The Young Master in the Shadows

Sebastian was simply amazed, He had never seen such a beauty before.

“Who is this cute kid? How old are you?” She asked with her ethereal voice.

“My name is Sebastian, I am 13 years old. Nice to meet you,” Sebastian said, trying his best to keep his kid persona. He has long discovered that women lower their defenses quicker that way.

“I wonder what would be her reaction if she knew that I was 30 years old.” he wondered.

“Ah, I will call you Sebi. My name is Vivi. This is my young master Alex. The young master of the Thunder sect. And that one is Alpha, his first maid." She said before turning to her master. "Please, young master, you can’t hurt him, he's only a child,” Vivi pleaded as she stood between them with her back to him. Alex shot her a strange look. Then slowly nodded as he lowered his spear.

“Fine, I will not kill him,” Alex said, making Sebastian curse silently. “You? Kill me? My eternal body technique would allow me to heal faster than your puny techniques can hurt me,” he thought.

“I was just surprised by his sudden appearance. Next time don’t jump and scare adults like that kid.” Alex said arrogantly.

Sebastian said nothing, just glared at Alex as he put away his staff. “The thunder sect huh? It's just a third-rate power that I can destroy at any moment.” He thought The only reason he heard about it was that he was bored one day and read the list of lower sects. But as far as he knew it was in a faraway land. What are they doing here? Before he could ask them about that, Vivi asked first.

“How did you get here? Are you a player? Did someone throw you here on purpose?” Vivi asked him as she observed him with her beautiful hazel eyes. Is this girl really this naive? or is it just innocence? He wondered.

“Ah, Yes I am a player. I was on a trip to the shadow valley when I discovered a strange cave, and when I entered it I was transported here.” He said.

“Ah, it’s amazing to be a player at your age. You must be amazing. Right young master? You were the same age as him when you became a player." She turned to Alex and said then looked back at him as she tilted her head cutely, "But what do you mean by Shadow valley? We never heard of that. We entered from a small ravine near the thunder sect.” Vivi said with amazement.

“Ah, you must have found another entrance. It’s not unheard of for a dungeon to have multiple entrances, but it’s rare. I came from a small obscure sect near New Verta City next to the Shadow Valley. It’s a famous tourist attraction” He lied, He was not from a small sect, but from a hidden sect that was miles away from New Verta City.

“New Verta?. Wait!! We are on a different continent !!!” Exclaimed Vivi, making Alex and Alpha look at her then at Sebastian with amazement.

"Yes, that is amazing," nodded Sebastian. “What is that thing in your hand?” He asked as he looked at the ominous-looking spear in Vivi’s delicate hands.

“Ah, I nearly forgot. Young master, I found this thing inside. It was probably meant to kill that black widow. There are murals inside with drawings of some warrior using this to stab a large spider.” She said as she handed Alex the spear.

“Ah, good job.” Said Alex with some hesitation. There was some fear in his eyes. Sebastian could tell that he was not comfortable holding that spear and was avoiding touching the spider drawings on it. Was he Arachnophobic? What a wimp.

“May I look at it?” Ask Sebastian after Alex inspected it.

“Ah.” Alex didn’t know what to answer.

“Young Sebi. This weapon is very sharp. And you may prick yourself.” Said Vivi with some concern.

“Don’t worry. I am proficient in spears.” He reassured her.

Alex didn’t say anything as he handed the spear to Sebastian who began to inspect it with interest before returning it to Alex.

“You keep it. I don’t like this spear's ominous color.” Alex arrogantly said, refusing to take the spear.

Sebastian nodded and kept it. He could tell that this thing was at least an S Rank. That Alex was simply an idiot.

“I will go inside and take a look. Do you mind?” Sebastian said as he approached the stairs without waiting for an answer.

“Yah…” Said Alex with hesitation from the back.

At the secret door, that girl, Alpha, who was still standing there, quickly gave way while glaring at him. Sebastian felt that she was a little pretty, Too bad that her eye is damaged. He could tell from the way she tied a cloth over it.

He quickly entered the secret chamber and after inspecting it he confirmed what Vivi said. This was truly a weapon to conquer that Arachne. The mural on the wall showed a burly man using it to hunt the Arachne, then following it into a big cave where he trapped it by closing the opening with a big boulder. This must be the boss's room.

When he went up, he could tell that Alex had got himself back together and was acting like an arrogant young master. He was scolding Vivi for being a klutz, while Alpha seemed to be cursing at someone for being a pervert while preparing a backpack with a big sleeping bag. They seemed to be preparing to explore the dungeon.

“Let’s travel together, Sebi. It’s dangerous to be alone here.” Vivi approached him and said after her young master dismissed her. “Be careful with the spear, it is very sharp. This was your lucky day. The young master really hates spiders. And the engraving on it made him angry. If you didn't take it, he would have ordered me to through it away.” she whispered.

Ah, so that’s why he gave it to him. This confirmed his guesses. That Alex is afraid of spiders.

“Did he hurt you?” Sebastian asked her in a faint voice, as he could see that her delicate hand was a little swollen.

