Chapter 12

Dead Things, Deep Things, and Dark Things Too

14th of Midsummer, 12533

Silver Wilds of Anciart

Tanya's Retreat

Thunder crashed outside, shaking the house a bit. The rain poured down on the window of the living room, making me glad I built the walls a bit thicker than my first house.

Urie's probably not enjoying this… Ah, wait a minute, Istarte is not in here right now. He'll be fine.

Suddenly going from a population of two to somewhere close to fifty was… a lot easier than I thought it would be. Sure, I never had couch space anymore (there was a surprising lack of furniture in the Recipes that I had to rectify), but that was mostly the leadership of the group. The rest were generally fine with sleeping outside under tents, despite my warning of the local area's frequent storms.

Right now, I was reading through some of the new books from the Kikava refugees while a few of the others sat near the fireplace. One of them, the young woman named Ishta with a fairly nice face and form, was inspecting one of my spears.

"I've… never seen a weapon like this. Even when I snuck off to the smith I never saw him make something like this!" she said in awe, holding the tip of the spear close to her face. Olysha, the Cleric and also her mother, turned her head towards Ishta when she said something she definitely meant to keep secret.

"Snuck off to the smith?" Olysha asked.

Ishta froze, fear locking onto her face as she realized her slip-up. A few of the others in the room snickered a bit, especially the Illager.

As the inevitable parental lecture/rant about shirking her duties and such began, my mind drifted off in thought. Despite Olysha's (and Ishta's) occupation being a Cleric, that did not mean they were zealots of this world's religion. Sure, they were the ones who preached it, but it wasn't their true focus. No, that was their secondary role to being wielders of Magicka.

In the role of Cleric, Olysha was able to perceive the flows of Magicka far better than most, and her own attunement to it had an effect on her everyday speech. I wasn't blind to the feeling of calm washing over me whenever she spoke, and the same could be said for her daughter, Ishta.

As for what they did specifically, it was mostly acting as a magical doctor for the town (as apparently they heal at a normal pace compared to myself) and occasionally a meteorologist.

If only they didn't have to do it with a religious addition.

Now, while religion itself is mixed in actually being helpful, the bastard claiming to be behind most faiths is not. This world's faith, that being the worship of two entities assumed to be Ancients, the Brother and the Sister, was rather mild in my opinion.

The Brother represented what I would expect of Being X, if he was in any way honest. Almighty and wrathful, expectant of prayer, and incredibly arbitrary. Yet he is treated much like the Judeo-Christian God that Being X claims to be, among others. Doesn't help that the Illagers follow him so closely. Oh, and of course, Gold is practically a symbol of his power, supposedly useful for Enchantment and similar uses. And tracking time.

The Sister, on the other hand, seems a lot more reasonable. Peaceful, though not at all powerless, ambivalent to prayer, and rather legalistic. Olysha certainly parrots what she believes to have been the Sister's ideals, and so too do the Villagers. And as for the precious metal/color of the Sister?

Silver. As if I needed another question about myself.

What does that make me? Is this Being X trying to make me some kind of apostle again? If so, why would this new power of mine be silver, and not 'his' gold? Too many questions that, for all I know, I'll never get answered.

I relaxed in the chair as the rain began to lessen in intensity, looking at the handful of people in my house. The laughter at Ishta's dressing-down by her mother, the drinking (I can't actually drink sadly, my body purifies it), the enjoyment despite the tension of the two groups of people here.

It reminded me of the 203rd.

…

I can't.

Even if I wanted to, I can't join them. I'm not sure if I'm some kind of immortal or not, but judging by the fact that I have literally died several times now, and have not aged a day since I arrived here…

I would just fall apart again.

I cannot let that happen.

I'd be a fool if I didn't see the fact that I had gotten attached to my battalion. And in realizing that, I now know that letting such a connection form again is too dangerous.

Even if I am out of Being X's cycle, I will never be able to form a proper bond.

