Volume 2 Chapter 2: A Mysterious Staircase

[Author's Note: For bonus chapters, the goal every week is:

- 25 Power Stones

- 50 Power Stones]

Volume 2 Chapter 2: A Mysterious Staircase

Realizing that she had the right to choose when and where she wanted to re-summon a clone, Carmilla found this feature preferable rather than a sudden appearance of a magic circle when a clone's respawn time ended.

What if Carmilla found herself on a discreet quest, and suddenly, a conspicuous, glowing magic circle appeared? Such an occurrence could jeopardize the success of her quest.

So Carmilla tapped on the column with Pepper's name, and after pressing it, a confirmation panel appeared in front of her. After pressing 'yes' on the confirmation panel again.

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After that, a magic circle appears on the ground in front of Carmilla and starts to glow, illuminating a small part of the cave before a figure starts to slowly emerge from the bottom of the magic circle.

Several seconds later, the figure is now fully emerged, and before the magic circle and its glow disappear, Pepper's voice echoes throughout the entire cave.

Pepper: "I'm back."

Eve, who had been asleep before Carmilla logged back on, now found herself on Carmilla's side. It was impossible not to notice the dazzling light show created by Pepper's magic circle re-summoning, and Pepper's shout was sure to draw the attention of anyone alive in the cave.

Eve: "Welcome back, Pepper."

Carmilla: "Yes, yes, yes, you're back, and will you do that every time I re-summon you?"

Carmilla said sarcastically.

Pepper's proud reply to Carmilla's sarcastic remark.

Pepper: "Absolutely,"

She replied, her tone dripping with pride.

Carmilla: "Please don't. It would be extremely embarrassing if other people saw you, you know."

Pepper: "Aww, but master, I'm the one doing it, so there's no need for you to be embarrassed, master."

Upon hearing this, Carmilla started to look at Pepper with a deadpan face before saying.

Carmilla: "You do realize that we have the same face and voice, right? So to someone who doesn't know you or me, they will basically think we are the same person and essentially me."

Hearing what Carmilla said and recognizing her strong determination not to allow another outburst, even if Pepper tried to provide a reason, she decided to change the topic.

Pepper: "So, master, where is the hemisphere that I sacrificed myself to obtain?"

Carmilla: "It's with me."

Pepper: "Can I see it, pretty please?"

After hearing that and knowing Pepper's stubborn personality, and realizing that denying Pepper what she really wanted might lead to further complications, she took the hemisphere out of her inventory and prepared to hand it over to Pepper.

But before Pepper could get a hold of the hemisphere, it suddenly flew out of Carmilla's hand and slowly floated toward the middle of the room.

Seeing this, Pepper tried to catch the hemisphere in the air, but every time she managed to catch up to it and was about to grab hold of it, the hemisphere would suddenly dodge her hands at the last minute.

This happened several times until the hemisphere reached the middle of the room. Then, out of nowhere, a pillar began to rise up from the middle of the room, eventually reaching the same height as Carmilla.

The other hemisphere she had in her inventory suddenly appeared in front of her. Seeing this, she hurriedly tried to confirm her suspicions, and she was right; the hemisphere that appeared in front of her had come out of her inventory by itself.

The two hemispheres slowly floated toward the top of the pillar. Simultaneously, they reached the pinnacle of the pillar and seemingly fused together, forming a perfect sphere-shaped orb.

After a few seconds, the pillar began to sink into the ground. The entire pillar had already disappeared beneath the surface, leaving the orb on the ground.

Seeing this, Pepper approached the orb and gently kicked it, trying to see if it would roll away upon being hit.

Seeing Pepper attempting to do something, Eve tried to stop her, but it was too late as Pepper's foot had already touched the orb.

*Thud*

Upon hitting the orb, it created a soft muffled sound and didn't budge an inch, as if it were glued to the ground, remaining firmly in place. Before Pepper could attempt another kick with more force, something happened.

When the three of them heard a loud shifting sound beneath the ground, and the ground shook slightly, with small cracks forming around the orb, it seemed as though there was suddenly a week earthquake.

The three of them took a few steps away from the orb and the cracks on the ground, ensuring their safety.

The shifting sound grew louder, and the floor shaking intensified, causing more cracks to appear with each passing second.

Seemingly out of nowhere, an opening appeared around the orb. After the shifting sound and floor shaking ceased, the opening remained.

Seeing this, the three of them exchanged glances once more before proceeding cautiously towards the opening.

Carmilla: "An opening and a staircase?"She exclaimed, puzzled by the sudden discovery.

As they examined the area around the opening encircling the orb, it became apparent that they were standing at the threshold of a hidden chamber. The orb's response to their presence illuminated the room, unveiling a descending stone staircase leading into the depths below.

Carmilla and Eve began to scrutinize the room, carefully examining if anything had changed or if there were any hidden details. Meanwhile, Pepper's attention was drawn to the mysterious stone staircase that descended into the unknown, piquing her curiosity about where it might lead.

Pepper, known for her impulsive nature, wasted no time and started descending the staircase. Carmilla and Eve, having found nothing unusual in the room, decided to follow Pepper, curious about the secrets this hidden chamber might hold.

Carmilla, after one last look back at the room, joined the others and began her descent down the staircase.

Carmilla, as she descended the staircase, realized that it wasn't a straight path but a spiral staircase, reminiscent of the hidden exits one might find in a castle.

As Carmilla took each step on the spiral staircase, she noticed that the orb followed her, serving as a personal light source, illuminating their way as they ventured further into the depths of the hidden passage.

Carmilla found the orb's light quite convenient, and as they continued to descend, her casual and somewhat lazy demeanor tempted her to consider sitting down and relaxing while she waited for her clones to explore and report back about what awaited them at the end of the staircase.

Carmilla, determined to stay focused, shook her head to dispel those tempting thoughts and continued her descent down the spiral staircase with Eve and Pepper.

As they continued their descent down the seemingly endless spiral staircase, Carmilla couldn't help but feel the never-ending nature of their journey. With that in mind, she decided to sit down and lean against the wall, taking a brief respite while Eve and Pepper continue ahead.

As Eve and Pepper continued to descend the spiral staircase, they didn't notice that Carmilla had lagged behind for some time, as she sit down against the wall.