Garami's PoV:

These guys... Where have I seen them before?

From my hiding place atop the neighboring building, I peered down on a group of "interesting" individuals that had gathered to the smoke coming from the now defunct security room.

And for what reasons do I call them "interesting"? Well, being decked out in metal armor at this temperature is something. They're not Iron...are they? A bunch of Living Armors in the middle of the desert...nah, prolly not. Undead able to walk in daylight is too rare. The non-living members of my Guild are ruining my common sense.

Back to the "don't care about heatstroke" knight brigade, their mounts are worth bashing an eyelash or two for. They look like raptors, as in the dinosaurs. Armored raptors at that, though they're not dressed in armor. It's more like their scales are metallic and form a knightly scale mail. Weird. Some knight-exclusive evolution? I doubt some overgrown lizard could obtain the [Squire] class like Mira and Iron did. Maybe their owners affected their evolution options? Is that a thing?

Regardless of the dinos' situation, the knights don't seem too keen on looking for me. They're only looking at the sorry mess Bloom and I left behind. Well, what mostly Bloom left behind...

Still, who are these guys? Somehow, I'm getting a big case of deja vu when looking at those guys. Just where...

*Crumble...*

Eh-, GYAAA!?

*Crash!*

Ouch! I think I cracked my ass... Why are the buildings here suddenly falling apart on me!? First the TVs, now the roof just crumbled apart! Did someone curse me when I wasn't aware?

One good thing is that I landed inside the building instead of being presented on a silver plate to those knights. Not that they won't try to come investigate the noise. Let's get-

*Crumble...*

Again!? Where's the nearest quick escape!? ...Craaaap. It's the whole damn building.

*CRASH!!*

Right before the whole shebang collapsed, I jumped out of the window and created some lines to swing myself safely down to the ground. Let me just say this: that was WAY too sudden! Did I earn the ire of some god of destroyed buildings? Okay, that's all for me on that subject. Time to move on...

"Freeze!" - Knight #1

"Hands where we can see them!" - Knight #2

"M-M-M-Master! We are in trouble!" - Bloom

That's an understatement if I've ever heard one. All the knights turned their attention (and sharp weapons) toward us the moment I landed. Or...are they pointed at Bloom specifically? Why? Excuse me, knights in shining armor? It is more than just a little rude to focus on the navi rather than the protagonist! That famous elf guy clad in green would agree with me here!

Just as my irritation was getting large enough to consider pulling out my Nightmare Weapon and giving these guys a lesson in respect, the knight with the fanciest armor, probably the leader, stepped forward with his spear lowered..., holy. What's wrong with that polearm? My danger detection skills are going off like crazy regarding it.

"Excuse me, traveler. Have we met before?" - Knight Leader(?)

...? So it wasn't just me who was under the impression that we're acquaintances? Phew. My gut's telling me I dodged a large bullet there. Like, a nuclear warhead-quality one. Please don't let the punchline be that these guys are some false knights I busted some balls on before. My demonic instinct is screaming not to fight with these guys. Yikes... Let's hope the other guys are alright. Since it seems I'm going to be busy at the moment.

---

Alf's PoV:

It took a while of walking after I fled the underground reservoir or sewer or whatever that place used to be, but I finally found a ladder that I could use. Considering how long I fell, just one won't be enough. Nor can I see myself being able to climb up to the surface. *Sigh*, I wish there was an elevator here.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Grumbling would not do me any good, so I started with the climbing. The underground tunnels are depraved for light, but fortunately for me, my departure from humanity left me with several nifty abilities. Nightvision is one of them. I never had much use of it before, except when fishing at the harbor at night, but I am forced to agree with Garami on this. It is "one heck of a cheat ability".

Thanks to my improved eyes from before that horrifying teeth assault case, it was not as difficult climbing the ladder if I compared it to when I was forced to work 20-hour shifts back in Bervaudan. Gah, I still feel like Hell itself when thinking about those ****ing geezers. Is there a way to direct Garami's anger toward them? They managed to evade Filyn's rampage when she arrived in town, unfortunately, but an (unwilling) disciple of the Darkness Goddess would be one catastrophe even they can't withstand... Are Champions the same as disciples?