I clenched my hand into a fist, resting it against the chair, while closing my book and setting it aside. Just as I was about to get up however, a hand suddenly held my fist.

"Is something the matter?" Ishta's voice said, tinged with concern and a little bit of soothing Magicka. An instinctive response caught in my throat when I noticed how close-

"Oh! Sorry, I-"

"No, it's fine-"

She backed off a bit, and I stood up from my seat. An awkward silence emerged between us. For some reason, I couldn't help but look at her for a moment. Now that I got a decent look, she didn't look as homely as most of the villagers did, instead she was... hmm. The heat at that moment from the fireplace, which was surprisingly warm at even this distance, made the closeness even more awkward. Wait, the fireplace can't be that warm…

Ishta must've noticed my expression when I was thinking to myself, and as her mother's apprentice she tried to calm me down. Noble, but I can handle myself. I made my apologies and decided to retire to my room for the rest of the night.

I just need to sleep it off. That's all.

About Two Months Later,

15th of Harvest Dawn

"Monster Bosses?"

Just when I thought I had reached the boundary of what people know about monsters (or, at the very least, the local's understanding), I learn about something new. Apparently, monsters aren't completely mindless. Just that the majority are, and the ones that do… still aren't very intelligent. Usually.

But being a Monster Boss, or Alpha, or whatever term other parts of this- supposedly- infinite world use, separates a monster from the rest in a unique way. Bosses usually don't differ too much in physical appearance, sometimes they'll be bigger, or stronger, or simply wear something different than their counterparts.

The defining feature of them is their ability to corral their mindless brethren. Zombie Bosses can guide their rotting corpses to raze villages to the ground, though these are some of the most pathetic forms of bosses. Much like a child, Bosses are not very… mature when they are born. It takes years for one to even consider diplomacy, and the closest one like that lies in the very north of Anciart, Northern Legadonia if I were to put it somewhere in my second life.

"-and based on the activity we've seen, there are at least a few of them. With the numbers and groupings, we can confirm the undead Zombies and Skeletons-" even now I'm surprised at how modern this world's terms for the undead are- "have their own Bosses, at least one. The fence will not be able to deter a horde of this level. Therefore, we will likely need to consider alternative methods of defense." Captain Brenn, the Illager captain that had come with the refugees, finished his report.

"And how many men do we have?" I asked, though I had a feeling I knew the answer.

"All ten of the Illagers are ready to fight, ma'am." He replied.

"Alright, I will review your skills soon, but first I need to see how many Villagers will fight."

Somehow, the Illagers found that rather funny. I knew they'd dismiss the possibility of their pacifist allies actually fighting, but it wasn't that infeasible. As noble as the Sister's supposed ideals seem to be, refusing to fight is a mistake. Even the most zealous of individuals would fight back when threatened.

I looked over at the two Villagers who were gathered around the table, Urie and Olysha, and was immediately able to tell they were nervous. For Urie, it was likely a matter of ignoring what his parents and mentors told him if he picked up a blade to fight. For Olysha, I wasn't quite sure. Perhaps it was living her whole life without harming so much as a fly- not that they even exist- that was causing her to-

Ah, of course. She's too valuable for a frontline position, at least not for being in direct combat. Her magic and healing abilities are vital, so keeping her back to heal the wounded is the best course of action.

"Olysha, you and Ishta will be keeping the frontline alive with your magic. Additionally, I need you to find willing volunteers for the defense. Urie, I need you to find any texts you have on fortifications, sieges, defense, anything. I know Mirvain wasn't totally pacifist, otherwise it would not have even existed."

Urie nodded, while Olysha still seemed unsure. I vocally sighed, then made eye contact with her.

"I know your people have a thing against fighting, and personally? It's bullshit. I may be a fundamentally peaceful person, but even I know when to take up arms. Your refusal to fight lets the Illagers abuse you until they don't even need you anymore. I don't need to explain what happened next." I told her, keeping eye contact the whole time.

