Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

14. Orca Beach

The last time we saw Shirayuki, the snow tiger, it had been five months since then. We were anticipating a great deal of information from her. According to what has transpired, she has been silenced by the Three Kings. If she discloses anything about the past of Artemia, she will very certainly perish right then on the spot. That is why we requested her blessing in lieu of her approval. No curse will be able to be placed on us from now on. Although it's strange that she suddenly disappeared after resting her forehead on mine.

Having spoken with Shirayuki, we have decided to put the assignment on hold until our team is ready to take on missions that are either S+ or SS-tiered in difficulty. We wouldn't have been unable to obtain any information at the time due to our current level. Fortunately, there was a secret link between Shirayuki and myself, which allowed us to survive back then. I'm grateful to her, but I never got to express my thanks.

I sighed as I slid down onto the bedside table. Damn, I could feel pain all over my body after climbing to the fifteenth floor! Farming and completing easy tasks have occupied our time over the previous several months. Truly, it was such a drag to slay goblins, locate lost items, grow crops, and do the many other commissions that we took. But I'm sure the NPCs had a good time having us do all of the labor around here. Well, whatever. We were able to acquire a significant amount of XP as a result of their efforts to hand the quests to us.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked as I looked through my current statistics.

Ha, it's certainly not enough to get us to the next level. I suppose it was for the best that we didn't go any farther. Well, we would have been turned into skewers if we did. Blake would have survived, but we most likely won't. However, I don't believe we'll be able to farm for a long if we're always killing monsters. We're really fed up with them after they began appearing out of nowhere on levels eleven through fifteen. I'm not even interested in seeing their silhouettes.

"Barely alive..." Freya replied as she closed her eyes. She just plopped on the bed, groaning a little because of the sudden strike of pain. Freya lost a lot of elemental power after healing us countless times amidst all of her enchantment spells. "f**k, my whole body hurts. I think I have broken bones."

I chuckled as I did the same. "Yeah, so do I."

"Here," Dylan said as he gave us potions that would help us recover faster. "Drink it immediately."

"Thank you," I murmured as I accepted it.

Before he left, he smiled and caressed my hair with his hands. His frequent appearances at taverns, which has been a rumor for a while now, lead me to believe that he has been attempting to gather information in secret. Meanwhile, Blake is sitting on his bed, keeping a close eye on everything. I sighed and turned my back on him. This is most likely simply one of those days when he has severe mood swings. I would rather sleep instead of talking to him.

As soon as I finished consuming the potion, I tried to doze off to sleep. Because of our plan to begin accepting high-level tasks from now on, we will likely have a full day ahead of us. Everyone else has done the same thing, and some have even finished them, but we're taking things gradually for the time being. After all, there's no use in hurrying things.

I heard a series of calls coming from somewhere. "Ivory..."

"What..." I mumbled as I attempted to go back to sleep.

Somebody had the courage to wake me up at a time that was much too early for my liking! And now there's simply no chance I'll be able to sleep anymore. I have no option but to rise to my feet right now that they woke me up. I'm already upset since it's too early in the morning! These kids are really ridiculous. I'm still exhausted after all of the combat that occurred yesterday!

"Hey, Ivory. How do you feel right now...?" Blake carefully asked while we were eating. "Does your body ache in any places?"

"No, and why?" I asked, still munching.

"So cold..." he murmured, laughing because of my tone.

"I'm not going to take any of your nonsense," I said, glaring at him. Oh my goodness. My mood swings have been really severe today! This is probably because my sleep has been interrupted. I believe I need to get some space from myself and walk outdoors for a bit. One drawback is that going outdoors alone may be a little perilous.

"Hey..." Freya said, gesturing toward the kitchen. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Just...agitated."

"Mm. That much is evident."

I sighed and struggled to find the right words to express how I was feeling. "I haven't had any nightmares about Yuki," says the author.

She ruffled my hair with a kind grin on her face. "You must maintain your patience, understand? We're going to start again from the beginning. Please don't hurry anything, mm-kay?"

I hugged her and nodded my head. "Freya, do you mind if I go for a walk?"

She had a lovely grin on her face, but I knew that it was also sarcastic. "No. A large number of people in this area recognize you as our leader. I'm pretty sure you're going to get targetted at this point."

Well, she's right, so I didn't try to impose my will on her any longer. It's better to maintain a low profile right now, even though I wanted to get some fresh air. For some reason, a large number of the players are keeping an eye on me! I can understand why this is happening since I'm a far cry from the person I was five months ago. My hair got longer, and my strength continued to surge as I was engaged in combat. Not only that, but when I use my skills, my eyes seem to glow. As a result, I hesitated from utilizing them in public.

The biggest mystery is my eyes. I wouldn't have found out that they glow whenever I'm using magic. And the color was sapphire! That was what the others told me, so I believed them. They're definitely not the type to joke about such things. Besides, I can remember my eyes heating up in the middle of a fight. Strange, isn't it?

I groaned and returned to our room to begin preparing our belongings. We're organizing a trip to Orca Beach in order to participate in a quest. This is an S+ tier, according to Blake. We have to be extra cautious since we haven't done a quest of that difficulty level since the beginning of the game. Furthermore, it is situated on Orca Beach, a location that can only be accessed by players who have reached the fourteenth floor of Khrysheira.

"Let's go," Blake said as he took my luggage.

Dylan frowned and carried Freya's belongings, frustrated that Blake didn't even bother to look at them or acknowledge their presence. We've gotten accustomed to it, to be honest. The fact that they are rivals may explain why Dylan is the only one who cannot seem to get used to the way Blake acts. Ah, whatever. That's their business, so who am I to say anything about it? It gets to my nerves oftentimes, but I choose to pretend that I don't hear them most of the time.

