Cave In

*THWACK* *CLING* *CLING*, the sound of a pickaxe striking the stone wall echoed inside the dark dungeon cave, followed by the sound of rocks falling to the ground.

"This should be the last one for my request," Aki stated, picking up a bright, warm, orange rock. "Ten Thermal Stones completed! Time to return home, right, Shrimpy?", as he looked down at a tiny orange bird sitting in a wooden cage on top of his backpack.

It has been three weeks since the meeting with the Royal Family, and Aki has been working diligently on completing the gathering request. Lately, Aki has been collecting Thermal Stones deep inside the Roa Dungeon, which is known to spawn rare ores with his partner, Shrimpy, a monster called Song Bird. 

Song Bird lvl: 10 / F-Rank Monster / Name: Shrimpy

Song Birds are known for their singing abilities, with each one producing their own different melodies.

Song Birds are often kept as pets and can be trained to sing in tune with other Song Birds, creating a beautiful arrangement piece. 

Before entering the cave dungeon, Aki was concerned about any possible gas-related exposure while mining, even though it was deemed safe by the Adventure Guild. So, Aki went to the market looking for a canary to carry with him to help with that fear. 

In the past, miners often carried canaries with them as a way to determine if the mines were filled with toxic fumes or gases. When the canaries stopped chirping, they knew there was something toxic in the air and would promptly return. 

Aki found the tiny Song Bird at the market on discount for only a few copper coins compared to the other large birds, which cost a few silver coins to a dozen gold coins. The merchant stated it couldn't sing and was defective, which was why it was so cheap. For Aki, the bird was singing fine, and he realized it was singing at a higher frequency called Mosquito Tone.

Mosquito Tone is a high tone of frequency that is measured at above 17kHz, which adults over the age of thirty can't hear.

Since Aki was reincarnated, his youthfulness was returned to him, and his sense heightened, enabling him to hear the high frequency without any issue. 

Aki picked up his backpack and proceeded to head towards the entrance of the dungeon with Shrimpy chirping happily along. 

"Cover me!" a male voice yelled loudly as he lunged forward to strike a monster on its back with a long sword. *Clang* The metal sword vibrated loudly in the dungeon. "Why is it so hard?" he questioned before falling back. 

Appraisal

Rock Lizard, Lvl: 38 / D-Rank Monster 

Rock Lizards are found in dungeons or caverns filled with ores, as they primarily feed on precious ores to help strengthen their scales. 

Rock Lizard's scales are considered valuable and can be used to make lightweight body armor. 

"Hmm.....they are not really thinking when they are attacking, are they?" Aki assessed the five adventure parties' fighting style. "Why would you purposely attack the ridiculous hard scales head-on and even risk damaging them?" he pondered. 

"Move!" a female caster yelled, sending a large fireball toward the Rock Lizard. 

"ARE THEY FUCKING INSANE?!?!" Aki stated, "YOU SHOULD NEVER USE FIRE SKILLS IN A CAVE?!?!" watching the Rock Lizard scream in pain and lie flat on the ground. 

"QUEST COMPLETED!!" the party exclaimed, high-fiving each other. 

"ALL OF YOU DUCK!!!" Aki yelled, quickly running towards them, *Flash Step*, as he quickly stood in between the party & the Rock Lizard. *Earth Wall*, followed by a large stone wall appearing in front. 

"Who the hell are you??!?!" the male swordsman yelled, "What are you doing?" he questioned. 

"SHUT UP AND GET TO THE GROUND NOW!!" Aki instructed as he dropped to the ground, covering his head, and tucked Shrimpy close to his chest.

The party, remaining standing, remained standing around, confused, but the female caster heeded the warning and ducked down. Suddenly, a large scale pierced the Earth Wall and struck the male swordsman in his abdomen, sending him to the ground while multiple scales began to pierce through the Earth Wall, striking the remaining party as they attempted to duck. 

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!!?" the female caster yelled, with the remaining party screaming and yelling as they took blows from the hard scales. 

"YOU MORONS DIDN'T FINISH THE LIZARD OFF!!" Aki yelled, WHEN ROCK LIZARD BECOMES SEVERELY INJURED, IT STARTS TO PURGE ITS SCALES IN AN ATTEMPT TO INCREASE MOBILITY TO ESCAPE!!" he explained. 

After a few minutes had passed by, the scale attack stopped with the Rock Lizard disappearing. Aki stood up and looked at the remaining party, who failed to heed his warning and were now severely injured. The swordsman was lying on the ground with his metal body armor destroyed, with multiple ribs cracked. The female elf archer was leaning against the rock wall, unconscious after being hit in the head by a scale, with her right ear clipped. The remaining two members, a male thief and a female shield tank, were dead with multiple holes piercing directly through them. 

"FUCKING MORNS!!!!" Aki yelled, "They tried to withstand the scale attacks with just a regular, large metal shield, didn't they?" he realized, looking at the remaining pieces of the destroyed shield. 

The female caster stood up and quickly fell back to the ground after seeing the state of the party, crying immediately. 

Aki tied a small parchment paper to Shrimpy and sent him flying to the Adventurer Guild for assistance, as he couldn't leave the survivors in this cave alone. 

After completing first aid on the Elf archer and the swordsman, a female voice could be heard, "IS EVERYONE OKAY?" followed by the sound of footsteps approaching them. A few minutes later, an eight-person adventure party arrived. A female elf stepped forward, wearing a green tunic with long white sleeves and long white pants. She carried a long, thin sword with a bow and quiver on her back. "My name is Ana, the Guild Master requests that we come help," with Shrimpy on her shoulder. 

"They will be now," Aki stated with Shrimpy returning to his cage, "The two deceased are over here," he pointed at two bodies with a small white cloth over their faces. 

"I see..." Ana answered, "The Guild Master requests you to return to complete a report," she stated, with the remaining party member picking up the unconscious adventurers and the deceased, with two female adventurers trying to comfort the female caster. 

"Roger," Aki replied, taking a step forward with the cave shaking intensely. 

"What is going on?!?!" Ana yelled as rocks began to fall from above. 

"The scale attack must have weakened the dungeon structure, and it's coming down now!" Aki stated, "RUN!!" he yelled. 

The party began to run out of the entrances with a large rock striking Ana in her head, causing her to fall to the ground. Aki stopped and grabbed Ana by her arm, forcing her to stand up. 

"LEAVE ME!!" Ana demanded with blood covering her vision. 

"SHUT IT!!" Aki yelled as he proceeded to carry her in his arms, taking a deep breath, *Flash Step*, dodging all the falling rocks. "Almost there," he stated, looking at the opening with only a few inches away. Suddenly, the floor gave way, and the two started to fall into the hole. 

"Sorry about this," Aki apologized, pulling on her right arm, throwing her over his body, and straight outside. 

*SLAM*, The cave dungeon entrance was fully sealed, and Ana stood up, supporting her right arm, which had popped out of her shoulder. 

"DAMN IT!!!" Ana yelled loudly, striking the large boulder that blocked the entrance.