// Understanding the System
Through the many corridors of the god-forsaken place thousands of humans have been transported to, Cho Jae-Hwa wandered north avoiding any possible noise that she could ever make. Although only around fifteen minutes have passed, she kept finding random strangers around her, from young children to adults, even older people who struggled to move. Some of the people that were sleeping in the same room as her when her consciousness recovered also seemed to be now awake and wandering.
"Marni said it was north, but I've been walking for so long... does that settlement even exist?" She wondered to herself, keeping her voice as quiet as possible while sighing with tiredness.
After three more minutes of walking restlessly, a green light is glowing from afar, steadily making the presence known of a well illuminated corner, blocked by a stray slime that kept going forward and returning shortly after, as if enticed by the light and repulsed by it at the same time.
"I guess there's no way of avoiding that... Even though I tried to avoid them with all I could... Damn it!"
Accompanying her shout, the wobbly creature turns to her, bouncing up and down towards her direction. Even without a face to recognize, she was able to feel shivers in her spine that resembled a strange gaze that seemed to follow her forehead, making her hands tremble slightly in response to the current situation.
She was no longer being forced to fight, her life wasn't necessarily in danger either and she didn't have another life to protect and pressure her. For all she knew, she could just turn back and run away now, perhaps even get help to make her trip easier, but her shivering legs were not allowing her to move from her spot.
She slowly unsheathes her knife — or rather, she just takes it from the waistband of her skirt that was seriously upsetting her for quite some time — readying herself for combat. The enemy had nothing that could terrify her, if anything, she thought of them being somewhat adorable, however her legs and hands still trembled with fear.
Like all beings, she had fear of getting hurt and dying, even more when she knew for certain how long it would take for such thing to happen. More than her own mind, her body and brain were fearing the future and forcing her to change it.
"All I can do is to kill it... It's strange how I want to suddenly drink until I pass out. Not that I will ever find alcohol in this maze." With a wide and nervous grin, Jae-Hwa crouches, placing strength on the soles of her feet, hoping to become faster.
The slime bounces in direction to her face, all perception seeming to close onto its small and round body, the sides of her vision darkening as it creates a narrow line on course to the red sphere holding all of its mass.
If I use Sword Against Strength, I might be able to do enough damage.
Jae-Hwa collects all of her strength in her lower half, leaping forward head-on against her enemy. "S—" Even before she barely starts reciting the name of her skill, the skin in her hands and the blade of her knife glow orange, the blob of blue mucus slows down and unbeknownst to her, her eyes become a bright orange that shines in the dark.
As if it was a lightning, striking at once without leaving barely any traces, her blade rushes from one place to the other, effortlessly cutting what seemed to be the core of the tiny being in half. For a split moment, joy and peace filled her mind, as if all her worry had vanished, even though she felt her index finger tremble once again as it held the handle of the weapon in place.
As I thought, there is no need to say the name to activate it. The last time it only happened after I swinged my knife and now it happened with me only thinking it.
As the name suggests, these skills are similar to the abilities of daily life, just like how I can learn to read and talk other languages and I'm able to do it naturally after having learned them.
After the monster had calmly vanished into dust, the system notice appeared with the results of her battle.
—CONGRATULATIONS————————
+ 5 EXP
CREDITS: + 1
Lost in her thoughts as she walked towards the illuminated corner, a different system notice suddenly appears in front of her eyes.
—NEW SKILL———————————
SKILL NAME: Haste LV.1
ENERGY REQUIRED: 7 Energy
DESCRIPTION: Enhance your movement and attack speed for a short time. Compatibility may affect other skills.
Effects: Increased Movement Speed & Attack Speed for 2 minutes.
"I just learned a new skill? That must have been why I was able to kill that slime so effortlessly... That could mean infinite ways of unlocking them... Putting that aside though, 'Compatibility may affect other skills' must mean that it will strengthen them like it happened just now, but it could also weaken it depending on what I'm doing..."
