In For A Penny (I)

  Fifteen minutes had long passed.

  At the call of their captain, the assembly of trainees numbering more than two dozen strong slowly progressed further into the cavernous pit of darkness.

  A few more monsters had come lunging at them in that time, but they had ultimately been served the same fate as their goblin counterparts. After their first encounter with the goblin horde, the trainee hunters were naturally starting to build upon their newly acquired confidence and experience. Anything that didn’t match up to, or even surpass their earliest encounter wasn’t going to be an issue.

  The overall appearance of the cavern hadn’t completely changed, however the walls, ceiling and floor were adopting a more cave-like structure as they went on, to the point where stalactites would occasionally come falling from above.

  “Cyril there you are!” A sweet-sounding voice rippled into his ears. Recognizing it, Cyril turned his head attentively, making sure to lower his gaze this time.

  “You...didn’t have any serious injuries, did you?” Angelica asked, her gaze softening with the question.

  “No, it wasn’t much. Just a few scratches here and there that’s all.”

  “Great, I didn’t get injured, but I was looking around for a stamina potion.”

  Angelica continued on with her friendly chatter—much to Cyril's inattentiveness, because the whole time she was speaking his senses were being consumed by a frigid presence peering into his back. He felt as though it would freeze him on the spot if he didn’t address it, so he did the only thing he could do.

  “Um, Angelica...”

  “Yes?” She answered, sounding inquisitive.

  “Your retainer—Yelena, is she okay with you sneaking off like that again?”

  “She said it was fine, why?”

  “Well, the thing is...” He began, creaking his neck around to glance at the pair of dead fish eyes staring into his soul.

  “....she might have changed her mind. Can you go confirm with her again?” Cyril probed, his tone sounding wishful.

  “I do not mind, Cyril Severin. I was merely observing your interaction with the young miss, that is all.” Yelena’s voice was close enough to his ear that it made him flinch slightly, the soft whisper brushing against his skin like a cool breeze.

  Suppressing a shriek, he responded awkwardly.

  “O-oh that’s good to know. I was a little confused at first since your gaze is so...strong.”

  “I’ve been told that before, but you don’t need to worry. So long as your intentions are pure, no harm will come your way.” Yelena explained, finishing with a more human sounding intonation in her voice.

  After hearing that, Cyril nervously scratched his neck in relief. Maybe I was misjudging her...He admitted inwardly, no longer seeing the need to fear for his life.

  “What do you mean by ‘pure intentions’ Yelena?” Angelica sent that question to her aid with a shrewd grin. With that kind of expression anyone could tell what her real intentions were.

  Cyril registered her tactic first after utterly failing to conceal the developing red spots on his cheeks.

  “There have been multiple instances where I've caught him stealing a glance of-”

  “It was an accident!” His cry—which sounded more like a plea—had earned a series of giggles from Angelica and a tilt of the head from Yelena. The latter of the two processed his reaction with the slightest hint of curiosity.

  “Everybody hold your positions and form up!”

  Only one person could ever issue a command with such tenacity. Upon registering the voice, their bodies halted on the spot. The sudden declaration yanked all the attention towards their captain, a fact Cyril couldn’t be more proud of. If it hadn’t been for that he wasn’t sure how he would have gotten away with any kind of explanation.

  The walls of their cave-like surroundings shimmered faintly in hues of blue and green, illuminated by the ghostly glow of bioluminescent fungi clinging to the stone. Towering stalactites hung like ancient chandeliers, their points sharp and glistening with condensation that dripped rhythmically to the uneven floor below. Stalagmites rose to meet them, creating jagged columns that seemed to support the weight of the earth itself.

  The place was crudely hewn into the semblance of a "chamber," and when their diminutive figures were set against the backdrop of the cold, unyielding stone walls, it gave the unsettling impression of stepping directly into the gaping jaws of a slumbering beast.

  “We certainly picked one hell of a place to stop in, it doesn’t look like we’re under attack either.” Arden muttered aloud upon emerging from Cyril’s right. He gave a curt nod to both Yelena and Angelica on arrival, making Cyril wonder if his personality had done a complete one eighty in those last few minutes.

  “You’re about to find out why.” replied Cyril, who was now considerably more composed. He was the first to move forward and blend into the shuffling crowd being drawn to Ralph’s position like moths to a flame.

  Ralph faced the curious crowd of eyes with a stern expression. He jammed his shield into the ground defensively and took a deep breath before beginning.

  “It looks like we have a problem.” He said, beginning on a grim note.

