She's right and we quickly make our retreat, leaving the innumerable undead behind. Connecting with the others, I see that Zoe is still alive, though I'm not that thankful seeing Alexander right beside her and in full health. But I can't say the same for the rest of the adventurers. This battle has left us weakened and the damage we sustained is enormous. I don't have a clear view of our army, but I think we lost at least a third of our total forces. Half of what remains is barely holding. This mission is a failure and we'll be lucky if we get out with our lives.
The rearguard has exchanged positions with us, so we can catch our breaths and retreat organized. But most of my fellow adventurers are in a panic, and I can hear their piercing screams from all over the place. Their faces are desperate and terrified. It seems all hope has abandoned us.
"Please, someone help me," a brunette girl holding one of our fellow adventurers pleads.
"Please, help me, I can't see!" A blonde and busty warrior girl grabs my hand, but unconsciously I push her away.
"You must leave, go to the exit. Understand?" A Threat Level 3 paladin, entrenched in his own blood shouts, his HP down to 40%.
My eyes widen, my heart thuds, and my pulse quickens. The thick scent of blood and rotten flesh harasses my nose and I am beginning to feel my vision blurry. I'm desperate to breathe clean air and I get the feeling I'll soon collapse to the floor. What's happening to me? Am I terrified? Wow, that is amazing! I'm about to piss myself. It feels so surreal. I am about to die. I am about to die and all I can think about is how phenomenal this game is. The more I stay here, the more glad I am, being one of those few lucky guys that received an invitation since Alpha release.
I look at Ambrosia with a pale face, ready to collapse. Unexpectedly, she slaps me. "Relax pet," she tells me with her smooth, buttery voice. "Everything's under control. I won't let my favorite pet perish. Neither would I accept this quest if it were to put us in harm's way. Think of it as experience."
I take a deep breath and calm myself. Her smooth, reassuring voice remains warm, and my heart beats become steady again, despite not entirely sure we'll survive this. Opening my eyes, I see her laughing once more, dressed in the illustrious gown, her heaving cleavage grabbing my full attention. With three slow steps, she approaches me and her breast touches the clothes on my chest. I can feel her hard, erect nipples with each breath she takes. Our eyes meet at the same level, "That's it! I like you composed," she adds with a soft voice, reaching out and caressing my face. I'm aroused, and in response, she cocks an eyebrow.
"I think we should leave," blushing Elektra interrupts us. "There isn't anything we can do here and you're not in a state to fight," she adds, looking down at my erect boner.
I can't believe she's looking directly at my shaft with no shame. I would expect something like that from Ambrosia, she's a vampire after all, but for Elektra with her reserved manners and schoolgirl uniform, that's surprising.
"Well, I confess that I'm more of a lover than a fighter," I admit as a shiver runs up and down my spine from Ambrosia's constant caress, but she's right and the situation here is grave.
"We can see that clearly," Elektra breathes, her eyes flutter in excitement.
"Let's follow the flock for the time being," Ambrosia proposes while standing in the middle of chaos.
Elektra and I nod. Alone, it will be hard to escape this place. If we follow the motley collection of adventurers, we have a higher rate of success.
Being still alive, we come to the attention of Cadmus. "Athanasios and Alexander you and your teams take on the vanguard," he orders us in a stern voice. "We'll follow another path that leads to the place's dungeon core."
"We're still continuing the quest?" I ask shocked, my eyes narrowing at what I just heard.
"Of course we are!" He says. "This isn't enough to waver our determination to complete our mission. If we retreat now, all the sacrifices we've sustained will be for nothing."
I turn my gaze to Elektra. She shakes her head dismissively, Ambrosia as well. This looks more like a suicide mission, not an organized expedition as I had imagined.
My team and I advance again, exchanging positions with the rearguard once more. The artificer is by my side now and leads us through the labyrinth maze corridors to another complex of abandoned tunnels that must have been the shelter for the homeless of Tlos for decades. As the light of our torches flickers, I scan with my eyes the mangled track underneath my feet and all I see is a formless maze of garbage, broken bottles, feces, rotten bodies, and some bleached bones littering the place. The ominous glow of the torches casts on the once beautiful arched brick walls, exposing the cloak of dark, wet mold that has covered everything. This place must have been populated by desperate lowlifes and I'm left wondering who in his right mind would decide to live down here. It doesn't matter now. All signs of life have vanished and only death and decay remain.
"I now understand why there are so many undead creatures down here," I say to our leader.
"This place sheltered thousands of homeless a few months ago until a great evil appeared, and in a matter of a few days, killed everyone down here," Cadmus confesses. "This has given rise to this desolation and a legion of the undead has conquered the underground of Tlos, endangering even the surface."
"Why didn't the nobles protect these people?" I ask confused.
"The fact that this genocide took place was almost invited by the nobles. These lowlifes have pestered Tlos for decades. Trust me when I say that the undead horde now poses a smaller threat to the wellbeing of the city and its residents," the artificer chuckles softly.
Well, I start to have my doubts about the management of this city. Who in his right mind would allow such genocide to happen? I keep my thoughts private for the moment. Who knows how this could affect my Karma with our leader if I'm being too vocal. An on top of that, who am I to change the rules of this game?
The abandoned tunnel curls away like a great black snake into the darkness. I'm starting to defocus, thinking that I should go back and search for a way out, up to the city, but it will be impossible for me. My NCI doesn't have a map for this part of the tunnel system. It will be beyond the bounds of possibility for me to navigate through the labyrinth maze tunnels. I wonder what will happen if our glorious leader dies down here. I hope we won't perish with him.
"Do we know where we're heading?" Alexander wants to know in a frightened tone, unlike his casual and relaxed manner.
"We have pinpointed a few potential areas where the dungeon core could be," the artificer informs us vaguely.
"What's a dungeon core?" I finally ask him, pretending to be ignorant. Of course I know what a dungeon core is, after all, my home back in Elysium was a tower and almost always I was taking the role of the dungeon core, but this world is something new. It never hurts obtaining more information.
"You can think of the dungeon core as a physical vessel where a powerful being's soul resides in a specific area and is bound to it. In a way, the whole underground right now is the dungeon core's body. Depending on how powerful the dungeon core is, it can change the reality around itself and improve its domain, choose its dwellers, and even change the layout of the area it dominates. The possibilities are endless," the artificer tells me in an exhilarating voice as he rubs his hands together.
I swear the bastard is plotting something and we're just his vehicle. Is he trying to become the new dungeon core of this place? It's as if he admires the damn thing and for a moment I catch myself thinking how great it would be to have a Vampire Castle as my domain in the Real World, with sexy maids like Ambrosia, Elektra, and Zoe.
"Great!" I exclaim, and I gather the menacing stare of the nearby adventurers. "Is there a way to destroy the dungeon core or have someone take its place?"
The artificer's eyes narrow and stares me with distrust. "That's a dumb question and I advise you to forget about it," he replies curtly and increases his pace, leaving me and my duo of hot girls alone in the vanguard.
I catch glimpses of Ambrosia and Elektra, and I'm sure they are wary of our leader's behavior. We should be careful with him.
Strangely, we haven't encountered any undead so far, which makes me wonder why we weren't led through here in the first place. As the tunnel snakes away, sinking deeper into the abyss of darkness, we see a flickering light straight ahead. Momentarily, I think it's the sunlight, but soon I abandon this hopeful thought once I hear the echoing footsteps of a duo marching towards us. The horned demon knight's Threat Level is 17 and his sexy aide's 14, a force to be reckoned with, even for Ambrosia and our leader. I wonder if they are the mini-bosses of this stage. Well, I'm about to find out soon.
