Chương 33: Cavern, I

Finally, we took care of everything here.

"Good job, Sean!" I clapped his hand.

"Yeah," he returned the gesture.

"Oh, uh yeah, I guess we'll search for any hidden clues, everyone… what?" I began to turn back and face the party.

"Not here…" I mumbled and then continued, "Sean, you were facing them, what happened?" I looked towards him, it seems he was just as confused as I.

The next moment a 'Ka-poof' sound was heard, getting mine and Sean's attention.

"The monster's corpses are… disappearing?" One after another just left an obsidian flame effect and disappeared.

"What are those?" Sean seemed to have noticed something as he said that.

"Let's go see it for ourselves." I urged him and finally, we approached the place where the Bat-Spiders' corpses used to be.

"Is this… a Mana Crystal?" Sean proclaimed.

"I think so too, considering that a crystal, all the same, dropped where each and every single monster used to be. First, let's collect all these, they might have a high worth.

I dropped the empty bag I had gotten, just in case something like this could have arisen, and started collecting all the Mana Crystals the monsters had dropped.

***

"How many are there?" I asked, sweat trickling down the side of my face. It had been around three minutes and twenty-five seconds since the party disappeared. Hmm, we have to get on with the search for our party immediately. We should have enough right now.

Wait, did my old habit come to life just now?! Not good, not good.

"Currently thirty-two." He replied.

I blinked, and he wasn't here anymore.

"Huh? Sean? Sean where are you?!" I started yelling out his name, awaiting a reply, but of course, I got none.

Ah… Alone, huh? Again.

"No, Shut up!" I started scolding my inner self.

It seems my emotions are a mess right now. I know I should be worried about them and all. Even Sean disappeared before my own eyes, but somehow, I'm apathetic to the whole situation.

"Ah, I was expecting this, wasn't I?" Suddenly my whole body got engulfed by sand and I was getting sucked in under the ground.

"Kgah!" I mistakenly gulped some sand.

Finally, I noticed my feet getting freer from the hugging sand and readied myself for a landing.

"Hmph." I landed on solid ground, elegantly getting rid of the momentum I had by crouching down the moment my feet came into contact with the land.

"Wow, clap, clap, clap."

"You don't have to say it," I frowned as I gazed towards the audience waiting for the descenders.

"Well, everyone landed in a rather lame way." Mai Sakaguchi chimed in, "So we were expecting to see a lame side of yours, and yet…" she closed her eyes while making a fist.

"Heh, you have no reason to tell me it, I already know I am the coolest one here." I waved my hair some other way… Oh yeah, they seem to have gotten quite long, I need to get a haircut.

"Yes, yes…"

"Pomf," next to me, Sean fell head first in a rather comical way.

"Pomf? What's with that sound effect, Sean?" I laughed at him while reaching my hand out towards him.

Ah, how enjoyable it is, to be able to laugh and smile with people like this. I need to make the most out of this time, after all, the gazes are getting stronger.

***

It has been like this… ever since my late mother died, the moments while she was dying, I felt like I was being watched. While I was training, while I was eating. It wasn't that I always felt the gaze, just at random times.

But lately, ever since arriving on earth, it has been more frequent. Especially now in the dungeon.

Slowly but surely, I am building my resolve for the future that I have no idea what to expect for.

***

"Well, this is a cave, right?" I heard Qo Soo-bin's question.

"It looks to be one, it also seems to be somewhat lit, though I don't see any lights." Luke said and continued, "Also, from what I might guess, I think that this means we have cleared the first floor of this dungeon and that this might be the second one."

"I agree." Ren Uemura's voice was heard. "I think we should also be more, well-prepared, bearing in mind that by how the logic goes, every new floor will be harder to clear. We've already seen how difficult the first floor was."

Whoa, isn't this guy being a little talkative now? I didn't think he was the type to explain stuff. I rather thought he was the guy to stay and watch by the sidelines. Well, not everyone is like Sean.

Now that I think again, I never really looked at this guy properly. He seems to have brown hair and green eyes… wait, isn't he pretty hot!? I should be careful when I manage to get Layla back.

"Well, everyone," Luke raised his voice, "I think we should rest here right now, seeing as how no monster movement has been seen, I do evaluate this place as safe to put out our tents and rest." He said his thoughts, and naturally, with his smooth talking, everyone agreed,

"Yeah,"

"That seems like a great idea,"

"I'm pooped,"

After we finished setting up our tents, I finally said "Good night, everyone. Be sure to take a good rest."

I received some "Good Night's" as well.

I laid down on the so-called bed, which was just the sheet between the hard ground and me. I put down my head on a bag, and finally let my temples release their tension and let the darkness swallow me.

***

In an alley on the bottom of the second floor, the quietness was being disturbed by some noises. Steps and voices.

A meet-up seemed to have been made between two or three people.

"So? How is the test going?" One asked a question.

"Well about that… sir…" the other one who tried to reply to his question was cowering, not knowing how to say his next sentence, while sweat was overtaking his whole being.

"She… actually, Subject L-17 has died…"

"What?" A vein popped visibly on the forehead of the man who asked the question.

"No, I don't know if I should say she died. In fact, she disappeared, just like the monsters and I didn't know how to stop it, she wasn't injured to the point of getting killed, I guarantee—"

A weird splashing noise was heard by the hand that protruded through the throat of the guy that was explaining the failed test.

"Fucking useless! How the fuck do you mess up such a precious subject?! Are you out of your mind?! You fucking pig! This is the reward you get for that." Spit was flowing out of the man's screeching mouth.

He whipped his head towards the spectator "Tch. Tell me everything about it." He calmed himself while cleaning off the blood from his face and hands.

"Yes, sir. It is as you may have heard from that ugly pig over there. The test subject was sleeping while she disappeared. We were observing her. The way her body disintegrated was the same as the monsters."

"Fucking shit!" another howl was heard.

"But, there is difference aside from how the monsters died,"

"Hurry up and tell me, you fuck face." He growled at him.

"The black flame the monsters make while they disintegrate, for hers, it was a giant white snowflake, as per the Mana Crystal, she sadly didn't drop one."

"AGHH FUCK! THAT'S EVEN WORSE, SHE'S BASICALLY DIED OFF WITHOUT BEING ANY USEFUL AT ALL!"

"Sir, it seems you may have attracted monsters, please return to the head-quarter now."

"Yeah, I plan to do so without you telling me."

And thus, the night on the lower bottom of the second floor ended in turmoil.