Chapter 46 – The Secret Boss
Luke could hear a massive amount of water flowing. Carefully, he approached the hole and peeked over the edge.
Please, nothing jump out, nothing jump out, nothing jump out!
What he saw below was a powerful current of water. Tossing his torch, he wanted to gauge the depth and strength of the current. As soon as the torch hit the water, it was swept away. Quickly, he dispelled it to avoid losing the item.
This is strong! That's a real current!
Luke stared at the force of the water, knowing that the loud sound of the rushing water was no joke. If any of them fell in, they would be swept away by the force, unable to hold on, and would be carried off by the current. Cold sweat ran down his back as he imagined them drowning or being taken to an endless abyss where they would fall forever until they withered away.
"Luke!" two voices called out in unison.
What the hell, that scared me!
Looking back, Alice and Anna were standing at the curve.
"You disappeared and didn't say anything."
So you decided to come check and see if a monster had swallowed me? God, I'm traveling with crazy people.
"Apparently, we're above a large amount of flowing water."
A silence fell, and Anna complained.
"Damn…"
"Relax, we just need to repeat this in the other two tunnels."
Alice approached and looked down, and Luke conjured the torch to better illuminate the area.
She's really close to me…
"Let's go back," Alice said, starting to climb up.
Luke didn't immediately follow. Facing the wall beside him, he activated his intangibility and phased into it. After a moment, he emerged.
Test complete. I can't climb or descend within a wall while intangible. I'm limited to the height of the last floor I stood on. So I can't climb up through the inside of a wall. But I did manage it in water, passing through debris. Maybe because it was water, so swimming counted? Does it change depending on whether it's a wall or water? I need to understand this intangibility better.
Upon reaching the top, they repeated the process in the second tunnel, encountering the same situation: a large hole leading to a rushing current. The group feared being swept away, unsure of where exactly the current would lead. Even far from the center of the capital's abyss, they could still drown or face other falls into the abyss.
In the third tunnel, fortunately, the hole led to a different place.
"Thank God," Anna, who approached, celebrated.
You're also really close, Anna!
Now they had to make a decision. When Luke threw the torch, it had touched the ground, but they didn't need it as they could see a small illumination from somewhere nearby.
"I'm going."
Before Luke could contest, Alice simply jumped and landed ready with her sword in hand.
There was no way back once they jumped, but with Alice activating her 'Thunder Cloak' ability, she could jump higher than normal.
"There's a path here, I see torches lighting a corridor. Ahead, another tunnel is running water."
Luke jumped, pulling Anna and holding her like a princess.
"W-what are you doing!?"
Before she could ask, he jumped with her. In his mind, it would be a smooth descent, but he quickly discovered it wasn't as easy as Alice had made it look. As soon as he hit the ground, he felt a sharp pain in his knee and collapsed, still holding Anna.
"Let's pretend that was a magnificent landing," he said, sitting down.
Alice remained alert, scanning their surroundings.
A damned dungeon...
The group proceeded down the only available path, a long stone corridor. The corridor was intermittently lit by torches. They remained on high alert. Luke held his hammer, Alice her sword, and Anna her bow.
At the slightest sound, they reacted instantly. Luke was impressed by Anna's speed; she automatically drew the string even without an arrow. According to her, the bow consumed an arrow directly from the prana card arsenal. Once she drew and concentrated, an arrow would be conjured.
Now I understand why this bow was so expensive...
At the end of the long corridor, a grate blocked the way forward. Next to it was a wooden door that led down a narrow staircase.
"I'll take a look beyond the grate," Luke said.
Alice nodded.
Luke phased through the grate using his intangibility. Conjuring his torch, he continued through the dark area. It was a pitch-black corridor. At the end, there was a black wall. As Luke approached, he jumped back in shock.
The wall had moved.
"What the...?"
Holding the torch, he got closer to the giant black wall. As he neared it, he trembled.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
Quickly, he returned to the others without looking back.
"What's wrong?" Alice asked, seeing his expression.
"There's a damned giant snake at the end of the corridor," he whispered, nearly shouting.
My God, that was just a part of the giant snake. It was three times my height... how big is that thing?
"S-s-snake?" Anna turned pale.
"I don't like them either," Luke confirmed.
"A lair boss? It can't stay around here," Alice said.
Fearing they might attract the attention of the giant monster, the trio descended the stairs, now even more alert.
I hope that thing hasn't killed everyone...
"I hope it doesn't have babies..." Anna muttered.
Gods... don't throw such a death flag at me...
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At the bottom of the stairs, a large wooden sign written in what looked like charcoal greeted them. Relief washed over Anna, who sighed.
The sign read: 'Underground City Ahead.'
So, there really are people here.
They relaxed slightly. Luke conjured the canteen, and after they drank, they prepared to continue.
"We're almost there," he said.
The trio continued through the tunnel. Thanks to the torch, they weren't too worried about the darkness. The tunnel resembled a giant grey pipe, each step echoing through the space.
Occasionally, a cold breeze swept past them, indicating that somewhere, there was an exit.
Walking through the tunnel, they didn't talk much. Luke remembered his experience in the Inner Self, where he spent hours or days walking through an endless dark corridor. Here, thanks to the wind and the fact that he wasn't alone, his fears dissipated. He recognized that the presence of the two girls was, in a way, comforting. He didn't know what would have happened if he had to make this journey alone. The conclusion he reached was that he would probably be dead or wouldn't have even attempted it.
Being with others kept his mind sane, allowing him to think more clearly because the two people accompanying him constantly reminded him that somewhere out there was his small one-room house and his job... He even wondered if he had been fired.
They will probably declare me dead...
Thinking about the paperwork he'd need to prove he was alive gave him a bit of a headache. His status as a citizen wasn't one that would get priority in such matters.
I can't believe I'm missing Sasha... it feels like that was years ago in another life. That smell of her cigarettes and her daily complaints about dating spoiled boys, the price of clothes, gossipy friends, and her stingy father. Man... I'd give anything to go back to that routine at the market, to listen to her talk about those TV shows and romantic movies... or any other boring stuff. God, who am I kidding... I want my instant noodles.
"Is everything alright?" Alice asked.
Luke was startled to see both girls staring at him.
"Of course," he coughed falsely, "Why wouldn't it be?"
What did I do? I don't even know.
"You've been smiling for a while... I've never seen you smile before, it scared me," Anna said.
"Ah, that? Well, I was thinking about my routine on Earth."
I wouldn't mind going back to eating food that had more seaweed than anything else.
"I understand. I miss my family too," Anna lowered her head.
Family... what a strong word. Does that person count? I... still don't know.
"Silence!" Alice said, drawing her sword. Everyone drew their weapons.
Since the hammer required both hands to hold, Alice was the one holding the torch.
"I don't hear anything..." Luke whispered.
This midnight cloak should, in theory, heighten my five senses...
They continued walking until they reached the end of the corridor. It led to a place full of entrances, and at the end of the large room was a big staircase leading down.
Finally, we're out of the tunnel.
The trio walked towards the stairs but had to stop.
Numerous footsteps echoed towards them, coming from the openings of what seemed to be other corridors.
"Finally, more people," Anna sighed with relief.
What emerged from the corridors were not people. From each opening came more and more... monsters. There were hundreds of them, and for a moment, those humanoid creatures with one eye and a large mouth stared at them.
The trio of Deviants was surrounded.