I immediately turned in annoyed confusion towards my two companions, who already were over [Lvl 20] before this fight had started, who knew I was close to getting there, which I think was the trigger for this [promotion].
Undine was already looking at me with a tranquil smile when I turned, the same happened with Sheeno, although her smile was more devious than anything.
So, yes, they both knew but kept quiet about it. And I don’t even need to ask if [Buddy] knew, because of course he did.
“I know that around every time you double your level, there’s a jump in the power scale, but this [promotion] thing was not what I was expecting: Is this another of those annoying things that risk dropping in quality of boost if you know beforehand?” I expectedly asked, and the small breath that the [High Priestess] took told me that had prepared a discourse for exactly this moment.
“First of all, congratulation on hitting one of the most important milestones of the start of your growth. Second, to answer your question, it’s been determined long ago that those who have been [Transferred] get less choice in specialization during a [promotion] if instructed on its workings beforehand, something to do with having a pliable mind while mentally rejecting anything unknown at the same time. Third, as I already touched upon, a [promotion] is basically a specialization that influences future [Statistics bonuses] and [Traits]”, she finished her explanation with a nod to Sheeno.
“Even among [Royalty] and [Nobles] the subject gets kinda glossed over during their extensive education”, my mate continued the explanation, also sounding like she had rehearsed her part, “mostly because [promotions] are said to be almost unique to every individual, and outside influence normally turns out that only help in closing off unexpected paths.
“So, long story short: Sorry for keeping quiet about it, but, again, it was for your own good”.
“Well, I appreciate the thoughtfulness, and, while I’ll probably never like the fact that things need to be purposely hidden from me, I think I’m growing accustomed to it enough that I’m not particularly frustrated this time”, and while not exactly true, I didn’t want to sound like a whiny bitch about it.
It may be too late for that.
“Shut your screen up.”
Both women in the [Party] looked relieved at my words, so we quickly moved on-
“Hold on, do I need to do this [promotion] now, or can I do it after we close this [Dungeon] up? Because, not to ruin the moment, but I’d prefer to be out of this dank hole as soon as possible”, I immediately cut the moment short once I properly thought about it, only glad that the [Demon] corpses disintegrated into energy soon after death, otherwise, we would also be dealing with the stench.
“Actually, you need a [Heart of the Temple] to do a [promotion], so we couldn’t do it here if we wanted to”, Sheeno responded a bit apologetically.
“Fortunately for you, a [High Priestess] has a specific ritual to simulated the power of the primary catalyst for their faith, at least for a single person, and I can personally attest to it working”, And Sheeno launched that nugget of information at me before I could whine about the hassle of having to go on another side-quest to look for the nearest [Temple].
“Still, we need to be properly in the [Nexus] for me to do so, which we technically aren’t when inside an almost breached [Dungeon], otherwise I won’t be able to connect with my [Demi-Goddess] mother and initiate the [promotion]”, the [Water Nymph] continued, and yeah, it made sense.
But, before moving on, there was one last thing that I had to ask:
“Are we closing this thing, or leaving it under our control?”
I felt that it was a perfectly legit question, and yet the responses I got told me otherwise.
“Why, in the name of the [True God], would you want to leave an incursion point open?” Undine asked aghast.
“Exactly! What even would be the point of not closing it?” Sheeno pointedly asked, more incensed and collected at the same time of our latest addition.
“Woah, okay, jeez. I just thought that, since we knew this was here, we could use it as a trap to lure more [Demons] in and kill them before they make it all the way through, transforming this place into some kind of outpost for ambushes. But I get the risk is still too high that something too strong forces its way through. Sorry for suggesting it”, I raised my hands in surrender while apologizing for what I felt was some sort of breach of conduct.
“We understand that it was something along those lines, but do you really think that in the thousands of years that the [Nexus] existed nobody thought to try the same thing?” Undine asked with a raised eyebrow, and… yeah, that’s a fair point.
“Darwin, you’re smart. We know it, you know it, and almost rub it in the face of everybody new that you meet-“, it was Sheeno’s turn to make me realize my idiocy… wait, no, she’s doing the opposite.
