Tension fills my neck and I start to get a headache as we head back toward the surface. No matter how much I roll my neck back and take deep breaths, the unease never goes away. I practice the stress exercises again, selectively tensing different muscle groups and allowing them to relax. No good there either.
Then I realize that I lost a lot of blood from the last two fights and take a long and deep gulp of water. That helps quite a bit. I proceed to finish the bottle and am already feeling a bit better. We should have brought more than four bottles for each of us though. Our high [Vitality] might help us forestall the consequences of blood loss and general dehydration, but it doesn’t seem to negate it completely. Same with fatigue more broadly. I need less sleep, and can function better when I need to push through exhaustion, but I’m not immune to it, and I will suffer the consequences if I go too far.
I pull out the one remaining chocolate bar we have from before the Integration. I offer half of it to Chloe. She takes about two thirds of what I give her and hands the rest back to me.
“Are you sure? You need your strength as well!”
“There’s some chocolate in this trail mix. Besides, I’m sure you need it more than I do right now.”
I shake my head. “It’s the last bar. I know how much you love chocolate, Chloe. Or should I say, Chochloe?”
“Hey!” She shakes her fist at me, then gives me the finger. I stick my tongue out at her, and she follows suit as I hand her back the remainder of her half.
The chocolate and the spat of levity both help my headache some. I’m still worried for some reason I can’t pinpoint, though. But I don’t want to rush back to the surface, either. The last thing I need is to run headfirst into the next beast that the dungeon sees fit to send our way. We keep our pace measured, all the while I get the sense we’re being watched.
Chloe doesn’t seem to notice it, and maybe it’s just my paranoia getting the better of me. I still have no definitive proof that the System is out to get me. I just can’t shake the feeling that it’s not here for a beneficial reason. Something deep within the recesses of my mind that I can’t consciously access. Did my past self seal these memories away? Was it the System? Or was it some third force? And if so, what?
“Hello!” a voice calls out, pulling me out of my musing.
I don’t drop my guard as the three people approach. The members of the National Guard were quite clear: whatever happens down here stays down here, and there aren’t going to be any investigations if there’s a case of ‘foul play’ in the depths. I have no intention to kill anyone if I can at all help it. In fact, the very idea is making my nausea from before start to rear its ugly head. But I know there are people who would relish the opportunity to let their inhibitions loose, and plenty more who are going to see a couple of high school girls as a mark.
Chloe gets behind me right away. She does her best to remain calm, but I can hear the jittering of her robes as she shuffles toward me. System or not, any woman walking around is going to tense at the sight of three strange men walking toward them. Add in a dark dungeon, no cell service, and the local cops outright stating they won’t get involved in anything that happens down here? She understands the risk.
The three are each wearing steel armor that looks like it came right out of the local ren faire. It’s not fitted particularly well, suggesting that it’s mundane armor from Old Earth rather than new equipment powered by the System. Their swords are similar. Probably replicas, and I’m not even sure if they have a good edge or if they’re mostly for display. Still, they’d hurt as a bludgeoning weapon. And they likely have higher [Strength] and Skills of their own to augment that damage further.
I seriously doubt there’s anyone else locally who’s gained enough experience (or Experience) with the System to start building Ethertech armor. I’m not even sure if the idea has come into their minds. I doubt they understand what my [Simple Blowgun] can do, and I intend to maintain the element of surprise in the event this encounter does come to blows.
“Well, lookie here,” one of the three says. “What are a couple of girls like you doing here in the dungeon?”
“Exploring,” I say. “We heard there might be treasure deeper down.”
“Do you want to come with us?” the second asks. I really don’t like the way he’s already leering at Chloe.
“We’re on our way out,” I respond. “I wish you well in your exploration,” I lie.
“Oh?” he continues. “And what about your friend?”
“I’m not interested!” Chloe shouts. “We’re leaving, and that’s that! C’mon, Sera!” She pulls me off, but I maintain my sight squarely on the three stooges. The way that second one was practically disrobing Chloe with his eyes was… It made the hair on my neck stand up on end. No wonder Chloe was so eager to get out of there, and I can’t blame her.
We pick up the pace. We don’t break into a full sprint, but we aren’t far from it either. I reach into my bag and grab some [Ether Bullets] as we’re running, not sure if we’re going to be pursued. Chloe pulls my attention to a large rock formation near the side of the dungeon. The two of us hide back there. Chloe is shaking as she drops to the ground, and I keep my eyes out for any signs of pursuit.
The air grows silent and Chloe starts to regain her composure. She takes a large drink of water. I have a brief moment to relax before I hear the sound of screams coming from the direction we just came.
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“What do you want to do?” I ask Chloe.
“You want to go after them?” she asks. “I–”
“I’m not going to blame you if you say no. I don’t want to be around either of them any longer than I have to.”
“You want to, don’t you?”
I do feel some compulsion toward saving them, deep down. Probably whatever part of me resonated with the [Divine Paladin] class offering. I’m sure if I had chosen that class, I would have no choice but to save those scoundrels from whatever mess they got themselves into. But that’s not who I am, nor who I want to be. And I’m not going to sacrifice my best friend’s comfort just for the chance to cosplay as a valiant knight in shining armor.
