A piece of advice, an unexpected situation, and an expedition into a cave

[A/N: I love Celeste. I hate Celeste. I love Strawberry Jam. I absolutely despise Strawberry Jam.]

-18th day of the AC, 18.04.1052-

-Time: About 19:40-

-Location: Roughly 17 km west of Lodiz-

Level 57 was the maximum Travis managed to get on this day. No matter how hard he tried, stormraptors were tricky to hunt, and even though their levels were nearly 50 most of the time and they gave thousands of experience per kill, they didn't grant him enough.

'I guess that's my daily limit. And it'll only get worse from now on. I'll probably stay around for a few days to better learn how to handle avians, but new hunting grounds are in order already.' the man nodded to himself, watching the fires dance above the fireplace that separated him from Violet. The young woman was sitting under a small tree, her nicely shaped figure barely visible in the shadows cast by her curled-up legs. Though her eyes were closed, he knew well that she wasn't sleeping.

Violet suddenly flinched as though she sensed the fog that enveloped them. As she opened her eyes, the green and blue orbs shone in the night momentarily. Looking at him for a moment, she got up and stated, "I'll go and scout around."

"Stay safe," he nodded in response.

And then, Violet went away, disappearing between trees nearly immediately. Travis let out a bit of air from his lungs as he leaned back on his tree. 'I wonder how long it'll take to reach level 75. That's when I'll be getting the next guaranteed skill point.'

...

'Well, it's not like I put the one I received in Penalty Zone to use yet.' he thought. 'I'm still a little torn between <Mana Body> and <Psi Bolt>...' Travis summoned the two skills' information and took a close look at both.

[Psi Bolt lvl. 1

Create and form a bolt of psionic energy.

Deals 4-7 + 20% of your magic power of damage. Damage is increased by 25% if the target has any mental conditions.

Cost: 8 WP]

[Mana Body lvl.1

Decrease all damage taken by 20%. However, any damage dealt to you will also drain your mana.

*Mana draining is equal to 150% of damage received before damage reduction takes place.

*Damage reduction from this skill is calculated before any other effects of a similar nature.

Cost: 35 MP/minute

Duration: Until MP is used up or skill is canceled]

'Getting higher damage output would definitely be beneficial, but... An ability to reduce damage taken by a fifth is amazing, too. Throwing around WP does not seem like the most appealing idea at the moment, but I don't know what <Psi Bolt> will unlock... I might need it for stronger mental magic.' he pondered for a moment whilst watching the flames dance happily before him. '...I'll make my choice soon. I don't want to be too hasty with that.'

Deciding to stop his train of thought, he reached out to his bag and rummaged inside. Before long, he was holding the box from Rulebreaker in his hands, his hands tracing the wooden surface for a moment.

His yellow eyes glanced left and right, quickly confirming that he was left alone (though he didn't need to do that. Violet already knew of the box's utility). Without any further ado, Travis gave the box the mana it wanted. With a short burst of brilliant light, it spewed out a small snippet of paper.

=Maps will be very useful on your journey=

'Once again going back to commonly known facts, huh?' he thought with a slight smile. Although he had only received a dozen or so pieces of advice from that mysterious person, Travis already felt familiar with the typical style of what they conveyed. Yesterday's piece was... peculiar, and frankly, somewhat out of place. This one, however, returned to the trope of being a not-super-useful-but-still-an-advice type of message.

18. Maps will be very useful on your journey

[Do you know how large is the main continent of Casali? You don’t? Can’t blame you. In short: it’s enormous.

Going around places is the main thing you’ll have to do. To grow far stronger and fight with other Apostles, you’ll need to move around a lot and find new hunting grounds. Going just from one kingdom to another is a tiny amount of movement in comparison to what you’ll have to do in total.

Having an easy way of transport is going to be a necessity for you (and your team, if you decide to make one), but having a way to tell where you are is extremely important as well.]

'...yup, all common knowledge.' he snickered momentarily. 'But it's not like they're wrong. Without a map, I won't know where I'm going. It'll be difficult to mark landmarks or special places...'

...

Leaning his head back on the tree, Travis hid the box in his pack and burned the paper in the campfire. The orange flames gave off a pleasant amount of heat, a contrast to the wet and somewhat chilly air surrounding the man. The thin layer of dirt underneath him was soft and gave way to some grass that made it seem like he was sitting under a lone tree in vast plains. A relaxed sigh escaped his mouth.

It was peaceful. It was... nice.

