Aldith led me through the ever-expanding cave. I felt like asking where we were going a few times, but I was a bit afraid of her. Aldith must have been used to the cave because she stepped with confidence. The tunnel seemed to eventually get wider. The roof expanded, revealing a wide open area.
Aldith turned to me, her sword now sheathed. "Here we are, Sanguine Village. My home." I looked around, a bit confused. I didn't see much at first. Then it hit me—there were small lights placed in various spots I hadn't noticed before. I turned up the brightness on my goggles, and structures began to appear. Wooden buildings with shoddy roofs were built in a condensed area.
Incredible, an entire village has been built in this cave. I wondered how they managed to live here. Maybe it has something to do with their eyes or the small lights. I didn't have time to gawk, however, because Aldith urged me forward.
Aldith commanded, "Get moving, mage. The elders will want to see you." I nodded. "Right behind you." I tried to keep pace with her, but moving in the dark was hard. The only thing that helped was my goggles—they gave me night vision.
I saw no people on our way; it almost seemed barren. The cave felt cool on my skin. It was hard to believe anyone could live here. Finally, we arrived at a slightly bigger wooden building. It was nothing impressive—on Earth, it would have been no bigger than a log cabin.
It smelled like mildew and looked like shoddy design. I was no architect, but I could tell it was amateur work. Aldith held her sword in front of me. "Stay here. I need to talk with them first. Don't even think of running. Don't think I won't notice."
I nodded, gulping a bit. "I won't take even a nanometer of a step." Aldith tilted her head slightly. "Stop with those strange words." Once she scowled, she made her way inside. I could faintly hear talking as I stood outside.
The voices were monotone and sounded serious. I couldn't help but look around. I mean, what did they do for food? How many people lived here? What were these strange lights everywhere?
I had ideas circulating already in my head about how I could better this place. I would have to invent a lot of the tools myself, though. Finally, Aldith came out, her face stoic as usual. "They will see you now."
I had never been called into the principal's office in school, but I imagined this was what it would be like. I walked inside the shoddy wooden building. Aldith seemed to follow behind me. The room glowed—not super bright, but enough that I could see four people staring at me.
My time at Ruze Corp made me instinctually bow. I introduced myself. "Pleasure to meet you. I am Ruze Aizawa, or Dr. Aizawa if you'd prefer." Murmurs echoed from the four people. It appeared my manner of speaking caught them off guard.
There were two older men with gray hair—one with a long beard, the other clean-shaven. There were also two older women—one with long gray hair tied into a ponytail and the other with graying blonde hair. If I were to guess, I would assume their average age was at least 60.
The long-bearded man in the middle sized me up, then responded. "Dr. Aizawa, is it? Are you a healer?" I shook my head. "Healer? No, um, in my world, doctor is a title for the highest level of education in a certain field. In simple terms, I am an inventor and a scientist."
The blonde-haired lady gave me a skeptical look. "Inventor? How do you think we would believe that?" I gave a wry smile. "I could show you if you'd like."
The blonde-haired lady's skeptical look deepened. "Show us, then," she said, her tone challenging. I nodded and reached into my pack, retrieving the small heartbeat sensor again. "This device measures heart rate and air intake," I explained, holding it up for them to see. "I demonstrated it to Aldith earlier. It's harmless and accurate."
The long-bearded man, who seemed to be the leader, leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Proceed."
I placed the sensor on my wrist, and after a moment, it displayed my vitals. "See, it shows my heart rate and oxygen levels," I said, holding it up for them to inspect. The elders exchanged glances, their skepticism giving way to curiosity. The bearded man gestured for Aldith. "Bring the device here." Aldith took the device from me and let the elders study it. Once they saw it, they had a bunch of questions. "How is this type of device possible? Is this not magic?" I smiled. "That's just the tip of the iceberg. This is rather basic technology in my world." The clean-shaven man, who had been quiet, gestured at me. "Aldith tells us you claim to be from another world. Say we believe you're from another world. How did you end up here?"
