“Is everyone from round 5 some kind of weirdo?” Spacewolf declares in an unprovoked attack.
That little jerk sure sounds confident hiding behind that mountain of muscle, and as we sit there and plan, he only grows more bold. He’s already been badmouthing the others, and now I’m his target.
Some of his confidence might be bought by his worth as well. He introduced himself as a healer after all.
I just look at him and don’t bother answering.
“You’re wearing that mask, Savant’s just sitting off to the side, and he hasn’t said a word since he arrived. And you haven’t made any attempts at speaking to him either,” the boy continues.
This time I glance at his bodyguard, wondering if I have a chance at sneaking in a petty attack on the boy.
The tournament winner seems to catch onto my intent and flashes a bright smile, placing his teeth on display. A clear challenge gleams in his eyes.
For some reason, that only makes me want to do it even more, and as carefully as I can, I start moving my mana toward the annoying boy.
“Spacewolf,” Leticia says in a gentle tone, “there are some people who just don’t feel the need to talk very much. Noname and Savant might just need some time to get comfortable with us, maybe they’ll be ready to talk then, so let’s not be rude, okay?”
Surprisingly, that makes the boy blush, and he looks to the side, away from the young woman in question.
As if she had something to say, the golden retriever Luna pokes her owner, and Leticia just smiles at her, booping her on the nose a few times.
Somehow that gentle-looking woman with her short black hair has taken on the role of a placeholder leader. At the very least she seems focused on trying to guide us to a shared goal.
At that point, I decide to ignore the fact that I was the one who called them all here and hope that no one remembers.
“Didn’t Noname call us all here? Shouldn’t he explain what this is all about?” Savant’s voice interrupts. I don’t even have to turn around to know that he isn’t even looking in our direction.
As eyes turn to me and I sigh. “It’s simple. There is a place I want to reach on the 1st floor. It’s close to a safe zone where you can find a ‘checkpoint’. We will be moving in that direction together, and when we get close I intend to split off from the group while you continue on to the safe zone. I’ll even finish off most of the lurkers to get them to focus on me and time the end of my stay token, so I can escape. That way you don’t experience any losses.”
“What if I want to go with you? It sounds fun,” the bald man asks smugly.
“Then the deal’s off. What’s at that place is mine and mine only.”
“And if I lie and follow you anyways?” he pushes.
“Then I will fuck you up.”
Leticia quickly jumps in, “Noname, CarrotCake, there’s no need to go that far. There are countless lurkers you could fight, even other Beyonders. There is no need for the people of Earth to fight each other.”
“I would like to remind everyone that each of us is wasting their stay tokens because of these two,” Savant follows up, throwing in some wisdom of his own, from his seat further away, probably so he can escape if things get too hairy.
“I agree with Savant,” Derick interjects, turning to me, “Did you plan this as an Earthlings only expedition? Or do you want to recruit others?”
“I had planned to go alone, but then I thought it would be better to have a few more people just in case I meet a powerful named one.”
“Have you met any before?”
“Yes, Whitey.”
That seems to catch Derick’s interest, “I’ve heard of him. He’s supposed to be one of the oldest.”
“How does he compare strength-wise to other named lurkers?” I ask.
“Noelle, any idea?” He asks, turning to the woman next to him.
Her voice is quiet and soft, and very soothing, “As far as I remember, he’s supposed to be a demon with long white hair and kinetic energy. He is one of the oldest, but not the strongest. That’s as much as we know, Mr. Noname.”
“That’s about what I expected, he’s pretty much just like you said. Wide-range kinetic energy field and excellent perception—there is no chance of hiding from him. The place I want to go is near his territory.”
“How do we know you don’t want to use us as decoys while you run away and do something else?” Derick asks me, curiosity evident in his voice.
“He won’t do that as long as you don’t give him a reason to,” Savant says, much to my surprise.
Before I can react, Leticia joins in, “Luna and I have decided to trust Noname as well, and with three tournament winners accompanying us, I don’t think we need to recruit any more attendees. If we hurry, we should be able to reach the safe zone, especially if Noname takes most of the lurkers on himself, and we ditch him once things get hairy.” She smiles at me and winks as she speaks.
“Aren’t guide dogs supposed to be for blind people?”
The question seems to take Leticia aback, but she smiles softly, “You really don’t have much tact, do you, Noname? Yes, they usually are for the blind or visually impaired, but that’s not strictly the case.”
We reach the entrance to the first floor and pause. At which point Leticia continues, “I was blind until the second floor, you know.”
Then she leaves to talk with Derick and the muscle man about something, and I watch her go.
Yep, I knew it. She can’t be normal. There’s no way anyone who survived a month blind on the first floor is normal.
Before entering the first floor of Beyond’s dungeon, we share as much information as we can—mostly about the first floor.
Then, we step inside.
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 return from the Entrance Floor.
1st floor quest:???
Rewards:
7-day Stay Token
???
We find ourselves in a sickly-looking area. There are a lot of fallen trees, dried-up grass, water so stagnant that it may as well just be poison. A few old buildings made of crumbling stone bricks can be seen in the distance.
There are huge craters and other signs of damage everywhere we look. Crumbling mountains, sprawling fields pocked with craters, and the drooping edges of melted buildings, with their stone facades crumbling to dust.
As before, the rocky ceiling looms above, reminding me of our presence deep underground. With it, the gravity increases, pulling more heavily on my mana, drawing it toward something far beneath my feet.
Looking at the power levels of the people here, I find myself growing more confident about this expedition than the one before. Looking back I don’t think anyone other than the leader was noticeably stronger than any of us.
I also get rid of the mask made of mana and the fire effect around the crown. The mana signatures and presences of all the people around us disappearing is weirdly comfortable as we enter that destroyed environment of the first floor.
“You’re actually quite handsome. This isn’t how I imagined you, Noname. Though I noticed it even with your mask on—your eyes are beautiful. Heterochromia, right?” Leticia asks.
“Yes,” I answer, my senses shooting into the area around us and as I do, I notice that everyone does something similar.
Not wasting time, we get to running in the direction I pointed out, taking a bit of a detour, to avoid Whitey, whom I intend to pay a visit on my own.
Luna runs slightly ahead of us, and even though I can’t sense anything, I’m sure she’s scouting ahead in her own way.
There is not a single presence as far as I can sense.
Nothing even after thirty minutes.
Going by the expressions on everyone’s faces, even they find this strange, and I can sense them rushing to stack skills and effects around their bodies while keeping their senses sharp.
No one speaks anymore, but the bulky man seems to be growing more excited by the moment.
Despite all our scanning, we detect no presences—not even the slightest trace of mana or primordial energy. The place feels devoid of life both natural and unnatural.
Another hour passes, and still, we encounter no enemies.
We pass a massive mountain, its sides overgrown with unnatural vegetation.
We pass a lake with bubbling light green water.
We pass a city that looks like some enormous creature stomped it flat.
And yet, no one attacks us.