NOVEL NEXT Chapter 418 – So that’s how it is
Eugan leads Shayna, Roculus, Rat and I to the side. Most of the expedition has already arrived, we’ve gathered in a small clearing speckled with trees near the edge of the outpost. A short distance from the path leading to the entrance of the first floor.
“Have you checked your contracts?” she asks.
“Yes, I have a question." Roculus says. "What the fuck does ‘Loot will be split according to performance’ mean?”.
“It means what it says. When everything’s said and done, we’ll sit down and split everything. If you’re worried about the core group taking everything, it shouldn’t be possible, given that there are twice as many newcomers. That’s why the language is so open.”
“What if some jackass thinks he did better than he actually did?”
“In that case, we’ll put it to a vote. If that doesn’t work, we can elect a mediator. Someone we will all trust. Worst case, we sell it all and split the shards evenly.”
Roculus still doesn’t seem to be satisfied, but he stays quiet.
“The other contracts I’ve seen usually had more details, this one’s kinda vague,” Shayna mentions. “It just says that we split the rewards, we’re not allowed to attack each other, and that the main objective is to reach the first safe zone on the 1st floor as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, it’s a simple contract. But plenty of expeditions make do without contracts at all, so this is just a bit of insurance on our part.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Rat and I remain silent, and I can’t help but think. This smells.
Well, at least I have plenty of mana stored away and a few surprises I could use.
I read over the contract a few times myself, but our only true assurance is the section prohibiting direct attack. With this level of contract, only an enforcer could even try to impose sanctions. But that would mean nothing if no one survived to report the breach of contact.
That piece clearly helps the core 7, who know and trust each other. If even one of them survived, they would try to inform the enforcers, which would probably lead to an investigation. If that’s even how it works.
As far as I can tell such a thing would be almost beneath the attention of the higher-ups and handlers. The system doesn’t hold hands, so it’s unlikely that anyone else would do anything either. They would probably just laugh. My handler would be among the first, I bet. I need to find out if I can get a new handler. The current one seems to be the type to throw people into the lake, just to see if they drown or learn to swim.
I observe as Shayna signs her contract, and then do the same. My identification emblem activates for a moment, and I put my thumbprint on the paper when the circle appears.
Then, in accordance with the conditions of the contract, enforcement doesn’t begin until all twenty people sign it. There is no change or effect on me, but I take it as my introduction to contracts. Such a low-level compact won’t do much and could be easily abused, but the higher-level ones will certainly be more interesting.
Everyone gets ready, and finally, the leader of our small expedition steps up. And engraved on his right arm is a Ivory White C rank emblem, on prominent display.
“As we said before, our goal is to reach the safe zone as quickly as possible. My group has been there before, so listen to the instructions of your sub-leader, it will be their job to help you with anything outside the scope of the information we’ve already given you. We will be staggering our departure to avoid bringing undue attention to the group as a whole. Should anything happen, your subleader will contact me through our communication channel, and we will decide our next step from there.”
He is looking around. The armor he is wearing looks old, and battered, but it still reeks of quality. Considering the fact that he’s held on to it even in that state, it's probably very good. His weapon is a simple-looking spear made out of a single piece of crystal, with blue mana swirling inside, likely fed by his own reserves.
It looks like it may be as much a mana battery as a weapon.
“Noname,” Eugan interrupts my observation.
“Yes?” I ask back.
“We’ll be relying on you to keep enemies away so Shaya and I can do our stuff.”
“Not Roculus?”
“He’s fine, but he looks like the type to run after his opponents. You seem more reasonable.”
“Got it.”
The leader continues with his small speech, making sure everyone sees his rank, so instead of listening, I turn to Eugan. The woman is quietly listening and seems to be talking to someone I can’t hear. Probably through the communication channel for the core group.
It reminds me of Sophie and the twins, and I know how useful it can be.
Just for fun, I try to read the conversation from her lips but give up just as quickly and wait in silence.
