Chapter 289 B4 Chapter 45 - Journey

Vivi and Coshi asked Lucius about Crilla’s fighting style and tendencies for the last quarter hour of the carriage ride. They didn’t gain much information. Crilla was unpredictable. He had Banishment Portal now, and he could have had way more odd skills at his disposal.

At least, Vivi knew she’d have to deal with Banishment Portal somehow. According to Lucius and Coshi, there were two ways to counter the skill. She could either disrupt or kill Crilla while he was still casting it, as Banishment Portal took multiple seconds to activate, or she could kill him before he could cast the portal.

“Your armor will also resist the portal’s pull,” Lucius said. “It might be possible to escape from the portal with enough effort. I wouldn’t rely on that.”

In that regard, Vivi’s chances weren’t great. She had to cut him in half with her ultimate weapon, Dawnpour, before he could banish her with his ultimate weapon, if that even was the worst thing Crilla had to offer.

That was notwithstanding all the other fifth elevation hunters, who were a total mystery. Lucius could guess their names, but that wasn’t reliable in any way shape or form. Once a hunter became strong enough, they tended to detach from societies, only showing up to spark legends, or nightmares, on rare occasions.

“Our goal is to reach Ythar before they do,” Vivi said. “If we’re lucky, Ythar will cooperate and help us regain Ranewal.”

“And if he turns out to be a monster,” Coshi said, “you… will be faced with an angry god instead.”

“That’s the risk,” Vivi said.

“You’re invading a god’s palace, and we’re hoping it goes well,” Coshi said.

“Essentially, yes…” Vivi said.

There wasn’t much to add. The risks in that were clear. In her opinion, it had to be done. If Ythar was killed, the demons would have free reign to trample humanity. If he lived but slept, the hunters would be too weak to defend storm season. Either way, a lot of humans would die unless someone came in to handle things. Ythar was the only savior Vivi could think of.

The carriage finally made it to Boblin’s cliff. Slingshot launchers fired and cleared the desert of monsters. Vivi stepped out, wearing her armor with a light coating of ether. Four more carriages were following closely behind with foot traffic wielding runeswords and handheld slingshot launchers. The ballistics crew began unloading the carriages, and those that would travel up with Vivi strapped their backpacks on.

Thirteen men and four women would be coming with her. Many of them were already familiar from the last trip to the surface, and five of them were Coshi’s Lights, equipped with Vivi’s runeswords. Anthony stood amongst them. His long hair was free, which made him look much more like a brute of pure strength. Outwardly, it didn’t look like much moved in his head, but Vivi felt like the opposite was true. Anthony rarely showed his thoughts to those around him, but Vivi knew he was more intelligent and way more compassionate than he looked.

Everyone else was still mostly unfamiliar, but they’d all chosen to venture out with her. For that alone, Vivi had the highest respect for them. She interrupted their preparations by walking up and bowing. “Thank you for your courage.”

The hit force gathered up and saluted. “We are in your service,” Anthony said calmly.

This time, Vivi made sure to ask for everyone’s name. One by one, she went to shake hands with the members of her crew. Alrin, Feng, Drile, Vince, Ellir, Silvia, Bruma, Enna, Rafas, Harth, Rellis, Suanna, Lopen, Thrix, Folge, and of course, Anthony, Cael, Alda, and Lortel. She didn’t conduct full interviews, but everyone was older than her. Senior soldiers, most of which probably had families, who now entrusted their lives to Vivi’s command.

Everyone was just about ready when one more person emerged timidly from the carriages. Essi walked up to Vivi. “I should join as well…”

She looked unconfident to the point that Vivi’s immediate thought was to tell her to get some rest. Essi quickly raised her head, however. “Many people were captured because of my failures. I probably won’t be of much help. But if something diplomatic is happening… It could be useful to have as many hunters as you can on your side.”

“True enough,” Cael said. “That’s the only help I can imagine myself giving. I’m not trained to fight the monsters of this storm season. I’m coming to manipulate nobility and convince ether hunters that fighting you is not a good idea.”

The chapter on the NovelPhoenix site is the author's publication; this version was copied without consent, and reading there helps them.

“I’m likely falling to the same boat,” Alda said. “My most useful job is to act as Cael’s bodyguard once we reach the upper levels.”

“Spatial storage already makes all of you invaluable,” Vivi said. “Traveling would be impossible without it. Essi should fill up with our remaining supplies.”

The final five minutes were spent stuffing Essi’s storage full of anything that was a pain to carry. Spatial storage still had some extra space, and the crew members with the largest backpacks dropped them off to Essi. They loaded up with missiles, swords, spare parts for slingshot launchers, a roll of tape, just about anything that could possibly be useful.

