Hanging by a Thread

While I did recover somewhat the next day, I’d be lying if I said I was feeling completely refreshed. My arm was still tingling, flakes of dried skin were constantly peeling from various parts of my body, and for some reason, a heavy sense of fatigue stubbornly lingered around me this morning.

While I was far from perfect, my personal feelings did not matter. Counting today, there were exactly two more days before the scheduled final raid. Of course, we could always extend that deadline, but… deep down, I, and everyone else around me felt that if we were to do that… If we were to somehow show any signs of giving up - even if they were small, almost insignificant actions… then something… something might just break inside.

That’s why, because of this vague, sentimental, and mostly baseless feeling, despite my current condition, I forced myself to act.

Right now, I was waiting by the hallway that connected the first floors of the East and main buildings. Going by appearances alone, the scenery of giant felled stone and destroyed concrete had not changed. It looked both imposing and uncrossable, but I knew better. After numerous ventures, I-

“Hide! Sorry!”

From the distance, I heard an energetic, and at the same time, fatigued voice call towards me. I swiftly swiveled my head to face the corridor I had just come from, and saw a familiar girl with striking red hair, green vibrant eyes, and a figure that could be judged as “above-average”... maybe more than that, depending on a person’s individual tastes.

While I continued to stare as the familiar person approached, her most striking feature soon came into view. A severed right arm, cut off near the base of her elbow.

“Ah, Hide, s-sorry to keep you waiting…” Cher repeated in a fatigued voice after finally reaching me.

She doubled over and rested her remaining hand onto her knees, while she took deep and purposeful breaths. Her chest constantly heaved up and down while the air she expired was both ragged and uneven. A thin layer of sweat persisted on her flushed red face. While she did look fatigued, I knew better than that. For someone at Cher’s level, a mild run from the base to here wasn’t enough to deplete so much stamina. Rather, her current appearance was due to nervousness.

That was only natural though, after all, our destination for today was the monster infested main building.

As Cher recovered, she looked up at me with somewhat jittery eyes. Those same eyes momentarily widened as she dumbly stared at me. Her once weary and nervous expression suddenly shifted to one of incredulity. She was at a lost for words, as she dazedly opened and closed her mouth several times without making a single noise.

“I-I see you’re all prepared…” Cher finally managed to mumble out in a half daze while her green eyes scanned over my body with timid curiosity.

“Huh?” after feeling Cher’s strong stare, and hearing her voice, I could not help but reflexively look down on myself.

Draped around my shoulder and chest was a thick roll of rope. The rope constricted tightly around my body, but despite its appearance, it posed no real threat to my movement. On my waist was a less than aesthetic brown belt. Its appearance wasn’t the most charming, which was understandable, considering this belt used to be a utility belt- the type handymen and electricians wore. I had customized the belt a while ago, removing almost all of its pockets while adding more and more place holders.

Right now, this utility belt was filled to the brim with a various assortment of daggers Some of them were the old goblin daggers I’ve kept up until now, while others were crudely created bladed weapons with hardly anything one might call a grip. These I had created out of the spare exoskeleton I had back when I was still making armor. In truth, they were more lumps of metal than actual knives or daggers, but since I’ve sharpened them to a fine enough extent where they could cut paper with ease, their lethality was unquestionable- at least to normal humans.

In addition to the daggers, I also kept marbles, a box of matches, a few vials of Gila blood (which I  discovered doesn’t melt through glass), as well as a couple of health and stamina potions. These I held in the only pocket that I did not remove.

Along with that, hanging to the side of my waist was a thinner set of rope, this one rolled up in a bundle with a hook like apparatus hanging at the end of it. This was an impromptu grappling hook, one I fashioned by breaking off and bending the metal lining of the edge of a shelf that I found in the bomb shelter. It wasn’t the most durable, nor was it the most aesthetically pleasing, but in an emergency, it was capable of holding my weight for at least a couple of seconds- and for me, that was enough.

In short, I was decked out with all sorts of gear. I had brought everything I could possibly bring- including my two most used weapons. The wooden club was strapped firmly onto my back with an impromptu sling, while [Efhermet]’s dagger was tucked safely in a leg strap I fashioned the same time I had made the utility belt. And it goes without saying that I was currently wearing my new armor...

The only thing missing were the black longsword, the  giant pole arm and the ax,  which I deemed too large for the type of operation we were about to embark on.

