Chapter 6: Escape Plan.
Adam’s POV
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"I can’t sleep," I confessed after an hour of futile attempts. Perhaps it was too soon after waking up. "Nove."
She responded promptly, "Yes? How can I help you, Alper?"
Alper? Who’s tha- Oh right, that's the kid's name I'm currently possessing.
"Tell me about my parents," I requested, curious about a life beyond the mob, where people cared about more than just progress.
"Your parents are from a minor clan of House Celestium, House Luminari. Your father is Lord Alaric Luminari, the heir to become the next patriarch, and your mother is Aria Stormweaver, the head of Luminari’s nexus studies."
"Wait a damn minute," I interrupted our conversation, suddenly feeling a rush of nervousness. "Nove, what do you mean by clans? What’s a major and a minor clan?"
Nove explained, "The world of Alchamera is led by kingdoms and various major clans. Your major clan is called House Celestium, and you’re in one, among many, minor clan of House Celestium."
I couldn't help but draw parallels to my past life in the mob.
Oi, why is this reminding me a lot of my mob days? I DON’T WANT TO BECOME A MOBSTER AGAIN AND BECOME SOME SHITTER’S LAPDOG!
Turning to Nove with a sense of urgency, I questioned, "Nove, tell me one thing, do these minor clans have to listen to anything the major clans say? And do these minor clans do, umm, how do you say it? Wet jobs?"
She responded matter-of-factly, "As long as it’s the major clan’s command, the minor clan has to do it, no matter how dirty the job is."
Ah, shit. I just got transported to another world as another mobster. No way in hell am I going to wait for a rescue.
"Okay, Nove, change of plans. We have to get out of here on our own; we can’t wait for a rescue," I declared.
I couldn't bear the thought of being someone’s lap dog again, doing dirty work on someone else's command. If I was going to engage in such activities, it would be on my terms.
“Alper, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You have sufficient nutritional value to wait for a rescue,” Nove countered.
I dismissed her concern, saying, “Nove, I doubt anyone’s gonna care for a small child that fell 30 feet in a hole. I bet they already think I’m dead and won’t spend resources to get a body back.”
Nove persisted, “I will disagree; your mother and father love you very much.”
As long as you're useful, everyone will love you… I know that all too well.
“I don’t care, Nove. I’ve made my decision.”
“I can’t stop you If that’s what you’d like. But I’d recommend waiting.”
I stood up and checked my stats. My NEP had regenerated a bit, it’s sitting at a good value of 207 right now so that’s good, problem is that I don’t know how to get out of here.
Tried making a dirt ladder. Nope, crumbled under my weight. Adhesive? Not strong enough for a fusion forge masterpiece. Stone ladder? Impossible to carry. I even considered poking some holes in the wall to climb out, but each attempt ended with the dirt giving way, and me falling.
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Couldn't help but mutter, “Come on, Alper, learning a little Metalweaving wouldn’t have hurt, you know?”
I sighed, feeling stuck in this predicament. The prospect of going back to a life of mobster-style activities was not something I relished. But then, a spark of hope: what if there was another way out?
"Hey, Nove, do you think this cave might have another exit?" I asked, desperately seeking an alternative.
Nove calculated for a moment before responding, "Based on our geographical location and the direction the cave is going towards, there’s a 62% chance that this cave might have another exit."
"That's all I needed to hear, baby. We're looking for another exit," I declared, feeling a renewed sense of determination as I grabbed my spear and prepared for the next move.
So, there I was, devising an exit strategy that would leave me with a ghostly presence. The "kid got devoured by a monster" scheme seemed like a plausible scenario. Returning to the battleground where I faced off with the worm, bloodstains still adorned the floor. I squatted down for a forensic moment, ensuring it was indeed the familiar hue of human blood, not some extraterrestrial goo.
After my meticulous blood inspection, I left my shoes behind as evidence. Dual purpose, you know? It contributed to the whole narrative of a monstrous feast on a hapless kid and triggered the dirt node for some expedited NEP regeneration. Strolling barefoot through a cave wasn't exactly a walk in the park, so I just made some dirt shoes with Metalweaving base arts and it activated the regeneration passive as well.
With my makeshift crime scene arranged, I felt like a mastermind in a game of hide-and-seek – vanishing without a trace, leaving only subtle hints behind.
"Alper, you can keep your old shoes in your inner inventory," Nove suggested.
"Nah, the shoes are torn and stuff, so I’ll just leave ‘em cuz they’re useless," I lied nonchalantly, as if it was a common occurrence.
"Affirmative."
Now, starting from here, I was treading into uncharted territory. I aimed the spear in front of me, the cave cloaked in darkness, but my eyes had adjusted somewhat. With the Web senses passive, I could detect the area around me up to 2 meters. Though it wouldn’t pick up anything flying, it helped navigate through the subtle rough patches of the ground with each step.
I wanted to rush ahead, but you never know what kind of monster can just jump at you from the darkness. So, I walked carefully until my Web senses passive started telling me that the stone beside me was weird and different. I extracted it, and a game-like window opened up in front of me, displaying its information.
Granite (1/6 Star Tier)
Granite boasts incredible toughness, surpassing ordinary stone. Crafters prize it for forging insanely tough items or fortifying core nodes, enhancing defensive prowess. Infusing its essence into the Nexus core progresses towards the coveted Earth Core, a testament to granite's enduring strength.
I never thought getting my hands on a different piece of stone could be this thrilling. Is this what it feels like to be a geologist every day?
If I weren’t trying to conserve my NEP, I'd probably go all out, extracting more and experimenting. Just grabbing a block of granite already ate up 18 NEP points. It looks like the cost increases with higher-quality items. Stone and dirt being half-star tier items might explain why I could metal weave them so smoothly and how Nove managed to craft 3-4 star tier core nodes out of them.
As we delved deeper into the cave, a faint pitter-patter sound reached my ears from a distance.
Water!
My first instinct was to hasten my pace since I was pretty darn thirsty. After walking for a bit, I didn't encounter any other monsters. Instead, I stumbled upon a dead end with a bluish light seeping through a small hole in the ground.
"Whoa," I exclaimed before peering into the hole. It wasn't a significant drop, just about 10 feet into a small pool of water. Algae and mushrooms adorned the pond's edges, emitting a gentle glow.
"Finally, a light source," I thought. I considered sticking a few of those glowing mushrooms and algae on a stone or granite stick to create a makeshift torch. However, I wasn't sure if the dirt stick would hold up. I hoped Nove could use those items to craft a light source. But the first priority is still the water.
I glanced around the hole, attempting to see more, but the darkness obscured much of my surroundings. Although there seemed to be a vast expanse ahead, I couldn't detect any sounds of monsters or other disturbances. In an attempt to gauge the environment, I used base arts to extract a small rock from the ground and tossed it downward, listening for any reactions beyond the echoing thuds of the stone descending.
Hmm… no reaction.
"Well, never say never," I declared as I crouched down and jumped into the hole landing right beside the small pond of water. While I could land in the water, my clothes were dirty, muddy and bloody. I don’t want to contaminate my only drinking source.