Long Lost Beach

The beach continued to stretch on for several miles. Natalia walked right on the edge of the water, listening to the soft waves roll onto the sandy beach. The beach widened after all, going from a thin strip, to a much larger landmass. A few strange trees began to appear, they were thin and springy, almost like tentacles twisting upwards into the sky. Their bark was bleach white, with some of them producing peculiar black flowers, mixing a floral scent in with the smell of the salt water and the decaying sea weed. Natalia finally came to a stop, noting a structure in the distance. It looked like an old, dilapidated castle, overgrown with the strange tentacle like trees growing from the gaps in the old stone. There was an ancient dock by the castle, and what looked like an old galley ship was washed up some distance down from it.

“Is that the Old Keep?” Natalia wondered out loud.

The Old Keep was the home base of the deepest dungeon delvers one hundred years ago. It was the home to some of the first S rank adventurers, consisting of her ancestor, Leo Crestfall, and the hero Ricard the Skill-less.

“I'm across the Vast Ocean,” Natalia shook her head in disbelief.

It was a shortcut that they had found, a shortcut that completely circumvented the expedition of before. It also meant that Natalia is now deep within the dungeon, deeper than anyone has been since the Old Keep was abandoned. For the first time since she came to this beach, she hesitated. There were stories of the monsters down here. They say even the common enemies were enough to kill an S rank adventurer if they were not careful.

Smoke seemed to bellow from somewhere near the Old Keep. Natalia realized there was the smell of something cooking in the air. Had some adventurers taken residence in the castle? This thought was interrupted by the sound of approaching hooves. She spotted a group of them emerging from a side door of the keep; several orc riders atop kelpies. The horse-like creatures normally drowned anyone who rode atop them, but they seemed ordinary mounts for their riders as they approached.

“Monsters?” Natalia drew her weapon, ready to cut them down.

She prepared herself to charge. It would’ve been quick work to slice down all her foes, yet something made her stop. She noticed their weapons; they weren’t the crude weapons normally used by these semi-sentient monsters. They were fine blades, not just the rusted weapons stolen from dead adventurers, but freshly forged weapons.

The Orc pointed at Natalia, screaming in a language she did not understand, before whipping its kelpie, forcing it to charge forward. The others followed, rushing towards Natalia with drawn weapons. With a flash of sand and steel, Natalia moved at blinding speed, cutting straight through half of the attackers. Her weapon cleaved across the kelpies and the orcs, killing them instantly. There were three survivors, one of which was badly wounded from the sword strike. They yelled louder, bucking their kelpies and forcing them to circle around. The water horses moved towards the crashing waves, running atop the water like it was solid ground. Natalia watched the three of them run across the water adjacent to her, sword in one hand, her other hand on her hip, as she waited for them to meet their death.

She heard the hooves right before the blade swung down on her. At the last moment, she whipped around, narrowly parrying the attack. The orc’s blade slid across her own, gashing her across the cheek. With effort, she launched herself backwards as the kelpie galloped away, running atop the sea towards the three others who were still approaching.

“Why did Attack Anticipation have to stop working?” Natalia complained, wiping away blood from her cheek. “I’ve been hit more times today than my entire adventurer career.”

The now four horsemen sped up their charges, waving their weapons, bloodlust in their yellow eyes. Natalia focused. Although most of her skill seemed to be malfunctioning, there was one that she could rely on. The Blessing of the Blade Goddess came with standard abilities, Blade Mastery and Attack Anticipation chief among them. However, each inheritor of the skill also possessed a unique ability; a special attack that was always different depending on the user.

“Blade Ballet!” She screamed.

Several mana swords formed in the surrounding air. Yes, this was her unique ability, an ability that earned her the title of Blade Princess. It was an elegant dance of dozens of swords, each capable of cutting down multiple targets at once. It was the only thing truly her own, a reflection of who she was.

“Dance,” She instructed the weapons.

With a flick of her own held blade, the glowing swords swirled in an elaborate pattern. In a split second, two of the riders were nothing more than ribbons, torn to shreds by flying blades moving faster than the wind. With another twirl of Natalia’s blade, the brief flash of silver startled the last surviving rider, just as his companion and his kelpie disappeared in a shower of mist and viscera. The final rider gritted his fangs, resolving to hit the woman with one final charge. Natalia waited, once again placing a hand to her hip, just as the rider lifted his blade, ready to cut her down. Like a pin cushion, he fell over, a dozen swords jutting out from his body as he collapsed into the waves. His kelpie survive, breaking free from the charge and rushing into the ocean, disappearing below its depths.

Natalia sighed, sheathing her blade and turning towards the Old Keep. She wondered if more orcs would come to face her. Those fires probably belonged to them as well. She took a step, only to suddenly fall over.

“What?” She grunted, her bloodied cheek grinding against the sand.

It felt as if an immense weight was atop her. No matter what she did, she couldn’t do anything but crawl helpless on the sand.

“Blade…” She heaved. The weight crushed her lungs. “Ballet…”

A few swords shimmered into existence, less than before. The crushing weight made it difficult to concentrate, but she managed to will the blades in different directions, hoping to hit whatever was doing this to her. It didn’t seem to work.

“Who’s there…” She grunted, managing to turn her face as a massive shadow suddenly loomed over her.

An enormous gray dragon descended from the sky, its rider looking down on Natalia with a demented grin.