When they’re far enough from the capital, Lexi tells Eric, Ray, and Vena what’s been troubling her. The Terran males are concerned - and rightfully so, because the oldest sage being on the warpath never bodes well for anyone - but they aren’t sure how to approach the issue, especially when Elise had even withheld information from Lexi, whom she adores.
Vena is quiet throughout, listening intently to both the discussion going on as well as for hints of threats that might be approaching. It’s a good thing too, because a swarm of fire flies speed towards the group as soon as they start riding across a stream, though the clever insects are quickly cut down by Eric’s and Ray’s aura blasts.
They spot some pennants far in the distance on the fourth day, insignia indicating it’s a troop of Holy Knights on their way to the Wall. Lexi can’t tell if the glimmers she sees are due to Guide or the sun’s rays glinting off shiny armor and gold accessories, though she doesn’t wonder what use men of the cloth have for finery.
Abusing religion for riches isn’t unique to Terrans.
On the fifth day, they stay at an inn on the edge of Arnet county, since it’s two more days’ journey across wild, unpopulated lands to the dungeon in the Tyrlean barony. As it’s summer, the meal is heavy on fresh vegetables and game, with cold fruits for dessert.
They fill an extra bag with sandwiches before leaving, having brought several spares along since Lexi still hasn’t created her inventory pouch. Eric had cautioned against asking Brienne to help after Dhampir Lily had casually mentioned the dwarf is on Shade Raphael’s payroll and has survived on the shade’s commissions for decades.
When she’d heard it, Lexi had wondered again if the shade had had anything to do with how quickly Brienne had crafted a whole new set of equipment for her, after the shapeshifter quest, but ruthlessly stomped the thought to oblivion.
With her Bend skill dependent on so many stats and parameters, Eric had agreed it’d be best to wait awhile longer before trying to force it on a pouch lest Lexi ends up destroying such a rare magic stone. Which is why apart from the spare bags each of them has folded and packed along, Vena’s little pony is carrying eight quivers of arrows, and Lexi has a larger pack to lug around given Jordan’s and Elise’s many potions and antidotes.
This time the entrance to the dungeon is within a derelict mine, long abandoned after it’d run out of emeralds. It’s a little eerie, with the way the wind howls and echoes as they walk, and though Lexi doesn’t consider herself a coward she’s also not a fan of horror movies because she can’t bitchslap ghosts.
Her necklace from Elise, nicknamed ‘Flashy’ because it’s a flashy flashlight, illuminates the winding, bumpy path as Vena walks ahead, pointed ears twitching now and then. The silence weighs heavier whenever the wind stills, and the uneven path causes odd shadows to form whenever Lexi steps this way and that.
I don’t like this.
It takes them three hours to reach the entrance to the dungeon - glowing an strange green - and after one last check on equipment Lexi takes a breath and enters the portal.
Welcome to dungeon #6,271,374 Player #2,342,592’s entry recorded at 1352 hours on the 14th day of the 6th month of the year 601L [https://i.imgur.com/QRwceIn.png]
Bugger off.
The screen vanishes as Lexi looks around and groans internally.
Seriously?
It’s a vast, hilly, burnt out land with smoke rising here and there in the distance. Around her and her party are the remains of humans and orcs, as well as the occasional werewolf.
Great. An open world dungeon. There goes any hope for another record.
Players prefer tower-like dungeons since it’s clear where they need to go: up or down. On the opposite end of the spectrum are realms like this one - where if they’re unlucky parties end up wandering in the wrong direction for weeks until they run out of food or die at the hands of the locals.
Sighing, she signals the others to be quiet, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she focuses on the area between her eyebrows. She doesn’t believe in meditation mumbo-jumbo, just does this to still her mind completely while waiting for the familiar tug of an innate guide she’s always had.
Don’t fail me now.
The air around them is heavy with an acrid tang, and not for the first time Lexi is grateful for the mask she always wears on missions and raids.
There.
Something is pulling her subtly up ahead to the left, and she opens her eyes before pointing. Vena takes the lead, Eric just behind and to the side as Lexi and Ray bring up the rear.
It’s a ghost town.
They don’t encounter a single soul - not even an animal or plant - for hours, and the ruined village they reach is equally deserted, just burnt out husks of homes without a single charred humanoid body in sight.
What’s going on here?