A few minutes passed in nearly complete silence. The only sound that was hearable was the constant cracking of the wood pieces breaking apart under temperature, exposing their insides and fueling the fire further. However... there was something off. Travis wasn't sure why, but he felt... a little unnerved.

'Violet should be back by now... right? Scouting should only take a few minutes... maybe she'll be back right now...?' he tried to reassure himself, but as he looked around, there was not a single sign of the woman returning. Seconds slowly prolonged into a minute, then another one, but nothing changed. Finally, the man decided to get up. Slowly, he kicked some dirt onto the fire, reducing it to tiny embers.

'I'll look around. Who knows, maybe her arm is not in as good a condition as she told me... damn it. I should've been the one to scout.' Travis reviled himself as he quickly checked the state of his pack. Without thinking much, he left it behind, only taking Thunder Blade and Pacifist with him as he set off in the direction Violet went.

Slowly, he stepped into the dark forest, leaving behind the warmth of the campfire. The moon's light, reflected from the waning gibbous's surface, illuminated the terrain around him dimly, making it possible to just barely discern what was around him. Still, the man opted to not make a torch; first of all, it would give away his position easily. Secondly, even if he did, the flame wouldn't last long without any oil. His best bet was relying on his very own eyes.

But it wasn't all bad. At 75 Sense, the range and accuracy of his vision have improved significantly compared to when it was just 20, and what used to be just dim outlines of trees and paths now became... well, it was still dim, but at least the features were somewhat discernable even at a distance. Still, due to the fog, the actual range of his sight was about 25 meters.

His steps were taken with care to sound as silent as possible. Thankfully for him, the ground was littered with many needles of pines and spruces, which made his careful walk nigh-unhearable. One step after another, the man continued to stride forward.

Roughly two minutes passed, not a single soul in sight before the man saw the tree line end abruptly. Taken by curiosity but proceeding with caution, he moved closer, taking note of how the area ahead was illuminated to a far better extent than the place where he was.

As he reached the very tree line, he noticed... a lake. Extending as far as his eyes could see, a huge aquifer was present, its mostly calm surface reflecting the moon's light. Between the man and the water, there was a line of grass transitioning into rough sand and gravel, no wider than about a third of a meter. Keeping to the tree line, he started walking to his sides, up until he heard a sound.

The sound of something being thrown into the water rang in the air, somewhere to his left. Just judging by the volume, the man easily realized that it was not far. Maybe 20, or 25 meters, at best. Feeling his heartbeat speed up slightly, he walked quickly, still taking care to make as little noise as possible. Finally, after a dozen or so seconds, he found a small bush just outside the tree line and took cover behind it. Looking out from behind it, he saw... Violet, barely ten meters away.

The black-haired woman was naked, taking a bath in the water of the lake. After stepping a few meters from the shore, she was covered up to her navel with water, the rest of her figure perfectly visible as she turned sideways to Travis. Her wet chest reflected the moonlight, giving Travis a good sight of her shapely breasts and toned stomach. As she slowly took another dip in the water and exited, she flailed her head a little, splattering water all around. Then, she grabbed the hair and squeezed it, getting as much water out as she could. Proceeding with her bath, the young woman cupped some water threw it on her chest, and then proceeded to rub the skin delicately. Quickly, she moved on to her armpits and her hands before returning to her chest.

A small sigh escaped her mouth as she weighed her mammaries for a moment. Perhaps it was because of the moonlight, but right now, Travis was sure: they were bigger than Cecilia's. It wasn't by much, maybe a cup size, but noticeable.

The young woman sneezed quietly, visibly taken by the water's cool temperature. Violet traced the skin of her breasts carefully for a long moment. Her small nipples, erect due to the cold, stood proudly. The woman pinched one lightly and frowned a little, naught a sound leaving her mouth. Was she going to...?

"Baaa!" Travis suddenly heard a sound come from behind him. Before the man managed to react, he got greeted by a headbutt from a goat into his back, sending him tumbling from the treeline and straight into the water. Having landed face-first into the liquid, he moved about frantically, trying to fix his position even a little.

Suddenly surfacing, he gasped for air momentarily before calming himself down. Turning back, he noticed that the mountain goat lost interest in him after throwing him into the water, and it turned on its heels, going into the forest.

And then... he turned around and got greeted by a knife's edge.

