Amazon Apocalypse 5: Chapter 5

Kyrina escorted me back to the Samhain compound after I waved my goodbyes to Professor Verlin. Hopefully, I’d see him again because he’d been a massive help in preparing for a B-grade.

Pretty soon, Cyra and I were reunited again. It had only been a few days, and it shouldn’t have felt as long as it had, but we were technically newlyweds, so I didn’t feel bad about missing her.

I also felt eager to be on my feet again, which was an odd sensation. Before the integration, I would have been much more comfortable spending weeks or months in a library than running around planets fighting monsters, but nowadays, a week cooped up with a bunch of books was pretty much all I could take.

My System-enhanced body couldn’t possibly be sore from all the sitting and staring at books. Yet, I got a distinct impression that I needed to stretch and work the kinks out of my legs. When Cyra asked me how my week was, I told her as much.

“It’s a relief to be doing a dungeon. I think I got eyestrain from staring at books all day by dim candlelight. My legs hurt from sitting too long too. Getting back on my feet and swing a sword around a little will be good.” I yawned.

From behind her face covered in bandages, Cyra’s eyebrow twitched. “I should have been a wizard...” she grumbled.

I chuckled good-naturedly as I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Naturally, I’d been joking about my troubles since my discomforts were laughable compared to hers.

She was also extremely sore, but she had far more reason to be so than me. During her training with Grandma Luthrin, she’d gotten so many bruises that now her bruises had bruises. And that was just the start. Her great-grandmother had her stay up the entire week without rest for seven straight days of constant battle.

Apparently, the Samhain family’s traditional technique for preparing their daughters for war involved a never-ending battle that was constant combat without a break or rest. The food Cyra and I were sharing was the first bite she’d had to eat since we feasted with her family a week ago.

Between us, I’d obviously gotten the far cushier training regimen. I considered myself something of a spellblade from time to time, but I made a mental note to emphasize the spell part of that world whenever Grandma Luthrin was around to hear. The lengthy training quest the System had put me through was enough combat experience for me. I didn't need to put myself through whatever Grandma Luthrin was doing to Cyra.

“Grandma Luthrin, me, and hubby all pulled a few strings to get you these dungeon slots. The Jestario family was only willing to trade in their slot for two of ours. Normally, we wouldn’t make such a trade, but the two of you are so close to B-Grade that we need to get you over the hill before we send you off with little Herius’ army,” Kyrina said. As she spoke, she plopped a plate between us, breaking the romantic air of the late lunch we were sharing. But the news was welcome, so I didn’t mind.

“We promise to make good use of this opportunity.” I bowed my head in thanks.

“Damn right you will! If not, I’ll take the both of you out to a monster planet. And that trip will be way worse than the training session, Cyra!” Grandma Luthrin said, slapping a plate down on the other side of us.

A shiver ran down Cyra’s spine at the mention of an even worse training session than what she’d just gone through.

“We won’t disappoint you,” I reiterated, mostly to reassure Cyra.

“This is an extremely valuable early B-Grade dungeon. You’ll encounter some tough foes in there, but nothing too wild,” Kyrina explained.

Luthrin laughed. “Kyrina can tell you all about the dungeon. She was really looking forward to clearing the Kelser Mystic Realm dungeon before she gave up her slot for the two of you to get one.”

Kyrina waved off our surprised looks. “I’m back on the list, set for two hundred years from now. I’m sure I can trade my way up to the front of the line again in a decade or two. It’s not a big deal. The dungeon itself isn’t the greatest for leveling, anyway. People are just fond of it for the occasional rare reward.”

“Rare reward?” I asked curiously.

“Yep. It’s one of the few dungeons that drop a realmcore seed. You kids probably don’t know what those things are, but for old ladies like us with entire factions to take care of, those things are worth a fortune!” Grandma Luthrin smiled wide but received a kick under the table that cut her short.

“You’re the only grandma here!” Kyrina scowled. “But yes, mystic realm core seeds are an extremely valuable, rare drop from this dungeon. So valuable, in fact, that most people will try to max out their luck stat first in the hopes of increasing their odds of getting it. A skilled artificer can awaken the realmcore seed into a mystic realm.”

“Like the kind popular for raising kids on Themyscira?” I asked.

“No, no... those are ordinary pocket realms, and they're simple things where monsters don’t spawn. The System doesn’t even work properly there. It’s fine for raising children to adulthood in a dangerous world, but it’s no place for someone with any dreams of going past level ten. The kinds of worlds the a realmcore can make are as developed as this one here. Taken to their extreme, they can be as expansive as the Mucaria Mystic Realm, the foundation of the Dragon Lodge.

“Interesting...” I perked up at the sound of getting something like that. I already had a pocket realm in Crownhill. We kept the entrance under heavy guard because that’s where we kept our schoolhouse, along with a boarding house for kids. But it was really only good for keeping children and others who couldn’t fight out of harm’s way, plus what little food they could grow in the space the pocket realm allowed.

A fully functional mystic realm like the Dragon Lodge enjoyed would be much more interesting, especially if the flow of time was skewed. Still, it wasn’t exactly something I needed. Just a curiosity.

