Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL]

“Do you see anything suspicious?” Chloe asks once she’s done processing her own gains for the fight. It appears that she just barely crossed the threshold to Level 65; the crossed eyes staring into space characteristic of working through new System windows and assigning stat points for a new level.

“Nothing any more or less suspicious than anything else here,” I say. “Just a nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right here. The fight was too easy.”

“Or maybe we just handled the challenge that well?”

“We did adapt well, yes, but the fight was nothing we couldn’t have handled just as easily eight levels ago.”

“I think you overestimate where we were eight levels ago. You definitely couldn’t have maintained a barrier, a [Dimensional Rift], and your [Gravity] spell. Or did you forget what happened the last time you invoked [Gravity] to that extent?”

Not that I needed the reminder of my greatest failure; how could I ever forget? Two full months ago, and closer to thirty levels than eight, but a horrible reminder of how weak I was back then, and how it was innocent people who paid the price for my lack of diligence. A city saved, but not without cost. Eight lives that were snuffed out too soon, whether due to my weakness or my hubris, my lack of preparation or my lack of knowledge about both my own capabilities and the very real threats that haunt us even now.

Sometimes I try to comfort myself, telling myself that it had been necessary. But even if it had been the best way I could come up with at the time to save the most total lives, I still think about whether or not there was another way that could have lowered the body count further.

“You’re right,” I say. “But I don’t think this is anywhere near as unpleasant as the next stage of the dungeon will be.”

I slip on my [Artificer’s Glasses], taking a few moments to search for any mechanisms or items or equipment that might be of use to us. I search all over, peering into the knots in the trees and any space on the ground or the nearby walls that looks even remotely suspicious, all to no avail. I’m about ready to put them back away when Chloe points out a faint glint of light high above on the ceiling.

“What is it?” she asks.

“Out of range,” I reply after glancing up at it and rolling my eyes at the error message.

“Of course it is.” Chloe purses her lips. “Why would it not be?”

“This is a dungeon,” I say. “I’d be disappointed if everything were made too easy. Give me just a moment; I’ll go take a closer look”

“Seraphina Mortensen, if you jump up there and end up falling down and hurting yourself–”

“I think we’re both sturdy enough not to have to worry about fall damage, although, if you are still worried, I think I have a solution to this problem.”

I leap about thirty feet into the air, waiting for gravity to accelerate me back toward the ground. It feels so slow compared with how quickly fights happen even at our level, let alone the actual pinnacles of System-granted might. But once I’m about to touch down, I [Dimensional Slip] out of this layer of reality and wait a fraction of a second. A blink later, I return, proving that I can indeed use the skill as an [Ether]-intensive way to arrest all my momentum.

“There,” I say. “No worries about reckless endangerment.”

“As long as there aren’t any more of those creatures up there to cause further problems.”

I wink. “I think I can hold off long enough to make it back to you.”

And with that, I’m off. I’m able to jump just high enough to reach onto the lowest level of the multi-tiered ceiling, and with hundreds of points in [Strength], it’s a trivial task to grip onto the stone ceilings and force my way up. Maybe a bit too easy, I quickly learn, as I dig in a little too deep and nearly break off the chunk of stone I was wedging my feet into for support. Nevertheless, it’s not difficult overall to make my way toward that obstinate glint which persists even as the cavern below is coated in darkness.

The source is hard to make out, even as I approach. I’d initially hoped for a weapon of some sort buried into the ceiling, but instead, I find a lode of faintly-glowing metal. The color is similar to gold in hue, but it has none of the softness or ductility that should have accompanied. My glasses confirm that I’ve found something I’ve never heard of before.

[[Auracite (Medium Purity)]: A magical ore said to contain the essence of [Light]. This material has high strength relative to its weight and also possesses superior Etheric channeling properties. Weapons and armor crafted from this substance have the intrinsic ability to glow when equipped. (The wielder may activate or deactivate this effect at will.)]

Welp, this right here is a… not literally a gold mine, but not far off, either. Thank the goddesses for my [Inventory] as I jam what must be nearly sixty pounds of the stuff inside before retreating back to the surface with a grin.

“Auracite,” I say. “Never heard of it before, but I think you’re getting new swords and I’m getting a new suit of armor once we have a few days to rest.”

“That could be a good while at this rate.” Chloe’s eyes drop as she takes a deep breath. “Seems the universe has seen fit to fuck us over, these past few days. Somehow, I doubt it’ll develop a soft spot for us in the next several hours.”

“I do not disagree, Chloe. But we’ll get through it together. Just as we have everything else these past eighteen years.” I give her a quick kiss, eagerly reciprocated.

“These have been a hectic five months, love.” Chloe sheathes her swords and rests her head on my organic right shoulder. “But it’s as you say. You and me, together forever.”

That never does fail to get a warm and fuzzy feeling into my chest, a welcome change from the unpleasantness of the past several hours. It’s going to be tough, I don’t trust our supposed allies, and I don’t know if some or all of what’s going on is connected to even bigger threads, but as long as I have Chloe by my side, I can’t help but feel confident in our ability to succeed.

