Amazon Apocalypse 5: Chapter 6

Naturally, Cyra and I went to investigate the source of the voice.

“Mother mentioned we should investigate anything unusual. it will lead us to the next part of the dungeon,” Cyra said as we listened for the voice again.

“Did she mention we might meet someone who could talk?”

“No, but this dungeon is different for everyone who goes through it. And it’s open infrequently enough nobody’s recorded all the scenarios it can present. We’ll be going in blind, besides what Mother told us.”

Cyra and I had listened to her mother’s advice, which she’d accumulated in preparation to delve into the dungeon herself. For most of it, Cyra was only half conscious, but I remembered what she didn’t. From what her mother told us, this dungeon would take us through a series of realms, each loaded with different types of monsters. Clearing the dungeon involved clearing all the realms thrown at us.

Eventually, we found the source of the voice we were looking for.

We tore our way through the forest underbrush into another grassy clearing, like the one we’d found and set our camp in the night prior.

In the center of that clearing was a naked young woman struggling as animated vines tugged at her body.

“Help! Are you there? I’m in danger!” the woman shouted at the two of us. Despite her desperate situation, her hair was well combed, and her lips were cherry-red.

Cyra unsheathed her sword, and I prepared to cast a spell, but Sharky was faster than either of us.

“Sharky, no!” I shouted just as his mouth closed around both vines and woman in one enormous gulp.

“Spit her out, please. She’s not food,” I said, desperately praying he hadn’t already swallowed.

“Nom nom.” Sharky protested. But he reluctantly stopped chewing.

A few seconds later, she was exhausted and looking considerably messier than she had when trapped within the vines. I got a very good look at her, and she appeared to be a very athletic human to me. She might have been an Amazonian by blood, given they often had a naturally toned physique.

She climbed out of Sharky’s maw, rolled herself over in the mud, and then, with a sigh, climbed to her feet.

“T-thank you for rescuing me, brave travelers. I am Morania, princess of a distant realm. I was walking the path between worlds here when I was beset by monsters, and my guards were slain.”

Cyra looked the naked woman up and down. “You don’t look like a princess.”

Morania seemed to notice her own nakedness all of a sudden, and shyly placed one hand over her breasts and the other over her groin. I couldn't help but feel the motion seemed a bit forced, like she was acting more embarrassed than she was.

“Ah, well... the vines absconded with my clothes. Perhaps we could get them back if--“

Sharky burped, throwing up a small pile of thoroughly shredded clothes.

“Where are you from, Morania? I was under the impression that this dungeon only accepted one party every few years.”

“Dungeon? No, I’m passing through the way between worlds. And as my guards are dead, I’m in desperate need of new ones. What do you say? Perhaps the two of you could protect me as I return home? Once there, I will ensure you are well rewarded. My homeland has many things outsiders consider treasures,” Morania said, still covering herself with her hands.

I frowned, thinking and glancing at Cyra. She had a pensive look on her face as well.

“I think we found the quest we were looking for,” Cyra said.

I nodded along, as I’d been thinking the same thoughts. But I was grimacing at the conclusion I was coming to. I hoped this wasn’t the quest I thought it was.

“So, just to clarify, you need us to protect you on your way home?” I asked Morania.

“Exactly. I am in desperate need of an escort,” Morania replied. She seemed surprisingly animated for a dungeon denizen. Most I’d known felt largely robotic when talking. Perhaps this dungeon was more sophisticated than others, or maybe the lifelike behavior resulted from this being a natural B-Rank dungeon.

Inwardly, I despaired. The dungeon was sending us on a damn escort quest. I voiced my displeasure to Cyra.

“We’re going to have to protect her through the whole dungeon, aren’t we?” I asked.

“Seems like,” Cyra shrugged.

I sighed and pointed to Sharky, then the princess. “Alright, Sharky, don’t eat her and stick close to us. You. Get on Sharky’s back.”

“Uhm... before that, could I trouble you for some clothes?” she glanced at the pile of shredded garments on the ground.

Cyra and I both rummaged through our things. I found one of Myrina’s spare outfits, which was about the right size for Morania. I wasn’t sure how it had ended up in my satchel, but there it was. Myrina had probably stuffed it in there in case of emergencies.

When Morania was dressed, she began directing us through the rest of the dungeon.