That question will have to be answered later. I reached the end of the ladder while stewing my resentment from the past. *Sigh*, why do I keep on thinking back to those times when I'm alone? It's truly depressing.

I haven't reached the surface yet, obviously, but these tunnels seem to be more of interest. While the ones on the "bottom level" were covered in darkness and gloom, these were a little brighter. Literally. The lights are still alive here. Your typical Magitech lamps are attached to the walls, emitting a dim glow to get rid of the shadows. Though a few of them seem to have expired...

That reminds me, aren't these tunnels a little weird? And I'm not referring to the obvious weird stuff that is going on here, a gigantic Kraken-like being trapped underneath a giant desert for one. These types of lamps, their lifespan should be around 1 to 2 decades at most. That means these tunnels should have been abandoned at the very most 20 years ago, but the park that's built on top of this underground compound is so desolated that you could probably count centuries when trying to find when it was declared lost.

Then, did someone dig out these tunnels after the amusement park went bankrupt? Or did someone remake a set of already-existing sewer pipes into what I'm walking in now? ...That sounds more than a little unsanitary, so please do not let that be the case.

Anything else I can think of is that the place is a Dungeon or a Haunt provided by the World System. Those can pop up anywhere at any time.

I had time to think of many possible solutions to this mystery as I walked through the underground corridors, but without any proof, only the Gods could know if my guesses were right or not.

Well, at least some of them could be onto something, as it's been half an hour since I climbed that ladder now. I am glad we shared our provisions between us and kept them in our Item Bags, though Garami used her Inventory skills for her portion. When taking into account how deep underground I am, at this rate, I will have to spend the night in these tunnels before I find the exit. An idea I do not wish to come true.

And an idea that fortunately may not be needed! After turning the nth corner, a large door entered my view to the corridor's side. Is my luck finally turning for the better? With withheld breath, I tried opening the large, mechanical door. Good thing some of the buildings in Garami's weird, "modern" Dungeon have similar entrances, or else I wouldn't know how to access this thing.

It took a little while to understand how the "doorknob" on this giant metal slab worked, but I managed to get inside. What greeted me...was not the elevator. Not even a staircase. On the other hand, there are no giant Kraken underlings or Skeletons carved out of gems here either. All that can be found here are dead machinery.

This place might have been some sort of weapon factory. Long production lines go past the room through small openings in the wall, with mechanical arms at the conveyor belts' sides. Maybe they were used to forge the weapons that are still being transported on the belt? Garami did mention this before, about an "automatic assembly line" or something, from her "old world". She said Alchemy would be much easier if something like that could be incorporated into the Crafting arts.

And yes, I did say that "the weapons that are still being transported". This "factory" is still "alive", at least to some degree. Half-made staves are being transported into and out of this room without pause. The mechanical arms in this room should have been working on the polished sticks to complete them, alas, they are not moving. They must be broken. Probably thanks to the sorry state of their "boss" who is taking its final rest over at that wall.

It is a gigantic machine, maybe it used to be some type of Automata creature. It is twice as big as me, looks like a bunch of metal blocks attached to create a vaguely humanoid shape, and has several cords attached to the different mechanical arms. It seems to have been controlling the arms, but not anymore. The only form of decoration was a large "07" painted on its shoulder. Large slash wounds on its metallic body, not to forget the large hole as if it had been pierced by a giant arrow, betrayed its dead state. Or is it "deactivated" since it is a machine?

Whatever happened here, the machine did not go down easily. There are several holes in the walls and floor, probably originating from the machine's large fists. However, its assailant seems to have been utterly overpowered. No signs of them having been wounded, nor them having missed any attacks. Any non-crater-like damage marks can only be found on the machine's body. The large piercing wound is especially noteworthy. Who can do such an amount of concentrated, raw damage?

Regardless, this has nothing to do with me. Garami might have wanted to investigate the remains a little more, but the assault on the machine creature was done quite a while ago when looking at the wounds' condition. The perpetrator has already left the scene, but that doesn't mean I plan on staying here. Who knows if they ever come back?

But before I leave, I want to see if there are any maps in that office-looking room over there. If this room is one of at least 7 "production areas" for this factory, going by the numbering on the robot's shoulder, then they should keep at least something to show the workers where the other rooms are located. And hopefully, some emergency exits as well. I'd even settle for a brochure that tells me what this place is all about...