The mood turned tense as they finally managed to find a place to hide themselves. Whether by luck, by design, or by sheer force of system fuckery, Zacharia found a small cave they can use as a respite.
The cave seemed natural as it wasn’t broken in. It was as though the rest of the tower was fabricated, and this cave is the only natural place the tower had. It was dark, damp, and incredibly claustrophobic as the cave only leads to a dead end with a giant stone wall.
But it was good enough. For the time being, they made a fire with Philip’s magic and decided to rest. They had Piker on watch, being the only one with a decently high Endurance stat to keep up. More importantly, he offered himself up.
He clearly knew everyone else was just too tired, too exhausted both physically and mentally.
Myra was the one who worked the hardest out of the soldiers they brought in. While Piker was keeping the other zombies away and Mikella going off ahead to face the troublesome ones to make it easier, she stood at the frontlines with her flames going bare against the tower.
Her Incendiary Grasp became her focal point of power, eventually reaching level 5 in the skill as she managed to use its incredible power in short bursts to really put a wedge through the zombie forces.
But at this point, it was like looking at a melted candle, her small ember ready to flicker out. Mikella couldn’t stand watching Myra like this, especially after just seeing her childhood friend die in front of her.
Jackie was the worst off. He was huddling to himself, hugging his knees as his eyes turned distant. Mikella couldn’t bear to watch, as she could easily imagine the pain if she ever lost her sister like that.
The only other soldier she wasn’t that close to was the scout, to which she learned it was Paul. Often called Paulie by his friends, and now most of them have died.
Yet, he still looked determined, only resting his eyes to recover his lost resources. As of right now, he’s the only one that kept the team together by keeping a lookout despite the danger. Second to Zeke, he was useful in making sure not to get everyone killed, which Mikella was damn grateful for.
As for the leaders… they’re the reason why the mood was getting worse. Val, of course, felt most of the loss, having to lose several of her soldiers she trained personally. While she wasn’t as invested in them as she was with Myra and Mikella, it was clear she cared a lot for them.
Seeing so many die under her watch finally brought her positivity down to a neutral. She didn’t lose her energy, but she certainly wasn’t lively anymore. Mikella couldn’t blame her.
Zacharia was being a dick as usual, referring to clearing the dungeon rather than trying to find Zeke. He must have figured that Zeke had died long ago the moment he got separated, and that didn’t help Mikella at all. Not to mention he kept getting into arguments with Cloud who was ultimately getting stressed out.
They kept bickering back and forth, trying to find the best way to get to the tower with the minimum amount of deaths possible, but even then, they were at a loss.
Even now, they were bickering.
“We need to get to the bottom of the tower as soon as possible,” Zacharia declared, looking over at the entrance where Piker was at. “The more time we spend here, the more those zombies will gather up and take us out.”
“You can’t expect anyone to easily recover like that, right?” Cloud said, almost scoffing at him. “We already lost enough people as it is.”
“And who do you think is responsible for all of this happening in the first place?” Zacharia turned to the mage, a raised brow on his face. “If we hadn’t taken our sweet time trying to ‘figure this out’ and instead did as I said, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“We would have lost a lot more than we already had,” Cloud snarled. “Of course, I don’t expect you to care about that, but at least consider the costs after looking at all this.”
“That’s enough.”
Val’s voice was subdued, but her tone made the two men silent. Val looked over at them. Her face was the definition of a mother who has lost so many of the people she lost, who might as well be her children.
She glared at the two. “That’s enough. I don’t want to hear anymore from you two. We rest, then we continue. We can’t rest if you two keep bickering like children.”
That got them to bristle, but after a while, the two turned away from her. She wasn’t being unreasonable, or even argumentative. It was a fact that they can’t argue against. That was why Mikella couldn’t help but admire this woman.
Despite all she had lost, she is still the captain of the unit. She still wanted everyone to survive while keeping the morale going.
Mikella herself was doing fine, at least. Her words brought some sense as she looked within herself. The madness of her class was kept at bay, but it was still boiling with the idea of finding Zeke.
She knew Zeke was still alive somewhere. She didn’t have evidence, and she certainly can’t prove it to the others. But no matter how much she tried, her body was trembling. Her foot kept silently tapping the ground, her anxiety reaching its peak.
Then, finally, she stood up, catching the attention of everyone around them.
