Search Mission!

Chapter 17: Search Mission!

Zen, Alex, Max, and Yu have been walking for a good few hours now, and they have yet to find anything note worthy.

Before they left, Sabrina asked them how long it would take them to come back, and Zen replied that they would be back in 2-3 days maximum in the case where they didn't find what they were looking for.

Yu was a massive help with his Nigh Vision trait. Walking right behind Zen, he was always there to notify him of anything wrong within the maze when they had to go through the dark corridors past the puzzle door.

They had the map with them, so the path they had to take wasn't very unfamiliar.

They could pinpoint a couple places they planned on visiting and get back to their group. While they were at it, they could also look for some chests.

And this was what they've done, the whole path forward wasn't too dangerous with Zen leading the way; they avoided the traps perfectly and after some time, they found their first chest.

"It's not a trap; let's quickly collect the loot and get moving." What they found inside the chest was nothing but food and some weapons—a dagger and a spear, to be exact.

No water, no map, no letter, no camping equipment.

Zen collected the pieces of fresh bread that were magically preserved and gave each member two. Since water was limited and they were on the move already, they left the jugs they had previously with the group, not bothering to take them when they could just find them.

The group didn't stop to eat; they just left the small corridor where the chest was and continued on their path.

Left, right, right, right, left. They came across a second chest. One with two jugs of water and weapons—two swords.

Alex kept the dagger, Zen the spear, and then Yu and Max took the swords.

The maze was still and no sound other than the echoes of the group's footsteps could be heard. 

"I wonder what you guys have been doing back in your own worlds." Yu, who was the newest member to join the party, broke the calm as the group's attention was drawn to him.

"Haha, I was an influencer." Max was the first to reply, scratching his head in embarrassment mixed with pride.

"An influencer? That explains why you're in hell." Yu, hearing Max's reply, joked, making the latter chuckle.

"Haha, right." This was the perfect response he found to not go too much into detail.

Yu then turned his attention towards Alex.

"I already told the group once, but seeing as you're new, I will say it again. I was a hitman, and now I want to live a better life and atone for my sins." Alex, seeing the gaze of Yu, replied.

"I have to say, you do somehow look like a badass middle-aged man who has traversed the world." Zen spoke, complimenting Alex and, at the same time, speaking his mind.

"Is that so? Haha, I can't deny it, though." Alex, surprised by Zen's discerning eyes, confirmed his thoughts.

"You probably had some cool stories, Alex. I'd love to hear them sometimes if we have the chance." Zen added, looking forward to not mistakenly walking on some trap.

"If the chance allows us." Alex had a sweet smile on his face, seeing the enthusiasm the young ones had, but deep within there was this stinging feeling reminding him that he did not want to speak of anything that would remind him of what he did.

"What about you, Zenny?" Yu then gazed at Zen, the young man who somehow gained the trust of the whole group and is the unofficial leader of the whole bunch.

"Ah me? Nothing special, really; I was nothing but an introverted fellow who spent most of his time locked inside a room. If there was anything that got me where I am, it would be a certain purple controller app." Zen shook his head with a chuckle.

"Purple controller? What's that. I've never heard of that app." Max, confused, asked.

"Well, of course you wouldn't know. It's a completely different world than yours." Zen laughed at Max's stupid question.

"Haha, true, true. There was still an app called Stargam where people posted their lives and stuff. I believe that 90% of the people commenting that there will be our ancestors in this place." Zen added, making the group laugh.

"You young ones had a lot of time in your hands to check all of these things; the only devices I've ever used were small phones to communicate and locating devices. Just the stuff needed for the job." Alex joined in.

"Aye, our country was separated from the rest of the world, but we still had quite a lot of degenerates. I guess my own novels were the reason I'm here; the amount of disgusting scenes I've written will probably be enough for 3 more runs in this hell." Yu first explained his situation before he exploded in laughter.

"Ah, a fellow author, huh? I guess you have enough of a reason to be here. I had many friends in that app that should have probably made a place in this hell." Zen laughed.

The atmosphere once again became jolly, full of laughter and smiling faces.

The group got closer as a result of this small talk and they continued their way from time to time, bursting into laughter randomly, causing a chain reaction within the party.

"Oof, it sure has been a while since I've had a good laugh." Alex wiped the sweat off his face as he commented.

"Oh yeah, man. The mood is always dead when women are around." Max joked, replying to Alex's comment.

"Haha, I guess you're right. In a way, it's a special ability of men to just laugh it off in dangerous situations." Zen said.

"If only life was always this good." Added Yu.

-----End-----