Ep. 6 — Chapter 24: Safety (3)

"May I see these other people?" I asked with curiosity. Alicia raised an eyebrow, not in the suspicious kind, but more of a surprised one. But eventually, she nodded and pointed towards the hallway, opposite the one where I came from.

"Sure, but they might still be out. They've shown no signs of waking from the past day we found them. They seemed to be injured quite badly." Alicia mentioned as we started walking towards the dark hallway. Ali and the rest remained back, still lounging around, most likely waiting for their next assignments in the meantime.

Several rooms were situated along the hallway. Most of them had their doors closed, except the one in the middle, which was the one Alicia went into. She turned to us and raised a finger, signalling for us to wait outside for a bit while she checked up on the people in there. Leon and I shared eye contact and nodded. Alicia returned a few moments later with a tray, holding two empty glasses and a glass jug of water.

"You may enter. However, they are still resting, so please don't be so loud."

Alicia walked past us and headed back to the counter. I pushed the door slightly open, a slight creaking noise was heard. The room was darkened, with only a single lantern lit up on the nightstand across the door. Two beds laid on either side of the nightstand. There were people under the blankets.

I walked into the room, with Leon following me from behind.

"Is the electricity not working?" Leon questioned. "All of the room seems to be lit by candles and lanterns. Ah, except the lobby. But then the electricity is working right?"

"It might not be. The tall one, Owen, his element attribute is lightning right? So it must be him powering up this whole place. Maybe it's to minimise the workload on him."

"Ah, that makes sense."

We approached the bed, standing in between the two. To the left, a young girl with straight black hair. Pale faced and a beauty mark under her left eye. I took her hand and rubbed it with my thumb. It was soft in comparison to my own. But it was still warm. She's still alive. I turned to the boy laid on the bed to the right. One could barely call him a human. More of a monster that belonged to the outside world, preying on the unlucky players. It was even a miracle that these people decided to take him in as well.

"Sorry. I was gone for too long." It was all I could let out. I took the boy's hand as well. It didn't feel like what a human hand would feel like, but it was more humane than any other human I know.

The hands of the most unluckiest boy in this world. Of an unfortunate soul being trapped in this hellish place. And to such a boy, I left my family to him.

"You did well. We will move together from now on."

"Do you know them, Sir Rayes?" Leon asked, coming up next to me.

"Yes. This one is my sister. And her little helper."

"...Is that so."

I got up, turning to Leon. "What time is it right now?"

Leon quickly answered, already knowing the time. "7:30-ish. The sun has already begun to set. Are you planning on doing something, Sir Rayes?"

"No. I just wanted to know the time. Thanks." I looked around and dragged a chair from the side of the room, placing them in between the beds. "I'll be sleeping in here tonight, Leon. Could you go and ask Alicia for a charger? I need to charge my phone for tomorrow."

"Sure thing."

Leon left the room in a hurry. The footsteps gradually faded, and I continued to stare ahead. I placed my phone on the nightstand and blew out the light.

.

.

.

The night passed by rather quickly. I wasn't woken up by Leon this time, however. Instead, I woke up by myself, finding a pillow under my head that was resting on the nightstand. And my phone was connected to a charger, charged at 100%. There was even a blanket wrapped around me. Leon…that guy must've returned with the charger last night and did all of this.

Still, neither Lia nor the kid was awake. I remembered just now that he still doesn't have a name. And that quest was still outgoing, to name him. Maybe it would be best to just name him whatever, but I didn't want to do that. Though I'm not especially good with names, I wanted to come up with something meaningful for him. Just for him.

—

Trigger Quest: [Pet Naming]

Difficulty: —

Requirements: Give a name for the child.

Time Limit: —

Compensation: A Minimi, Achievement [Legendary], 500P (changeable)

Failure: —

—

I got up, feeling a bit numb from my behind. I took my phone and looked at the time. It was around 7:00 a.m., and a bit of sunlight leaked through the small window in the room. One that I never realised was there from the night before. Judging from the position, we were most definitely underground. Perhaps an underground bunker of some sort, that the boss decided to make into a safehouse.

After folding the blanket and placing it on the chair, I took my phone with me and left the room. The hallway was still unlit, but not nearly as dark as the night before. But the noises remained the same, as I could still hear the other guys talking in the lobby.

When I got through the doorway, Alicia greeted me and I saw Leon crowding around with Ali and the twins. Owen isn't there. They either didn't sleep the night before, or woke up really early, which is just about what I expected Leon to be like. It definitely is like him to wake up before the sun is even up.

