Dragged into Another World's Apocalypse - A LitRPG Story

Cassis sank down onto the cold stony ground in front of the cave, listening to the desperately muffled sniffles of Irene. Camden was beside her, murmuring something quiet and reassuring, rubbing her arm as she cried into his shoulder.

They'd done it. She had reached level 5.

But the moment she'd gotten the system message, the thin thread of her determination snapped, and all the fear she'd been holding back poured out. Quietly, of course. Even in her breakdown, Irene seemed terrified of making too much noise, lest the monster come to them.

Elena shot Cassis a helpless look before lowering herself beside the young woman, gently patting her back. Cassis exhaled, running a hand through his hair. It hadn't been dangerous, but gods, it had been exhausting. They'd found a rhythm. He'd drag a beetle out of the cave, she'd stab it until it stopped moving, and then they'd do it again. Over and over, until she'd finally levelled enough.

He couldn't blame her for breaking down now. For someone like Irene, killing even a harmless-looking insect must have been her own personal nightmare.

Outside the cave, the other level 20s stood watch, having been standing watch for the hours it took for Irene to level. They had to be tired, staying alert the whole time, just in case a stronger monster wandered too close.

That was the danger of dungeons. The moment you relaxed, they reminded you what they really were. Nobody could predict the erratic movements of monsters. Sure, they did follow some patterns and often lived in certain areas. But that didn't mean they wouldn't get curious, or some other monster would drive them out of their territory.

"Let's take a short rest," Cassis said quietly. "No more than thirty minutes. Then we move to another cave. We've been here too long. It's better not to risk it." It was only late afternoon. They'd been at it all day, but Cassis didn't want to make camp here. They'd have to keep going until they reached the next cave.

His mother nodded immediately, lowering her voice as she looked at Irene. "The poor dear. She isn't made for all this fighting."

Cassis agreed. "No. But at least now she's level 5. She can hang back with the rear guard from here on out. We'll do the fighting. She should consider the cleric class, maybe the mage class." It would be for the better

Joseph came to sit with them, his face drawn but relieved. "Once she's level 10, she can choose a profession. Hopefully, she'll reach it before this dungeon ends. I doubt she'll ever step into one again."

Cassis gave a small, tired smile. "She won't have to. We'll make sure of that." If push came to shove, he'd make a party with only the two of them, and then he'd take his frustrations out on some monsters. That was actually a good idea. He'd have a lot more fun doing that than the terrible boredom that had been beetle catching.

He leaned back onto his hands, staring into the clear sky, up the mountain. Arianna had told him how fascinated Irene was by mana, how she'd asked questions, how her eyes had lit up when they talked about elemental affinities, mana particles and possible reactions. She might not be a fighter, but she had a mind for discovery.

"She'll make a great alchemist," Cassis said quietly. "We'll just need to get her to the starting point. Then she'll change lives with her discoveries."

His mother's hand briefly squeezed his shoulder.

Cassis' gaze drifted to the clouds swirling around the mountain top. How many people like Irene had died in his past life? Brilliant minds, gentle hearts, people who could have built a better world. All gone because no one had given them the strength to defend themselves. Because no one had taken the time to help them. Because no one had believed their other strengths were important.

That wouldn't happen this time. Not if he could help it.

He didn't just want to save the strong. He wanted to build a world where even the weak had a place, where their value didn't have to be measured in blood or battle, where they could contribute in their own ways.

A world where survival wasn't the only thing that mattered.

After thirty minutes, Cassis got up and dusted off his hands. Irene had stopped crying some time ago and now looked up at him with red, puffy eyes. He bent down slightly, trying to give her a soothing smile.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whispered, voice breaking again.

Judging by her reaction, he had failed with the smile. He tried again, gentler this time. "Don't worry. It's alright. And now that you're level 5, you won't have to do that again."

Irene didn't look at him, but she nodded faintly.

"Now," Cassis continued, keeping his voice calm and patient, "I just need you to choose a class and then join my party. Can you do that?"

Another nod. Then, after a moment of hesitation, she said quietly, "I'd like to be a mage."

Cassis blinked, surprised. He'd expected her to choose cleric, which was a safer path, one that required little direct fighting. A mage, however far in the back they were, still had to attack, even if it was with spells.

Irene must have noticed his reaction, because she peeked up at him, then looked back down again, fidgeting with her hands. Her voice trembled at first, but steadied as she spoke.

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"I don't like attacking things… even with spells," she admitted. "But I think it would be best if I'm a mage, since Arianna is a cleric. I want to know if mana will be perceived differently depending on the class."

The longer she spoke, the stronger her tone became, her words gaining a quiet conviction.

Cassis exchanged a look with Camden, who smiled proudly. So Irene did have a backbone. You just had to dig deep to find it.

"That's quite alright," Cassis said warmly. "You can choose whichever class suits you best. And those are some very interesting thoughts. I know Arianna will be happy to discuss mana with you again."

Irene looked up at him, a small, hesitant smile forming on her lips. "Really? She was very nice. I'd like to talk with her more… especially about mana. It's so fascinating."

Cassis had to hold back a laugh. Irene was a total nerd, shy, awkward, and utterly captivated by mana theory. He could only imagine how hard school must have been for her, with that mix of timidity and curiosity that drew attention for all the wrong reasons.

"That's great," he said, genuinely smiling now. "I'm sure she's looking forward to that, too. After you take your class, please accept the party invite."

Irene nodded again, and a moment later, Cassis felt the subtle pulse in his awareness that told him she had joined the team.

