Woman in the Gem

“You are Atlas….right?”

The skeptical remark came from Freya, my adventuring partner. She was covered in bruises and cuts, but she managed to stay alive through everything that had just happened.

“Groooor.” I let out a bassy moan to confirm.

Her narrowed eyes widened as she took a few steps away from me. It was the first time since we first met that she genuinely looked scared of me.

“Sorry, but you’re kind of terrifying like this.” She forced a smile. “Anyway, if you say you’re still you, then good. How should we handle that?” She gestured to the cracked gem, which pulsed a deep red.

It's true that taking down the Magia Golem wasn’t the final straw in getting us out of the dungeon; we still had the gem lady to worry about, but without her guard, was she even a threat? No, we couldn’t let our guard down, not after everything that’s happened.

I’ll fire another attack on it and shatter her for good. I used up quite a bit of mana in that last barrage, but I should be fine for one more.

With a bit of concentration, the magic circles took shape, and a row of fire aimed and blasted at the cracked gemstone's surface. Upon impact, the explosions of fire cinged away the vines that kept it suspended, and it dropped.

The already deep cracks that bore through it were driven even deeper, letting out the thick miasma that had shrouded the room before. Purple mist scattered into the air, and Freya instinctively took a step back.

“Atlas…” she muttered.

I knew what she was going to say. I had to deal with it before it went any further. I moved closer and aimed one of my hands at it, a chunk of stone gathering in my palm. I planned to blow through the crack with Piercing Stone, but froze when the crimson stare within the gem gazed out at me.

“K…ill…me…”

A distorted voice echoed through my mind. It sounded feminine; I was certain it was hers. It came from the woman in the gem, and I could hear her voice in my head.

How are you talking to me?

Her words forced their way into my head again, louder than before, “Please…kill…me…!”

I don’t understand. Why would she want me to kill her? Is it some sort of trick?

“What’s wrong, aren’t you going to do it?” Freya asked.

It’s not that simple now. I can’t just kill her after hearing that. It might be a trick, but… I locked eyes with her, and the twinge in my chest wouldn’t settle. I believe her. She’s genuinely asking to die.

The drill head spun red-hot in the air. All I had to do was release my hold on it, and the pressure alone would do the trick. From this distance, with my MP stat, I knew it’d be enough to give her what she asked of me.

Can you at least tell me why you want to die? I pleaded out, but heard nothing in return.

The woman in the gem held a neutral face, almost unnervingly void of emotion. I probably would’ve thought she was dead if she hadn’t spoken to me.

Suddenly, a single tear fell from her eye along her cheek, and my teeth locked together.

…!

I focused my speed through the drill head and released it with an explosion of power. It pierced through the air and hit its mark before the sound could be heard. A stream of cracks spread from the point of the drill head and completely covered the clear-purple surface before shattering.

The flicker of crimson in her eyes vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

“Wait, what are you doing?” A tinge of anxiety resonated through Freya’s words.

My hands lifted the woman from the shards of gemstone and held her up to my body. I managed to avoid killing her by controlling my speed and accuracy of the drill head, but it was honestly a gamble whether she’d live after it broke. I was just glad it worked.

I held her close to my head and heard faint breaths escape her lips. Although pale and a bit weak, she was alive.

Good. Now then, let’s see what we’re dealing with here.

{Half Elf Lv23}

{Condition: malnourished}

{Target has suffered a large loss in mana and life energy, causing malnutrition. Although not in a dire state, she cannot recover without mana replenishment and rest}

It seems like being in that gem wasn’t the healthiest thing for her. If it put her in a state like this, why was she even in there?

“Oh? What do you think you’re doing with my battery?” A deep voice cut through the room.

Freya readied her staff, as if she were about to deliver a spell on sight. I looked towards the entrance of the dungeon room and saw a cloaked figure standing there.

He was dressed in blue and black robes that resembled traditional Japanese hakama, with embroidered patterns along their edges. His face was covered by a white mask with two eye holes and a simple line pattern. Although I couldn’t tell what his face looked like, what stood out most was the dark complexion of his skin that bordered on dark grey.

{?!!!>!>!@$% Lv??}

{Condition: ??!}

The appraisal reacted with glitches where the numerical value usually appeared. I got a slight headache from using it on him, so I decided to cancel it.

When did he…? Wait, he just called her a battery. Is that guy the one who put her in the gem? Before I had the chance to do anything, his arm rose, and a black orb was summoned against the palm of his hand.

There was no trace of mana from that orb, not even so much as a spec of energy. My Perception skill didn’t even signal that this guy was in the room. There was no chant, so it had to be a skill of some kind, but I had no idea what it’d do when activated.

This is bad, this guy’s way too mysterious to take on as we are now! I forced my way in front of Freya and shielded her and the gem woman with my body.

Just as the orb began to separate from his palm, an intense rumble resonated from the room around us, and dust rained down between the falling debris.

The masked man looked up and sighed, “She’s already lost her connection to the dungeon? What a bother.” He dropped his hand, and the orb disappeared. “I’d rather not be caught in a collapsing dungeon. After all, I’m sure this will be enough to end you.” He turned to leave, then snuck a glance from over his shoulder.

“Another anomaly has appeared. Interesting.” The words left his mouth cold and matter-of-factly.

“He’s gone…” Freya let out a heavy sigh, as if she’d kept her breath the entire time. Once she had her breath back, she tugged at my floating arm and moved towards the exit. “That guy's right, this place’s going to collapse now that the boss is dealt with. We need to get out of here, quickly!”

Just as she said that, a massive chunk of purple stone fell over us and enlarged a colossal shadow around us. Just before it could crash over us, a bubble of wind circled around us and sent the chunk of stone flying away.

She’s right, we can’t stay here. Even my skills will only get us so far. We need something a bit more convenient to cover us on the way out.

I recalled one of the skills I gained after evolving.

{Construct}

{Creates any form or structure from a selected material source. Shape and size are proportional to the user's proficiency with that source}

If I use the Construct skill, wouldn’t I be able to make something to shield us from all this rubble?

{Answer. Yes, a form of defence would be constructible through the use of this skill}

Alright… if I have to, I’ll give it a shot. Construct!

The flat surface of my back molded out into a long, stretched shape that continued to grow until it completely shaded Freya and me. Two wings spread out my back in the form of a canopy, but I quickly felt the pressure of its weight, and my body hit the ground.

It’s a bit… heavy… I might need something to support me.

I added some more stones to my lower half and took the shape of bulky legs. I attached my floating arms to my body and dropped on all fours, where I had the most stability.

Alright, this feels a little better.

“Are you sure you’re going to make it like this?”

It’s burning through MP continuously, but if we make it fast enough, I should make it. Y-yeah, we can make it! I forced a smile and let out a weak grunt, “G-graaaar!” then carried on in a full sprint.

Although I was quite slow, none of the debris made it past my defence. The canopy completely blocked it out, and any parts of it that broke off, I just fixed with scattered debris.

​