“I’m going to look for Zeke,” Mikella said, and before anyone else can say anything, she continued. “I think it’s better if I go by myself.”
“Mikella, that’s foolish and you know it,” Val was the first to answer, obviously. “I know you’re worried about Zeke, but you can’t just go out by yourself.”
“If I find Zeke, we can have a better chance of survival,” Mikella answered. She tried to copy Val, but she couldn’t put the hope of finding Zeke for herself away from her voice.
“What makes you so sure he’s still alive?” The scout, Paul, asked.
“Paul,” Myra hissed. “Shut up before I make you shut up.”
“Come on, Myra, even you gotta agree with me on this one,” Paul answered. Apparently he didn’t care one bit whether Myra could easily kick his ass. He looked defiant, if anything. “I get it, you’re worried. But if neither of us had a chance to survive, what makes you think he has?”
“Because he does,” Mikella answered, finishing his argument right there. “You don’t believe me, and I don’t expect you to, but he’s still alive. That’s why I’m going.”
“Hold on, Mikky,” Myra stood up to her, lifting her hand. “I believe Zeke is alive too, but everyone’s right. It’s too dangerous out there.”
“Then what do you expect me to do?” Mikella snapped back. “Leave him to die? For real? I can’t let that happen!”
“Then…” Myra hesitated for a moment, looking over at Val. Then, she looked resolved. “I’m coming with you. It’s better to have someone looking out for you, right?”
“Myra!” Val snapped. “Are you serious? You should know better than anyone that going off alone is dangerous!”
“But with Mikella’s skills, we can handle it,” Myra argued back. Mikella was taken back by this, but she had a point.
With Myra taking the vanguard and Mikella taking the ambusher’s side, they can easily take out any zombies while making sure they can run away if things get dicey. Though the chances are still slim for survival, it was way better than being on her own.
At least, that’s what she thought when she realized how good Myra’s proposition is.
“I can’t just let–”
“Val, let them go.”
Val turned, looking almost furious, at Cloud who answered her. He looked exhausted, but he still had a clear look to his eyes as he turned to the captain.
“Mikella is right. We’ll have a better chance of everyone surviving if they can manage to find Zeke. If he’s still alive, we can find the end of the dungeon quicker and end this all easily.”
“And what makes you so sure he still is?” Zacharia finally asked, turning to Cloud for a fight. “You sure seem confident of a mage that’s not even Expert yet to survive all this.”
“Because I am,” Cloud answered, leaving it at that. “But Val’s right, Mikella. It’s too dangerous. You should at least bring one more with you…”
“Then I’ll go.”
Mikella flinched when she turned to find Piker walking up behind her. Figuring that someone was going to leave, Piker ended up going back to give his piece. He first turned to the general, lowering his head.
“General, I believe that this is a good course to go with. Zeke’s abilities might be just what we need to ensure our survival. And… there’s only so much our resistances can handle against undeath. Even now, I can feel its sickness coursing through me, trying to turn me. I’m… I’m afraid I do not have much left in me to fight back if things keep going like this.”
Mikella frowned at him, her chest tightening at the idea. She didn’t think one could actually ‘feel’ the undeath, the rotting energy that could turn someone into a zombie. But if Piker said it, then who knows how painful the experience was.
So even then, there’s only so much high Endurance and Vitality can do. It was the same reason why the leaders, despite how strong they were, couldn't easily clear the dungeon. It was too much for them.
Zacharia looked displeased after hearing that, but he turned silent as he considered his words. He gripped his hand on his forearm, something that he quickly put away, but Mikella noticed it with ease.
He closed his eyes, then glared at Piker. “Fine. But you only have a day to find him. If you cannot, assume he’s dead and return back here. Do not think for a second we can’t keep up with time while you’re away. Return immediately once time expires–that is an order.”
“Yes, sir.”
Piker saluted the general, turning to the women in front of him.
“We do not have much time. If you want to find Zeke, then make these hours count.”
Mikella didn’t even have to respond. She nodded furiously as she picked up her sword she put to the side, then moved forward.
She turned to find Val silent. She was clearly against this, but after hearing Piker speak, even she couldn’t say much about the danger.
“I swear, we’ll find him,” Mikella promised her. “We’ll find him, and then get out of this hellhole.”
She had enough dungeons for one lifetime. At the least, dungeons without Zeke.
…..
About a few hours passed since the trio left the cave. All the while they’ve been out, they were ambushed several times by a group of zombies that spotted them or waited for them to arrive.
