The B-Rank Dungeon, Witch's Forest (Part 2)
A Dungeon Break.
In standard fiction or games, the term refers to an anomaly where specific conditions are met, causing monsters to spill out beyond the dungeon's thresholds or triggering wild, erratic shifts in the environment within. But as far as my own knowledge went, there had never been a single documented instance of a dungeon malfunctioning in such a way. Even across the game's message boards, not a single player had ever reported encountering anything like this. Besides, no matter how brutal and unforgiving the game was, if it had possessed a mechanic that unfair, wouldn't ninety-nine out of a hundred players have rage-quit on the spot?
"Though I suppose I would've been the one stubborn idiot who stayed..."
The tragedy continued to unfold before my eyes.
Just moments ago, they were celebrating their survival, tending to their wounded, bound together by hard-won camaraderie and guild loyalty. Now, that very fellowship had completely shattered. All because of a single poison.
Distrust.
It had begun with a tiny ripple—the realization that the altar refused to accept their offering. But that ripple steadily expanded, feeding on their creeping suspicions and violent impulses until it swelled past the limits of human endurance. And once that breaking point was breached...
"You're the one who hid it, aren't you?! Everyone knows you beastkin are nothing but a bunch of thieving wretches!"
"Die! Just die!"
"This is all the party leader's fault! If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened...!!"
Already pushed to the brink of exhaustion, their rational minds collapsed entirely. Consumed by paranoia, they no longer heard the voices of their companions. Until that gnawing doubt was silenced, they would rip and tear at the flesh of their allies without hesitation. Right before us, sixty people, puppeted by delusion, swung their weapons at one another in a frenzied bloodbath.
"Revolting. Utterly revolting."
Standing behind me, Soso veiled the lower half of her face with her wide sleeve and spat out the words. It was the first time I had ever seen her wear such unvarnished disgust.
"That's unexpected," I murmured, glancing back at her. "Considering where you come from, I figured you'd witnessed this sort of thing a hundred times over without batting an eye."
"It reminds me of my past, which makes it all the more nauseating. To forge the strong, the Cult subjected us to trials like this dozens, hundreds of times..."
"A certified psychopath incubator, huh? Man, that place really is beyond saving."
"I cannot refute that."
What kind of wretched madhouse was the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult if this sort of barbarism was just business as usual? Calling it 'hell' felt like an insult to hell itself. A cesspool? Yeah, a cesspool sounded about right. A dung heap unfit even for stray dogs... Either way, it was undeniably a cursed place.
How on earth had someone like her managed to blossom from such filth? They say the world is rife with tragic tales. Looking at her with newfound warmth and genuine pity, I gave Soso's shoulder a comforting pat.
"What is the meaning of this sudden gesture?" she asked, blinking.
"Nothing. Just thinking you're like a pristine flower blooming out of a pile of manure."
".........??"
We continued to watch the slaughter with grim expressions. Before long, the crowd of fifty or sixty had dwindled down to a pitiful five. Yet even with only five left breathing, their murderous suspicion showed no signs of fading.
A knight. A swordsman. A mage. A thief. And a martial artist.
Their venomous glares locked onto one another, and as if on cue, all five unleashed their lethal strikes at the exact same breath.
Craaack—!
The conclusion was hollow in the extreme. The brave, righteous knight who had tried to stop the infighting until the very end was stabbed through the spine by the cowardly thief. That same thief was instantly incinerated by the mage's Fireball. The mage's heart ruptured under a vicious kick from the martial artist, killing him on the spot. And the remaining martial artist and swordsman bled out together, their blades buried deep in each other's guts.
If even one person had crawled out alive, their deaths might have carried some tragic shred of meaning. But the remaining survivors numbered exactly zero.
A dry scoff slipped past my lips, heavy with distaste.
"What a pointless fucking bloodbath. If I'd known it would end like this, I wouldn't have bothered saving them in the first—"
Just as I turned to walk away—
Rustle—!
A sudden movement stirred beneath the mountain of corpses.
"........."
Using the dead as stepping stones, a young girl pulled herself free from the gore-soaked heap. If I recalled correctly... was she the one rescued from the fairies earlier? Whether because I had personally pulled her out or because of her striking hair, she had left a distinct impression.
Still, surviving that chaotic free-for-all all on her own was nothing short of remarkable.
"Should I praise her for that, or call it a terrible curse?... Man, this place really is twisted. Don't you think?"
"I concur entirely," Soso said.
"Huh? But if they give you lots of money and feed you lots of food, isn't that a great place?" Selena piped up, tilting her head.
