As they both left the Settlement, Korrin couldn't help but ask. "do you know how to use the sword?",Lior stopped and looked at her directly into her eyes. Korrin couldn't help but flinch, but what happened next almost made her puke blood.
"No this is the first time I will be holding a real sword in my life.." Lior said confidently.
Hearing his reply, Her face went pale. "You... you don't?..." She hugged her pack tighter, her voice dropping to a whisper. "We're going to die out here."
Lior chuckled lightly finding her behaviour funny, nobody would expect that this is neighbour is the shy type.. "No worries I a little good with knives how hard can a sword be.."
Hearing his reply, Korrin didn't know whether she should cry or laugh…
Three days had passed since the beginning of their journey, the road to the next settlement was no true road, it was just winding tunnels carved by time and beasts, lit faintly by veins of mana crystal running through the walls.
Korrin said to Lior "It been three days yet we have not encountered any beast, isn't it weird?" "And also how many Settlement do we need to pass before we reach Floor Two, my feet are killing me." she whined.
" Us not meeting any beast is a good thing, don't jinx us, besides we are already near Settlement H. it is just a day journey from here, I think." Lior said, already used to this is neighbour whining.
"One day?, Huh-uh. That still far, our supplies are dwindling faster than i expected. Our meals are already been halved and each sip of water we drink is now measured by drops."
Lior sopped to pondered what Korrin said made sense, they needed to reinstock their supplies, but the problem is money, were are they supposed to get that. They could start actively looking for beasts to hunt but that can be risky. Just as we was lost in his thought, Korrin called to his attention "Lior I think we should camp here the crystals are already dimming and that spot looks safe."
Lior looked at the spot she was pointing at, it was a small cave, with only one entrance. It is indeed safe in there since they would have the defensive position, Then he looked upward, staring at the ceiling… the crystal are indeed starting to deem signifying that the days is about to end and night approaches.
He turned to her and said "Ok" This had been how they have been doing it since they left the Settlement, at first she had been nervous but later on.. it seems she got used to him.
As they moved towards the cave cautiously, trying to ascertain that noting leaves in it. Korrin abruptly said seems nothing lives here it is probably sa…
A low snarl cut her words short.From the shadows ahead, a pair of crimson eyes gleamed. A small, twisted beast crept into their view, its body no larger than a wolf, but its skin stretched thin over jagged bone, its teeth too many for its mouth.
A Tier-1 scavenger, a common beast that found in Floor One, its weak compared to other beast Floor One… but deadly enough for unarmed travelers.
Lior rose slowly, sword in hand, trying to position himself appropriately. His chest tightened as the beast lunged itself towards him.
Steel clashed against bone. As the the creature bit the sword. Lior swung low, deflecting its bite, then drove the blade into its side. The creature shrieked, thrashing around trying to escape from the sword in-bedded to its flesh, but Lior pressed forward, gritting his teeth, for he knew that if he missed this opportunity, he and Korrin will probably die here. He pulled out the sword from the beast and immediately slash towards the creature neck.
SPURK!
As the second strike slashed the creature neck, it fell. Black ichor gushing out it neck dyeing the ground black.
Silence issued with only the sound of Lior ragged breath.
Korrin eyes widened. "You… you killed it."
Lior dropped his sword free, his hands shaking not just from exertion, but from the excitement surging through his veins. He looked down at the corpse. The dungeon's law was cruel but simple… kill, or be killed.
They harvested what they could, coarse hide, twisted bone, a small fragment of mana crystal from its skull. The materials weren't worth much, but in the dungeon, nothing was wasted.
That night, as they camped in another hollow cave since the last one as been compromised, Korrin examined their meager spoils by the flickering crystal lights.
"Not bad for your first kill." she said softly. "These could trade for a handful of credits. Enough to buy another flask of water when we reach Settlement H
Lior stared at the fragment in his hand, the faint glow casting shadows across his face. He thought of Ashley, of the promise he had sworn to her.
"This is just the beginning." He muttered lowely under his breath
The morning after the scavenger fight, their steps were slower, heavier. Lior body still ached from the battle, his hands blistered where the hilt had bitten into his palms. Korrin trailed beside him, hugging her cloak tighter, her eyes darting to every shadow.
"Do you think we will encounter more beast?" Korrin asked while whispering to Lior. "We are definitely going to encounter some"
"Cant you be considerate and comforting am quite frighten you know" she said weakly…. Lior decided not reply, he pretended that he didn't heard that.
