Chapter 418 - So that’s how it is (Patreon)

Eugan leads me, Shayna, Roculus, and Rat to the side. Currently, most of the expedition is already here, in a small clearing with a few trees near the edge of the outpost. Further away, there is a path heading towards the entrance to the first floor.

“Did you check your contracts?” she asks.

“Yes, I have a question. What the fuck does ‘Loot will be split according to performance’ mean?” Roculus asks.

“As it says. When it’s all done, we will sit down and split it. If you are worried about our core group taking all, it shouldn’t be possible as there are two times as many newcomers. That’s why the language is so open.”

“What if some jackass thinks he did better than he actually did?”

“In such a case, we will vote. If that doesn’t work, we can select someone to split the loot we might get. Someone we will all trust. In the worst case, we will sell it all and split the shards evenly.”

Roculus still doesn’t seem to be satisfied, but he stays quiet.

“In the contracts I saw before, there were usually more points, yet this one is quite short,” Shayna mentions. “Just that we will split the rewards, that it is not allowed to attack each other, and that the main objective is to reach the first safe zone on the 1st floor as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, it’s a simple contract. But you should know plenty of expeditions make do without contracts at all, so this is just an addition from our side.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Rat and I are both quiet, and I can’t help but think.

This smells.

Well, at least I have plenty of mana stored already and a few surprises I could use.

I reread the contract a few times, but there is only the part that doesn’t allow attacking each other. With this level of contract, only enforcers could try to impose sanctions. But that would mean nothing if there is no one left to report the break of contact.

That piece clearly helps the core 7, who know and most likely trust each other. Even if one of them survived, they would try to inform enforcers of the broken contract, most likely with an investigation.

Or however it works.

I do think such a thing would barely catch the attention of higher-ups like handlers. The system never handholds, so I do not think the others would do it either. They would probably just laugh.

My handler would be one of the first, I bet.

I need to try to ask if I can get a new handler. The current one seems to be the type who likes to throw people into the lake, and they either drown or learn to swim.

Observing Shayna signing her contract, I do the same. My identification emblem activates for a moment, and I put my thumb mark on the paper where a circle appears.

Then, according to one condition of the contract, only when all twenty people sign it does it come into effect. There is no change or effect on me, but I mostly see it as an introduction to contracts. Such a low-level one will barely do anything and could be easily abused, but the higher-level ones should be more interesting.

Everyone gets ready, and finally, the leader of our small expedition steps up. On his right arm, a clear Ivory White C rank is showing.

“As it was said before, we will reach the safe zone as quickly as possible. My group has been there, so listen to the sub-leader who will help you in addition to the information we already shared. We will be moving slightly split apart to not bring much attention to the big group. In case anything happens, I will be contacted through the communication channel I have with the sub-leaders, and we can decide the next step.”

He is looking around. The armor he is wearing seems old, battered too, but of very high quality. Considering that he still keeps it even in such a state, it's probably very good.

His weapon is a simple-looking spear made out of a single piece of crystal, inside of which blue mana is swirling, probably fed by him.

Maybe something akin to a mana battery as well as a weapon?

“Nonane,” Eugan interrupts my observation.

“Yes?” I ask back.

“I will be relying on you to keep enemies away so Shaya and I can do our stuff.”

“Not on Roculus?”

“He is fine, but he looks like the type to run after his opponents. You seem more reasonable.”

“Got it.”

The leader continues with his small speech, making sure everyone sees his rank, and instead of listening, I turn to Eugan.

The woman is quietly listening and seems to be talking to someone I can’t hear. Probably through the communication channel they have set up with the core group.

It’s something the twins and Sophie can do as well, and I know how useful it is.

For fun, I try to read from her lips but give up quickly and just wait.

Finally, the big group splits into four, and we start heading towards the entrance. As decided before, groups enter 5 minutes after each other, with our group being the last one.

When our turn comes, I stop in front of the entrance to the first dungeon.

It’s two pillars carved into the stone, and between them, a simple door made of wood.

There is a pathway leading to the door, made out of cobblestone with bits of grass growing between the splits. There are also lights on the walls, enough to cast creepy-looking shadows.

As we get closer, the entrance door opens on its own with a loud creaking, and inside, there is the first floor.

A sickly-looking area, fallen trees, dried-up grass, water that seems to be poisoned, and even some old stone buildings that are about to fall apart.

There are craters and other signs of damage all over. Pieces of mountains missing, a hole in the ground, and melted edges of buildings. The stone turned to dust.

All of it has a ceiling. A rock wall of the cave, the same as the entrance. The first dungeon floors aren’t instances similar to the floors of the Hell difficulty.

No, here you go underground. With each floor deeper and deeper in order to reach something that awaits there. Something that made the first dungeon into existence and then Rulers built Beyond over it.

I follow others, and we pass through the entrance. When I look back, it’s gone, all of us now cut off in this place.

Welcome to the 1st floor of the First Dungeon!

You can exit the 1st floor in safe zones spread across the floor. After reaching a safe zone, you will be able to use the array to teleport there from the Entrance Floor.

1st floor quest: ???

Rewards:

7-day Stay Token

???

“Let’s go,” Eugan says decisively and starts running, the rest of us following. “Rat, start scouting, please.”

As asked, the gray creepy man does so, a dozen rats made out of black substance shooting into the area and scouting.

We are only a minute into the dungeon when Rat talks for the first time, “Two presences to our right. Not very strong.”

His voice is raspy and quiet. From an expression Shayna has I guess it’s not typical to meet enemies so quickly after entering.

