Chapter 38 The Wait

Elysia tensed, ready to fight as the team approached. She backed toward the warehouse, spear raised, lightning crackling on the tip. Despite their overwhelming strength, she refused to back down.

A raised hand from Major Evans causing the team to retreat behind him as he nodded at Elysia. “She’s clean.”

Confused, Elysia stared at the team, spear still raised. “Follow.” Ordered the major before turning his back on Elysia, unafraid of her spear.

What was that about? Was it a test? Why? Whatever it was, I must have passed. Elysia shook her head at the absurdity of the situation as she lowered her spear and released the electrical charge harmlessly into the ground.

-8 Charge.

Still on guard, she kept her spear at the ready as she followed the team. As she followed them, she found one was missing. Where did that skinny guy go? He entered the dungeon with the rest of them. Is that why they are acting weird? If the monsters of this dungeon killed him, why did they nearly attack me? So confusing.

No answers came to her by the time they arrived at a mobile home on concrete blocks to the south of the warehouse. The team entered, but Elysia hesitated, earning the ire of Major Evans. “Arashi come!”

The order cracked like a whip, sending her scrambling inside before she thought about it. Elysia scanned the mobile home, finding it to be an administration building with files scattered about on every horizontal surface. Several printers rested on a folding table at the back of the main room next to open file cabinets. The team huddled around a table with a map laid out.

With left hand on her hip, right hand grasping her spear, Elysia drilled her amethyst gaze into the major who had his back to her. “What was all that about?”

Everyone ignored her question, not even looking at her as they spoke amongst themselves. “We swept every sector. Where could Joe hide?” Asked a buff woman a head taller than Elysia.

“When I get ahold of that bastard, I’ll wring his neck!” Fumed a guy of average height.

The major suddenly stood to his full height snapping, “Silence! Anger won’t help find him.” With his team looking at him with their full attention, he continued. “What if he isn’t hiding? We could be going about this all wrong.”

Fed up, Elysia cut in. “Could one of you please tell me what is going on!”

Finally turning his attention to Elysia, Major Evans replied, “Joe, my second, sabotaged our supplies before escaping.”

“How? I entered maybe a minute after you.” Elysia questioned with a tilt of her head.

Instead of answering her directly, he returned his attention to his remaining team before speaking. “Time acceleration? I heard reports of lost time in a dungeon, but never to this extreme.”

He returned his attention to Elysia, frowning upon seeing no backpack. “Did you bring supplies?”

Elysia glared at the trio as she spoke in a glacial tone. “No, will you stop ignoring me? Tell me what is going on!”

The major sighed in exhaustion before beginning. “When we arrived two days ago, we surveyed the dungeon and found no hostiles. During the first night, my second threw our supplies in the fire before disappearing. We searched the following day, but he disappeared without a trace. Last night we woke in a different building than our camp.”

“Why were you hostile to me then?” Elysia questioned, ice in her tone thawing.

“We thought you were working with Joe, but we now know that isn’t the case.”

Despite the danger, Elysia had to ask, “How do you know?”

“Your reaction was too authentic. Fear like that can’t be faked. If you had Joe backing you up, you would react differently.”

Elysia’s face reddened as she went over the developments in her head. Wonderful. The only thing that saved me was I was scared. I don’t want to think about what would happen if I reacted differently. I wonder where this Joe guy went and what he gained by sabotaging his team. None of us can leave until we clear the dungeon, yet he intentionally hurt his team. Kind of freaky they’ve been here for two days already. I really hope it doesn’t take another two days to conquer the dungeon. Why didn’t I think to bring supplies? When I saw it was a dungeon, I should’ve grabbed my backpack.

Done with her inner monologue, Elysia returned her attention to the trio who were back to looking over the map. “So, what now?”

“We wait.” Replied Major Evans.

“Why?” asked Elysia.

“We’ve tried searching during the day and found nothing. The next course of action is to search during the night. Some creatures prefer hunting during the night.”

“How do you know Joe is responsible for everything? What if a creature killed him during the night?”

“We don’t, but I find it hard to believe Joe went down without a fight. He was my second and even I’m not confident fighting him. He’s our scout and stealth expert, so he’s plenty capable of hiding.”

Elysia nodded her hand in understanding before asking her next question. “Any idea how we beat the dungeon? You said you didn’t find anything during the day, so the monster must be nocturnal.”

“Negative, we’ve found no trace of any hostiles. The horde even vanished before we arrived. Our scouts told us of heavy occupation of the marina, but as you can see, that’s not the case.”

With nothing to do but wait, Elysia rested her spear against the wall, flopping on a browning chair. Her nose crinkled at the waft of dust from the chair. At least we don’t have to wait long, it’s already evening.