"Alright!" he called out, raising his voice so the others could hear. "Let's move to the next cave. Joseph!"

"On it," Joseph replied, already activating his hunting skill.

Soon, they were moving again, down the rocky slope toward another dark cave entrance. Cassis sighed inwardly. He'd have to repeat the whole process again.

Hopefully, Janice wouldn't cry as much.

He glanced at her. Pale, yes, but her grip on her knife was firm, and her eyes burned with determination. No, she wouldn't cry. Cassis could tell. She looked like she was prepared to do far worse than stabbing a few giant beetles.

Though Cassis could admit, their screeches were terrible. He hadn't had any idea how loud those pests could get. When he had discovered them in the other timeline, he'd been able to kill them in one shot, after all.

Thankfully, the beetles were lazy as a group. Even their screeching companions didn't disturb the skittering they were doing in the cave. Cassis didn't know a lot about their ecosystem, only that they would attack as a whole if you killed too many of them. That was another reason he wanted to go to a different cave.

Before Cassis could think about it further, he sensed a strong monster nearby. Just a heartbeat later, the other level 20s tensed as well, preparing for a fight. The rest of the group instantly noticed the shift in their posture and gathered closer together in the middle of the formation.

Cassis nodded toward Elena. If worst came to worst and they got surrounded, she'd try to raise a fire wall around them. It would drain her mana and wouldn't be as sturdy as Arianna's water barrier, but Josh hadn't discovered his elemental affinity yet. So his barrier spell was still locked.

Everyone got into position: Cassis at the front, his mother to his left, Joseph to his right but a bit further back, and Nadine guarding the rear in front of Elena and the others. Elena would attack from range as long as she could, but the goal wasn't a fast kill, it was survival of the whole party.

When the monster finally emerged, Cassis froze for a moment.
A chimaera? Here, this far down the mountain? How strange and dangerous. A chimaera could be F- or E-rank.

The creature's body was that of a tiger, its tail a venomous scorpion's, the head that of a goat with razor-sharp horns, and to top it off, a pair of leathery wings.
Damn. That looked like one of the stronger variants in this dungeon, probably E-rank.

Cassis barely had time to think before the chimaera launched a wind cutter at him. He blocked cleanly with a smooth downwards arch of his sword.
"Careful," he shouted, "it's using wind attacks!"

Wind wasn't the deadliest element in terms of raw power; that title went to fire. But it was unpredictable. Wind could strike from any direction, making it a nightmare to defend against.

"We need to engage it before it spots the weaker ones!" Cassis ordered over the party chat and dashed forward, finally able to use his Dash skill fully now that the terrain was open enough for straight movement. Within two seconds, he was face-to-face with the chimaera, his fire blade slashing toward its throat.

The creature parried with its tail, but his blade still cut deep, burning the flesh. Elena followed up instantly with a fire missile that struck its flank cleanly. Nadine fired wind arrows that the chimaera dodged with surprising agility, while Joseph advanced, shooting normal arrows at its weak points, forcing the monster to constantly shift or outright move to avoid them.

Suddenly, the chimaera turned midair, wings beating hard, and lashed out with both hind legs. Cassis anticipated the move and rolled aside, dust scattering. His mother was there in the next instant, driving her fire blade into its hindquarters.

The monster roared and unleashed a powerful gust of wind that threw them all back. Cassis dug his heels in, then dashed again. This time his fire blade sank deep into its flank with a stab. At the same moment, Nadine's wind arrow struck the chimaera right in the head.

The beast gave a strangled cry and collapsed. A system message later, they had gained experience.

Cassis blinked in surprise. That had gone… much more smoothly than expected.
Then again, their coordination had improved immensely during the last dungeon run. Everyone knew how the others moved, when to strike, when to draw attention. They were learning how to function as a unit.

He looked toward his team. They were grinning; his mother and Joseph even exchanged a triumphant high-five. Cassis couldn't help but smile back.
"Good job, everyone."

His mother grinned proudly. "We're getting stronger."
Cassis nodded. "That we are."

They regrouped and left the carcass behind. As much as Cassis wanted to butcher the chimaera for materials, there was no time. Janice and Mrs Walters still needed to reach level 5, and after that, the goal was to fight until everyone hit level 10. They only had six more days, after all.

They continued down the lower slopes until Joseph pointed out another cave. There it was. "Let's make camp and rest for tonight," he suggested. It was getting dark, and they could use a real break.

They divided the watch between the level 20s. The others needed their sleep. Cassis could see in their drawn faces how uncomfortable being in such a mana-rich environment had to be for them. Though nobody had complained, they eagerly went into their tents. They had to be exhausted.

Being level 20 meant that there was just so much more mana flowing through his body than a normal person's or even a low-levelled awakener. It didn't feel that different because his growth had been gradual, but seeing the weaker group members like that reminded him of the passive effects levels, mana saturation, and stamina capacity had.

Thankfully, the night was quiet, no monsters approached, and everyone got out of their tents fully rested. After a short breakfast, it was time to level again. Cassis nodded to Janice; the rest of the team moved smoothly into formation.

Josh sat down cross-legged, trying once again to meditate on his elemental affinity. He should be close to discovering it by now, though Arianna would have been the best one to guide him. Elena was beside him, patient but clearly less experienced.

At the cave entrance, Janice stood ready, Camden slightly behind her, but close enough to shield her if things went wrong. Cassis gave a final nod, then entered the cave, ready to start the gruesome task of levelling — or, as it increasingly felt like, bug-catching — all over again.