Thankfully, they haven’t reached the number of hundreds like before, to which the group surmised the reason for that is due to the decrease in their personnel.
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That still didn’t decrease the danger, however. Each of these zombies were strong, and sometimes stronger than the usual muscle-bound monsters. Some were fast, extremely fast and nimble, that it took all three of them to attack and kill. Some others were heavily focused on trying to defend their attacks, and the worst was the one that dealt specific undeath-attuned magical attacks at them. The moment a fog appeared as part of a spell, they ran away with their tails between their legs.
The trip was exhausting, and all the while they kept peering at their surroundings to find any evidence of Zeke. They kept their eyes peeled, their senses stretched beyond healthy levels, just to get out of this nightmare.
At least, that’s what Mikella wanted. In the end, the world decided to be a dick to her by trying to make each moment of her life hell.
“Mikella.”
Piker suddenly spoke up, catching her attention. The trio were currently at a large platform, different from the others that were connected in diverse parts around the tower. It was large and flat, with several cases and barrels surrounding the edge. It looked more like someone got lazy and decided to dump their trash all over this platform because it was the closest there.
Obviously they checked inside, and obviously they regretted it. Inside was nothing more than rubbish and rotten produce, and some odd body parts here and there for good measure, because why not?
“What is it?” Mikella answered harshly. She wasn’t really in a mood to talk, much less with Piker. Not that she disliked him anymore, but rather that Piker never seemed to pick the right words to say at any time.
“You say you have evidence that Zeke is alive. But so far, we have found no such thing. I want to know why you are so adamant about this. What proof do you have that he is still alive?”
Mikella knew it the moment he stared at her. Those were definitely not the right words for this situation. Right now, all she wanted was to bash his head in for mentioning that Zeke hadn’t survived. He wasn’t dead, she knew it. Also, why did he bother going with her if he never believed in her anyways?
She was tempted to just leave him there and ignore him entirely, but she hesitated, then she stopped herself.
In the end, Piker was someone who went with her to save Zeke. He even mentioned so. But Piker was still a person–he has the right to doubt her for the sake of his own safety and security.
If she was in his shoes, she would be more than happy to doubt anyone and ask many questions to sate her doubts. To pretend otherwise would just be a bitch move on her part.
“Listen, Piker, it’s a little more complicated than that,” Myra spoke up when Mikella didn’t answer for a while.
“Even if you know about it, I don’t care how complicated it is. Lives are on the line here. So unless you’re willing to answer to those who lost their loved ones today by doing this stunt, the least you can do is inform me of why we’re doing this. And another thing…”
Piker turned back to Mikella, this time a hardened glare that seemed to see right through her.
“The two of you somehow knew this dungeon. Does this have something to do with how you are so sure of Zeke’s survival? What exactly do you know of this dungeon?”
Mikella closed her eyes, taking in his words. Everything he spoke of was true. Myra couldn’t even respond, being the only one of the two who knows who both she and Zeke were.
She felt like she was betraying Zeke for doing this, but if he was here, he would most likely agree to it as well. She faced Piker head on, and spoke.
“...It’s a crazy story,” Mikella admitted. Myra was just about to open her mouth before she lifted her hand at her. She shook her head. “And you’ll probably won’t believe me. But everything I say is the truth. It’s gonna take a while, so will you please help me try to find Zeke with me while I explain? I beg you…”
Piker stood silent, noticing that despite Mikella talking about it, Myra looked like she was ready to stop her in her tracks. After another second of an awkward silence, Piker responded.
“Fine. Let’s keep going then.”
So then Mikella went off to explain about her and Zeke’s origin to Piker. All the while trying to fight off any intervening zombies on the way. Mikella explained the best she could to him with some added inputs by Myra.
Later on, it was clear Piker wasn’t very amused. If anything, his glare only intensified, yet he didn’t say anything.
Mikella was certain that while Piker had a very, very hard time believing where she truly came from, she could tell that he knew she wasn’t lying. The fact that she wasn’t lying is probably the reason why he looks so angry, almost… conflicted.
Then, after finding themselves on another platform in another room, ensuring that no zombies were around them to interrupt their heavy mood, Piker spoke up for the first time after about an hour of explaining her origin.
“So you two are aliens, then?”
Okay, wow. Does Piker have some sort of knowledge of our old world without knowing about it?