“Thank you once again for your help, brave travelers. The path I walk is full of peril. We must travel between dozens of realms like this one in search of my home, each more terrifying than the last. Fortunately, I can open portals between worlds, making the trip far safer than searching for natural bridges. Unfortunately, the skill takes quite a while to activate. We’ll need to find a good location for me to open a portal, and then you’ll need to protect me while I channel the spell,” Morania explained.

“Alright then. We’re done here, anyway. Let’s find somewhere with tougher foes,” I said, as I glanced around the clearing one last time. Cyra nodded along with me, and Morania began channeling her spell.

Thankfully, we’d already cleared most of this zone of monsters, so very few monsters came rushing at us to interrupt Morania’s portal spell. But that was the only time we were so lucky.

The next week saw us running through a gauntlet of challenges. Throughout the process, we became very familiar with the nature of the dungeon. We’d enter a new area and travel through a lengthy and winding path until Morania found a good place for her magic to work, then we’d protect her while she cast her spell.

If it were just Cyra and me making the trip, we would no doubt have been able to clear a new zone every hour. Morania, on the other hand, barely moved at walking speed. Worse, it meant it took us most of a day to cross a new zone after teleporting in. She needed eight hours of sleep every night, which meant we were setting up camp and guarding her while she slept.

Perhaps another party would have been able to get some sleep or hide from the local monsters, but my Death Curse lured them toward us in an unending tide. I had a few tricks to stave them off for a few hours, but invariably they’d find their way back to us.

I couldn’t complain too much though, since the main reason we’d come to this dungeon was to rack up some monster kills and finally reach B-Grade. That, at least, was something I was extremely excited for. Cyra was the same.

I was higher level than her going into the dungeon, but not by much. Thanks to my new Death Defier title giving her an experience point bonus, she received double experience points while partying with me. A few days of dealing with monsters and she was nearing B-Grade at the same time I was. Toward the end, we lightened the tedium of the escort quest by engaging in a little friendly competition to see who’d reach B-Grade first.

“Two hundred and fifty-three of these guys,” Cyra said, kicking aside a red-skinned humanoid that she’d sliced in half with an enchanted sword. Once again, she was making excellent use of the weapon. These demon things might have given her trouble once upon a time, but between magical weaponry and improved skills, they were no longer a challenge to her.

According to Morania, the creatures of this realm were called demons. They were vicious spirit creatures formed naturally by the world and feeding off twisted dark emotions. The entire planet existed in a peculiar energy field that was extremely affected by conscious thought. To me, this seemed like a world half submerged in the Kindling, the realm of dreams and creation that the original creators of the System used to weave their science and magic.

“Impossible... first the paladin with the enormous sword, and now you? Damn it, what are the two of you, Prime Saints from the Seven Heavens?” asked one demon under Cyra’s boot.

“Believe me, we’re far from saints,” I chuckled as I blasted the foul creature’s head off with a Mana Bolt, netting me a decent amount of experience.

“That was my kill.” Cyra pouted.

“You snooze, you lose,” I chuckled.

Behind me, Sharky’s belly rumbled. This realm full of demons made from twisted, dark souls had been particularly hard on him. These demons were like eating humans for him, except just his favorite parts. If he could, he’d eat to his heart’s content. Unfortunately, he was stuck trailing along behind us, carrying Morania. But if he wasn’t carrying the young woman, this trip was going to take days.

“There, in that ruined city. That’s where the realms are closest.”

Cyra glanced over at the ruined city, which was still visibly burning. “Looks like whoever pillaged the place did so recently. Let’s be quick about this.”

Thankfully, whoever had come here before us had gone on quite a rampage. They’d slain demons by the thousands. At first, I thought it had been the work of an enemy army, but when Cyra and I studied the dead, we realized all this had been done by one person. We decided to ensure we were out of here before anyone noticed us.

Morania began casting her spell, and magic gathered around us. Like usual, the gathering power drew in the locals, this time in the form of a few terrified demons. They were wretched-looking things, like deformed and misshapen parodies of human flesh.

They lunged at us, but Cyra and I cut them down as fast as they came. Neither of us could quite keep up with Sharky, though, who was making up for lost time now that he was free of his cargo.

“Nom nom!” Sharky growled in delight as he tossed demons two or three at a time in the air and swallowed them whole.

