Chapter 15: I Hate Creepy-Crawlies
“Ew, I hate creepy-crawlies,” Sophie gagged.
She was referring to the creature skittering up the wall, seemingly in search of food. It resembled a centipede, although this one was about the size of Noah’s leg.
—
Gipede/ Level 7
HP: 3,890/3,890
—
“Noah, if you would do the honours?” Carter stepped aside.
“You got it. Zero,” Noah uttered. He was getting used to this!
The Gipede was dead in a couple of seconds, rewarding him with a Chitinous Plate. However, this also meant that his MP had dropped to 16/59, which was a little lower than he’d liked. Ideally, he would like to conserve the remainder if possible.
As if sensing his concerns, Carter took over for the upcoming mobs, activating his Tanker Talent and charging into them head-on. The creatures lunged and snapped at him, but he simply shrugged them off as he battered them against the wall.
“I assume your Talent increases your base stats?” Noah clarified.
“Yep, I get a small boost to my attack, but a pretty significant boost to my defence and health,” Carter grinned. “I can also do other stuff like aggro enemies and block attacks, but those aren’t really needed at this layer.”
As they continued further in, Noah noted that the second layer was almost an exact copy of the first, just with different enemies and a slightly different layout. However, he wasn’t exactly comfortable navigating this place by himself, so he made sure he stuck close to the more experienced members of the team.
Before they knew it, they had reached the stone doors marking the boundary between the second and third layers.
“Looks like this is it,” Carter said. “It’s been a good run, but let’s head back before Tanna chews us out.”
The group retraced their steps until they came to a fork in the tunnel, emerging from the passage on the left.
Kiera stopped in her tracks. “Umm… actually…” she trailed off.
“Is something the matter?” Carter asked.
“You guys can head back first. I… kinda wanna explore Layer 2 a little more.”
“Huh, what for?” Carter frowned.
“I think I may have dropped something here last time, when we were rushing back to the surface from Layer 3,” Kiera admitted. “You know, the handmade necklace that Lia gave to me for my birthday. I really don’t wanna lose it.”
Carter facepalmed. “Oh, that? You could’ve told us earlier! We would’ve helped you look for it!”
“I was hoping to spot it on the way,” Kiera confessed. “Look, Layer 2's already dangerous enough, and I don’t want to put you guys at even more risk by making you stay here any longer. I’ll just take my time and continue searching around.”
Carter still seemed hesitant. “You sure? It should’ve dropped along this path if—”
“Weren’t you the one who said we shouldn’t be here in the first place? Just take the rookies and go, I’ll catch up with you guys later,” Kiera insisted.
“Still, I don’t think—” Carter began, but he cut himself off. “Alright, fine. But before you continue, take my health potions. I only have three now since I wasn’t expecting to use them, but it’s better if you have some.”
He opened his Vitra, navigated to the inventory tab and selected Potions. Three glass vials with pink liquid in them popped onto his open palm. He passed them to Kiera. “Here. Just be careful, okay? If anything crops up, contact me with your Echoband.”Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Noah felt as if it wasn’t his place to interrupt the two veterans—well, could they even be called veterans?—so he remained silent. Besides, they had actually made good progress today, and he was ready to head back.
“I’ll be fast, like thirty minutes, max,” Kiera promised.
“Okay. We’ll wait for you by the Pit entrance.”
With that, Kiera took off down the tunnel, and the remaining three of them turned back the way they came.
“Are you sure that’s okay?” Sophie asked as they walked.
Carter sighed. “Of course not! But once Kiera sets her mind on something, it’s almost impossible to convince her otherwise. That's just how she is. Anyway, if worst comes to worst, she should have no trouble dealing with the mobs on this layer.”
“Kiera hasn’t used her Talent yet," Noah noted. "Could she have been saving MP for this?”
Realisation flickered across Carter’s face. “You know… you might be onto something. She’s usually the aggressive one. I figured she was holding back today to give you a chance to test your Talent, or maybe because she was still feeling down about what happened. But now that you mention it…" He cursed. “Should’ve known what she was up to.”
“Has she always been like this?” Noah asked.
“Kinda. I’m not gonna reveal too much about our past without her permission, but… you know how it’s been for us. And with Lia hospitalised…”
The group tread in silence. Noah felt sorry for them, but he didn’t want to say anything that might strike a nerve, so he stayed quiet. Fatigue was also starting to creep in, and he hoped that the guild would have nice, warm beds and a hot shower waiting for them.