Sure, Selena. You stay innocent forever. Honestly, your complete lack of awareness is the only thing keeping me sane right now...
Stepping out from behind our cover, I walked toward the solitary girl.
"......"
Her hair was neither plain white nor blonde, but a brilliant, lustrous silver. She didn't appear particularly traumatized by the horrors surrounding her, merely standing there and staring blankly into my eyes. She looked like a baby bird craning its neck, waiting for its mother to drop food into its beak.
Those silvery pupils locked onto me. They were cold, like tempered steel. With my meager insight, reading her inner thoughts was out of the question, but there was one thing I understood clearly.
Rustle!
The moment I pulled a strip of dried meat from my inventory—
"......!"
The blank expression vanished in an instant, replaced by sharp focus as she scurried up to me on light feet.
Damn, this kid's tough as nails.
With an expression of pure, unadulterated bliss that contrasted wildly with her earlier stoicism, the girl began tearing into the jerky and gulping down water. Her face shone with a mix of delight and ecstasy, as if she were tasting real food for the very first time in her life. Having regained some of her strength, she looked up at me and spoke in a youthful, clipped voice.
"Full. Satisfied. You, kind."
"Yeah, well, people as nice as me are rare in this world, so watch your back."
To be completely honest, I was only feeding her because I was soft-hearted. Anyone else in this situation would have abandoned her long ago to look out for their own skin. Having satisfied my basic human decency, I turned on my heel to keep moving.
"......!"
Suddenly, an inexplicable sensation washed over me. My body felt weightless. The sword at my hip felt as light as a feather, my forward field of vision sharpened, and every one of my cognitive senses flared with uncanny clarity.
"...Did you do this?"
"Affirmative."
The moment I turned my back, a featherlight agility had settled over my frame. Beyond that, my core parameters—physical attributes, mana, inner energy—surged by a notable percentage. At first, I wondered if it was a delayed reaction from the fairy blood I had consumed earlier, but...
Flick—!
Flick—!
The girl offered a faint, subtle smirk and raised a single finger. With every finger she extended, the potency of the physical enhancements surged proportionally. And when she clenched her hand into a fist and reopened it, the buffs flickered, vanishing and reappearing across my body in exact sync with her fingers.
That display alone was more than enough reason to keep her alive. Without hesitation, I looked down at the girl, who now wore a small, triumphant grin, and said:
"Come with us. At the very least, I won't let you die a dog's death in this dump."
"Gratitude! Much gratitude!"
"What a peculiar manner of speech..." Soso remarked, crossing her arms.
Because she hadn't been formally accepted into our party or guild, the system didn't recognize her as a full-fledged companion yet. Still, none of us had any desire to share the fate of the corpses behind us, so I addressed the elephant in the room first.
"Just to be clear... none of you pocketed any of the tribute items, right?"
"To doubt your own master... how utterly insolent," Soso scoffed with narrowed eyes.
"As you can see, I've got nothing on me!" Selena chimed in, patting down her empty pockets.
"Negative. Vehemently negative," the girl declared flatly.
All three were thoroughly checked, but nothing turned up. Yet the altar before us remained completely inert, showing not the slightest flicker of activation. It seemed the worst-case scenario I had predicted was hitting right on the mark.
Currently, there was no normal way out of this dungeon. Either we had to hunt down the area boss that respawned at set intervals, or uncover some hidden bypass. Luckily, my Inventory was packed with ample dried rations and fresh water, meaning starvation wouldn't be an issue anytime soon. Besides, there were bound to be other adventurers trapped in this dungeon alongside us...
"Let's link up with any other adventurers we can find first, then decide our next move after that."
"I have no objections," Soso said. "It is your judgment, after all; it will at least keep us from the worst possible outcome."
"I'm with whatever the Boss says~!" Selena agreed enthusiastically.
"Affirmative."
With that, our plan of action within the dungeon was settled. Still, for the sake of basic communication, I turned to the silver-haired girl and asked:
"By the way, what's your name?"
"........."
Her steel-like gaze wavered for a fleeting moment. She hesitated, her lips parting and closing several times before she lifted her chin and answered.
"Kali."
For some reason, despite how rare the name was, it struck an odd chord of familiarity within me. Of course, I couldn't just blurt out, 'Hey, why does that name sound familiar?' so I kept my tone casual.
"Kali, huh? It's a good name."
"Gratitude!"
"Right. It might only be for a little while, but try to keep up."
With our new companion—or rather, temporary party member—Kali in tow, we set off toward the deeper reaches of the dungeon.