Congratulations! Sage of Forbidden Knowledge has reached level 200.

Congratulations! Homo fatum has reached level 200.

You have reached the limits of C-Grade and have been recognized as one of the Multiverse’s finest. Few ever reach B-Grade, and those that do often take decades or centuries to get there. Your speed and progress are extremely impressive, and less than one thousand recorded individuals have surpassed your leveling speed to B-Grade.

Due to your remarkable achievements and your status as forerunner of a newly integrated world, you’ve been granted the option of accepting a rank-up quest for an additional reward.

“B-Grade!” I declared, announcing my victory.

Cyra harrumphed. “You don’t look B-Grade yet to me.”

“That’s because I see no good reason to refuse the System’s offer.”

As before, the System would have let me level up again if that was what I wanted. But truthfully, I always figured that offer was a trap. The only reason I could level at a decent speed at all was because I was far more powerful than most beings at my level, which meant I needed every scrap of extra power I could get to keep that advantage. People who didn’t do that would probably slow down sooner rather than later.

Naturally, I accepted the quest.

New Quest available!: Legend in the Making,
Your unique choice of race designates you as someone of grave importance wherever you go. Set yourself upon the righteous path and lead others to glory.
Requirements: Arrive on the world of Ladwick at the head of at least three thousand elite units.

Reward: Early access to one A-Grade Signature Skill.

I read over the quest a few more times. What was a signature skill? I’d spent the last week cramming for B-Grade, and suddenly, the System was throwing something from A-Grade at me.

The way it was listed as a reward suggested it was important. Hell, anything from A-Grade ought to be important, and I’d already accepted the quest.

“Cyra, what is a Signature Skill?” I asked.

“Like the kind A-Grades use?” Cyra replied, bashing in the head of a demon.

“Yeah.”

“They’re like... well... they’re skills, but better.”

“That much seemed pretty obvious,” I chuckled, twirling my finger and launching a few Mana Bolts.

“Way better,” Cyra added. “They’re much more flexible than the skills you and I use. A single one of them can do the work of dozens of normal skills. They’re also way more powerful than normal skills. Grandma Luthrin showed me one of hers once. She can vibrate really fast and dodge attacks without even seeming to dodge, turn invisible, and move really fast all with the same ability.”

I frowned. That sounded really powerful.

So why was the System giving it to me for something as small as showing up to a battlefield?

Maybe the System had been listening in on all my complaints and my plans to foist this job off on somebody else. And maybe it wanted me not to do that. Perhaps it had something planned for me in this distant world.

The thought made me a little queasy. The System was damn powerful, and I wasn’t sure how much good would come out of having its attention.

Still, I’d already accepted the quest. It wasn’t like I was locked into the racial evolution quest the System had just given me. If things got really rough, I could always grind Aethersmith levels. Once that reached the peak of C-Grade, I’d probably get a quest to level up to B-Grade through that.

Besides, at some point, I’d decided to go through with the whole army-leading adventure. At least for a little while. After seeing all those young faces and their incredible lack of training, I knew I couldn’t stop myself from sticking my nose into things. I’d just have to hope things would hold together back in Crownhill while I was away.

Maybe I could write to Reluna and get her to deal with the golems. Clearing the shard would let C-Grades like her come and go freely again, which meant I might be able to do some recruiting from my own forces when all this was over. Crownhill could use all the elite reinforcements it could get.

Cyra soon reached the peak of C-Grade as well, and like me, she received a quest. Hers was pretty simple, though, and all she had to do was deal the final blow to a B-grade enemy. Both our quests seemed easy to the one I’d had to reach C-Grade, which had required me to slay three C-Grades.

Thankfully, Morania got us out of there soon after that. The whole time we’d been fighting demons, I’d been worried whoever had slaughtered most of the city was going to show up and finish us off, too. Based on the damage and casualties we saw on our way in here, the paladin these demons were whispering about had to be one hell of a swordsman.

<Note>

No, we won't be meeting the paladin in question. But if you're interested in his story, check out Paladin of the Sigil!

Also, yes, I'm keeping this dungeon run brief. One more chapter, then back to Glacia.

As for schedule -- My current plan is to post two chapters for every three I write. I will do this until I build up enough of a backlog that I feel like we can get back on an official release schedule.