Finally, the big group splits into four, and we start heading for the entrance. As we discussed, the groups enter 5 minutes apart, with our group going last.
When our turn comes, I stop in front of the entrance to the first dungeon.
It’s two pillars carved into the stone, with a simple door made of wood between them.
There is a pathway leading to the door, made out of worn cobblestone with bits of grass growing through the cracks. There are also lights on the walls, providing just enough illumination to cast a myriad of creepy shadows.
As we approach, the door opens on its own with a loud creak and admits us to the first floor.
As we step through we find ourselves in a sickly-looking area, full of fallen trees, dried-up grass, water so stagnant that it may as well just be poison, and a few old buildings made of crumbling stone bricks.
There are craters and other signs of damage everywhere we look. Mountains stripped of material, sprawling fields pocked with craters, and the drooping edges of melted buildings, with their stone facades crumbling to dust.
And just to cap everything off, I look up to find myself staring at a ceiling. A great overhanging rock face, not unlike the walls of the cave, exactly the same as the entrance. The first dungeon floors aren’t their instances like the floors of Hell difficulty.
No, here you go underground. Deeper and deeper with each floor in an effort to reach whatever awaits us at the bottom. Whatever brought the first dungeon into existence for the Rulers to build Beyond over it.
I follow the others, and we pass through the entrance. When I look back, it’s gone, leaving us adrift in this place.
Welcome to the 1st floor of the First Dungeon!
You may exit the 1st floor in designated safe zones spread across the floor. After reaching a safe zone, you will be able to use the array to teleport there from the Entrance Floor.
1st floor quest: ???
Rewards:
7-day Stay Token
???
“Let’s go,” Eugan says decisively and starts running, leaving the rest of us to follow. “Rat, start scouting, please.”
The creepy gray man does as requested and a dozen rats made out of an unidentified black substance pour into the area, scouting every nook and cranny.
We’re barely a minute into the dungeon when Rat decides to speak for the first time, “Two presences to our right. Not very strong.”
His voice is raspy and quiet. And going by Shayna’s expression, I can only assume it’s unusual to encounter enemies so quickly after entering.
“We shouldn't be meeting any so soon. Roculus, block them for a moment! I need to connect with the main group!” Eugan shouts, confirming the abnormality of the situation, and I can sense her communicating with the others.
Without skipping a beat, Roculus heads towards the approaching enemies, jumping over a deep crater to cut off any attackers trying to reach our backline.
I move to the front as well, holding back a bit as we planned. And just a few seconds later, the presences appear before us.
Two men in matching armor. One wielding a sword, and the other a staff. Neither says anything.
Well, they can’t. They’re dead.
Their skin’s a pale shade of white and has shriveled with age, while their eyes though clouded with decay, still shine with a strange form of intelligence. Their movements are twitchy and unnerving while still being decisive. They just don't feel like living beings.
[Reanimated Corpse - lvl ??]
[Reanimated Corpse - lvl ??]
This floor got its nickname Graveyard for a simple reason. If the locals or attendees die here, they will be forever condemned to attack future expeditions, respawning in an endless cycle of undeath.
“Description doesn’t fit any known named ones,” Eugan hisses, while I notice her communicating with someone else through their link. She is also doing something with the marks she left on us.
Roculus attacks the corpses, mace, and dagger in hand. He moves quite a bit quicker than I would expect, propelling himself forward with small explosions of mana from his feet.
The corpse with the staff lights it up, sending a stream of lightning streaming after Roculus and tracking his movements, while he avoids it nonetheless. The other corpse charges the man, sword in hand and coated in resonating mana. The warrior and Roculus clash, and when the mage tries to join, a combined attack from Eugan and Shayna collides with him. A barrage of projectiles and a disrupting wave from Shayna.
Attention now turned to us, the mage disappears, flames blazing into existence at our backline, allowing him to step forth from the conflagration.
I let kinetic energy burst through my body, and the earth cracks under my feet as I reach the mage before he can even attack.
