“I think they are human,” Sophia mumbled.

The party was silent. The unhurried sound of dozens of feet echoed towards them. They had gotten used to the dim light flickering in and out as they walked, but now they were waiting for it to announce the presence of the approaching group. 

The tension hung in the air, waiting for Stephen and his party to make a decision. If they stayed to observe the other group, they themselves would be exposed by the tunnel lights. 

“Should we leave before they arrive,” Gawain whispered.

Deathsworn.

Stephen heard the voice at the back of his head. This time the voice was vivid and unmistakable. It was definitely his own voice, albeit colder and without emotion. Despite what people might think or say, Stephen was not inherently cold or emotionless. 

‘Is it Oracle? Also, is that how I sound to others?’ Stephen rubbed the back of his neck. Even though he was used to weird things because of his ability, it still felt strange and unsettling. He looked down at his own body, opening and closing his fist repeatedly. There was a slight numbness. Was he imagining it?  

‘It wasn’t quite like this before...’

At this point, Stephen was still ignorant to the error notifications. 

Nonetheless, the rhythm from the approaching footsteps was familiar. The voice wasn’t lying, and so Stephen focused and pushed away distracting thoughts. 

“No, we wait.” Stephen finally answered. 

Near the end of the tunnel, where there was a branch that opened up to the left, a light flickered on. It didn’t take long for figures garbed in long black uniforms to appear. Everyone of them possessed lethal weapons. Many of their blades were covered in blood. A stone-faced man led the party. He stopped and signaled the others when his icy gaze met Stephen’s.

Their exchange was subtle — a slight lowering of both parties' eyes. 

Stephen subconsciously placed his hand on his chest. Even though the System governing the world was in the process of being reset, he himself was still bound to a contract. 

Stephen’s eyes turned. The Princess was frowning at him. Whatever her thoughts were, she decided to take a step forward. The two dozen figures got down onto their knees in response. Their faces were the semblance of ice. 

“Deathsworn, huh.” Gawain muttered. His usual playful tone was gone and replaced with a serious one. “You think their contract is still active?”

“It is,” Alex frowned. Looking at the man’s expression, Stephen realized he would have to have a conversation with the man later to clear up some misunderstandings. 

Alex was originally the target of Stephen’s contract, but behind the scenes, the imperial bloodline tampered with it and changed the target to the second princess.

It was a secret though, so Stephen had continued to treat Alex as if he was his young master. Guilt was useful, so he would wait for the opportune moment to reveal this information. 

“Rise. Continue with your duties.” The Princess spoke in a flat tone. Although the Princess had tampered with Stephen’s contract, it was a process that required preparation. As a trump card possessed by the aristocracy, the deathsworn contract was not something that even the imperial bloodline could easily touch.

However, regardless of the owner of the contract, the Princess, as a True Royal, possessed the Authority to issue direct commands to the lower class. If she imposed her will upon them, they would be forced to listen to her commands, but because of their contract they would also die in the process. 

Although they could use them as meat shields, the Princess let the deathsworn leave and they passed by the group. 

Stephen recognized most of their faces. His heart felt genuinely heavy for the first time that day. He could tell. Everyone of them was already dead. The ones they were supposed to protect had already perished before they could arrive. The only thing left was a dull flame that burned only long enough for them to avenge the ones they were bound to. 

‘Is that my future…’

“May the black sun rise.” The leader of the party of deathsworn looked into Stephen’s eyes as he spoke. There were only embers remaining in the man’s eyes. For some reason those embers felt hotter than any actual flame. 

Stephen repeated the words back with a slight bow of his head. The deathsworn continued on their way, but as about half of them passed Stephen by, he noticed one of the ones in the middle. She was one of the familiar faces. 

Stephen lip twitched as he realized something. 

‘So, they have given up on their duty.’ 

When a deathsworn contract was broken, the only path remaining was to obtain revenge in the limited time allotted to the contract holder. However, oathbreakers would be dead within hours. 

As for the reasoning behind all the deathsworn breaking their oath, the answer was simple. Rather than live a little bit longer for the sake of revenge, they were all resolved to use their last moments to help their comrade that still had a chance. 

‘I think her name is Kate…’

Information filled Stephen’s mind. It made him feel dizzy.

“Wait.” Stephen wobbled a little. “April was one of the students in Class A. She left with the Magic Instructor Philis to head towards the faculty offices.”

‘It probably won’t help… but it is the only thing I can do.’

The leader nodded and then turned and began running in a new direction. Their black cloaks danced as they ran. 

