laugh, and Kolt’s face grew red. However, Kira’s laugh waned as she considered the question. With a frown, she continued. “Or would it be four times easier…?”

  “Why do you ask, master?” Arbur asked, feeling obliged to participate in the conversation. “Surely it is of no relevance to you.”

  “Well, it took me a while to get used to balancing on two legs,” Micro answered. “Dogs have four, so I thought it might have been nice to be summoned as a dog. But a spider has eight…”

  “I—I see…” Arbur stuttered. “I am reminded of the depth of the Truck Sect’s teachings.”

  “Shut up, boneheads,” Blue interrupted them. “Cavern up ahead. Eyes open.”

  Micro paused to look ahead with Spirit Vision, and noticed the vague shape of a large cavern not far ahead, though his sight was also impaired by the large amount of energy sources scattered throughout the cave among the broken statues of ancient cultivators.

  “Ah,” Blue continued with a sigh relief. “Just a dungeon…”

  As yet another cavern lit up before them, they were greeted by a solitary pile of rocks at the centre of the large, open area. And partially buried in the pile of rocks was a familiar green glow.

  “I wonder what kind of dungeon it is!” Micro said excitedly.

  “Make use of Spirit Vision before asking silly questions,” Lena remarked. “Practice putting your senses to use before opening your mouth.”

  Micro did as she suggested, and the answer soon became clear. The energy which radiated from the portal felt heavy and coarse, and the familiar image of a mountain seemed to fade in and out of sight.

  “Jade… Mountain Art?” Micro mumbled. “Earth type?

  “Correct,” Lena replied.

  “I still haven’t mastered a Mountain Art,” Micro said. “I was excited to try again with Kel one day.”

  “Shall we?” Blue asked reluctantly.

  “First, we’ll find Lo,” Micro replied, reaching out to stop her from going in ahead of him. “One destination at a time. No detours, today…”

  “You don’t sound very convincing,” Blue said. “You sure?”

  “It’s harder than I thought to drive in a straight line, now that I’m the driver…” Micro replied. “We’ll take a look at the dungeon on the way back.”

  “I was expecting to see some monsters…” Kolt said quietly.

  “Look up then,” Blue remarked casually.

  Kolt did so as Micro turned his head to illuminate the ceiling of the cavern, and he gasped at what he found. Hundreds, maybe thousands of large, round creatures with horned shells and short legs were clinging to the rocky ceiling.

  “What the…!?” Kolt blurted out, falling onto his backside in shock.

  “Be quiet, brother,” Kira whispered to him.

  “What if they come down here?!” Kolt asked in panick, crawling over to Micro.

  “Look closer,” Kira said.

  “They look like potato bugs, but more pointy…” Micro said. “Are they cold?”

  “They’re shaking because they’re scared,” Arbur replied in disbelief. “So this is the power of an Imperial Guard…”

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  “Though mutated by the dungeon’s radiant energy, they still possess the sense to fear beings much stronger than themselves,” Lena explained. “Master Kang was often ridiculed for his interest in such lowly creatures, but they are often more intelligent than they appear. In fact, they tend to be more aware of their rightful place than many humans, which-”

  “Alright then!” Micro said loudly before Lena could continue, and the party continued down another branch of the cave system.

  ~

  The cave began to twist and wind as the incline increased, slowing their pace after a while, and Kira walked closer to Micro while they followed Blue’s directions.

  “May I ask what your mother and father are like, master? Are they waiting for you back home?” she asked Micro curiously.

  “No, I don’t have anything like that,” Micro replied. “I was made, not born.”

  “Oh…” Kira sighed. “What about siblings?”

  “Well, a lot of trucks were made in the factory I came from,” Micro replied.

  “Do you miss them?” Kira asked.

  “Not really…” Micro said slowly. “I miss a lot of things about home, but what I miss the most is my driver. I need to get back to him soon.”

  “I’d like to meet him too!” Kira replied.

  “He’d love to meet you both,” Micro said, smiling at Kira and her brother. “His son is all grown up now, but he still loves when children visit. He has lots of friends with grandchildren now!”

  “Is he the village elder?”

  “Well, he’s old, and he lives in a village…”

  “Is he strong?”

  “He was stronger when we met. His back can act up sometimes,” Micro’s voice quieted and his expression filled with sad nostalgia. “I wish I could help him with more…”

  “Was he a warrior when he was younger?” Kira asked. “Our village elder was a mercenary when he was young. He protected us all from bandits many times! He could kill a man with one punch!”

  “The old man never killed anyone!” Micro shouted, startling Kira. “he would never do something like that.”

  “So—Sorry, master,” she said with a bow, distancing herself from him slightly.

  “No, it’s alright,” Micro said quickly, realizing he’d frightened her. “Sorry, Kira. He is a very kind man. And we lived somewhere without bandits or monsters…”

  “Oh!” Kira shouted, her curiosity restored. “But you are such a brave warrior!”

  “I’m not…”

  “But you saved us from that horrible man!” Kira recalled with sparkling eyes. “You practically snapped him in two like it was nothing—”

  “That—” Micro shouted, but again his tone was more harsh than he had intended. Kira’s face froze in confusion as he became flustered. “That… was an accident. Accidents happen, but…”

  “Oh, let it go,” Blue said, rolling her eyes. “You dealt with those undead cultivators without a problem.”

