[S2] Chapter 28: Lost

MIKO

The Dungeon Raid. Definitely not an event I've ever seen myself actually taking part in, but here I am. It's been three weeks since we arrived here. I don't want to jinx anything, but so far, it's been far too peaceful and relaxed. Whether it's D-Rank or B-Rank dungeons, with our current team, everything feels like a walk in the park. But we can't tackle A-Rank, let alone S-Rank dungeons, on our own, as a minimum number of members is required. And four is definitely too few, although I would be confident that we could do it.

"I'm off to my shift. You're going to a B-rank dungeon today, right?"

"Exactly, but we'll be back tonight. Would you like to go out for dinner somewhere?"

"Tired of the hotel food?"

"You could say that."

"I'd love to."

"Perfect. Have fun and say hello to Maisy."

I've exchanged maybe three sentences with Maisy, Kayla's healer friend, but I believe it's polite of me to show some interest.

"Take care," Kayla says, wearing a slightly too worried expression, as she does before each of our missions.

However, instead of leaving the room, Kayla stands with her arms outstretched in front of the door. In the last few weeks, it has become our ritual to hug when we say goodbye. I really do like touching Kayla. What I can't really get used to is when she touches me. I almost feel sorry for her every time I flinch like a madwoman when she unexpectedly makes contact. I'm afraid that at some point, she'll lose interest.

"Don't look so thoughtful, or I'll start to worry for real," she says, taking a step back, her hand already on the door handle.

"See you later."

I don't know why, but I'm starting to doubt whether she's happy with our current relationship. If we didn't have to share the same bed, she would probably have run off already. But what can I do? It's not as if I don't want to deepen our connection, but I can hardly expect to be the one to kiss her and touch her while she isn't allowed to give anything back.

It wouldn't be surprising if she started to think that I wasn't really interested in her now that our trial period is about to end. But while I've gotten used to getting into fights with monsters again, I'm just terrified of letting myself fall for Kayla.

◇◆◇

"What's wrong, Miko? You seem lost."

Oh God, it must be bad if even Luna feels the need to bring it up.

"Everything's fine, sorry. I'm focusing now."

Not that I need that much focus. Luna did a mana scan after entering the dungeon. She found several possible locations of its core, and Kajsa set off for one of them. I'm in charge of taking out anything that even slightly moves towards the dungeon gate. So far, we have been able to evade any enemies. However, we did spot a giant snake, probably 20-30 meters long, slithering through the swampy part of the dungeon, which is very reminiscent of a collection of old Aztec temples. Huge stone structures, overgrown with vegetation and weathered by time. It's eerie how authentic this place seems, even though it's not real. All these buildings and the nature that surrounds them are made entirely of mana.

"Have you found anything yet?" Luna asks.

Lilith has provided our guild with relatively modern in-ear headsets with built-in microphones to simplify our communication within the dungeon. Definitely more pleasant than the walkie-talkies we used in the past.

"No, nothing. I'm now heading to the second lo…."

The connection between Kajsa and us seems to have been cut off.

"Kajsa? Can you hear me?"

There is no reply. Luna looks at me with concern and lets out a sigh.

"Could you go look for her?"

I admit that I'm surprised that I am supposed to go and do the searching. I don't want to read too much into anything, but it seems as if Kajsa is very important to Luna. So, my expectation was that she would go herself.

"I'll be right back."

With my mana activated, I run off in the direction Kajsa had disappeared. It takes no more than a minute before I can no longer see the gate or Luna. Unfortunately, Kajsa did not precisely describe where she was, so I can only guess the exact position. But only a moment later, I discover a trail of destruction. There is a staircase in the ground that leads beneath the surface, and a pile of mana that had previously formed the floor around this entrance is still whirling around it.

Without thinking much more, I make my way down the stairs. With a light spell, I illuminate the darkness that engulfs me as I walk deeper into the abyss. I wouldn't be surprised if the reason for the connection loss was that she had delved too deep into the depths of the dungeon. Still, ultimately, it is made of mana, and it can't be described as being particularly dense.

"Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"Good."

After a minute of following the stairs, I finally end up in a large room with a frighteningly low ceiling that makes me feel somewhat claustrophobic.

"Kajsa!? Are you here?!"

You could say it's stupid to shout around like this. In the worst case, I'll attract some monsters. But to be honest, I just want to get out of here as soon as possible. Even with the little light that follows me, the darkness that remains is scary. Apart from my own voice, which echoes through the depths of this place for an uncomfortably long time, no one answers me.

Is now the time to go into it further? No idea if the connection to Kajsa has been lost down here or somewhere else. She probably just dropped her earpiece, and we're worrying for nothing. Wait... am I actually worried? My heart is pumping like crazy. I've been assuming that it's because of this strange place, but maybe I'm starting to panic a little. I try not even to imagine how I would feel if Kayla had disappeared.

"I'll be back. Kajsa is not down here," I speak into the mic and don't get a response.