"How was your rest?" Alicia asks, brewing coffee. I couldn't see it, but I could smell it. I wondered if she slept at all, as she was dressed in a suit, just like the night before. It would normally seem out of place, but she actually looks normal in them.

"I've got a place to sleep, at least. And not some rooftop. Or a factory."

"...Wow. That's quite the experience, I must say."

"Tell me about it."

Alicia let out a small laugh. She was very pretty. I wondered if she had been spending her entire time in this place, making food and drinks for the people. She didn't seem to be much of a fighter, but what would I know? My sister was able to kill a number of mindlesses herself, and I never thought of her as a fighter. But there was the personality that is taken into account.

"Please wait for a moment. We just received our supply of food for today. You're not too hungry, are you?"

"I can wait." I said, and she nodded. She continued to go back to doing her work behind the counter, and a room in the back which I guessed was the kitchen. I sat down on one of the stools and waited along the bartop. When she got back, she finished with the coffee and poured a cup for me, sliding it over. I took it with gratitude and started drinking. "Who is sending the supplies? Is ≪Shell≫ in contact with the Guild Tower?"

"Hmm, no, we're not. Actually, the Guild Tower doesn't know of our existence, despite the fact that we've been here for a long time now. They only think that we're a regular band of players, living in the wild. Actually, the boss prefers it that way. He doesn't like the idea of being together with the Guild Tower."

Alicia's explanation made some sense. Aside from the Guild Tower itself, major guilds that existed were pretty power-hungry people. Especially the top 3 biggest guilds in the Game. They would be equivalent to big companies that control the media and are very influential. So if they found out about ≪Shell≫, it would be likely that they'd try to confiscate the area, to expand their influence. Or even money.

The boss seems to be a very cautious man, able to pull this off without the Guild Tower noticing. I wondered if words hadn't spread yet.

"How many people have taken refuge in ≪Shell≫?" I asked, very much interested in this place's history. "It doesn't seem to be all that well-known, considering news hasn't spread yet."

"Well, aside from us, there are no others. Except one. They left a while ago, but we don't worry much about that one. A trustworthy individual. Ah, there are some that are currently out right now. They're the ones getting out supplies for today. We have a system here, you see. Different pairs would move out each time to get supplies."

So there were more of us here. "And the boss? I haven't seen him at all."

"He's not here currently. The boss is out, completing a quest he received the other day. Well, it's been a while now. But he still keeps in contact with me from time to time."

I had finished my cup by then and slid it over to the side. Alicia took it and brought it to the back before returning. Seems like she was done with everything as she came out from behind the counter and waved at me. "Let's sit with them. Are you still not comfortable with us, Mister Kim?"

"Rayes is fine."

"Rayes, then."

"And I'm alright. Just too early to be around…noise."

"Ah, is that so? Come whenever you're ready." Alicia nodded and turned back to the rest of the people. They were playing with cards and Alicia joined in as well. She untied her hair and let them down. Next to Leon, they almost seemed like siblings, matching golden hair and all. I spun around slowly on the stool and leaned against the counter, watching them play with the cards.

The sound of a door opening was heard from above. Yep, this was definitely underground. That's been confirmed. Heavy footsteps are heard before the door next to the hallway opens. Alicia and the others turned to the door.

"There they are." Ali spoke up, a smirk on his face. "We were faster than you guys by three minutes. How does that feel, Jiwon?"

"Welcome back, you two." Alicia approached them and helped them drag a number of wolves and other dog-like creatures to the back.

One of them was a woman with silver hair. Her outfit was pretty simple, a white turtleneck and a green jacket over it. There was no visible weapon on her, but her composed expression was cold. It was easy to tell that she was definitely a powerful individual. And beside her is that man. The one from before. Black coat…scratch that. Full black outfit and the black blade strung to his waist.

His name is Jiwon, was it?

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Han. I apologise for making you work, even though you've already done so much for us." Alicia said to the one in black. Han Jiwon. Han Jiwon only looked back at her and nodded his head.

"It's fine. Use those for food today. I'll be heading back out soon."

"Already? But you've just returned."

"I need to move. Another quest just opened up. The event will be soon, you know?" Han Jiwon spoke. Compared to everyone else, his aura was suppressing. Most likely, he's the most powerful person in this room now.

"Will you be going alone?"

"No. I'll be going with him. Don't worry too much, Alice." The white haired woman spoke. She was extremely beautiful. I would believe it if someone told me she was a supermodel in the old world. "Also, you three. Make sure you get your levels up in time. We have three days until the next main event."

"Yes ma'am." Ciel and Kel said simultaneously.

"Got it." Ali replied.

There was something I remembered to do then. The next main event...I should prepare for it as well.