In contrast to the unguarded entrance that granted us access to the outpost, the gate before us was heavily fortified and defended by vigilant guards. Among their ranks, I noticed the presence of individuals who bore the distinct appearance of high-ranking members from the enigmatic Divine Mushroom Cult — their attire and symbols setting them apart from the rest.

Navigating through the scrutiny of the gate’s security check proved to be a breeze, allowing us to proceed further outside. We ventured along a narrow pathway enveloped in the crimson haze of the red fog. The fog veiling the trail seemed reminiscent of the biblical account of Moses parting the Red Sea, only in this instance, it manifested as a dense fog instead of water. The sight was reinforced by the procession of a sparse number of scavengers and seasoned hunters who trailed ahead and behind us.

Truth be told, I was nervous to be part of this. A fluttery feeling similar to when I got to play a new and exciting game when I was a kid appeared within me.

Speaking of which, the new refuges must have come from this path as well. But it was highly unlikely that all of them possessed gas masks to resist the mutation of the red fog, so the question of how they managed to reach this place had been at the back of my mind all this time.

“Tuilë, there’s one thing I’ve had on my mind for a while…” I began, my eyebrows furrowing and then releasing.

Tuilë perked her head at me, intrigued. “What is it, Maxim?”

I took a second to gather my words before continuing, “Have you wondered how the refugees manage to reach Aquarine or even the Eastern Outpost?”

Seeing the pervasive encroachment of the red fog throughout this realm, one would expect them to have long succumbed and joined the rank of the mutated monsters. Sure, there were interval zones spread out outside this realm, but they weren’t particularly wide and most of them appeared intermittently or even only once.

Tuilë let out a small chuckle, her expression hinting at a mix of amusement and wisdom. “Ah, that. You do realize that I too wound up in this place in an unusual manner, just like you did. But I’ve come across tales from other townsfolk, and they shed some light on how they ended up here.”

“Please elaborate,” I urged.

“Sure thing!” And so, she began to give details.

In conclusion, there were extensive underground systems that connected many shelters to Aquarine, which was free from the red fog. Just like the one where Raymond’s hometown was … the one where a lizard-like monster with short tentacles had killed most of the individuals that escaped.

How peculiar.

Despite sharing similar histories of living in shelters, the humans of this world spoke a different language than the one used by the Foglanders (Fogland people). What made it even more peculiar was that they spoke the same language with almost no differences in spite of having no contact prior to arriving here, even Tuilë’s people communicated in Fogland language. It begged the question: Why was Fogland used as the language that distinguished humans from others, and why didn’t they use the language that Raymond’s hometown used?

It was as if this whole presumption had been predetermined by someone or some group for whatever purpose. Truly suspicious.

I didn’t want to confuse Tuilë and scare her, so I didn’t tell her about my conjecture. But the curiosity still got the better of me, and consequently, I returned this question to Lunaria who lived before the apocalypse.

“To begin with,” she whispered in the language only the both of us know — the one originated from Raymond’s village, “the shelters must have been constructed after my nation was overthrown by those pesky rebels, so I know not of such the purpose of the creation of such shelters.”

“Figured…” I sighed in exasperation, answering in the same language. “Shuck, we don’t have any lead then.”

“Hey, it’s not like I know everything nor am I withholding any information or anything. But if you’re hoping for an answer from me… You see, the language spoken in your shelter is actually derived from the language used by the ‘Argentum Empire’ — the name of the nation I hailed from. So, you can refer to it as the ‘Argentum’ language.”

Considering that several decades, or even centuries, had passed within the shelter, it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that some linguistic changes might have occurred over time. But this was beside the point.

“Then, in your opinion, what do you think is the most likely reason for this whole thing?”

“If I were to hazard a guess, I would say it could be an experiment. But for what purpose exactly? That’s beyond me,” she mused. “Perhaps the answer lies within your shelter. Maybe returning there will yield us some truth.”

Right. If the airship’s arsenals had been installed, and we had gathered enough supplies and resources, we should have checked that place out.

“Maxim, are you on to something?” Tuilë inquired, her perceptive eyes must have caught my unusual behavior as I engaged in a hushed conversation with Lunaria.

“Nah, I’m just overthinking about the red fog.” I gave her a nonchalant shrug.

“Hoo? Is that right?”

“Yes. Look, I can already see the city from here.” I pointed at a certain spot in the distance.

After walking for approximately a quarter of an hour, we finally arrived at the ruined city. Just like the one where we had gone to in the past, it was a concrete forest with high-rise buildings abounding. Yet, as I gazed upon the eerie landscape, my heart felt heavy…

This forsaken realm had become a canvas for nature's reclamation… Strange plants and mutated monsters were prowling around, looking to be a place where no human-like creatures would live. If it wasn’t for the broken stores that were stripped clean of what little valuables were inside, I would have believed so.

I was sure that this city was once a prosperous metropolitan area. One that rivaled a metropolitan city in my world, housing possibly millions of lives. But now, it was nothing more than a desolate, alienated concrete forest.

I thought that playing a Minecraft soundtrack song — Mice on Venus — would give the perfect vibe to this place. Thinking about this made me miss the songs on Earth…

In accordance with the map, the nearest herd of crustacrawlers was located in a large parking lot just a few minutes away by following the road to the right of the first intersection. And after following the map, we reached what was once a parking lot before long.