They passed through the gate separating the first two layers and continued on until the exit of the Pit came into view. Thankfully, the journey was uneventful.
Carter sat on a log under a tree and stretched his legs out. “We’ll just rest under the shade until she comes out again. Hopefully it won’t take too long,” he said.
Noah lay back on the grass, enjoying the cool breeze. The gentle rustling of the leaves created an oddly peaceful atmosphere, offering a sharp juxtaposition to the dangers lurking beneath. How relaxing.
The serenity was shattered by the vibrating of Carter’s Echoband.
“I swear, if she’s calling because she needs more time in there…” Carter began.
He answered the call. “What’s up?”
“Carter?”
Noah could immediately tell something was wrong from the tone of her voice. He sat up.
“Yeah, it’s me. Is something wrong?”
“Please don’t get mad, okay? I couldn’t find the necklace on Layer 2, so I…I went to Layer 3 and… and something is seriously wrong here!”
“You WHAT?!” Carter exploded. “Are you still there? Are you in trouble?”
“I—I don’t know if my eyes are playing tricks on me, but all of a sudden there’s these giant mantises just prowling around! I don’t know if I can make it back!” she whispered.
Mantises?
“Did you say mantises? Did you catch a glimpse of their actual names?” Noah barged into the conversation.
“I think it was Dima—Damantis or something like that! They’re like level 63, so there’s no way I can fight them…”
Noah’s face paled. He shot Carter a worried look. “She’s in grave danger. We have to get her out of there now.”
But this shouldn’t be possible! What were level 63 mobs doing in the third layer? They’re 50 levels higher than where they should be!
Carter was already on his feet. “Have you called the guildhouse? Your signal should be able to reach them from there.”
"No, I called you immediately," Kiera panicked.
"Noah, could you--"
"Already on it," Noah responded. He activated his Echoband, but there was no response.
Yeah, something was definitely wrong.
Carter set off into a sprint. “You two stay here, I’ll go get her!” he shouted.
Noah raced after him. “Let me help, I know how to deal with them.”
“I’ll continue trying to call the guild from here, but if it doesn’t work I’ll go back and get some help!” Sophie called after them.
The two boys ran back into the pit.
“Once we see her, I’ll distract the mobs. You grab her and run out,” Carter ordered.
“Got it.”
“She’s probably shapeshifted into a smaller mob herself, so keep an eye out for her.”
Within minutes, they were already back on Layer 2.
It was then that they heard the screams. They echoed through the stone walls, chilling Noah to the bone.
“Quick!” Carter pushed himself even faster.
Right as they arrived at the entrance of Layer 3, a man stumbled out of the gateway, clutching his shoulder. Blood was pouring profusely down his side.
“…Whole party’s dead… you gotta help me… don’t wanna die…” he choked, coughing out blood. The doors solidified behind him.
They didn’t have time to help him. They didn’t even know him. What they needed to do now was to save Kiera.
But could they really just ignore him? If he died, it could possibly be because of their refusal to help.
For Noah, it was an easy decision. If they assisted the man to safety but lost Kiera in the process… the thought was too vile to finish. Besides, he didn’t even know this guy. To be fair, it wasn't like he knew Kiera well either, but still...
“Damn it, I passed my health potions to Kiera… Noah, could you help the man? I’ll go look for her.”
Noah could hardly believe his ears. “Both of us should prioritise saving Kie—”
“Please, Noah!” Carter raised his voice. “We can’t just… let someone die like this…”
Seriously?
“Then let me save her. You go and rescue the man,” Noah snapped. He knew he was being rude, but Carter wasn’t thinking rationally right now. He wasn’t at all equipped to handle the Diamantises.
“I can’t possibly let you—”
“What are you gonna do against level 63 enemies?”
Carter fell silent for a few precious seconds.
“Okay. Promise me you two will make it back out alive,” he said eventually, supporting the injured man on his shoulder.
“I’ll be right back,” Noah said.
There wasn’t any more time to waste.
“Open.”
He was through the doors within seconds.
Now, where was she? He realised too late that he didn’t know the layout of the third layer at all.
Oh well, it wasn’t his first time rushing blindly into a maze.
Except this time, instead of fleeing from the jaws of death, he was charging straight towards them.