The Infector Nest (2)

Byul sighed as she marked a circular imprint on the wall with a knife. It's been a day since they entered the underground dungeon and they were already tired of it. For anything good or bad, Infectors were not the main reason for that.

If it was about hunting Infectors, then so far it's been quite successful. They had killed over fifty infectors yesterday. Jacob and Michelle showing their newfound swagger: one adapting well with Archery, while the other recovering from injury. But there's not even a glitter of happiness on their faces.

The main reason for that was: they got lost in the underground tunnel. Who would have thought that the damn dungeon was built in a maze? And the low quality in air and light added a murky, awful feeling to the dissatisfaction of not finding a way out.

It's been over twelve hours since they were moving in unknowing where they were. A few hours ago, they notice they were circulating the same places again and again without a way out. It's been so long . . . they didn't sleep or rest much, exhausted most of their physical and mental stamina in killing the Infectors and running.

Jacob was at the worst among the four. He didn't have a well-shaped body like Kevin, not the knowledge and education of Michelle. He's only but an average guy a couple of weeks ago. It would take more than the time they have to adapt to it. Byul was exhausted by all this harshness as well, though she had experienced similar exhaustion many times before.

"We should have marked all the ways from where we came in," Byul sighed, it's too late for regret. She looked at the darkness ahead. She couldn't even tell what the hour of the day was now. While the air was not as terrible as the gloomy surrounding, she felt awful inhaling it. What was worse, the quality of the air kept dropping the further they spend here.

"I said don't worry about that," Michelle said as she looked at her. She was holding the small blue limelight lamp—the only source of light here. Though it's rather uncanny, it's good that it didn't alert any Infectors, unlike their usage of mana. "All we got to do is kill all the infectors here and we would be able to leave this place."

Seemed a workable plan, but it still felt unnatural not having a way out. And there were still over a thousand Infectors looming in the passages. Michelle and her over-optimistic confidence.

"Or we can wait until phase-II finishes," Jacob added.

"Actually, we can't," Byul shook her head. "The rations and water we have would last about five or six days, even if we save as much as we can."

Jacob's expression turned pale upon hearing that. Even the stone-faced Kevin looked a bit perplexed. And Michelle tried her best at what she's good at—optimism, saying:

"It means we have to finish this quest within five days."

The tall man, Kevin, stood by suddenly. Seeing him like that, others similarly stopped and glanced at him, asking what it was about.

But before they could hear him say anything, they felt something as well. Something was coming, and it's a lot in numbers. 'Crap!' cursed Byul.

"Get ready."

They all took in their battle stance: Jacob in the back with the bow, while Kevin on the right with his spear, Byul on the left, and Michelle stood in the middle. They circulated the Mana with haste, welcoming the incoming.

But what the first thing they saw astonished them, it was not Infectors but some human figures, running wild in their direction. There were about a dozen humans there, most of them were injured heavily as they were advancing unnaturally. Some were armed—where some even lost their limbs. More importantly, this group was not unfamiliar to them. They had met with this group a couple of times during the trial, though the meeting was not cordial.

The man who was running in the front was the same gentleman-looking robber who took away their belongings—Aasan. He had a terrible wound in his right leg, covered with red wrapping, but was still moving with desperation. As if running from death.

"Isn't that the bastard that took away our rations and meds?" A grudgeful expression appeared on the exterior of Michelle, noticing the leading figure of the desperate bunch. A ball of flame condensed as she continued. "Now I'll get back what I owed."

"Michelle, it isn't a time for that," Byul reminded her good and a little hot-headed friend. She continued, pointing her wands towards the back of the running figures. "Look, they were running away from the infectors."

"Don't engage, run," yelled Aasan, the injured leading man of the approaching gang.

"Shit!" swore the archer of their group. His expression turned ugly. "They have brought an army of the Infectors with them."

"How many?" Michelle asked, tightening the grip on the wand.

"At least a hundred. I think we should run too." Jacob opened his eyes to notice his companions already were fleeing.

"Don't just stand there like a fool, run," Byul yelled as she fled, not looking back.

"I'm going to kill this son of bitch one day." Michelle roared, looking at the leader who brought this ordeal to them as she fled with the archer beside her.

"You can do whatever you want later," the leader—Aasan, panted heavily. "But let me run now."

The screeches of the Infectors rose as they fled backwards where they came from. They didn't look in the direction they were fleeing to. To them, being alive is far better than being lost.

The quarrel between Michelle and the other guy came in her ear, but Byul didn't look back. She fled in the strangling darkness beside the tall figure. She was the first one in their group who fled first. She had to thank her instinct for that. Over a hundred infectors were chasing after them, even if they had progressed to the next level, it still wasn't enough to survive the joint assault of that number.

So, fleeing was the only option.

Now, she was glad that they were in a maze. If they could run in those tunnels and lose the numbers behind, the situation wouldn't be this severe. But that has to wait. She became a little anxious, noticing that Kevin, who was beside her, was now running in the front, and the distance between them keep on rising. If it's a few meters more, she might not even be able to see his silhouette in the dark. Gritting her teeth, she quickened her pace as much as she could.

The screeches of the Infectors didn't rest, worse—she could hear a few human screeches with it as well. Her blood turned cold, imagining what happened to them.

But she had her problem to take care of. It was as she feared. The tall figure—she was following faded into the darkness the next moment. Byul's desperation rose to the next level as she ran with nothing holding back. Her heart turned heavy as her breathing became as fast as a frantic dog. She didn't care about anything . . . just ran.

Suddenly, the chilly wind hit her face, and she learned she made a mistake as she felt no ground beneath her legs. A huge mistake. She didn't lose sight of Kevin because he covered a large distance from her, but because he fell into a crater—the one she was now falling into now.

With a thud, her body fell in a limp, and what was worse—it hit her head heavily. And in the next moment, her consciousness weakened into the blinding darkness before passed out.

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END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE INFECTOR NEST.

NEXT CHAPTER: EMERGENCY QUEST.