So it turns out my eye is a lot better now after sleeping for 14+ hours straight, guess I did really get it from being sleep deprived until I didn't even feel sleepy anymore (yep I really take great care of my health)
Anyways, here is the chapter!
-----
Chapter 70: Hunting Den
While standing up he made sure that his movements didn't disturb Sharon in her sleep and couldn't help but smile when he remembered yesterday's events.
Spending some rather interesting time at his place for the first 2 hours they decided to make some other memories that didn't involve a bed and went out.
Strolling through the streets while holding hands they had entered a few shops here and there, not really looking for anything specific.
After buying her a cute tiger shirt and a cat paw keychain they went to see a movie and later in the evening had their dinner in an Italian restaurant.
All in all it was an enjoyable day as this was the first time he had really spent time together with a girl like this.
Gently caressing her sleeping face while wiping a red curly strand of hair away, Makoto had a peaceful smile on his face.
If only he could spend all of his time like this, not having to worry about anything and being able to be with the one he loved, that truly would be heaven.
Looking at his phone once again he sighed and left the room to shower.
It was Tuesday morning and unlike Sharon who could sleep a bit longer he had to go to College.
Just the idea left a bitter taste in his mouth as he had no intention of leaving her side but he had no choice in the matter, after all Real Life was an undying monster everyone had to battle.
.....
During a break he noticed the text message from Sharon and it pained him a little that he wouldn't be able to see her when he returned to his apartment but it was her job after all to stay Ingame for the most part.
As far as he understood it, not only did her role involve being a player boss be she also had to report any bugs or errors in the coding that she could see and give a weekly report on her experience to mostly sleep Ingame instead of outside of it.
When he had heard that she signed a contract that included that no matter what kind of health issues she got out of these tests she couldn't sue the company behind Azalon he felt a little shiver run down his back.
Even now it was still unsure if the game had any effects on people's minds if you slept in it, but considering that one day was equal to 3 Ingame days and the time spent sleeping in each of these 3 days would amount to the regular amount spent sleeping outside, just cut up into 3 portions, left the general player with little to no worries.
Skipping one or two days for a long period of time however... that was still under investigation.
At most you would feel constantly tired outside of the game which could be fixed by just sleeping a bit more.
Thinking about the game as well as his friends again Makoto couldn't help but sigh as he wished for the day to quickly end.
.....
Liliane was depressed.
Even though she was in a photo shoot right now and working she constantly thought about what Sharon and Makoto might be doing or had done last night.
It filled her with a bit of jealousy that she had never spent this kind of alone time with him.
Like a thorn stuck in her side the thought never left, haunting her every passing moment and making it hard to concentrate on anything else.
Forcing herself to smile even though she wasn’t happy, the entire shoot was thankfully soon enough over.
“Something on your mind Lilly?”
Her manager asked with a concerned voice as he had noticed that she wasn’t like her usual self today.
“Yeah but its private so I can’t really talk about it.”
“Let me guess, a boy?”
Clearly giving it away with how her expression changed for a split second she felt his hand pat her shoulder.
“Don’t worry, it will all get better with time even though you two have gone different ways so you don’t need to fe-“
“We are still together jackass!”
She hissed angrily, knocking his hand off her shoulder and standing up.
“Well where is the problem then? Forgive me for being a bit rude but no man would ever push you away if we just take your looks into account and considering that your personality is half way decent-“
“Hey!”
“I would say that he would rather chop his hand off than let you go or cheat on you so where is the problem?”
Hesitating for a second she bit her lip and shook her head which made her long raven black hair fly around.
“Forget it, you wouldn’t understand.”
Shrugging once she heard an “only trying to help” before he exited the room, leaving her to her own devices.
Looking into the mirror before her and seeing the beautiful face that was at least 4 times as pretty as the one she used Ingame staring back at her she sighed.
Would she really be satisfied if Makoto only choose her because of her looks?
It wouldn’t make her happy at all if that was what he saw in her but why was it then… that he had never said it?
Sure he told her that he felt something for her but why did he never straight up say “I love you”?
This was what had been bugging her for a while now because even though he treated her nicely and showed an interest in her body she would have to be blind not to see the difference in treatment, which was the reason she was so aggressive.