"If we were to fight, then we would be taking each other's eyes-"

"Until the whole world goes blind. I know the saying, and I know exactly what that is like," I interrupted, "But if we never take revenge for our eye? What will they take next? An arm? A leg? A heart? Besides, this is a horde of the undead. They won't stop with just an eye."

She grimaced, getting my point by then, and went to relay the message to the Villagers. Brenn and his Illagers went to prepare for my review, and Urie-

"I don't have any weapons."

Oh. He… seemed convinced. Determined even. Infact…

Did Being X give me some kind of curse? One moment, Urie looks scared at the thought of even fighting, and now he's looking at me with a determination I've only seen in a few other places.

The 203rd. The Salamander Kampfgruppe. My battle maniacs.

I handed him a spare steel sword I had floating about in my inventory, and he accepted it and left. Leaving me alone.

Again.

The Next Day

Groans echoed from the once cocky Illagers, with only me left standing. I should've known the Villagers weren't the only fools here.

If I had to guess, these men were the product of the Manor system, and likely why the Manor Lords have gone out of favor in the rest of Anciart, according to Urie. A system of cowardice, really. With the Villagers being too pacifist to fight back, the Illagers had no competition, except for themselves. They only ever fought each other in random skirmishes and over small patches of territory and tributary villages, so many never gained the experience they needed. And, if Urie's books were correct, the Manor Lords fell once a large enough war began that convinced the Villagers to take up arms and fight back, while also creating grizzled Illager kingdoms in the process.

These men were the ones who would either harden or break from the current major war that consumes the Silver Wilds. As such, they were cocky, craven, and for someone like me?

I didn't even break a sweat.

"You've only ever had to face the harmless Villagers or people who were already dead before! Compared to me? You are nothing but cave bats! Annoyances!" I shouted to the writhing men and women, as a few, including Captain Brenn, stood up with their wooden swords and axes. "Captain Brenn, Tairyon, Djon, stay here for now. The rest of you, drag your asses off my training grounds!"

While the Illagers complied, I dragged over a chest full of wooden weapons. The three Illagers that I selected were the ones who weren't nearly as exhausted as their comrades, and so would be perfect for what was next.

By the time the fresh Villager volunteers arrived, the field I slapped together was cleared out of the bloodless massacre I caused. The handful of Villagers who volunteered was… I'm not sure if more recruits passed my original scheme for the 203rd than what's in front of me. The one designed to fail candidates and prevent me from needing to actually train anyone.

Sixteen Villagers, including Urie, had decided to take up arms and fight. I could've gotten more if I tried to conscript the villagers, but I'm not truly in charge, and most of them have never even fought in their life. What I'm working with is likely those with barely enough of a spine to break with tradition, or perhaps have a bit of a rebellious streak.

Absolutely the bottom of the barrel when it comes to volunteers, but I knew I could mold them to a satisfactory state, given time. Of course, that is also what I lack. From what some of the Illagers have observed, the horde is still largely waiting, a few of them fighting amongst themselves while the Bosses somewhere within muster their forces. Given a month, the number of monsters will likely exceed a hundred.

One month. That is all I need.

"Djon, hand out the wooden swords and leather armor! Tairyon, Brenn, prepare the 'equipment!' And as for you, my fresh meat…" I felt a smile creep onto my face, schooling it into my long-practiced professional grin. "Let's begin…"

For some reason, the Villagers seemed to pale at the last part, fear already gripping them. Bit early, but welcome all the same.

The recruits got their leather vests and practice swords, and followed my orders to get to the other end of the field. They stood around, confused and disorderly, though Urie seemed to notice the line and stood on it.

Ah, Deja Vu…

"Today, I am going to test your endurance! I want you to reach me, without stopping, and get a hit on me! Understood?!"

A chorus of agreements rung out, and one of the Illagers began to count down with a pitying look to the recruits.