“Don’t worry, I am used to it. I am his second maid after all.” She said as she ran away avoiding the subject. But he could see the tear marks on her cheeks. That monster. How could he beat such a delicate girl?

“If you want to travel with us, you better not slow us down.” Said Alex as he took a golden spear and began to make his way forward.

Sebastian said nothing. He followed them silently after filling his water bottles, He kept watching Alex and his maids. His guts were telling him that there must be something wrong here.

During the next four hours, They kept advancing toward the boss’s room. They could tell that this was the right direction, because of the increase in the spider’s size and the web traps that appeared more frequently.

Every now and then, they would be attacked by some spiders. Sebastian watched as Alex fought the spiders using his spear from the back while his two maids who used daggers to kill the spiders acted as tanks for him.

They were not bad for their levels, especially Alpha, But Sebastian didn't like her nor the death glares she was giving Vivi.

“Let’s take a break. This young master is hungry.” Said Alex as he slowly stopped then sat down on the folding chair Vivi set for him.

This guy is a weakling. He was probably level 1 or 2, while Vivi was level 5 and that Alpha was about level 25. He could tell from their fighting style and speed. They can easily survive here with the normal spiders but they would probably die if they fought the boss Arachne.

“Sebi, eat this. You don’t seem to have anything to eat.” Said Vivi, suddenly, breaking his thoughts, she presented him with an energy bar.

“No thank you. I have my own rations.” He said as he took out a bag of specially prepared energy capsules. He would never take something from someone he had just met. Especially in a dungeon. He thought, forgetting about his new spear.

“Ah, that’s good, '' Vivi said as she unwrapped the bar and ate it happily. “Wait a second, was that her share? What a good girl” he thought as he looked at the other two who were also eating. But he never expected what happened next.

When he returned to the group after answering nature's call, he saw Alex slapping Vivi's beautiful face. He was scolding her for giving his precious food to strangers. And kept yelling at her even after she told him it was her share. Even that Alpha seemed to be saying things about how disgusted she felt about her behavior. What an evil master and maid duo!

Despite clenching his fist hard, and feeling his fingernails digging into his palms, Sebastian didn’t intervene. Vivi was Alex’s maid, and she probably had a slave seal. He knew better than trying to save her blindly. And if he said anything, that Alex would probably take it on her again. That didn’t stop him from hating Alex more though. But if he killed him here Vivi and that Alpha would probably take the blame and be executed by their sect.

"You shouldn't intervene in other people's business when you go outside. The world is treacherous and full of traps." He sighed as he remembered his master's advice

He walked slowly out of his hiding place and revealed himself. Alex that coward quickly let go of Vivi then returned to his seat while glaring at Sebastian. Sebastian glared back.

During their next trip, the situation was a little tense. Only Vivi would joke a little while hunting spiders. That girl is funny.

The situation got more dangerous as their road forward was full of spider webs. But thanks to his fireballs, all those were incinerated so they could walk easily.

The spear in his hand was simply amazing. The spiders seem to fear it. So he could hunt them quickly and efficiently by using Alex and Alpha as shields. He felt a little guilty about Vivi Though. She was given the task of collecting GEMs and she would also help him collect his and would secretly give them to him while Alex was not watching.

It didn’t take them long to reach a circular clearing. In its center, it had a man-sized hole in the ground leading to some big cave. The boss’s room.

“The boss should be down here.,” he said. As he looked at Alex who stood in the back a little hesitant. “What a wuss,” Sebastian said as he inspected the hole carefully.

The hole had many mystical inscriptions around it. This was the one in the mural earlier.

Something was strange though. There was a big stone that should be covering the hole. But it was on the side, Someone must have slid it away.

“Vivi, you go in there and check the situation,” Alex said arrogantly as he grabbed Vivi’s hand and threw her in.

Sebastian could see the fearful look in her eyes as she fell inside. He glared at Alex and intended to jump after her, but seeing the spear in Alex’s hand, he chose to be cautious and wait for a little. Being injured here, next to the boss's room, was dangerous.

After five minutes, he heard Vivi’s sharp scream, so he jumped in quickly to look for her while being prepared to counter Alex’s stab in the back that didn’t arrive.

What happened next was not something he expected. The spear in his hand seemed to have come alive as it tilted and cut his face.

Sebastian quickly stabilized it as landed in the cave and looked around, then at the spear to notice that it had some spider threads tangled on its base. He didn’t notice those before, they must have been somewhere on the gate. He cursed silently, lamenting that it was his mistake for being too preoccupied with Vivi and Alex. He told himself to calm down as he whipped the blood from his cheek that had already healed.

Just as he was prepared to call for Vivi, The boulder that acted as the cave’s door was moved back to its original location to cover the entrance. It was Alex locking him inside in the darkness.

“Damn it.” Sebastian quickly hit the boulder, but it didn’t budge.

“Bastard. When I leave here I will go to your thunder sect and remove it from existence.” He yelled angrily as he took out a flashlight from his bag and began to explore his surroundings, only to hear a fighting sound in the distance.