She watched the trio talk amongst themselves but soon became bored as all they did was repeat the same series of ideas with slightly different wording, as if it was a new idea. I wish I had Ione to keep me company. It’s so relaxing petting her silky fur. I wonder how big she will get. I hope she doesn’t get too big but it would be cool to ride her. Please don’t let her grow to the size of that serpent. Where would I keep a cat over a hundred meters long? Elysia shook away the both amusing and terrifying image to focus on the current problem.

I wonder why the system gave me that warning. So far, this is the laxest dungeon I’ve been in. Usually something would try to eat me by now. I really hope I didn’t just curse myself. The only high level things here are that trio. At least I think they are high level. I hate how they can tell my level, but I can’t see there’s.

Seeing no reason not to ask, Elysia turned to the huddled group to sate her curiosity. “Hey how did you know my level?”

The major ignored her as usual, but the giant woman glanced up to answer. “The inspect skill.”

“Inspect skill? How do you get that?” Elysia asked, but the woman just shrugged before returning her attention to the map.

Elysia grumbled but didn’t ask further, knowing when to stop. I hope I can learn inspect. It sounds really useful. Though considering I don’t have any non-lightning based skills, it may be wishful thinking. Once I get out of here, I’ll need to grill Eva. Unlike these guys, she should at least answer me. If not, I can always threaten to kick her off Umbra. Actually, scratch that, it would be stupid to antagonize my crew even if it’s just one girl. She may sabotage Umbra in retaliation. Goosebumps formed at the thought, but then a smile formed at the thought of electrifying Eva’s hair into a staticy mess.

Bored, Elysia stood, grabbing her spear before exiting the mobile home. Once outside, she stared out at the water. Kind of freaky. I can’t even see Umbra. I hope Ione and Eva are fine. Though if two days really passed in here in a minute, I doubt Eva even noticed I left yet. How could one girl make a mess like that so quick? Did I make a mistake in allowing her to stay on Umbra? Oh well, too late now, though if the mess isn’t cleaned up by the time I get back, I may have to dump her on the other boat.

A feeling of being watched prompted her to glance toward the warehouse, but after a scan, nothing stood out to her. She squashed the temptation to check it out, knowing it would be incredibly stupid to go off alone. Still, she continued to scrutinize the warehouse a hundred meters away. Her eyes caught movement at the edge of her vision, but when she turned to look at the window on the far left side of the warehouse, nothing was there.

No longer feeling safe, Elysia retreated into the mobile home. Even inside, she still felt eyes on her back, so she hid out of sight from the warehouse. The trio glanced at her for a moment but didn’t comment.

The next hour passed uneventfully as Elysia sat half asleep on her chair, previous fright gone with the passage of time. How could these people ask the same questions over and over for hours? Is the lack of food and water getting to them? Speaking of food, I hope Ione is doing alright. Hopefully, Eva checks on her. I wonder what Ione eats besides my charge.

Any further thoughts pause as the room darkens from the setting sun. The trio finally move after hours spent bent over the table, nodding with each other in unspoken agreement before they turned toward Elysia. “Time to get moving.”

Elysia sprang to her feet, grabbing her spear, eager to finish the dungeon. The trio plus one exited the mobile home before turning to the south, following the edge of the dungeon away from the warehouse. In a diamond formation, with the major at the front and Elysia at the back, they passed by RVs and mobile homes in silence.

The return of the feeling of someone watching her caused her to glance over her shoulder, again catching movement inside the dark warehouse. She turned back to say something, but before she could speak, Major Evans put a finger to his lips, then continued to walk in silence. A frown formed as the feeling gained strength, yet the trio kept walking further away from the warehouse, soon reaching the far southern end of the marina. They stopped at another mobile home. Without a word, they entered as if sharing a silent communication amongst themselves, leaving Elysia out.

After a moment of hesitation and a glance over her shoulder at the warehouse, she followed them inside. The moment she entered the near pitch black mobile home, every hair stood on end. On instinct, she dove to the floor, just barely avoiding something sailing over where her head would’ve been. Elysia sprang to her feet, backpedaling toward the door. She grasped at her core to light up her veins, but with the combat suit covering most of her body, her internal flashlight proved ineffective.

A flash of movement from her right and left sent her diving to the floor again, but far too slow. In almost slow motion, she watched a pair of claws shoot toward her chest. Her feet left the ground as she rocketed backward. After a brief flight, she landed hard on her back on the concrete parking lot outside the mobile home. She stared up at the starry sky in a daze, gasping for breath from the sudden impact. Her hand reached toward her chest but felt nothing but undamaged armor.

At the discovery, her mind snapped back into focus, springing upright. Her eyes landed on the dark form of a man wielding twin short swords standing in front of her.