Ch 86
When morning arrived, Matt felt a mix of relief and concern that none of the others had shown up, although this was expected based on what Greg had explained. However, Greg didn't allow him much time to ponder the situation, as he appeared eager to kickstart the day. The first words Greg uttered after they completed their stretching routine caught Matt by surprise.
“Alright, today I think we should try to leave the safe room for at least an hour and explore the area around us,” Greg proposed with a hint of excitement in his voice.
“What if this area closes up on us?” Apricity questioned, her brow furrowed with worry. “I’m not saying it will, but we know so little about how this place operates, and for all we know, this room could vanish the moment it is out of sight.”
“I’m not sure I am following your logic,” Greg replied, a puzzled expression on his face. “I would think if that were going to happen, it would have occurred the moment we all stepped outside the room.”
“Either way, we should ensure that we are prepared for the long haul if that situation arises,” commented Matt, glancing at Apricity. “Plus, even with a map, there’s always the possibility that something could prevent us from being able to return.”
“The two of you are tempting fate,” grumbled Greg, shaking his head. “Really, now if I say nothing is going to happen, it will surely happen. So, let’s take some time to get ready. I’ll use the charcoal from the last fire to leave a message in case the others show up while we’re gone.”
“What are you going to write?” asked Apricity, raising an eyebrow.
“I’ll just say that both Matt and I are here and that they should wait a few hours before assuming we won’t return. That way, even if this room somehow closes up on us, they’ll at least know we were here.”
“Alright, just leave my presence out of it,” Apricity replied with a slight smile.
“Worried they might plan something while we’re away?” Greg teased.
“No, I just want to meet them before they start speculating about what my being here means,” Apricity explained, unable to hide her worry.
“Who knows? Maybe we won’t encounter them until much later,” Matt interjected. “My gut tells me they are going to be dropped off somewhere else in this world, as I was only informed that you would appear near me.”
“In that case, we should seek out as many of these safe rooms as possible and make our way to the surface to gather information if they don’t show up in the next few days,” Greg responded thoughtfully.
“I’m not sure it will be that straightforward, but there’s nothing else I can think of,” Matt commented, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
“There’s always the option of ignoring all reason and conquering the world by clearing the dungeon,” Apricity suggested with a mischievous glint in her eye. “I mean, I know you were advised to avoid over-leveling, but if we’re going to disregard the warning about heading to the surface, why not ignore that one as well?”
“To avoid becoming a big fish in a small pond,” Greg explained. “When we return to Earth, we’re already likely to be among the strongest. However, if we become too powerful, it will hinder our growth there, and we’ll have to leave if we want to continue leveling up.”
"Would that be so bad?" asked Apricity thoughtfully. "I mean, from what we've observed, leveling up involves killing things. Why would we want to taint Earth with so much bloodshed?"
"I don’t think we’re going to find ourselves back on the same Earth we left," commented Matt, his brow furrowed in contemplation. "If it was, terraforming wouldn’t have been part of the message we received."
"Exactly," agreed Greg, nodding. "In fact, I would be willing to bet every single bit of complex life was treated just like humans and sent off to somewhere designed for their growth. As for what exactly that entails, well, I suspect Bob might be able to provide us with some answers. However, I've had a different thought about things after hearing about the school of fish mentality. Every time a new planet is brought under the system’s guidance, it attempts to create the strongest planet yet. To achieve that, it sends us all to develop on the weakest planets before filtering us up to more powerful ones. It does this under a strict time limit for some reason, likely to maintain some sense of fairness. Then, it sends all the survivors back to their home world to struggle for supremacy, away from those who could easily conquer their world."
“Doesn't that mean Matt should want to gain as much power as he can?” Apricity inquired, her curiosity piqued.
“Not necessarily,” replied Greg. “Just as the system rewards those who fight above their level, it also punishes those fighting below their level. If Matt were to return and be over 30 levels beyond anyone else, it could lead to us declaring him the ruler. Aside from dealing with a few monsters, there wouldn’t be many battles.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Apricity pressed, her brow furrowing in thought.
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“Our world would become one of those lost in a sea of fish,” Matt interjected before Greg could respond. “At least sooner than the system would prefer. I suspect the way things are set up, such fates are inevitable without methods to introduce new monsters.”
“That’s where dungeons play their part,” Greg commented, nodding in agreement. “If something is really recreating the same monsters repeatedly, then places like this are perfect for those who refuse to be trapped in a world of stagnant sameness. Now, let’s get to exploring these caves.”
With that, the conversation ended as they pushed all thoughts beyond the impending battle out of their minds. It began with a repetition of the same skirmish they had endured more times than they cared to count. Afterward, they found themselves wandering in silence for nearly 20 minutes, their footsteps echoing softly in the stillness, when Apricity finally pointed out what appeared to be a swarm of black, spiked balls with wings hovering ominously in the distance. Matt frowned as he prepared for battle, but Greg stepped forward, his eyes narrowing in concentration, and with a powerful blast of wind, sent all the spiked balls crashing into the ground.
