Nex took the lead this time, advancing carefully through the narrow corridor. The temperature dropped rapidly as they entered the cave. The air was damp and chilly; their steps splashed against a thin layer of water.
“Excuse me, Mister…”
“Just call me David. I’d wager we’ll all be colleagues soon enough,” the man accompanying the trio answered.
Their guardian had the kind of face you could see everywhere. His medium-length black hair didn’t help him stand out. Or maybe it was just that Liliene never really paid attention to men. Could be. He wore easy-to-move clothes, mostly leather. A small pickaxe, a rope, and a sword hung from his belt, along with a few pouches. Liliene had no idea what was inside.
“Mister David. What if the first group clears everything?”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry. This ruin is special. It’s not exactly a real one. There are openings all around for the staff to move things around and add new threats.”
“Really? Like whole rooms?”
“God no. But we can drop a few beasts and clear the dead ones.”
Liliene let her finger trail against the uneven rocks protruding from the wall to her right. They looked real enough to her. She wondered how they even added monsters. Were there secret pathways around? She looked left and right, her eyes narrowed, but nothing stood out.
The uneven stones gave way to polished walls, then to bricks. The deeper they pushed, the more maintained, or maybe just new, the surfaces looked. They stopped at an intersection.
“Ah, wait,” David said, reading notes on a piece of paper. “We go right.”
“We don’t choose? There’s not one easier side or something?”
David raised an eyebrow. “No? They’re identical. It just gives the staff time to replace what they need to.”
After a few meters, Nex stopped. She put a finger to her mouth in a shushing motion and focused.
Growls. Multiple footsteps on the ground, along with scraping noises.
“Likely wolves. My Lady, you protect Miss Laura.”
Cheeky maid, ordering her Lady. But this was real combat, and Nex was the one with actual experience. Liliene would protest later and obey first.
David, meanwhile, observed silently but offered no comment or advice.
They moved as quietly as they could. Nex, up first, peeked around the corner to scout the room.
The beasts had gray fur and were larger than usual, though not absurdly so. But they were stressed, tense, snapping at each other. Despite their size, the skin around their necks sagged, and their flanks were hollow. They had been kept malnourished for a while. Likely to make them aggressive but also weaker.
“Poor beasts…” Nex muttered.
She unsheathed her sword and walked into the room. Three out of the five wolves she counted turned their heads toward her, now silent. They padded closer, their stance low, saliva dripping from their mouths. Nex kept strolling farther, back straight; only her head was turned sideways to look at them, wanting to draw them as far as possible from her charges.
Liliene, who had remembered to buy a sword this time, stepped out in front of Laura. The other two wolves didn’t share the rest of the pack's interest in Nex and were stalking in their direction.
Behind Liliene, a clang resonated. Laura had dropped her sword.
“S-Sorry.”
She scrambled to quickly pick it up, holding the hilt with trembling hands.
“First time?” David asked her. He held his own sword but stood a few paces back. He would likely intervene only if he had to.
“Yes…” Laura answered, giving a small, tense nod.
Liliene didn’t turn back to check on her girlfriend. She had one job, and she intended to do it well. Worst case, Nex would teleport to protect Laura; the room was probably dim enough for that. But that would also mean she’d kill David, and their cover would be blown. A less than ideal outcome.
The two wolves eyeing Liliene and Laura acted as one, both separating to flank Liliene.
“Laura, step back,” Liliene said, her neck hurting from constantly looking between them.
One of them, impatient, growled and probed Liliene. Its teeth snapped at air as she recoiled by reflex. Maybe seeing the opportunity created by its ally, the wolf on her left sprang into action, jumping at her hand.
The angle was too awkward for her sword; she spun around and kicked it away. It skidded on its side to collide with its packmate, who bit its muzzle in retaliation.
“Damn. You’re strong, lady,” David commented after a whistle.
Liliene didn’t acknowledge him. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Nex, her posture impeccable, hands folded over her belly, waiting. Liliene had been trained by Nex and Luna; her constitution made her stronger than the average human. She could have ended it ages ago. Yet Nex’s words kept replaying in her head. Poor beasts. It was stupid, she knew. But in a way, they were victims, too.
“Lili. They deserve a swift death.”
Nex’s voice brought her out of her torment.
Liliene focused on her breathing. Apparently tired from nipping at each other’s throats, the wolves had her attention again. They both charged, one aiming at her legs, the other at her arms. Liliene planted her sword through the first one’s neck and into the ground, then used the embedded sword as a pivot, landing her foot against the second one’s belly. She removed her sword, a spray of blood arcing around as she did, and ran toward the downed beast.
