Things Get Stranger

Question to anyone who's gotten this far. How did you discover this book? Did you search for it or did it pop up in your feed?

Yin looks at her sword in wonder. The childish joy of discovering that you're capable of doing something new has filled her face once more. It blows me away how pretty she is, even after fighting a monster. Concealing my smile by looking away, I start to move on.

"Alright, how's your mana? Is it regenerating? You'll need to learn how fast it comes back and make sure not to overly exhaust yourself. The lower it gets, the longer it takes to regenerate. Try not to let it get below 20% unless it's an emergency!"

"Oh wow, it's back to 80% now!"

We journey deeper into the city, slaying foes as we go. I have Yin take every kill to learn how to use her new power. Well…use is probably the wrong word. Staring at the destroyed body of a Daemonic Undead which we used to test a seven-slash combo on, I try to hide my shock. It looks like a monster tore it apart. Abuse would be more appropriate. How is this even considered fair? She's destroying them! If we manage to get out of here, won't Yin actually become strong enough to become a new Death Goddess?

"How am I? Is it good enough?" She says as she sees my face. I almost choke, pretending that I coughed.

"Heh…uhm, yea it's good! Just be careful to conserve your mana! For now, focus on learning your limits and leveling up!" Taking on the role of a wise master, I continue walking onwards. Secretly though I'm thinking. Maybe this isn't such a disaster after all. I mean, what if in my past life, they never managed to slay the Daemonic Minotaur because I wasn't here? And thus they never acquired this broken skill? The System does usually leave a way out after all. Maybe my presence here has changed fate? Perhaps we have a shot at surviving this death game now?

"When you think that hard you look like you need to crap." Yin grumbles as she realizes I wasn't watching when she killed another Hellspawn which crawled out of the subway entrance. "What are you thinking about that's so important?"

"N-Nothing!" I make sure to calm my features. "I just think you're progressing nicely is all. You've grown a lot, now you don't even need my help to kill these things." Yin turns around from the body of the Daemonic Undead she just cut into. As she snaps her fingers, the thin slash in its neck suddenly gushes blood and it falls over.

*Shing*

"Worried I might abandon you now that I can take care of myself?" She grins, leaning in. Her superior speed makes her blur slightly. Then she kisses me on the lips.

W-What?

Sweet.

Her mouth tastes so sweet! I've kissed girls before, but none of them managed to make me feel like Yin does. Butterflies dance in my stomach, fluttering around for just an instant before she pulls away. My fingers reach out unconsciously trying to keep her with me. It's that good. But she just shakes her head coyly, catching my hands and linking her fingers in mine.

"Relax, Lin! I know who really helped me kill the Daemonic Minotaur. You've been looking out for me all this time. No matter what, I will never leave you. I'm sorry, I've been so irritated at all this. I thought we could find my cousins in this place. Someone from before, someone I know. But then I found out it was impossible because the System decided to play with out lives again. Even if you piss me off sometimes, I know you're always thinking of how to keep us alive." Yin sighs, her fingers squeezing my hand gently. It's like being caressed by an angel. Despite the incredible strength behind them, she already knows how to control her strength to this degree.

"Just…just don't forget to relax sometimes okay? You don't have to do this all alone. I'm getting…stronger. Slowly, but surely. I'll keep my promise. One day soon, I'll look after you!"

"I…" My voice trails off as I remember the kiss. But unwanted thoughts intrude in this beautiful moment between us. No matter how optimistic I am about Yin's newfound skill, I know this Secret Dungeon will be anything but easy. Surely some of the previous Hunters in my past managed to kill some of the Eight Servants, and obtain System Rewards. Yet no one survived to tell the tale. Unless they hid themselves and never revealed the truth. But I think that unlikely considering how low-level this dungeon was. They wouldn't have had any need to hide their achievements once other Citywide Dungeons appeared. Blinking, I bring my sleeve up to wipe away some suspicious moisture in my eye.

All this damn sand must be getting inside.

"I hope one day, you can confide in me. I will keep working hard until I'm strong enough to carry your secrets!" Yin says, full of fire. She spins on her heels, ready to march off to fight the dead once more. Her unwavering confidence should fill me with hope. But for some reason, a pit of dread forms in the bottom of my stomach while I stare at the back of her determined shoulders. You're so beautiful. And yet so small…I wonder, if you knew what spilling my secrets would turn me into, would you still be so eager to know?

"We'll keep going." I murmur to her back. "Just remember, one day, if I can't keep up. If it looks like I'm going to die for any reason. You have to kill me. Protect me all you want, but if ever you should fail, then that must be your other promise. A blood oath between us two Hunters. I expect you to keep it."

