Chương 94: 93 - Triumphant Exit

Alexandra stood in front of the dungeon's massive metal doors, her throat sore and her stomach empty. She had thought she'd be free from hunger after clearing the malediction. She had also thought she'd packed enough supplies for her dungeon run. Turns out, she'd been wrong. Something that was happening a tad too often for her liking. Next time, she vowed, she'd overprepare. She tapped her fingers on the metal. It was cold. Of course, there was no way to tell time inside this place.

She'd been waiting for what felt like a long time, but even half an hour would feel like that here. Determined not to waste her day, she got to work on unraveling the sickness of empathy. Following the pattern she'd identified when lifting the curse version of her sickness, she looked for a membrane coating the interior of her core. But try as she might, she didn't find it. It wasn't lost on her that her malediction issue had solved itself, rather than her solving it.

Maret was only a Platinum, and if maledictions were as advanced as Tristan claimed, it was already close to a miracle for the alchemist to create one. Malediction of infinite hunger was faulty. A failed product. In its endless desire to improve, it had consumed even itself. Not that she was complaining. It was a good thing for her. But it meant that locating a sickness would be more complicated. After all, her sickness of empathy came from Life Curse. So, as far as Alexandra could tell, it came from the system.

No shame to Maret, but the system was naturally better at making curses. When the curse of cold blood naturally dissipated, she started having trouble staying focused. There was only so much introspection she could take before growing bored, and perhaps a little restless. She stepped away from the closed door and opened her journal. Quest Journal Daily Reset: 06: 00 | Streak: 36 Days | 2% All Stats, 2% Skill experience Next Milestone: 50 Days Daily Quests: Talk to ten different people (0/10) Easy quest, right?

Except she was alone inside this stupid dungeon instance. Hopefully, the group of Bronze from yesterday would still be outside. Then she could run to Kator and finish her quest. It would be night, but surely, they'd allow her to enter. She was a student of the Iron Library. Maybe she should have taken one of those class perks that would help her protect her streak. Having to scramble every day was starting to exhaust her. When it was just a game, daily quests were quick.

Only in the later days of her streak did they start taking a lot more time, and that was because she couldn't find other players to help her. Maintaining a streak in real life was proving to be a lot more involved. She looked at her streak. Thirty-six. Alexandra smiled. Thirty-six was not nearly as good as 3, 841. But it was thirty-six quests she'd fought hard to complete.

"Thirty-six," she repeated, playing with the number in her mind. Maybe someday she would stop. But for now, she wanted to see what awaited her at the fifty-day milestone. It'd be a shame to stop so close to the goalpost. Today's quest was simple enough. She just needed that damned door to open. The gates were tall, reaching all the way to the ceiling. Taller than any gate she'd seen, even on Earth. Not that Earth doors were particularly tall. She walked around the room, examining the mushrooms to pass time.

The trolls seemed to be eating them. Maybe they were edible. She licked her lips.

"This isn't a good idea. However…" She had only explored a single tunnel out of the three leading out of the entrance chamber. There had to be more trolls down there. If need be, she could drain some healing in the event that the mushrooms were not meant for human consumption. Thinking about more trolls made her wonder if she really had killed the chieftain. What if that large troll had just been that: a large troll? What if the real chieftain was waiting somewhere at the end of a tunnel she hadn't explored?

A metallic crack rang behind her, saving her from the mushrooms. She looked back. The door was moving. She stepped closer, but waited for the gates to open fully. With the size of them, she didn't want to risk being crushed. Behind the gates there was only darkness. It wasn't night. Night was dark, but it wasn't pitch black like what she was seeing. It was like a wall where reality stopped existing. There was the cavern, then the gates, then nothing.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Slowly, she stepped forward. Walking into the dark was intimidating, but there wasn't another way out. She probed the wall of darkness with her foot. It went through. Then she pushed her leg inside. Then the rest of her body, and her head. The first thing she saw on the other side was the quiet flicker of a campfire burning in the base camp. Then, a row of armed orange-robed students, waiting to enter the dungeon.

She blinked, but she wasn't the most surprised of the lot.

"You entered the dungeon?" a boy shouted. It was Perrin.

"And you're alive. How?"

"She doesn't even look injured," another boy said. Alexandra didn't recognize him. He hadn't been there when she entered.

"Where is your team?"

"She has no team, Wally," Yenne said, locking eyes with Alexandra.

"Bullshit," the boy continued.

"An Iron cannot clear the chieftain alone." Nobody answered.