“Ah… well,” I coughed lightly as I absentmindedly patted the rope that curled around my chest. “We’re going to be a bit busy today, so I thought it would be best to be prepared.” After pausing and considering what I had said, I then added in a somewhat nonchalant tone, “After all, you could die in an instant out there, so it's definitely best to err on the side of caution.”

“Hahaha…” Cher weakly laughed as she straightened her back and adjusted the armor she wore over her clothes. She looked a bit uncomfortable in her new armor, especially around her chest area, which I noticed for the first time was a bit too tight fitting… She ambiguously scratched at her stump, while staring at me in a somewhat over exaggerated manner. “The way you say things like that so casually… it’s kind of scary Hide.”

In response, I shrugged, as I turned around and began walking over to the pile of rubble ahead of us. “Not as scary as what’s out there.” I motioned as I bent over and began inspecting the wall of destroyed concrete

“Ah… You come in a close second.” Cher added lightly as she trailed behind me.

“Stop complaining already, idiot. Help me find the hole.”

“Uuuu…” Cher weakly groaned as if she were physically pained. As she crouched down besides me, and began timidly touching the wall, she mumbled out under her breath, “There’s absolutely no love in Hide’s words…”

“Huh, did you say something?”

“Nothing at all, MASTER.” Remembering our conversation from before, she sarcastically commented with a pout… Well, although I say sarcastically, for some strange reason, when the word “master” escaped her throat, her face had turned a shade redder, and her breathe had gone a bit more ragged, although it was really hard to tell considering she was already like that before.

As we dug around the wall, I moved with purposeful actions. My hands began removing various stones of differing sized while at the same time, I dusted off some layer of soot and debris that had started to form. Cher who was right besides me, had on a curious expression as she stared at me. Like in true useless fashion, she was not actually helping, but rather, just sat there gawking.

While I was working, she could not help but comment. “...I have a feeling this isn’t really your first time going back into the building like this…”

“Well, you’re not wrong.” Finding no reason to hide it, I truthfully answered as I continued to dig around the rubble, trying to find that ne sweet spot where I knew the hole was at. “But since there’s a burden coming along today, I can’t be too complacent.”

In response to my snide remark, Cher gasped as if she had been shot in the chest with a galvanized steel arrow. “Mean! That’s really mean!” She pitifully shouted with an expression on the verge of tears. She instantly shot up and stomped her foot down onto the broken tile below. The wooden shield she carried on her back jumped with her.

“You’re not even helping me right now...” I commented while I once sidedly worked. “We’re not even in the main building and already you’re a burden!”

She ignored my words, and instead pouted in a somewhat childish way. If she were a bit younger, I would have found it cute. Cher sat back down and began helping me, all the while though,  she mumbled with a dissatisfied expression etched onto her face. “Lately, I’ve noticed that Hide discriminates between girls… you always treat Cielle and Hina way nicer than me…Although I don’t particularly mind… but sometimes I’d like to be treated like a proper lady though…”

“Che-” I scoffed, without turning around. “I’ve also noticed that lately you’ve gotten a lot more talkative…”

“Eh? What was that? Did you say something?”

“Nothing, idiot.” I ignored any further ramblings from that scatterbrained redhead and refocused my attention on the task at hand. After an extra minute of searching I finally found the hole that Cielle had helped me carve out a few weeks ago.

Without hesitation, I cleared the debris that blocked the hole aside, before plunging head first into its crevice. As the darkness and concrete enveloped me, I began to crawl forward, momentarily leaving behind the bewildered Cher on the other side. She was quick to follow though, and, with some slight difficulty due to her one arm, she delved into the hole, and together, we quickly made our way into the Main building.

****

Previously, in order to map out the route the smaller group would take during the upcoming battle, I had ventured numerous times out into the main building. At the same time, I used this opportunity to strengthen myself.

And it goes without saying that up until now, I’ve always ventured out alone. To me, for this type of operation where stealth was favored over raw output, being alone was actually more beneficial. Today was different though. Cher was accompanying me, so while I do already have some experience, the outcome of today was still questionable.

I exited the hole and arrived on the other side of an empty, almost desolate hallway. I looked around, the familiar scene illuminated by the morning’s sunlight was almost breathtaking. Even the destroyed infrastructure and countless blood stains could not ruin that ephemeral illusion for me.

