The Cave

After the incident with Qin Yao, we continued moving through the forest - this time, as a group of six. Of the four people from the trapped group, only the Australian man - Jim Fitzroy - remained. The other three had all called it quits after seeing how dangerous it was within these forests. Even though this was a video game - to them - you could still experience pain, and death hurt. A lot.

That said, Jim stayed and traveled with us. Now that we knew what the Magic Beasts were capable of, sticking together was the best bet. That way, even if we stop and get ambushed, we will have a better chance at survival. Going solo would be akin to signing your own death warrant.

Put simply, Qin Yao's plan had been utter rubbish. It was poorly constructed and even worse executed. There were so many holes in the plan that it was quite amusing, honestly. Of course, I knew that from the beginning.

Luckily, the Silverwing and Moonserpents we've encountered so far have been fairly easy opponents. Nowhere near the level of the Sabertooths we had fought in the city. Perhaps this was why A.R.X.A. opened up a public event to exterminate these beasts - she knew Level 10 players would be strong enough to take them on.

That said, it was still necessary for us to remain vigilant. One of us, and possibly more we still don't know about, have already fallen, after all. As we walked in search of Magic Beasts and perhaps any sign of our brethren, Qin Yao followed behind, dejected and utterly defeated. Occasionally, one of us would spare a glance back at him, and when he met our eyes, he would immediately avert his gaze. Especially if it was Jim, who had been on the verge of killing him not long ago.

After a short while of walking...

"Hm? What's this?" Ichigo murmured as we all looked over to see what he was talking about.

In front of us was a cave. It was dark, so we couldn't see what was inside, whether it was deep or shallow. My bets were on the former though. However... there was just one major factor 'off' with this cave - it wasn't natural.

I don't mean like it wasn't unnatural. I mean it was literally not natural - it seemed to be man-made, somehow. The edges of the cave weren't made of rock, but instead metal. All in all, it seemed more like a bunker than a cave, if I had to be honest.

The six of us approached closer to the cave until we were standing right in front of it.

"So? What do ya guys think?" Jim asked.

"Well, this has been the first suspicious thing we've found in this whole forest," Ichigo said. "We kinda have to check it out."

"As much as I hate to say it, I agree. This may just be the place we've been looking for," Furuwa said. "If we want to complete this damn public event, we gotta explore this cave."

"Yeah. Besides, I have a good feeling about this place," Horiya added. "My intuition has always been good. There is good loot in here - I can smell it."

Furuwa sent Horiya a disgusted look. "Creepy."

"H-Huh?!"

"Oi, calm yerselves, lil' kids," Jim Fitzroy interrupted, sensing tension in the air. "I'll take the bloody lead, so just follow behind me, yeah?"

We all nodded in response to his words, and he smiled charismatically. Then, fearlessly strolling into the cave, he continued. "Well? What're y'all bloody waitin' for?"

We immediately followed behind, with me sparing a glance at Qin Yao before quickly turning away.

Inside the cave, we walked for several long minutes that felt like eons. Qin Yao ended up tagging along, much to our dismay. He would just be dead weight, but it's not like we could force him to stop following us either. Even if we use threats, he'll find his way back to us one way or another.

The six of us walked silently, mainly because we had nothing to talk about rather than the fear of attracting any Magic Beasts. However, then, we saw a faint green light in the distance.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "Hm? Do you guys see that?"

"Yeah... let's go," Horiya said, before rushing on ahead.

"O-Oi! Wait, don't just bloody run ahead on yer own like that! Ugh, bloody hell!" Jim yelled, but Horiya was already gone.

We quickly chased after him, leaving Qin Yao behind. Whether he could catch up to us or not was his own problem.

*****

Soon, we found ourselves in front of a metal door of some sort. It was shut tight, but there was some sort of square pad in the dead center, emanating bright green light.

"Well? How do we get past this door? Any ideas?" Ichigo asked around.

"I don't know..." Horiya muttered, sinking into thought.

Furuwa shrugged. "Some sort of key, maybe? But it's a green light... usually that means it's already unlocked."

"Yeah, but it ain't openin'," Jim muttered.

Seeing them having so much trouble, I just shook my head and brushed past all of them. The four stared at me in surprise as I simply placed my hand on the green pad. A beep ensued, and along with came a monotone, mechanical voice that wasn't unlike A.R.X.A.'s, except this one was male and clearly even more robotic.

[AUTHORIZED. Access: Granted.]

The metal doors then slid open, releasing gas from the chamber inside. The five of us blocked our faces from the incoming gas, just in case it had poison. The gas seemed to be white though, so the chances of it being toxic decreased. Nearly all colored gases were poisonous, after all. White gases could be poisonous too, but just not as commonly.

Once the gas had dispersed, we entered in. However, the moment the last of us, Ichigo, stepped through-

Beep.

A loud rumbling noise came soon after, and all of us spun around to see what it was. Unfortunately, we were greeted by the sight of Qin Yao smiling deviously from the other side of the entrance as the doors began to close.

"Have fun in here... forever," he said, laughing hysterically.

"No, wait, damn you!" Ichigo yelled furiously, trying desperately to prevent the doors from closing, but his efforts were in vain as the two halves of the entrance shut tight together right before he could reach it.

"DAMN!" Ichigo kicked the metal door, but who was he kidding? That would only serve to hurt himself. We were only Level 10. Breaking metal with a kick was just not realistic.

"You're kidding me, right?" Horiya murmured in disbelief at what Qin Yao just did to all of us. "How the hell did he even close the doors from the outside?"

"Tch... that damned bastard... " Furuwa cursed in frustration.

On the contrary, Jim Fitzroy didn't seem to be fazed at all. Instead, he chuckled.

"Heh. Maybe ya should've let me kill the bloody bastard back there after all, huh?"

Furuwa sent him a death glare, and he quickly turned away, whistling innocently as if he hadn't said anything just now.

"Calm down," I said. "Perhaps the doors were meant to close from the start. Qin Yao just happened to witness it happening and savored the moment. I mean, I didn't see any kind of mechanic on the outside before we came in that could've allowed someone to forcefully close the doors, and something like that shouldn't be hard to miss. My guess is that whether Qin Yao was here or not, we likely would've been shut in here anyway."

"So... you're saying we're essentially trapped?" Horiya asked.

"Let me finish," I replied impatiently, enjoying the good attitude he was showing towards me. Such a thing would never happen back on my old Reality Plane, after all. "I doubt this is some kind of death trap. This man-made cave, that high-tech authorization process... it's all far too elaborate for that. Besides, keep in mind - we're inside a video game. In other words, there should be a way out somewhere. We just need to find it."

Of course, I knew that this was not a video game - it was in fact a different world, a reality plane separate from our own, known as 'Ascension'. However, A.R.X.A. designed this place to be a video game. In fact, I was 90% certain this cave we were in right now was created by her, all to help create a plot for the virtual game she had turned this world into.

Therefore, I had to think as if this really were just a game. If I did that, I would be able to find a way to escape this place - and I didn't just mean this cave.

I meant this world, as a whole.