Yin stiffens. Her hand trembles imperceptibly on her sword. She looks back for just an instant, her smile turning sad as she contemplates my face.

"I wish you wouldn't say such things."

#

"What level are you now?" I ask Yin. She frowns, checking her HUD. Watching her back, I wait for her eyes to stop flitting about.

"Lvl. 16. But I'm not getting much experience anymore. Maybe the undead are getting to weak?" She loosens her katana in its sheath. "I've been killing them so easily with Ghostblade Asura. Who knew being a Hunter could be so easy?"

It's only easy because you got a ridiculously strong skill so early!

"Mmm I thought that might happen. The higher your level goes, the harder it becomes to increase it. This dungeon's creatures must not be giving enough experience. I suppose that's a good thing. It means you're pretty strong for this area." I explain and Yin seems a little disgruntled.

"The System is so stingy!" She complains. I raise an eyebrow. Checking the Hunter Counter which just refreshed, I work hard to keep the frown from my face.

1,050,001

People are dying quickly. The newbies are probably suffering the worst right now. Thrust into this strange world of Hunters that they don't understand, suddenly they are forced to confront undead and worse, System creatures they don't understand with no prior combat experience. We've passed several bodies already, though we've been avoiding big groups of people. Everyone's partying up to survive. If my memory of prior dungeons is correct, than it's highly likely that there are several "super parties" now composed of hundreds of people traveling as a pack. With so many Hunters, they can definitely overwhelm many undead, however, their experience will be split between many people. Realistically only the ones who contribute the most will be able to level. Still, as someone who's only Lvl. 7, I'm probably too weak compared to everyone else.

"I suppose it's okay to level a bit now." Glancing at Yin, I tell her, "Let me have a couple. Also, put all your points into agility for now. As a swordswoman, you'll need to be fast."

"Okay." She observes me during the next fight. Not wanting to be shown up, I crack my neck and engage two Daemonic Hellspawn without waiting. My cleaver flashes, as I explode up the street. Stepping off a broken fire hydrant, I take to the skies. Two flailing tongues lash out at my ankles but I tuck my knees to pull them up.

*Twang*

*Twang*

While they're still preoccupied, I spin through the air and stomp on one's head. Its slimy jaws clamp shut on its own tongue as it gurgles angrily. Twisting, I smash my cleaver into the back of it's neck instantly disabling its central nervous system. Gurgles turn to garbled gasps as the Hellspawn goes limp. Ducking to my left, I hide behind its trembling body as the other Hellspawn shoots its tongue at me.

*Shlick*

The toad-like beast jumps over angrily as its tongue is repelled by its dead companion. That's a mistake. My cleaver has limited range. Coming closer is simply asking to die.

"Hah!" I leap up and over the dead Hellspawn's body and fall out of the sky before it can react. The big slimy eyes have just enough time to look up before I bury my blade in its eye.

"Riiiibbbb-!" The toad-like thing cries out as it keels over to one side. Ripping out my blade, I deliver a second strike to the weak-spot in the back of the neck to finish the job. Yin watches with an interested expression off to the side. This girl…she used to be impressed, why do I feel bad that she's not clapping?

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

My level rises swiftly to ten. In fact, the Hellspawns are so much higher level than me that I'm halfway to eleven. But I think this is about as far as I'm willing to go. The Gray is a terrifying creature. A few more levels won't make me that much stronger, but it could give Yin a real problem if she needs to deal with my zombie. Shaking the toad-slime off my butcher's blade, I stride back over to Yin. She notes my strained stride with a worried expression.

"You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" My voice remains steady though inside, I'm doing my best to ignore the deep bruises left by that bastard, Jian. It really hurts. Honestly in all the excitement I'd forgotten how bad he got me. Ugh…next time, I won't go easy on him!

"Uhuh." Yin says with a meaningful glance at my side. I quickly force my hand to go casually into my coat pocket. "So, what now? You want to keep leveling? Or look for the other Servants?"

"Well…if we could get our hands on another System Skill, or maybe a rare weapon, that could be a game changer. I should be able to keep up now." As I'm checking my map to see whether there are any other Mini Bosses nearby, an unexpected notification from the System appears.

Sidequest: Blood Of The Weak Fertilizes The Crop Of God-COMPLETE!

All Eight Servants of Belziarde Have Been Slain!

Main Throne Room Location Now Public!

Slay The Demon Lord For A System Reward!

"What…the…hell?" I mutter. This doesn't make sense. Without me how could anyone have killed the other Eight Servants?