Mikella was honestly surprised to hear Piker of all people use such a modern word. There was also that ‘within sword distance’ threat he did before with Zeke, which reminded her of some meme she found on the internet, except it was for some spell attack than an actual sword.
“I… guess?” Mikella raised her brow at him. “Though not exactly? I’d like to believe we’re still humans and all…”
“Right, right, of course you are,” Piker nodded rapidly as he dragged his palm across his face. He looked exhausted, disheveled even.
Is he going through a meltdown? Mikella was finding a lot of surprises from Piker so far, but it wasn’t exactly unexpected for him to go through a certain panic like Myra did.
Even Myra looked at him with a sympathetic look. She didn’t offer any words, but she had that look in her eyes that she knew exactly what Piker was going through.
“Okay…” Piker breathed evenly, then exhaled as he lifted his hands. “So… you two are from another world. You are linked, which explains why your levels are always the same no matter how far apart you are. And that’s exactly how you know that Zeke is alive?”
“Yes,” Mikella nodded. “Though even if I don’t know, I’d still try to search for Zeke. That’s only natural, isn’t it?”
“It is, but…” Piker tried to agree, but he shook his head. “You can’t believe that I can just easily accept all this nonsense. I mean, the fact that you two were just initialized inside of a dungeon of all places…”
“Look,” Mikella said, motioning her hands to stop whatever panic Piker was going through. “I’m not exactly keen on being in a dungeon myself. Why do you think I wanted to stay away from this godforsaken hellhole of a dungeon? But I had no other choice. I have nowhere to go, and my sister is still back at Eve Glade! All I want is to be done with this whole mess and go home to be with her. That’s all.”
There were a few things that Mikella wanted, and that was just trying to get stronger like the rest of them, but the two already knew that much, so she didn't bother explaining herself any further.
“And the lords know about this?” Piker added, finally looking composed enough to ask further questions, as she expected. “About you being in another world?”
“Yes, that’s why they were taking care of us,” Mikella explained. “I know there was a lot of favoritism involved, but we did give them a lot in return. The attribute fruits that we found for example.”
“Oh yeah, they brought barrels full of the stuff,” Myra smirked. “The captain even gave me and my crew some and… well…”
Myra instantly frowned, realizing that her crew involved the now deceased Maxie. Mikella offered a hand to her shoulder, consoling her. Myra smiled in return, appreciating the gesture.
“I… see…” Piker now looked comprehensive. “That… that does explain a lot more now. A lot more…”
“Now do you understand?” Mikella explained. “Why I need to find him? Why am I so sure that he is still alive?”
Piker took a moment. Then, he answered. “...Yes. I know now. Thank you for telling me all this. This was… a lot more than I bargained for, admittedly. But this was something that I asked for.”
“And now that you know…” Myra stepped up towards Piker, looking a lot more dangerous than before. “We expect you to keep it quiet, especially to the general. What do you think will happen if he knows about them?”
“Piker…” Mikella asked. Her voice was low and pleading. “Please… don’t say anything about this to anyone else. If not for me or for Zeke, then for my baby sister. All I want is to keep her safe. So… please.”
“...You have my word.”
In a show of a salute, Piker raised his fist to his chest, staring directly at Mikella in the eyes.
“I swear never to reveal this to anyone. Not even to the general, my father. I swear upon my soul, my core, my very being.”
The words he spoke seemed simple, yet there was depth to it. A heaviness that Mikella couldn’t comprehend. Did he swear something to the air? To the atmosphere?
To… the system itself?
“Wait, the general is your father?!” Myra, however, completely ignored his solemn vow to ask something that apparently took her by surprise.
Admittedly, even Mikella was surprised to hear about this.
“Foster father, but yes,” Piker nodded. “This is also supposed to be a secret. But I believe that this should be a small gift to you for telling me a secret of your own.”
The generosity alone in his tone of voice made her stagger. But she knew well enough that Piker meant well.
She supposed she had to take back all the nasty things she said to him behind his back.
“Now then, let’s keep moving,” Piker rolled his shoulders. “Even if we stuck around, it’s not likely Zeke will survive for long if we dawdle.”
Now she decided to take back only most of them. He was still a dick in the end.
“Man, you are just so unlikeable,” Myra commented, following Mikella’s displeasure as Piker only sneered at her.