She wanted to get the response she was longing for, the whispered words and passion filled eyes that he always gave to Sharon.
She wanted him to herself…
Liliane wanted him to only look at her and what they had right now… just wasn’t enough.
Somewhat regretting that she had agreed to the current situation she was once again lost in thought as her heart longed for his love, the care and passion that she so dearly missed.
Even though she shared Makoto right now and he treated her well she felt… alone.
It just wasn’t what she had wished for when her heart slowly but surely fell for him.
.....
Arriving in a ray of light Makoto stepped out his room and went downstairs.
Sharon, Lilliana and Sanja were already waiting for him thankfully so they could all leave straight away.
Letting his pet spider Acerbus climb to his favorite spot on his shoulders he felt ready to take on anything as he glanced towards his red haired angel.
“So you said before that you knew of a place where we could level properly and considering the task at hand I would say it is something we dearly need at this point.”
Nodding once with a beaming smile she took the lead as they left House Forrowfell and the training Soldiers in the back of the mansion behind.
They walked through Elisante for quite a while and chatted on the way until Makoto noticed where they were heading to.
“The Magic Institute? If you want to find a task we can do why not visit an Inn?”
Not answering his question she only smiled and continued on until they reached the right building and went inside.
Stopping before the reception desk, Sharon’s next words confused everyone in the party.
“Hello, would it be possible to show us all of the Bounty requests for notorious killers and foreigners in the area please?”
The lady at the desk was a little surprised but only nodded and disappeared for a minute before returning with a mountain of Bounties.
“Alright guys, accept the ones around our level and for which we have the right requirements.”
Still confused as to what the hell they were doing, Makoto and the rest took the giant pile of papers and went to a nearby table to sort through it all.
After nearly half an hour they had accepted 32 Bounty requests that fit their characteristics and returned the rest.
“So why exactly are we doing this? I mean sure we will get some money and exp from it but do you realize how much time it is going to take to actually find all of these guys?”
Makoto really didn’t like the idea of doing Bounty requests at as they not only reminded him of some bad memories but also really were not ideal for them at the moment.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Calm down and just trust me on this, alright?”
Unable to resist the reassuring smile she gave him he reluctantly nodded and together they followed Sharon’s lead once again out of the Magic Institute.
Descending layer after layer the surrounding buildings quickly changed from majestic mansions and palaces to simple stalls as well as stores together with the NPCs and Players around also increasing by nearly 5 times.
Not stopping even once they pressed through the crowd and kept on going down until they reached the lowest layer and also slums of Elisante.
Even though they were inside the walls, criminal activity was rather high here and only rarely did the guards patrol the filth ridden streets.
Even though the gate itself was also on the lowest layer, from the moment someone entered the city they would naturally ascend a layer or a few in the maze like city, simply because the lowest layer was also the darkest one with the least amount of sunlight reaching it and piles of trash accumulated at nearly every corner, making passing through it all a hassle and quite disgusting.
This was the kind of place only those without a home would turn to, hunted by the guards and hated by the world.
Exchanging a quick look with Sanja and Lilliana they followed Sharon past wooden huts that seemed to break down with the slightest gust of wind and tried their best to ignore the incredible smell that seemed to always be present on this bottom layer.
After 10 minutes of silent walking and without seeing even a single soul they entered a broken down stone house, completely ignoring the destroyed wooden door on the ground.
“What the hell are we doing here?”
Lilliana finally asked, no longer being able to hold back.
“We are here because this is the right place to go if you all want to quickly level up and also earn quite a bit of money.”
Sharon answered mysteriously while walking past a gigantic piece of rotten wood that had once been the ceiling of the house.
Entering the only room that still existed in this ruin of a home they saw wooden stairs, half covered by stone bricks, leading down into the dark.
As if she had done the same thing a thousand times before, Sharon walked around each obstacle in her path and descended down into darkness.
Still confused as to how the basement would help them level up, Makoto quickly did the same even though the incredible dark made his progress slow and only after Lilliana summoned a small fireball in her hand was he able to see the ridiculous length these wooden stairs seemed to go down.
“This isn’t a regular basement is it?”
Sanja asked and Makoto could only chuckle at her question after seeing it himself.
