Chapter 30: Fate’s Opening Hand

Peace sighed as he tucked Noble Path of a True King into his backpack. He fished out a canteen and jerky, took a huge swig, ate a good bit, then placed everything back in.

With that, he stood up, made sure the bag was tied tight, and took hold of his Bone Sword.

’Now, then...’

Peace’s eyes found the same corner where the nameless wretch had disappeared.

While he’d once thought she was simply trying her best to absolutely terrify him, there was actually an explanation behind that little antic.

By jamming oneself into that particular corner, a person could attempt to walk into the wall. Keeping at it for a minute or so would eventually cause the world to spit them back out into the dungeon...

Like a bug in a game.

In fact...

’It’s most definitely akin to a bug.’

So...

’Is this the game’s world after all?’

Pondering that didn’t exactly matter at the moment, so he shoved the thought to the back of his mind and made for the corner.

If anything, he was more confused about his inexplicable, sudden realization that such a phenomenon even existed. Something so weird, like phasing through matter, wasn’t the kind of thing a person simply realized without reason...

Peace could only conclude that something weird was happening to his mind. Ironically, that conclusion was what ultimately gave him the courage to flee this strange space.

Fear of unknowing eclipsed his fear of the unknown.

In the corner, Peace lifted his leg and pressed it against the wall, trying to step into it while constantly applying pressure.

’Man, this is embarrassing...’

’How did ghost girl do this in front of me?!’

As Peace thought that, a sudden feeling engulfed his leg. Then his body. It felt like being forced through a gigantic gelatinous mound.

A moment later...

Red.

Red rain pelted his bare skin.

’Ow.... Ouch!’

Each droplet seared his skin slightly. Not enough to cause meaningful damage, but enough to feel like ants crawling under his skin.

’The damned field effect?!’

Something that only began at random after day three.

’How long was I down there? I swear it was only a couple hours at most!’

Spinning around, Peace began searching for some kind of cover. Sadly, he was still in the Skeletal Plains. However, he’d popped out right beside a particularly large rib bone.

Placing his hand on it, Peace stepped around to get a better look, vainly searching for shelter, only for a sudden impact to slam into his stomach.

’Argh!’

Peace fell back onto the bony ground, clutching his stomach.

He tried to take a breath, but it was annoyingly difficult. He’d had the absolute wind knocked out of him. As for the culprit...

A tanned woman with long, wavy, dark brown hair stood over him, looking down.

"Where the hell did you come from?! Wait—" Her deep brown eyes darted toward the gigantic rib. "Are you... gah, shit! There’s no time! I don’t know who you are, but get up!"

Doubled over, Peace looked up at the woman, drenched by the blood rain and dressed in cheap leather armor, her back wide open to Peace. She gripped a mace, its head angled toward the direction she’d come from.

Looking through her legs, he spotted three Bone Ravagers rushing toward them. Wolf-like beasts with scythes for forelimbs instead of regular paws — they were the skeleton versions of the Tier 5 D-Class Ravager. Thankfully, these things were only Tier 9 D-Class.

Still...

’What the hell is this woman doing out here all alone?’

Finally catching his breath, Peace staggered to his feet, then took a stance beside the strange woman.

With the five or so seconds remaining before the monsters reached them, he asked:

"Are you strong? Can you take them all on?"

To which she screamed:

"No and no!"

’There’s not really any running from these things...’

At least together.

They were most definitely faster than they were.

Just before the first of the three Bone Ravagers lunged at the woman, she decided to add a fun fact:

"We must kill them as quick as possible! The Stalker is coming!"

’Huh... the mini-boss?!’

The first Bone Ravager kicked off its hind legs, but the woman managed to bash its front scythe aside and jump away.

Peace stood still for a moment and watched as she danced between the attacks. He only moved when another Bone Ravager lunged at him.

The Stalker...

’The mini-boss of the Skeletal Quadrant of the first floor...’

The boss that roamed freely throughout the quadrant, outside the Convergence Zone, and only came out after the fifth day...

It was another reason this quadrant was avoided as a newbie killer. The Stalker didn’t get its name for nothing. It would pick a target, then stalk them across the Skeletal Quadrant until they either escaped to the Convergence Zone, fled into another quadrant, ascended, or died.

Seeing as the woman he’d run into was its target...

’Fuck this shit! I’m out!’

Peace slammed the Bone Sword into the side of a Bone Ravager’s head, then spun on his heel.

While he wasn’t faster than them... he was most definitely faster than the bogged down woman.

The woman’s head snapped toward him.

"Hey?! Where the hell are you going?!"