Violet was standing above him with a dagger aimed at his face. Her other hand was used to cover her breasts. However, because she mostly came out of the water, her small bush and nether lips were on full display to Travis, which were further accentuated by her somewhat slim hips. In the fairly dark atmosphere, her expression was neutral, but Travis could imagine she was not happy about his presence.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her hand sternly holding the blade centimeters from his face.

"...would you believe me that I thought there was a monster here?"

"No," sounded a cold response.

"...yeah, me neither. I came to look for you. You weren't coming back to the camp, so I thought something might've happened," he said, slowly moving away from her. Getting his hands on the gravel beneath the water's surface he slowly pushed himself to a sitting position. "I did not expect to see you bathing..."

Violet did not answer. However, within her dual-colored eyes, Travis could not help but notice a glint of... something akin to forgiveness.

"I'm sorry it came out like this..." he continued his thought hastily. "I'll leave immediately."

Violet's hand slowly relaxed. With a swift motion, she threw the dagger upward a little and then sucked it into her storage ring with a fast swipe of her hand. "Leave. I'll return shortly."

Travis needed no extra words to be spoken. Quickly getting up, he stepped out of the water, leaving Violet in the water. Stealing a glance behind himself, he saw how she was covering both her breasts and vagina now, slowly turning around. However, as she noticed his stare, she immediately summoned a throwing knife and threw it near his head. Uttering a quick 'Sorry!', Travis disappeared between the trees.

Quickly backtracking to the camp, he started squeezing water out of his clothes. 'Good thing I didn't take my pack.' he conceded.

As he reached the position where his pack lay, Travis started gathering some wood from nearby. Illuminating the area with a few hand-held <Mana Bolts>, he scouted the nearby terrain, gathering some burnable material. Feeling his nose start to run, he cursed quietly to himself before throwing the timber into the campfire.

-About 3 minutes later-

"..." he sat in place, his muscles slightly tensed as he watched Violet sit down opposite of him. Both he and she had changed into different clothes, him sitting in a dark green shirt and long, black pants while she donned a baggy, thick shirt of brown color and completed her look with equally thick, gray pants.

"..." she reciprocated the look, her stiff expression not giving way to anything.

"...sorry."

Violet looked to her side. "...please, announce your presence beforehand. And don't peek at me in a situation like that."

"...yes."

In an almost immediate reaction to his confirmation, Violet seemed to relax, albeit only a little. As some time passed in complete silence, the two travelers slowly drifted to sleep.

-The next day, 19.04.1052-

-Time: Around 13:50-

-Location: 22 km west of Lodiz-

*THUMP!*

[4,792 experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up!]

A welcome notification sprung forth, causing Travis to smile a little as he slowly got up from his position. With a slightly pained groan, he looked at the corpse of the stormraptor he had taken down when it decided to divebomb him. Its head was split open (courtesy of <2 Joint Attacks> from Thunder Blade), and the beak lay shattered into tiny pieces.

'Level 58, how nice. This time, I'll put all those points into Endurance. That bastard took more than a hundred HP with just that lunge.' he thought with a bit of dismay as he assigned the points. 'But had I reacted a little faster, I also could've evaded it. It wasn't that fast... no, it's better to increase Endurance right now. Better to survive than to try and prevent it.'

[Processing... finished.]

Immediately, Travis felt some newfound strength surge in his veins. In an instant, he felt somewhat reinvigorated, like he just had a good rest after a long run. This meant one thing to him: the new coefficient took hold. Not only was his HP increased from points themselves, but it also got a huge boost from the coefficient. Checking it quickly, he confirmed that it has increased by roughly 50%.

And then, a second notification appeared.

[Notice: Endurance stat has reached 100 points. All conditions have been fulfilled. Passive skill 'Iron Wall' has been awarded.]

'So... Endurance did work for 100 points as well...' his eyes slowly glanced at his Intelligence stat. 'But this guy is at 133 points, and yet, nothing.' Travis clicked his tongue at the thought. Bringing up the information on the skill, he could only frown.

[Iron Wall lvl.1

A persistent passive.

*Increases the effectiveness of defense from items by 1%.

*All physical attacks against you will deal 1-2 less damage.]

**Acquisition condition: Endurance of 100 or higher. A total of 1000 points of physical damage received since the class change.**

'It's... not as good as I expected. Compared to <Sprint>, it's like simply wearing a plate of armor. Then again, receiving 1000 physical damage is easier to do than running a combined distance of 100 km. Oh well, it hardly matters. A free skill is a free skill.' the man shook his head a little. What mattered was that he grew stronger.