From the looks of it, this dungeon is replicating the outside world, complete with human dwellings. She’s heard of such things, of course, but it’s not a very common type of set up.
Then there’s the fact that we’re the fifth group to attempt this raid.
The last party had departed for this dungeon in early spring, but with time running out before a break occurs the master of the land had provided a bonus payment to the Guild in order to have it cleared before the end of summer.
Those human bodies we saw at the entrance...they weren’t dressed like players or adventurers. Which means the corpses of the other players and their parties must be elsewhere.
One way to earn brownie points and spare coin is to bring back some belongings of those who’d perished in raids, especially since most parties are made up of members of the Adventurer Guild. From what she’s heard, they’re a tight-knit group that looks after their own, or at least tries to give family members of lost adventurers closure so mementos are always appreciated.
Won’t hurt to be on good terms with those guys. Might come in handy some day.
Since it’s almost nightfall by the time they’re done with a search of the village, Eric chooses the sturdiest looking home and directs Ray and Vena to positions that allow them to keep watch while guarding Lexi. The redhead himself chooses to lean against a wall on Lexi’s left, looking through a burnt and broken window frame quietly as Ray distributes sandwiches.
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I like quiet, but this place is too quiet.
The silence and stillness are putting her on edge, especially after the eerie walk through the mine to get to the dungeon entrance, and Lexi tries to force herself to stay calm as she eats.
Several hours later, when she jerks awake at Ray’s shaking, Lexi thinks she prefers the silence.
Rising to her feet quickly, she grabs her backpack, slipping her arms through the straps while running out of the house with Ray. Vena’s fire-imbued arrows do a good job lighting up their attackers - a large group of orcs thundering down the hill towards them - as Eric yells instructions before Lexi’s bodily lifted by Ray.
Activate Flow: factor impact and rain.
Activate Bend: force landslide.
Bend success rate: 92% [https://i.imgur.com/kcH09u2.png]
The ground the orcs are running on turns into mud that rushes down the hill violently, burying some of the humanoid monsters while causing others to crash into each other and the remains of human houses.
Once Ray has put her down next to Vena, the two knights charge at the orcs that are struggling to their feet and attempting to regroup.
Too easy. It’s too easy.
Something makes her turn slightly, then Lexi tackles Vena to the ground just as red lights fly towards the pair.
Hate it when I’m right sometimes.
Her half-elf companion is back on her feet quickly and loosing arrows in quick succession as Lexi yells for Eric and Ray while drawing Akara.
Fly, girl.
Flinging the blade as hard as she can at the larger red lights closing in, her ears pick up the sounds of unknown words screamed by human sounding voices.
Huh? Wait, why are the heights of the lights so low if they sound human?
Oh my GOD.
It’s child soldiers, an effective psychological tactic in battles against humans with ethics.
SHIT.
Just because she’s not a fan of children doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be kids, as long as they’re as far away from her as possible.
Forgive me, father.
Though it’s yet more sins to add to the list, Lexi isn’t about to roll over and die just because her would-be killers are children.
Activate Flow: factor wind, rain, and lightning.
Activate Bend: force thunderstorm.
Bend success rate: 90% [https://i.imgur.com/Vzh6Prz.png]
Akara reaches her palm just as lightning and a torrential downpour drown out the screams from young voices.
It’s us or them, no time for debate. I really can’t die.
Flinging Akara once more at the shrinking mass of red lights, she notes Vena’s lack of hesitance in loosing arrows imbued with lightning.
I’m sorry, Vena. This must be hard on you. But thank you for doing what you need to do.
When the storm ends and the last red light vanishes, she heads to where the smell of wet burnt flesh is strongest.
So this is how they got the other players.
On some of the bodies, Lexi sees worn adventurer garb altered to fit smaller builds, while a few weapons common among mercenaries lie near their late wielders.
I don’t think the kids are the masterminds, and they definitely wouldn’t be able to control the orcs, so there must be something else pulling the strings. Whatever it is, it’s clever - siccing kids on us would’ve definitely caused a lot of human adults to hesitate and try to talk to them, maybe opt for restraining them and hope the kids don’t get free.
...if I were a better person, I’d have held back too.
Eric’s and Ray’s faces are as grim as she feels, though they say nothing. Lexi pats Vena gently on the head as the foursome start walking in the direction the child soldiers had come from, after they’ve recovered as many reusable arrows for the half-elf as possible.