  “Originally this path was supposed to lead into the second floor of the labyrinth, however-”

  “Somethings down there, right? Something unusual...” Cyril interrupted, splitting the crowd with his response.

  Stunned by the answer, Ralph swapped glances back and forth a few times, unsure if he had heard the boy correctly. “You can see it, Severin?” he asked, eyes sharpening instinctively.

  “I can sense it. I’m not sure exactly what it is but...” He trailed off to take a few steps forward, then pointed at something behind Ralph.

  “Whatever’s down there; it isn’t supposed to be here, that much I’m sure of. It seems ‘different’ somehow—It feels artificial, like someone put it there and it's not a natural part of this place.”

  “Down there?” probed Angelica, shielding her eyes. “I don’t see anything”

  “Allow me. I’ll deal with the lighting.”

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  The one who answered Angelica’s query was none other than Marcel Phoenix. He had taken the initiative and abandoned his previous position at the rear to partake in the view. A swirl of radiant particles began gathering in his palm and before long, they coagulated to form a small red sphere that sparked into a bright ember flame. Stepping forward, Marcel casually tossed the ball of flames through the air. It swerved around Ralph’s position before crashing into the ground and blazing a brilliant trail of light into the darkness.

  Less than three seconds later the flaming sphere crashed into something with a loud boom, scattering its embers everywhere to serve as a temporary source of illumination. Now the path before them was clear, paved by a trail of dying embers.

  All at once more than two dozen pairs of eyes narrowed expectantly, then after processing the visual information those same eyes widened in shock.

  “H-Hey Cyril...isn’t that what they call a-”

  “A Boss room—that’s what I’m gathering from the design anyway...”

  The term made Arden shudder on the spot; he took a step back out of shock; though the motion had little effect.

  The object in question lay a few meters behind Ralph's current position: two large stone doors, engraved with indecipherable symbols and intricate runic markings. The doors were set into a massive, hemispherical stone arch that stretched nearly ten meters in length, supporting the unnatural size of the structure.

  “Have we arrived at the boss room yet Captain Ralph? I thought the boss wouldn’t be showing up until we got to the end of the labyrinth’s second floor.” Inquired Angelica, her brows furrowing as she stared at the eerie sight bathing in the warm afterglow.

  “Yeah, that’s the issue. The cores we extracted from this dungeon were integrated into Babylon’s grid, so we can reopen the gate here anytime. We've had stable access for years and even mapped out the layout—but that room’s a problem, it's not on any map. That’s why I stopped you. This path was supposed to take us straight to the second-floor boss in Ba’al’s Labyrinth, but it looks like the dungeon isn’t playing nice today.”

  Ralph paused for a few seconds and allowed the weight of those words to linger in the air.

  “I see. It’s been some time since I last came to this dungeon, but I don’t remember this being here either.” Yelena piped up, imbuing more authority into her tone. “If that’s really the case then it would mean that this is a phantom room.” She continued, pointing at the runic markings etched into the elaborate stone arc.

  “Wait...a phantom room? I’ve never heard of anything like that before Yelena. What is it? What’s so special about that door?” Angelica’s vehement plea commanded the attention of the entire assembly.

  Her sentiment resonated with the dozens of trainees gathering around and the resulting murmurs left their Captain with no choice but to give an earnest reply.

  “Fine, it's only fair for you to know since this is your assessment and all.” Ralph responded, sighing a little before he began.

  “I’m not sure how many of you have heard of it, but there is a postulate known as the Ontos Theory. It's an old idea that has never been proven, but at the same time it hasn't been disproven either. The theory was constructed to prove that the world of Ziggurat is a sentient being. These ‘Phantoms’ as we call them are one of the foundations supporting that theory.”

  The space around them had already gone dead silent, but Ralphs words alone were enough to drag even the sounds of trickling condensation into a lull cadence.

  “Phantoms are simply spaces inside Ziggurat that have no definite position and are able to insert themselves into already established areas. Basically, it means that some spaces inside Ziggurat are able to freely move on their own, and the room behind me is an example of that. Phantoms have been encountered less than twenty times in the past fifty years, so they were largely considered to be a myth, until now that is. Looks like the rumors were true after all...”

  Finishing with a hoarse cough, he rested his expression to ease the tension that was being reflected back at him.

  “Ahem! Anyway, Ms. Riot. Is correct. There shouldn’t be anything like this on the lower floors. Since this is an unexpected situation, I’m afraid we’ll have to-”

  “Wait a moment, captain Ralph.”

