Hideout and Diary
Clear blue skies. Jagged mountain peaks piercing the heavens. The ridgeline, sharp as if carved by a blade, divided earth from sky, capped with eternal snow. Kuuuuaaaah— A wyvern's cry echoed through the heavens.
Two women traversed this brutal demonic realm. They appeared to be of similar age, judging by their looks. But they hardly seemed like companions. One was a fairy, the other human. The fairy had silver hair and wore traditional white robes. The human's fiery red locks cascaded down her back, paired with pitch-black leather pants and jacket. They clashed completely—and indeed, they barely spoke during their journey.
Yet they shared one thing: effortless grace over the treacherous terrain. Steep ascents that would kill the weak? No problem. Heart-stopping descents on slippery slopes? A breeze. They never paused once, bounding along like mountain goats.
"...Fewer monsters than I expected."
The one who spoke was Hairit Langrei. "Compared to the Great Forest, this place is barren as can be," Iris Selena replied.
The Great Forest boasted the densest vegetation on the continent—perhaps the world. Grass and trees choked every inch. Grab any branch, and bugs crawled out; snakes slithered; leopards pounced from the underbrush to snatch rats.
"Barren's a bit harsh," Hairit chuckled. "Is it?"
"If mountains are barren, what do you call deserts or tundras?" Plenty of life thrived here, monsters aside.
"Still, it's dead quiet. Like a graveyard."
"That's what's weird. Somehow..." Hairit frowned. The silence was unnatural. Yesterday, they'd swatted aside termites and worse. Today? Nothing. Considering their blistering pace toward the heart of the mountains, that was odd.
"Something nearby..."
Then Iris froze mid-stride. Hairit didn't blurt out some dumb "What is it?" Her pointed fairy ears twitched like a cat's. Something was close.
Now Hairit had to show her stuff. She reached into her massive signature backpack—an enchanted sub-space affair, big enough to swallow a warehouse whole. Out came a net, weights etched with runes dangling from its edges.
She flung it with a spin. Centrifugal force unfurled it wide. The weights glowed blue, and the net lunged like a living thing, smothering its target.
A plain rock. But as the net wrapped it, the "rock" crumpled.
"Aaah! Mercy!" Not a rock—a figure cloaked in a grayish mantle mimicking stone. No magic; just filthy rags and sand for camouflage.
The net coiled tighter, methodical but relentless. No brute force, but terrifying to the victim.
"What, a human?" Hairit sighed, disappointed.
"Please, loosen the net! I'm no suspicious character!"
Claiming he wasn't suspicious while disguised as a rock? Peak irony. Still, Hairit reeled it in.
"Thought it was some exotic rock-mimicking monster. Bummer."
"Sorry for the false alarm... Name's Pandan..."
The adventurer himself.
"Why hide like that?"
"Thought you two weren't human."
"Huh? Why?"
"Uh..." No way he'd admit their relentless descent screamed "legendary mountain goblins."
"G-goblins! Thought you were goblins!"
"Humans and fairies both fit. Me? Nah, just the granny over there."
Iris, dubbed "granny," didn't bat an eye. Pandan finally clocked her pointed ears. A rare fairy—here, far from the Great Forest?
"Why hide here?"
Pandan jolted from his daze. As he scrambled for an excuse, his eyes met Hairit's.
"Adventurer on a mission... Colleagues all dead. Oh, and I'm from the Empire."
Why tack that on? Hairit grinned. "Accent gave it away."
"Y-yeah." He'd just dropped the imperial drawl entirely.
Pandan pondered but let it slide. "Mission failed, team's wiped—why loiter alone?"
"Ah..." Gotta play this smooth. Those piercing eyes saw through bullshit.
"Two wyvern queens nesting nearby..."
BOOM! An explosion rocked the northwest. A pillar of fire shot skyward. Two massive black-and-white wyverns flailed in panic around it.
"That's them."
Hairit and Iris exchanged glances. Pellelian's dungeon—the one they sought. Maybe there?
"Let's go!"
As they bolted, Pandan edged away—
"You too!"
"Me?" For some reason, flight felt impossible.
"R-right!"
Three dashed toward the fire-spewing stone tower.
Test Subject 9 Failure (Lv120) defeated.
Demonic essence absorbed.
Demonic essence already at saturation.