The confidence, as well as the calm, lasts for all of five minutes, right until we pass through another narrow passageway and the flow of ambient Ether shifts yet again. Flight is still forbidden, but now a new rule has been imposed. Welcome to The Quiet Place, population us.

I can still hear just fine, and we’re not completely devoid of our ability to communicate. Snapping and clapping works fine, and if we drop something, it still sounds with a thud all the same. But no speaking, no ‘ums’ or ‘hey yous’. And the change in Etheric flow also extends to [Angelic Bond], as well as the weapon bond I share with Filia, silencing both and leaving my head strangely empty.

The ability to sense emotions is still there, meaning that a particularly strong burst of fear or panic should be able to call Chloe’s attention in a hurry.

Or lust, I offhandedly add, but that might just cause an even bigger distraction.

As a double check to continue to stress test the limits of this new dictum, I pull out a sheet of paper from my sketchbook and scribble ‘Can you read this, Chloe?’ on it, then hand it to her. She nods, then writes ‘Yes’ before slipping the page back to me. Good to know that it really is strictly verbal communication which is being disrupted. If only we’d both taken Sign Language back in high school, we’d be set. As it stood, this was mostly going to impact our ability to coordinate in real-time in fights, and probably by design.

Tension mounts in my neck. I hold Chloe’s hand, partially to calm myself and partially in case I sense something and need to pull her out of the way in a hurry. And yet nothing. Not yet, anyway. Danger is everywhere; I can sense movement in the periphery of [Valkyrion’s Perception], and yet it isn’t attacking us… Yet.

[Your [Valkyrion’s Perception (Rank VIII)] has upgraded to [Valkyrion’s Perception (Rank IX)].]

Well, that was unexpected. It’s only been a few days since my ascension and gaining this Skill, and yet it feels like so much has happened between then and now, and that I should have gotten a rank or two over the course of all those previous fights. Ah well, I’ll take the slightly larger perception radius, finer granularity, and boost to my [Agility] where I can get it.

Chloe again takes the lead as we enter into the next large cavern. Smooth ceilings overhead at first, but they quickly ascend higher than my Skill can sense. The light of Chloe’s [Swords of Repose] illuminates the path immediately ahead, while I can keep track of any would-be pursuers long before they get close enough to strike. Including the invisible ones, as one clever shrew tried to be.

Alas. Level 41. Probably not strong enough to hurt me. Definitely not high enough Level to give me a single Experience point as its lifeblood fell off my weapon and onto the ground below. A shame, really, though the idea of it carrying some sort of disease was a possibility I was considering. Paranoia, again, some might say. But when everything reeks of conspiracies and a suspiciously-low-leveled creature with invisibility comes knocking on my heels, can I truly be blamed for thinking it’s merely a harbinger of a far greater threat?

I sense others, but they seem to be holding fast, trailing cautiously at a distance rather than encroaching within striking range. A quick silver flash summons forth my sketchbook once more, and I write down some questions for Chloe.

“Do you have the ability to see through invisibility? Any sort of supernatural perception Skills? We’re being followed by invisible monsters. Killed one. Level 41. Likely serving a greater master, suspected disease.”

A few seconds later, I get back some scribbles.

“Can’t see it; my perception Skills didn’t evolve that way, but I can [Purge Invisibility]. Noted. Getting an odd premonition myself, also suspecting we are being watched. Inform me if the situation changes. Love you.”

Something is following us, watching us. Watching through the eyes of these creatures, controlling them like puppets? Or maybe the whole swarm has some sort of combined sentience, and it’s luring us into a trap? I doubt I’d break a sweat against five thousand, but a hundred thousand level 41’s would pose a threat to me. A million could overwhelm us both.

We descend deeper into this place, whose name I seem to now know through pure intuition: Ruins of Judgement. The nagging only gets stronger, even as I steel myself for battle. I think it’s not having Chloe there in my head with me to settle my nerves. Haven’t even been dating her for three full months yet and I’m already so far gone that not being able to hear her voice is driving me nuts. Maybe we really should skip the rest of the dating phase and get hitched already; we’re already acting like we’re old and married.

Chloe taps the back of my hand; I can sense it as well. A massive creature lies before us, ursine, though at least twice as big as the biggest grizzly I’ve ever seen. Claws dripping with venom, teeth that could rend metal and stone as easily as flesh, and the scent of blood all around. Moreover, it looks and is acting all but rabid and enraged, ripping up the last bit of its meal, crushing and swallowing the carcass of a lion-shaped beast in disgustingly massive gulps.

For a moment, I consider trying to move past it, using our inability to vocalize as an asset instead of a liability. Sadly, it notices our movement; it probably smelled two chunks of fresh meat even before we entered the chamber. It approaches. Alas, it looks like bear is on the menu for lunch.