Chapter 68: Fragmented Line
———Orrel———
<1: 59 pm>
“It’s a shame that we only got this weekend left before going back to school, but at least something exciting can happen there.” Gregori said. “I’d have to wonder if they’ll do anything related to the dungeon, but considering the amount of students, that seems unlikely. This place is gonna be completely crowded.”
“No kidding. Some floors are large while the others are small, not to mention how the daily reset caused the layout to change. It’d be impractical to have an entire classroom do a field trip here, let alone multiple.” Looking back at it, it’s probably why she said what she did. It’s quite an impractical location for training. Monsters took a long time to respawn, the constant change in layout means that you couldn’t plan things perfectly, and it is also used as a hunting ground for people looking for some changes. It’s a public space that they couldn’t hoard to themselves.
If the interior were larger with a more abundant amount of monsters, and more importantly fixed layouts, then it could theoretically work as some sort of training group to simulate real combat, but that’s the best it could do. The simulator, and the training ground were already enough for that sort of application. It would be more accurate to the kind of battles shown in those facilities, but it also means a real risk to the student’s wellbeing. Parents would not love that at all.
Maybe I should’ve taken her words with more weight instead of seeing it as an attempt to be unnecessarily coy and cryptic. I haven’t thought things through since we don’t have access to the dungeon for months, at least that’s the most charitable way to see my lapse in judgment.
“I mean. Having students, many of them probably not even proficient in fighting or spellcasting, entering a dungeon is not a good idea in the first place, even if you had someone like Rico or Wana around.” Gregori noted. Yeah yeah, just rub it in my face even if you also agreed with me at the time.
“...Let’s just go back. We finished with picking the materials anyway.” I said so we don’t have to keep talking about this anymore. I could use a nice long sleep after this exhausting expedition.
“Hear ya, boss.” He playfully said before both of us went back up to the surface. “So where do you think we are on the pecking order right now?”
“Not very high. Above the average folk, but just barely.” I said as we walked up the stairs.
“Definitely not how some people saw us. It’s weird, it’s not like we’re doing anything different.” Gregori pointed out. It probably has something to do with the unwarranted attention due to how well we performed in school. It is an odd metric to go off on, such a ranking barely matters in the wider world.
“Indeed. You would think they’d put more attention on those with far greater strength. People who can actually claim to be able to level a city.” I said just to set an example. I don’t think they should revere someone who actually went through with such a destructive act, but you’d think they’d talk about them more instead of us. Is it just because we’re schoolmates?
“That’s just not how it goes, unfortunately.” He replied. At the very least it hasn’t been anything intrusive, and as far as I know we haven’t been slandered in any way beyond outlandish and clearly exaggerated rumors meant for laughs more than anything. “If nothing else, that’s basically it. It’s not like we’re being terrorized by some shadowy organizations, or random criminals, or any sort of weird things happening out there.”
“It is still hard to believe all of that happens elsewhere in such high numbers. What are the exact stats on that anyway?” I asked, since all we really have to gauge the severity of it on is the numbers. We don’t get to witness any of it for multiple reasons. There are photographs of the aftermath, but not much else.
“Less than you think, more than it should.” He answered. That’s a… well. That means it’s not looking good. It’s not an exact number, however.
“Do you not…” Does he not have any numbers?
“Not really. There is a lot of reporting, but with overlapping stories and such the count is not super accurate. No one really bothered putting it all in a nice definitive number.” He answered. Can’t really blame him or the denizens who would usually obsess over this. The world seems to be in a weird state of limbo right now, especially as many are stuck in their country and people mostly focus on things going on around them more than the wider world. “That depressing crap aside. What else can we really talk about…”
“How about the Japan and foreigners rumor? We still didn’t talk about it in detail.” I don’t know if this will tick his fancy. There’s not that much to add from my perspective.
“And I don’t see it as that important. Sure, there are very few ways to get into another country, legit or otherwise, but it isn’t really that interesting of a headline.” He said. But isn’t one of the people photographed… you know?
“Didn’t you see the picture?” I asked, wondering if he got that info the first time around.
“No?” He quickly replied. I still have it on my phone, so let’s quickly show it to him. “Wait… Is that?”
“It’s Karra, no doubt about it.” She was unfocused in the picture, since she was caught on camera by accident. It was by chance that there were people taking pictures in the area, just the usual blogging stuff.
“She was the one rumored to be a foreigner?” Gregori asked, bewildered at the prospect. She has been making a name for herself in a few ways, who would’ve thought this would be another attempt.
“And the fox lady beside her might be one, but she speaks Japanese fluently, so people are unsure. They think she is because she sticks to Karra and no one recognizes her.” I haven’t heard of someone like that before either. “I’m surprised it’s not with Wiina. Just why is that? Who is this lady?”