“I don’t really think that I’m particularly sma-“, I tried to interrupt my mate, but she talked right over me.
“You do and you are; your previous life just conditioned you to believe otherwise, for some reason, and now that you keep finding new things that others couldn’t do before you’re both baffled and incredibly obnoxious about it to anybody willing to listen”, she continued, my other companion nodding along with her words.
“Even if that was true, and I’m not saying that it is-“, I didn’t need my [Aura] to tell me that emotions were starting to run high, especially mine, so I tried to defuse the situation.
Emphasis on ‘try’.
“You’re doing it again!” I was interrupted once again, this time by Undine.
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“What?” I asked, dumbfounded by the accusatory tone.
I wasn’t trying to correct them, I just wanted to move on and get out of here, away from the corpses.
“You’re acting like we didn’t understand, while you did, and so you make it your duty to correct us”, I felt like that was a wild jump, but somehow even my girlfriend seemed of the same opinion.
“Yeah, what big sister said”, Sheeno said, in a… ‘different’ tone.
“I’m sorry?” Expectedly, Undine’s head whipped towards her.
“Well, since we’re coming clean with the hang-ups with have with one another I thought that I had to point out how you tend to act with an air of motherly superiority, exactly as if you’re everybody’s big sister, which comes across extremely condescending at times”
“Ohohoh, this is good. You’re one to talk, with all the ‘princess-like’ posturing you still throw around, even though you don’t hold a claim to the title anymore, while at the same time you’re perfectly fine with charging head-first into things like a common brute”
“Oh yeah? Are you sure that’s something you talk about with your betters, miss ‘slightly above average’?”
“I’m sorry for not being on the same level with monsters like you two, but at least I’ll have a life after all this, waiting for me when I return; but what do you have, huh!? Nothing, because-“
Sensing some dangerous words incoming, I shout the first lyrics to a song that comes to mind, just absurd enough to catch them flatfooted.
“Everybody shut up, I have an erection!”
…
Ok, out loud they were worse than expected, but they did the job.
“…Darwin, what the fuck are you talking about!?” Undine was the first to reply when she finally managed to reclaim control over her slack jaw.
“Yeah… this doesn’t seem like the time nor place for some hanky-panky”, Sheeno shook herself out of the stupor, still blinking owlishly at me.
“It’s cute that you still remember that term I only used once, but I was only trying to distract you from your unnatural anger: I don’t know how, but I think the [Demons]’ corpses are decomposing into an air-born pathogen that makes people irrational, namely you two”, I explained, the pointed index of my free hand swinging between the two.
“Of course, because only you noticed it, and we’re too stupid to recognize when our emotion… are being… messed with- Oh, [Conflict], he’s right”, while, at first, my girlfriend seemed ready to start arguing again, I could visibly see the realization quickly downing on her, concluding with her gripping the side of her head in near panic.
Seeing that I rushed to her side, to both console her and see if I could help.
“It’s… humbling that I failed to recognize it myself- wait a second”, after muttering to herself for a moment, the [High Priestess] seemed to cast something, which, while doing nothing to me, seemed to drag off some black particles away from the two women present.
“Oof, much better. That felt nasty coming out, though”, Sheeno exclaimed, shaking herself from head to toe, like some kind of wet dog.
“It was [Malayse], a specific condition that the decomposition of [Demon] corpses can inflict on anyone close enough, which includes, in its symptoms, emotion instability, enhanced aggressiveness, and eventually trouble breathing. Although, I never read about it happening this fast: It normally takes days of leaving the rotting bodies unattended for it to happen. It makes no sense-“, done with the explanation, Undine started trying to figure out what was going on.
But I, after adding [Malayse] to my [Information], was quickly able to figure out what was going on.
“It’s the mist”, I plainly put.
“…What do you mean?” Our de-facto healer couldn’t help but ask, probably not seeing the link.