"THREE!"

"Oh, one last thing!" I shouted.

"TWO!"

"Try not to die!"

"ONE!"

I caught the crossbow tossed to me by an Illager, and grinned widely at the projectile on it. Just gotta be sure to miss.

"GO!"

click!

FWOOSH!

One month later…

In my first life, I once considered becoming an architect. I decided against it at the time because of the risk involved in taking that career path and my lack of creativity for designing structures, and as time went on the trends of new building styles proved that I… might've actually done well in it. Or, at least, better than most of what I saw.

Still, compared to skyscrapers, what I had drawn some time ago was nothing. Right now, my land was protected by a simple fence, which, much like livestock animals from any of my worlds, typically kept the animals out. But, with the threat of the monster bosses, I felt the need for upgrades.

Six meters tall, three meters wide, made of solid stone bricks on the outside and filled in with cobblestone. Crenelations are placed to be wide enough to protect someone from the skeleton easily, while still allowing archers to shoot back. Ten different towers that rose an extra five meters up from the rest of the wall, each with a bell with a specific alarm code to signify an approaching force, and ample space for half the villagers I put through a rushed course to shoot from.

Though, for monsters, the moat should be enough. Only about two meters deep and wide, but the fact that it's filled in with lava should be enough to either deter monsters and impede sieges. The wall should be enough for a much larger garrison than the twenty-five men and women who I managed to turn into a barely functional unit.

Of course, I can station only one or two in each tower, and focus most of the defenses near the gate. The gatehouse had two towers, surrounding a wider section of the wall to allow for two gates to be placed across from each other. While focusing the defense purely in one spot was risky, these were monsters. No bosses have been allowed to exist long enough even in the Silver Wilds to be smart enough to make a proper siege.

Though I am worried that our failure here will give the Wilds the same fate that the Semo people felt when Astraya emerged, up north in what would be North Legadonia, or the more arctic portions of Scandinavia.

Regardless, construction has already begun, though a lack of materials made itself evident. While it was easy enough to source the materials, it was due time for me to look down in the dark once more. After all, I'll be needing some more materials soon. You can only live with just charcoal for so long until you start preferring coal for your furnaces. It's just a little bit more convenient.

Getting up from my desk, which was filled with an organized mess of designs and notes I had made over the four years I had been here, I brought out my armor from my inventory and (magically, of course) put it on.

Adding leather pieces was sensible once I figured out the leather fit easily underneath, covering more that the steel armor failed to hide. The gaps, especially the lacking amount of armor around the arms and waist, were covered by thick leather pieces, fitting to my form easily.

If I could, I would have added chain mail… if there wasn't a total lack of recipes for them. Apparently, from what my own research has gathered, Chainmail never got a recipe as it was made after the Ancients had already fallen. This also means any examples I have of chainmail armor are made of iron, forged by villagers and illagers.

I can figure out how to make it myself later.

Once the various pieces of armor were fitted, I left my study and walked through the halls of my house- miniature mansion at this point, really- only to stop at one of the windows.

There weren't many children with the refugees. Apparently, Azum's men were cruel and so was the journey, so there were only seven or so kids, ranging from four to twelve, left. Still, they played in the little section of park I converted into a playground for them once the need for it arose.

Seven or so houses poked out of the sea of pink blossoms and green leaves, meant to house everyone who wound up in this place. Mostly apartments, really, with sufficient room for most of the residents of the village. Other houses, for families that survived the journey, only made themselves known from this distance by the occasional bit of roof and chimney smoke.

Somehow, my little farming retreat had become home to a small community. A taste of real, proper civilization after years of being alone (minus Urie, though he was knowledgeable enough) that I…

Can I really be a part of this? With both parties, I'm an outsider. I thought, continuing to look out at the… hamlet? Would that be the term? I haven't truly fit in since…

I shook my head. My social status can wait. I need to prepare for the monster.

