Page 89 of I Ran Away to Evil
CHAPTER 56
You Stab Things, I Light Things on Fire
Keith
Ria and Keith had decided that it might be faster for her to run and Keith to fly. While it would have been nice to take a walk through the Dark Enchanted Forest together, Keith was hoping they’d be long gone before Lady Amy woke up.
In her excitement, Henriettaprobablyhadn’t forgotten that she’d left the elf sleeping in upstairs. And since sheprobablyhadn’t forgotten, heprobablydidn’t need to remind her.
Honestly, his desire for some quality time with the princess might have turned him into the scheming Dark Lord his godmother envisioned. He pushed the feeling of existential moral dread aside and activated his wings.
The construct wings were not as fast as a high-level [Flight] spell, but they saved him hundreds of mana and allowed him the freedom to let his mind wander. He didn’t need another spell exploding when he tried to cast it because he was too distracted by the princess … [Mana Burn] wasnota joke.
It would’ve ruined their date.
He watched Henrietta from the sky. She ran so fast that dust flew off behind her. Creatures from all over the forest somehow felt her approach and cleared the path long before she got there. Everyone excepting a few adventurers, whom she simply ran past on her way.
Keith kept up with her and dove down to arrive just as she did.
“So this is the Hollow Gorge!” Henrietta stood with her hands on her hips. She surveyed the bustling market set up outside a giant platform with three crossed ornate trellises. While they watched, an adventuring party walked up the short stairwell to the platform, and a shimmering blue light engulfed them and portaled them away.
“I suddenly have a strongneedto defeat this dungeon,” she said seriously. “I’ve never fought a portal dungeon. This is going to beawesome.”
“Would you like to solo the dungeon? Or should we do it together?” Keith asked.
“Good question.” Ria smiled up at him and tentatively reached out to take his hand. “Want to do it together?”
“As you wish.”
They started walking toward the registration booth when Henrietta tugged on his hand.
“Let’s check out the dungeon quests!” She pointed excitedly to a large noticeboard tacked all over with posters requesting monster materials, harvest ingredients, and an assortment of dungeon loot.
Keith didn’t know why she bothered; they weren’t in need of money or dungeon items themselves. Well, technically, that wasn’t true. Looking at the board revealed a number of his own personal requests. His powdered gem-cutter ant carapace was running low, and he needed a few phoenix feather ink brushes.
“Is there something you need from the dungeon?” Keith asked as Henrietta read the board.
She shrugged. “I was thinking it might be fun to collect some of these ourselves.”
Keith hesitated. “Wouldn’t a porter slow us down? I have a dimensional storage ring, but it’s full of mana and health potions and snacks for the trip. I still need an Escape Scroll and a Revive potion.”
“I have a Revive potion,” Henrietta said. “And I don’t think we’ll need the Escape Scroll, do we?”
“Not technically; there are Escape portals on each floor, and one if you defeat the boss.”
“That’s fine, then.” She smiled up at him. “My [Harvest Kill] perk comes with its own storage. Anything I help defeat can be stored.”
“That is an incredible perk.” Keith raised an eyebrow. He turned back to the board to give it a once over.
In the usual way of things, some quests were only allowed to adventurers, and not just any dungeon delver. A professional adventurer specialized in challenging dungeons to hunt and harvest materials, while a dungeon delver was any one time visitor.
Keith didn’t worry about being denied any quest on the board; he was the Dark Lord after all. And sorting out the loot afterwards also wouldn’t be too much hassle.
After exiting the dungeon, the quest materials could be sold directly to those who’d made the request or dropped off at the local guild attached to the questboard. The guild would act as the middleman and charge ten percent, but it was better than hunting down all of the buyers individually.
Ria was in high spirits and dragged Keith through the stalls to buy extra snacks for the trip. He recalled her appetite after a fight and purchased a few candied hazelnut rolls himself.
Then they were finally ready to head over to sign in at the register and get their badges.
