A group of youths sporting armours and robes made their way through the desolate halls of the strange cave, me trailing not far behind. Footsteps and occasional splashes echoed in the dreary halls, filled with blood, without a single word spoken. It was truly an atmosphere only the mightiest of introverts could survive in, and the most extraordinary of extroverts could lighten up.
The bunch didn't notice me since the orb of light barely lit up their entire group, so I could easily trail behind them by matching their footsteps. Although I had to quicken my stride a fair bit. I was short afterall.
I wasn't worried about them doing a check for something behind them. Should they turn around, I could use [Blood Dive] and still be fine.
"So, can we set up camp already? My legs are dying over here, and I need to fill up my stom- I mean Essence, yes."
Tessa, the girl in a sable robe, looked at Carl, feigning sincerity and whined.
Carl glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"Not yet, we need to cover more ground. We'll rest after we've defeated one more Gifted Rank."
Justin shot a mocking smirk at Tessa and sneered, "Maybe you should've kept that spell to yourself, huh? You talked a big game for something so useless. Couldn't even find something weaker than a Flower Angler."
Tessa clicked her tongue but didn't say anything, and silence fell over the group once again.
I was carefully listening in whenever they spoke. I needed more information about where I'd been sent, and this fun bunch was a gold mine. If they actually had the capability to hold a conversation for longer than three sentences, that is. Tessa briefly mentioned something crucial in their brief exchange, however.
'Essence? Probably what they call their magic energy. Maybe I'll have access to it too, at some point? Maybe I already do?'
After almost an hour of echoing footsteps and splashing puddles of blood, the path ahead was met with a dead end. Instead of whining or cursing, Carl took his bow and drew its string. A regular arrow materialized on the taut string out of thin air.
"Get into your positions."
Justin drew a jian from his scabbard and slung it over his shoulder.
"C'mon, it's not even that strong. I can take care of it by myself."
'Is this wall a monster?'
It was definitely a little discoloured compared to the surrounding grey walls.
Carl calmly replied, "No. We need to practise for the upcoming examination as well. Conserve your Essence. Now move."
Nobody disagreed, and everybody shifted their positions. The bulky boy with the shield, whose name I learnt was Vazor, stood in front of the group, followed by Justin and Lumina behind him. Carl moved to stand in the back with Tessa. A basic party formation, even I recognized.
Suddenly, an arrow flew through the air, striking the centre of the wall. Dark crimson began gushing out of the wall as an angry red eye flew open right above the wound. After a moment of silence, a pair of large stygian tentacles shot out of the wall, aiming at Carl, the cause of its wound.
A shield met the path of one tentacle, while the other was parried and sliced by Justin. Lumina had drawn a simple white basket-hilted sword and seamlessly slashed one of the tentacles while it was distracted. Both Justin and Lumina fell into a rhythm as they hacked away at the tentacle while it was preoccupied with the other's attack.
Tessa lazily threw out some of the mysterious signs. Strange sparks appeared between her hands, which occasionally shot out a bolt of lightning at the monster. Carl drew his jet-black bow from time to time to let out a stray shot or two.
And so the dance of swords, arrows and lightning leisurely continued, slowly whittling away at the tentacles. After a couple of minutes, without even breaking a sweat, Lumina had pierced the eye in the wall. A stream of dark liquid shot out, covering her from head to toe. Surprisingly, the wall monster deflated into a lumpy mush after its death, revealing a path behind it.
Nobody seemed surprised except for me, watching from the shadows.
'Their nasty attitudes aside, they're quite capable. I got some nice guides for this place!'
I still wasn't exactly sure where I was, but I assumed it was some kind of dungeon. I was born here as a monster after all!
As I snapped out of my own thoughts, Lumina shot her hand with pinpoint accuracy into the carcass and pulled out another pulsating orb. She walked up to Carl and placed it in his outstretched hand.
Tessa glared at Carl, who finally cracked and let out a sigh.
"Fine, we're setting up camp at the next suitable spot."
Tessa wore a satisfied smile as the group silently stepped over the carcass and marched onward into the darkness. Their footsteps slowly faded once again, leaving me in complete darkness.
Now it was my turn to take the stage. Hard work pays off? No work can get you just as much!
'I've been waiting for this. Thank you for the meal, chefs!'
I greedily rubbed my tiny hands together and moved towards the dead monster. There wasn't much to think about, so I sat down and sank my fangs into the wall monster. [Blood Absorb] did most of the work for me, so I happily enjoyed my meal.