“Sorry…” she muttered, and also aimed for its throat.
David joined them, unbothered, clapping lazily.
“You handled them far better than most.”
Liliene ignored him and looked at the five corpses scattered in the room. Was it worth killing beasts solely to test their skills?
He walked on past them, toward the next corridor.
“Are you okay, Laura?”
“Yes. I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t do much.”
Nex suddenly came over and hugged Liliene.
“Never hesitate, Lili. Please. It’ll only cost you.”
Liliene nodded silently.
Next came more navigation: more tunnels to navigate, more dead ends. Until finally, they stumbled upon a passage with a brighter light at its end. They followed it.
The space was vast and thoroughly empty. On the other side was a door, its design reminding Liliene of home, though the details differed. Two thin figures flanked the door. They looked humanoid, if she squinted enough. In truth, they were closer to a bundle of crude metal parts and cables assembled into limbs.
“Those are the automatons?” Liliene asked. She thought it was the word he used.
“Yes,” David answered, stepping nonchalantly inside the room. “As we said, they almost never attack humans.”
The trio followed after him. Once they reached the middle of the room, the two figures moved. Closer now, Liliene could see their faces: featureless and smooth, with only what looked like a circular glass lens at their center. They looked at David, and the glass flashed green. Then Laura. Green again. Then Nex and Liliene. It flashed red.
“Threat level: high. Priority: protect human beings.”
Their voice resonated in the empty room. It held no warmth or tone.
“… the fuck?” David stopped.
They rushed, blades extending from their forearms. David drew his blade and stepped in their way. His blade screeched, sparks flying around as it ground against the closest one’s torso. It slapped him aside and kept charging toward the trio.
“Laura,” Liliene said, her voice weirdly composed. “You stand aside.”
Nex didn’t wait and met one of them. Its blade crashed hard against Nex’s. Her eyes widened, the weight of the attack forcing her to put a knee on the ground.
Liliene swung her sword across the one locked onto her. It took it as a mild inconvenience. Its first strike, Liliene diverted. The second one she couldn’t. She only had one blade, and it was busy. She didn’t think; she hardened the blood in her left arm and used it to divert the second strike.
“Ah!”
She grunted and recoiled, holding her now-bleeding arm.
“Lili!”
Laura ran toward Liliene but remembered her command. If even Nex was struggling, she would only be a liability. Her mind reeled as she wondered what a simple human girl like her could do. Then she remembered the light, the way they ignored David.
Her gaze focused. She did the only thing she could: analyze. The metal parts, the glass window on their head, and the cables, where they all went, what purpose they served. She knew too little and couldn’t be sure what purpose the cables all served, yet she acted anyway.
Her girlfriend was being overwhelmed, cut apart in front of her. She held her sword tightly and ran toward the automaton. It didn’t care. Even with Laura standing a few paces away, it didn’t turn to even check on her. She inhaled deeply and brought her sword down behind its neck, onto the strand of smaller cables bundled together. The effect was immediate; it fell like a puppet with its strings cut. Or a robot whose cables were cut, to be precise.
David was still out, swaying on the ground after his blow.
“Argh!”
Nex handled herself better than Liliene had, but when she tried tripping the automaton with a sweep of her legs, all she managed was to make it stumble briefly. It answered with a cut to her shoulder.
“Lili, I know what to do.”
Laura pressed her back against Liliene’s chest and held her girlfriend’s arm. She brought Liliene’s sword to her own throat.
“HELP!”
The automaton turned and, seeing a human in danger, surged forward. Nex had checked on Liliene’s well-being despite her own fight. She had seen Laura’s kill. Her sword came down on the cables behind its back.
They all breathed a sigh of relief. Laura sagged completely against Liliene, her sword slipping from her grip and clattering on the ground.
“Hm. My lover is so clever…” Liliene twirled Laura in her arms and pressed her lips against hers.
“Hmpf?” Laura’s protest lasted about one Planck time before melting into the kiss.
“Ah…” Nex exhaled and looked away. “Guess I’m scouting tonight…”
“The fuck happened?”
David weakly got up from the ground, rubbing the back of his head. On his feet, he observed the aftermath. Two of his charges bled, one profusely at that, and the two automatons lay on the ground.
“You… won?”
He blinked several times. Something inside him snapped.
“Second group they’ve attacked today! Small. Number. Of. False. Positives. My. Ass.” He punctuated each word with a kick against the nearest downed automaton. “Useless. Garbage.”