To the depths I go.

Even if this world doesn't totally work the same way, the idea of the 'Deep Dark' made plenty of sense.

Thunk.

An entire layer of deepslate across the bottom of the world was… interesting, to say the least. But I wasn't here for geological studies.

Thunk.

Well, in a way I was.

CHTUNK.

The vein of ore shattered into many pieces, leaving only the object of interest within unscathed. Carefully, I picked up the large chunk of dense carbon, my reflection appearing on its blue surface.

Diamond. A rare, highly overrated gemstone, prized for its supposed beauty and expensive not only in its financial cost, but also the human cost it often extracted. The hardest material in my first two lives, and here?

The best material one can obtain. Sure, some mythological stories depict purplish-black weapons and armor as the pinnacle of the Ancient Era's relics, but it's doubtful such a thing exists. Just as mythological as the Nether and its Piglin inhabitants. And for me, it will be invaluable.

If the monster horde is large enough, there's a chance that there will be undead wearing ancient Diamond armor. If that's the case, even my steel armor won't entirely protect against it.

But the prospect of having my own equipment made of diamonds (however the hell that works, but at this point I'm not questioning it much) is alluring aswell. So, despite the pressure of the caves this far down, I'm down here, with a torch tied to my helmet and carrying plenty of ore.

Despite the fact that there are possibly double-digit monster bosses clashing with each other for dominance above, the monsters this deep are still feral and mindless, unbothered by the surface competition above. Carefully sneaking through the caves, I send out a ping of magic using a formula to detect monsters-

Detection?

The response made me freeze. That's… magic. Formulaic. Familiar.

And for this world, foreign.

I threw on a formula to enhance my mind, despite the side effects that I only discovered when I dropped it for long enough here, then followed it up with a detection suite. Sure enough, it detects magic, but different than what I was expecting.

It coated the walls of the cavern ahead, and it felt like there was something sticking to the crude formulas. Approaching carefully, I found a material that was sort of like a lichen, with a deep turquoise color. A musky scent entered my nose when I stepped near.

This… is new. I stepped down off of an outcropping that wasn't more than a meter high-

Detection.

SHHHHRIEEEEEEK!!!

Thump...

A horrible noise went out as soon as I stepped down, magical static briefly entering my suite's periphery and forcing me to cover my ears. It echoed off the cavern, and I only realized how much it affected me once it and the shivering I was doing faded.

…What the hell did I find?

Part of me knew that this was far too dangerous, yet it wouldn't tell me why. I had little experience with horror games, but this was ringing all of those alarm bells in my mind.

But I didn't have enough information to prove that irrational thought process. No, I need more information before I can decide what this is.

I slowly went forward, after confirming that the sound wasn't from my movement specifically, or my mere existence. I also confirmed that it wasn't from me touching the… lichen. Just to be safe, I moved past it, wandering deeper into the cave.

As if my new life needed more mysterious fascinations, the cavern opened up into some sort of underground city. The buildings were all heavily damaged, tilted at the same angle like reeds when a wave came in. Some larger structure sat implanted in the ground, a large frame of some kind.

Despite the ominous feeling I got from the city, I continued forwards anyways. The bricks that the city was made of were made of the same deep slate as the rest of the caverns, making me wonder if this was ever on the surface. In theory, making an entire city underground would make sense if food was so easily grown this deep. But the monsters this far down make its feasibility… questionable.

Much of the lichen seems disrupted by whatever happened here, which brings up some questions. But, with the potential for ending up as a horror game protagonist still in my mind, I set them aside for now. What I was most concerned about though was two things. One, why are there so few monsters, and two, why am I so drawn to this city?

I'm being far too curious to be rational in my decisions. I figured. But still, there might be something of interest in these ruins.

Eventually I neared the massive frame, avoiding the strangely blue flames that howled in the wind like whispers. Then, I noticed a particularly large patch of lichen surrounding the frame, almost concealing something. Despite myself, I dared to move closer.

