What is she doing in here? I stretched my hand, the circle for the Firewall building in front of it. Fire shot up before Alice, separating her from the monsters.
“Agni, you’re here!” She punched the last monster into the fire, incinerating it.
“I want to ask you what you’re doing here, but for now let’s get away first.” I looked down at the collapsed girl, seeing purple veins covering her arm, disappearing under her sleeve. Shit, it would be better not to move her but that would be a death sentence right now. I pulled her up and threw her over my shoulder before getting into motion.
“What got her?” Screams rang out behind us.
“A bird, looking like a crane, only more sinister.”
“Damn, why is it never easy.” I cursed at my realization.
“You know what it is?” A faint hint of hope filled Alice voice as we rushed through the swamp.
“A poison crane, we need to help her soon or she’s gonna die.”
“We need to get out of here and to a hospital!” Alice called out in shock.
“Do you really think they’re working right now? And even if, it’s not something the doctors can do about.”
“Then what can we do?”
I didn’t want to go there a second time. “There’s a place we can go to, but it’s dangerous, very dangerous.”
A silent moment passed as we ran away before she answered with a determined voice. “She helped me earlier, it’s only right for me to help her now.”
I really don’t want to go there. Although it would be a shame for her to die early, given her earlier display of skill. “You have to follow my every word if you want to get out alive.” Before I could continue my demands, Alice’s voice shot out.
“I’ll do it.”
“Haaaa, okay, let’s do this.” As we ran away to the eye of the storm, the place I originally intended to go to, we were now in a wrong direction for our new objective. I turned right, running forward, and killing the monster that stood in our way.
I was astonished when I saw Alice join in the fight. I expected her to have some aptitude for fighting, but with the sword she got who knows where she soon dispatched a good amount of them. As we dashed through the swamp the trees and bushes got fewer and fewer in between, while large areas were only filled with water of unknown depts.
“A bog?”
“There are all types of wetland inside this dungeon. It’s easier to find an area with water here than one without. Doesn’t mean that one can drink it though, at most things are poisonous.” I slowed down when we got there.
“Why are you slowing down?” Alice stopped beside me.
“Even if we want to help her as soon as possible, we don’t want to get in there right now.”
“What about the monster behind us?” She looked around, preparing to defend against whatever followed us till now, only to be met with silence, no monster to be seen anywhere.
“Even they don’t want to come near hear, that should be a hint for you.” I set the girl down, taking a look at her. She shivered, a cold sweat running down. I lifted her dress up, seeing the purple veins spread over her chest. Her face twisted in pain.
Alice turned back to me after looking out for our followers. “What are you…”
“Checking her body. There is no place for decency in a life or death situation. And you don’t know what to look out for.”
She lifted her hand, trying to say something and stop me, before stopping herself. Then she came near, whispering silently as if so that the girl couldn’t hear us. “How long?”
“One day, two at most. The movement spread the poison further inside her body and we didn’t have time to bind her arm.”
“Isn’t there anything we could do right now? Couldn’t you heal her with magic?”
“Magic isn’t omnipotent either. There isn’t a skill-tree for healing magic, otherwise things would have been much different till now.” I could have saved her. Maybe even revived my brother given my strength at the last moment. There have been so many people I could’ve saved.
We rested near the bog, sitting there in silence. After she calmed down, Alice accessed the situation more rationally, starting to ask her questions, wanting to learn what will happen.
“How can we help her?” Sadness clogged her voice, turning her words into another whisper.
“See that hill in the distance?” I pointed into the bog, a lone tree standing tall in the distance atop a small elevation. “The monster that attacked you, that crane like creature, the mother of all of them rests there. Given that they are all highly poisonous she needs something to counteract against that. We need to get the antitoxin from her and administer it to the girl.”
“Why can't we go there right now?”
“The fog will only get thicker the further we get in.”
Silence returned. I could feel her contemplating to ask how I knew about these things. Would she believe me if I told her?
“Why did you even follow me? You saw what I am. A ticking bomb, ready to explode at any time.” It would've been better to stay away.
She looked at me, a hint of sorrow showed on her face, changing into a determined one. “Don't tell me you think that I am someone to let somebody who saved me run headfirst into disaster. I mean, look at the situation we're in right now.” She let out a little laugh.
“You protected me, and I'll never forget that. And it's not like you hurt someone back there. Don't say you're a bomb. I only see a normal human.” A smile hushed over her lips. “Well, not completely normal, your hairs burning but it looks damn cool so it's alright.”
She looked away, blushing a little bit.
“So, don't try to leave me behind again, all alone.”
We continued to chat till darkness began to fall in the dungeon. “Is there a day-night cycle inside the dungeon?”
“In this at least," I chuckled lightly, "it's not like I know everything.”
Our surroundings lit up, little creatures, like fireflies, coming into existence, finishing our conversation.
“What are these?”
They danced around us, lifting the veil of fog.
“Our guides. Wisps.”
I lifted the girl up. “Rest time is over.” Together we stepped into the bog.
“Thanks Alice.”
So a ranger and a fighter? Solid add up with the spear wielder dude and his tank lover. Would be a good party. Well maybe some sort of healing would be nice.
Dumb b*tches. Ugh, should've just let her die, if not, he wouldn't need to be bothered by going to what seems to be the most dangerous place so early. Thanks for the chapter as always!
I like having him save someone, especially if they are skillful. More powerful people make it easier in the long run
but I realize it's getting a bit out of hand with so many. Well, it's only the third day after starting for them