NOVEL NEXT B1 | Chapter 26 - Another Maze
Alexia Knight
I frown as I cut down another lesser arachnid in the tunnel, getting a little annoyed at running into so many of these things at this point. But then again, this is a boss room, and the boss is a large spider. And spiders often end up having a lot of children in a single egg.
Which I guess is a good thing for me in the end. I’d probably end up dead if it weren’t like this.
These spiders are my only source of EXP after all, seeing as I can’t exactly leave a boss room without killing the boss. And I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to kill a level fifty boss while only level twenty-nine.
My eyes snap to the side when I catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye before I push my glaive out a little while swinging it downward, thankful that the tunnel I’m in is still about three to four meters in height. And just as another lesser arachnid is crawling around the corner, my blade pierces straight through their carapace in through the top and out through the bottom of their head. Then the rest of their body falls to the ground beneath them without any resistance.
I feel the surge of soul fill me from what I’m assuming is another level – the fourth one since I fell down here several hours ago.
This place really is getting boring, levels or no levels. And I can’t exactly stop to take a break either lest a spider appear around a corner and attack me.
Doesn’t help that this damned tunnel system is a maze even more difficult to navigate than the actual maze from earlier.
Well, come to think of it, being dropped down here would probably be a death sentence for most other people. Considering that there isn’t exactly any food or water down here. And despite my ability to see, it’s very dark.
Then again, dungeons aren’t designed to be run solo like I’m doing. And like the other Legendary Feat holders are doing. Much less run solo by someone who started out at level 1 at the start of the dungeon.
It’s pretty much a death sentence unless you’re as skilled as someone with a Legendary Feat in their pocket and an epic class on hand.
Not to mention that most people don’t exactly go into dungeons without supplies of food and water to last for a long time.
I sigh at the thought as I continue walking down the tunnel.
Maybe I’ll find something other than spiders for days soon? EXP or not, I need to find a place to rest eventually. Otherwise I’ll run myself ragged.
Four hours later
Okay, so maybe I was a little pessimistic about this dungeon and thinking it would try to kill me through exhaustion.
Didn’t expect to find a Safe Zone down here.
I smile as I lie on the ground in the very not-comfortable Safe Zone. But a Safe Zone is a Safe Zone.
After a few seconds pass, I bring up the little notice I found just a few hours ago on the corner of my vision.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Time Left Until the Tutorial’s End
26 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes, 50 seconds
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
A rather convenient way to keep track of time.
Also, I’m pretty sure at this point I’ll be closer to the end of Tier 1 by the time the Tutorial finishes. At least, if I keep leveling up at the speed I have been I will be.
Then again, I never did get to the higher levels of Tier 1 before the Reset, and people do say that it tends to get harder to find the enemies in your Tier the higher level you get. Particularly because the higher leveled enemies of your Tier are rarer outside of dungeons, and only appear in the latter part of dungeons.
So if I don’t reach level one hundred in the dungeon, there’s a chance I might not reach it in the Tutorial.
A pity, but I’ll probably reach it in the dungeon. After all, the dungeon guardian should be level 100.
Not something I’m looking forward to fighting.
I let out a short yawn before realizing I haven’t really gotten all that much sleep in the past few days. And I’m probably not going to find another Safe Zone for a while.
So I let my eyes slowly drift close, following which everything goes dark.
Somewhere in Tutorial Block #108
To say Alara was pleased about the System Reset would be an understatement. Because it’s all she and her family had ever wanted. A chance to start over. A chance to break away from that awful kingdom they were indebted to. And a chance to live freely.
Alara doesn’t show her happiness to the others though, instead she keeps it hidden as she goes about trimming the stakes they’re putting into the ground at the edges of the camp bordering the jungle. But when she looks at the long trail of ruins that surrounds the island and finds a group of people approaching, she immediately drops the stake and stands up straight.
“We have visitors,” she calls out to Astrid, the girl immediately appearing out of thin air and startling her the moment after she says it. “Damnit, I wish you wouldn’t do that…”
Ever since she’d gotten her class, she has been practicing her stealth on the rest of the team. And she’s gotten much better at it over time, something that the battle mage, Aidan, says isn’t anything new.
The girl just smiles at her before focusing on the approaching group, the rest of their team having gone out hunting while they watched the camp.
Once they get past the obstacles in the way of their sight though, giving Alara a clearer view, she actually smiles and lowers her guard a bit. And out of the corner of her eye, she notices Astrid sending her a confused look, so she answers, “They’re friends.”
Astrid stays tense for a few seconds before eventually relaxing. Then she goes back into the trees, likely to hide from sight.
I still can’t believe she has a shadow magic affinity that high… makes me wonder what her twin has. Since she must also have a Class B Affinity if she was a Magic Knight pre-Reset.
She shakes her head as she focuses on her friend that seems to have noticed her now, considering how she’s running straight through the ruins without a care, the cloak she’s wearing over the basic System gear they were given blowing in the wind in the process. And Alara frowns at the sight of one of her friend’s group members checking her out as she runs.
Alara doesn’t do anything about it, instead just focusing on her friend, sheathing her sword again, and opening her arms up before the girl jumps into them, the taller girl not caring about her height advantage as she practically squeals, “Alara!!!! You’re here!!!”
“Yeah, I am,” Alara says with a chuckle as she gently sets the girl who often acts like a child down. Then she feels someone from the other team identifying her, making her glance over to find them getting almost within shouting distance.
“Don’t mind them, we just decided to start identifying everyone we see as a safety precaution,” Lizz, otherwise known as Elizabeth Sinclair, the Princess of the Kingdom of Silvercrest and the only good Noble Alara has ever met, says nonchalantly while directing a frown at the others behind her, including her fiancé who has been looking her up since she started running. And when she notices that, she directs a glare towards the man. But he just smiles.
“Don’t worry, we’ve started doing the same thing,” Alara says with a light wave of her hand as she steps back slightly to give herself more space.
Lizz turns to look at Alara and tilts her head to ask, “’We?’”
At that, Alara tenses up slightly, following which Astrid appears next to them again, emerging from Alara’s shadow before she nods her head at the startled princess, ignoring the tense reactions of the other team. Then, as if the whole thing was timed, the rest of Alara’s team arrives from the jungle, entering the ruins just to find them all there.
Well now I feel a bit more comfortable, since her fiancé always gives me the creeps…