Once I got closer, I found some sort of protrusion from the lichen, with tendrils waving in the air. Carefully, I made a small step towards it, creating a soft sound-

Confirmed Detection.

-that made the thing warble and glow with magic for a brief moment. Of course. Sound. It activates off of sound-

SHHRRRRRIEEEAKK!!!

Thump.. Vhoom. click-click...

My vision itself darkened, I noted, now that I was properly paying attention this time.

A sense of dread made a pit in my stomach. This… thing, the lichen, it… Fuck, I'm in the middle of something that obviously lives based on sound. Like a fly in a god damned fly trap!

I grit my teeth and stilled myself, resisting the urge to book it back the way I came. I have what I came for, I don't need to stay here, I don't-

Calm the fuck down, Tanya! I mentally shouted to myself, taking a moment to breathe. Once I began to calm down, questions threatened to make themselves known. I silenced them again, and started moving as silently as I could.

Echolocation. The lichen uses echolocation. Which means it has a reason to hear where things are. Which means it looks for food this way, as there is little in the caves to truly sustain them.

Which means it is a predator.

And I am potentially prey.

I had no interest in becoming one with the moss again, so I moved away from it. The rest of the city was in a horrendous shape, almost everything potentially of value being crushed and destroyed long ago. Crouching through the ruins, away from the collapsed frame, I eventually stumbled upon an intact chest. One that I could've made with a crafting table. That at least dates the potential time period of the city to the Ancient Era, which- Not now!

Looking at it, I began to think. How likely is it that this ancient city's ruins has artifacts? I have read of old temples supposedly having them, with Ancient Era ruins having the greatest items of interest.

I moved over to the chest, careful not to make a sound, and reached to open it, but stopped.

The chest will squeak when I open it, won't it?

Fixing the issue with my own chests creaking when I opened them was one of the things I did in between Urie's arrival and the Refugee's arrival, so I knew it could be a problem. Logically speaking, there is no reason for me to even take this risk. Even though the magical lichen hasn't gotten up to eat me yet, in part because it likely can't, being… cave moss, the fact that it actively listens is enough to deter taking too much risk.

Yet I can't deny the potential valuables within, and the compulsion to open the chest. A feeling from that silver magic, one begging me to just take a look inside and take what's in it. I could compare it to Being X's manipulation with the Type 95, yet there was no compulsion to pray, nor did it simply do what it wanted me to do like His curse did. It simply asked and nudged.

Which meant I didn't open the chest quickly, only opening it partially and carefully managing the sound. Thankfully, I managed to get inside without setting off the lichen's antennas. Avoiding the cobwebs when my hand caught them, I found a few bottles of some sort of liquid, a few books, coal for some reason, and strangest of all: an apple. Grabbing and making a simple motion to store them into my inventory, which relied a lot on my intent to do so, I emptied the chest, revealing one last thing at the very bottom.

It looked like a piece of opaque gray glass, yet it seemed to steam with power, much like the magic that compelled me to take this risk. I hadn't seen it at first due to the books, but now I was interested. I reached out and grabbed the shard-