A massive surge of demonic essence. Test Subject 9 was reduced to charcoal. A-rank quest "Pellelian's Chimera Extermination"? Nailed it.
Pellelian's ugly legacy, those chimeric abominations—wiped out, their XP mine now. Incineration swept the dungeon clean; evidence ash.
Yet my mouth tasted bitter.
Ptoo! Ptoo!
Ah, charcoal chunk from the chimera. Spat it out—better now.
Crunch. The body crumbled like spent coal briquettes. No magic stone. Maybe the flames vaporized it.
Giantification boosted strength and mass, but weakened durability and speed. I shrank back. Mana dipping low anyway.
Flames still raged everywhere. Lose Isil's shared fire immunity? I'd be snake jerky.
Thankfully, the fire rain stopped.
-Incineration... procedure... halted.
The magic spirit's voice warped from the heat.
'Alright, time to hunt for an exit somewhere.'
-Yeah, better find it quick, Pellelian said.
Snapped at him for rushing me—he shook his head.
-No, literally. It's hot in here.
'Oh.'
Fire out, but stones oven-hot. Lose immunity? Instant roast. My heat resistance would buy seconds, tops.
Then it got worse.
-Demolition... procedure... commencing.
Burn clean, then collapse the dungeon. Classic thorough Pellelian.
Need that underground space—fast.
-Mana sense it out. Hidden voids mean magic construction.
Mana sense revealed threads—blue and red tangled everywhere.
'Blue grid lines forming a square!'
-Sub-floor there. Ash piled thick.
Wind spell to clear—regret instant.
"Kkesaaak!"
Ash cloud: sneezing, eyes burning.
-Idiot!
Water spray. Ssssh! Ash settled, but steam exploded. Visibility zero—perilous.
Then, washed ash revealed... fairy script.
Stumbling read: 'My... tomb?'
Dungeon name: Tombstone. Coffin below? Logical.
-That's the door!
Square metal plate, ring-pull. Ash jammed the seams—stuck.
Wedged dagger Dawn into the ring, clamped jaws on hilt, yanked.
Kreeeak... kreeeak...
Budging—then mana zeroed. Isil dropped first.
Empathy Lv2 terminated.
Fire Immunity Lv- sharing terminated.
Scales shriveled in the heat—like plunged into boiling springs. Held breath. Drag this out? Death.
All strength into the pull. Isil stretched vines to help. Cute, but useless.
Kreeeeeaak— Door opened.
-Demo... lition.
BOOM! No countdown. Dove through as it hit, slammed door shut.
Ladder once? Nah—slid, tumbled, crashed to floor.
Rumble rumble CRASH—
Tower collapsing above. Ground quaked—nearly puked.
Worried this chamber'd cave too. But it held—reinforced against collapse.
Quakes faded eventually. Tower dust? Exit later. Explore first.
Crept inward. Creeeak. Floor... wood? Parquet in Pellelian's dungeon? Rare.
'Can't see shit.'
Dark vision helped, but post-flames? Needed light. Rifled sub-space for candle—Amaen? Dungkel?
Beginner Elemental Magic: Fire Lv8
Tiny flame lit—mana limit. Safe here? Evolve ASAP. More mana then. Serpent this time. Chest swelled at the thought.
-Sigh.
Who sighs like that? Pellelian, duh.
-Recreated my old home spot-on.
He appraised the decor.
'Home?'
-Yeah, my Great Forest place.
Pellelian once lived there—pre-exile.
This: nostalgic replica. Private as hell.
Control signals reached here. Did he hide out...?
"Saaak!"
Nearly dropped candle. Chair ahead. Arm draped over it—someone?
'Corpse!'
Skeleton. Pellelian—had to be!
-Hah, hahaha!
"Saaak!"
He froze weirdly too. Bones in dark? Spooky. Wouldn't approach.
-What're you waiting for? Go!
'Ugh...'
Shuffled close. Then...
'Just an arm. Only the arm.'
Chair held a single arm bone. Gripping a filthy crystal orb.
-Receiver! For experiment data.
Arm's owner...
-My bracelet, baubles. Yeah, my arm.
Why just the arm? Scanned desk: dust-caked odds and ends. Golden key, odd shape. Black-leather diary.
Opened diary gingerly. Complex fairy script. Pellelian and I read slow.
-Whoa. Yeah.
No choice but to be stunned.