Chapter 7: Hold fast

Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Hold fast

Allan stared at the System window floating in front of him.

For several seconds Allan didn’t move. The numbers on the System window in front of him were all he was looking at.

[Name: Allan]

[Level: 3 > 25]

[Class: Investment]

[Rank: Adventurer]

[STR: 26]

[AGI: 27]

[VIT: 28]

[INT: 31]

[WILL: 29]

He slowly raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. The movement felt different. It felt stronger. Faster. More precise. He could feel the difference in the way his muscles tightened and the way air moved across his skin.

The familiar feeling of strength, as the air moved over his skin, was so much better than before. This was not the Allan of before.

His eyes dropped lower.

[Investment Return: 2,200 stat points]

Allan’s pupils contracted. Then his mouth slowly opened.

"Hahahaha..."

Lira turned toward him. "...Master?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Allan threw his head back in laughter, his voice echoing off the stone walls of the corridor leading to the dungeons.

Seris looked at him with a flat expression, her eyes signaling that she had just had her life changed in ways she couldn’t even imagine right now.

"What’s wrong with him?" she asked.

"I think... he’s happy," Lira said.

"He’s laughing like a madman. Did we really lose him?"

Both women looked away, each finding something new to study around them.

In the past, for years he had traveled back and forth between screens and maps, attempting to optimize ways of making the most out of his time within the world.

Making use of all the previously established methods of increasing efficiency, which had been worked out by the large Yggdrasil community, would have taken him years to come up with on his own.

After hundreds of runs through the same maps, he was always searching for new methods to test out.

More and more efficient party makeups and routes, experience-granting items, experience-granting activities within the game. In short, he had tried to make the most out of his time within Yggdrasil. And now it seemed like it had all been worth it.

His gaze moved to the two numbers that mattered most.

Lira, ×50.

Seris, ×200.

The smile faded.

"...Wait."

He looked at Seris, then at Lira, then back at the System.

"Two hundred?... This never happened in the game."

A new line of text appeared.

[Analysis detected.]

[Correction.]

[The host is no longer interacting with NPCs.]

Allan’s eyes narrowed. Another line followed.

[This is reality.]

His breathing stopped for half a second.

[Actions possess consequences beyond programmed parameters.]

[Relationships possess value beyond programmed parameters.]

[Investment Return is not restricted to the limitations of the original game system.]

He read the words twice, slowly, and then a third time, a smile creeping slowly onto his face. It was a much smaller smile than he’d worn a few minutes previously, but it was a much sharper smile, a very genuine smile.

"So that’s it."

The game had rules, but reality had consequences. And consequences could be measured, multiplied, and exploited if necessary.

Allan stepped forward suddenly and pulled both women into a tight hug. Lira stiffened in alarm. Seris followed suit, trying to pull away from the sudden display of affection.

"Master?!"

"Thank you," he said, pulling the two women into a tight hug. "Both of you."

Lira’s face turned bright red almost instantly. Seris tried to shove him away again, but failing all the same, as her push lacked power, her blush utterly visible.

"Master, let go."

"No."

"Master! We are just servants, think of your name..."

"I almost died. I deserve at least this much."

That stopped her. That stopped both of them, and they let him embrace them.

"Seris, Master is still holding us."

"Yeah... I can feel that clearly."

"Did he turn into a lecherous pervert?"

"Perhaps..."

Lira looked at Seris; Seris looked back at her. Apparently neither of them knew what to do in this situation. After a few long moments Lira finally said, "He’s impossible."

Seris gave a quiet nod. "Very."

Allan continued to hold them for a few moments longer, then released them. Lira immediately stepped back and began to smooth out her clothes, looking embarrassed.

"Master."

"Hm?"

"Are you really healed?"

"Yeah."

"Completely?"

"Completely."

Her eyes snapped back to focus on his hand. It was completely healed, no sign of a scar where his hand had once been broken. "The potion worked that well, that your cold heart became warm again?" she asked hesitantly.

