Part Two

The tense atmosphere was eventually broken when the waiter came with our meals. Alicia was quick to apologize for spoiling the mood, but the rest of us waived her apology away. It certainly hadn’t been her fault.

However, the mood we’d had going had been spoiled, and the conversation stalled from there on out. We kept the questions to innocuous things, as if we were all too afraid to touch each other’s scars. This kept up until we’d all finished eating, and even up to the point where we were about to separate for the night.

“Erherm, I have to apologize for my sister's thoughtless question. She can be rather impulsive at times.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have answered of I was that upset by the question. I’d rather more people be aware of just what World Decay brings, so that their chances of surviving it are better.”

“I see. Well, thank you both for accommodating me and my sister. Kalia, I’d like to take tonight to think over what I’ve learned today, and give you a response tomorrow. Would that be alright?”

“Of course Gwyn. We didn’t expect you to agree on the spot. Please, take all the time you need.”

“A single night will suffice, but thank you. Good night all.”

“””Good night.”””

We waved as the two of them walked off into town, then the three of us turned around and headed back towards our hotel. Well, it was more of a bed-and-breakfast than a hotel. It was a nice place, but wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. It was just a little too cutesy for my tastes.

Alicia was quiet on the way back, and deep in thought. On the other hand, Kalia was almost too enthusiastic as she reminisced about her time with Gwyn. Though I think she was just trying to keep Alicia’s mind away from any dark thoughts. And it worked, just a little bit.

The little old lady who ran the B&B greeted us once we returned. Since we were her only guests, she was usually sitting in the lobby, watching some French soap opera I couldn’t follow for the life of me. My guess was that business had gone downhill on account of the apocalypse beginning to drive up prices and cause panic across the globe. It had yet to reach critical levels, but certain industries were already taking huge losses.

Hm, didn’t I see that both the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics were canceled this year? It’s a bit of a shame, but inevitable considering the state of everything. And since no one knows where the next zone will appear, everyone's too afraid to travel. Haaah, I’ve gone and depressed myself again.

“Oh, you’re back? Will you three be wanting dinner?”

“No thank you ma’am. We already ate.”

“Mn, okay. I’ll be here if you need me.”

I stopped for a moment to look at her TV, but couldn’t follow what was going on. I’d taken German in high-school, not French, so understanding what was happening was beyond me, not that I’d be able to follow along if it was in German. All I could tell was that someone was yelling at someone else, I think.

Heading up to the second floor, I saw that Alicia and Kalia had already entered their rooms. We probably should’ve settled for two rooms, but Kalia had felt bad for the owner, so we’d booked the extra room. Not that it was a strain on our finances, though I didn’t want to make such unnecessary expenses a habit. We did need to save on occasion.

Alright, let’s see. What’s next on my checklist for today? Oh, [Soul Bind]. Yay.

Because of how many different things I wanted to practice or experiment with, I’d made myself a little list of all of them, and would rotate through them day-by-day. Today was Abyss Magic, which meant dealing with the excruciating pain of failing its spells. While I could give it up, I really wanted to see what would happen if I Bound my swords to myself. FYI, the other items on my list were Grudge Magic, Sword Aura, unlocking Accuracy, and Skanda. The last one was especially easy, as all I did was repeatedly activate the Skill.

Okay, just got to shape my mana the way the Grimoire instructs, and-. Gow! Damnit, that fucking hurts! Why the hell does it have to feel like I’m getting stabbed every time!?

*Knock Knock*

Oh thank God, she’s here.

“…Eherm, come in.”

I’d expected this to happen ever since we’d gotten back, though I thought it would take a little longer.

“Hey. Is it alright if I come in?”

“I kind of already said to, but sure. What’s up?”

“So, uh, I realized that I may have said something kind of insensitive earlier. I know the Labyrinth couldn’t have been easy for you. I just, I just got caught up in the moment.”

“Hrm? Wait, that’s why you were all bummed out? Alicia….. first of all, what you said is true, to a certain degree. Waking up in the Nightmare Labyrinth certainly wasn’t fun by any definition of the word, but I think it was necessary. Without that happening, I could’ve died just as easily as anyone else. So no, I didn’t take any offense at what you said earlier.”

“…Really?”

“Yep. Yes, that Dungeon was terrible, but it prepared me for what came next. Besides, there’s no point worrying over things that don’t matter all that much right now. I’m sure we’ll have plenty to regret by the time this ends, if it ever does.”

“Haaah. You could at least try to care a little. You were so quiet after that. I honestly thought I’d hurt you by saying that.”

“I was just surprised is all. You rarely talk about that week before we met. I kind of thought it was off-limits.”

“It….wasn’t. I saw things back then, things I don’t care to remember. But I can’t pretend that it didn’t happen like I have up ‘til now. I won’t pretend that I’m not afraid of what’s happened, but I won’t let it control me.”

“…’Courage is not the absence of fear, but acting in the face of it’, isn’t that how the line goes? It’s admirable that you’d choose not to let your fear control you. Not many people get that choice.”

“Mn, what about you? How do you feel about all this?”

“…Not afraid. More like I’m…. anxious, but all the time. It’s the thought of the unknown things out there that worry me. Something has to be behind the World System. I refuse to believe that it just exists on its own. It’s too put-together and artificial to be natural. Then there’s the otherworlders. Who knows what motives they may have. There’s more of ‘em from wherever Finnél came from, and they’ll be coming around before long.”

