Chapter 6: Ranking up
"What in the world…" I gasped as another slate appeared in front of me.
A notice, different from what I had been getting, and something tells me a change is happening.
** Conditions have been met **
** Message Notice!! **
You've ranked up!
E >> D
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** Distributing Rank D privilege **
1. Rank D item storage (10 slots)
2. 10 abyssal points
3. Increase all status by 1
4. Party System
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** Party List **
1. Cipher [no surname] (15:0)
2. Elizabeth Hunters (40:100)
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"Is something wrong?" she questioned.
"N-nothing," I claimed, letting go of her hand. "Just remembered something… For now, we're allies. Just until we leave this place."
"Glad we get into an agreement," she responded. "But it will take time to find a chance to escape unnoticed. Although the place is dark, Assassins have keen eyes and Fighters have strong swings. We'll never outrun them nor survive a fight."
"... Who says we're sneaking?"
Her face twisted into a puzzled expression, and her eyes widened in surprise as I tossed the lifeless bat's body into the dark opening in the ceiling. The screeches of the creatures lurking above grew even more intense and aggressive.
"What are you doing!? You're gonna get us killed!" she shouted in rage.
"Relax, I know what I'm doing." The bats swarm from the hole with glowing and enraged eyes. "You're a player. So time to level up"
I could swear I saw her face crumpled in red before shooting balls of fire into the swarm above us, and the screeches of the bats worsened in the pain of being torched.
Every bat that attempted to dive and attack was swiftly defeated, dropping to the ground upon encountering my blade. Meanwhile, the girl's magic reduced the others to nothing more than ashes.
And the cycle of elimination goes on until not a single thing is flying above us.
…
…
…
** You've helped slay a living thing **
** Receiving 0.1 Abyssal Points **
** You've helped slay a living thing **
** Receiving 0.1 Abyssal Points **
** You've slain a living thing **
** Receiving 0.2 Abyssal Points **
"Nice! That should do it. A couple more swarm and we're done-ack!" A large flame suddenly blasted me into the walls of the cave. "The heck! What was that for!?"
"That's my line! You almost got us killed!" she replied, all puffy and red. And her eyes looked like it was gonna cry.
"I'm helping you level up, dimwit! You think level 1 can help you out here!?"
"No, but we almost died!" she reasoned.
"Oh, please. Not on my watch."
"Tsk! Braggart..." she muttered as she rolled her eyes before collapsing on the ground, staggering. "I need a breather. I used up too much mana trying to survive your stupidity…"
"And too much energy arguing with an idiot…" she added.
"Well, this place isn't a good place to suck up air. Might as well keep moving." I suggested. The stench of the burning carcass was already corrupting the air, it would soon be hard to breathe in.
"Can't you see my condition!? I'm exhausted!" she argued, terribly shaking.
"Geez, what a princess…"
"W-what are you doing!?" she shouted as I carried her on my back. And she continued hitting my head with such weak punches. "Put me down!"
"Quit complaining. I'm not even enjoying this…"
She kept on whining as we headed deeper into the cave, but the place was becoming less of a dungeon and more like a natural cave. Stalactites and stalagmites were all over the place and a clear pool of water with glowing flowers and mushrooms beside it.
"P-put me down! I need to drink!" she complained.
"Are you even sure it's safe?"
"It's crystal clear and the flowers are alive. Of course, it's safe." she reasoned. "Come on, put me down already! I'm going to die of dehydration here!"
She had her fill, gulping for more than a second. She must be really thirsty to drink that much.
"Puwaah! Phew! That's the stuff! That was the most delicious water I've ever had!" she claimed, resting beside the pool. "You gonna drink?"
"I'm gonna wait first for signs of implications."
"Tsk. I already told you, it's safe," she argued but it won't hurt to be a little cautious. "Suit yourself. If you die of dehydration, it's not my fault."
"H-hey… is it just me or there's no more opening around here?" she asked, taking my attention.
She was right. Aside from the tunnel we came from, no more holes could be seen in any part of this cavern chamber.
Meaning, a dead end.
"How about the pool? Is there any underwater exit or something?"
"None. And this pool is too shallow to have one," she replied. "What now? Should we go back and find another route?"