"Haha, apparently."

Seris folded her arms. "I had my doubts, but it seems our cold, cold master is no more. Instead we have a new, perverted one."

Allan looked at Seris. "I did die once, so I might be a changed man?"

"...Died?" There was a long silence, and then Seris said, "Master, you were on the verge of death, but you didn’t die."

Allan smiled.

Seris, I already died, dear, here, taking your master’s body in hand.

And I had best remember to get Bela the alchemist when we get back to town.

"I am happy because my skill kicked in again. It seems you both yield good returns, hence..." he said, picking up a rock from the ground.

Doom!

With a boom, it crumbled in his hand. Both Seris’s and Lira’s eyes went wide.

"Master, what level are you now?"

He didn’t say anything, a finger to his own lips. "Enough to not worry you both again."

Seris didn’t take much time to understand what her master’s skill did. She agreed at once. "Master, keep that alchemist close."

"Exactly." He was grinning again at the empty bottle. "Smart as always. I was thinking the same."

They did not stay outside long.

Allan turned to the dark opening of the Hollow Root. "Let’s go," he said.

Lira frowned immediately. "Go where?"

"Inside. You know what we need to do, right?"

"Master, we just fought a hobgoblin," she replied, turning to look at Seris as well.

"I know."

"And you said you knew this dungeon."

"I do."

"Then you should also know that something is wrong. Very wrong. Hobgoblins shouldn’t be here, but one was. Master, what else could be inside?"

Allan came to a stop as Lira pointed at the bloodstained corridor they had come from. His blood.

Seris nodded. "Something has changed. Maybe we should leave, Master. We’ve already gained enough experience for today. We can come back another day when we’re stronger. After we level up even more."

As the three of them stood in the corridor, Allan looked at Lira and Seris. They weren’t panicking. They were calmly discussing what to do next. Taking measure of what had just happened. They were sound decisions, logical ones. Every sane adventurer would go back, pass the information to the guild, and the scouts would come and categorize the dungeon as even more dangerous.

And that was the problem.

What will happen after?

F-rank adventurers would not be allowed in, and all that treasure he knew was there would be gone, and at some point somebody else would have it.

He touched his pocket. Only four bronze coins left, after they’d bought a sword and gear and what not, not even enough for one day’s meal. So...

"No..." Allan muttered.

Seris sighed. "Master?"

"We’re conquering this labyrinth. Today."

They stared at him in shock, as if he had sprouted wings.

"We’re what?"

He turned to the entrance of the corridor behind them. "We’re conquering this labyrinth. From now on, I’m not taking the final blow. You two are."

Lira’s eyes widened. "Us?"

"Yes."

Seris shook her head. "Master, if... if you’re trying to punish us for disobeying you..."

"Wait, wait... no," Allan cut her off.

He then clicked on their status windows, which had been previously hidden, to show them to both women.

[Lira, Level 4]

[Seris, Level 4]

Their previous servant classifications had changed.

[Occupation: Adventurer Servant]

Lira reached out and touched the floating text, hoping it would disappear. "It changed."

Seris stared at hers. "Adventurer... Servant."

Allan smiled happily at both of them. "Congratulations. Now let’s see what Level 4 can do."

They looked at each other again, like it was a habit, slight fear in their eyes, holding their weapons a little tighter. But they followed him anyway.

As they stepped back into the darkness, Lira leaned close to Seris and whispered, "If we survive this..."

"Hm?"

"I want another hug from Master."

Seris’s face was now a deeper red than before. "Me too..."

Lira stared at her. "You too?"

Unlike the first expedition, however, the second was to be completely different.

A side tunnel produced the first of the creatures. Before it could complete its ascent and begin to attack, Allan’s sword bit deep. The goblin’s head flew off, striking a wall with a sickening splat.

