“Silence!”

The word was repeated, and the many armed creatures had seemingly frozen in place. Mash wasn’t even sure if they were breathing considering how still their bodies had become. It seemed like whoever had spoken was well respected or feared. It was a bit annoying to hear the person’s voice without seeing them. Mash was tempted to leap into the air to get a glimpse but decided that would probably be a mistake.

In an instant, Mash saw someone appear at the top of the ridge. He didn’t know if they were the speaker, but the exaggerated deference they received meant that they were probably a leader. They were nothing like other people. The being in question had skin that was black as night, and it lacked a human form completely. It had four spider-like legs attached to what could only be described as a spider-like abdomen. The next section of its body bent upwards; it was almost like a strange ant. Its black skin looked hard as stone or carapace. Mash barely even processed the fact that it had four arms, as his attention was pulled to its face.

A single large eye sat in the center of their face, and their mouths opened sideways. When it spoke, Mash could see that its teeth lined the side of its mouth. It didn’t have a visible nose or ears either, instead, the rest of its head was just like the smooth carapace that covered the rest of its body. As the creature walked down the slope of the crater, Mash was impressed by its balance. Its body seemed like it wouldn’t be so steady, yet it moved like it didn’t even notice the crater.

It wore some kind of cloak-poncho hybrid, it was pure white though it was covered in small marks of dirt. It hung loosely from around the creature’s neck. It didn’t have a normal neck, rather its head seemed like it was floating a few inches above its body. The cloak just hung loosely over its abdomen, and he wondered why it even bothered with it. Mash could tell that its whole body seemed oddly disconnected. Their parts rested against one another, but it seemed superficial. His observation of the creature had not gone unnoticed, nor had it been singular. All of his friends were inspecting the newcomer with just as much curiosity.

“Traveler, the reason you are here.”

The creature spoke with a steady cadence, and the sounds didn’t come from its mouth. It seemed to emanate from its body through a series of vibrations. It probably hadn’t been who had spoken earlier, though that didn’t really mean anything. The words it had spoken had been odd, but he picked up on what they had meant. He wasn’t the first to understand, and Red already started to respond.

“We have come from the other side to learn of what was happening here and establish peace. And if possible, to recover those that had come before.”

Red spoke clearly enough. The creature's head rotated to face her as she spoke. Its gaze had been focused on Luke, and Mash wondered if it had a way to gauge strength. Luke had the highest stats, and it seemed to assume that he was the leader. Mash himself was struggling to do the same with the strange creature. It didn’t seem to have any mana at all, and his domain was having some trouble reading the creature. He could tell that it was kind of strong, but it also felt like he was only getting a small bit of information from it. Was it obscuring his skill? Logically, he knew that it would be possible, but he just wasn’t expecting to experience it here. Especially not after his recent power up.

The creature’s eye slowly turned toward Mash, and Mash was a little shocked to see that it also lacked any way to shut its eye. Its gaze lingered on him, and he felt a need to respond. He produced an awkward wave, but it just looked away.

“Your people are captured. Two dead. Peace possible, come.”

The creature's speech was broken like it was only saying half of what it needed. They could still understand it though. The creature’s torso and head turned completely around. Its legs didn’t move at all. However, once the creature had turned it just started walking like nothing was wrong. The four of them glanced at one another and nodded almost simultaneously. It looked like they had the same idea.

They followed the creature, and Mash felt some of Jill’s mana deplete. He saw her mark the ground beneath her feet. They had come up with relatively simple escape plans. This was the first step to it. So long as Jill marked her location, then they would be able to escape most situations.

The creature climbed along the ridge without any trouble, and Mash was relieved to climb out of the crater. Even if it was with an escort of armed soldiers. He still didn’t know what those weapons would do, but he wouldn’t underestimate it. Even he knew better than making the same mistake again. The army around them gave them a wide birth but surrounded the four of them completely. They were obviously staying within range of their weapons, but also desperately trying to not bother the spider thing.

The more Mash studied the creature before him and got the idea that it wasn’t really alive. It was almost like it had been alive, but no longer possessed that moniker. It didn’t quite feel like Red though, so he didn’t think it was undead. It was more like it was something that shouldn’t be alive but was cheating death somehow. Priscilla was similarly dumbfounded on what the creature might be. Although, she had been focusing on something else.

They had a simple plan for what to do in case of uncertain situations. Essentially, they would all be keeping an eye on Jill, but Priscilla would be reading her thoughts. Her mental magic wouldn’t let her know Jill’s exact thoughts, but she could get an impression of it. Thus, Priscilla had constantly been monitoring her thoughts so far. If Jill got a glimpse of anything, then Priscilla would send a message to everyone. Hopefully, that would be enough to give them the jump on any unexpected situations.

