"Uncle Gabriel... Are we going to die?" There was no curiosity or childishness in Alice's voice anymore, only an oppressive anguish.
"No... it's going to be all right... Aelius' light will save us," Gabriel smiled before placing his hands on the little girl's head and ruffling her hair, causing her to let out a small, irritated cry.
Arthur, who was leading the trio while carrying Conrad's weak body on his back, looked at them and smiled when he saw Alice's angry but adorable face, and even the antisocial Safira lifted the corners of her lips in a shy smile under her mask.
It had been two weeks since they had left the large building where they lived, and much had happened. Arthur had reached level 17 and was approaching the level 20 threshold.
He didn't know what it took to break through that barrier, but he believed it had something to do with the term "level" that was displayed in his statistics.
Meanwhile, he had also grown closer to the rest of the group and was no longer just the "new guy introduced by Conrad," but was now considered a real and important part of the team.
"You all right, old man?" Arthur asked, noticing that Conrad's breathing was getting weaker.
"I'm fine..." Conrad spoke with difficulty. His health had deteriorated even further, and he seemed to have aged 20 years in the last two weeks.
Of course, Arthur didn't believe the old man's words and turned to Gabriel. "We need to stop and rest for a while. I don't know if this stubborn old man will make it to the end of the journey."
"I said I'm fine!" Conrad tried to keep his voice strong, but all he could do was cough uncontrollably, increasing the group's concern for his health.
Hearing this, Gabriel stopped for a few seconds and looked around before pointing in the direction of a house that seemed to be in somewhat better shape.
"We can rest there for a few hours," Gabriel exclaimed before taking the lead and guiding them to the house.
It was a simple building. Like everything else in the town, it was built entirely of black bricks. The interior consisted of a large living room with old, morphed sofas, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom that probably hadn't been used in centuries.
"Hm... sounds like a nice place, Uncle Gabriel!" Alice exclaimed in a slightly more animated voice, walking past the trio before throwing herself onto the sofa.
Alice's small body fell onto the sofa, and a large amount of accumulated dust was thrown into the air.
"Alice... don't jump on the furniture like that. Everything is old and dirty," Arthur scolded the little girl before putting Conrad down.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Arthur," Alice said as she coughed, quickly getting up from the sofa and moving away from the dust.
Arthur just shook his head and sighed before entering one of the rooms.
"Hm..." He exhaled as he looked around the room. It was small, with a single bed covered with torn sheets and an old mattress. There was also a simple wardrobe that was empty and some drawers where he found nothing.
Giving up on finding anything of value, Arthur removed the sheets from the bed before dusting off the mattress.
Meanwhile, Gabriel was in the kitchen looking for something useful to prepare dinner, Safira was cleaning the other room and Alice was by Conrad's side listening to the exciting adventure stories the old man had to tell.
"Arthur, come and see this!" Gabriel called.
"Coming!" Arthur replied, carrying the mattress into the living room, before leaving it on the floor and heading for the kitchen.
"Look at that!" Gabriel exclaimed with a smile on his face before pressing a button on a square structure that appeared to be some kind of ancient oven.
With a shrill sound, a small but intense flame appeared, surprising Arthur.
"Amazing!" Arthur exclaimed as he brought his hand closer to the fire, feeling the scorching heat.
Immediately, his vision shifted to the kitchen sink. With little confidence, he turned the tap, and to his surprise, after a few dry bursts, clear, limpid water flowed from the faucet.
The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds, not knowing what the reaction would be.
In the end, they laughed. They didn't know how these water and energy systems had been kept functioning for so long, but they didn't care. The important thing was that they had water that seemed drinkable and that they could finally take a shower.
"Let's get something to eat first, it'll be dark soon," Arthur said to Gabriel as he searched for cutlery and pots in his spatial ring.
Although this place had no moon or sun, the crystals on the stone ceiling lit up and darkened in 12-hour intervals, creating day and night, or at least the illusion of day and night.
***
Soon the light in the crystals faded and darkness engulfed the ancient city.
Conrad was in the corner of the room, sleeping on the mattress Arthur had picked up, while the others sat around a campfire in the middle of the room.
Alice had fallen asleep as well, lying comfortably on Safira's body, enjoying the embrace of the beauty who treated her as if she were a small stuffed animal.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Gabriel discussed the next step. Between them was a large map that seemed to show the edges of the entire huge city.
"We're here." Gabriel pointed to a corner of the map before moving his fingers to an area not too far away. "This is the cave where we entered the dungeon, a maze of tunnels that also leads to the boss room."
"What do you think we should do?" Gabriel asked for Arthur's opinion.
Arthur didn't answer immediately, turning his face towards the sleeping Conrad.
"I don't think he can handle a long journey..." Arthur shook his head.
Hearing this, Gabriel also looked at Conrad and sighed heavily before speaking. "Even if we left right now and were lucky enough for the dungeon to be open, I doubt very much that we'd be able to get him medical treatment in time."
Arthur nodded, his gaze deep as he watched Conrad's heavy, irregular breathing. Although they had only known each other for a short time, this man had become someone important to Arthur, and seeing him like this made Arthur's heart flutter.
"We should stay here until he's gone... he deserves a peaceful end," Arthur said, a heavy feeling dominating his voice. "But I think we might be too vulnerable to monster attacks if we stay here too long."
"If they come, we'll take care of them or just run away," Gabriel said, agreeing with Arthur's idea.
With both of them in agreement, they looked at Safira, who didn't seem very interested in the discussion and just nodded her head in approval.
After receiving Safira's confirmation, they ended the discussion and decided to go to bed. They didn't know what to expect from tomorrow, and they preferred to be well-rested for it.