Lexi is lost in thought while they walk, trusting Vena’s senses and the knights’ alertness to keep her safe.
Don’t be a hypocrite. You feel bad because they look like human kids - if they’d looked like goblin or orc children you wouldn’t care because they’re monster species, because they look different. That’s why one of the ways to ensure soldiers can kill on sight is to paint the enemy as inhuman, so that there’s no need for sympathy or empathy. And I guess this is why some people back home are completely against consuming animal products in any form, why activists fought to prevent testing on animals in labs. The question isn’t whether they’re human or not, the question is whether they’re sentient and can feel.
Are they really sentient though? Do I consider those kids human like me? They’re just creations of a dungeon that’s not meant to exist.
...I guess I could say the same for people in Terra. Just creations of a system that drags the rest of us here to die. Is this the real life or just fantasy? I’ve spent so much time here I’m starting to wonder which world is the ‘real’ world, since the system can reach out and bring us here at will.
She’s a little glad for the group of werewolves that leap out at them an hour before sunrise. It’s uncomfortable to think of Terra as anything other than the location of a cruel game when she’d had a life back home - a life Lexi’s hoping to return to eventually, as soon as she can escape this homicidal world.
“My lady.” Ray hands her a sandwich once she’s cleaned herself up somewhat, having been a little too close to a level 49 werewolf when Eric decapitated it. “You’ve improved greatly.”
Huh?
When he smiles like that, it makes for an incongruous sight since there’s still some dark blood on his face from when he’d full on crushed the skull of a werewolf with his hands. “Those creatures couldn’t get near you, and you’re not as tired as you usually are from such fights.”
“Oh...” It’s true, now that she thinks about it. Dodging and darting out of the way had been easier than against the shapeshifters, but she’d figured it’s purely because shifters are a higher rank beast compared to werewolves. I guess I really have gotten better.
“Don’t let it get to your head, brat.” Rolling her eyes, Lexi ignores the redhead. “You’re a far cry from beating a group of shifters on your own.”
Ugh.
Vena is smiling, signing her admiration for Lexi, and she smiles at the half-elf perched casually on a branch above where they’ve decided to rest for breakfast.
It’s another two days of fights, with a lot of walking and ambushes as they rest, before they encounter the next group of child soldiers.
“I’ll handle it.” She knows Ray likes kids, and Eric adores his brother’s children. No matter how battle hardened they may be, it's not easy for them to strike humans who’re so much smaller and weaker - especially ones who can remind them of children they know and care about. As for Vena, though she's older than she looks Lexi would prefer the brunette not get her hands dirty like this.
Look at me, acting like I’m good enough to worry about others.
The children look terrified, gripping their weapons tight in an effort to steel themselves as Lexi steps forward. For the sake of her party members, she tries to talk to the kids, but that just makes some of them scream foreign words that Eric, Ray, and Vena shake their heads at.
If Eric who’s mastered every language in Terra including ancient tongues doesn’t know it, then that means it’s not a language used outside of dungeons. Which just proves they're purely constructs meant to harm us - they didn't come from Terra, and since adventurers only started raiding this dungeon months ago, there's no way these kids were born to Terrans in here when they're this big. Even if I wanted to be nice and just restrain them, their buddies will just free them, which means I have to deal with them here and now.
Rationalizing like this doesn’t make it easier - not when she's always believed that all children have a right to shelter, food, water, education, play, and care - but Lexi knows she can’t falter. Not only will she have to endure a fate worse than death if she dies in Terra, but without a player in their party Eric, Ray, and Vena will be stuck in this dungeon for eternity.
This isn't the time to think about the value of a life versus another's. Kill or be killed.
Activate Foresight: heat and air.
Activate Bend: asphyxiate.
Bend success rate: 87% [https://i.imgur.com/48iHzj1.png]
As the air around her opponents heats up and loses oxygen, they start to gasp, dropping their weapons as they fall to their knees while struggling to breathe.
This is the kindest way I can think of. I’m sorry.
Akara makes quick work of the unresisting humans, then the group continues on their way.
I guess I’ll never reunite with dad, not even in the afterlife of my own world.
She’s reached level 16 now, but the improvement brings her no joy.
Let’s just go kill the dungeon boss and get out of here.
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CHAPTER 32 END