“If you want to stand around while the person we’re looking for could be dying as we speak, go ahead. I’ll just do what was asked of me.”
“Ugh, honestly, can’t you at least be more sensitive to Mikky during this–”
The three immediately flinched, the air around them shifting slightly. Each of them heard something, and no matter how low on guard they were, there was no way anyone could miss this.
A deep rumble that echoed all across the entire room. There was no way this place that was so huge would be so easily rattled, yet this rumble continued all the same.
They each brought out their weapons, and readied themselves. Soon, something came out from beneath their platform.
A large being slithered out from beneath. It was serpentine like, but the parts that made up the being were fused with multiple body parts at once. Thankfully, they weren’t human, but it wasn’t pleasant looking either.
As though each muscle and limb were fused together, bone also showed from the rotted corpses as it slithered all the way up, ignoring physics as it stuck to the wall like some tentacle.
Is that what this was? A snake-like being that’s capable of climbing on walls? Mikella couldn’t really make much sense as she Identified.
> Rotting Corpse Cobra, Level 58.
She gritted her teeth. Her lip quivered. This wasn’t a monster they can face as easily as the zombies.
It was so close to Journeyman rank. What’s worse, as it opened its maw, it revealed what looked like blades that replaced the fangs, then it immediately slammed down onto the group.
Each of them escaped in time. They managed to dodge the initial assault, the platform shaking slightly from the impact, and they countered.
Piker and Myra each summoned their respective elements of Ice and Fire to coat their blades, and each sliced across the corpse-like slytherin body. Meanwhile, Mikella flared Heavenly Strike with her Sword of Lightning and tried to pierce the head.
But before she could actually hit it, more limbs appeared out of the head, catching her unannounced. She shrieked after seeing what looked like the limbs of beasts trying to strangle her. They took her legs and one arm, the other holding the sword left alone.
Myra came to the rescue, slicing off the limbs and letting Mikella free, but they had to escape before anymore popped up and tried to catch the two.
Piker kept the monster busy as it opened its maw again and more limbs slithered out of the body. They weren’t long enough to catch Piker, so he opted to shoot ice spikes at each one.
However, everytime he took out one limb after another, more grew out of seemingly nowhere. The disgusting corpse snake hissed, a gurgling noise that would be nightmare fuel for anyone with sensitive ears.
“Myra, go take the front. I’ll attack from the rear!” Mikella shouted.
“Got it!”
As she ordered, Myra rushed ahead to the front, becoming engulfed in her own flames as she jumped high and slammed against the corpse monster. The monster hissed in pain, but it retaliated by trying to catch the burning Myra with the limbs despite them burning up flake by flake.
Mikella ran around to the side and struck once, twice, three times with her Sword of Lightning, the electric sparks riding around the surface of each of the limbs, but they didn’t seem to do anything noteworthy.
She gritted her teeth. This was not the time to be facing a damn monster, a powerful monster equal to a boss. Like Piker said, Zeke could be hurting, or dying, or worse, turning into an undead creature.
As her mind went into dark thoughts about such things, more rumbling was echoing that was outside the giant snake’s control.
“Great, now what?!” Myra complained, and Mikella was ready to curse at whoever that put her through the situation in the first place.
She noticed something strange and looked up. She saw… something coming in. The rumble was caused by the very ‘thing’ that was hitting the walls multiple times over.
If she would guess, it looked like a… ball of light? it kept bouncing up and around like a superball. As she feared that it was some incredibly annoying zombie with some special magic, she sensed the hint of security from it. Her eyes widened as she gaped at the sight.
That wasn’t a zombie. What was falling at nearly max speed towards the ground was none other than some ball version of… a barrier.
The very same barrier, with the very same familiar shrill of a scream that fell at super high speed and slammed right on top of the rotting corpse snake.
The impact was strong, strong enough to cause the air to quiver and shake. The already nearly-broken platforms from the fight broke immediately from said impact, falling all over the tower.
The snake had its mouth open, but there was no more gurgling sound. The long slithering body soon fell limp, and with no more control over its stickiness, fell over the platform and fell right into the abyss.
She received the energy of a kill through her body, feeling the intense energy of the system giving her power. The barrier literally killed the creature as it landed.
Then again, the impact was so strong it might as well be considered a ton of bricks falling right on top of your head, which was exactly what happened to the snake.
All the while, Mikella and the others watched with awe, with Mikella muttering a single word.
“...Zeke?”