Chapter 9

"Ooh..."

A whine escape my lips as I open my eyes. My vision is still blurry. I'm confused about where I am. And why does my back feels heavy?

Then I remember.

The dungeon?! Where are Anna and Eliza?!

As I try to get up, I feel something pressing on my back. I turn my head back and see Anna and Eliza in a pile on top of me. A sigh of relief escape my lips. At least we aren't separated.

I try to reach back with my arm to poke Anna in the arm. After a few seconds she stir and open her eyes.

"Hey. Can you please wake Eliza up? It's a bit difficult to move..." I ask with an awkward smile.

She looks at me before nodding and doing the same I just did.

After we all got up I start to look around us. It seems we are in a dense forest in the middle of a small clearing.

The trees around us are sparse and between them I can see some light.

"I'm not sure that forest is big. Look over there. Light." I say, pointing in front of us.

"That's true. But there's a problem. Where is the portal to go back?" Eliza ask while looking around with a frown.

It's true. We learned at school that dungeons always have an exit at the exact same place as the entry. But now? There's nothing at all. Either we got teleported somewhere far from the normal entrance. Or we have to find the exit. There's a last possibility but I hope it's not that. It's possible there's no exit and we're trapped.

"Well. I guess we should try and see what's beyond the trees right?" I turn toward the two girls as I ask.

They both give a nod and summon their weapons. I do the same so we are all ready to react to whatever that dungeon will throw at us.

Since I'm the only one that can fight in melee, I'm in front. It doesn't take very long to reach outside of the trees. As we thought, the light we saw was the end of that 'forest'. If we could call it like that.

Beyond the tree is a immense grassland. Green herb as far as I could see, with a few tree here and there. I can barely make out some patch of forest just like the one we just exited but they are quite far, if our sense of distance isn't screwed with.

That's one of the problems in a dungeon. Nobody knows why, but they can mess with your senses. But it's not every time. Some of the most 'farmed' Dungeons are normal. It can even feel like you just got through a door without any disorienting thing happening. Not like that dungeon that did knocked us out.

Some of those can even mess with our concept of time. One day for the outside world could be a week, or more, inside. But that's as far as the school taught us. The rest should be learned in an Academy since, logically, a new awakened don't enter a Dungeon.

And here we are. Three newly awakeneds, even if Eliza is a few months older, entering a Dungeon. Well, we got dragged into it. I'm not sure it happened to someone else before. Damn that lack of information..

"Do you think the exit is in one of those little forests? Maybe if it's the same layout as the one we woke up in." Eliza ask us, looking around us as well.

"I think it's possible. It would even more quite a lot of sense actually. Look, those are the only things we can see." Anna answers while gesturing around us.

I'm about to speak when the ground starts to tremble. It's not intense, but it makes us unsteady for a few seconds. As those tremors are ongoing, a stone tablet rises from the ground right in front of me. It's not blank. On it are carved words. Wary, I take a few step back but not far enough that I can't read what's written.

WELCOME ENDER.

WE WERE WAITING FOR YOU.

IN THIS DUNGEON THERE ARE GOBELINS.

EXACTLY FIVE HUNDRED OF THEM.

THIS IS OUR INTRODUCTION INTO OUR PLAYGROUNDS FOR YOU.

KILL THEM ALL AND THE EXIT WILL APPEAR.

OF COURSE YOU WILL GET A REWARD TOO.

GOOD LUCK AND...

HAVE FUN!

What. The. Fuck. Is this?

"Hum. What? What's this? That's... Not normal right?" Anna's voice is hesitant and summarize our thoughts perfectly.

"And who is this 'Ender' ? Do any of you knows?" Eliza ask, her gaze flickering between us before settling on me.

"Well, based on how it appeared... I guess... It would be me? But... I'm just a simple fox girl?" I answer with a shrug.

"The only fox girl" Anna quips, making me roll my eyes.

"Yeah yeah, can we focus on what the hell is this please?" Eliza sigh at us. "I think you are right. It should be you Jane. It did appear right in front of you after all. Not us."

Yeah right, it makes sense but it's still weird. Why would that happen? And what's that about 'Our playground' ? It felt like a message written just now. I have of course no proof about that. It's just the vibes I can feel from it.

"Hm. At least we have a way out I suppose?" I tentatively say.

"You would trust what's written on that tablet? What if it's a trap? A kind of dungeon like that?" Eliza counter, a brow raised in doubt.

She has a point. Since we weren't awakened, we didn't get much informations on dungeons. Maybe there's some that do this? A whole trapped space with false hope written on a stone tablet? It would sucks though. First dive, unvoluntary dive, and we get something like that?

But strangely enough I don't think it's the case. Maybe it's an instinct, or just intuition. I'm sure at ninety-nine percent we should follow the 'instructions'. And it's not only because of the promise of a reward. I can just summarize that as a good feeling I get when I look at that tablet.

"Look. I know it's... Weird. But can you please trust me? I really think it's fine. We can still make our way toward those trees like we first thought, and try to do what is written on that." I try to plead to them, my tail swishing nervously behind me and my ears flat on my head.