!¡ᔑ╎リ ᓵ𝙹⚍∷ᓭᒷ↸ ℸ ̣ ⍑∷𝙹⚍⊣⍑ ᒲ|| ʖ𝙹↸||- リ𝙹, ᒲ|| ᓭ𝙹⚍ꖎ ᔑᓭ ⍑╎ᓭ ᓭℸ ̣ 𝙹ꖎᒷリ !¡𝙹∴ᒷ∷ ⍑╎ℸ ̣ ᒲᒷ, ⎓ꖎ╎リ⊣╎リ⊣ ᒲᒷ ʖᔑᓵꖌ∴ᔑ∷↸ᓭ. ᒲ|| ʖ𝙹↸|| ᓭℸ ̣ 𝙹!¡!¡ᒷ↸ ᓭ⍑𝙹∷ℸ ̣ ꖎ|| ᔑ⎓ℸ ̣ ᒷ∷ ʖᒷ╎リ⊣ ⍑╎ℸ ̣ , ʖ⚍ℸ ̣ ╎ ↸╎↸ リ𝙹ℸ ̣ , ᓵ𝙹リℸ ̣ ╎リ⚍╎リ⊣ 𝙹リ ᔑリ↸ 𝙹リ ⚍リℸ ̣ ╎ꖎ ╎ ᓭꖌ╎!¡!¡ᒷ↸ ᔑᓵ∷𝙹ᓭᓭ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ⊣∷𝙹⚍!¡ ʖᒷꖎ𝙹∴, ᓭリᔑ!¡!¡╎リ⊣-

-My mind returned to the present from the sudden vision, my vision dark and-

I heard something.

I scrambled to my feet, which made me realize I had fallen on my back at some point… and closed the chest. Which made a sound. Shit.

Suddenly I heard the ground burst nearby, groaning as something large burrowed up from below. Instinctively, I ducked behind a pillar, peeking out slightly to watch the threat emerge.

Ah, so this is how it eats. By proxy.

The creature was massive, with a large body, long, thick arms, surprisingly short legs, and a wide head with two of the lichen's antennas on either side. I could tell the creature was blind, judging by the lack of eyes on the head or anywhere else, though if it could smell, that might change things.

The monster turned around, revealing the wide open chest cavity that swirled and pulsed with magic. Most of the thing's body was covered in the lichen, aside from some kind of material that I couldn't quite make out. Bone, possibly? It lumbered closer to the chest, each step unbalanced and heavy. It stood there, reaching blindly- of course it was blind, it has no eyes- for what I can only presume to be me.

Dammit! Of all the times to experience something like the Type 95 again, why now? Though it wasn't the same, the brief alteration of my memories and perception was just familiar enough to me, plus the somewhat familiar tinge of Being X's supposedly divine power made me feel disgusted.

My mind thought it was a trap, a honeypot for… what, exactly? People with strange conditions that suddenly get thrust upon them? Besides, what did I even get out of that? Some glowing shard-

A fallen piece of oneself, left upon ruinous impact.

…With a quick inspection, I felt the power within me for any change. Sure enough, the shard had merged with whatever laid inside of me, making it a little bit larger in presence. It even seems to have effected my mana at the same time. I'll dwell on that later. For now?

I have to get the fuck out of here!

Moving as silently as I could within my armor (because of course, the one time I remember to wear it to an excursion like this, it's the one time it actively hinders me!) I made my way to the next pillar. Despite the amount of sound I was still making, I didn't set the monster off. So it isn't just any sound, it has to be a sound just loud enough to truly expose myself.

The obvious thing to do in this situation was the same as what many horror protagonists would do in this situation. I picked up a nearby rock, some deepslate brick by the looks of it, and carefully chucked it out to my right, while I started creeping to my left.

The play worked. The thing heard the sound and shuffled over, allowing me a brief respite to escape. With that, I forced my steel armor into my inventory, leaving me in just leathers and my potentially magical uniform. It wasn't long before the thing made its way back to me though, sniffing the air to figure out that I had come this way instead. I started creeping away as it approached.

Honestly, this isn't that difficult to avoi-

-SCHEISSE!

I tripped, not noticing the sudden pile of bricks right in my path, throwing the brick I stepped on away and slipping to the ground. Naturally, this made noise.

Quite a bit of noise.

Enough noise.

A roar came from behind me as I scrambled back to my feet in a panic. It heard me. There was no point hiding it now, I had to run. The monster chased me through the ruins, the noise being picked up by all the lichen's sensors. Atleast now I knew how the lichen hunts. Hopefully there isn't any chance of them bringing in more of these monsters.

…is it too late to blame Being X for this?