“For a large clan, such a thing represents a constant source of monsters to hone the younger generations on. It can also serve as a fallback position for the clan. Or even a way to evacuate an entire territory in a crisis,” Kyrina explained.

I grabbed Cyra’s hand. “Sounds interesting. We’ll hope for the best, but we make no promises.”

“Good! Now, enough lazing about, your dungeon diving slot is this evening. Better get moving!” Grandma Luthrin said.

***

Kyrina and Grandma Luthrin came with us, mostly so Kyrina could continue telling us about the dungeon during our trip. Cyra was staggering along half-conscious beside us, but I put a hand under her shoulders and helped her along.

The dungeon we were being sent to was in the middle of nowhere. And I didn’t just mean in the wilderness. A quick series of teleportations at Grandma Luthrin’s side brought us to a dockyard. It was no ordinary dockyard, though, because nearly one-half of the dock was protected by a shimmering magical barrier. That shimmering barrier was the only reason we could breathe, because beyond it was the empty void of space.

“Two for the dungeon,” Grandma Luthrin said to the port operator, who nodded and filled out a few forums. Pretty soon, Cyra and I were standing on the edge of the void, overlooking a whole lot of nothing. We were far enough away that Glacia was only about the size that the moon was back on Earth.

“The dungeon we’re looking for is located in an empty patch of space over that way. This spaceport was built to provide easy access to it, but the dungeon is slow to recharge, and the dock leading there is undergoing maintenance. You two are going to need to jump,” Grandma Luthrin said.

“Jump? Through empty space?” I asked incredulously.

“How are we supposed to breathe?” Cyra asked.

“That’s the neat part. You don’t.” Grandma Luthrin laughed heartily. “But making you two jump might be too much to ask. So I’ll throw you.”

“Bye! Have fun, you two! Kill lots of monsters for me!” Kyrina waved.

A second later, Grandma Luthrin picked us up, one in either arm, and then threw us into the void. If there’d been air in space, they might have been able to hear us scream all the way over on Glacia.

Our trip could have lasted minutes or just a few seconds, but at some point, we crossed an invisible threshold. My face found cool grass, and I slid along it as I stopped some thirty yards from where I landed.

Cyra had a similarly ungraceful landing within the dungeon. I tossed her one of Bridget’s special healing biscuits to help fix her up and then took one myself. Then, we formed a party to share experiences and help keep track of one another in case we needed to split up.

“From what your mother said, this is a fairly open-ended dungeon. You go ahead and get some rest while I scout around. I know you’ve been awake awhile.” I reached into Morgathor’s Satchel and pulled out our tent, which I set up in the open field using telekinesis.

Cyra didn’t even protest as she went right inside to lie down, which was how I knew she was as tired as it was probably possible to get. The Cyra I knew wouldn’t agree to get some rest in a situation like this unless she really needed it.

Thankfully, from what Kyrina said, there was no time limit on this dungeon. Quite the opposite, really, since it was supposed to be even more heavily time-dilated than the Mucaria mystic realm. Not as much as Eowyn’s world had been, but close to it. We had plenty of time for Cyra to get back into fighting shape before the real combat began.

First, I threw down my summoning circle and conjured Sharky up. I’d been fighting in tournaments and on city streets lately, so I hadn’t had occasion to call on him until now. He’d been working hard, and I was glad he had a break. But I was doubly glad when he came out of his summoning circle like an eager puppy.

“Nom nom,” Sharky said.

“Sharky! I’m glad you’re back.” I rubbed the huge ghost leviathan’s nose affectionately. Sure, he was an always-hungry killing machine hell-bent on devouring all life on any given world, but he was my always-hungry killing machine!

He flashed his many rows of teeth at me. I looked behind him as he forced the rest of his heaving bulk through my summoning circle. It was a tight fit.

“Did you get bigger while on your break?” I asked.

“Nom nom,” Sharky replied.

“You did get bigger,” I confirmed a moment later. Once upon a time, Sharky merely looked like a normal shark. He had a bit of a growth spurt after I evolved the skill to summon him, and he turned into something more like a megalodon that could fly and eat souls.

Now... I wasn’t sure what Sharky was. He was massive, the length of a half dozen busses laid end to end. If he opened his mouth all the way, I could drive my truck straight through.

“Well... your original skill description did say you could evolve if I kept you well-fed. You’ve certainly been eating a lot...”

“Nom nom!” Sharky said in protest.

I glanced around his side, where his ribs were visible through gaunt skin.

“You’re right, buddy. You’re just going through a growth spurt. I didn’t mean to starve you. Luckily, we’re in a dungeon. Anything you see is yours to eat, besides Cyra and me. Try to stay close, though. There are some dangerous things here. You know the drill, circle the area.”

“Nom nom.” Sharky turned and swam off in search of prey.

Sharky took off on patrol, and I did the same in the other direction. Between the two of us, we scoured our surroundings without letting the tent get out of sight. I encountered a few small monsters in the D-Grade, but nothing substantial. Satisfied we were safe, I returned to the tent to get a bit of reading done while I waited for Cyra to wake up so we could start our dungeon run.

