Underhero Mysterious Dungeons: Enter the Dungeon

Chapter 10

Snow crunched underfoot as Grey and Oaken wandered through the Long Woods. Every breath the two kids took were visible puffs. And the snow seemed endless. Although monsters have joined the side of good, the real threat to them were Zompos, zombie moles who live underground, and only fight when they're disturbed. Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of them is to whack them with a huge hammer. The only one who has a big mallet was Oaken, given to him by Bachi in case of emergencies. But the merchant knows that the disguised princess would make better use of the weapon than him.

Grey gently kicked his toes to the manor steps, knocking the snow off his red boots. Walking inside, ghosts were hovering back and forth with underhero business or hanging out with friends. The human children waved to the specters passing by. Oaken felt chills down his spine and looked at the ghosts nervously. He knew they're harmless now, but ghosts always made him anxious. He wasn't sure why.

Back to treading through the snow, now was the time to really be careful.

"Watch the ground as you step." Grey warned. Oaken nods. "If a Zompo pops up and grabs you, whack it with a hammer!"

"And if you get attacked?" Oaken asked.

"Toss it to me so I can whack it, of course." Grey answered.

"Right." The brown-haired boy nodded. "Um... Hey, if you don't mind me asking, where did you get the name Grey?"

Grey paused for a moment, thinking back on his first battle with Mouse and Elizabeth.

"Hold it right there!" Grey Kid snapped. He held his rapier to Mouse's throat. "You are the one who took the legendary weapon of the hero! Give it to me, immediately!" Mouse gulped, feeling a shudder go down their spine.

"Ah! Do you know what this means, kid?!" Elizabeth asked. The smaller masked kid tilted their head in confusion. "You have a rival now!!! You're one step closer to becoming a true hero!"

"SILENCE! I'm no one's rival! You're not strong enough to even be called MY rival!" Grey sneered.

Elizabeth was clearly amused by this kid's attempt to be tough. "He's so full of himself, too!" Elizabeth joyful demeanor changed, as she sobbed happily. "I'm so proud of you, kid."

"Enough!" Grey snapped. "You will give me the weapon or you will die here!"

Elizabeth scoffed at this. "Sure, bring it on, Grey Kid. Let's see if you're 'worthy'." The hilt then proceeded to laugh.

"Um, excuse the intrusion, but are you perhaps... fighting, by any chance?" A chubby ghost asked.

Grey, unphased and unmoving just shouted, "Stay out of this, you blob."

"Just like I thought! AHEM!" The ghost turned to the ghost party and shouted, "YO! YOU GUYS!!! THERES A FIGHT OVER HERE!!!"

A huge cluster of ghosts gathered and started chanting "FIGHT!" over and over. Grey lowered his weapon and groaned with annoyance along with Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth called me Grey Kid when I blocked their path, and... I guess the name stuck." Grey explained.

Suddenly, a hand popped out of the ground and grabbed Grey's ankle. The Zompo emerged and groaned, holding on to Grey's leg with both claws. Oaken grabbed his hammer and slammed it on the zombie mole. The undead creature let go, leaving a scratch in the process.

Grey and Oaken ran for the trees as the monster was dazed. Sitting high in the branches, Oaken and Grey were able to catch their breath. Blood was dripping from the Grey Kid's wounded ankle. He noticed this and wrapped a bandage around it and downed a potion.