"There's no other route. I've taken the only path we had." Rustling was heard within the earthly walls on one side of the chamber then the soil on one part of it started crumbling.
A hole was forming, growing larger and larger until the head of a large mouse plunged open through the wall.
"Ah!" in our startle, it shrieks as well. It started digging back, making the hole even larger.
"W-was that… no, it's too big to be a rat…" Just seconds after her response, an alarm went off from the direction of the truck. "Oh no, it started! She'll start searching for us once that sound stops. We better get out of here! But where?"
"We're not ready to face that bitch yet. Into the hole!" I don't know what kind of creature it was but I was thankful it gave path for us to live another day.
We cautiously entered the dirt tunnel that the large rat had created, gradually ascending until we emerged into peculiar plains with a green sky above us. In the distance, we could see a forest, and behind us, a massive rock mountain loomed.
Trails of the rat had disappeared and the only thing we had in mind was just getting out of the hole won't keep us safe.
Climb the rock mountain? The path is too steep. Run into the plains? Too exposed and many hostile creatures wander.
Our only bet was the forest, but something eerie was being emitted within the trees sending our bones to chill the moment we arrived at the forest entrance.
But choosing forest or the bitch. It made me ponder which one was more dangerous. We couldn't return as we found nothing of value other than mana stones, and entering the forest holds unknown risk.
Time was running out, and the setting sun only made it harder to think.
Then the siren echoing within the small tunnel stopped and was soon replaced by the laughter of the woman, getting louder and closer.
"What now? She'll probably kill us if she finds us" she stated as her whole body trembled in fear.
"Quickly, into the forest!" I replied, venturing into the trees as I held her shaking hand and glanced back every single time I heard a rustle behind.
The gazes were still in every direction, lurking somewhere my line of sight could see. I couldn't tell if it was just threatening us to leave, watching for an opportunity to attack, or just playing pranks on us.
"Stop," I whispered, anchoring her from advancing any further. There were flames within the bushes and the campers weren't humans. They were too small to be one and their color varied from green to greenish-grey.
** Creature Information **
Forest Goblin
Level: 3
HP: 110/110 MP: 0/0
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"Goblins… There are too many of them. We can't win this…" Just before we thought things were already worse, the psychotic laughter resonates just inside the forest. "N-no, she's here…"
Hordes of goblins or the bitch. Another tough choice to pick from and both would cost us our lives if we face them head-on.
"What now…" she asked as I pondered what to do until something hit me.
"Vines…? Quickly! Up into the trees!" My voice alerted the resting goblins, causing them to search everywhere with torches in their hands but we were already gone from the ground thanks to the vines.
From above, we could see the glowing flares of the goblins' torches scattering all over the forest then one after another, the flares went out and the drying screams of the goblins were let out.
"I don't want to die… I don't want to die…" She muttered, over and over again.
"You won't. None of us will so quit your whining." I assured her even though I myself had my doubts. Everything in this forest was stronger than both of us and the only thing we could do is hide as the night deeper.
But the silence of the night was interrupted as something rumbled from our vicinity.
"What was that!?" I asked, all alarmed and preparing for any possible threats lurking around but nothing came.
"Sorry…" she apologized with her hands on her stomach as it grumbled again. "I'm really hungry. I've never eaten since this morning…"
"Well, deal with it. We're both hungry. I haven't even eaten since last nigh—" My eyes shifted to the storage and in the sight of a familiar container, my mouth suddenly drooled. "Want to see some magic?
From the storage, I pulled a container, and five of the barbecue I bought and stored last night was present inside it. Fascinating enough, the food was still piping hot as if time itself stopped upon storing. A stick had two slices of meat the size of a child's palm and an inch in thickness, and some slices of veggies impaled.
As she noticed the materialization of the barbecue, her eyes suddenly sparkled from seeing the food and her jaw dropped in disbelief.
"Give me some!" she argued then tried making puppy eyes. "Please."
"Just one, okay?"
"What!? Cheapskate!"
"Then what are you gonna do if we go out of food before we can even leave this place, huh?" I asked which shut her silent.
There was no telling what would happen during our stay nor how long we had to hide until we'd be able to get out. Food is a valuable resource one could have in places such as this as it's too hard to replace it.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone