6 First glimpse into the Depths (4)

As I opened my eyes, the first thing that greeted me was the black, starless sky of the Depths and the sight of weird, gigantic pig monsters with wings flying across the sky.

I was lying on the ground. More specifically, some weird white sand-like texture that seemed to never run out.

Which, although quite comfortable, wasn't really that surprising as the first layer of the Depths practically consisted of that white sand.

'It is an infinite wasteland of white sand, after all.'

Although an infinite place was something that just seemed absurd, the Depths weren't something that obeyed the boundaries anyway, which is pretty much the explanation for most things that happened inside the Depths.

It just works.

I turned my head to the side, looking for the girl that I had taken with me to the depths.

It didn't take long for me to spot her. She was lying on the ground, unconscious and sleeping like a true princess.

I would've woken her up, but I didn't know if that would be a socially acceptable course of action, so I just decided to observe her until she woke up.

I didn't want to come off as a creepy guy after all.

...Well, thinking back at it now made me realize that the course of action that I took might have been even more creepy, so I changed my mind and chose to wake her up.

"Hey, wake up."

I stroked one of her black hair streaks out of her face, revealing her bare forehead, and flicked it lightly.

The heiress started shifting around in the sand, treating it as if it was her own bed. It didn't seem like one flick was enough to wake her up.

I approached her carefully before putting my hands on her shoulders. After a short while of me repositioning myself. I shook her really hard.

"Huuh?! I..Uhh..huh?"

And as I expected, it worked. Although it didn't seem like she had a very good sleep as the words she woke up while forming some weird sentences that didn't seem to be grammatically correct.

"You're finally awake."

I noted nonchalantly before distancing myself from her again. Even though I didn't particularly mind physical contact, I was sure that it would make other people uncomfortable if someone were to be too close to them.

"Did you really have to wake me up like that?"

Seraphir sounded annoyed as she tiredly rubbed her eyes, trying to shake off the exhaustion of the travel.

"Yes, you didn't wake up and we don't have much time left, which just left me with no choice but to wake you up harshly."

Even though she seemed to accept my explanation on the surface, she still seemed to be visibly upset about her harsh wake-up.

"You didn't do anything weird to me while I was unconscious, do you?"

She glared at me suspiciously while shifting her body into some kind of defensive stance. I raised an eyebrow in response.

"Like what?"

She seemed to be irritated by my obvious question as her hand motion and the way she rolled her eyes suggested.

"You know exactly what I mean."

I nodded in response.

"I just wanted to make sure that I heard you right. Besides that, even if I did something to you, do you really think that I would say yes, if you kindly asked me?"

Seraphir narrowed her eyes, and her expression hardened. The air around here became kind of suffocating and got gradually chillier as I observed how her hostility against me rose.

"But to answer your question; No, I didn't do anything."

Immediately after my sentence, the hostility dropped. It was astonishing to see how fast her mood changed, with only a single sentence that wasn't even trustworthy.

Still, it's a good thing that she seemed to lighten up.

"Fine, I'll trust you for now."

"Good. You have no other choice, anyway."

I turned my head away and looked into the far distance, trying to see if I could spot any traces of the cult members.

Unfortunately, my luck wasn't good enough to actually spot one of them.

Well, considering the fact that already fifty minutes had passed and the spawn place when entering the Depths was randomized anyway, the chances of actually spotting them weren't really high in the first place.

I just hoped that I got lucky this time and didn't have to waste so much time with doing things that I don't even get paid for.

'We have to do it the old-fashioned and taxing way, then.'

"Miss Leviathan."

I turned my head back to her as I called out her name.

"Yes?"

"Please find your Elven princess, Ellen, for me."

Seraphir just stared at me with a confused facial expression in response. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, looking at me like I was some strange picture that she couldn't understand the meaning of.

"What?"

Was the only thing that she uttered. I couldn't blame her. I was too used to not talking, so I had a habit of keeping my sentences short, which resulted in major communication problems most of the time.

"The Depths have a neat feature of listening to the wishes of the people that inhabit it. Although the wishes are very limited, you can still wish for some things, like creating a path to a specific place or finding a certain person. This is also the only way to exit the Depths. You have to wish for the exit to appear and after a certain time, you will find the exit, even if you only went forward."

I explained to her in a shortened form.

"In a way, the Depths are like an entity or a deity to some extent. A deity who listens to their subjects and tries to fulfill their wishes. However, that kindness also has some major drawbacks."

I observed Seraphir see if she understood my explanation. However, instead of seeing an expression that signaled 'understanding', I saw how her eyes widened in a slow expression of terror.

"Mister..behind you."

I already suspected what made her expression change into one of terror, and the gigantic shadow that slowly crept up behind my back confirmed my suspicions.

"And that is.."

I continued talking.

Shiiing

I ducked my head, dodging the sharp blade that was meant to take my head.

"..that it also fulfills the wishes of monsters."

I dashed forward and picked the girl up, carrying her in my arms, before doing a quick sprint to increase the distance between us and the monster.

"What is that thing?!"

Seraphir screamed as she looked at me, searching for an answer to her questions. I turned my head around for a split second, trying to identify the monster.

Behind us was a gigantic, skinny humanoid monster that looked similar to an overgrown man with anorexia. Its skin was shriveled, with small creases all over it.

The monster's body was clad in some kind of demolished black armor that was way too small for its body, pressing down on its own skin and restricting its movements. It held a sword in one of its hands, almost as gigantic as the monster itself.

It was a Hunter.

"It's a Hunter. A monster that kills intruders of the depths, like us, and steals their armor and weapons to equip themself with it."

"And how are we supposed to beat it?"

A slight smile crept up on my face. She didn't even think about running away as it is impossible to hide in the Depths, anyway. Smart girl.

"Just leave it to me."

I said, putting her down on the ground gently.

I then turned around, and lifted my right hand, opening a spatial rift to my storage, and pulled out my sword.

"This will be your first experience in Depth hunting."

The Hunter caught up to us, dragging his sword through the ground as if it didn't have the strength to hold it.

It then lunged at me, attempting to thrust the tip of the sword through my heart, its speed far exceeding the speed that you would expect from such a frail body.

CLING

I parried the blade, redirecting it to the ground. The Hunter's sword pierced the ground, getting stuck in the white sand.

I then spun around quickly and struck the back of its head with my hilt, smashing the Hunter's face into the sand.

"Let me showcase to you how to hunt a Hunter."