  Slowly, Ralph shifted his head in the direction of that voice. His eyes flared with scrutiny but he somehow managed to swallow the preemptive rejection that had settled on his chest.

  “Yes, Mr. Adler? Do you have some kind of suggestion to make?”

  “Naturally. I assume you were about to cancel the assessment here, but would that really be a wise thing to do? I mean, for the most part Phantoms are considered to be enigmas, but the data collected by our Phoenix guild has suggested that they are little more than unexplored areas.” Evan explained, his voice bouncing off the vaulted walls.

  “There might be some peculiar monsters in there, but would they really give us that much trouble?” The man's confidence was irrefutable. That was the kind of presence he exuded despite the foreboding nature of the large door which had been consumed by darkness once more.

  “As I thought. It seems you’re in a hurry to help young Marcel climb his way back up to his former status. I’m not disregarding the information that’s been gathered by your guild but please do keep in mind that these are trainees. They aren’t prepared to take on any unexpected situations yet.”

  Countered Ralph in a gruff voice, his tone carrying a slight hint of hesitance.

  “Oh? Then isn’t this the perfect opportunity to get them accustomed to such situations? You’re currently serving as the proctor so all you would have to do is tweak the conditions of the assessment. Besides, they are being accompanied by two B ranks, an A rank and a former C rank. Even if it is a phantom room, I am confident that we are experienced enough to rally any situation, wouldn’t you agree, Miss Riot?”

  Yelena stared ahead absentmindedly; she gave a curt nod after taking a moment to assess Evan’s proposal.

  “I have prior experience with a Phantom room, and for the most part its not very different from what Evan described. To be honest, I would also like to get this assessment out of the way as soon as possible, so I'm more than willing to lend my assistance.”

  Her tone, expression, and posture. Nothing about them had changed— in fact they still had that hardened, unyielding quality about them however, everyone could tell that she was serious.

  With a look of satisfaction on his face Evan swiftly turned his attention towards the speechless trainees. The crowd shuffled and shifted irregularly, as though they were all trying to catch a whiff of the conversation literally taking place above their heads.

  “And what say you all? This is your evaluation, so you actually do have a say in this. We can decide by majority vote to see how many of you are willing to participate in this rare opportunity, after all there might be a dungeon core in there. Currently, there are thirty of you gathered here and including us seniors, that makes thirty-three. With an odd number like that a show of hands should suffice for the vote.”

  Evan announced in an unusually high-spirited tone. Unlike before when he was actively distancing himself from the cohort, his attitude had completely flipped, he even went as far as to spare them a ‘smile’.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I, Evan Adler, promise to guide you to the best of my abilities. You have my word.”

  What a shred guy.... Cyril thought that to himself, but at the same time he actually heard Angelica saying it out loud. She quickly realized and gave him an embarrassed grin, putting a finger to her lips and silently mouthing the words ‘Oops sorry’.

  “I have no objection to that approach, but this decision will be final.” Declared Ralph somewhat reluctantly.

  Satisfied with that answer Evan quickly commenced the voting process. The option of advancing and retreat were both addressed separately and each time the motion was raised a series of hands went up in approval. Once the three hunters had finished their recount, Ralph stepped forward to announce the results.

  “Alright the results have been finalized, the total count came out to 16:17. Per the votes cast, it's been decided that we will move forward with the assessment. The goal here is to simply explore the phantom room as a group and return. If we encounter any monsters, us hunters will handle them depending on their presumed threat level. Do not wander off on your own under any circumstances.”

  The assembly’s confirmation lagged for a few seconds, but after witnessing Marcel boldly take a step forward—followed by Cyril and Angelica—the typical “Yes sir” eventually rippled through the crowd, hesitant at first but growing stronger as others joined in.

  Their march didn’t take very long, after only half a minute they arrived at the base of the archaic looking door. Ralph ran a finger across the cold stone structure, it came away with a bit of dust, but nothing more.

  “What’s this? ‘Destiny begets fate', huh?” Ralph mused, staring up at the inscriptions carved along the stone arc.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Evan and Yelena—who had now assumed central positions — giving him the earnest nod to proceed. Infusing a surge of mana into his body, Ralph enveloped himself in a thin coat of aura for the first time today. He braced an open palm against both sides of the large door before exerting more force into his limbs.

  With his strength amplified, the large doors—likely weighing as much as a small car—slowly screeched open, grating across the floor with a hoarse sound.

  “Alright, let’s go.” Ralph said, equipping his shield with an air of quiet determination.

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