“Ah, Uh… Hide, help me- guh, please…” As I was taking everything in, from behind me, a pathetic sounding voice wafted forward.

Turning around, I saw Cher, who was currently struggling at the exit of the hole. Only her upper body stuck out, while the rest was still firmly embedded into the hole. Looking closely, it was her wooden shield that restricted her movements. It was too wide to properly fit through the narrow hole.

After loosening and rearranging some of the concrete, Cher popped out like the contents of a newly opened can of sardines. She groaned as she crawled forward and sprawled down beside my feet.

Seeing her like this, I helplessly shrugged before bending down and- in the face of Cher’s protests - forced her back onto her feet. “This was why I couldn’t let you bring the shield along.” I offhandedly commented. “It wouldn’t have fit through the hole.”

As she was reminded of this, her pitiful groans subsided, only to be replaced by a drawn out, and forlorn sigh. On her face was an embittered expression. “After making such a good item for me and even giving it such a splendid name… hah… It’s really a shame I can’t use it.”

Ignoring her offhanded comment, I proceeded forward. “That's exactly why we’re here, so you can get strong enough to use that shield. Don’t lag behind and hurry up.”

Cher made a pained expression, and, while suppressing her groans, hastily followed behind me. As she ran to catch up, I began explaining.

“We’ll be heading towards the gymnasium near the back of the building.” I stated as I turned a corner with familiar foot steps. “I’ve been here before, and I’ve taken the liberty of visiting just about every corner of the building. After taking into consideration the whole structure of both the building and the structure of the horde, I came to the conclusion that the gym is the best place for farming.”

“I-is that so…” Cher’s nervous voice  rang out from behind me. I don’t know since when, but she had started whispering excessively, and her steps were short and deliberate. It was as if every step we took that brought us deeper and deeper into the building, the more she shrunk back in half fright.

We walked silently for a few seconds before finally, as if she could not take anymore of the ensuing tension, she asked, “W-why are we out here in the middle of the hall? Shouldn’t we be, I don’t know, traveling through the ventilation shafts or somethings?”

I shot a glance back at Cher. Seeing her overly nervous expression, as well as the way she constantly stroked her severed stump, I could tell that her confidence in battle had gone down severely. Whether she could properly fight or not was a big weight on her shoulders. And this weight, this uncertainty was the main cause of Cher’s nervousness.

I turned back around, and faced forward. After a few seconds of hesitation, I responded, “We’re still safe out here. We still haven’t been noticed yet, so traveling through the vents right now is useless at this point. Taking the direct route like this is faster and will save us some time.”

I was constantly using [Echolocation]  as we continued forward, so I had a good early warning detection system that practically guaranteed our safety as we traveled.

Even with my reassurance, Cher’s nervousness was still ever present. She wanted to unstrap the shield on her back and equip it, but I urged her not to. Now wasn’t the time yet, and a shield on her remaining arm would only be detrimental when we did eventually start traveling by vent.

After a few minutes of silent traveling, my ears pricked up while my head instinctively turned towards the source of the noise. For a few seconds I stopped, and concentrated on the minute subtlety of [Echolocation].

“Hide..?” Cher who almost bumped into me, curiously questioned, while her eyes swerved nervously around us. I ignored her and continued listening.

After a few seconds, I finally loosened my tense body. Along with it, came a small sigh that escaped from my slightly parted lips.

“They’re coming.” I whispered as I began running back the way we came.

“Eh, wha- eh?” Cher’s confusion was short lived before a bitter and determined look flashed across her face. She stared at her surroundings one last time before turning around and following me with rapid footsteps.

As we ran, she could not help but question. “Why are we going backwards?”

“The closest ventilation shaft was the one we passed by a few rooms down.” I answered simply as we arrived at the aforementioned ventilation shaft.

I took out [Efhermet]’s dagger from my belt, and quickly used [Dissect] to open up the metal entrance. I ushered Cher inside before I quickly followed behind her. I did not bother to reseal the shaft entrance, after all, the monsters around here were large, and considering the fact that I already killed off all the premature Wetlanders (the only ones small enough to fit through the vents), not a single one of them could fit through here.

We ventured deeper into the vents, and as the darkness encroached upon our surroundings, the echoes of our shallow breathing reverberated all around us.

