Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

4. One Sorry

What...did he just say?! I stared at the image of the three that are currently in the sky. I don't think this is some sort of prank, though. The bustling atmosphere has completely disappeared with that one statement, so I think this is something that needs to be taken seriously. But I...think I need to hear them say it again. I just couldn't believe it right away!

They said that we're stuck here forever? What does that mean? I thought we'd be allowed to leave once we completed the game, clearing all thirty floors of Krysheira, that is. But when he said that, I felt like it wasn't a simple statement nor was it a game program. I hate to say this, but I doubt that it's game lore as well. There's no way they would just announce that we're stuck here forever only for it to be some sort of event!

I swallowed hard and stared at the image of those three. Maybe I should listen to the whole thing before overthinking first. Who knows, I might actually be right about it being part of the lore. Or it could turn out to be some sort of sick joke! However, I failed to sense a hint of mischievousness. All I could feel was their intention to bring all of us down, something I couldn't quite comprehend. Why would they want to do such a thing...?

As I looked at the guy that looked like a lion, I felt my knees growing weaker and weaker. I couldn't feel whether he had an enormous amount of power, but something in me was telling me that I should run. It was as if a force inside me was repulsing his presence. My heart began to constrict out of pain, something I couldn't understand. Why...would I fear someone I'm meeting for the first time?

The orca laughed. "As new residents of Artemia, we are delighted to witness such good reactions from you. You insignificant little beings are no longer the same and will never be the same in the future either."

"Please allow me to explain..." the eagle trailed off. "More over a decade ago, a war erupted in Artemia, leaving us with nothing except the remains of our fellow Artemians as a legacy. What are we expected to do in such a desolate environment? We did, however, come across a human who was able to acquire access to the key that opened the door to all of the other dimensions. We thus collaborated to send people to this world in return for knowledge of Artemia and the other dimensions that are related to this one, in order to trade information."

Then, Leandro just straight up sacrificed all the humans that bought the device from him. That jerk! He's...way too cruel! I mean, all of us knew that we couldn't get out unless we completed the game, but all we wanted was a short escape from reality. Sure, we're partly at fault for trusting him too much, but...he shouldn't have sold us out just like that! For a piece of information?! What the f**k?!

"There are currently ten thousand new Artemians on the planet, and all of you will be competing for your lives because only one team, the lone group of the best, will be granted the opportunity to return to the earth. Also, be cautious since the complexity of each level increases by two for every floor you conquer. Wishing you the best of success, dear players..." the lion said before disappearing.

He...is definitely evil! I couldn't see his aura or anything, but I can tell! Maybe I'm judging him too hard, but even the way he talked screamed arrogance. And the fact that he created this survival game speaks for itself! I could feel something in me sparking. The sudden urge to take him down was ignited inside my head.

"Freya..." I called my friend, who was still staring at the sky. "We'll win."

We heard screams and a couple of many other noises coming from everywhere. Everyone else was already in a state of panic but all we did was stand there and look at everybody else, wondering what we were supposed to do. Everyone has already started farming to get out of here faster. If we join them, we might just get stomped to death, and that's the last thing I want right now. I just want to get out of here...

"What should we do...?" I asked as I swallowed hard.

"We need to be extra careful. Only one group will get out alive, so I'm pretty sure that players will plot to salvage other teams at some point. But as of the moment, they're probably teaming up to aim for the last floor," Blake said and looked at all of us. "We need to stick together. But let's just find a place to stay in for the mean time, since everyone's probably out there, trying to fight mobs to level up."

"Are we going to take our sweet time?" Dylan asked as he raised his brow at Blake.

I swallowed hard because the tension somehow came up with a single rebuttal from Dylan. Blake glanced at me and clenched his jaw as he looked at Dylan once again. What? Why would he look at me? I wasn't butting on nor was I doing anything! I stepped back because I was afraid that they would suddenly brawl or something. The news that we received from those kings was bad enough for me, so I refuse to deal with something like this.

Freya elbowed me. "You should step in." She kept glancing at the two because it didn't seem like they were going to back down anytime.

"Why?" I asked and tried to distance myself from the two.

"Ivory, you're the team leader, so you should decide," Blake suddenly told me. "Time is running out so hurry up."

Huh...

"Me? Since when did I become the leader?" I asked as I looked at all of them. We never talked about that thing!

"I thought it was you?" He raised a brow at me.

I shook my head firmly. "There's no way I can be the leader. I'm not good at making decisions and I'm weak."

"You were able to do it plenty of times in class," he said.

"What? But this is a matter of life and death!"

"And? I don't really mind dying in this sort of place. All I want is to clear the floors."

My mouth went agape because of his answer. That was definitely something I didn't expect because the Blake that I know would never say such a thing. He's normally concerned about life and is bubbly. Perhaps he had a lot of problems in real life that I didn't know about. And I felt more terrible than I already am because of what I did!

I sighed and agreed since it seemed like no one wanted to take the role. "Alright, I'll do it. Let's just find a place to stay in and make strategies."

They agreed, so Freya led us to the next town with the map that she was holding. I'm really glad that we have Freya right here! I'm definitely going to die if she wasn't. But we're worried about other players that might attack us. That is why Dylan and Blake are guarding from behind. But I couldn't stop myself from worrying. Someone could suddenly jump in and stab us, so I had to remain alert at all times.