With his interest finally awakened as he was faced with this rather strange place he followed behind Sharon who was surrounded by a globe of light.
It was one of her ‘Huntress’ Skills called ‘Wisp’ which was normally used to help illuminate the surroundings in a completely dark forest but it also worked wonders in caves or in this case.
“This is something I discovered after exploring Elisante.
As you all know unlike other players I started in the Labyrinth and the Capital from the moment I logged in for the first time so I had a lot of time on my hands in this gigantic city and also accidentally stumbled upon this entrance.”
“Entrance to where exactly?”
Makoto asked quite interested.
Who wouldn’t be if they discovered a hidden staircase leading down into the unknown beneath a city as big as this after all?
Once again not answering his question so she wouldn’t spoil the surprise, Sharon showed him a teasing smile while skipping down into the dark.
They followed her for quite a while and only after a long time did they reach the end of it all and found themselves in a cave.
They ground itself was uneven and no human seemed to have passed through it in quite a while as they continued their journey before ultimately having to crawl through a crack in the stone.
Slowly but surely they could hear voices reaching their ears.
It was only faint murmurs at the beginning but the longer they followed the red haired Huntress the louder it got until they finally emerged on top of a boulder at the outskirts of a bustling metropolis.
Right away a system notification jumped before the shocked eyes of Makoto and the rest of the party.
You have entered the special Dungeon ‘Undercity’!
As this is not a regular Dungeon the usual respawn mechanics do not apply, instead you will be teleported to the last city you visited just like normal and no matter who you kill in ‘Undercity’ your Alignment will not change.
“Even the capital of a country has its dark secrets and this is Elisante’s, a city beneath a city, only inhabited by criminals, mercenaries and corrupt business men and also the only way to enter they city as a chaotic player.
There are many hidden entrances in and outside of the capital leading to this place as far as I know which makes the whole ‘making sure you are not chaotic’ thing at the gates leading into the city pretty pointless in my opinion but only very few people know of this place.
Entire crime networks have their headquarters here and many guards and nobles of the city are either bought or have at least done some shady deals with the people here.
Where did you think your little NPC friend Finn got the people for the army you are trying to build Makoto?”
Stunned by these words he didn’t really know what to say as he looked at the scenery before his eyes.
It really was an entire city with countless buildings all constructed underground and away from any sunlight.
Giant stone furnaces built at the top of the cave ceiling that had to be at least 20 feet in diameter burned day and night to somewhat illuminate the streets and buildings below while street lights all around helped to brighten up those places that still remained in twilight.
It was a sight like you would normally only see it in a fantasy movie, an entire city with even a river running through it built entirely underground.
This was how Makoto normally always envisioned Dwarfs to live like but it was a big difference to think about it and to actually see it himself.
Considering it was humans who built Undercity it suddenly interested him to see how the real Dwarfs Ingame lived so he made a mental note to visit Farkiln their homeland that bordered on Asuria whenever he had the time.
Sanja and Lilliana both had the same shocked expression on their face as they looked down at the city that stretched out beneath them.
“So this was the reason you wanted us to accept all those Bounty requests… do all criminals that we selected live here?”
“Well I did say specifically to only accept those that are known to have created trouble in the area so considering there is no other town close to the capital and this is the best place to be for any criminal they should all be inside Undercity as far as I know.
I also did this in the past and even though it wasn’t always instantly but in the end I always found my target here no matter how many times I did it.”
Sharon answered with a satisfied smile after seeing their expressions.
With Acerbus standing on his shoulder he looked down on the people making their way through the streets below and a dark smile formed on his lips.
Turning around to his party, his crimson eyes seemed to hold a new light as his fingers itched for some combat after such a long time.
“Who is ready for some hunting?”
He asked in a sinister voice that sent shivers down the spines of each of the girls.
-----
We are ever so slowly reaching the end of Book 2 (well I say slowly considering I still need to write quite a lot together with the Tournament and getting rid of the King etc.... at least it is in sight I guess?
Hope you enjoyed it and see you all on Sunday! (This time hopefully without any annoying delays like my body telling me to take care of myself *rolls eyes*)
PS: I wrote this chapter while only having one eye open to read it :D
Abbadon out!