Chapter 23: Ping
Klaus knew there was no way to escape the Scorpion-Spiders without a fight, even with these monsters fighting among themselves to see which one would kill Therkara and him.
"Kaizen, what are we going to do!? It looks like the whole family of spiders has decided to show up, and they are getting closer!" Therkara shouted in fear as she noticed ten spiders were now chasing them.
"I told you to not look back, man! Keep running. I'll think of a way to get us out of this mess!"
Analyzing the surroundings, Klaus noticed only three ways to try to solve their problem.
The first way would be to jump into the wide gap in the middle of the staircase, which led to a free fall of at least seven meters to the next chamber. There was a chance that the damage from the fall would be enough to kill them both.
The second way was for them to stop running to fight the monsters. This was the riskiest in Klaus' conception.
Finally, the third would be to continue down the stairs to the end, but he knew that he would probably still need to fight all those spiders in the next enclosure if he chose that option.
'Shit, no matter how hard I try to find an alternative, there's nothing that seems to be a great way... Wait, there is a way,' Klaus thought.
At that moment, no matter how gradually the sound of the footsteps of the creatures following them got louder, Klaus reasoned calmly and focused.
"Therkara, jump first!" He shouted to the lady.
"What? Jump? But it's too high!"
"Quick!"
The young woman looked at the gap in the center of the staircase and naturally hesitated, but she already trusted Klaus Park, so she jumped.
Klaus didn't even think much about it and jumped right after her, and as the two fell, he used <Telekinesis> to pull three of the four Huko Arrows from the quiver on his back. Wisely, he chose to not use the bow at this moment because time was short and space was even smaller, so he just hurled three arrows at the Scorpion Spiders.
The three arrows flew in sync, and since they were not shot from the Old Bow, they didn't dance in the air this time; they just cut the air producing a louder hiss.
*BOOOOOOM!
The impact of the arrows against the ten creatures, that were chasing them, generated a strong wave capable of shaking the structures of the entire cave, and the roar of it echoed all the way to the Misty Woods. In addition, the impact wave partially broke the stairs and hurled the two invaders from the Spider's Den onto the next floor with even more force.
After feeling an enormous pain in his back thanks to how he fell, Klaus Park only didn't lose consciousness because some sounds alerted him.
*Ping*
[Congratulations! You have just moved up to level 2!]
*Ping*
[Congratulations! You've just moved up to level 3!]
Although Klaus' HP bar was at less than a dozen points, he saw it quickly fill up again.
[From getting up a level, your life has fully regenerated].
With his eyes ajar, Klaus smiled debauchedly. In the end, he was the last person who imagined that his suicidal idea would actually work out, and not even in his best predictions did he imagine that the arrows he shot would actually kill all those spiders.
"Hahahaha! You almost killed us!" Therkara stated, already standing with her arms crossed.
Klaus smiled briefly, shook off the dust on his pants with pats as he stood up, and then looked at Therkara Ironstone. Somehow, she was already on her feet before the rookie even remembered to check if she was okay, and to top it off, she didn't seem to have suffered any scratches.
"Are you okay?" She asked with a worried expression.
"I should be the one to ask that. You didn't get hurt?" Kalus asked.
"No, I'm fine. Many people have fallen down this staircase while carrying materials, but none have ever died, so I wouldn't die so easily, I guess."
"I'm relieved to hear that. Well, it looks like I managed to kill all the Scorpion-Spiders that were following us. I wonder if there are monsters down here too?" Klaus raised the question and began to look more closely at the environment he fell into.
Just like the previous one, this new place blended the rustic and cavernous architecture of the entrance hall. It also had new elements, such as giant, pointed stalagmites, and stalactites scattered everywhere. There were also ruins of stone brick buildings, most of which had been destroyed by time. The site was vast in all directions, but among the sea of stalagmites, there were several rock paths to follow. Some of these paths led to the more significant buildings; others were destroyed, fallen, or incomplete.
On the ground, there were many puddles of water, which explained the creeping moss noticeable on each residual building.
Furthermore, there were no signs of webs or spiders. The stalactites were probably the reason that there were no such monsters in that region because their movement along the walls would be severely hampered. Also, since the water was on the floor and the pointed rock formations of this cave were protruding, water seepage into this chamber was recurrent.
Looking at this whole place, Klaus Park concluded that he only chose not to say anything to the young lady for the time being.
He turned to Therkara and asked:
"Where do we go from here?"
The said master-blacksmith did not answer his question but spoke right after him.
"Everything here is so quiet..."
No doubt, this whole environment seemed too peaceful compared to their situation less than two minutes ago.
To Klaus, the stillness in that ruinous cave would be almost cozy if it wasn't frightening. In fact, the whole visual of the place had left Klaus with an uneasy feeling in his chest. However, for him, this feeling was not akin to being afraid or nervous. This feeling was different and inexplicable, a mixture of nostalgia and fear as if he was exploring the unknown with ever more vividness.
"You know, Kaizen, everything here used to be beautiful. Where here, in the Garden of Purity, there are now stalagmites; there used to be bright blue crystals, like the ones at the village entrance."
At the spot they were standing, there were still a few blue crystals larger than the ones at the entrance to the cave, but not even half as bright as the first ones they saw. The tone of these was almost gray as if their light had been extracted.
"Although we are a race of blacksmiths, mining is also an important step in the process of forging a good weapon, and a good blacksmith must take care of the weapon forges from the moment the ore is mined until he wisely chooses who will be the bearer of the weapon." said Therkara, looking the newcomer in the eye. "Anyway, that's all in the past now... I can't believe that the house of my people, my home, turned into this."
"You still don't remember what happened here or why you woke up alone in the middle of the Misty Woods all alone? I don't mean to offend you, but this place seems to have been abandoned for dozens of years." Klaus spoke as he was unequipped the Old Arch.
Therkara shook her head, denying it. "I know how it looks, but it doesn't matter. I will find someone of my people. The Medullar Forge is deeper in the cave. If there is still someone here, surely this person will be there."
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
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