For some reason, I feel like I'm the only one who is actually thinking that it's possible for all of us to get out of here alive. The three of them don't seem to care whether we can survive or something. It made me realize that I have nothing back on Earth as well. There's nothing to lose, isn't that why I came here? So...why do I want to go back? I don't really understand myself often.

"There's the inn," Freya said as she pointed at the huge building that looked like at least three hundred people could live in it. It's pretty nice! "It's free for the first ten groups."

"Hurry up before the others snap out of it. We're one of the first ten," Blake said, and went inside to negotiate with the innkeeper.

He told us to wait behind him as he settled it. I saw how he smiled boyishly at the innkeeper. Huh? Would that even work? As far as I know, the people who are here but aren't playing should be NPCs only. So there's no way she would be flustered unless she's an actual human...

My mouth went agape when I confirmed that the NPCs are actually humans! It seems like that was the reason why Blake did that. But why are there humans here?! Are they from Earth or some other dimension? I looked around to see the other staff, and it really did seem like they were not robots!

I had to stop myself from furrowing my brows because it might seem rude, but I was a bit annoyed after seeing the female staff fawning over Dylan and Blake. What the hell...? It has always been like this! I couldn't help but let out a snort after seeing them, and I think Dylan saw me. Oh, no...

"She's from Earth as well," Blake said after closing the door of the room that we got for free. He was eyeing me for some reason, but I couldn't ask why. "However, I don't think they're going to join the survival game like us. All they have to do is provide service for us and they're free to go after this."

"How did you know?" Freya asked, looking around the room.

"It's obvious," Blake replied shortly and dozed off on his bed.

I blinked twice and looked at the other two to see what they were doing. Dylan decided to check his stats for now. Huh, that was quite unexpected. Perhaps Leandro also gave them the same technology that we have on Earth to make this game possible. Or this was made by the power of those three. I mean, one look and you would know that they have a hefty amount of power. Yeah, even if you're just looking at their images.

"What are you doing?" I asked Freya and sat beside her.

She looked at me before turning to the map again. "I'm trying to find places that are good for farming. If everyone started to farm around here, it would be difficult for us. Worse, there wouldn't be places to farm in anymore around here."

Oh, I see. There are plenty of towns in this world and I don't think we would run out of places to farm in. However, the level of difficulty in each town varies. If we can't make it to at least level three, we can't take the first floor no matter what. And there are four of us in the party, so it might take a lot of time. Although, I think they'd be strong enough to get to the top...without a baggage like me, of course.

"Have you apologized to Blake yet?" Freya whispered as she glanced at him.

I shook my head as I played with my fingers. "I'll tell him after he wakes up."

"What do you need to tell me?"

I jumped after hearing someone talking behind me. But it was just Blake, so I heaved a sigh and stood up, motioning him to follow me. I can't apologize in front of the other two because I'm pretty sure that they would think I'm ridiculous. Also, I want to clear this misunderstanding. I'm worried that he might be thinking that I hate him.

"What?" Blake asked impatiently after I stopped walking near the stairs. "Hurry up, we still need to talk about what to do."

"Mm, I know that. But I want to apologize for running away from you earlier. If I offended you in any way, then I want to say sorry..." I said and bowed a little.

He scoffed. "Were you afraid of me? Is that why you ran away? Or was it because you hate me? Hmm, Yuki?" he asked sarcastically, emphasizing my username.

I shook my head. "Sorry. It's not that I was afraid of you. It's just that I didn't want to pick a fight with you nor did I want to hear you teasing me. I might have gotten used to you doing that, and I thought you would keep on doing so. You know, teasing me, that is...especially since I look like this. So I ran away."

He looked at me from head to toe, which made my breathing hitch. "It's okay. I know that you don't like me because you like that Dylan guy. You don't have to force yourself to get along with me," he said, and turned his back on me.

He started walking towards our unit and I followed with heavy steps. Sure, I didn't like Blake because he always teases me. But I still feel guilty for doing something that upset him. I hope there's something I can do to make it up to him. He was right about me liking Dylan, but that's not my reason for running away from him.

I pouted as I made my way to our room. "Freya..."

"Did he accept your apology?" Freya asked, worried.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

I just pouted and looked at the map, trying to figure out what our next step would be. Ah, why did I even accept the position of being the leader? I could have declined! They wouldn't get mad at me if I did. I brought this upon myself, and now I'm carrying the burden and pressure of leading our team to victory.

"Ivory," Blake called. "I think we should just rest for the whole day. If everyone started farming, there wouldn't be any mobs left for us to fight. Let's just start tomorrow because I'm certain that they will be wiped out by now."

I nodded. "Then, we all have one free day."

"I'll go out and test my skills for a while," Dylan said, smiling at me before leaving.

"I'll stay here. You three can go ahead and explore or something," Blake said, and went back to his bed.

Ah, what's wrong with him? I thought he wanted to make plans and even told me to hurry up earlier! There's definitely something wrong with his head. He's just way too unpredictable.

"You're too stressed," Freya told me as she laid beside me. "Don't think about surviving anymore. Does it matter to you that much?"

I shook my head. "Actually, that one doesn't matter to me anymore. I guess I just feel bothered when someone's upset with me..." I whispered, afraid that Blake would hear me.

She laughed. "I guess one sorry isn't enough for him?"

Then what am I supposed to do...?