During their journey to the Settlement they encountered two more tier-one scavengers.
The next scavenger came at noon, bursting from a side tunnel. This time, Lior's reaction was a fraction of a second faster. He remembered the weight of the sword, the way it had dragged in his hands. He didn't try to slash. As the beast leaped, he mimicked his desperate move from before, planting the sword's tip down.
He was slower than he thought. The blade skidded off a rib instead of finding a vital spot. The scavenger yelped but kept coming, its claws tearing a deep gash across his back before he could shove it away and finish it with a clumsy, hacking blow. The pain was a white-hot fire that made his vision swim.
The third one found them as the crystal light began to dim. Exhausted, blood soaking through the makeshift bandage on his back, Lior almost didn't see it. It was Korrin's shout that saved him. He turned, too slow, and met its charge not with a braced weapon, but with a wild, two-handed swing.
The impact jarred his arms to the shoulders. The sword was almost torn from his grip, but the edge bit deep into the beast's neck. They fell into a tangled, snarling heap. He ended the fight with his hands, choking it until it stopped moving, the stink of its breath and blood filling his nostrils.
When he finally pushed the corpse off him, he couldn't stand. He lay on the cold stone, covered in filth and his own blood, his world reduced to a single, throbbing point of agony.
Now, he was truly covered in injuries. The wound on his back, the most severe, wept steadily through the bandage. With every heartbeat, he felt a little more of his strength seep away, his consciousness beginning to waver at the edges.
Luckyly by noon, the tunnel widened, and the faint buzz of voices carried through the stone.
"Another settlement," Korrin exclaimed.
The carved walls opened into a cavern where wooden palisades and stone houses clustered together. A crude banner fluttered above the entrance, marked with a faded H.
Guards with spears stood watch at the gate, their armor dented but their eyes sharp.
Settlement H was smaller than C, it is less crowded, less lively but still alive. The glow of crystal lanterns lined the streets, smoke rose from cook fires, and merchants barked from stalls.
For the first time since leaving, the smell of fresh bread drifted through the air.
Korrin let out a shaky sigh. "Finally…"
As they approached the gate, two guards flanked the entrance, their spears not held at ease but ready. Their armor was a mosaic of dents and repairs, but their eyes, sharp and unsmiling, missed nothing.
As Lior and Korrin approached, the guards stiffened. Their gazes locked onto the ichor-stained sword at Lior hip, then traveled up to take in his blood-caked clothes, his pallid face, and the way he favored one leg. They saw Korrin, small and clutching her pack like a shield, her eyes wide.
One guard stepped forward, his spear lowering slightly to bar their path. "State your business." His voice was flat, devoid of welcome.
Lior's throat was dry. "Travelers," he croaked. "From Settlement C. We... we need supplies. And a place to rest."
The second guard's eyes narrowed. "C? Heard that was a ghost town now. Overrun." He looked them up and down again, his expression a mix of suspicion and a grim understanding. "Are you two the only ones that made it?"
"No we are not the only one who made it." "Others went to another Settlements."
The guards scrutinized their eyes until finally letting them pass.
As they passed through the gates after a brief inspection two guards eyeing the ichor stained sword at Lior side and his bloodied blood but said nothing. Inside, the settlement buzzed with muted activity. Children darted between alleys, workers hauled crystal shards, and hunters displayed fresh monster hides at the market.
Korrin immediately assisted him toward the stalls. Saying "We need get you treated before anything else."
They traded the scavenger's hide and bones for thirty credits, enough to buy two flask, two loaves of dense black bread and some bandages with cheap ointment.
Prices here were lower than at the evacuation camp, but still sharp. The
merchant eyed them with thinly veiled greed, looking at them as sheep that could be slaughtered.
Korrin ignored him, tucking the bread into her pack.
As they walked, Korrin gaze swept the settlement. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "This… place doesn't feel safe. It too quiet."
She wasn't wrong. The people of this Settlement moved quickly, eyes low, shoulders hunched as if carrying invisible weights. walls patched in a hurry, guards stationed at every corner, and the way conversations died whenever strangers passed. Something was wrong here.
Korrin tugged his cloak. "We shouldn't stay long."
Lior eyes lingered on the wary faces around them. He could feel it too the
weight of a place is balanced on the edge of fear.
Still, he needed to heal his injuries before they can continue their journey, so they would rest here for now then continue their journey after he as healed finish.