It's been how many minutes now, and we still haven't gotten out from this forest. However, we can already see the light out of this place. I'm a bit confused. Because how the hell did a forest get inside a maze? I didn't try to wrack my brain to answer that question, because there's no way I'll be able to give it one. Obviously, this forest was placed here to reduce the players, and I don't get the reason why they have to reduce the players this early.
Everyone's been quiet ever since that man who warned about the bosses disappeared. None of us questioned his message as well, we just stayed quiet and started walking to get out of this place.
'Window'
Ah...
Seriously? This window can actually help in the darkness huh?
When my teammates saw the status window's dim light guiding us, they all summoned theirs. With six of us now, the combined light from our status windows grew stronger.
"Why didn't we think of this earlier?" Damon asked, sounding disappointed.
"With all that happened, I doubt it'll even cross our minds," Ethan replied. He's right. We had to focus on the enemies earlier, and with that strange man appearing out of nowhere and sending us a message, we became more tensed.
"Yeah, you've got a point. Actually Lupin already gave me a hint earlier!" Blanche said, giggling. Here we go again with Lupin. It felt like it's been so long since I heard that name.
"I've been meaning to ask. Who's Lu—"
"I can already sense the breeze coming from that light. We should hurry up," I cut off Zephyr's words before she can finish it.
"Can't you let me finish my sentence first?" We all started running, the light is close.
"Uhm...Zephyr. So..." Ai approached Zephyr and then leaned closer to her ears to whisper something. Maybe it's about Blanche and her so-called best friend, Lupin.
"Ohh...! I see, I see! Okay, alright, I'm sorry," She forced a laugh as she scratch the back of her head. At least she's not out of the hook now.
"What? Why are you apologizing?" Blanche asked, unaware of her own situation. I don't know what things she experienced back in her home, but to have an imaginary friend at this age means it wasn't good.
"Nothing! Let's hurry up!" Zephyr replied, speeding up. We followed her as we all focus ourselves to the light that isn't even closing in.
What? Wait, what? It's really close, but how come we can't reach it? This is strange.
"Is it just me or..." Damon paused as he stop running. We all did the same as we try to catch for breath. Even though our stamina's enhanced, it's still tiring. Maybe because we only upgraded it a few levels?
"Yeah, I don't think we're closing the distance from that light," Ethan said, his hands on his hips and his eyes fixed to the light while trying to breathe properly. I swear I can already sense the breeze from that place, but we're still not near.
"...if that guy went here to give us a message and such, he could've told us how to get out of this place as well," Zephyr spoke, looking annoyed. I'm pretty sure he purposely did that.
"Maybe he really didn't tell us... so we can use our own minds to leave this place," Ai said. I slowly nodded my head. I agree. I don't know who that guy is but it sounds to me as if he was talking about the future. He didn't tell us anything, or even some ideas about the future, but I'm sure his message was a warning.
"But then... how are we actually going to leave this place? The light looks so close but we're not reaching the end of this place," Blanche asked.
I roamed my eyes around. Even though there's a light in the distance, the surroundings still really dark. It was thanks to our status window that we can see the road in front of us, but that's there is to it.
"Should we search for something?" Damon asked. I did not answer, and none of the party members replied as well. All of us have no idea how to get out of this place.
"What exactly are we going to search for?" Zephyr asked.
"Well, I dunno? Anything?" the guy replied.
"Yeah, maybe we should try to look around the area. Maybe there are hints, or like mechanisms we can activate to get out of this place. After all, that guy earlier are able to leave," This time, I spoke. We won't be able to get out of this place if we just stay in the same place. It's dark here, and the only thing that gives us light are the status windows.
"Anything?" I nodded at Blanche.
"Yeah, anything---"
"Then... how about this?" we all turned to Blanche and we saw her holding a... shell?
"I stepped on it earlier when we were running, and Lupin told me to pick it up as it may help us in the future," Err... in the future, huh?
"Hmm, a conch shell? How can this help us?" Zephyr asked, reaching for the conch shell on Blanche's hands. When she got it, she immediately put it near her ear and listened to it.
"What are you doing? It's not like someone's going to communicate with you through that shell---" Damon was cut off when a silver window appeared in front of us with a notification
[ You found the 'Siren's Magic Conch'! Congratulations! ]
Siren's Magic Conch?
"What's...this? Why didn't we receive this notification when Blanche first found it?" Ai asked, her head tilted in curiosity.
"Right..." I mumbled.
"Well, I received the notification that I got the shell, but it didn't tell me how to use it so I kept it with me instead," Blanche said. Ah, so the reason we received this letter just now is because we're finally aware of its existence?
"But, how do is this going to help us?" Damon asked.
[ The Siren's Magic Conch can be used as a navigation tool! Good luck with leaving the 'Infinite Forest'! ]
Infinite forest?!
"What the fuc---infinite what now?! That's why we can't leave at all!" Zephyr complained. I wonder if we would have been able to leave if we went back?
"Well, it looks like we have a navigation tool now. Thanks, Lupin," I said, smiling at Blanche. She just responded with a nod and a wide smile. She looks proud.
"But how are we going to use it?" Ethan asked. We all gathered around Zephyr and she quickly pushed the conch shell to me. It almost fell, good thing I caught it.
I scanned the shell and found a very small button. I pressed it and all of a sudden, a white string attached to the shell, leading us to a place opposite to the light that we've been chasing. But it wasn't towards the place where we came from as well.
"So, all this time we've been going the wrong way...? Why did you not tell us about this, Blanche..." Damon asked, yawning.
"Sorry. I thought it was just a normal shell. I planned to make it a souvenir," And she even thought of souvenir? In our situation right now? Haha... how cute. She's like a kid.
"Anyway... if this was called the 'Infinite Forest', will we actually be able to leave?" Ai asked.
"I think so. Asmodeus might despise the humankind but I think he can't just keep killing the players," I replied. This conch is definitely here as a genuine navigation tool.
"Okay then... let's just trust this Siren's Magic Conch," Ethan added.
"Alright, let's go!" Damon announced and started walking, following the tiny light that is attached to the conch.
I'm sure the light that we've been chasing since earlier was a trap. That's why we are not getting closer to it.
I took a deep breath and followed the party members.
I have no idea if the end of this tiny light is the end of the maze or just the end of the forest. Either way, we have to move forward. We don't have forever to stay in this shitty forest.
***