Kate stuttered in place even after the rest were leaving. “T-thanks…”

“Take this.” Stephen threw his badge towards the girl, “It has the highest security clearance. Best of luck. May the black sun rise.”

Kate bowed deeply and then ran off after the rest of her group. They were like moths to the flame. It was a scene that felt too bright for Stephen’s eyes. A feeling of melancholy took over him.

“Let’s go…” Alex muttered and began walking again.

The group silently followed. They made their way deeper into the dungeon until they encountered a stairwell.

Unlike the clean tunnels they had been traversing through, the stairwell’s walls were occasionally covered in splotches of a fleshy red material. It pulsed and squirmed about as if it were alive. 

“Disgusting… I think I might be sick.”

Although Sophia’s nose looked like a human’s, she still possessed superior olfactory senses.

“You think there is a dungeon boss down there?” Gawain asked.

“Probably, but I think we should try to avoid it for now and go straight to the armory.” Ideally, they should unlock their System before confronting the boss; however, it was necessary to escape the island as quickly as possible.  

Alex began walking down the steps without any sense of fear. 

“Aren’t you lucky you have me.” 

Just as he said this, he almost fell down the stairs. The energy in the dungeon swirled around them like a heavy gale. They were assailed with a sense of vertigo, causing the passageway to appear as if it was shaking uncontrollably. 

It was caused by a single roar. It wasn’t like the shrieks of the regular monsters, nor was it physically loud. However, the roar was imbued with a sinister energy that made the group involuntarily tremble and go weak in the knees. 

Alex coughed. He steadied himself on the wall, which left his hand slightly moist. He wiped it on Gawain’s uniform. 

“Haha…” There was a lack of energy in Gawain’s typical laugh. Stephen was focused on Alex though. He squinted his eyes. 

‘He isn't about to say some bullshit like ladies first now is he…’

“F-follow me.” 

“Haha.” Gawain laughed again.  

“Bitch, you want to go first!?”

“No, no. Please and thank you.” Gawain smiled. “Although, I wonder if we should turn back.”

“If it marked us, it doesn’t matter. It will come regardless,” Stephen answered.

“Ah.”

When the party climbed down the stairs a new notification appeared

 

The notifications were similar to before, except the grade moved from F to D, and the level moved from 5-10 to 10-15. The group was no longer level 1, but without being able to access the status page, they had no way to utilize their stat points or cultivate energy. 

Stephen pulled out the several dozen monster cores the group had collected. He doubted it was even close to the amount they needed, but it would give him a good estimate. 

 

Stephen confirmed and watched the time for the system tick down.

 

‘If the goal is to escape by the dawn of the next day, we need about 800 more cores if they are of the same rank…?’ 

He wondered if they defeated the mid level boss if that would be enough. It wasn’t necessary to defeat the creature, but they couldn’t just head to the surface. The thing in the tunnels was at least killable. 

‘A game of cat and mouse…’

The armory. 

It was a gamble, but reaching the armory was the best option. Still, it wasn't determined they would unlock their Status before the mid level boss found them, so until then they would have to acquire as many supply caches as possible. 

The group hadn’t really used any strategy until this point. That would change. 

“Sophia—”

“Call me… d-d-d-d-d-d—”

“Darling…”

“Yes!” Her tail was like a weapon as it crashed back and forth. 

“We need your ears.”

The plan was simple. They would use Sophia’s hearing to avoid large groups and then attract small groups and stragglers by making noise. If they attracted too many then they would hide until the area cleared.

Occasionally parts of the tunnel wall were built further back than the rest of the passageway. These recesses in the wall led to side rooms that possessed multiple entrances. The designer of the academy’s tunnel system, a prominent State scientist, was a bit of an eccentric figure.

Typically, the labyrinthine passageways were there in case personnel needed to be escorted around the island secretly. However, the creator also envisioned using the tunnels as a form of guerilla warfare. 

The rationale was based on the strategic location of the island, which was positioned east of the downtown area of Hammer Port — close to the main shipyards. 

Even with the development of warpgate technology, the waterways were still important. Furthermore, the island offered a defensible position in the event that war broke out with the other countries. 

Realistically, the reasoning was just excuses to secure more funding for the figure’s experimental projects. The layout of the tunnels was thus far from perfect.

Still, it would serve the party well. 

The group was hiding in one of the side rooms. Their back was secured with a thick wall, so they could prevent themselves from being surrounded if they hid inside. 