Looking at Violet, he saw her taking off the beaks and talons of other beasts he had hunted. Deciding to not linger with his stare, he looked to the side, focusing his eyes on the uneven terrain that they took to get here. This mountain, much like any that was more than 10 km from Lodiz, was barely charted onto maps and had next to no actual paths carved out in the cold stone. There were times that adventurers or even entire guilds came around to hunt some monsters but nobody cared enough to properly make a road in here. The definitive majority of the surrounding mountains didn't even have their names. This was the fate of the biggest mountain chain on the continent. Unlike some small groups of peaks that would be categorized in a few months since their discovery, Quear was far too large for that. All that was known were some estimates of the number of mountains and their range. Even the monster levels around weren't exactly known, and could only be estimated based on the reports.

"*Sigh* It's never easy," he mumbled to himself whilst checking his DQ. 'At least the daily today was simple. Just one more nest like this and that'll be 6 points for me. 5 into Endurance, and the final one will go into Intelligence.'

-Around 20:00-

19. Knowledge is power

[Isn’t Sage a useful class? Surely, your opinion of them is not much different from the public's? Most regard them as basically the bottom of the food chain of classes, together with the Classless. Not that such a worldview is instantly wrong. I mean really, how many combat abilities does a Sage even have?

But that’s missing the point. Not all classes are combat-oriented. Does a Fletcher need to know how to operate a bow to make arrows? Or does the Blacksmith class need knowledge about the weapons beyond their construction and necessary use? Not really, do they?

Sage falls under the same category: a non-combatant class. Their utilities are not in a fight, but rather, as a knowledge seeker. Sage’s utility is outstanding when it comes to gathering and distributing information, be it mundane news or the most sophisticated techniques and conspiracies.

That is, of course, just a basis. If a Sage were to evolve, they could become quite a bit more powerful, even grasping at some magic tricky to deal with. But that is another thing to discuss and not the point of this entry.]

'...I never thought that Sage of all classes could be powerful when it grew strong enough. Then again, a lot of classes that seem unsuspecting can become a **** to be reckoned with. Mages can evolve into Archmages, and Soldiers can become Knights. Sometimes, one can only wonder how many undiscovered classes there are...'

...

'These people...' he wondered as he watched Violet approach him slowly. Without speaking a single word, she sat down by her tree. 'They help forbidden classes, Cecilia said... because they want to know more about them... it still does sound like a made-up story to make them join them. However... perhaps there is a grain of truth somewhere in there.'

-20.04.1052-

-Time: 9:30-

-Location: 25 km west of Lodiz-

Venturing into unknown territory on your own was not the wisest idea known to man. Many things could go wrong, after all. An unexpected dungeon filled with monsters could tempt those with more greed than common sense. A sharp peak meant doom for those with a spirit of challenge. Unexpectedly crossing paths with a fierce field boss could end in the annihilation of the unfortunate travelers.

Nevertheless, Travis and Violet pressed on. The caution they kept allowed them to advance quickly, and it seemed that this day was bound to be similar to the previous one.

But not everything went as they had planned.

It was... about 10 in the morning, perhaps. Travis wasn't sure exactly, and he didn't care to check. While walking, the two travelers suddenly heard an unfamiliar sound. It wasn't something that could be produced by any monsters that could appear nearby. It was a sound made by a human. On top of that, it was... a sound of sobbing.

"...?" Travis raised an eyebrow and glanced toward Violet. Without a word spoken, the two of them went toward the source of the sound and found... a young boy sitting on the ground between some trees.

He was... eight, maybe nine, judging by his appearance. His face was covered in dirt, and his clothes were slightly tattered, indicating that he must've been away from home for a while now. Tears flowed down his face as he quickly looked at the two, his brown eyes emanating sadness and a sense of urgency.

"S-Someone..." he started saying with a shaky tone. "P-Please h-h-help... *Sob* *Sob*."

"Hey, it's alright. We won't hurt you," Travis said, slowly coming closer and crouching near the boy. "Why are you crying?" he asked, taking note of the boy's lack of equipment. 'Weird...'

"M-My b-brother... he... w-we went into a-a-a c-cave... *Sob!*" the boy said through tears. "B-But... s-something attacked him!"

"There, there," the man said in a calming tone, slowly reaching out and caressing the boy's dirty blonde hair. "Deep breaths, little guy. Where did your brother go?"

"...*Sob!* A-A cave... t-there..." he gestured somewhere north. "P-Please... p-please help him!"