Liliene nodded sagely and looked away, giving him time to vent… whatever feeling that was.
“All in one piece?” he then asked, seemingly done with his revenge.
“I think so…”
Liliene checked her arms. She had only hardened her blood to dampen the impacts. Now liquid, it was flowing out quite freely.
“It only nicked me,” Nex answered, rotating her arm to check on her wound and range of motion.
“Well. I’m supposed to make you crawl into that,” David said, pointing toward the door with his thumb. “And come back with what you determine to be the most expensive artifact. But honestly, I won’t tell anyone if you want to call it a day.”
“No,” Laura said, disentangling herself from her girlfriend’s arms. “Let us.”
David shrugged. “Your call.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
They strolled toward the door; meanwhile, David pretended to be useful for once.
“See, ruins are often sealed. And there’s no forcing those doors. But they’re also old. More often than not, you’ll find cracks, collapsed portions, or whatever,” he said, pointing toward a clearly man-made hole two meters above the ground, wide enough for one person to go through.
“Do we have a rope?” Liliene asked.
Laura pursed her lips. “I… I didn’t think about it.”
“Can we borrow yours? Please,” Liliene tried, giving him ‘the big eyes.’ It wasn’t very effective.
“Nope.” He scoffed.
Liliene looked at him like he had just eaten the last slice of cake in front of her. It had always worked so far! Admittedly, only on Nex, but still. With a sigh of defeat, Liliene knelt, back against the wall, and linked her hands together.
“Hop on! Just like when climbing trees.” She gave Laura the same grin as her childhood self.
“I’m heavy…”
“It’s okay. I’m strong!”
A weak fist fell on Liliene’s head.
“You’re supposed to say I’m not!”
Oh. Were exchanges this codified? Liliene certainly had some studying to do.
In the end, Laura slipped inside the room and scanned it. In no time, she was back outside, holding a rectangular black object with two buttons sticking out of it.
“Know what this is, missy?”
“Yes,” she said, pressing one of the buttons. “It records sounds.”
She pressed the second button. It records sounds, Laura’s voice echoed from the device.
“You know your stuff.” David nodded, impressed.
“My mom owns an artifact shop.”
He hummed and took the artifact. All that was left was to walk outside and be free.
“Do we pass?” Liliene asked.
“It wasn’t exactly about passing. More about making sure you were ready. In my book, you more than qualify.” His gaze couldn’t help but land on Liliene’s arms. “You sure you’re okay? They don’t seem too deep, but they sure cut you up.”
Liliene smiled and nodded. She took her parasol out of Laura’s bag as the corridor grew brighter.
“I’ll be okay. Do they often attack like that?”
“Not at all. Sometimes they do, but it’s extremely rare. Well, sucks to be you.”
Liliene had an inkling that sometimes was going to be every time for them.
The exit led to a second clearing, busier this time. All around, men hurried, pushing crates and loading cages holding animals onto crude freight elevators. An older man, his hair and beard white, stood at the exit with his arms crossed.
“David. How’d they do?”
“No need for further training. Just give them the damn thing,” David answered with a roll of his eyes.
“Alright.”
The man stepped up toward them and opened his hand. Inside were three insignia representing the guild's two branches. A hammer crossed with a pickaxe. Tinkering and delving.
“With this, you’re allowed to enter ruins, move artifacts, and use a selected list of them to help during your delves.”
They each picked one up. Liliene carefully observed it. The longer she looked, the more details she noticed: stylized letters around the rim, tiny marks along the tools, even engraved strands that made the ribbon look woven.
“Thank you!” she beamed.
“Still, you should also pick up your license proper at the conservatory. And look for available jobs. Congratulations.”
He gave them all a gruff pat on the back. As they walked away, they heard David rant.
“Twice today they attacked newbies.”
“Told them,” the old one spat. “We shouldn’t use something that we don’t understand.”
Liliene walked a little bit faster. She’d bet the automatons hadn’t attacked them due to a malfunction. On the contrary.
Ahead of the trio, alone on the path, stood the same pink-haired girl Liliene had noticed earlier. She was unarmed, her white dress and her hair floating at the whim of the wind.
“Hm… I knew it. That’s little Nex.”
“You must be mistaken.”
Nex didn’t look at her, passing by with her gaze fixed straight ahead.
“Really? I don’t think Nex is a common name,” Liliene said, looking at her maid with wide eyes.
Nex let out a weary sigh. “Et tu, Lili?”
The girl skipped ahead of them, her upper body tilting sideways. Her face held the delighted expression of a cat whose mouse had finally started to struggle.