"All right, we're here!" Blake enthusiastically said when we had finally arrived.

"Whoa..."

I'm not going to lie...the scenery is breathtaking. It's amazing that the beach sand was white and the water was crystal clear. Not only that, but the cottages seemed to be conventional in design! If we hadn't come here to go on a quest, I think I might have been able to rest a little more. Ha, I wish we could just come back here and relax without having to think of it as work. Everyone else seemed to be having a good time, which made me a little envious!

"Get moving before someone else takes the mission," Blake told me.

We decided to follow him since he had already made a reservation. Following the completion of the paperwork, we immediately headed to the port to get a protective bubble. Since the NPC is in a dungeon underground, we're going to have to go underground. Honestly, I'm looking forward to seeing what the reef looks like. Well, I have to at least find a way to enjoy this trip after we paid for it! There's no way I'm letting all that money go to waste by focusing on work. But I'm still going to pay as much attention to the quest as needed.

Anyway, regarding the quest that we are going to take! According to the evidence, Orca, one of the kings, seems to have something to do with this mission. He used to reside in this dungeon that is now a dungeon, which suggests that he may have left anything behind when he moved out. That is, at the very least, what we are hoping for. I'm not really expecting much, considering how those kings seem to be kinda sly.

"As long as you have this gadget, you will never run out of air again. Also, the dungeon is continually supplied with air, allowing you to remove it as soon as you arrive," says the gentleman who was aiding us.

"Thank you," I said as I accepted the item that he had offered me in my hands.

He smiled and winked at me. "Anything for you, miss."

Uhm, what...?

Dylan and Blake had already come between him and me before I had a chance to tell him to piss off. It seems that the man became frightened and pretended that he had not just flirted with me after all. I couldn't contain my laugh because of what had just happened. The two looked at me, wondering why I was laughing, but I just shrugged. Hmm, I guess I'll have to use these two to scare those pesky thugs away. Heh, perks for having two terrifying dogs.

"What's wrong with them?" Freya chuckled as she dragged me closer to the edge.

When I first switched on the gadget, I was a little taken aback when a bubble emerged. Freya grinned and squeezed my hand as we dove into the water together. The two boys swiftly caught up with us and began to protect us from behind. It's possible that there are aquatic mobs in the area...and it'll be tough to protect against them. Even when submerged, I must maintain my vigilance.

Freya pointed to the lights that could be seen from a long distance away. Oh, it must be the location of the dungeon. We swam towards it as quick as we could because we saw a big shadow emerging from the depths of the ocean. See how unsafe the situation is down here?! Damn, I'm beginning to get scared now.

After removing the bubble, I took a deep breath and exhaled. Damn, I felt like I was suffocating in there! My legs were a little sore after swimming for so long, but they quickly returned to normal after a little stretching. Blake instantly grabbed my waist, which almost earned a punch in the gut. There was a hole in the ground, and if I had walked on it, I would have lost my foot completely.

"Thank you," I said to him as I attempted to locate the NPC's presence on the map.

"Mm. Where are you going?" he asked.

"Straight ahead, I guess," I replied, sighing heavily. "We can't split up, okay? Hold onto each other."

"Yes, master."

I instantly took Freya's hand, and the two were on the verge of fighting again. I'm relieved that they can simply play rock-paper-scissors to resolve the situation. Because if they didn't, I would have ditched them right then and then, no questions asked. Taking care of these two is such a pain in the ass, especially while they're bickering with each other!

"We're getting close..." I mumbled when I sensed the presence of another person.

"Are you sure? Isn't the NPC down the hall somewhere?" Blake clarified as he grasped my palm tightly.

I nodded. "Why? You don't believe me?"

"Oh, I do..."

Everyone complimented my senses, stating that they were out of this world. As a result, I'm a little angry that Blake doesn't believe me when I explain that I can sense the presence of the NPCs. Heh, whatever you want to call it. The fact that they're here is beyond any reasonable doubt, and I'll show them!

They're somewhere towards the peak, which is where we're at right now in terms of elevation. NPCs have a distinct presence that differs from that of players, and they are unable to conceal it, making it easy to detect them just by their presence. As a result, they became easy targets, and a number of gamers have attempted to assassinate them in the past. They, on the other hand, seem to be invincible. Nobody has the ability to harm them, which is incredible!

Anyway, I saw a steel door that needed to be forced open and confirmed my suspicions. The NPC is definitely in there! Because there is no mechanism in place, we are left with no alternative but to destroy it. The four of us are still holding hands, and Dylan doesn't seem to have anything in his right hand, so we gestured to him to do something about the door.

"Me...?" he murmured when he noticed our gestures. He prepared to sever the door in two with one blow, taking his sword from its sheath. "All right, here I go..."

I closed my eyes since I didn't think he'd be able to accomplish it, but he actually sliced the steel door in half. Because it's steel, it came as a surprise! The door was slowly collapsing, and I was terrified that the floor would give way under me. Fortunately, Blake and Dylan were able to snag it before it entirely crashed to the ground. We heaved a sigh of relief when it seemed that everyone was safe.

"It's too dark..." Freya whispered as she closed her eyes and extended her hand to the front of the room as she spoke in hushed tones. "Turn on the lights..."

When the torches in the room all lit up at the same time, everything in the room became visible, making my mouth drop open in surprise. When I watched it in its entirety, I got a shiver down my spine. In the middle of the room was a cage. But what's even more surprising is that the silhouette appeared to me to be somewhat familiar, despite the fact that I'm pretty certain I've never seen her before...

"Scylla..."