Second Game Key Chasing

The extra waiting time dragged on and John found himself growing more tense as the two minutes dwindled.

‘I think you’re taking things a bit too seriously,’ Senka noted. ‘Being all tense isn’t going to help. Relax.’

‘I can’t help it,’ John remarked. ‘We only really got out of the last round by teaming up and now our plan is to split up.’

‘We have a plan, and have made steps to counter whatever we might find in there,’ Senka said. ‘Worrying over what might happen isn’t going to make things easier.’

‘I guess,’ John relented, trying to let go of his anxiety. Senka was right, they had a plan, one flexible enough to account for whatever was beyond the doors that had appeared in the hall leading to the second challenge. Still, he couldn’t help but think about how things could go wrong. He glanced over at Vivian, who was looking at the doors with a grim stare. He knew she was capable, and their strategy was for her to avoid confrontation, one that would hopefully keep her from being in real danger.

‘Focus on what I have to do, and let Vivian do what she’s going to do,’ John thought to himself. He felt Senka’s presence at the back of his mind, not intruding on his private thoughts but ready to lend an ear if he wished. A part of him wanted to bind the spirit to her vessel and let her help Vivian, but that idea ran into several tactical issues that made him discard it. It would drain his mana when he needed to be on guard against whatever was going to fight them and make Vivian expend more to cover Senka in a veil.

“And the game starts in five, four, three, two, one! Go!” Announcer declared as the doors opened. John and Vivian rushed in and ended up running down a rather nondescript hallway of stone bricks, lit by crystal lights.

“Great, another maze,” John muttered.

“It’s a classic design,” Vivian remarked. “But I do hope the other two aren’t in the same vein. Come on, we need to find a door and get the key count.”

Vivian began to move her hands in a flowing pattern, disjointed visions of the upcoming areas manifesting, revealing approaching turns and rooms.

“Got one,” Vivian announced, dismissing all but one farseeing. “Up ahead on the left. Looks like it’ll only need one key.”

“But no sign of a key room,” John took note. “Figures those would be deeper in.”

“No point in making a competition easy,” Vivian said. “Ready?”

“Yep,” John nodded, summoning his sword. Hopefully, whatever was in here with them didn’t have some anti-plant weaponry. They crossed into the small room the door was in, and John felt a pulse of magic wash over him. “Feel that?”

Nodding, Vivian said, “That had to be the signal to summon the defenders. Guess I should go before they show up.”

Before she turned to seek the keys, Vivian leaned close and pressed her lips against John’s.

“Good luck,” she breathed out as she pulled back before racing out of the room and down the hall.

‘I’m a bit sad this arrangement leaves me out of the luck giving,’ Senka pouted, her tone lighthearted.

John could feel her actual disappointment and longing and made a decision. Senka appeared next to him in an instant and he wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her close and capturing her lips. Senka melted into his embrace, one of her hands coming up to caress his face.

The sound of steady and heavy footfalls **** them apart, and Senka smiled.

“Couldn’t keep away from me, huh?” she teased even as she stepped back.

“Couldn’t let you feel left out any longer,” John shot back. “Didn’t feel fair, especially since it looks like we’ll be getting a recharge after each round. No need to keep holding back.”

Senka grinned as wisps of shadow coiled around her fingers. “Then we should make sure whatever’s coming is dealt with by the time Vivian gets back. No need to make her wait on us to clean up.”

John returned her grin and turned towards the entryway, ready for the fight.

Vivian crept about as quietly as possible, the spell to veil herself at the front of her mind. The sounds of heavy footsteps echoed around off the stone walls, indicating that a number of things were now active and moving about. She rounded another corner after descending a short staircase and noticed an open room, a sealed door within down the hall.

‘Stepping inside will trigger defenders, but maybe I can hide it,’ the redhead thought as she withdrew some paper from her pocket space. The array to bend light to create an illusory wall wasn’t a complicated one and Vivian drew it up in under a minute. There was a risk that setting the array would trigger the door’s defenders, but she had to try.