“The [Void] attuned mist that was corroding us until you pushed it back. I didn’t notice it until I thought about it, but it looked like it went away on its own once we had defeated our foes… but that doesn’t make sense, since that was a feature of the [Dungeon], not an active effect from any of those we killed” I paused a moment to point at the piled up corpses, and with a flex of my [Mana] I made the [Malayse] flare up, making them flinch back at the display, “turns out it converged there either by resonance, with the [Demons] having that same [Affinity], or because the mist has some kind of pseudo intelligence and decided that corroding the corpses was the best way to attack us.”
I could see that last point getting them to look at the pile in mild worry, but since the mist seemed happy to continue doing what it was doing, it looked like we were safe, for now, so I tried moving this mees forward.
“So, to reiterate, we close this [Dungeon] for good? No second thoughts, now that your minds are clearer, or any idea on how to get any useful material from those [Demons] over there?”
Undine shook her head, “Once the [Malayse] gets to the corpses any useful part if there are any, is beyond salvaging, since the more useful properties are normally the more unstable ones to begin with”.
“Aw, bummer. Then I’m just closing this”, I replied, getting two nods in return.
Mentally calling back the options screen, I select to close the [Dungeon].
The room shook ominously for a few seconds, and when it finally stopped, a black portal, this time without any swirling, appeared in the middle of the room, just between us and the dead [Demons], from which we had distanced ourselves from.
“Wait, why were you immune to the [Malayse]?” My girlfriend connected the dots once she was forced to look back at the corpses with cartoonish black stick lines emanating from them.
“I’m not sure, but I’m hypothesizing it’s either because of a [Trait] that makes my mind generally impenetrable, or because I have [Aberrant Void: Abyss Affinity]”, and while that got a weird look from Undine, they both seemed to accept it as a response.
Still, a bit disheartened about the loss of interesting material, I was mostly glad about us getting out of this [Dungeon] all in one piece, so much so that I went out the portal so fast that I almost barrelled into Sheeno’s back, who once more decided to go first.
I barely had enough time to see that my running into her wasn’t due to my hastiness nor her tardiness, that Undine sandwiched me against my mate.
Not a bad situation to be in honestly, but when hundreds of armed people were there to look at you when it happened, things became awkward very fast.
I didn’t even summon any [Totem] to defend us, because, besides Sheeno looking entirely unperturbed by the assembled people, if it wasn’t for a slight clenching of her fists that belayed her nervousness, I knew that they wouldn’t attack us.
I happily waved at the blond guy who stood in front of a… [Platoon], I guess that was the word, who surprisingly looked to be in charge. He… for a lack of a better term, unenthusiastically waved back with a conflicted expression.
“This is two times now that we met, and not only do you seem to be at the center of the mess I’m currently dealing with again, but your eyes got… even more interesting”, he eventually said, with most of the [Soldiers] around him giving him weird looks.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you again too, Timothy. How’ve you been?” I replied with fake cheer, making it a point to show him that I was pointedly looking at the people still levering their weapons at us.
Maybe to make things more awkward the [Dungeon] decided that time to close itself with a ‘plip’, the hole in the ground disappearing down an invisible drain and leaving behind a surprisingly shallow divot.
“…Not particularly good, to be honest. But finding my job done for me is a nice change of phase”, the fellow [Human], kind of, replied after he had stopped staring at the [Dungeon] that was no longer there.
“So… mind telling your guys to stop pointing your weapons at us?” I asked after nobody seemed to want to intrude into the conversation or continue it in any way.
I even got as look from Sheeno that she wanted me to keep the conversation going.
“I don’t know, mind explaining what you, your [Team], I believe they’re in a [Team] with you, and the ship over there is doing this close to the active zone for the [Army]? Also, is that the [High Priestess] that welcomed us to the [Nexus]?” He made no move to calm his people down, which was… unsettling.
Until I figured out that the last time he saw me I had been accused of being a [Demon], and the person that ended up defending me was now standing behind me, and now I was coming out from what he had believed to be something that would spawn [Demons] for him to fight, which he must have been fighting with for a while now.
“Oh yeah: The completely blue lady is Undine, my babysitter, who you recognized; the white one in red armor is Sheeno, my girlfriend and partner in crime; the ship over there is how we got over here; and we’re here to help you geniuses, so why don’t stand the fuck down?”
The sound of multiple faces getting palmed followed.