Travis looked back at Violet. The woman merely shrugged, her expressionless face not budging.

"Can you lead us there?" Travis asked the boy.

The boy nodded.

And so, the day began quite a bit differently from what either Travis or Violet expected. As the sun continued ascending to its zenith, they were guided by the boy, intent on reaching the destination soon.

In the meantime, as the man and the boy got acquainted, a notification sprung in front of Travis.

[Quest: A helping hand]

[Jeliah has asked you to investigate traces of his brother in a cave full of crystal crawlers. However, be warned that this is a dangerous request.

Objective: Find Jeliah's brother.

Optional: Uncover what happened.

Reward: 8 stat points.

Optional reward: 1 skill point.

Failure penalty: You will be penalized by the System. Penalty severity: medium-high.

Rejection penalty: None.]

'...how difficult will it be, for the rewards to be like this?' the man pondered, looking at the kid who was walking next to him. 'What has your brother gotten into...?'

-Time: 14:30-

-Location: 25 km west of Lodiz-

[Thunder Blade's option effect is activated, triggering the skill '2 Joint Attacks'. The attack repeats one time.]

"Haaap!" Travis let out a slight roar as he made a wide arc, marking a deep cut in the side of a huge spider.

[You have dealt 133 damage.]

Immediately after that, he dashed to his side, avoiding its retaliatory strike.

His eyes glanced ahead of the path. Violet was skittering around a second opponent of such type, looking for any weak points as she tried to stab it in its eyes. The monster, however, was much tougher than it looked, and while it did lose an eye, it responded by nearly biting into her stomach. Just barely able to avoid the strike, Violet kicked the spider's mouth and used it to jump to a nearby wall, then at the monster's back, and finally to the ground.

"It's tougher than it seemed initially," she commented whilst taking out two throwing knives. "<Dagger Throw>," the two weapons flew true, hitting the spider right in its remaining eyes as it turned around.

'Was it not for the fact that this is the seventh skirmish already, I would've loved to just come here to level up. I'm already level 59, and this is hardly over!' he thought as he cut a limb off of the predator and logged Pacifist deep into its skull.

However, as the attack barely did any damage, the blade only bounced off, not even making a mark in the monster's skin.

The beasts they were fighting now were known as 'Crystal Crawlers'. They were a type of giant spider that lurked underground, usually in small groups, hunting everything that dared come into their domain. They boasted an impressive size, with bodies nearly 2 meters long, outfitted with legs twice that length. Their black eyes were easily spotted on their gray bodies, but it didn't mean they were easy targets. The bodies of the spiders were covered in trace amounts of crystal from the cave they lived in, granting them great defense against slashing attacks. The crystals were more densely packed on the beasts' legs, giving them a somewhat nice, blueish look, but also increasing their attack power beyond expected. Just a single strong bash was able to take away 250 HP from Travis, and judging by how ferocious the beast became later on, it didn't give it its all.

However, they did have some weaknesses. They weren't an agile type of monster, and their size made it difficult for them to easily turn around in the cave's corridors, which rarely exceeded 5 meters in width. On top of that, those beasts had no sense of teamwork and often tangled up with one another through their motions. Those drawbacks made them somewhat huntable for the duo despite being nearly level 70 (as judged by Violet).

[11,827 experience has been acquired.]

As they finally disposed of the two beasts, Travis called out quietly, "It's alright Jeliah, you can come out now."

As if on cue, the blonde boy who asked them for help earlier today appeared from behind a corner. He started stepping further into the cave, the two following his lead.

The cave was somewhat deep, easily reaching a hundred meters underground. The pressure change between the surface and this place caused Travis to feel his heartbeat reverberate in his skull loudly.

The walls of this place were adorned with many blue crystals, similar to the ones found on the crystal crawlers' bodies. However, those on the rocks gleamed with a pleasant amount of light that allowed one to easily discern most features of the surroundings.

The cave system wasn't very complicated. Aside from the main path that led downward there were some side branches from time to time, but they weren't deep, and therefore, clearing them was fast.

'We must've been here for at least two hours...' the man thought as he checked the time with RALS. 'At least Daily Quest for today is nearing completion. Just a few more monsters to dodge attacks from and my sweet 7 stat points are all going into Intelligence.' he nodded to himself.

The boy who guided them deeper into the cave, Jeliah, had calmed down soon after they reached the entrance. Being thankful for their decision to help his brother, he offered to take them to the last spot where he saw him. On the way, he told them exactly how they ended up in the cave.

