Chapter 45

~ The Woman in the Cave ~

SW/SW/SW

Etherios.

It wasn’t his first time hearing that name. In fact, he had heard it from when he was still in the real world. Etherios was the boss who was known as the hardest boss to beat, according to GeaOnline wikia. He did not know what she looked like or what sort of techniques she used to defeat her enemies, but one thing Kail knew about her.

She sang.

Was the song powerful enough to decimate several players at once, Kail wondered. What kinds of effects did the song have to the listeners? Were they causing poison and paralysis? Or were there some more effects other than the ones aforementioned?

It was better for him to meet the woman face-to-face instead of pondering about it.

That being said, this Etherios woman was certainly most unique.

“Is this the right place?” Kail murmured the question out loud.

What was he going to say? Oh, right…

The woman was unique. She did not live in the castle. Rather, she had her own special place down below. Kail did not know that there was a huge, dark cave underneath the castle, illuminated only by shining mushrooms that grew here and there. There were many tunnels, which he suspected would lead him to nowhere if he wasn’t being careful.

Looking above, his eyes were met by various sizes of stalactites, and looking down, there were stalagmites. Occasional drops of water were falling down from the darkness-shrouded ceiling, forming murky, small ponds on the ground. Paying a look at one of the ponds, Kail noticed that the color was sickly green.

Whatever happened, he definitely would not touch it.

Lifting his head, he could see that the path was divided into four. He immediately remembered what Hathor had said...

When you see branches, examine the ground for any white thread. It’s small and hard to miss, but once you find it, then the branch where you find the thread is the right one.

He did as he was told. Carefully he examined the entrance of each branches, being very careful not to miss anything. Then he saw it.

He saw a very short, white thread, hidden behind a fist-sized rock. Curious, he picked it up and examined it. The label was [Unidentified Object]. From the look of it, it was hair, but at the same time it was not. It was too thick and… furry (?) to be called hair.

He put it in his inventory just in case.

Kail ventured the correct tunnel, being mindful not to touch anything. It could be trapped and he did not want to lose his arm again. Too painful.

The end of the branch led him to a cavernous place, with a clear-watered pond in the corner and huge stalagmites protruding from the ground. Everything was sinisterly white. The stalagmites and the rocky walls… even the ground was white. The ceiling was too dark to make out anything, however.

Kail frowned.

Was that… a spider web on that corner?

It was, and not just one, but two, three, four…

Spinning around in place, Kail was taken aback at the sheer numbers of webs in the vicinity. The place was white not because of magic. This place was white because it was covered in spider webs!

Suddenly Kail felt a presence. It was from a corner of the dark ceiling. The presence was there, unmoving, blending in the shadow. It didn’t say anything; merely watching and observing him.

It must’ve been Etherios.

“Hathor sent me here,” he spoke carefully.

The atmosphere felt colder than before and Kail instantly knew that he had made a mistake. Would he be killed again? Would she consume him alive?

To his surprise, she didn’t. Red-colored sentence appeared several meters away from him, read ‘What have I done to incur the wrath of the demon queen?’

Incur? Talk about formal. Should he speak formally, too? No, he feared that his lack of formal vocabulary might piss her off.

“She just told me to see you in person.”

This time, a blue-colored sentence appeared, ‘What can I help you with, Your Majesty?’

Kail frowned. It was just him or this Etherios could not speak?

“I want to know you better,” no, more like—I want to use you better, was what Kail meant. He needed to see what she was capable of and used her to his heart’s desire. This Etherios woman might be a good meatshield candidate.

He couldn’t possibly divulge his ‘amnesic’ condition. This woman might be more dangerous than that insane, lusty succubus. Why, she might be thinking of backstabbing him, just like that bitch Hilda.

Women are scum.

They aren’t trustworthy.

Yes, that was right. They deserved only to be manipulated, nothing more and nothing less.

Another sentence appeared.

‘Your wish flatters me, Your Majesty, but I fear that I have to refuse. I do not wish to anger Her Majesty even more.’

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Kail realized his mistake. He should’ve explained it more, rather than stopping it half-way. It wasn’t her fault that she misunderstood his intention. “I want to understand all of you—your skills, your magics, your capabilities as a person, everything. I heard that the adventurers are getting bolder and I must implement some new strategies to keep them from reaching this castle.”

Lies. All of them.

I need to understand you better, so when the time is right I can sacrifice you for my own safety.

‘I am quite adept in magic, Your Majesty,’ the sentence read, ‘both healing and attack magics.’

Kail crossed his arms. That was quite convenient. A healer and a mage in one person. Despite her useful abilities, he’d bet that she couldn’t take getting hits too often. Hathor, on the other hand, was the type that excelled in attack and agility. But what of him?

His understanding was that he was a balance type. Jack of all trades, master of none. The only thing that was good about him was his powerful spells and necromancy.

Necromancy? Hmm...

“Do you understand what day tomorrow is?”

‘I do, Your Majesty,’ the sentence was colored in green. ‘The day of a deadly battle with the adventurers. I shall not hold back for I am your shield.’

Kail’s brows twitched a little. This woman was quite loyal…

No, Kail shrugged the thought off. She definitely would backstab him after she had gained his trust. He should not trust her so easily.

“Not holding back? I’m not convinced,” he decided to test her a little.

‘What shall I do to prove your statement otherwise, Your Majesty?’

Lifting his right hand, Kail spoke, “Show me the power of your song. If the result is satisfactory, I might think twice of trusting you.”

Lies, lies, and lies.

Seeing was believing. He just wanted to see how fearsome the mid-boss who was infamous of being the hardest to kill.

A red-colored sentence appeared before him, read…

‘You wish you wouldn’t hear it first-hand, Your Majesty. There is a reason why I do not speak.’

Was her song or her voice that dangerous?

“All right, then. Show your true color to the adventurers instead. I’ll be watching you.”

‘Very good, Your Majesty.’

With that, Kail left with a curiosity-plagued mind.