"Stop! Who are you!?" Without noticing, she reaches the entrance to what seemed to be the said settlement. A small room decorated by metallic blue bricks and light, surrounded by green fire that did the same work as torches, filled with several people inside, some wearing different clothes and many other people wearing the same type of uniform as Jae-Hwa. A campfire in the middle of the room seemed cozy enough for some of them to be sleeping soundly.
A tall man with golden hair and eyes is standing guard outside of its open entrance, wearing minimal metallic armor that only covered his chest and legs while holding a metallic spear.
"I repeat again, who are you!? A Forgotten One?"
"Forgotten—? What's that? It was Marni that told me to come here."
"That should be impossible, she no longer exists with us! She left this world not too long ago."
The trembling of her hands returned, a slight sense of vomit overwhelmed her mouth. She could not believe her mind or eyes. Was it a ghost she saw, or perhaps an illusion of madness to make her survive? Marni helped her more, one way or another, but she also had no reason to doubt someone that seemed to protect this place so earnestly.
"Gabriel." Jae-Hwa knew this voice, it was the same she heard before pleading for her help, the ghost that should no longer exist. "That Forgotten One is with me, I invited her."
"How do you even know my name... A—Alright, you may come inside." One quick glance towards the little girl at the entrance, cloaked in dark robes, was enough to make the guard flinch and show disgust in his face.
He quickly withdrew his spear to let them both through. Gabriel closed his eyes as if to forcefully avoid looking at Marni.
"Let's go, I've been waiting." The little mystery of a person grabs Jae-Hwa's hands, to which she abruptly breaks contact in fear.
"Who are you, really...?"
Jae-Hwa's hand shivered with cold that did not exist, formed by the doubts residing in her heart. The slightly empty golden eyes of the little girl shone with a faint blue color, fixed and devoid of emotion, deepening the unease in her body.
"I am Marni, they just forgot me as well."
"And you're fine with that? You know I can't just accept something as vague as that!"
"Whether you accept it or not, that is not my job. Unfortunately for the both of us, this is reality. Come, I will lead you to where I'm resting for now."
The little wolf-like girl presented her hand to hold her frightened fingers, the only answer given being the most reasonable and natural of a shrug with uncertainty.
"I will follow behind you, don't worry."
"Is that so... There is a lot of people here, don't try to lose track of me."
Jae-Hwa could feel the sadness in her voice, as if she had just betrayed a great friend, but no matter the pain it brought to her heart, she wasn't able to fully trust her yet after her most recent behavior.
As she walked along the enclosed space, many voices whispered, quiet enough to not make their conversations heard. However, as Jae-Hwa looked around at each individual, the way they flinched and averted their gaze made it obvious it was either about her or the mysteryous girl that she followed.
At the end of the room, both girls stop at the start of some ruined stairs that led to an abandoned building, mostly destroyed by what resembled a war. Marni sits in one of the crumbling steps, being illuminated by one of the slightly ominous green fires that decorated the walls.
Jae-Hwa took out her weapon, placing it to the side and sat on the floor after tidying up her skirt.
"Are you curious about them?" Asked Marni that now at the same eye level as her savior, looked deeply into her eyes, as if trying to find a remnant of her soul.
"I am curious about everything. Until I got to this strange maze I've been forced to do things, so it feels strange to have some proper time to rest. Do you think you can tell me everything you know?"
Although not much time has passed since she arrived, the few corridors and rooms she has passed through made it somewhat obvious that most, if not, all of this place is a maze.
"..." A few moments of silence between the two ocurred, while only after closing her eyes did the crimson beast girl start talking.
"Currently we are in the Voltaic Sludge, the first domain of The Dungeon. It is filled with all types of slimes, although there are some rarer varieties. Apparently this is just one domain of many, but since I have lived here all my life, there is not much I can tell you about that. Although, in a sense, you could think about this whole place as a tower — the deeper you go, the harder it becomes to breathe."