I sighed, recounting my story briefly. "I was conducting an experiment when something went wrong. I was pulled through a portal and ended up in this cave. I don't know how to get back, but I am willing to help your village in any way I can."
The woman with the ponytail, who had also remained silent until now, finally spoke. "If you truly are an inventor, perhaps you can help us improve our living conditions. We struggle with many things here—food, light, medicine. We had to retreat to these mountain caves a few months back, and it has not been easy. We have to send groups of people in small droves to bring back food, and the disease here is awful."
I nodded eagerly. "I can certainly try. I might need some time and resources, but I can come up with solutions. Your village is remarkable, but I believe we can make it even better. May I ask why you are running?" The leader leaned in. "We're being hunted by mages." I stuttered. "M-mages?" That would imply magic—how absurd. The only magic that exists should be limited to fantasy. I decided to play along for now. The man sighed. "Right, mages. They have always hunted our kind. We are non-magic users. Outcasts from society. Recently, a previously allied nation has declared war on us. It was never so bad as it is now. As soon as our nation fell, they began purging us non-magic users. To them, we are nothing but black bloods and they want to kill us all."
My jaw dropped. "I don't get it. Why?" The clean-shaven man looked sad. "Because they believe that our lineage should be purged." I was truly disgusted by what he was saying—how cruel. I steeled my resolve. "I will help you out. The world's smartest inventor at your service. I am adept at inventing, can help you produce food, and have some medical knowledge that might be useful." The blonde-haired woman gave me a stern look. "Strong words, but you haven't earned our trust yet." The leader followed up with, "We will give you a chance to prove your worth. Aldith will assist you and ensure you have what you need. But I echo that sentiment—know this: if you betray our trust, there will be consequences."
I felt the hair on my neck stand up, but I took a confident stance. "I understand. I won't let you down." The blonde-haired lady spoke again, her tone softening slightly. "For now, you should rest. We will discuss more tomorrow. Aldith, if you have some space, provide him food and lodging for the night." Aldith bowed. "As you wish, Lady Clara." Lady Clara nodded. "Anything else you need, let us know." Aldith turned to leave, and I began following. The leader called out to me one more time. "Can you really help us restore light?" I turned around one final time. "I will make it look like daylight in here if you'll let me."
With that, I walked out of the elders' place and began following Aldith again. Aldith glared at me as we walked side by side. "Sorcerer, can you really make it bright in here? Or did you just say that to save your skin?" I smiled. "I would prefer you call me Ruze, or Dr. Aizawa. To answer your question, yes, I can make it bright in this village. Where I come from, the night didn't affect anything. It was always bright." Aldith gave a curious and slightly hopeful look. "For your sake, I hope that's true." I confidently laughed. "Actually, I can get started right away if I have the materials."
Aldith looked surprised. "You were ordered to rest." I offered, "Don't you want to see how it works? Plus, they will be happy if I have a completed product by morning." Aldith bit. "What do you need?" Truth be told, I was excited to get started. Unlike in my lab, this invention would be from scratch in a world with no technology. Even for me, this would be a feat. I asked, "I need wood—not a crazy amount, but maybe a few big pieces. I have to ask first: who built these houses?" Aldith sighed. "It was a team of people, myself included."
I looked at her with interest. Was she skilled with her hands as well as a blade? I added, "Perfect. Then what tools did you have?" Aldith answered, "A saw, a chisel, nails, a mallet, and a measuring stick." A measuring stick? Perhaps what I know as a ruler? I had to know. "Are they all at your house?" Aldith confirmed, "All the tools I have are at my house, yes." I nodded happily. "Perfect. Then I need the tools, the wood, and I want a bunch of those rocks all around the village." Aldith looked confused as we finally stopped. "Runeveil? Why would you want that?" I assumed the rocks around the village are called runeveil. Intriguing—I needed to study that rock. I confirmed, "Yes, please. I will need a bucketful or so." If my theory was correct, these rocks are special and could be used to make proper light with some engineering. Assuming I had a bunch, I could turn this city of darkness into a haven of light.