It all started roughly four days before this one. Melin, Jeliah's older brother, had received a quest from the guildhall in Lodiz. The contents of the quest were simple: map out caves further away from the city. Multiple people accepted similar quests as the city was beginning to expand its influence. Deciding that the mission would be easy (as Melin was an Assassin), he gave in to Jeliah's request of bringing him together. And so, the two of them went to scout the terrain as requested.

However... something went wrong just yesterday. Jeliah wasn't sure what happened, but they ended up finding some kind of structure deep underground. Looking as if it was abandoned, they decided to scout it out as well, but...

"Melin... h-he shouted from the dark to me," Jeliah said quietly. "He yelled for me to run and get reinforcements... b-but... I can't leave h-him here!" he stated just before they entered.

"You're a brave boy, Jeliah, but this will be dangerous. It's better if you stay." Travis replied, attempting to talk to the boy's sense of reason.

But the boy was too stubborn to be told off.

And now...

"...i-it's here," Jeliah said before stopping. "That's the place."

Coming from behind a corner, Travis's eyes focused on what was ahead. In the stone wall, extending from the right side of the dead end to the left one, there were stone bricks placed into the stone. Actually, no... they seemed to be carved in the stone. As if someone mimicked a real building.

As Travis approached the ancient wall, his eyes were immediately drawn to the large door in the center. The door was constructed from deep brown wood and framed with dull-gray iron, giving it an ominous presence. The cracks in the aged wood and the rust covering the frame and hinges were clear indications of its age. The door was slightly ajar, allowing a chilling breeze to escape from within. The pressure that emanated from the inside felt tainted and unnatural. The air seemed thick and heavy, as though something ominous lurked beyond the door. The rusted hinges creaked eerily as Travis pushed the door open, revealing a dark and foreboding interior.

"...Stay here, Jeliah. The caverns will be safe for now. We'll get your brother out," Travis stated, unsheathing Thunder Blade and charging it up.

"...please be careful, Mister and Miss," the boy answered in a weak tone, taking a step back.

With a slight nod, Travis entered, followed suit by Violet who returned the door to its previous position, as if to prevent anything from getting out. In response, the door sent out a loud creak through the corridor that the two stood in, its creepy echo traveling there and back and sending a chill down Travis's spine.

As his eyes were slowly getting used to the darkness, the man raised his hand and summoned a dozen or so <Mana Bolts>, creating a strong wisp of light.

After just a few steps in they stopped, the feeling of bloodlust causing both of them to shiver slightly. The man looked at the woman, both of their faces glumly lit, expressions bearing signs of uneasiness.

"Should we really go in?"

"...this place feels abnormal," Violet responded quietly. "I'm uncertain if going forward is the right way."

"...agreed. I don't want to say this, but Melin is probably..."

"...yes. We should leave before that thing decides to--"

Violet didn't get to finish her sentence as the creaking sound of the door behind them sounded again. Before either of the two managed to react, it was closed shut.

Travis shot toward the door, trying its handle. The construct barely budged.

"Jeliah?!" he asked loudly, banging on the surface once or twice. "Did you close the door?!"

...

...but there was silence.

"Jeliah?!" Travis repeated his question, hitting the door's surface strongly. "Can you hear me?!"

"...it's pointless," Violet commented, coming closer. She placed her hand on the handle. "It doesn't budge. Seems like there is some kind of magic placed on it."

"...magic?" he turned to her, his eyes escaping into the dark corridor as he felt beads of sweat form on his temples.

"A magic trap," she continued, doing her best to take in all the details of the construct. "It's bizarre that an entire structure like this could be underground in the first place. I believe somebody put this here on purpose."

"...what do you mean?"

"...that child seemed unusual. He looked young, but his presence was nearly that of a level 20, and he didn't even try to conceal it."

"...no. You can't just say Jeliah was responsible for this."

"I'm not saying that. I'm stating my suspicions. If his brother went in here, it should've activated as well. Therefore, he should be aware of it. And yet, he spoke not a word of its existence."

'Could a kid really be responsible for a trap? ...that doesn't sound right. Something else is in play.'

"...breaking down this trap might have adverse effects. Sitting around would not be a wise idea, either. Perhaps this place has another exit."

"...yeah, you're right. We should move."

