“Great,” Ayla sighed as they stared at the two men lying on the ground, one face down in the dirt, the other with his head resting in her lap, “Now we have two unconscious idiots.”
“Hey, at least you got a fancy new bit of gear,” Elizabeth chuckled as she inspected the strange weapon her brother had handed her.
“It looks like an Estoc,” Xiu said as she looked at it as well, “A type of European fencing dagger, I believe?”
“Cool, but you definitely got the best deal out of this,” Elizabeth chuckled, pointing to the two rings now hanging from her friend’s hip, Xiu blushing.
“I still do not feel I deserve them,” she sighed, “But…I cannot reject such a gift, as it would bring shame upon my entire house.”
“Enough with the shame talk,” Jessica laughed, before going more serious, “The real question is what we’re going to do once Chris and your brother wake up.”
“What do you mean?” Xiu Ming asked.
“Well, we can’t exactly take him with us anymore,” Alan hummed, “I mean, not after what he’s said and done. But it’s not like we can just leave him here, either.”
“I see,” the girl nodded, reaching into her shirt, “Then…then I may have a solution.”
The others watched as she pulled a cord out from under her armor, revealing a small dark green key tied to the end.
“What’s that?” Elizabeth asked in interest.
“An item I received for completing all eight floors in the Tutorial,” Xiu Ming explained, “According to the System, it is a way to leave this Dungeon at any point, regardless of where you are.”
“And you’ve had this the whole time?” Ayla asked slowly.
“Yes,” Xiu Ming admitted, “I’ve always kept it on me as a sort of good luck charm, but now…now I’m not so sure.”
“You don’t have to use it,” Elizabeth said as she took the other girl’s hands, closing them around the key, “We can figure something out, I’m sure! We can still finish the Dungeon, so we don’t all have to leave!”
“No,” Xiu Ming sighed, “It only works for a single person.”
“Oh,” Ayla nodded, looking at Chu Hwang, “So you intend to use it on your brother?”
“Yes,” the girl nodded, walking over to the young man and kneeling beside him, before she spoke in Chinese, “Wake up, elder brother.”
“I am awake,” he growled, turning his head to glare at her, “Such dishonor you have brought to our family! How dare you let these commoners treat me like this!”
“This is your own fault, elder brother,” Xiu Ming sighed, holding out the key, “Please, use this item to leave the Dungeon, it’s for the best.”
“You would have me flee?” the young man scoffed, fighting against his bindings, “Preposterous! I am Chu Hwang Kong, I never run from a challenge!”
“I am afraid this will have to be the first time, then,” the girl replied softly, placing the cord around his neck, “Please, elder brother, leave. I do not know what will happen to you once Christopher wakes up, and I am afraid you will…say something that makes him kill you.”
“I will tell father of this!” the man shouted as he struggled harder, snarling out his next words, “I will tell him what you are! How you’ve shamed our entire household! You will be exiled like the mistake you have always been!”
“Then…then you will finally get what you’ve always wanted,” Xiu Ming said, her voice growing stronger, “Just as father has always allowed you to have.”
“Do not speak to me like that, Xiu Ming!” the man shouted as she stood, walking away from him, “Do not turn your back on me, you ungrateful bitch! Untie me this instant!”
“That doesn’t sound nice,” Elizabeth said quietly as Xiu Ming walked up to them, flinching as her brother continued to shout insults at her, “Are you going to be okay?”
“I…I don’t honestly know,” she muttered, before lifting her head and smiling, “But it is fine, I will deal with the repercussions once we have completed the Dungeon.”
“What’s with all the noise?” Chris yawned as he blinked awake, looking around at Chu Hwang as the young man continued to thrash around on the floor, shouting in Chinese, “What’s his problem?”
“Nothing,” Xiu Ming said quickly, “Come, we should go to the next floor quickly.”
“And leave him behind?” Chris yawned, “Is that a good idea?”
“I have given him a way out,” Xiu Ming nodded as she watched the man get to his feet, shaking his head to clear the grogginess, “It will be fine.”
“Okay,” Chris nodded as he walked over to the door, touching it, the others copying him, blinking as a screen appeared in front of them.
[You are abandoning a member of your Party. This will incur an Experience penalty going forwards. Is this acceptable?]
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Chris looked at the others, all of them nodding, before he glanced at Xiu Ming, the girl flinching again, before giving a short nod as well.
“Alright then,” Chris said quietly as the door opened, revealing the darkness beyond, “On we go.”
Chu Hwang stared in disbelief as the others all vanished in front of his eyes, screaming as he struggled against the ropes that were tying him up. After a while, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted, and still bound like a beast. Shaking his head, he glared at the key hanging around his neck, before he shut his eyes and snarled.
The key began to glow a moment later, engulfing him in light before he vanished.
------
“So,” Elizabeth hummed as the party walked through the swamp surrounded by an air bubble, sticking to the raised land where they could, walking over the bridges of ice Chris made when they couldn’t, “What was the Boss you fought like?”
“Giant queen been,” her brother chuckled, “Not like you in high school, though. Like an actual insect.”
“How’d you win?” Jessica asked.
“Ripped off its stinger,” Chris replied, “It died pretty soon after that from all its guts falling out.”
“Gross,” the two girls cringed.
“It was pretty gross,” Chris agreed, “But it melted into this honeylike substance soon afterwards, so it wasn’t so bad. Actually, now that I think about it, I probably should have gathered some.”
“For what?” Ayla laughed, “To put on your pancakes or something?”
“Don’t know,” Chris shrugged, “Maybe it could have been useful for alchemy?”