So far, the zombies had only used sight and hearing. Moreover, they only communicated by sound from what Stephen had gathered. 

“They should be close enough now,” Sophia whispered, “There are four still.”

“My turn then!” Alex brought his bat against the door and got ready to swing.

Stephen looked at Gawain, who nodded back.

“Make sure you're not too loud,” Gawain said.

“Mother fucker!” Alex, who was mid swing, looked at Gawain with a scowl.

“Haha.”

Alex began mumbling something. He didn’t pull back as far this time, but it was more than enough. The resulting impact sent a metal clang that echoed throughout the stone tunnels.

“They are coming,” Sophia's eyes beamed. She wanted praise or some kind of reward, but Stephen couldn’t do that every time she did her job. 

After a light nod, Stephen turned to the group. 

“Alright. Gawain supports Alex. Ravenna and Mel get one while I’ll get another. Sophia fires at the fourth one to tie it down.”

Stephen was not used to being the leader of a party. He was taught obedience. Still, he had been indoctrinated with countless military theorems even if he lacked practical experience leading a party.  

The arrangement he made was based on both personality and weapon types. Stephen closed the party’s equipment tab and got into position.

 

The distant sounds of the monsters’ pants and shrieks mixed together, and under all that noise was the scurrying sound of feet. By focusing his ears, Stephen was able to discern the rhythm behind the movement. It seemed the creatures were quadrupedal like the first zombified individual that Stephen encountered. 

‘They're much faster. Was this a standard variant — a second form?’

The monsters stopped in front of one of the doors and began sniffing. Alex swung the door open and pounced on one of the creatures with Gawain.

Gawain’s spear pierced its throat and Alex then used a large arc with his entire body behind it to smash its head. The long windup gave Gawain time to remove his spear. Otherwise, his weapon would have snapped when the body crashed into the floor.

The doorway was narrow, but using an adjacent door, Stephen was right behind the two men and the zombies. He had kept part of his sight on the two in case he needed to act. 

At the same time, with one of the creatures unaware and its side exposed, Stephen kicked its head into the ground. When its maw snapped close as it smashed into the hard surface, he plunged the knife into the thing’s neck. There was almost no resistance.

When Stephen turned, Mel and Ravenna were taking turns punching one of the zombies. It bounced back and forth between their fists until it turned into a spectacle of light.

Sophia raised her gun in the air and gave Stephen a smile and a thumbs up. She had used the same door as Stephen. Her bullets had met their mark in the back of one of the monster’s heads.  

“That was too easy! Next time let's just fight them head on.”

“We don’t want to create bad habits. Furthermore, we don’t know how the curse works. For all we know a single scratch, maybe even the creature’s bodily fluids, will give us the curse.” Stephen rebuked Alex. His words were intended for the whole group. 

Gawain hummed. “I think, at least with these lower level monsters, it has to be a bite. Based on the fact that we saw one student turn back at the lecture hall, the dormancy period can be over an hour.”

“Understood.”

It looked like Gawain was going to continue his explanation, but Stephen agreed. The keyword was ‘can.’ The dormancy period could be higher or lower. There was just the definite possibility that the infection could take over an hour. This was because the students that turned in the morning had to have been infected before class began.

Once again a loud roar pierced through the darkness. Stephen began to walk after putting strength in his legs to prevent himself from wobbling.

Sophia was stunned for a second. Her ears twitched and her legs were unsteady. Yet her voice was clear: “It’s still far away.”

Stephen pet Sophia lightly and then turned to the group, “Alright, let’s go.” 

“I’ll follow your plan for now,” Alex twirled his bat. 

‘At least, he is full of energy.’

Gawain, who was following behind Stephen, voiced his opinion, “Even with all the doors, it was a little crowded, so I think next time we should use both sides of the passageway. Alex can tap the bat and that will be the signal for the groups on the other side to charge in. Sophia’s ears can sync up the movements.”

Stephen nodded. It was indeed more efficient to completely surround the enemy. The only reason he didn’t do it the first time was because Alex was liable to charge in by himself. However, with Gawain managing the hothead and Sophia acting next to Stephen it was a decent plan. 

Like Alex, everyone had ample energy still. Despite their Status being reset, they still were all part of a martial academy. Even if they didn’t take their classes seriously, they might still provide insight like Gawain had just done. 

Of course, Gawain’s contribution might have been more due to his background as the son of a paladin rather than his student background. Even if that was the case, all the members of the party had their own unique circumstances. 

Stephen was beginning to feel just a bit hopeful.