Until it was time to climb to Boblin’s cliff. They did so with merely a rope ladder. The chunk of meat already filled Vivi’s nose. The strong scent would already likely draw Boblin down to the fifth level.

Vivi climbed the final step and saw the hole in the levels, connecting the fifth and fourth level. Immediately, Vivi thought, Something is wrong.

The last time she was here, particles of sand fell at a stream from the hole, creating a quagmire at the bottom of the cliff. The effect had stopped entirely, and a clump of sand had gathered at the hole, blocking half of it and not moving at all. Vivi couldn’t sense any ether from within, except the ambient ether within the levelstone itself.

“So, a lizard will be taking us up?” Alda asked, studying the opening.

“Yes…” Vivi said, but felt something off. “If he’s still alive. Last time, Boblin’s home was destroyed. The blight was overrun with monsters. Boblin might have abandoned his home.”

“What if he’s not present?” Cael asked.

“We better hope he is, and that he’s hungry,” Vivi said.

The slab of meat rested enticingly on the pile of sand. There wasn’t much to do other than to wait and send ethereal signals into the tunnel. “It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to get down here.”

Behind her, the new members of the crew were asking what the ride up was like. Everyone looked apprehensive, but the old members were more so. It’s not that bad, is it? Vivi thought. The ride up hadn’t been the worst of their trip last time. Although, Vivi had access to a lot more ether than everyone else. Maybe the trip was more painful for them.

The long wait wasn’t helping. Five minutes turned to ten. Vivi began tapping her foot.

“Something happened,” she said. “He should be here by now.”

“Is there a plan B?” Cael asked.

There was not. Vivi knew the trip would throw its problems at her, but she’d hoped they wouldn’t start while still in Shivenar. Boblin clearly wasn’t coming.

The next way up is hundreds of miles off, isn’t it… Vivi thought.

“Yes. We’d require weeks,” Lucius said.

We don’t have the rations. Or time.

The next option would be to attempt a blind teleportation. They’d risk teleporting directly inside levelstone, dying immediately. Vivi couldn’t put anyone here through a risk like that.

What if we just walk straight up, Vivi thought. Water had flown downward the last time she was here, only to turn into sand particles as it flowed down. Something odd had happened to that effect as well.

“I’m going up.” With a heavy step, Vivi’s greaves pushed a deep footprint into the sand. She stepped past the slab of meat and entered the tunnel.

“Wait for me below!” Vivi called. “I’ll send a signal if it’s safe!”

“Nonsense,” Anthony said. “You’re not going alone. The worst that’s up here is water.”

“Which will drown us if we get caught,” Vivi said.

Cael and Alda followed. Neither looked eager, but they climbed into the tunnel. One by one, everyone followed.

“So what’s the chance we die if we come with you?” Alda asked.

“It… should be low,” Vivi said. “I don’t think anything will suddenly kill us. We might find a blockade, though.”

“Let’s get going then,” Alda grumbled. “Lead the way.”

Vivi smiled, then nodded. “Let’s go. Follow me.”

***

The glow of Vivi’s armor and a few handheld ethereal lamps lit the sand-filled tunnel. The water that used to make up Boblin’s home had entirely dissipated. To where, Vivi couldn’t have guessed, but it was obvious why the lizard hadn’t come down. Something weird had happened here.

Still, the tunnel wasn’t necessarily dangerous. More so, climbing up the layers of sand with her armor on was arduous at best. She would have gotten out of breath if not for ether. There was no need to crawl, but the terrain was awkward at best, and the air was heavy to breathe. Being surrounded by levelstone probably had something to do with that.

Riding on Boblin’s back would have been faster. The tunnel turned out to be much longer than what Vivi had anticipated, filled with steep angles, the worst of which Vivi had to climb up with the help of Lucius’s claws. She tried placing a rope ladder for everyone else, but the sand couldn’t hold the nail. She dug sand out, but the nail couldn’t pierce levelstone either. In the end, she had to hold the ladder herself while everyone climbed up.

That turned out to be trivial inside her armor. She didn’t need to burn any ether at all. If anything, she felt like a hundred people could have been climbing up the ladder all at once, and she still would have had the strength to fling it hundreds of feet into the distance. The pure strength her armor provided with its swiftness and strength runes was insane.

Another fifteen minutes of walking later, she felt the tunnel open up, and her ethereal senses picked up on presences. Odd ones, nothing like what the blight had been the last time she’d visited.

The first monster—a ghost blade of at least thirty thousand ether—attacked them then. Vivi sent a shockwave with Dawnpour, killing it, and ascended to the fourth level.

The blight’s red fog was all that remained of Boblin’s home.