Part One Hundred and Five

Let me tell you something. Going up steps is a lot harder than coming down.

This staircase didn’t seem so long coming down, though that may be due to the anticipation and nerves I felt on the way. Now I just want to get out of this dark, silent place. And maybe get a sandwich. I’m really hungry.

“Can anyone see the exit? I’m starting to think we’ll never get out of here.”

“No, we will. I can already see the exit up ahead. The light just doesn’t make it very far.”

“Wait, how the heck can you see that? It’s pitch-black in here past the lanterns.”

“Accuracy, that’s how. I can’t see inside the darkness itself, but I can make out light in the distance. I’d say we’ve got another two or three minutes before we reach it.”

Sure enough, two minutes later the air around us began lightening. Thirty seconds after that, and the exit came into view. And ten seconds later, we were once again standing in the Gate of Rebirth’s chamber. Only now there were NPCs all around us, standing on the edges of the room in full rank-and-file.

The sight was rather startling, enough so that I reflexively grabbed ahold of my swords. However, the fact that the NPCs made no further movements, eventually made me ease off the aggression.

They aren’t turning on us, are they? Because there sure are a lot of them. And we’re all tired from the fighting before. Uh, please don’t let this devolve into a fight.

“Commander, Archmage? Can we help you?”

“No, we’ve just come to thank you all for your service. Thank you. On behalf of everyone here at Fort Aries, thank you. You’ve not only assisted in the defense of the fort, but even removed a threat against the very foundations of this fortress. So again, thank you.”

***

Despite how long the whole thing seemed, our venture into the Lair had only taken about a half-hour or so. Word had spread throughout the fort by the time we got back, so everyone knew about us fighting the Sub-Boss. There was some mild jealousy from the other mercenaries, especially after they the rewards we got, but that mostly cooled off after Brad and Tavin described what we’d actually fought.

We were also told that there would be one final meeting in an hour's time. The topic of discussion was supposedly the Dungeon Boss, as well as a few other final details. Until then, I went back to my room to sort through various things and grab a snack. Though I was starting to get sick of canned fruit and fruit bars.

Grr, alright, it’s official. At some point after we get out of here, I’m buying some kind of portable gas stove. I can’t stand one more of these “apocalypse meals". I’d kill for a cheeseburger or pizza right now. Or even just a hot dog.

My munchies aside, I also took this time to go through my spoils from the last siege battle. I’d collected so many items by this point that I’d already filled a couple of my magic bags to capacity. If Alicia and Cameron had anywhere near this much loot, then we should make a killing once we got out of here.

Huh, I just noticed that I didn’t get any C-Rank items. Odd. I know I killed close to a dozen of them in the last fight, so I should’ve gotten at least one. Maybe the RNG just screwed me over? Wouldn’t be the first time. Stupid Rath Gems.

I decided to put those thoughts out of my mind. I had bigger fish to fry, like using that shiny new Scroll I had. Using it was simple, I just had to tear it in half, triggering whatever magic would imprint the knowledge of the Skill into my head. I’d already done this once before when learning Sword Aura, so I knew what to expect. What I wasn’t sure of is whether I’d be better off using now or keeping it for later.

Using it now would let me learn an amazingly useful Skill, or so I hoped. But, if I kept it for later, after more and more people began clearing Dungeons, there would doubtless be more uses for it. Selling it, trading it, using it as an incentive, there were myriad ways I could play it. But they’d all go up in smoke if I used it now.

“Michael, can I come in!? Or rather, I’m coming in.”

“Why bother asking if you’re just going to barge in like that?”

“I’m just keeping you on your toes. You know you’d get bored without me around. Huh? Uh, why haven’t you used that Skill Scroll yet?”

“Because I’m wondering if keeping it around might earn us more in the future. Items like this always go up in value in MMOs. I figure something similar will happen here eventually.”

“Er, aren’t you just overthinking it? Maybe that’ll be something you should think about later, but now we should prioritize learning what we need to survive. So tear that Scroll apart!”

*…RIIIIIP!*

“Wow, that was emphatic. Do you have unresolved anger issues? So, what’s it do exactly?”

::Individual has acquired Normal Skill: Rapid Recovery Rank F.::

“Huh, it’s about what you’d expect. Consume mana to rapidly increase natural recovery rates. Hm, I wonder if this’ll cause my metabolism to go haywire if I overuse it.”

“Maybe Kalia can help with that. It’s close enough to Healing Magic that she might have a clue about it.”

“Later. We’ve got about eleven hours until the Dungeon Boss shows up, and a meeting in an hour.”

“Hm, so, so, so close! Honestly, I just want out of here. I need a shower bad, and I can’t stand these cots any longer. A few days was fine, but I’m nearing my limit.”

“Pfft, way to match the stereotype Alicia. But yeah, I’m tired of being here too. It’s one thing to trek through the country fighting as we go. At least then we occasionally came across houses with generators. Here it’s like we’ve been sent back two centuries.”