“No,” I half-lie. “We should get going; I don’t want whatever is attacking them to come after us next.”
We don’t get a chance; Mr. Dick-For-Brains comes charging up the hill, chased by one of the boar monsters from earlier. And the boar is gaining on him. As soon as he passes by, I ready a pair of [Ether Bullets] and, with my new [Trick Shot] Skill, aim both of them into the creature’s eyes. The [Lesser Cave Boar] staggers, keels over, and dies in short order.
I dismiss the System notifications until we get out of the cave. The Dungeon’s Resident Asshole approaches me and he does not look happy. He grips his sword and marches toward me, attempting to intimidate me with his size and posture. I don’t relent, keeping my cool even as he gets in my face.
“The hell was that, you bitch!”
My eye twitches as he slobbers his words all over my face. Hardly the gentlemanly way of thanking someone for saving his worthless ass. I let it slide as I take a step back.
“That was me saving your hide. But I’m starting to regret my decision. Please get out of my sight and take your troubles with you before I lose what little patience I have.”
“How dare you!” he screams.
He moves to slap me, but I’m able to sidestep him easily. Is he still level 1? Bad class? Armor weighing him down? I don’t know, but I understand how Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber managed to get themselves killed. I smack him to the ground and give him a moment to seethe.
“My friends are dead because of you, you insufferable–!” I cut him off before he can use the even more vulgar word he’s mouthing.
“No, the reason your friends are dead is because of you and your cock. You think we can’t recognize when a strange man starts leering at us? You think we want to go into a dark cave with men we don’t know when you’re practically undressing my friend? Like, what’s wrong with you? What the hell were we supposed to think was going to happen when a trio of buffoons walks up to a couple of young ladies in the depths of a dungeon?
“Let me give you some advice,” I say, not giving him the chance to defend himself. “The System’s arrival has changed the world, and not all of it is for the worse. Women have always been every bit as smart and capable as men. Now, with the strength of the System, we’re every bit the match for men in our physical capabilities as well. When one of us says no, we mean no, and you better get it through your head that however many times you got away with it before, that’s not going to fly anymore. So now’s your chance to run home with your tail between your legs and your life still intact and reflect on your life decisions, and maybe try to change and be a better person. Otherwise, the next woman you ogle might not be as magnanimous as I am. Or have you forgotten that anything that happens down here stays down here, and there will be no investigations if someone gets any ugly ideas?”
He clenches at the ground and snarls at me, but to the credit of his pea-sized brain, he hightails it out of my sight at a full sprint. I turn around to check for any signs of ambush, making sure to check the ceilings and listen for anything tunneling underneath me before I exhale.
“Wow, Sera,” Chloe says, wrapping her arms around my back. “That was amazing. I–”
“It’s sad,” I say. “I don’t know what the System wants, but it gives us great power. We should be using it for good. Bringing ourselves together and making things that were previously impossible into reality. But instead, there are always people who are going to use their power to denigrate and oppress others. I guess that side of humanity never changes.”
“Was it that way for you in your previous life?” she asks.
“I don’t know. But, I think if someone had the capability to send me to a completely different universe, they would have needed the help of many, many people all working together on such a project. I have to imagine they came together for some greater reason. Maybe they sent me to try to teach their lessons to the people of this world, because it was too late for them.”
“I’m glad we have each other, Sera.”
“I’m glad we have each other too, Chloe.”
We make our way back to the entrance. A few other people are exploring the mouth of the structure, including some people who look like scientists from the local university taking soil and rock samples. They wave at us, and we reciprocate as we cross the threshold.
“Hey, Chloe, can you help me take this armor off?” I whisper.
“You’re not keeping it?”
“The Guard asked for a third of our loot. And you need the protection more than I do. Besides, if I understand the glyphs on your robes, I can maybe do the same for my other clothes.”
“You’re keeping the–”
Chloe assists me in unequipping my cuirass, and we turn it over as payment for their services. After a brief inspection of our bags to ensure we’re not sneaking too much out of the dungeon, we’re waved back through the turnstyle and reenter the outside world. I finally get a chance to process the rest of my level gain from earlier.
[You have slain a Lesser Cave Boar (Level 8). You have gained 285 Experience after all modifiers (Experience reduced due to assistance from outside combatants.)]
I don’t know how much they really did, but considering the Experience gain was only reduced from 330 to 285, it wasn’t all that much. I chuckle at their incompetence.
[You have gained enough experience to reach Level 9. [Vitality] +1, [Mind] +1. Please allocate stat points (Remaining: 3)]
1 point each to [Strength], [Speed], and [Vitality], just as before, and for the same reasons.
[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x2 + Current Level + Rand[1, 3] = 72]
[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0, 2] = 41]
[Level: 9; Experience: 1,540; To Next: 850]
[Current Stats: [Health]: 515 / 543 ; [Ether]: 262 / 271]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 15; [Speed]: 18; [Vitality]: 31; [Mind]: 31]
Satisfied with the experience and Experience alike, the two of us decide to head home. It’s still early in the afternoon, and we have time for one more meal and long bath before whatever awaits us when the promised World Modifications begin.