"Hello," Alexandra said, an awkward smile plastered on her face. Fuck, what do I say? There were at least twenty Bronzes here.

"A—Alexandra? Is that you?" A girl's voice rose from behind the group. She pushed between the front row, appearing before her.

"Haste?" She smiled.

"It's you! I knew I recognized your voice. Whoa, your scars are gone! What's going on? You still have white hair, though, and a missing finger. Oh no, sorry! I'm running my mouth again." Alexandra opened her mouth and stared at Haste. She wasn't the only one.

"Rude," Yenne said. Haste looked at her feet.

"Sorry." Wally wasn't done. He hadn't moved, but the rest of the group had shifted slightly, creating space around him.

"An Iron," he said again, calmly.

"I've never heard of a Bronze beating the chieftain alone. You need a full team at Bronze minimum. How?"

"Wally." Someone from the back.

"I'm not being rude, I just—" He stopped. Looked between Alexandra and the others.

"Sorry, I mean, aren't you all curious?" Haste met Alexandra's gaze and nodded with energy.

"I'm super curious, but you don't have to tell me." Alexandra opened her mouth again.

"That's enough." The voice came from near the campfire. She hadn't noticed the man sitting there. Blue robes, older, forty or near it. He stood, and the group went quiet.

"You have a dungeon to enter," he said.

"Form your groups, and enter one by one." Wally and Haste closed their mouths. Yenne and Perrin looked at her as they walked toward the entrance. Their group was going first. Silence fell on the basecamp when the last group crossed the dungeon's boundary. The Keeper straightened the collar of his robes and turned to her with a smile.

"Remarkable, Miss Alexandra," he said.

"Truly. I've studied and taught at the library for close to fifty years, and I've never seen someone take on the Troll Cave alone." He paused.

"I suppose the Magus might have done it. Perhaps some of the elders, too. But that's a rare achievement nonetheless." She nodded.

"Thank you for your help…"

"Lelan. Lelan Magister." He smiled.

"A fitting name, isn't it?" She nodded again and shook his hand.

"Now that you've given them a glimpse of your powers," he continued.

"The students will talk. Miss Alexandra, I hope you're ready for what is to come. Someone like you cannot stay anonymous for long. Not here." She winced.

"The Magus ordered us to let things happen at their own pace. You can rest assured that I will not be the one spreading the news. Neither will my colleagues." He exhaled.

"Alas, you are exceptional, and such a thing cannot be hidden. Even if the details of why and how aren't shared." Alexandra rubbed her eyebrows. Someone save me from this guy. The students were bad enough, but a Keeper sucking up to her was making her even more uncomfortable.

"Thank you, mister Magister," she said.

"I will keep your warnings in mind. Now, if you'll excuse me, this dungeon run took longer than expected, and I have to return to the academy." His smile froze.

"Of course. I would suggest you wait for sunrise, as it's easy to get lost crossing the forest at night. I'm not holding you back, but I have prepared food and drinks while we wait for my students." He gestured at the campfire.

"Your call." Alexandra was almost tempted to agree. Almost. He's just too annoying. I'd rather go hungry. They weren't that deep in the forest. How hard could it be?

"I'm afraid I have commitments I'm already late to," she said.

"A shame." He shook his head.

"Well, Miss Alexandra, may Tash illuminate your path." She walked to the edge of the forest faster than she'd ever walked, her skin crawling. Then, she followed the path, under the faint moonlight. As she walked, she checked her journal. It was dark, but maybe because it was a class art, she was able to read its content as if it were day. Talk to ten different people (10/10) -> Quest Completed: +10 exp, +1 INT Daily Quest Streak: 36 -> 37 Alexandra sighed in relief.

She'd been worried that her "Hello" wouldn't be enough to count as talking. You've achieved a feat: Intrepid Dungeoneer II Intrepid Dungeoneer II: Clear a Bronze rank dungeon while being at the Iron rank. +5 All stats.

"Nice," she whispered. She hadn't expected a title. It wasn't quite as generous as Defiance when compared to the efforts involved. But the two titles stacked together, and it was nice getting a second reward for hitting one rank above hers. She flipped the pages and looked at her stats. Strength (STR): 39 Dexterity (DEX): 39 Constitution (CON): 43 Intelligence (INT): 44 Perception (PER): 42 Her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten since morning. Too bad photosynthesis didn't do anything at night.

She dispelled her journal, looked up, and frowned. Around her, trees. Under her feet, leaves. Now where the hell had the path gone?