Chapter 22: Spirited Away

Dammit...and I really wanted to keep that fox.

I lamented at the very last moment. The suffusing light from the glowing runes surrounding me grew in intensity and swallowed up my entire vision, painting my world in a blinding white.

I felt my consciousness falter and twist, and unusual sensation like having my mind pulled and bent.

Yes, I agree. Death still wasn't a pleasant experience even a second time.

A vague sensation as if walking on air filled my mind. I felt vain and intangible. Everything just drifted like gass, endlessly. It wasn't a pleasant sensation... But it wasn't terrible either.

Then the already bright light that filled my endless vision became even brighter, it's rays as if chasing away the last vestiges of my consciousness.

Then everything just went empty and void.

Then I opened my eyes.

What... just happened? I thought, feeling a little dazed. My thoughts were still all over the place and I wasn't entirely sure what I was feeling.

Is...that a ceiling? I think I was laying on the ground?

Above me was a rocky ceiling with jagged rocks and stones that threatened to fall against me. It took a while but I was able to realize it was a cave.

A cave...a cave, huh... A cave!

Fully realizing I was in a cave, I jerked straight up from ground, fully alarmed.

My memories were slowly coming back to me.

"What the hell happened?" I asked myself urgently.

Then...came the nausea.

"Heuek-!!"

I lowered my head and doubled over my body and immediately threw up the contents of my stomach for twenty seconds.

"What the fuck..." After that, everything felt disoriented slightly as I stood up, using the wall next to me as support.

Then I heard a voice I least expected at the moment.

[It appears we have been transported.]

'Meta, you treacherous binary code of ones and zeros... '

[Bitch is a large word.]

Wait, what? I paused.

[...]

The fuck was that supposed to mean?! I shookmy head, pushing aside such questionable thoughts for now and focused on a different matter.

'You blasted excuse for a system, where the fuck were you ?! And what do you mean by we were teleported? ' it had already been years since I found Meta, overtime I had began to think of 'It' as 'her' and 'Me' as 'us'.

I wasn't sure when, but it was certainly more convenient than referring to Meta as an it all the time. Meta was at the very least, artificial intelligence and practically lifeless; now that I think about it, maybe it was because I didn't want to see myself as talking to a computer all the time.

That would make me seem mad when I am perfectly one hundred percent sane in the head! Yeah.

[The strange runes and glow from before were from a teleportation matrix left behind at the cave hidden in the Den. It must have activated as soon as it detected you step into its radius and brought us here.]

Meta suddenly said a lot of things that didn't make too much sense to me.

"Teleportation what now?"

[Teleportation Matrix. An ancient form of teleportation that has been discarded over time.] Meta curtly said.

"In other words... I've been spirited away." I mused.

[...Your ability to make light of all kinds of scenarios is truly eccentric. Or perhaps it is just a way for you to hide in your miserable shell with contents of self mockery and dry sarcasm?]

Meta's comment made me frown in the darkness.

"I don't wanna hear it from a treacherous partner who's nowhere to be found when truly needed. Enough of that. You said we were teleported, where are we then?"

Certainly it was a cave. It was dark, but not the unnatural kind that completely sealed away my vision. I could still make out a path forward.

Meta's reply came shortly.

[Negative. I can't be sure if that ]

I sighed.

"I guess we'll have to find out."

Accepting the situation as is, I followed a path down the cave tunnel while sticking to the left wall. I activated my {Appraisal} skill and gained some visibility in the darkness.

There was no point in panicking over this sudden turn of events. I had to calmly evaluate my situation and find a way out.

I wasn't in any rush I while I walked forward. Not only was it dark but I was currently in unfamiliar territory. I had absolutely no idea what could be lurking in the shadows at every corner.

The path continued forward and tilted slightly to the left as I silently and carefully pondered the situation.

'Meta, what are the chances I'm still within Bright territory? ' I asked inwardly as I followed the left path and turned slightly. I moved forward by shuffling and shifting my feet silently so my pace was considerably slow.

[Unfortunately, that is something I can not determine with the current information.] Regrettably, Meta's response provided no solace.