'To think I used to be a human a little while ago. How the times change.'
In a couple of minutes, I was left with a metallic aftertaste in my mouth. I felt better once again after absorbing the blood.
The System spoke up in its monotone voice once again.
[5.2L/100L of blood absorbed]
'Hey! This one was definitely bigger than the last one. Why did I get less?' I asked the System frustratedly.
The System spoke up once again.
[It may have lost a lot of blood during the battle]
It did make sense. A lot of the creature's blood was on the nearby floor.
'I see. They did make quite a show out of defeating it instead of killing it quickly. Thank you.'
[You're welcome]
Silence veiled the hall once again as I stood up and began the search for my chefs.
***
I tread down the now-revealed path for half an hour and saw something unexpected. I was expecting the group to be sitting in silent misery around a campfire and sleeping on rocks, but soon the halls opened into a wide space, with warmth and a light greeting me.
They had already set up camp. Tents made out of sleek white metal, foldable chairs with strange gadgets built into them, an artificial campfire and portable food cookers with tasty smells emanating from them lined the open space.
'What?'
I was left speechless. The same people who look like they came out of a fantasy novel also had access to technology that even we don't have on Earth! Hell, Justin was tapping away on some kind of high-end handheld gaming device!
I quietly stalked the edge of the campsite and used [Blood Dive] on a nearby pool of crimson.
'I guess it makes sense from a logical standpoint. They have a whole alternative energy source, which they can probably generate more of. And if they utilize science as well, then this is the result.'
They were basically on a luxurious campingtrip with the occasional threat of death! Naturally, so was I, but without the luxurious part, considering the fact that I'll be sleeping in a pool of blood.
I continued to observe the group.
Quiet.
Nobody spoke a word as usual. Everybody was in their own little space, either eating heated-up meals, caring for their weapons or fiddling with some device like Justin.
Soon, the silence was broken. I hear Lumina speak for the first time. All the blood on her had disappeared somehow.
"I'm going to bed. Goodnight," she said curtly, seemingly uninterested in the others.
"Goodnight," Carl responded monotonously, as the others sat in silence. Lumina didn't seem to particularly mind as she entered one of the metallic tents.
After around 45 minutes, Tessa spoke, a disdainful expression on her face, "You know, you didn't have to wish her good night."
"No. But I wanted to," Carl asserted expressionlessly.
Tessa let out a bemused, mocking chuckle.
"Oh, not because you feel guilty about using her as bait for the Guardian, no? Just face it, you're willing to kill her for a bit of cash."
'Oh?' I thought to myself. It seemed I had underestimated how scummy these people were.
Carl whispered, "Maybe you're right. I hope she doesn't hear this."
Looking up from his handheld, Justin calmly commented, "Nah, she's probably snoozing away by now."
After a moment of pause, he shot a smirk at Tessa and spoke with a hint of greed in his tone.
"You can always pay us more to not feel guilty about killing her."
Suppressing a chuckle, Tessa mocked venomously, "Pfft, you and guilty? You'd leave your own parents for dead if I paid you enough."
After a brief pause, she began swinging her legs and smiled ominously.
"I hope you all honour our agreement, considering the Guardian here is quite difficult to kill without bait. Not to mention, making it back to any city without my family's support would be quite difficult. It wouldn't be a miracle if you all went missing out here."
Everyone silently nodded, and Vazor didn't forget to add his ten cents.
"We're on the edge of the Outer Layer, and by the time we reach the Guardian at the Core, she should be worn out enough. Just don't forget to pay me."
'They're even worse than I thought, even that Vazor,' I sighed, feeling an incoming headache.
I felt a bitter memory well up in me, which I quickly suppressed. I felt bad for the girl. Maybe she already knew she'd be betrayed, but had no choice but to come here regardless.
I clicked my tongue and stretched my memories back to biology class in my previous life.
'The human body has roughly five litres of blood, right? Four people, five litres... I could definitely use the extra 20 litres for the blood meter.'
I knew I was too weak to do anything about this bunch. Despite their nasty attitudes, they were stronger than I, and I'd just barely arrived in this world and didn't know much.
Still, a plan began forming in my mind.
'If I'm going to stay in this world, I want to do it with as few regrets as possible.'
As bad as I felt for the white-haired girl, there was a much more pressing reason I decided to help her.
I simply disliked these other assholes even more.