The first thing I did was pull open the book Ted had given me. It was something I'd been looking forward to flipping through so I could figure out whether he'd really been some crazy homeless wizard or if there'd been more to it.

I spent several hours flipping through the books, squinting at the pages as I made out the messy writing.

Interpreting the Fairer Sex was either a work of genius or insanity. I hadn't decided which yet. The theories within the book ranged from agreeable to absurd. There were fifteen pages determining potential information gleaned from minute eyebrow movements. There was an entire novel's worth of interpretations on what the words 'I'm fine' meant, and what was the best way to respond to such words.

The book was already a massive tome, but there seemed to be no end to the number of pages it contained, and I was certain some of the text rearranged itself whenever I wasn't looking. I flipped through the book page after page seeing if I could find the end, but even when I inverted the book and let the pages fall to one side, I could not find something that looked like an ending.

Most curiously, the parts of the book that I initially thought to contain skills didn't trigger any System prompts at all. Either they weren't skill books, or I wasn't qualified to pick up whatever skills were there for the taking. It was a source of much frustration for me, and I was increasingly lending credence to the theory that they were must insane scribbles. Still, the general notes on women and female behavior seemed useful, so I wasn't about to disregard the book entirely.

I spent several more hours looking over it, making little progress but learning quite a bit for my troubles. Especially one chapter in particular, title 'On assembling and managing harems.'

***

When Cyra woke, she looked much better than when she’d gone to sleep. Her bruises were mostly healed, and her eyes had regained a certain focus they’d lost when she was several days sleep deprived.

“How long was I out?” Cyra asked as she rolled out of bed.

“Only five hours. You can rest more if you’d like. Don’t worry, Sharky is on patrol,” I said, putting my book down.

Already, I was enjoying the effects of my improved Death Defier title. Technically, my Death Curse meant I wasn’t getting any experience from Sharky’s monster kills. But the new improvements to my title gave me a flat bonus based on monsters slain.

It was a confusing workaround of the System, but the end result was I could experience what it was like to gain levels from killing monsters, just like most people could. It wasn’t quite as efficient as leveling up my companions and taking levels from them, but it was nice to have the old-fashioned way of leveling as a backup.

Despite extensive efforts by Sharky, I didn’t gain any levels. But on the edge of B-Grade as I was, I couldn’t exactly complain about not gaining levels while sitting on my rear in a tent reading a book. Most people took centuries to reach this point, with bloody days of battles separated by years, if not decades.

Cyra yawned, stretched, ate, and put her armor on. I was pleased to see it was the replacement set I’d gotten for her from Doomblade’s Armory, not the one I’d ruined with acid slime during our tournament fight. It was an okay set, but she definitely deserved better. I really needed to make more power armor.

“Sharky’s scouting the area. There are minor threats, but nothing major here. There’s no quest board or objectives though,” I said.

“Mother said this was a naturally occurring dungeon. It might even be a mystic realm, just with the dungeon entrance right where the mystic realm connects to our reality, making it impossible to enter the actual mystic realm the dungeon is in and leaving only the dungeon accessible.” Cyra shrugged her shoulders. I helped her with the last of her armor straps.

Perhaps the System had set this place up, or some other ancient faction. Nesting magical pocket worlds would make it very difficult to break into or manipulate the dungeon. Such a setup might even move residents from one dungeon to another without them noticing.

After arming Cyra, we packed up the tent and went in the direction Sharky had gone. He would have swum off in search of prey. Presumably, the densest concentration of prey would lead us toward our enemies, who we’d have to slay to gain the levels the two of us were looking for.

We had set up camp in the middle of a wide clearing, but there was forest all around us. It was nighttime overhead with no sign of a sun or moon, but the stars in this dungeon were unusually bright. With superhuman senses, it was plenty to see by.

When we finally caught up with Sharky, I let my Death Curse draw in as many of the monsters as possible, and the three of us embarked on a campaign of slaughter that saw an entire forest’s worth of small creatures dying every minute.

Considering we were in a dungeon in space, the monsters we were fighting were surprisingly normal. Mostly, they were rodents and forest predators, most about knee-high and comparable to what I was used to fighting back home.

“Any levels?” I asked Cyra.

“One-third of the way to a new one!” Cyra said proudly.

“Slow going...” I grumbled.

Cyra smiled, letting out something somewhere between a snort and a giggle. “You’re just spoiled from all the good fights the System has thrown your way.”

“There’s no way this can be a B-Grade dungeon with just some D-Grade fodder,” I shrugged as I looked around at the forest and awaited for something to attack us. Or for the ground to open up and swallow us. Or any number of deadly surprises.

Already on edge, I heard the unfamiliar female voice ring out through the woods.

“Help! Is someone there? I need help!”


<Note>
Still slow going. I played Marvel Rivals too long yesterday and hurt my wrist, so I'm writing a bit slower right now. But the book is coming along.

And yes, the excuses for not doing 4 chapters per week again are going to get increasingly lame until I finally pull my shit together and go back to the normal schedule.