‘If we can hide the doors, then I can gather the needed keys without setting it off. Then we can open the door, log the prizes and move on.’

With the array done, Vivian snuck close to the archway that marked the door chamber. She pressed the paper to the frame, a touch of mana spent allowing the page to cling to the stone. There was no pulse of magic to indicate a tripped alarm and Vivian let out a held breath. She glanced into the room, noting that three keys were needed to unlock the door and activated the array.

The archway vanished as the section of wall opposite it took its place. Vivian spent a moment studying her work, frowning as she noticed several small imperfections that would give away the room beyond.

‘Not much I can do about that now,’ she thought as she turned away from the hidden room and continued her key hunt. As she made her way down the halls, the rhythmic beat of footsteps grew closer, echoing from around a nearby corner. A sudden shadow on the wall made Vivian stop short, her magic manifesting around her to hide her presence.

A second later, two figures marched around the corner. They were constructs of humanoid design, clad in a garish orange armor that reminded Vivian of the safety vests road workers wore to ensure their visibility. Their heads being hardhat shaped only furthered the comparison, as did the pickaxe and shovel they held in their hands.

‘I suppose they are builders after all,’ the redhead thought as she held her breath, her posture tense. There was always the chance their senses weren’t limited to human levels of sight and sound, and if they could detect her, then she had to be ready to fight back.

Much to her relief, they passed by her with no indication of her cover being blown. Despite the need to hasten her search, Vivian kept still for a while longer, just to be sure the two enemies weren’t going to see her move. Once she felt comfortable, Vivian let the spell fade and quickly moved deeper into the twisting maze of hallways.

‘There’s still more movement around,’ she noted as she searched for keys, noting each turn she made. ‘The other teams must have found a few doors themselves.’

Vivian stopped when she came across a small indented stone in the wall to her right, which struck her as odd, given the uniform smoothness that was present elsewhere.

‘Could this be one of the key hiding places?’ she wondered, carefully placing her fingers against the depression. The light touch was enough for it to give way, the stone vanishing to reveal a small cubby. Within, two keys of tarnished gold sat crossed over each other. Vivian was quick to scoop them up, pulling away from the wall in case there was some reprisal. Nothing happened and she let out a held breath.

‘Okay, two keys. And I know we need four to unlock both doors we’ve found, so I should keep looking,’ Vivian thought. ‘But not for too long. We don’t know how many enemies will be summoned per room or if they’ll be a constant stream. It wouldn’t be good if John burned himself out over one door.’

Decision made, Vivian hurried down the corridors once more, mindful of anything that could signal a hiding spot for more keys. A faint crackling noise perked her ear, along with the faint smell of ozone as she rounded another corner cautiously. A door chamber sat a short way from her, a circle of lightning placed right at the threshold, tendrils of static arcing from it.

‘Guess Ramirez was here,’ Vivian thought as she moved beyond the door room. ‘And if she can place traps to keep us out, then Rowan is likely with her. Would us getting hurt by that count as interfering with another team? I guess it’s fairly obvious it's there and could hurt so it’s not an ambush.’

Vivian’s thoughts stopped short as the approaching sound of footsteps reached her ears. Veiling up, she watched as one of the constructs made its way to the lightning guarded room. It tried to enter the room, only to get repulsed by the lighting trap. It wasn’t outright killed but the blast did seem to do some significant damage.

‘I suppose using it to keep enemies out and soften them up is in line with the rules,’ Vivian thought as she snuck away from the stunned enemy. ‘The Order might win this if they can block enough doors.’

Some part of her rankled under that idea. There wasn’t anything wrong in losing, but to get blown out so easily wasn’t something that didn’t sting.

‘Maybe they won’t find enough keys,’ she thought with a small amount of satisfaction as she came across another slightly indented stone. One touch caused it to crumble away, yielding three keys. ‘Oh yes. Slow and steady might be the way to win.’