For a few minutes we traveled in absolute darkness. It was only after I directed Cher to turn a corner did we start feeling the pressure of the horde’s presence. At first, it was slight. The floor beneath us shook, slightly, like the trembling of a disturbed surface of water. The vibrations only intensified as the seconds past, and within this  metal coffin, they were like sonic booms that assaulted our ears.

Almost without warning, the wall besides us shook greatly, and a pained roar could be heard from behind the wall to our left. The horde had finally arrived. Soon, more and more monsters crashed into the wall, shaking its foundations to a great extent, and rocking the vents violently. The once loud metal vibrations of the vents were quickly overshadowed by the hateful and blood lusted roars of the monsters outside.

Up ahead of me, Cher’s body stopped in mid crawl. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I could see the trembling in Cher’s shoulders. With it, her breaths grew louder, and more irregular. She heaved up and down, and soon, she was gasping for air. She looked like she could not breathe, and the pool of sweat that had formed underneath her only made things worse.

“Cher!” I screamed over the Horde. Seeing her back unturned, I screamed once more, this time, loud and strong enough for my throat to turn hoarse. “CHER!”

Whether she really did hear me, or she instinctively turned to me for comfort,  Cher’s teary eyes stared nervously at me from up ahead. Her lips were thin and trembling, while those emerald green eyes of hers could not hold back the tears they had accumulated.

“Hide….” She whispered so quietly that I only understood what she had said through reading her lips.

“Keep going!” I yelled louder as another monster rammed into the wall. “Don’t stop, keep going!”

She hesitated, her limbs were stiff like a board, and her back was arched into a rigid bridge. All she could do was maintain her dread filled expression.

With impatience, I pushed Cher forward. She stumbled, before losing out to the imbalance of her body and crashing down onto the metal floor. Her remaining arm was pinned down underneath her, while the fall had caused her chin to strike the floor with a resounding thud.

“Keep going.” I merely repeated, as Cher struggled to regain her bearings. “If we don’t keep going, we’ll end up dead. So stop whimpering and move!”

The minute she was able to raise her head above her shoulders, I pushed her forward once more. She stumbled like before, but this time, she did not fall. Her shoulders still trembled, but her limbs were less stiff than before.

Without turning back around, I could hear her take in a heavy intake of breath before she began crawling forward. She was slow at first, before her speed steadily increased. In no time flat, we were crawling at a speed faster than a person jogging.

We continued to crawl for 20 minutes. The horde that had been assigned to chase us, only grew larger and larger as time passed. They were relentless as well. Throughout these 20 minutes, their presence behind the wall to our left was constant, a never ending reminder of the danger we were wrapped up in.

When we reached our 3rd intersection, I stopped Cher’s frantic crawl. She looked at me with eyes of confusion as she panted heavily in an effort to regain her lost stamina.

I pointed down the shaft that led down to the right. “Up ahead here is the hallway that leads directly into the gymnasium. The rooms and walls separating that hall” - I pointed towards my left, indicating the hall occupied by the horde - “from the hall connected to the gym should buy us enough time to reach the gym before they can get to us. Be prepared to run.”

Cher listened to every word I uttered with rapt attention. She nodded resolutely while readjusting the armor that had ridden up her waist.

“Okay.” I nodded back. “This time I’ll lead. Don’t slow down no matter what.”

Cher moved forward a bit, making some room for me, before I crawled in front of the intersection. Staring down at the turn, I  pressed my feet against the metal wall before I pushed up with enough force to cave in the wall.

My body rushed forward, and using the momentum, I began crawling at a tremendous speed. Behind me, I could hear Cher following closely behind.

In less than 10 seconds, I could see the opening. It connected to a well lit hallway, and seeing the light seep into the vents only increased my determination. I once again propelled myself forward by pushing against the walls around me. My body zoomed forward, and I crossed my arms in front of me as I quickly approached the metal screen.

[Shadow Sprint]!

I used the speed increase feature from my [Shadow Sprint] skill and forcibly pushed my speed beyond its limits. In the next instant, I crashed through the screen, and into the hall.

Without stopping, I rolled forward before leaping to my feet. I then immediately ran down the hallway, not bothering to check whether or not Cher had followed.

Even without turning around, I could still tell that Cher was frantically following after me. Her heavy breathing and rushed footsteps were an all too obvious indication.

We ran forward for 20 seconds before we finally ran past opened double doors and into the gymnasium.

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My feet came to a sliding stop as I took a moment to assess our surroundings.