I don't want them to think I'm giving them orders. Not at all. If they don't want to try that I won't go against their wishes. Their trust is ten thousands percent more important than whatever reward we're promised.

The two girls are silent for a moment, debating whether it's a good idea to go with my whims. Then Anna sigh a little before smiling. In two steps she's right next to me, taking my hand and squeezing it.

"It's fine Jane, I'll trust you. You never lied to me or tried to endanger me ever." She smiles at me, making me smile back.

"You are crazy, but that's what I like about you Jane." Eliza sighs, the last part was said so quietly that I'm sure I heard wrong. "I'll protect you then."

She comes to me too, taking my other hand. But instead of just squeezing it she takes it to her lips and lightly kiss the back of my fingers, sending jolt through my body and making my whole face burn red. She wink at me but don't let go of my hand.

"So, five hundred gobs right? We'll need to keep count."

For a moment I can't answer, totally frozen by her gesture, my heart beating wildly in my chest. If she continues to things like that I will really get the wrong idea.

I mean... No, maybe it's not a 'wrong' idea. But I still can't wrap my head around that. For both of them.

Our 'mom' words suddenly comes back into my head. She told Anna to 'go for it' and to be 'more open to others getting close to her'.

I shake my head to get rid of these thoughts. No! I need to focus on the present. We don't have time for this. I'll let future Jane figure that out.

"R-right. Count. Totally. Hm. Who will do it? I can, but not if you kill some without me seeing it." I answer Eliza, my voice still a little shaky after her actions.

Anna let go of my hand to wrap her arms around my neck, clinging to me with a smile. I let her be, it's like usual anyway.

"I don't mind doing it. This way Eliza can concentrate on providing us shields. Even if I don't deal much damage we still have you." My twin says, shrugging her shoulders.

I nod at that then turn toward the patch of forest we see from here, but what I see makes me freeze in place.

While we were debating whether doing the 'task' or not, camps full of little green creatures spawned. Now the grassland isn't as bare as before. We can't even see the forest from before.

"What the. You know what? I don't even want to understand. Let's just kill those fuckers and be done with it." I say, exasperated of the situation.

This is one hundred percent not a normal dungeon. It may really be something to 'teach' us. Or test us maybe. For now I don't care.

I hear a sigh coming from the two girls before they let go of me. We take the formation we used to get out of the forest earlier: me in front, Anna in the middle and Eliza on the back.

Why this order for them? Because like this Eliza can use her shields on both of us since we are in her line of sight.

The first camp isn't too far actually. It's a wonder they never discovered us. As we approaches they react and start to cry out in their unintelligible language. It's shrill and piercing, hurting my ears.

There's ten of them, less than outside the dungeon, and they are all gripping various melee weapons.

"Let's do this" I say, my tail swaying with anticipation behind me.

[Eliza's POV]

When Jane says that I see her legs getting wrapped by lightning and she almost disappear on the spot. When we can see her again she's already in the fray. Goodness. I noticed she gets reckless when there's a fight. I already saw that earlier against the wolf, then against that group of Gobelins.

I guess I'll have to cover her ass!

There's something else I noticed, when she uses her weapons and their elements her eyes changes.

Well, 'noticed' is a big word. Anna is the one that told me. So I tried to pay attention. And I can't not agree with my best friend: Jane's eyes are indeed mesmerising when she's like that.

Oh, a Gobelin is trying to sneak on her. I focus a little and make a blue almost translucent barrier appear on her blind-spot, right where the sword would have stabbed into her. I see the grateful glance she sends me and I'm once again almost lost in those eyes.

At some point I'll think she does it on purpose. Trying to seduce me, no, even us I'd say. Especially when she gets all shy like earlier when I kissed her fingers. Well, it made Anna glare at me with jealousy. But worth it.

An explosion of lightning wreck havoc in those little green shit's ranks. Anna is really going at it too. I suppose I should do a little more work too.

One Gobelin is running toward Jane so I make a barrier between them. But this time instead of blocking him, I put it so the edge is facing the creature. It's very thin, almost invisible but they are too stupid individually to notice anything out of the ordinary.

As it run, it collide with my shield . And with the momentum it has it my barrier is digging into its face. Sadly I can't make them sharp or just thin enough, so half-way through the Gobelin's face it's stuck. It was still enough for killing it though.

Those ten creatures didn't last very long. They died in various way, mostly beheaded by Jane.

She stands in the middle of all that, some specs of green blood on her face but with a wide smile and her tail swishing behind her, and I'm stunned.

Why does she looks so good all excited like that?

[Jane's POV]

"Well, that easy." I say, a little disappointed.

"Don't get too cocky Jane. Who knows? Maybe next time there'll be more." Eliza admonish me, a fond but exasperated smile on her lips.

I cross my arms and pout slightly. I know that of course. I even think it's not a 'maybe'. It's almost sure. If the groups don't get bigger than that... It'll take forever to kill five hundred of them.

"Maybe... Let's pick up the pace? I'd rather avoid spending too much time in here." Anna proposes while looking at us. She, weirdly enough, try not to look at me or in my eyes.