They walked in silence, and Mash was a bit surprised by his surroundings. It wasn’t like they were wildly different from what he expected, rather it was the exact same as Daniel’s world. The trees here were identical to the ones he had seen around the dungeon entrance. It was almost like this world was a twisted reflection of the previous. It had been daytime in Daniel’s world, but it was nearly nightfall here. The sky was dyed in a subdued shadow, a color that could only be seen with the last bit of sunlight. The deepening shadows around him were another sign of the darkening skies.

The silence was growing more uncomfortable, as the walk grew ever longer. After almost an hour of walking, the sun had fully fallen from the sky. However, nothing had risen to replace it. No moon to illuminate the forest, giving the darkness a more absolute feel. The only sound that came from anyone was the crunching of grass as they trampled over it. Occasionally a gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and he was grateful for its regular rhythm. At least it would break the uncomfortable silence.

The creature leading them did not show any indication of tiredness, nor did it slow in the slightest. Mash and his friends didn’t have any problems either. However, that didn’t hold true for the army that had surrounded them. Some of the soldiers were obviously struggling, the weight of their equipment causing some to breathe deeply. That had been very enlightening for Mash. He had known at first sight these lizard-like people weren’t very strong, but he didn’t realize they would be so weak. Mash knew that almost anyone at level fifteen would have been able to manage what the soldiers had done without even breaking a sweat.

The weather here was strange too. It had actually felt a little cooler when the sun had been up. Now a humid air had started building around them. It wasn’t enough to bother him, but he could tell that the others weren’t such big fans of the humidity. Jill had taken several drinks of water. Luke also seemed a little uncomfortable, but Mash felt him use some of his mana to deal with his discomfort. Red seemed uncaring, though that was probably because of her strange body.

Mash was the same. His body had changed, and he found that he didn’t sweat. Things like the environment around him weren’t really a problem. So long as it was extreme, he didn’t think that the weather would ever be able to bother him. Honestly, he could probably just stand outside in the middle of winter without even feeling cold. There were other small differences that he had noticed, but that wasn’t all. His body was still changing, adapting, and becoming more efficient. One strange byproduct was that he needed to use the bathroom less frequently. Apparently, his body wasn’t done evolving either. Priscilla had told him that it was still making minor improvements. She believed that his next major body evolution would come when he upgraded his body.

His mind had grown unfocused, as the walk had become boring. Despite the tension in the air, he didn’t really feel any of it himself. Even if an attack came Priscilla would warn him, not to mention that he would sense it within his domain. It didn’t help that Priscilla could handle most of the passive observation herself. He didn’t even need to keep his eyes open. It was hard to stay tense in a situation like this. Finally, something changed though, and he was saved from his boredom.

The forest broke, and he could see in front of them for the first time. In the distance, he could see lights. Multicolored and changing they glowed bright enough to illuminate the sky around them. It was quite the sight, and he wondered why magic was wasted on something like that. While the scene with the lights was pretty, it seemed like a poor decision tactically. Then he noticed a clicking sound as if two stones had collided. A road had appeared, and the creature had started walking on it. The noise was off its feet hitting the road. Mash wondered why a road just appeared but noticed some cut trees around him. They were clearing the forest and paving a path through it. Mash was going to ask the creature about what the lights were. It was hard to tell how dark it was, but then he saw the outline in the distance.

It was a city. He could make out the shadows of roofs and even a castle. And saw what had to be a wall circling the city. It looked like the wall itself had some lights on it, and they served to illuminate a large number of buildings that surrounded the walls. An outer city or district? There were few cities that had things like that in his world. With magic, a wall could be built around villages, and it would only take a day or two.

“Arrive.”

Finally, the silence was broken. The strange guide had finally spoken, its sounds were little more than complex vibrations. It was the languages that were like this that would really showcase Aifell’s genius. He wondered how many beings in existence could have done what she had done. Even had they been given the resources and time, Mash doubted that his world would’ve been able to make such an item. As Mash thought of Aifell, he wondered if they should visit her again. He didn’t think their people would be able to withstand his own, but he could offer them an escape. There are many worlds he could visit, and many people he could try and help.

“What do you mean? Is that where we are going, and what’s it called?”

Jill asked the creature, and Mash nodded along. He was still shaking of the boredom of the trip and had let his mind wander again. He really needed to refocus and get in the right frame of mind for a fight. They were literally about to walk into an unknown city, with people that very well might try to kill them.