That definitely doesn't help me calm down, which is why I walk back to the stairs at a slightly faster pace. Halfway up, it surprises me because there's no light at the end of the stairs. The dungeons outside were lit up by bright, fake daylight. Something is definitely not right here. For now, I'll try to reach the end of the stairs.

I walk, walk, and keep on walking. When I reach the end, however, I do not find myself in the fresh air as before but in another dark chamber. I put more mana into my light ball to illuminate the entire space. My eyes search for an exit, a door, or another staircase, but the only thing that doesn't resemble a stone wall is a large mirror on the ceiling in the middle of the room. I approach it rather reluctantly before standing directly below it, daring to look inside.

Mirrors, whether inside or outside a dungeon, trigger a feeling of unease in me. If you look into one for too long, you start to see things that don't belong there. That's why I don't take the risk in the first place, but after a few blinks, I realize that I am actually looking down at myself. I see my own reflection staring upwards while my face is turned towards the ground.

Carefully, I kneel down and touch the ground I'm standing on. It's unmistakably glass. I ended up on the other side of the mirror. No idea what kind of magic is at work here, but that doesn't matter for now. I just have to get out of here.

I reach into my pocket and pull out the magic ore, shaping it into a sword. My reflection does the same, but unlike me, it points the blade of the sword at itself while I aim at the mirror beneath me. I could care less about that, but strangely enough, I can feel the tip of the sword poking my stomach.

To test it, I move my sword away from the mirror, and as I have expected, my reflection pulls away the sword from its body, and the feeling of the blade against my own flesh disappears.

Damn. I feel like crying. What kind of frustrating nonsense is this? Is the magic of the mirror playing a trick on me, or am I about to actually stab myself? If I knew Kayla was around, I could take the risk without much concern, but she's at the hotel healing some strangers instead of being by my side. There is no real sense of urgency. Kajsa may have disappeared, but she is strong enough to fend for herself. I don't have to worry about Luna, either. She's probably already looking for us. So why take the risk? I can just wait here, right?

I look down at myself in annoyance and shudder violently as I stare into a hideously grinning face. At the latest, I realize that it is not a reflection of myself down there but a monster that imitates me. I have enough self-esteem to say that I am not that ugly. I have no idea whether I can act in secret, but I begin to gather mana in my left fist. Even if this creature is mirroring my actions and causing me to feel pain, I would rather take a punch than stab myself.

Without hesitation, I smash the glass, and the only thing that hurts is my fist as it pierces the mirror and my eyes as they are blinded by a sudden flash of light. To my surprise, everything around me begins to crumble and fall apart, and through every gap in the walls shines this harsh white, much too bright light. I close my eyes and surrender to my fate, waiting until I am surrounded by nothing but white.

Somewhat cautiously, I try to get my eyes accustomed to this scene and sigh in annoyance that I'm still not out of the dungeon, but I have made progress. At least, I want to believe so. Even though the chances of success are slim, I try to contact Luna.

"Luna? Can you hear me?"

Huh? I'm sure I was speaking, but I couldn't hear my own words. I try to scream. I feel the strain on my throat, the scratchy feeling as I swallow, but I can't hear any sounds. I feel my heart begin to race, and my breathing becomes erratic, but there is absolute silence. I must calm myself. While I concentrate on controlling my breath, I begin to walk forward. It feels as if I am losing all sense of time and space, and I occasionally trip over my own feet. When I end up falling onto my knees, at least I realize that my body can still feel pain.

I don't know how long I've been walking, but I'm slowly losing my optimism. But wait, I see one… no, two spots moving in the distance. In this vast space of nothingness, it's hard to estimate how far away they are, but I don't care, just like I don't care who or what is waiting for me.

I just want to look at something that isn't white. Although I'm almost out of energy, I start to run, and slowly but surely, the spots of color get bigger and bigger before I realize, to my horror, what I'm running toward.

A fight between two creatures, with an intensity and speed, takes my breath away. One of them is almost twice my size, armed with two swords with blades that are as long as my entire body.

It's enemy... Kajsa. I am just 100 meters away from the two of them, but I still feel a gust of wind as this monster strikes with its swords. Kajsa is wounded. Her blood adorns the white floor in a beautiful, vibrant red.

Without thinking, I reach into my pocket, and a moment later, I am holding a black sword in my hand. I must help her. We need to get out of here.

Not hearing a single sound, I run towards them only to see that the enemy has disappeared. My eyes meet Kajsa's. Her pupils contract even more than they already are, and I try to recognize the emotion on her face. It takes a few moments before I realize that she is screaming at me.

Before today, I never really thought about how important sounds are in a fight. I knew how fast this creature could move, but I still didn't suspect that it could turn on me. I look around me, but there is nothing but white. Almost too late, I raise my eyes upwards just as the creature, with both blades pointing at me, pushes itself off the ceiling.

I reflexively jump to the side and barely escape being impaled. However, now I know I'm fast enough to dodge. That means I'm also fast enough to fight back.