[A/N: Writing this at 2 AM while listening to this song was a nightmare. Feel free to read it while listening to it as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXfHKEaDg4s]

Travis cautiously trod down the desolate corridor, his footsteps echoing ominously against the ancient walls. Violet followed right behind him, her steps nearly unhearable in comparison. The dilapidated floor creaked beneath their feet, and the torn carpet seemed to writhe like some grotesque beast. The eerie architecture was like nothing Travis had ever seen before, with broken columns and shattered stone fragments littering the path ahead. Every step seemed to bring him closer to some unknown danger lurking in the shadows. As he and his companion approached a junction, the air grew thick with a sense of foreboding. The only options were to continue straight or venture down a path to the left.

Travis leaned from behind the corner and illuminated the nearby area, but found nothing different about this part than what they both were through already.

"Travis," he heard Violet whisper into his ear as she came closer. "Do not raise your voice."

"Why?"

"Below your hand. There's blood," she said quietly and slowly withdrew to his side.

"??!" the man flinched and took a step back at the words.

Violet didn't waste time and immediately stepped closer. Tracing the stain with her hand, she took a moment to analyze whatever she could of it.

"It's not very old. A few hours, perhaps," she whispered, turning to her companion. "Whatever bled, survived, even if only for a while."

"...Should we be relieved or scared of that fact?"

"...The blood trail goes in there," she pointed into the corridor. "Judging by the lack of any corpses, Melin must've been struck and ran."

"Then he might be alive?"

"It's possible."

"But then... did that thing just attack him and leave?"

"...I do not know. Perhaps it was done by a trap... but I do not sense any."

He didn't answer, instead taking a slow step into the junction. Glancing to his left, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The corridor was empty, just like the first one, but there was an eerie sense of... 'unnatural' emptiness hanging in the air.

Above, a line of chandeliers stood still like paintings, the broken shards of glass reflecting dim light from his palm. Some of them had given out from their old age, lying on the ground in a mess of metal and glass shards. His eyes flicked back to the path ahead, but he couldn't shake the sense of darkness creeping up the walls. It was like something was waiting just beyond his sight, ready to strike at any moment. Travis felt his heart pounding in his chest, his palms slick with sweat.

Travis cautiously walked into the leftward corridor, the dust rising and **** the air around him. The light reflecting off the glass all around seemed almost blinding, but it did nothing to alleviate the feeling of dread that consumed him. The silence was deafening, amplifying the sound of his own racing heart and making him wonder if he was truly alone. He could feel Violet's hand on his shoulder, but even that small touch only served to tell him that her state of mind must've been similar.

'Gods, why am I in a place like this? Gods, why and I in a place like this? Gods, why the hell did I accept that request... it was obvious nothing good could've come from that...' the man asked himself the silent questions and could only hope for this situation to end as soon as possible.

'I've always been taught to not fear the unknown or ****, but this place is truly testing my mental fortitude...' a thought appeared in the woman's mind as she traced the signs of destruction all around. 'Much of that wasn't done by age or natural causes. Somebody came in here, ages ago presumably, and vandalized the place. This makes it even more eerie that something is left behind, roaming these halls.'

A few minutes of careful walking later, the duo reached another junction. This one diverged into three other directions, and each one of them seemed equally unwelcoming and dreary at first glance. One of them, however, did have something that took the man a short moment to register.

'Light...? This deep underground? It must be a torch. Could Melin have lit it?' he asked himself before looking at Violet. With a silent signal, they started walking down that very corridor, making sure to stay as alert as it was humanly possible.

-About 10 minutes later-

Travis and Violet looked at the large door in front of them, tracing the age-old wood and iron that framed it. The walls around the construct seemed to have some scratch marks, but the door itself seemed untouched by anything but time. Torches on the walls were dim and just barely giving off light, but that was enough to show how old everything was.

Glancing to their left, they could only affirm that they had reached a dead end. To the right was the path that they initially took, having followed a few junctions to reach this place.

"Are you thinking the same thing as I am?" the man whispered, nervously looking around. He wasn't sure why, but he felt something stirring in the darkness just outside his reach, swirling and waiting for him to lose concentration.

"Melin is probably inside. There is blood under the handle," Violet answered, slowly reaching out to the liquid. "It's... fresh," she said with a pause, noticing the fluid's state.

"...so he's alive."

"...perhaps."

"Let's get him and leave this place to hell."

A long, loud creak was heard as the framed wood moved sluggishly on the hinges, opening and letting the two inside. They hastily took their steps in, keeping their guards up, but...

There was nobody inside.

