8 The Garden of Gods
『 Entering Offline Mode… 』
The persistent beep of the system echoed through the silence of his mind. Azuma tried to make sense of the situation. Something like that isn't supposed to happen within the depths of Level One.
It has to be an error.
He restarted the system.
The hunters around him shared the same confusion.
But what bothered Azuma more was the scarlet spider silk lying dead near his feet. There were no wounds, no blood, then what was it that he saw?
Misaki pondered for a while before asking, "Did you all restart?"
She received mixed responses from the hunters.
"That isn't the solution for every technical issue, you know?"
"Well, let's decide quickly we should be out in half an hour."
"Where is the treasure?"
Raptor laughed, "It happens in the Abyss sometimes, don't worry. The system should reconnect in ten minutes or so."
Han grumbled with a yawn, "The depth meter showed Level One last time so we should be fine."
Shiro strapped her gun to her belt, "Where is Mister Gus?"
Raptor shrugged, "He frowned and said his safety is more valuable than some dungeon treasure."
"Typical."
There were snorts and laughs amongst the hunters. More casual talks were shared and smiles spread. Even when none of their enthusiasm was able to completely mask the hidden anxiety, they were all hopeful.
Abyss was unpredictable.
But so was life for the lower section of society.
They were in no position to choose, and when there was no turning back, why not face the path ahead with a smile?
Azuma wasn't sure how he felt. He was not sad, nor angry, but there was a cold heaviness that settled inside of him.
At least, being directly under Genesis helped him go through life.
Haru absentmindedly nodded at something Raptor said. Her eyes subconsciously searched for Azuma. She didn't want him to get hurt again and increase her work.
But even after she saw him quietly sitting for once, she found herself looking back at him.
There was an inexplicable emotion in his eyes.
"Okay so do we leave now?" Raptor asked with furrowed brows, "We better not delay. Haru–chan you will be of great help. We can divide the treasures."
What…?
She had only heard half of the things.
+ + +
Azuma dumbly blinked at Haru.
"I don't need pain killers."
She narrowed her gaze, her hand still holding the small bottle. There was a you-better-not-regret-that-decision look in her eyes as she said nothing and looked away.
An awkward silence settled between them.
The hunter group was divided into smaller groups of two to three people. This was done to ensure that the dungeon is quickly found. Haru and Azuma were together in one such group.
The two of them walk down the empty corridors of a buried underground temple. There were statues of gods and goddesses, mythical creatures, and stranger things carved out in the stone walls.
Azuma glanced at Haru.
She was really short—reaching slightly below his shoulder—with hair cropped to her neck and hazel eyes that would appear either cold or indifferent.
Haru has helped Azuma in a lot of ways and now he felt like he should at least try to express his gratitude. Azuma loved to eat, so he wondered if he should buy her something good.
Super Special Spinach Stew should be great for a seeker.
"How about—" he had barely spoken when his gaze met with Haru.
A trail of blood came down her nose. She wiped it, appearing confused and a little pale.
'She surely needs spinach,' Azuma concluded.
"It's been quite long," she mumbled while sniffling, "Can you please check the status in our chat server? I hope it regained the connection by now."
Azuma nodded as Haru rolled up a piece of cotton from her first aid kit.
The chat server was set up by Raptor before they all parted. It has limited range and could only function when all the people under it were in a certain range.
The last message was sent around twenty minutes ago.
『 Raptasaurus changed the server name from » Dream Dungeons « to » Damned Dungeons « 』
HanSolo: eh how long have we been walking? Any updates? Is there even a dungeon????
Raptasaurus: …an hour?
MisoSoup: maybe two, these walls all the same
TRPR/4482: I AM SURE IT'S BEEN FIVE FUCKING HOURS
HanSolo: meh stop being dramatic
TRPR/9823: It's clearly been a long time
TRPR/9823: but strange how we have not been affected by the Abyssal phenomenun
Raptasaurus: We might have ascended a few floors then
MisoSoup: um nose bleedings don't start until the fourth level right?
MisoSoup: …guys… did you hear that?
TRPR/4893: what
Raptasaurus: Misaki?
『 You do not have permission to send messages on this server. 』
+ + +
Azuma turned his flashlight on the right. Most of the walls were covered in black remnants of furious flames. He faintly remembered what Raptor has said about the Abyss.
The Gates of Dawn was built over the Ruins of Ellora. Once upon a time, those ruins used to be remnants of some ancient underground temples of lost faith. These temples carried thousands of godly statues.
But everything was buried deep in the earth during the Atomic War a hundred years ago.
The light paused over the statue of a dancing woman. A smiling goddess above carved far above, her fingers carrying the threads that made the woman dance.
The spider silk Azuma and Haru were following have long since disappeared in the dim darkness. They couldn't find it again no matter how much they tried.
How long has it been?
Azuma noticed a thumb-sized metal box buried behind some wildflowers and moss. It carried the symbol of seekers—an eclipse.
"I think… we are close to that exit," Haru yawned and rubbed her eyes, "any new messages?"
"The connections are highly unstable here," Azuma shook his head as he followed Haru.
Their feet were tired from walking for so long. Strangely none of their minds felt like much time has passed, but the weariness of their bodies spoke a different story.
The narrow caves gradually widened into large halls that carried the same eerie statues with woven mysterious and stubborn flora that spread in such harsh conditions.
Haru stopped after accidentally stepping on something. She lifted the thin glass jar in her hand.
There was a thin layer of fog around the glass. Cyro vessels are used to preserve bio substances and they were also a common thing that the hunters and seekers carried.
"It belongs to Misaki–sama," Haru said, the puzzlement growing in her eyes, "Is this… blood?"
A big stain of red has spilled upon the vessel.
Azuma's first thoughts were nosebleed before he realized how the blood was too much for that. His mind wandered back to the chat server but before he could do anything, his eyes caught glimpse of a shadow behind Haru.
His face turned white in horror.