“You’ve already collected a ton of plants on our way here for alchemy, man,” Alan chuckled, “I think you’re pretty much set already.”
“You never know,” Chris laughed, glancing back at the final member of the group, Xiu Ming walking silently behind them, “Xiu? Are you okay?”
“Hmmm?” the girl jumped slightly at the question, before giving a weak smile and nodding, “I am fine. Just…worried about my elder brother.”
“What did he say to you before?” Elizabeth asked, slowing down to walk beside her, “It didn’t sound nice.”
“It…it wasn’t,” Xiu Ming admitted, “I would rather not repeat his words, if that is alright?”
“Of course,” Elizabeth nodded, slipping her hand into Xiu Ming’s, squeezing it gently as the other girl felt her cheeks redden, “Just remember, we’re your friends, and we’ll support you through anything.”
“Thank you,” Xiu Ming whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes, “Thank you very much.”
“Well, enough gloomy talk,” Chris called as he looked at the scroll in his hands, “I think we’re almost at the door to the next floor.”
“How?” Xiu Ming blinked, “It has only been a few hours. It usually takes-.”
“At least a day to traverse the swamp?” Chris chuckled as he showed her the map in his hands, “I have powerful items, though.”
“More like cheats,” Elizabeth laughed as she punched her brother in the arm, shaking her hand out afterwards, “Ow.”
“Serves you right,” Chris laughed back as they spotted the large jade door through the fog, “There it is. Let’s get out of here before my Mana runs out.”
------
“Again, I am shocked by how quickly we’ve managed to move through the floors,” Xiu Ming said as they stood in front of the door to the final floor, “Through here is the final Boss.”
“Well, that means it’s time to set up camp,” Chris nodded as he started pulling items from his bag, Xiu Ming looking at him in surprise, “It’s better to go in fully rested than just try it right away. Plus, you can tell us more about what the Boss can do.”
“Of course,” she nodded as she watched him pull the bathtubs out again, walking off to find a place to put them out of sight, “This is certainly the most comfortable journey I have taken through any Dungeon.”
“I bet,” Jessica laughed, grabbing the girl by the arm and pulling her towards the sound of splashing water, “Come on, let’s take a bath and then I’ll cook us some food! My Cooking Skill just went up a Rank, so I bet the food will be even more delicious than before!”
“Actually, that reminds me, I’ve levelled up,” Elizabeth hummed as she followed them, Ayla beside her, “I should think about what to put my points into.”
“Ah, so have I,” Xiu Ming nodded, “I am somewhat excited by the prospect of having six Free Points to distribute.”
“Right,” Chris called as he walked past them, “Baths are ready. Don’t wait too long or the water will get cold.”
The girls all nodded as they hurried to the baths, grinning as they saw the steam rising off the surface of the water, quickly stripping off. Xiu Ming paused as she neatly folded her clothes, placing the pair of weapons on top of her gear. She still didn’t feel like she deserved them, but something in the back of her mind stopped her from trying to return the chakram. Shaking her head, she headed towards the baths, finding herself blushing as she looked at Elizabeth standing naked beside one of them.
“Come on, slowpoke,” the other girl laughed, “The water will be frozen over by the time you get in at this rate!”
“R-right,” Xiu Ming nodded as she stepped into one of the baths and sank into the hot water with a satisfied sigh.
“This really is great, isn’t it?” Ayla hummed happily as she sat in her own tub, looking over at Xiu Ming, “Sorry, but you still can’t have him, Chris is mine.”
“He’s still my brother,” Elizabeth joked, “So you don’t get him all to yourself!”
“Fair, but he’s all mine in the bedroom, at least,” the older woman chuckled.
“Ew, gross!” Elizabeth huffed, the four women laughing as they relaxed in the hot water.
A distance away, Chris smiled as he heard their laughter, looking at his Status screen.
“You level up at long last?” Alan asked as he sat opposite him, Chris just nodding, “What level are you now?”
“Thirteen,” Chris hummed, “And you?”
“I hit level eleven a while ago,” Alan said proudly, “About two thirds of the way to level twelve now.”
“Good to hear,” Chris smiled, looking back at the screen.
Name: Christopher Trevor Sanders
Level: 13
Class: War Magister
Job: Master Alchemist
Experience: 399/409600
Health: 350/350
Mana: 175/175
Stats:
Strength: 16
Vitality: 25
Dexterity: 20
Intellect: 36
Wisdom: 20
Charisma: 10
Free Points: 6
Titles:
Leader, Explorer, Truly Ambitious, Mage, Giant Slayer, Survivor, Demon, Dragon Slayer
Skills:
[Self-Regeneration lv 17]
[Studious Sage lv 2]
[Elemental Mastery lv 18]
[Weapon Mastery lv 11]
[Armor Mastery lv 10]
[Alchemical Magic lv 14]
[Potioncraft lv 19]
After some thought, he put three points each into Strength and Vitality, before pulling out his Steel Mace and looking at it.
“What’s up?” Alan asked as he watched the other man inspecting the weapon.
“When I fought the extra Boss earlier, my mace was all but useless. Even against the extra monsters,” he hummed, closing his eyes as he focused on it, “Probably because it’s only Rank C. I want to see if I can improve it just a little so we can have some weapons that will actually hurt the Dryad Boss.”
“Huh, that sounds like a good plan,” Alan nodded, “Need any help?”
“Not just yet,” Chris muttered, “Thanks, though.”
“Anytime, mate,” the Defender chuckled, “Anytime.”