Years of neglect had made nature completely consume this place. Strange coral-like plants pierced through the hard concrete ground; knee-high purple bushes and sharp weeds sprouted everywhere. The rusty vehicles were covered with glowing vines, and through the broken windows, one could even see moss covering the seats and air-conditioning vents.

“I wonder, are there functioning electronics inside these cars…”

Yet rummaging through a few of these vehicles yielded no result; there really wasn’t anything worth recycling here.

One thing did fascinate me though. The cars in this world deviated from the popular SUVs of my own world. Their designs were more… retro in style and reminiscent of a bygone era, adorned with peculiar pipes that seemed to meld the essence of magic with technology. It was interesting to witness the divergent technological trajectory this world had embarked upon.

Shortly, Tuilë’s voice echoed from atop a pile of broken cars.

“Maxim! Over here! I found our first target!”

“Coming!” I hurriedly made my way to where Tuilë was, only to be met with a startling sight.

Before us stood a group of five car-sized crustacean creatures with forms resembling that of caterpillars with eight stubby legs. As they roamed about, their bodies bristled with an array of menacing spines, sharper than any steel spears.

But it was their mouths that truly set them among the most horrifying mutated monsters I’d seen so far. Resembling fearsome mollusks, their gaping jaws revealed strange, tentacle-like tongues that snaked out from within.

Realizing that we were facing a formidable foe, a hybrid of terrifying traits, I used [Identification] on one of them.

Species: Crustacrawler (mutant)
Sex: Male
Age: 11 years old
Height: 313 cm
Source Level: First Order
Source Element(s): None

Stats:

• STR: E+ (38)
• AGI: E- (25)
• VIT: E (32)
• SRC: E (26)
• SPR: E- (23)

Accumulation Points: 20 [E]

“Phew. Luckily, they’re all in First Order only. It should be a bree—” As I was speaking, I turned my gaze toward Tuilë, only to find that her figure had gone from the spot and was rushing at them at a speed comparable to a speeding car. “Wait, Tuilë!”

My shout was useless as Tuilë unleashed the massive wrench on her back, bashing each creature with intense force. The sickening sound of cracking exoskeletons echoed as the crustacrawlers fell one after another.

With each strike, green goo oozed and splattered onto the ground, just like a squashed caterpillar that met its unfortunate fate under a heavy foot. However, in this case, it was the wrench that served as the instrument of destruction. By the end of the onslaught, only wreckage of broken shells smeared with disgusting goo remained.

“Geez, what’s going on with you, Tuilë?” I approached her, finding her standing motionless in the same spot.

“I don’t know… It’s like I could sense a breakthrough on the horizon, and my body reacted instinctively, driven by an overwhelming need for stimulation.” Tuilë, whose face had goo splattered on it, blankly looked at the scene around her, as though she wasn’t the one responsible.

“Huh?”

Not bothering to ask for her permission, I looked at her status, which I’d not seen for a long time.

Tuilë

[…]

Source Level: Tier-2 enhancer | Tier-1 evoker
Source Element(s): Electro | Pyro
Vocation(s): [Mechanical Prodigy]

Stats:

• STR: D+ (47 → 58)
• AGI: C- (53 → 61)
• VIT: D (39 → 55)
• SRC: E (31 → 33)
• SPR: D+ (54 → 59)

Accumulation Points: 46 → 71 [D+]

At the end of the day, it wasn’t only me that was getting stronger with each passing day, but Tuilë as well. We dedicated ourselves to regular sparring sessions, seizing every opportunity to refine our combat skills and push the limits of our physical abilities. Tuilë’s involvement in labor-intensive tasks further contributed to her remarkable improvement. Besides, I wasn’t stingy with the source crystal spending too.

To add to this, Tuilë didn’t have access to the status screen like I did — it was only possible through my unique Vocation. As such, all she could rely on to tell whether she was on the verge of a breakthrough was only her instincts.

If I divided each Tier into my own four stages: early stage, mid stage, high stage, and late stage, then I would be between a high-stage and late-stage enhancer. Conversely, Tuilë would be a late-stage Tier-2 enhancer on the verge of becoming a Tier-3 enhancer.

“I see that you’re about to reach Tier 3. This is good, however.” I congratulated her and gazed upon the destroyed corpses which had become mincemeat. “Just that… uh, mind if you help Luna-1 collect the source crystals?”

“Mm, Sounds good to me!” She flexed her muscles.

Luna-1, ever the curious drone… companion, emerged from my backpack, sensing the discussion.

“On the mind to slack off, eh?” Lunaria chimed in, the drone hovering in the air.

“No! It’s just…”

I always had a thing with insects with numerous legs scurrying about on the ground. Although it wouldn’t stop me from harvesting the source crystals, fiddling with piles of grotesque mix-ups of broken carapace and goo was a bit…

“Sigh… Finee… I’ll do it too.” I unsheathed the hunting dagger that had been a loyal companion throughout our journey, joining Tuilë and Luna-1 in the task and willing myself to contribute to our shared endeavor.

At least doing this would net us five source crystals…