Helio struggled to chop off the vines and thick roots entangled to the door knob that prevented it from twisting. It was uncertain where they would end up and what sort of trouble they would buy for themselves. Aefia was wondering alone in the passageway, looking for the exit and entrusted the others to find more clues. What if the thing behind the door held a clue?
The only thing certain was, since Aefia had mentioned about this being an escape room, the door could be an exit to another room and to unlock the padlock was only one from the list of things left to clear about an escape room. Most of the room contained solid evidence of living organisms like fungus and insects. Some signs contained prove of human lives while others were just some unusual potions which her lady had pocketed.
Helio knew for certain that if Aefia had found the exit, she would have came back and had the others follow her to the next stage but it seems that she too was left to strangle beasts on her way there. Who knew if she was still facing much danger from beasts to secure a path for the others to go through.
One or two things about Aefia was, she carried the whole team and was responsible to exterminate the big threats while the others followed her orders and the ways she told them to clear their ways. If she were on a political group, it was possible that she would be instantly selected as a ruler. The short amount of time that she managed to get helpers for her battles, were faster than the amount of time the competition's founder needed to organize a group of mentors.
Even her lady and her son were amazed at how she was so experienced at leading a team, especially a team made of two world rulers and one demon who she left in charge of a chimera dragon. Not only that, she was able to scare and gain the fear from the Demon King, the third most feared ruler. If it were to be put in a novel, she would be the very well-known antagonist who has the ability to be feared by the main character themselves.
What mattered most to the entire team right now, was that she was kept alive. Because her knowledge about how this dungeon worked, surpressed that of her lady's overall knowledge about the world. No one exactly knew if she was a person who reincarnated into a story, but if it were possible, that would explain why she was so smart, seemed experienced and the others knew her as a high royalty, one who even the Torture Cell were looking for.
Snap! The last strand of root tore and the knob was able to twist open. But the rusty metal prevented the movement a little bit more. Expected, what did I think? An abandoned place must have a rotting lock. Now to break the door. Helio breathed out a sigh of anger.
"Anything the matter?" Her lady's son asked after noticing the overwhelming expression appearing on his face. It had taken them more then twenty minutes in total just to locate the door, hidden behind a broken furniture which was falling off while moving. In order to avoid making the surrounding monsters from finding about their trespassing, they had to further break the wood and pluck out each individual nails to be able to clear the way towards the door.
"Nothing, just another time taking task. The door knob is rusted and the only way of opening it is to break it. Like anything else could get worse." He stabbed the keyhole with his bright green dagger, with hope. The metal around it melted and dropped onto the cold floor as it sizzled away to its solid state.
Helio than recalled how Aefia had mentioned about fitting a very small amount of her own magic energy into each weapon and those weapons would behave slightly like her own weapon. Doesn't that mean her sword's 'flames of eternity' has been deposited into each of the weapons? So we had to do this all along!
He stabbed the knob a little bit more to confirm the results. Each mechanical parts separated from inside and fell to the ground in its liquid form, almost dissolving the ground along with it. So she knew about this! Isn't that why she had exceptionally add this feature into each one of our weaponry, to be able to cut through any rotting metal?
"I think we were all dumb enough to not include the fact that abandoned dungeons could have a possibility to consist of metallic parts that need breaking, that girl really knows how to thoroughly prepare for a long duration fight." Her lady complimented.
"No ma'am, I believe she managed to decode all this in a short amount of time because she keeps silent during our useless conversations and think about the consequences of what she is about to do next." Helio spoke as he sliced through the centre of the knob, near the wooden piece of the door. The remaining of the knob fell backwards and the door slowly creaked open.
Yes! Now onto the next stage? Helio looked at the two others in the room and gulped. "You ought to apologize to my mother now! You are not the leader of our team to be able to judge us just like that!" Her lady's son spoke as he pointed with his two palms at his saddened mother.
Alright, maybe Aefia wouldn't have done that. "I am sorry your majesty, but I seemed to have said something that upsets you. But it is true the fact that Aefia doesn't speak much but rather focuses on her current situation first." Helio said while bowing.
"Don't worry, I completely understand. Honestly, I think we should be quiet and keep on with our mission. Aefia would have to do more work if we don't finish our side of the tasks first." She smacked her son's palm as she walked forward towards the door.
Well that was all just luck. Helio said to himself while looking at the next room. And how would have Aefia solved this stage? It's just all mirrors and mirrors. Like an infinite dimension. He walked forward with hesitation as he heard more metallic noises and mirrors breaking, added to the thrill was human blood dried in splatters on the cold surfaces of the differently shaped mirrors.
***
"Aefia! Do you think it is the right thing to do?! You are basically abandoning them! What if they are in a huge problem? They could have been injured and all! What if something happens to her lady? Will you be able to face the wrath coming from her son?!" Her wolf pulled her sleeves until it looked like something sinister scratched her on her arm.