"There is still more of this... I wonder if I'm gonna be able to stay sane... So, how many domains does it have?"
"No one knows. The farthest anyone made was the fifth domain and they perished shortly after."
"Is that so."
"You look awfully calm for someone who was panicking before."
Jae-Hwa leans back, holding her body weight with both her arms as she looks to the puzzling ceiling of the maze. Silence reigned on her mind, the multiple troubling occurrences leaving her in confusion.
"I may not look affected, but that does not change the fact that I also feel emotions. I also have not decided yet to trust you or not... but for now I just want to get as much information as I can, if there are that many domains."
"Alright, it truly pains me that you won't trust my words... Not that I could give you an explanation for them."
"Even if you could I wouldn't ask, I'm not the type of person to pry into someone's personal life needlessly. Anyways, do you think you can get me something for this?"
Jae-Hwa recovers her posture and grabs the knife the little girl had given her, swaying it left and right in front of her eyes.
"Have you not put it into your inventory?" Such a simple answer made her eyes open, the same way one would after finding the most obvious solution for a three-hour long problem.
"Now that you say it, you did mention something like that, didn't you? Can I also store my weapons?"
"You can store anything, even your clothes, if you want. You just need to think about doing it."
"I'm not getting naked here!"
"Obviously." The little girl smugly replies, as though she already knew what her words would be, letting a giggle escape her vocal cords.
Cho Jae-Hwa's expression softens as she observes a pure moment of joy from Marni, reminding her of the times she had fun with her little sister.
With a mere thought in her mind, her weapon started turning into dust like the defeated monsters until a new icon of a sword appeared in a slot of her inventory.
On the top of the panel, many tabs were nicely ordered, starting with her status, inventory, skills and quests.
How convenient. Now my waist won't hurt anymore.
"Now that we are talking about it, show me your status for a second. I want to check something out." Marni stands up, almost tripping on her black mantle and falling to the floor. She quickly made it inconspicuous of her slip up and sneaked her way to Jae-Hwa's side, resting her fluffy head on her savior's bare thighs.
"S-Sure, how do I that?" Taking advantage on the matter, she had no way to consciously refuse such an inviting offer even if she still doubted her, as her desires grew stronger and she slowly slipped her fingers into the bestial ears, caressing the area around.
"Open your status and press «Share», it should be on the bottom."
"Alright."
—STATUS——————————————
PLAYER NAME: CHO JAE-HWA // LEVEL: 0 <15/20 EXP>
BLESSING: none
TITLE: none
HEALTH: 67/100
DAMAGE: 9 (+4) // DEFENSE: 10 // ENERGY: 3/20
WEAPON: Damaged Knife
ARMOR: Simple Uniform
SKILLS:
CREDITS: 1
"Ah, now it's showing the amount of experience I have. My energy is also mostly gone."
Marni slowly observed the data displayed in the panel, looking attentively at the information Jae-Hwa had pointed out. She takes her right hand, holding it up in the air to press on both of the skills she had learned for two respective panels to appear in front of the little girl's eyes.
"You unlocked a new skill, huh. Don't worry too much about your energy, okay? It's only natural after using two skills with such high costs at a low level. It will recover over time, even more if you rest.
For the experience, it only shows after combat for some reason, so now that nothing is threatening you, you can see some more detailed information."
Cho Jae-Hwa listens attentively to the little beast girl as she thoroughly explained every bit of information she managed.
"The other sections are obvious,
Marni points to the
"Why does Haste have a level attached to it? Is it somehow different?" Jae-Hwa asks as she reads the detailed information of both skills.
"That is because the skill is upgradable. Once it reaches level four, it achieves it's full power, but if you want to further evolve it, you can do it after some requirements once it reaches level five. Skills that do not need a level need some different requirement to be evolved or just can't be upgraded at all."
"Is that so..."