The only good thing was that there was plenty of fresh water from a series of wells dug throughout the fort. Without those, I’d imagine we’d all smell pretty bad by now. Especially when we routinely became covered in blood.

The conversation soon stagnated after that, leading us into an awkward silence. Hm, it’s not often that the two of us can’t think of anything to talk about. Well, maybe it’s time I broach that subject.

“So, we’ve only got a few hours left here.”

“I think we’ve established that, Michael. It’s kind of what led to that last conversation.”

“Yep, that’s exactly what happened. But you know something? It also means that there’s only a few hours until everyone here goes their separate ways. Hrm, really makes ya think, doesn’t it?”

“Er, I guess. Uh, I still don’t see what you’re getting at.”

“Well, in the last week, we’ve met some rather colorful characters. Too many, to be honest. It’s starting to seem like everyone who came here has a rather strong personality.”

“I’d love to refute that, but we have seen people who were a little extreme. I can still hear Sampson screaming the things he said while we were fighting Finnél.”

“Oh, you mean how he was going to cut off his balls and make him eat them?”

“Why!? I went out of my way to not say that, and you went and said it anyway! Eugh, just the thought of that is enough to make me sick.”

“And there’s also the fact that we’ve finally had confirmation of other dimensions or worlds or whatever you want to call them. We’ve even seen races aside from humans. And what can happen when things go very, very wrong. The kind of dangers that come hand-in-hand with the World System.”

“What is this, an exposition about everything we’ve seen and experienced in here?”

“Er, I guess I should just get to the point. What I’m trying to say is that there’s a high likelihood that we’ll never see the people we’ve met here again. And that we’re sure to have need of additional manpower soon.”

“…..Okay. That’s kind of inevitable if you think about it. Any Dungeons we attempt are sure to increase in scale and danger as we go. We’ll need a variety of abilities to make it through those challenges."

Even while she said, the was still looking at me askance. I knew that she knew that I knew that she was aware of what I was getting at, but it seemed like she wanted to keep playing dumb about it. That was probably due to the conversation we’d had yesterday. Or was it the day before? Time felt off to me because of the constant sense of danger inside the Dungeon. There’d been too many things happening lately, that it was difficult to keep them all straight.

“…..And? Come on, Alicia. I know you’re not that dense. You’ve seen it too. You may not want to admit it, but it’s happening. Don’t ignore the writing on the wall. We both know what’s coming.”

“……………………know………”

“Hm? What was that? Could you repeat that?”

“I said that I know that! I just, don’t want to think about that happening. It, errrm.”

“I know, Alicia. I know. Neither of us want that, but if it happens, it happens. All we can do is move on, and try to pick up the pieces.”

***

[Kalia’s POV]

7th Grade Healing Magic Spell [Area Heal] – An intermediate difficulty spell that applies the effects of [Heal] to a wide area. The range of this spell varies based on the caster's skill and the amount of mana consumed.

8th Grade Healing Magic Spell [Clear Mind] – An intermediate difficulty spell that purges harmful influences on the mind, both physical and magical. Will not affect psychological sources of distress, like fear or trauma.

2nd Grade Healing Magic Ritual [Infusion Bracelet] – An intermediate Ritual designed to create a small bracelet that will infuse the wearer with a regenerative effect, as well as restore mana, when triggered.

9th Grade Healing Magic Spell [Greater Heal] – A superior form of the basic spell [Heal]. This spell not only heals the target, but also works to restore their physical stamina.

Oof. This is as difficult as I feared. I’d already looked into [Area Heal], so that’s not much of a surprise, but the other three are absolutely ridiculous! The number of glyphs needed for each is more than twice what I needed for [Soothing Aura]. I guess this is what “intermediate” means. The Spells are at least better than that Ritual. I haven’t even heard of the materials you need to make one. Well, except one, not that I know where to get it.

Since she’d already administered first-aid earlier, and thus had very little to do right now, she’d decided to begin looking forward in her Grimoire. These magical spellbooks would only reveal more spells once your proficiency caught up to them. She’d been able to see these four since she’d gotten it, but hadn’t practiced them due to the fact that she’d needed her mana for emergencies.

But since she now had the Gold Fleece Bracelet, her magic had become even more efficient, even with spells she’d never tried out. It would probably still take some practice before she could use them in battle though. They still cost too much mana to freely cast them, even with the Bracelet’s enhancements.

Or maybe I should practice [Rejuvenate] and [Regenerate]? They’re both useful, especially if I end up in a situation where I’m supporting one person. I haven’t focused on them before since I needed to work on the quantity of healing spells I could use. Now I should start working on the quality of the spells. [Heal] is fine and all, but it won’t work forever. I’ll need more potent spells then, or someone else will die. Healing Magic should be my bread-and-butter. I need to improve my foundation with it before I work on other things.