The walls were a shade of murky yellow, while the floors were stained with red and brown- a combination of both dried blood and aggregated dirt. Overall, the atmosphere the gymnasium gave off was one of destitution, like a worn out and old sock left like in a corner of a room. Despite that though, if there was one thing our school’s gymnasium could boast itself over, it was its sheer size. Making up almost 1/4th of the total area of the Main building, the gymnasium was shaped rectangular, and had walls soaring up as high as 25 meters. Along with that, the dome shaped roof was supported by numerous metal beams and rafters.

While I was busy inspecting our surroundings, a sudden nudge from behind pushed me forward a step. Turning around, I saw a heavily panting Cher- her face was comprised of 20% fatigue and 80% anxiety.

“Hi...hah… Hide, w-we’re here…. hah… what do we do now?” She asked through labored breaths. Her remaining hand was shaking in anticipation as she unconsciously grabbed for the wooden shield strapped behind her.

I looked out beyond the open doorway before I turned around and stared straight up at the ceiling. While eyeing a particular metal beam hanging almost exactly center of the room, I answered. “First off, we’ll need to secure higher ground… In less than a minute, this room will be flooded with monsters, and if we’re still down here… we’ll be mobbed to death, ripped apart, limb by limb, piece by piece… our blood will splatter these walls and our bodies will end up as mere monster feed… by that point, death will be the least of our worries.”

Hearing my gruesome explanation, Cher’s face paled and her body grew rigid. She swallowed a wad of saliva as she frightfully stared at the open door.

“Ah-H-h-hide, w-what should we do? Hide- ah!” While Cher stammered out in nervousness, I was already long gone. My figure, which had been besides her just a second ago, was now over 25 meters above the ground, standing steadily on top of a raised metal beam on the ceiling.

“Hide?!” Cher widened her eyes as she stared at me with a look of incredulity. “How did you- wait, don’t leave me here! That’s not fair, Hide!” She frantically screamed while jumping up and down in a fit of anxiety.

“I got it, I got it,” I sighed out in annoyance. Without further prompt, I began unfastening the rope that I had around my chest. I then tied one end around the base of the metal beam, before tossing the rope down below. The rope was more than 30 meters long, so it hit the wooden floor with a resounding bam!

Cher’s eyes sparkled as she stared fixedly at the rope. Her hand trembled as she approached it, almost as if she were afraid of breaking a fragile glass ornament. She was stuck in this dazed like state of relief for but a fraction of a second, before the thundering stampede that came from out in the hallway shocked her back out of her derision.

In frantic haste, she clambered up the rope like an awkward monkey. In her fit of anxiety, she did not make it past 5 meters, this was mostly because of her lack an arm- Cher could not gain the proper handle nor traction needed in order to ascend.

As she struggled, the horde drew closer. From a short distance out in the hall, their frontlines came into view. With it, Cher’s nervousness and tension skyrocketed, only worsening her climbing.

“Stop struggling!” I shouted down after seeing Cher fall for the fifth time. “Just grab on tightly to the rope, I’ll pull you up.”

With mechanical precision, Cher immediately stopped her futile attempts, and simply gripped the rope with a death like vice. Her knuckles turned pale white, as she glanced at me with a look of helplessness.

As I fixed my own grip on my end of the rope, the first wave of monsters broke through the doorway. With no pause in their blood lusted stride, they zoomed forward, directly towards Cher’s body.  Cher panicked and just as she opened her mouth to scream, I yanked the rope upward with tremendous force.

Her body sky rocketed upwards, and the scream that she was about to vocalize died down somewhere in her ascent. All the while, she had maintained her grip on the rope. For someone who focused a lot of their stats on strength, something like holding onto a rope was mere child’s play.

I quickly reeled Cher towards me just as the room slowly congregated with more and more monsters. By the time I managed to drag Cher’s shivering body up onto the metal beam, the whole room was covered in monsters. The floor was not visible at all, and the horde below us was like a sea of sharpened claws, and bloodied teeth.

Seeing this scene below us, I could not help but let out a tired sigh. This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen such a scene, and by this point, the only emotion it could evoke was weary tiredness. On the other hand, Cher’s reaction was completely different. Her mouth hung agape, as she nervously fidgeted by my side. She grasped tightly onto the metal beam with her whole body, much like how a koala hugs onto the trunk of a Eucalyptus tree.