The duo stood in there for a moment, taking in the sight of the spacious room they just entered. Unlike the rest of this hellish place, this space appeared to be kept immaculately clean, safe for a very thin layer of dust on the dressers to the right. A large mirror was standing on top of it, reflecting the light from Travis' hand onto the large bed up front. A dressing screen was placed nearby, and some clothes were still left lying on the floor. Whoever left this place, did not take everything with them.

"...it's empty?" Violet whispered a question, seemingly asking herself.

They entered the room slowly, vigilantly looking at every single space, but... there truly was nobody in there.

"Weird... this place has no other door. What do you think this means--" Travis whispered but suddenly stopped as he noticed Violet's expression. For the first time since he met her, he saw her face express fear, with her lips shaking in place as color escaped her face. Her double-colored orbs trembled as she looked at him.

"That thing from the main corridor. It's approaching."

"What?! We have to run!"

"It's no use. It's moving too fast. It'll be here in fifteen seconds... thirteen."

The two of them quickly moved to the other side of the room, right against the dressing screen. Holding his sword nervously, Travis could only watch Violet's expression become slightly dimmer as he released the <Mana Bolts> in his hand. Right now, he needed both his hands.

The only lights left in the room were some torches that just barely burned on the walls, giving off faint auras of light that seemed to attempt to fight the everlasting darkness all around. Surprisingly, however, most things were rather easily discernable still, as if the lights were stronger than they appeared.

"Ten... seven..." Violet counted down, feeling the pressure tie a knot in her throat. She had encountered deathly situations before, but never before had she felt tension and fear on this level. Travis, in all sincerity, felt the same. "Three... t-two..."

And then... an ethereal figure appeared on the doorstep quietly. With graceful and light steps, a woman in a purple dress entered the room. The garnets she wore accentuated her voluptuous body nicely, emphasizing her somewhat large chest and fittingly flaring hips. Her ruby eyes glanced at the two in front of her, looking like they could make the world appear dim by just existing. Her pointy ears gave her elegance that could not be explained in words, and the gentle smile on her face made her look like the kindest of sheep. Her smooth skin reflected the light of the torches spectacularly like it was made of geodes. A small nose completed her look, making her seem innocent and almost girly, even.

However, the pressure the woman emanated felt like a boulder on both of the travelers. This person was easily over the scope of what they were prepared for. This woman... just the presence seeping from her told Violet one thing: the boss from Penalty Zone couldn't hold a candle to this being.

[Crushing pressure is reducing your ability to fight.]

[All stats reduced by 25%.]

[Resistance to the effect failed.]

[The aura of aristocratic brilliancy confuses you.]

[You have resisted.]

[Predatory stare causes paralyzing fear.]

[You have resisted.]

"??!" Travis's eyebrows shot upward with surprise at the notifications. However, he immediately forgot about them, looking back at the person who entered the room.

"Oh, I appear to have guests," the woman spoke. Her voice sounded enchanting like the most beautiful of tunes that could be produced by any instrument, charming and making the hearer want more. "My deepest apology. You have seen this place in such a horrible state."

Neither of the two could muster a single word of response.

"Not talkative, are you? It's all alright," the woman said as she extended her right hand toward the two.

In an instant, some dark liquid appeared in front of her palm, forming two miniature, scarlet-colored spears.

The next seconds appeared to stretch into infinity. Travis noticed that just as the silver-haired woman's attitude was perfectly calm, Violet's hands were shaking. She has not resisted any of the effects that struck her, the unsteady movements of her eyes proof of her confusion. Her lips quivered as her breathing turned to shallow, haphazard panting. She was almost hyperventilating.

"Don't worry, this won't take long," he heard the red-eyed woman speak. Turning his gaze to her again, he noticed a glimmer within her orbs as she stared at him with... hunger?

"...who... are you?" Travis **** himself to ask, albeit with a bit of difficulty.

The woman smiled before she stretched her fingers. In an instant, the two spears closed the distance. Both Travis and Violet got hit with enough **** to make them tumble to the ground. No, that was because of something else.

[You have received 517 damage.]

[Tainted blood has entered your bloodstream. The blood's attribute is 'paralysis'. The blood's effect is powerful.]

[All motor functions of your body are temporarily disabled.]

[Time remaining: 40:00]

"Who am I...?" the woman asked in a serene tone. "Can you not tell?"

Control of blood, red eyes, spiky ears... Travis had only heard about those creatures in myths, legends, and bedtime stories that were meant to scare kids into obedience. They were dreadful things that nobody ever wanted to come across in their travels.

'A vampire.'

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/meedrowh