Next to appear was a goblin coming from the left of the first. It too was dispatched with a single slash of the cheap sword. Then another, attempting to get around behind them. It too was dispatched with a single slash of the cheap sword.

"Master!"

"Left."

She turned. The goblin stumbled straight onto her blade. She finished it.

[Experience acquired.]

[Level Up.]

Lira’s eyes went wide. "Again?"

Allan grinned. "Again."

Another three goblins came running at them in a loose formation. He cut down two of them, finishing them off just as they were about to fall over. He left the rest for Seris.

"Lira."

She understood. Her sword struck true.

[Experience acquired.]

[Level Up.]

Next it was Seris’s turn. Allan waited patiently for her to catch up, then cut down the rest of the hobgoblins.

"Seris."

Her knife flashed once. Another notification appeared.

The three of them then moved on through the long, winding corridors of the dungeon, disposing of goblin after goblin, and some hobgoblins along the way. Some of them had been relatively large, even for hobgoblins of their kind, but in the end it took only a few moments to deal with each and every one of them.

When another, more evolved hobgoblin emerged from the shadows, holding two swords and wearing armor, Seris and Lira panicked, but Allan took center stage and did his best to cut the monster down to size.

He concentrated on cutting the hobgoblin’s tendons, then on breaking its posture, forcing it into various awkward positions in an attempt to leave it helpless and exposed to attack.

Once he had done that, he stepped aside and let Seris deal with the hobgoblin’s final moments.

[Investment Return calculated.]

[Lira’s and Seris’s acquired experience: ×250.]

His grin widened. "MORE!!!!"

Everything keeps on changing. I’m not surprised anymore.

They continued further into the dungeon. Now, instead of rough, natural stone walls, they were made of older, cut blocks.

The air seemed to grow colder with each step, and a faint, mineral smell seemed to fill the air. Allan soon came across the skeleton of an old adventurer.

Next to the skeleton lay a sword, a heavy sword.

It wasn’t impressive, nor was it rare, but it seemed better balanced than the chipped sword he currently used.

He picked it up and, after testing its weight, sheathed his old sword. "At least I’m upgrading," he said, and continued on.

The next section of passage continued for a long time, until Allan suddenly stopped, looking straight ahead.

"Master?" Lira called.

Allan had stopped too suddenly. The opening was narrow, but it was there, all right. It was between two solid-looking walls, and it was not on the map.

"This is it, the route I was talking about."

Lira pulled out the map for the section of tunnel they were in and began to study it. After a few moments she looked up at Allan with a frown on her face. "This isn’t here."

Seris looked over her shoulder. "There’s supposed to be a solid wall."

Allan smiled. "Exactly." He stepped toward the opening. "Now do you believe me?"

"Nobody found this route? Strange."

"Indeed. We’re the first."

The passage became increasingly narrow and dark. The group traveled in single file for ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters or so.

Throughout the corridor, the walls were close enough to touch with a shoulder on each side. Eventually the passage opened up into a large staircase which descended into the darkest of blacknesses.

Seris stopped at the edge of the opening. "Where does this actually lead?"

He smiled. "Toward wealth."

Lira swallowed. "...And danger."

"Those usually come together."

Step. Step. Step. Down they go.

The air was getting colder. Dust fell from above in thin streams. Every now and then a small stone fell down from above.

Then—

ROOOOOAAAAAAAR!

The ground was suddenly shaking. While dust and small stones fell from the ceiling, Lira had gone white. Seris immediately put her hand on her saber.

Allan looked at them. "Steady, ladies..."

Lira’s lips trembled. "I... I know that roar."

His smile disappeared. "...You do?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes."

The roar was heard again, but this time it seemed to be coming from even deeper down in the labyrinth, a much deeper and louder sound than had been produced by the hobgoblins.

Lira’s grip on her sword had tightened until her knuckles were white. "That’s not a hobgoblin," she said.

She whispered the answer. "A dragon."