John brought his greatsword down on the construction bot, its orange armor cracking under his blow. He pulled back and let Senka sweep in, shadow cloaking her hand as she jabbed it into the downed enemy’s elbow. The shadowy blade sunk deep into the machine’s joint, sparks dripping out of it like blood as Senka withdrew, letting John back in to attack.

‘These aren’t so tough,’ Senka remarked, a slight disappointment in her tone.

‘They are only level seven,’ John thought back. ‘You read the Observe.’

‘Yes, I know. Level seven Construction Drones. Loot’s either its pickaxe or building vouchers,’ Senka recited. ‘Whatever those are.’

‘Probably something that will add to the stuff the goblins will get from this game,’ John suggested. ‘Like, ‘cash in X vouchers, get a shed’. Stuff like that.’

‘I’d say the rewards are somewhat boring, but we’re doing this for Teri, so I shouldn’t complain,’ the spirit said.

‘I can’t say I don’t agree with you on the excitement levels,’ John remarked as he slammed his blade down on the enemy, its armor cracking into pieces before vanishing as it fell. ‘I get the feeling that these guys are undertuned since this is a seeking mission with a time limit. Not a lot of time for key hunting if you get caught up in dealing with mobs.’

‘I suppose that makes sense,’ Senka admitted. ‘And that likely means Vivian isn’t going to have much trouble navigating around. Now we just have to hope she can find the keys.’

Before John could remark further, light footsteps echoed from outside the room. They were too soft to be one of the drones and both of them relaxed as Vivian came into view. If the redhead was surprised to see Senka manifested, she didn’t express it, only smiling with relief.

“Good, you’re okay,” the redhead sighed, before her face lit up with a faint blush. “Not that I was worried you’d be in over your head, but you know…”

“Yeah, I do,” John said. “I don’t think any of us would feel great about leaving anyone to fight unknown numbers. Thankfully, these guys are only level seven.”

“Suppose throwing strong enemies at us with a time limit isn’t good game design,” Vivian muttered.

“John had the same thought,” Senka said in an amused tone. “I guess great minds think alike.”

John and Vivian both let out bashful chuckles then John asked, “So, you got the key?”

Vivian smiled wide as she held up her hand. Held between her fingers were six golden keys. “I found six. And I found a door that needed three that I hid behind a fake wall.”

John grinned as he approached her. “Brilliant,” he said, pulling her into a brief kiss. “Would love a bit more celebration, but the clock’s ticking.”

“Such a pity that,” Senka drawled. “And we won’t really have the privacy to celebrate until after all this is done.”

“Guess we’ll have to rain check it for later,” John said with a grin. “Besides, it’ll be more fun with Aeolia and Beth involved.”

“Indeed it will be.” Senka matched John’s grin as Vivian moved to unlock the door.

“Let’s not get caught up in fantasies,” she lightly scolded them, though her red cheeks betrayed her real thoughts on that idea.

“Indeed,” Senka remarked in a teasing lilt. “Let’s see what’s behind door number one, shall we?”

Vivian smiled back at Senka then slid the key into the door, and gave it a twist. There was the sound of a heavy tumbler turning, then the door and key vanished, leaving behind only a blank wall.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Senka deadpanned.

“We didn’t get to see the loot from other things,” Vivian tried to defend the choice the barrier made in regards to their prizes, though she couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice.

“Probably better this way,” John said. “We’d get into looking at whatever was behind it and waste more time.”

“Agreed,” Vivian nodded, “and speaking of time, we should get moving. Don’t want to risk one of the others finding the door I hid and either getting the prize before us or setting off the guards.”

“Lead on then!” Senka declared. “Let’s see if we can win this.”

With Senka’s infectious enthusiasm boosting their spirits, they ventured back into the halls, intent on victory.

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.