  “Those weren’t people… Those were just, wrong…” Micro replied slowly.

  “But wait, don’t cultivators kill or get killed all the time?” Kira asked. “They talk about that a lot. In fact, it’s one of the only things I’ve heard them talk about. They go on and on—”

  “Indeed we do,” Arbur replied as Micro thought silently. He looked at Micro in confusion and continued. “Is it not in line with our own sect’s teachings?”

  “Killing people is bad,” Micro mumbled.

  “But you did it to save us,” Kira said. “That’s really not a bad thing, At least, I don’t think it is.”

  “And master Lena and that old guy killed a whole bunch of bandits,” Kolt added excitedly. “That was awesome!”

  “I see…” Micro nodded. “Well, just be careful. Trucks are supposed to be safe for the people driving them and the people around them.”

  “I understand,” Arbur said with a quick bow. “Unnecessary bloodshed shall be avoided by all means.”

  “Umm, yes…” Kira added. “I’ll try not to kill anybody too.”

  “I’m not making any promises,” Kolt said proudly. “Anybody who crosses me better be ready to die!”

  “Shut up, brother,” Kira whispered harshly.

  “I’ll kill you first!” Kolt shouted back, raising his fists.

  However, Kira suddenly leaned forward with a growl, causing him to trip backwards in fright. Arbur rushed to help him up, though he rejected his outstretched hand as Kira laughed. Micro realized he was smiling as Kira marched triumphantly ahead, and the mood lifted as her laughter echoed. Even Arbur was beginning to feel at ease despite their dangerous quest.

  “Be nice, Kira,” Micro said, stifling his laughter as Kolt as he stood up with a sour expression. He opened his mouth to speak to Kolt, but he was content to see that Kolt’s mood had improved enough to mumble rude words back at his sister.

  “Ugh…” Blue suddenly sighed. The party stopped as she hung her head with an annoyed expression.

  “What have you sensed?” Lena was the first to inquire.

  “You’ll see soon enough,” Blue replied as the cave opened up into an even wider cavern than they had already passed through.

  Lena was the first to grow anxious as they looked around the apparently empty cavern. No petrified remains of cultivators could be found, and the cave walls were devoid of any glistening rocks. The walls even seemed smoother than the rest of the cave. Micro soon noted the absence of any noise in the cave, and there was much less energy in the rocks around them than before.

  “It seems like a peaceful place,” Micro said quietly, unsure what prompted his friends’ nervous reactions.

  “Master, this mountain is rich with energy,” Arbur explained, his own voice tense. “That is why it is a popular place to cultivate.”

  “That’s nice,” Micro replied, his head tilted. “What’s your point?”

  “The fact that this one cave is so barren and quiet… No cultivator could drain such a large part of this natural hill of so much energy,” Arbur continued. “For all the energy to be gone, it must have been…”

  “Eaten?” Kira asked politely.

  “Indeed…” Arbur whispered.

  “Then Lo could be close!” Micro said excitedly, his loud voice causing Lena to grow even more tense.

  “Look no further…” Trill sighed. “What’s the point of all those fancy eye skills if you can’t even tell what you’re looking at?”

  “Hey, that’s—” Micro began, but a cold wind swept through the cave which took his breath away. As he coughed, his headlights dimmed. He roughly noticed Lena creating a dense aura of energy around herself, but he began to feel disoriented as the wind continued to blow. However, when he noticed Kolt and Kira had fallen to the ground, struggling to breathe, he quickly erected his own protective barrier. Not trusting the jade level Turtle Art armour to protect them from the heavy pressure, he relied on the amber level skill he’d recently mastered, placing a greater strain on his already uncomfortable core. Spirit Shield allowed him to quickly spread a dense layer of energy around the party.

  “It’s efficient, but it does take a lot of energy…” Micro said after catching his breath. The interior of the shielded area was still uncomfortable, but the pressure was dispelled enough for everyone to breathe freely. But Micro had no time to ask his friends how they were doing.

  “That skill…!” a raspy voice filled Micro’s ears.

  “Hello?” Micro turned around to see giant red eyes staring at him through the yellowish barrier he had constructed.

  “Even in the mortal realm, can I not be free of Ray’s interference?!” the creature with fierce red eyes lamented. “Has he not done enough…?”

  “Don’t look!” Lena cried out. “A single glance can petrify you!”

  Arbur had already turned away from the source of the voice, and the children followed his example. Micro was also about to turn away according to her advice, but realized he had already looked directly into the eyes of the creature. Though the barrier obscured the view of the dark cave, he began to make out the shape of a long, horned serpent, similar in size to the dragon called Ray.

  “You must be Lo!” Micro greeted the frustrated basilisk. His friends behind him remained crouched down with their heads turned away, but Micro smiled through the barrier at the basilisk and waved.

  “My name…?” Lo whispered back, his eyes narrowing. His long fangs began to drip with poison as he opened his mouth slightly. “So you were sent to—”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m here to attack you today,” Micro declared with an apologetic tone. “It’s nice to meet you though!”