“We shouldn't be meeting any so soon. Roculus, block them for a moment! I need to connect with the main group!” Eugan confirms abnormality of the situation, and I can sense her communicating with the others.

Without skipping a beat, Roculus heads towards where the enemies are coming from, jumping over a deep crater to block if an attacker tries to reach our backline.

I also move slightly ahead, but not too much, as we planned before. And just a few seconds later, the two presences appear.

Two men wearing similar armor. One of them with a sword, the other one with a staff.

Neither of them says anything.

Well, they can’t. They are dead.

Their skin has a pale white color, it's shriveled, and their eyes are without color, dead but with some weird kind of intelligence in them. Their movements are twitchy and unnerving while decisive. They just don't feel like living beings.

[Reanimated Corpse -  lvl ??]

[Reanimated Corpse -  lvl ??]

This floor got its nickname Graveyard for a simple reason. If the locals or attendees die here, they will be forever respawned to be used to attack the next expeditions.

“Description doesn’t fit any named one,” Eugen hisses. At the same time I notice she is communicating with someone else though the link they have set up. She is also doing something with the marks she left on us.

Roculus attacks the corpses, the mace and dagger in his hand. He moves quite quicker than I would expect from him, with small explosions of mana under his feet.

The corpse with the staff lights it up, a stream of lightning shooting from it and tracking Roculus, who avoids it. The other corpse charges the man, a sword in its hand coated in resonating mana.

The warrior and Roculus clash, and when the mage tries to join, a combined attack from Eugan and Shayna hits him. A barrage of projectiles and a disrupting wave from Shayna.

Attention now turned to us, the mage disappears, a flame blazing into existence near our backline, and from there, he steps out.

I let kinetic energy burst through my body, and the earth cracks under my feet as I reach the mage before he can even attack.

He quickly turns his attention to me, the staff with flames blazing around swinging to meet my axe.

Flamebearer starts devouring these flames, and with a burst of kinetic energy, I jump back, the place where I stood hit by the warrior.

Roculus crashes into the wall of one of the old stone buildings, sent there by the warrior before he attacked me.

So that’s how it is. 

I dodge the swing of the warrior and block flames with my axe, the flames burning the side of my arm as I do not absorb them fully, the axe moving to block another sword strike. Boosting myself a few more times, I dodge another attack. Mana coveting the sword changes its length and oscillates. As I dodge it, it’s followed by a kick that hits my chest.

Right after, the fire mage lifts the staff, the waves of heat shooting into the area, drying up the air and setting the dried wood on fire.

There are fewer of us facing the corpses than just a moment ago.

Roculus and Eugan are both gone though some sort of teleportation, Rat running somewhere into the distance, and Shayna confused, looking around.

I see she ticks between me and the corpses and then curses, quickly coming to the decision. A wave of her mental attack disrupts the fire mage's skill.

The warrior charges her immediately, and Shayna flies into the air, her small wings creating some sort of thing to allow her to do so. Even so, the warrior bends his knees and jumps up like a bullet.

With a sigh, I strengthen my body and throw the axe at the mage, even boosting it with kinetic energy. The axe hits him in the chest, sending him flying with a burst of flames.

There is no notification about the kill.

I activate the anchor I left on Shayna and others just in case and teleport in front of her, right into the attack of the warrior.

Quickly creating a sword made of mana, I coat it in [Resonance], our blades meeting and my sword cutting through his.

A high-pitched sound and a blast of kinetic energy send the corpse crashing into the ground, his limbs breaking and bending as he crashes against it.

I send another weaker burst at Shayna, moving her away, and a blaze of fire attacks crashes through where she stood.

She reacts quickly, a barrier forming around her, her attention turned to the fire mage.

I lift my hand, and using [Tether], Flamebearer with the anchor on it flies back into my hand, and I boost myself downwards right towards the warrior, where the axe clashes against his forearm.

His body is already healed, the broken limbs fixed. Most likely a skill he possessed while being alive. All the mana he was releasing up until now is gone, glowing white tattoos appearing on his shriveled skin, and his dead eyes glow white.

The first attack crashes against my chest, most of it absorbed and turned into mana, but even then, enough to send me staggering. Another one kicks my legs, adding more mana into my reservoir and making me stumble. The third one punches my face, the same thing repeating.

Blunt attacks won’t work against me, I guess, and he comes to the same conclusion.

As quick and strong as he is, he extends three fingers of his hand into something akin to a blade and stabs towards me. Smart.

A blast of kinetic energy sends him staggering before he can reach me, and then I strengthen my body with it and stab towards him, extending the blade of the mana weapon that pierces into his chest easily, the resonance coating it.

With a kick, he breaks my blade to my sheer surprise, and grabbing a piece of it, he tries to stab it into my eyes. Just in time, I make it disappear into particles. His fist hits my head instead.

He then grabs my hand and tries to get me into a stranglehold where he would have an advantage with his strength, but I send a disrupting wave through his body, giving it a big thump. It's much more difficult than expected, as everyone here has good defenses against disruption. But I push through by the sheer amount of mana I use and my eyes that activate for a moment.

The tattoos deactivate, and before he can do anything else, I pull him closer, and a swing of my elbow cracks the side of his head, sending him to the ground.

He tries to stand up and reactivate his mana, but another disrupting wave hits him. A javelin with a flat head pins him to the ground until I step on his head, splatting it, and the corpse finally stops moving.

[You have defeated Reanimated Corpse - lvl 278]

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