"Let go! I can't cut out the meat properly unless you stop moving my arm! And are you seriously saying that there are any sort of injuries when Helio is already in the team?! And I know for certain nothing can get to her lady or her son because one is protecting the other, and I have encrypted a protective spell to block any powerful beast from attacking them." Aefia replied while holding her hand with the knife up to prevent injuries.
"Are you sure about that? You gave up just twenty percent of your magic energy into those weapons." Her wolf made a suspicious eye towards Aefia. "Well, alright that you had quite the amount of magic energy and twenty percent was a lot compared to what it seems. But that amount is also too little to block all beasts from attacking." It spoke while making bunny fingers in the word 'all'.
"You are right, I only made sure the stronger beasts couldn't attack them. The beasts that could attack them would be a too weak opponent compared to their power." Aefia explained while bringing the knife down to continue cutting out the meat from the colourful beasts and storing them in a container she had purchased with three bucks. The container could keep the food fresh for as long as the owners want to keep them. This was a huge advantage given that she didn't know for how long they had to stay in the dungeon.
The wolf pounced in front of Aefia, but it made slight contact with her hand and the knife slightly scratched her face. "Stop moving me around like I am a movable furniture! And now who is the one injured! You or me?! I understand what you are trying to say but I have kept well track of what they had been doing all this time! That's how I know they are safe with what they are doing!" Aefia spoke with a bleeding face that slightly itched while she moved her jaw.
"I am sorry." The wolf walked away and vanished into thin air as the pixels dissappeared bit by bit. She looked at it before giving a sigh. I just don't get how the wolf thinks that I am scoulding it because it has no fault and just wanted to play, but it won't be able to do anything when I am badly injured. It just excels in making me feel terrible for scoulding it.
She got up from the ground and walked forward to the door to the mirror maze. Her blood was already splattered onto the ground due to her wounds, so the way towards where she had last stood was a clear path. By then, she could hear the clattering of her lady's heels clattering on the ground, her son's heavy stomping and Helio's slow footsteps.
They are here, so I should immediately return to my standing position.
She thought while putting the filled container into the inventory of her screen. She walked towards the centre of the room where the stage boss would appear while reading the map. Directions were easy to read but the mirrors were changed so manual identification was needed.
Suddenly, she heard metal claws, breaking glass, and swinging of weapons. Well, am I just supposed to have the rest do nothing? At least they are leveling up because of this.
Aefia slowly walked towards them, knowing that they wouldn't be able to tell the direction on the map, there are three exits and anyone of them could be the one they came from.
***
What is this beast! I didn't happened to have seen this beast when I spotted Aefia right next to a crowd of familiar ones fallen! Helio panicked as the beasts jumped onto the mirror surfaces and bounced off at them as the mirrors broke, but at least this way, a path was being cleared for them.
One of the beast suddenly jumped on top of Helio as he struggled to get back upright, it was one of the colourful beasts that Aefia was seen killing earlier. He used her way of stopping a huge jaw from plunging further using both of this daggers. One to stab on the stomach area and the other to stop the mouth from closing. As soon as it rolled over, he got up and looked up to see her lady and her son fighting a different type of beast.
The wolf beast was a strong animal that looked like a mix between a large dog and a fantasy description of a dragon. It is about the size of a normal domestic dog and had a very thick body. Its fur was mostly dark gray and black with some silver parts that stood out. The fur was much longer around its neck, which helped keep it warm and safe from the cold creepy atmosphere of the room. It had wide shoulders and strong legs that helped it run fast and jump high.
Its face was broad and looked older than a regular wolf's face. The snout was short but very wide, and it had long, sharp teeth like Al the other beasts of the dungeon. The most notable part of its head were the eyes. They were a bright yellow color and seemed to glow as creepily as Aefia's. It looked very smart, as if it is thinking about its next move rather than just acting on hunger, almost resembling Aefia. It stayed very still when it watched something like a house cat.
The legs of the beast were long and built for walking long distances without getting tired. Its paws were very large with each paw had thick, black claws that it could use to climb up rocks or grip the ground when it runs. The bottom of its feet were tough and leathery, so it did not make any noise when it moved through the leaves. Its tail was long and had a lot of fur, which helped the beast stay balanced when it turned quickly. It made sounds like low growls or long howls when it wanted its enemy to stay put.
He wanted to go help them, but another chomped down on his shoulder as he screamed in pain. The others rushed over to try and help him but another pair of footsteps appeared and stopped her lady from moving by grabbing onto her shoulders.
"Wait! No one helps him." A person spoke from behind. "I have done even numbers of observations and he is still too weak for the next stage. Let him struggle to kill that monster, otherwise we will have to leave him to die in this dungeon." Aefia spoke with a serious face and glowing red eyes. "If he doesn't fight, the entire objective of this stage has been ruined and disobeyed."