Afterward, they appeared to be trapped, and Matt swiftly rushed over to finish them off with precise thrusts from his knives. Fortunately, his blade was about an inch longer than the six-inch spikes that covered what he later learned were called spike bats, which were level 10 swarm monsters. It wasn’t until Greg spent some time examining them that he deduced how they probably functioned, gradually identifying more weaknesses and understanding exactly how their biology operated.
"Amazing! Their tips are hollow needles, and I bet that's how they feed. Look here, there's even a gland that I suspect can excrete poison when they attack. Still, they are easily dealt with if they lose a wing or are struck by anything that can fit between their spikes. However, if they use echolocation, as their name suggests, you would need to attack them with something faster than sound to hit them reliably. Fortunately, I am an excellent counter; knocking them out of the air with a spell was easy since they can't see it coming."
"Alright, but what I really want to know is if we should expect to face so few monsters," asked Matt, noticing Greg had finished examining the spiked bats. "I mean, we've walked quite a bit and even made several turns along the way, yet we've only faced this second attack."
"Think of it like this: if you had to fight more monsters every ten or so feet, you'd never get very far," Greg explained. "I think we should expect a couple of fights per hour. Maybe there will be areas where attacks happen more frequently, but it seems like this dungeon is designed to be beatable."
"Then should we keep going?" Apricity inquired. "So far, we haven't encountered anything that should give us problems, and my map will ensure we can find our way back."
"No, we should turn back, but on the way, I want to quickly look down a few of the turns we didn't take," Greg replied. "If the path we took was as safe as it seemed, it'll provide a good escape route if we need to run."
"I could always use my skill, and we'd have about an hour of safe directions to follow," Apricity added, her eyes scanning their surroundings cautiously.
"Your skill is likely to last longer now," stated Greg confidently. "Additionally, I want to use it solely as an escape skill because we need to engage in fights, and for all we know, it might interact with the dungeon in a way that prevents any monsters from spawning on the path it guides you down."
"Or it might just ensure that we only encounter monsters we can handle safely," Matt countered thoughtfully. "We should consider using it after we have a better understanding of which monsters appear where and observe if it alters anything."
"I can agree to that," Greg concurred with a nod. "Now, let's start heading back."
The journey back was uneventful, as they only walked about 20 feet down all the turns they had previously passed as they retraced their path, and nothing threatened them. The two steel hounds hadn’t even returned, and when they arrived back at the safe room, everything appeared unchanged as they settled in. However, it wasn't long before Greg started speaking.
"It seems like distance isn't enough to reset spawn points, and we can expect them to reappear approximately every four hours. That is, assuming we're experiencing time normally, since there's no day-night cycle here. For all we know, it might have only been half a day since I arrived."
"It's more likely that we are experiencing a day that is slightly longer," stated Apricity, her brows furrowed in contemplation. "At least if the places we were before weren't too far off from what a normal day back on Earth was. Really, we have no way of knowing exactly how many days have passed without access to some kind of timer that counts time the same way we do."
"I didn't even think about differing time scales," commented Greg, scratching his head as he pondered the complexity. "I mean, it should be a given that every planet would have a different day length, and counting time in such a manner for anyone who travels between planets must be useless."
"I bet you a universal time will be unlocked in the menu at some point," stated Matt, with a hint of optimism in his voice. "Then we would all just have to live by system time."
"That could be why those who only reach F rank are deemed failures—they can't even access system time," agreed Greg. "Still, level 9 merely allows us to view the same stats screen that appears each time we level up. Perhaps if we were to advance a few more levels, we might gain access to a clock, although I'd prefer a detailed explanation of our skills first."
"We're going to need a lot more combat experience if we hope to level up, as I'm just about halfway to level 10," he added with a determined look in his eyes.
"Then we should test out my safe passage skill once we're certain the hounds have returned," commented Apricity, glancing at the shadows lengthening around them. "After that, I suggest we make plans for tomorrow and venture much farther than we did today. We might even try to locate a second safe room to use as a rest point before heading back."
"You're not trying to make us miss when the others arrive, are you?" Greg asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice as he scanned Apricity's face for any telltale signs.
"We don't even know if they will show up here," argued Apricity. "Bob and I are just one level away from being able to leave this place. If they aren't here by the time I reach level 9, then we should assume they ended up somewhere else."
Greg appeared as if he wanted to argue the point, but Matt interjected first.
"As much as I hope the others arrive soon, Apricity is right; we can't just stay here and wait for them indefinitely. So, when we do leave, we'll try to mark the path we took, and Apricity, I want you to copy the map you have on that wall over there."
Greg smiled at the suggestion, and Apricity nodded in agreement. She took one of the steel ribs they had and a rock to begin etching grooves into the wall. Matt frowned slightly, thinking she could have used charcoal, but he had to admit that her method would likely endure longer.