He quickly turns his attention to me, his blazing staff swinging around to meet my ax.
Flamebearer starts devouring his flames, as I jump back with a burst of kinetic energy, the warrior striking the place I once stood.
Roculus crashes into the wall of an old stone building, having been thrown by the warrior just before it attacked me. It happens too easily, and Roculus should be able to hold on a bit longer.
So that’s how it is.
I dodge the warrior’s next swing and block a burst of flames with my ax, the flames burning the side of my arm when I refuse to absorb them fully, the ax moving to block another sword strike. Boosting myself a few more times, I dodge another attack. Mana covering the sword changes its length and oscillates. As I dodge, the monster follows its strike with a kick which connects with my chest.
It’s at this point that the fire mage lifts his staff, waves of heat pouring into the area, scorching the air and igniting the dried wood of his weapon.
There are fewer of us facing the corpses than there were a moment ago.
Roculus and Eugan are both gone, having used some sort of teleportation, Rat is running somewhere into the distance, and Shayna stands confused, frantically looking around.
I see her gaze tick between the corpses and me, as she curses, quickly coming to a decision. A wave of her mental attack disrupts the fire mage's skill.
The warrior charges her immediately, and Shayna flies into the air, her small wings creating an odd effect that supports her weight. Even so, the warrior bends his knees and jumps, shooting up like a bullet.
With a sigh, I strengthen my body and throw the ax at the mage, boosting it with kinetic energy. The ax hits him in the chest, sending him flying in a burst of flames.
There is no notification about the kill.
I activate the anchor I left on Shayna and others just in case and teleport in front of her, right into the attacking warrior.
Quickly creating a sword made of mana, I coat it in [Resonance], our blades meeting as my sword cuts through his.
A high-pitched sound and a blast of kinetic energy sends the corpse crashing into the ground, his limbs breaking and bending as he collides with the unforgiving stone.
I send another weaker burst at Shayna, moving her away, and a blaze of fire attacks crashes through the space she occupied.
She reacts quickly, forming a barrier around herself, her attention turning to the fire mage.
I lift my hand, and using [Tether], Flamebearer flies back into my hand, pulled by the anchor I placed on it as I boost myself downwards, following the warrior and cleaving into his forearm.
His body is already healed, the broken limbs fixed. Most likely a skill he possessed when he was alive. All the mana he was releasing up until now is gone, glowing white tattoos blooming across his shriveled skin, and his dead eyes beginning to glow white.
The first attack crashes into my chest, most of it absorbed and turned into mana, but even then it’s enough to send me staggering. Another one aims to kick my legs out from under me, adding more mana to my reservoir as I stumble. The third one collides with my face, repeating the process.
Blunt attacks of this level won’t work against me, I guess, and he comes to the same conclusion.
As quick and strong as he is, he extends three fingers of his hand into something resembling a blade and tries to stab me. Smart.
A blast of kinetic energy sends him staggering before he can reach me, and then I strengthen my body with it and thrust at him with my sword, extending the blade of mana and easily piercing into his chest, It’s path eased by the resonating mana coating the surface.
With a kick, he breaks my blade to my sheer surprise, and grabbing a piece of it, he tries to jam it into my eyes. Just in time, I make it disappear, dispersing it into a field of particles. His fist hits my head instead.
He then grabs my hand and tries to pull me into a stranglehold and take advantage of his strength, but I send a disrupting wave through his body, giving it a big thump. It's much more difficult than I expected though, given that the people here tend to have good defenses against disruption. But I push through with an overwhelming flood of mana, and by activating my eyes for the slightest of moments.
The tattoos deactivate, and before he can do anything else, I pull him closer, and crack the side of his head with a swing of my elbow, sending him to the ground.
He tries to stand up and reactivate his mana, but another disrupting wave hits him. A javelin with a flat head pins him to the ground until I step on his head, splattering it, as the corpse finally stops moving.
[You have defeated Reanimated Corpse - lvl 278]