“I-isn’t there too much?” Cher nervously stated as her eyes scanned through the entire horde.

“Hmmm…” I stared absentmindedly out below me before offhandedly commenting, “There’s not as much as there were before…”

Like I’ve said before, this was not the first time I’ve done this. On my expeditions to the first building, I’ve used that opportunity to secretly increase my own level. What we were about to do now was similar to the method of hunting I before. With that method, I managed to rise by a few levels and finally reach level 42.

In the end though, my growth was not all that outstanding. I did not farm often, after all, I was very cautious about the whole pursuit. For one, hunting here in the main building was simply far too dangerous. It was like shooting off a gun at a busy police station. No matter how assured you are of the number of bullets in your cartridge, in the end, you were still stuck at the enemy’s base.

One slip up could mean instant death and I did not want to risk such a danger, especially after I- we’ve gotten so far. Escape from this dungeon was just a mere stone’s throw away. My death would ruin those chances, and would not only affect myself, but also everyone back in the East building.

It was because of this worry that I prioritized safety above all during this expedition.

I unwound the rope with the grappling hook away from my waist, before I separated it into two. With one 10 meter portion of the newly divided rope, I tied one end of it to the beam before tying the other end onto my waist. I did the same thing for Cher but with the other piece of the thin rope.

“This is…?” Cher asked curiously as she lightly tugged onto the rope.

“For emergencies. Better safe than to be sorry.” I stated while tightening the knots on our rope. “The beam doesn’t give us much space for movement, and one mess up or accident could lead to you falling…”

Just as I was stating that, the whole foundation of the room shook. This trembling was caused by the sheer amount of beasts pressing against the gym’s four walls. This wasn’t all that rare though, and the sudden tremor did little to frighten me.

Cher’s case was completely different though. She lost her already uneven footing because of the sudden shake, and she tumbled off the beam.  Her body descended a good 8 meters downward before the rope taut and stopped her inevitable descent.

Cher let out a silent scream as she dangled from mid air. Her body was facing towards the ground and her eyes were completely locked onto the horde below. With sweat perspiring out from her every pore, and with tears falling unhindered down from her widened eyes, she finally vocalized an ear shattering scream.

“P-p-pull me up! Pulled me up, pull me up, pull me up!” Even as I proceeded to haul her back upward, she continued repeating the same phrase almost as if she were in a trans. It was only after she reached the beam once more did her shrieks subsided.

“Good thing you had the rope, huh?” I spoke lightly as I sat leisurely back down onto the beam. In my hand was the larger rope- the same one I used to pull Cher up for the first time.

“...” Cher did not respond to my words, merely staring at me with a look of unwashed bitterness.

I laughed dryly before turning my focus away from Cher, and the horde, and onto the rope in my hands. I was currently busy knotting the rope into a particular shape…

“... What are you doing?” Cher asked in a somewhat more regulated tone. Her previous experience with near death seemed to have shocked her into a sort of odd calmness, although the nervousness in her eyes was still palpable.

“I’m making a noose.” I answered simply.

“...Noose?”

“Yeah, we’ll be needing it for what we’re about to do.”

“....”

“....”

As I continued to work silently, Cher’s odd calmness slowly crumbled and crumbled, until finally, the nervousness from before had overtaken her.

“I-is it really okay to be doing that so… so leisurely?” She finally broke out, her tone dowsed in a pliable layer of worry.

“What do you mean?”

“I-I mean… aren’t you worry about getting attacked. T-the Avians…” Her mind was surprisingly sharp even when under the stress of permeating fear. Cher was able to remember the only type of monster capable of flight within the entire dungeon.

In response to her well founded worry though, I merely shook my head. “There aren’t any Avians around anymore. I killed them all.” It was during one of my previous runs through here. Since the Avians constantly attacked me when ever I was above ground, they were the easiest and most attainable prey. “...Actually, it might be better if there were a couple of Avians around, that way, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble…” I mumbled to myself as I continued tying and knotting the rope in a laid back manner.

In no time at all, the noose was properly knotted, and dangled downward from one of my extended hands. I even pulled it a couple of times to assess its durability. The rope I used was sturdy, one I found in a corner of the bomb shelter. It was capable of supporting a couple of hundred pounds with ease, and its tensile strength was fairly higher than average.

