Another Stupid Isekai

I was suddenly taken from reality, and brought in front of the gigantic tree. The picture was just like always. The sun shining through the branches and leaves, soft wind, and the gentle sound of rustling leaves. Shadows spots dancing under my feet, and on my body in the rhythm of the music made by nature.

He was there, levitating in his spot, near the tree trunk.

– You were supposed to help me get inside – I said reproachfully.

– It’s not an easy task when you want to avoid revealing your part in such a venture to highly intelligent creatures such as Xuvi. – A calm voice appeared in my head. – I need to be careful in my moves. They are too, as they fear you, Peter. Right now they send a whole group of their soldiers to move the crystals to a different elevator. They think you might be waiting somewhere close to get inside the very moment path is open.

– So what’s the plan?

– They send a vehicle to transport the precious gems, but they are going slow, and scanning the area to make sure you are not around. There is a ghost close by, that they have been observing for a while now. He left his territory, thanks to my refine efforts, and is slaughtering the monsters in the vicinity. Still very far away, so they are feeling confident. What they don’t know is that the number of crystals they are transporting is big enough to lure the creature even from such a distance.

– So they will be attacked?

– Yes, and the ruckus will be big enough for you to hear from far away, so you will rush there. I’ll make sure the elevator will malfunction, and stay above ground. They will think it’s because of the ghost. Then you step in.

– But how do I get underground? And what about the ghost?

– Ghost will leave as soon as he consumes all the crystals. As for going underground, I suspect you can punch a hole in the elevator, and climb down the shaft?

– They cant block the shaft?

– They can, but won’t. I told you already, the elevator will malfunction.

– Ok. Thank you.

– Now, let me bring you to the right place. Open your eyes.

I did. The dusk was approaching. I was standing at the edge of the forest and looking at the vast wastelands ahead of me, filled with jagged stone, reaching for the clouds like fangs of a wild beast are reaching for its prey.

– You can start walking now – The voice appeared in my head. – Go straight ahead. Don’t rush. When I tell you, you need to start being cautious. They will detect you but with the distance between you and the transporter, they will feel safe enough to just continue. All you need to do is let them find you sneaking around ahead of time.

– I understand.

I started walking. Just as they said, without any rush. I was nervous a bit. My hand, holding the pudao, was getting a bit sweaty. Around half an hour later I heard the voice again:

– Now you can start hiding.

So I did. I hunched over, and from that point began using the terrain to my advantage. There was plenty of big stone around, so it wasn’t too hard to remain fairly hidden. Shortly after The Great One spoke to me again:

– They’ve noticed you.

[0)ᴠʟ Without a reply I proceeded further in the same fashion, soon finding myself in the right place. It was already morning. I could feel my anchor ahead, but there was nobody around. Just my cart. Empty, although from such a distance I couldn’t tell. I peaked several times to check.

– Remain there until you hear large noise. Then go – I heard again.

So I waited. Looking around for the signs of anybody or anything showing up around me. Then I heard it. This time, though, not with my mind, but with my ears. Heavy impact or even an explosion.

Without even thinking, I started running towards it. It had to be far because I couldn’t see anything on the horizon. The line was obscured by the land formation. In a couple of large leaps, I gained some speed and even started using terrain to jump around, cause going on the ground was difficult considering the landscape of this place, and my speed.

Two more of those explosions shook the ground, and this time I saw. very far away, a cloud of dust rising. It was enormous and reached the clouds. Whatever made it, was definitely incredibly powerful.

– Slow down – said a voice in my head.

I did just that. It was pretty obvious that I had no chances with whatever was capable of such destruction. I stopped my reckless parkour and just ran. Maybe fifteen minutes later I arrived at the place. Three giant craters reached so deeply in the ground, that the metal plates covering the shaft of the elevator were on full display, reflecting the morning light.

The elevator itself was tilted to the side. It looked to me lie the sheer force of the impact was enough to bend it this way. I noticed few parts of a vehicle and unrecognizable parts of two corpses. There was a shoe ripped open, and something that looked like a bit of a foot next to it. The meat was smeared on the ground like paste.

– Take it slowly. Don’t make any noise yet – I heard in my head. – The ghost is still close enough to hear a loud noise.

I didn’t reply, but made it to the edge of the hole, and slid down, to start slowly walking towards the elevator shaft. The plates were thick and clearly bolted to a supporting construction underneath. The impact was enough to bend them here and there.

Since ‘Eyes of Duelist’ didn’t work on objects I had to look for a moment to localize the weakest points. I took a deep breath, and punched, tearing a hole in the metal. From there I just reaped it open with my own hands. The investments in strength paid off.

Now I had a black hole in front of myself, leading to the underground base of Xuvi.