“You’ve…really thought about this, haven’t you?”

“I’ve too much time on my hands not to. There’s going to be a lot going on in the not-to-distant future, and I’d like to be somewhat prepared for it.”

“………….Okay, enough of that! Life’s depressing enough as it is, we don’t need to bum ourselves out even more. Besides, all that stuff could well be years into the future. We’ve got enough problems on our hands now.”

“Haha, alright, alright. I’ll stop with the doom-and-gloom. We’ll then, what’d ya think of them?”

“Hm, it’s hard to say. First impressions aren’t always accurate. But I think we can at least get along with them. Gwyn seems rather charming, and he and Kalia definitely get along well. I’m not so sure about his sister though. She barely spoke while we were there.”

“Mn, true. It’s hard to get an impression of someone when they don’t speak. And when she did, she was pretty coarse, not that I’m one to talk.”

“Oh, so you’re aware of it? Still, I’m not sure what to think of her. She seemed on edge the entire time we were there. I couldn’t tell why, but I don’t think it was because of us. Maybe it was related to those family troubles Gwyn mentioned.”

“Which is its own kind of problem. Haaaah, well all I can say is that we’ll have to see. We’re all supposed to meet up again tomorrow, so we’ll just have to see then."

“Well then, I should probably get back to my room. I want to stock up on Magic-Infused arrows before we get into any battles. Maybe I’ll make a few with [Spark Burst] instead of [Stun Strike].”

“Just don’t set anything on fire. Lightning isn’t really something to mess around with indoors.”

“Says the person with the deadly flesh-rotting mist.”

“Which is why I’m not practicing that here. I’m instead sticking with the magic that inflicts way too much pain when I fail. Yay me.”

“Uh, I’m not touching whatever…that, was. So….I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

And now I’m alone. Haaah, back to the grind I guess.

***

I spent an hour working on [Soul Bind] before I had to give in. The stinging pain just became too much for me to bear, though I’d lasted longer than the last time. Oh, I’m training myself to resist torture. It’s funny because it’s kind of true.

I contemplated going to sleep now, but felt that it was too early for a truly deep sleep. I’d probably wind up waking up in the middle of the night. Plus, I also wanted to stay up for when the Lore Seeker forum would open. So I fell to my old standby, mindlessly surfing the internet.

Hm, it’s been awhile since I played any games. Maybe I should find something fun to play for a bit. I have about five-ish hours until it opens. I’d like to see if there’s any work there, or at least any new info. The place is still barebones.

In the pursuit of entertainment, I logged onto a popular gaming site I used to frequent back in high school. However, I couldn’t find anything that really appealed to me. That was partly because I’d outgrown flash games a while ago, but also because my real-life was too much like a game these days. It made everything else seem too tame. I gave up after an hour of mediocre games, and decided to try something else.

Uh, I wonder if that one novel website is still running? I could use a lighthearted fantasy story right about now. Or maybe something sci-fi or supernatural. Oh, or superheroes, that sounds pretty good.

Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed way too quickly. Nearly every new story on the site was an apocalyptic LitRPG, a genre I quickly grew bored with. One or two was okay, but they started to bleed into each other when you read too many. Another reason why I preferred fantasy.

What the hell? What is it about this literal apocalypse that is making people write about a fictional one!? This is just one more reason to hate people. Grr, now I’m pissed.

My attempts to entertain myself were being stymied at every turn. This was an annoyance, but I was bound and determined to do anything but practice [Soul Bind] more. Failing the spell just hurt too much.

***

Kitakyushu, Japan. Encampment 1-F of the Kyushu Defensive Line….

The once bustling city of Kitakyushu was now deserted, except for two men hiding in a blasted out storefront. These two were soldiers stationed at a nearby encampment, just one part of the Kyushu Defensive Line.

Their job was simple. They would patrol around the block once every hour, keeping an eye out for signs of approaching monsters. They would then radio the encampment so that the threat could be met with a barrage of gunfire. This strategy had worked pretty well so far, and this particular encampment had the fewest casualties of the Kyushu Defensive Line.

The only real flaws in the plan was the fact that radio waves, such as those used by walkie-talkies, were extremely short ranged inside the disaster zones, even on their outskirts. There were numerous efforts to rectify this problems, but nothing concrete had yet been discovered. Oh, and there was the fact that the lookouts would be in danger.

“It’s quiet. Too quiet.”

“Dude, don’t say that. You’ll jinx us.”

“Pfft, that crap only happens in movies and novels. It’s been three days since we’ve even smelled a monster. I doubt anything's close enough to somehow be magically pulled by me sayi-.”

“Dude, shut up. Do you hear that?”

*Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack Clack*

It was faint, but the two lookouts could hear a strange clicking coming from nearby. Given the fact that all the soldiers assigned to the Kyushu encampments had been repeatedly warned to immediately report any odd or disturbing sounds, they should’ve headed back to properly report. But just like the victims in horror movies, curiosity got the better of them.

“What is that sound?”

“Uh, it sounds like someone's clacking a pair of tongs together.”

“Really, tongs?”

“What? That’s what it sounds like.”

“Fine, fine. Let’s go check it out.