'Hmm. That might be troublesome.' it'll be a pain if I somehow found my way out and realize I've been whisked halfway across the continent.

If I do get out, that is.

For starters, I needed to find out where exactly this is, and move on from there.

But a hidden teleportation matrix in a cave doesn't exactly scream D**ney land to me.  I already expected the shit to hit the fan.

While I thought that, I caught sight of a slight glow up ahead. It was an almost ethereal  blue light that cast a soft radiance against the wall. Clearly, that was the first place I headed towards.

I didn't rush towards the light, however and instead proceeded even more slowly. In a few minutes, I traversed the dark path and arrived at the curve. Pressing my back closely to the rough wall, I took a peek into the next cavern from where the mysterious faint light came from and managed to restrain a gasp.

A truly mesmerizing scene presented itself in all of it's enchanting glory before me.

"Woah."

[...]

It was a wide expansive underground cavern, with shimmering streams and flowing rivers of what resembled glittering water. The space was suffused with a soft mystique blue glow and the air was unexpectedly clear and reinvigorating.

Fluorescent pores floated through the space, and the high cave ceiling was adorned by a tapestry of blue crystals from which the soft glow originated from. Hung from above, they shimmered like distant stars, adding a touch of wonder and enchantment and mystery to the mystique of the cave

I lingered and surveyed the surroundings a little longer, there was no prescence...none I noticed at least. And after learning a lesson already, I decided against from checking with Meta.

Warily, I took a step into the cavern, the property of the air instantly filled me with comfort, and my battered body slowly began to heal.

The throbbing and burden I gained from confronting the boss of the Den slowly began to recede and my senses slowly expanded.

Another breath and I felt my stamina recover and my fatigue wash away.

"It seems the air in this place has some special quality. " I muttered in understanding, probing Meta's input.

[It's an Aether geyser.]

'What's that? ' I asked, slightly curious.

Meta promptly explained.

[Aether geysers a rare locations with naturally concentrated amount of Aether. These locations can be found under unusual conditions, and the environment in question may be influenced by this rare and strange phenomenon.]

'Ohh, I see. '

A location with a concentrated amount of Aether energy, huh. That explains why all of a sudden I feel reinvigorated. It's because my core is slowly saturating itself.

But wasn't this crazy?!

Didn't we just land a goldmine then?!

From the manner Meta used to explain, Aether geysers seemed like places with incredible worth. Just by breathing in the fresh air of this place, my wounds were healing and my bones were mending. I could slowly feel my core recover all of the lost Aura I used against the Den, and saturate even further than before.

It was a prime spot for training and getting stronger.

Suddenly feeling energetic, I pranced deeper into the cavern. The ground slopped downwards a bit to the ground. Containing my excitement, I leaped forward and down, landing with a soft thud.

Now inside, the underground cavern suddenly seemed a lot larger and robust. The ceiling appeared higher and the glowing crystals were more numerous. The walls seemed further, and the environment felt like a truly different world.

This is probably the most fanstasy-like place I've ever been since reincarnating.

Indeed. Up untill now, everything seemed like I had just gone two steps back to the past, in the Victorian era, and one in the future, in a modern world. Aside from learning Aura and grinding levels, everything else has been kind of mundane. Well, as Mundane as a fantasy world could be at least.

It was still fresh to me anyway.

But here...it was different. I could feel my skin tingle.

Was this what they called adventure?

I walked around the cavern while exploring the area. I still hadn't forgotten I had to find a way out of wherever this place is and noticed there were a few tunnels which led out of the robust cavern.

Off to the east wall side of the cavern, three tunnel paths stood before me. They were tall and wide, with a darkness the radiance of the cavern failed to reach.

'Great, it's a forked path. ' I mused.

'What do you think? ' warily, I asked Meta.

[The choice is up to you.]

'Of course it is. ' I retorted with a sneer. What kind of response had i expected from the enigmatic system?

I restrained a sigh and didn't linger much longer before making my decision.

"Then I'll go with the middle path."

[... Is there any particular reason for that?] Meta asked succinctly.

With little enthusiasm, I shrugged my shoulders and responded plainly.

"Instinct."