“Now, this part’s pretty difficult.” I spoke out over the deafening roars below. “What I’m about to do is sort of like fishing… well, it's hard to explain, so just watch.”

I spoke loosely as I tossed the noose downward. I did not make it completely fall towards the floor but dangled it about a meter or two above the monster horde. Slowly, I began to lower it. I lowered it and lowered it until the hole was at the level of the monster’s head.

“This is much harder than it looks,” I commented once more as I maintained the node's current altitude while trying to bait a nearby Minotaur towards it. “Sometimes their heads won’t go through the hole, or they’ll grab at the rope instead. When those things happen, it becomes a bit more complicated- but don’t worry, I don’t think we’ll be having that particular problem today- They’re pretty excitable right now.:

Just as I spoke, an unlucky Minotaur, in a fit of rage tried headbutting the hole with the tip of its horns. Unfortunately for it, the noose hole was made purposely big with those same horns in mind. The Minotaur’s head slipped haphazardly through the hole, and before it had the opportunity to pull its head back, I immediately yanked the rope upwards.

The Minotaur’s head jerked upwards, and for a fraction of a second it flailed helplessly in mid air before thudding back down onto the floor. I chided myself at this failure before I rearranged my grip onto the rope and pulled upwards once more.

This time, the Minotaur rose a few inches of the ground. It’s body immediately flailed in frantic fright as its steady supply of air was unexpectedly cut short. It torso spasmed, and its head rocked back and forth, while its stout hooved legs kicked and struggled.

On my side of this battle, my face was completely red in exertion. The minotaur was heavy, it was definitely very heavy, and its struggling wasn’t making this process any easier. The veins in my arms bulged as I struggled to maintain my grip. I could feel the coarse fibers of the rope eating away at my already red hands.

Still, despite the difficulty, despite the Minotaur’s continued desperate struggles, I maintained my grip. I slowly choked and suffocated the monster.

After a straight two minutes of full on effort, the Minotaur’s movements finally began to slow. The first to stop where its feet. Then its arms dropped limply to its side, before its eyelids shut tight, and its tongue hung out from an agape mouth.

When the Minotaur finally stopped struggling, I began the  desperate effort of hauling it upward. The process was slow and arduous, after all, even with my enhanced strength that completely surpassed that of a normal human, the Minotaur was still a heavy monster. Pulling it up towards the ceiling took every ounce of my energy and mental effort.

Finally, after another minute, I was able to haul the unconscious and unresponsive monster over onto the metal beam besides me. The instant I did so, my grip on the rope slackened, and I plopped haphazardly down onto the metal beam.

“Hah….” I sighed out a relief sigh as I wiped my face with the corner of my sleeve. I absentmindedly explained to Cher,  “This was how I usually hunted them so far. This method was relatively more safer than usual, since I don’t have to get into direct contract with the horde, but in all honesty, it really isn’t very practical.

Its main flaw is that it consumes a lot of stamina, so I can’t really keep this method of hunting up for a long period of time- although to solve this problem, I did bring a lot of provisions with me, so I should be able to last…”

As I explained, I continually wiped away at the layer of sweat that had formed over my face before I unfastened [Efhermet] and handed the dagger onto the dazed Cher. All this time, she had watched me struggle through all of this but did not say a single word in reaction. When I gave her the dagger, she jumped in surprise, almost as if she just woken up from her dazed stupor.

“Here,” I spoke through labored breaths as I handed Cher the dagger. “If you don’t kill it yourself, you can’t get the experience.”

“...I-” Cher had a look of hesitation, as her hand floated listlessly over the dagger.

“Don’t worry,” I lightly spoke. “It should be unconscious right now. Just stick the blade down into where its jugular vein should be, and that should take care of the job.” I pointed at a particular spot in the beast’s bulging neck.

Cher gulped down the saliva that had formed in the back of her throat before she nodded. Her face grew resolute as she readily received the dagger. For a few seconds, she stared downward at the exposed vein in the Minotaur’s neck. Her knuckle turned pale white as she gripped the handle of the dagger with enough force to bend metal.

“To get stronger, to get-” I could hear her quietly repeating to herself as she steeled herself for what she was about to do. Fighting a monster in the heat of battle was one thing, but taking its life when it was like this was… it wasn’t natural. Going by Cher’s kaleidoscope of facial expressions, such a train of thought was probably going through her head right now. In the end though, those types of thoughts only limit you, in this new world, they make you weaker.