Pausing for a moment to catch her breath, Marni becomes alarmed by Jae-Hwa's next question, something that even she couldn't give a perfect answer. For a moment it was as if the air around her had become void and sweat was being forcefully expelled from her body as the gaze of her savior had become gigantically threatening.
"That reminds me, you were able to give me a quest, weren't you? I tried before but I couldn't find an option to do it."
"I don't know. We can do it just fine, but the Forgotten Ones... I mean, those who are outsiders to this dungeon are not able to do it."
"Then why do you know all of this information? The fact that this is a dungeon or that there are multiple domains. Why are you giving me all of this for free?"
"Can you stop with the interrogation? I don— I don't remember." Her breath becomes shallow, almost hyperventilating even. She takes a few steps, stumbling to the sides until at her fourth she falls to the floor without conscience, eyes wide opened. Before Jae-Hwa closes her eyes with her hand, the faint glow of blue fades into nothing.
Remembering of the last time she saw that same blue light followed by the strange behavior, she reached an understanding that somehow she was being monitored, even controlled or it was some kind of sickness after being on the brink of death.
So if I push it too much, she will just faint? What sense does it make for something like this to happen?
"Miss Forgotten, mind paying some attention to me as well? If you leave her there, everyone will leave her resting, do not worry."
Around the campfire, only a few steps away from the abandoned building, a voluptuous woman of light skin color and dark purple hair and eyes in a black dress that covered her entire body and even dragged itself on the floor called out to Jae-Hwa, asking her to come sit next to her with slow hand movements and a soft, but slightly seductive voice.
"Do you know her!?" Putting the fainted girl on the floor with care, she moves right to the front of the mysterious woman, eyeing her up and down.
"Fortunately not, but I also think you shouldn't involve yourself with her. I'm Castelia, whether it be resting or trading, you can do both here. If you are interested in anything, you can pay with credits."
Behind her gentle smile was a cunning mind, presenting several different items for at least more than five credits each. Around the campfire were several cloths layed down as sleeping areas.
Castelia's words bothered her more than they should, forcing a more angry tone to leave her voice.
"Why shouldn't I involve with her? She needs help!"
"I was only suggesting, but as far as I have seen through the years, that girl is danger. With a scent like hers, it is as if I am looking at death incarnate. Follow my advice and be careful around her."
The woman tydied up her dress, laying it out in front of her, enough for a person to sleep on it.
"Do you not remember Marni?" Jae-Hwa asks out of concern that everyone had truly forgotten.
"Of course I remember." The woman answers, emanating a mother-like presence as her words are sounded. "I treated her like a daughter after her family suddenly disappeared... No one knows how or why... But she is dead. None of her and her friends returned after their patrol and after some of the guards went searching for them, they all confirmed it."
"T—Then, that girl, does she not remind you of Marni?"
"Sure, she has a similar feeling to her, but I still can't overlook the bad aura she emanates."
Cho Jae-Hwa's mind was an internal mess, trying to process everything at the same time while choosing who to believe.
"I'm afraid I am already too deep into it to leave now." She was only able to look down, squint her eyes with a splitting headache and clench her fist. At this stage, where she even received a quest to help her, impossible to abandon, there was not much to do on what seemed to be a mistake.
"Then come here... If it has come to that, I will help you the best I can possibly do. You should rest first, you need every bit of energy you can."
The woman spreads her arms as she slowly leads Jae-Hwa to her lap, laying her down like a newborn baby. As Castelia brushes her hair gently and sings a lullaby to help her sleep, Jae-Hwa's eyes open and close, starting to doze off, slowly until the surroundings can finally only listen to her breathing.
—CURRENT STATS——————————
PLAYER NAME: CHO JAE-HWA // LEVEL: 0 <15/20 EXP>
BLESSING: none
TITLE: none
HEALTH: 67/100
DAMAGE: 9 (+4) // DEFENSE: 10 // ENERGY: 3/20
WEAPON: Damaged Knife
ARMOR: Simple Uniform
SKILLS:
CREDITS: 1