“...Who’s to say? I mean, it could just be her dyeing her hair black and getting some accessories for all I know.” Gregori jokingly suggested. It’s not out of the realm of possibility. It would explain why there is so very little sighting of her in the first place, though wouldn’t a hoodie be more practical in that case? Maybe also a face mask.
“That would be overkill.” I bluntly remarked. It is simply too tedious of a task when there are easier options. “She probably would rather cast some sort of polymorph spell, if she knows any.”
“Didn’t we already read about how transforming way outside your old parameter is basically a death sentence? Too costly for both the initial and reversal spell. You’d end up killing yourself for even so much as adding extra body parts.” Any transformation spell in general is very impractical, trying to use it on an enemy is even more so. Unless it is part of your race’s biology then you can forget ever shapeshifting or any other transformation outside of maybe changing your hair and eye color.
“I can see her enduring the pain of transforming, if this lady is particularly similar in appearance then it could possibly be here, but the focus on her is bad.” Gregori pointed out. She is a powerful spellcaster, that much is not in question, so it’s not possible. Again, just a hood and mask will work, so why even bother with a tedious or painful method?
“It still seems rather unlikely. It would be simpler to say that this is a new person we have never seen before.” I said, wanting to leave it at that and don’t think about any answer with a convoluted explanation. “There are probably many things you could do with magic to conceal yourself. Illusion, polymorph, memory manipulation, and so forth. It’s just that they all have serious flaws to them that make anyone competent in that realm able to figure you out really quickly. More mundane approach is actually easier in this regard.”
“But that raises more questions, like who is this lady, why is she with Karra, how did she get her there, and so forth.” He pointed out. That is true, but also not something we have a clue on.
“Just more things to needlessly think about…” I said with a sigh. Looks like this is going to be a roadblock. Also, we have reached the surface, so- “What the hell?”
I’m not one to curse out loud, but what is going on right now?
“Why is she here- Why is everyone here!?” Gregori is way less conservative with his choice of words as he looks around.
Both of us quickly disperse into the crowd that have their eyes fixated on Wiina, who seems to be casting some sort of spell? There are a bunch of magic circles surrounding her as she is doing something near the dungeon entrance. What’s actually going on?
“You were both in there?” Jennla remarked as she recognized and approached us.
“Jennla, what’s going on?” Gregori asked, ignoring her remark.
“No freaking clue. I just noticed the crowd and ran over. I asked around, and it doesn’t look like anyone else knows either.” She explained her side.
Everyone is pulling their phones out and taking pictures and videos. It is quite an impressive sight. Lights surrounding her, magic circles enveloping the area, it looks very mystical. Even the guards who should be keeping any funny business from happening that isn’t related to going into the dungeon to scavenge for materials cannot help but stand aside. Then again, they have no chance in opposing someone like her. It would be like an ant trying to stop a tsunami or avalanche.
…Soon enough, the ritual spell stopped and everything seemed to return to normal… seemingly.
The guards then approached her and asked her something. There’s a bit of a distance between the crowd and them, so I can’t quite make out what they’re saying.
And there she goes. Just walked off and no one has any idea where she went off to. What was that all about?
Jennla then walked over to the spot the guards were staring at, and then quickly went back to us. What got them so mesmerized they didn’t even notice a girl approaching them?
“Well?” Gregori asked, wanting to know what she found.
“Magic circles inscribed into the floor, each with a number next to it. It goes twenty-one, forty-one, sixty-one, eighty-one, and hundred and one. Five circles in total.” She explained what she saw, and when the guards walked back to their station, I think I could see bits of it from here. What could it mean?
“Sounds like some sort of checkpoint system. Probably there so you have an easier way out of the dungeon than backtracking.” Gregori muttered out. “It would be easy enough to prove that theory, anyone dare to step on it?”
“Nah. I’m good.” Jennla quickly answered while I simply shook my head.
“We’ll probably hear about this in more detail later. The guild is probably informed on this already.” He gave his guess. “We’re going there to dump the goods anyway, so there’s that. Let’s go, Orrel.”
I nodded and followed him, leaving Jennla behind with a small wave as acknowledgement.
Weird how it just all happened so… quickly? It feels abrupt, no warning whatsoever.
“Here we are.” Gregori said as we entered the building and put our stuff on the counter for these officials to look at. Time to get very little for our trouble.
It’s going to take a while, so let’s see if there is any notice online or on site… There doesn’t seem to be any update on the site itself, at least. The last one was them clarifying something Karra talked about on her stream. It was meant to be a relaxing stream without any real plans, so she didn’t think too much about it, but it did lead to a statement.
All because she forgot to mention that it doesn’t include money from selling potions… The weaponry holds most of the money earned, and potions can sell for a lot more than that.
“Three dollars and fifty cents. Split it among yourselves.” One of them said as they put the cash down. Just barely enough for a meal.