Cher took several deep breathes, as if to compose herself, before she rested the tip of the dagger besides the vein and-

Shunk!

The blade of the dagger sunk completely into the monster’s neck. Blood gushed out like a broken sprinkler as the Minotaur’s eyes momentarily opened before they grew dull and silent. Even with the dagger in its neck, and even with the Minotaur’s blood continually gushing out from its newly created opening, Cher maintained her grip on the handle. Even after it had long died, she still held onto the handle.

It was only after several seconds had passed, did she finally pull the dagger out from its lifeless corpse.

“....”

“....”

With little fanfare, I silently unfastened the knot from around its neck before I kicked its lifeless corpse down into the throngs of monsters below. Without any consideration for their lost comrade, the frenzied monsters immediately rushed at the corpse and devoured its lifeless husk like starving wolves.

Cher stared lifelessly at the feeding frenzy below. Her eyes were hollow and dull, almost as lifeless the minotaur’s eyes were. She absentmindedly touched the tip of her stump with her remaining hand as her lips slightly quivered.

“....”

I did not disturb Cher in her moment of self reflection, nor did I bother with the carnage below us. I merely began fixing another noose for the next monster.

I knew this particular method of hunting was a bit more cruel than usual, but this sort of ethical dilemma completely went above and over my head. When it came to the rules of this new world, sentimentality was a part of human nature that could get one killed. On the battlefield it was useless, and in the face of an enemy, it was treated as a sign of weakness, but above all, doing whatever it takes to survive and having the will to go through with that was important.

I… I wondered whether I had that will. Even now, I was still hesitating… hesitating about numerous things… but right now, in this place of death, I did not think about that. For the rest of the day, I decided not to think about any of that. Today was going to be a day filled with death, and I needed a freshly knotted noose for that.

*****

The pack full of provisions I had was completely consumed. In addition, I also ended up using 2 stamina potions throughout the whole process. It was an expensive training method, but in return, Cher’s level had risen to 25. This was more than enough for her to properly equip the new shield I had created for her.

In the end, from 7 in the morning to 8 in the evening, we spent the whole day farming. Throughout the whole day, I repeatedly drained and recovered my stamina. Because of this I suffered a similar status detriment to [Mental Strain], called [Physical Strain]. This detriment had the overall effect of lingering fatigue, and soreness throughout the body. Just moving felt as if I was pushed down by a constant heavy force, and that force only steadily increased as the minutes passed by.

Of course, I could use [Sensory Remapping] to shut off my sense of pain, but the feeling of fatigue would still persist. Plus, I felt that ignoring the pain would end up detrimental for me in the long run, so despite its inconvenience, I simply fought through it.

Luckily, through the skin of my teeth, I was able to hold on up until Cher rose to level 25.

“Ready to go?” I tiredly asked as I dusted off some dried flakes of blood that had congealed on my shirt. The simple action of moving my arms caused pain to jolt throughout my nervous system.

“Ah, yeah.” Cher answered absentmindedly as she stared one last time at the horde below. Because of all the time we’ve spent here, Cher had grown somewhat accustomed to seeing the horde, but in the end, she could not help but feel a tug of emotion from seeing it one last time.

She sighed out in exasperation, as she forced herself to look away. “Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

“Then, I’ll set everything up… [Shadow Sprint].”

With that one word, my body vanished under the growing shade and instantaneously, I reappeared on another metal beam in the room. This beam was 10 meters away from where Cher currently stood and was a lot closer to the elevated ventilation shaft that would act as our ticket out of hear.

I tied one end of the rope onto the new beam before I fixed the grappling hook back onto the other end of rope. Rather than for actual grappling, the hook was used as a weight, as I threw the other end of the rope back over to Cher.

Cher caught the rope and twirled it tightly around her remaining arm. Seeing her nod in readiness, I immediately yanked the rope forward, sending Cher’s body swinging through the gymnasium, before I managed to pull her back up onto the beam I was currently sitting on.

We repeated these set of actions to make our way towards the ventilation shaft. After that, it was smooth sailing back to the east building. Thanks to my constant use of [Echolocation] and with us keeping to the vents, we managed to avoid the horde in all its entirety, and safely made our retreat back to “home”.

By the time we got back, my body was tired, and Cher’s mind was spent. We collapsed the moment we got back, and fell into a deep and heavy sleep.

****

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