I nod at that and Eliza does too, even if hers is a little reluctantly. I give her a reassuring smile.

"I promise, if there's too many at once we'll be careful."

She seems to sag a little with relief before she gives me a little nod.

The next camp is a little further away, but before we could even approach it five arrow whistled toward us. Three for me and one for each of the girls.

I only manage to dodge one and cut another with my Katana. But for the last one I could only move slightly so it doesn't hit me in a vital spot. Instead it grazed my arm, tearing the sleeve of my hoodie and tracing a bloody line on my skin. I hiss in pain and I frown. I hear two dull sounds behind me. Seems like Eliza managed to block for her and Anna.

Relieved, I finally look at the source of those arrow. Five Gobelins are holding a bow. They are the ones that shot us just now. In front of them is four of them armed with swords. Is it me or are those less rusty than before?

There's another problem. Besides them is a Gobelin with a tattered robe holding a crude staff.

They get mages too?!

"Anna! Try to snipe that mage please!" I ask my twin with a shout.

"Yes!" She answers, immediately focusing.

I need to get closer so the archers can't shot me. But I also need to bother them enough so they don't shoot the two girls.

So I wrap my legs in lightning once again. I learned from the last few fights that it's a great way to boost my speed. I'm not capable of changing direction yet though. I guess it's something I'll have to train at the Academy.

Gods. I can't wait for that.

Right, the fight. I should focus. We could lose our lives here.

After summoning my lightning, I disappear on the spot before reappearing in front of the sword wielders. Of course they are confused at that, giving me the time to kill one of them, its blood splattering slightly on my face again. It's disgusting. I long for a bath right now...

The other three shake out of their stupor and try to close in on me. But I just flash them a grin, baring my fang and making it pretty feral, before throwing my dagger between two of them.

It land right in the neck of one archer that was trying to aim for Anna.

Using the ability I discovered earlier, I blink to where my dagger is. I rip it out of the now-corpse. Suddenly a strong heat washes over my face. It's the mage. It tried to send me a fireball but Eliza raised a barrier just in time. I can see it cracked all over though.

Uh. I guess it was pretty strong. It did take some time to be prepared.

I then ignore the frustrated mage and parry a sword coming from behind with my dagger. Spinning once I slash my Katana over the sword-wielder Gobelin's stomach. It fall to the floor, clutching his very ugly wound.

Three down. Seven to go.

As the firepower of all those creatures focus on me I feel the temperature dropping slightly. There's also a breeze picking up out of nowhere. It doesn't take me much time to understand it's Anna's work. And a simple glance toward her confirm it.

She has an ice spike in front of her. This time it's a perfect shape and seems very sharp and pointy. The thing I don't understand is the wind though. Why would she... Oh. Okay. She's using it to make her ice spin. I guess she's also planning to accelerate it with a stronger wind.

Looking ahead I can see the mage still a little behind one of the Gobelins. I know there's not much time before she has to send her spell. So I speed myself up again and tackle the one blocking the way.

Right as we move out from in front of the mage, I feel a sharp sting on the tip of my ears. Then hear a muffled wet tearing sound, followed by a shrill cry and a wet splash.

Phew, she almost hit me with that. I'd rather keep my ears intact. Both of them.

I push myself from the Gobelin I tackled, not forgetting to stab his head on the way, and then dive back into the fray.

After the mage's death the rest of the fight was easy and we finished it a few minutes later. Well, I finished it with Eliza sometimes participating with her 'sharp' barriers.

Once they are all dead I approach my twin. She's sitting on the floor, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Even Eliza seems very tired. We both join Anna on the floor, Eliza making a point in putting me in the middle.

"That was amazing Anna! Too bad it tire you so much. I'm not a fan to see you like that." I say, smiling at my wonderful sister.

"Thanks Jane. I'm not even sure how I did that..." She says then suddenly sway a little.

"Are you alright?!" I exclaim, steadying her slightly.

When she looks at me I see her eyes changing, the violet being replaced by the red of her vampire side. Oh. Uh. I look at myself, dirty with blood and grim. Then at my arms that are, surprisingly, cleaner. I extend the left one toward her with a smile.

"You need a little blood right? Here, take it. Just, please, not too much. We all need to stay combat-ready." I say.

"A.. are you sure?..." She answer, clearly hesitant even if her fang are starting to show.

"I'm sure there must be a bit of water and food in those camps. I'll look for it so you'll be able to replenish yourself too, Jane, after she finish getting some blood." Eliza quips from the side and I send her a grateful glance she answers with a smile, sending butterfly in my stomach.

She stand up and disappear into the tents composing the camp. It doesn't take long before she comes back with some canteen containing water and some dried meat. She gives me two pieces and a canteen before she drink and eat hers.

"See? Go for it Anna."

"Alright..."

She takes my hand in hers and turn my arm so my wrist are up. Then she bend down, licking my wrist a little before sinking her fangs. A shudder ran through my body, but this time it wasn't of pain. And the little butterfly from earlier are back.

Anna doesn't take much blood. Just enough for her to be able to help in fights, so I don't feel much different. Maybe a little light-headed, but the dry food and water help clearing that.