What lies in the depths of the Underground Root Complex? What manner of foul beast lurks within? Expect the unexpected, for things from the most unassuming sources may catch one off guard.
Enjoy if you can - and if not, I apologize.
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As expected, the [Underground Root Complex] was a raid dungeon. The entrance was a large stump near the middle of a forest [Neutral Zone]. Knocking three times on the wood caused the surrounding ground to sink downward in a spiral pattern, forming a sort of stairwell. The root complex itself was a densely intertwined network of tunnels. They were a hodgepodge of different styles of architecture. One moment, you could be in an intricately crafted hallway with cobblestone floors and brick walls but take just a few paces forward and suddenly it was a crude dirt passageway with only wooden support beams keeping the ceiling from caving in.
"An interesting thing to note about these tunnels is how its use continued even after a number of collapses. Many years ago, these were once used by merchants as their primary road of travel to and from the city. When one tunnel collapsed, they would reroute to a newly constructed one. As more of them collapsed, less effort and resources were put their construction and maintenance. Eventually, the multiple earthquakes leading up to and during the breaking apart of the planet caused most of these tunnels to become completely unusable. Over the years, erosion and wild life have reshaped them into the literal maze we see today."
Rose walked alongside the quest NPC, [Sir Bartholomew Oobleck] as he rambled on about the lore and history of the tunnels they were currently traversing. She wasn't really paying attention.
Oobleck had been leading them in a straight line, ignoring all turns and alternate paths. So far, they had encountered no mobs so Rose felt that he knew where they were going. Still, that didn't make Rose any less concerned. It was already eight. There was just four hours before midnight arrived. She did not want to be underground when that time came - especially since she didn't know what the average level all the enemies in the dungeon were.
"Ah, we've arrived." Oobleck ushered them into a fairly large circular room with entrances at the four cardinal directions. Aside from a number of cracks and ankle-deep sinkholes on the floor and chunks of wall with no bricks, the room was surprisingly intact. "I'd like everyone to stay in the center of the room. Quickly now." He then began tapping the floor in front of each entrance with his staff, muttering some sort of incantation. When he finished, he walked to the center of the room where his raid party was waiting.
"Yo, what now?" asked one of the players.
"One moment," Oobleck said, once again tapping his staff. He tapped three times, with the third time causing a resonating boom that startled all the players. The ambient light within the room grew brighter until it was comparable to a cloudy day outside. Oobleck surveyed his surroundings before nodding. "Acceptable."
He turned to the players whom he had assembled. "I have turned this room into a sort of anchor. Should anyone in this party receive fatal damage, they will instantly be teleported back here with one health. This recall upon death will work only once per cast and the time interval before I can cast it again is several days."
The players started murmuring among themselves. Whispers of shock and outrage grew into a ghostly cacophony. This was a game mechanic? Was it in the beta? Why had no one talked about this before? So many people had died and yet it could have easily been avoided by an ability like this one! It wasn't fair! This was in the game! People didn't have to die! Why was that allowed to happen!?
The implications of Oobleck's spell hit Rose like a punch to the gut. Jaune and so many others would still be alive right now if we knew about this, she realized. She felt like throwing up, though it was doubtful that the game was constructed in a way to let her do so.
Oobleck didn't seem to notice the growing unrest in his raid party as he continued to explain the mechanics of his spell as well as reiterate the objectives of the quest. "I believe I have said all there is to say. Are we all clear?" When no one answered, he frowned. "I am very disappointed. It seems you all need some time to process my instructions. Shall I repeat them?"
Eventually, the players all remembered that Oobleck was still just an NPC. Despite how human-like he was, he still couldn't fully grasp the concept of emotions. It was pointless to express their anger and despair to a person who would likely never be able to understand where they were coming from. The players who were less emotionally compromised just accepted the reality of the situation and continued to be upset in silence, focusing on the matter at hand.
Rose was not one of those players...
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Gambol stood on the roof of the clock tower, watching the city from above. She noted how few people were wandering the streets - unsurprising as most of the players would be out grinding in the forest. Wait two or three hours and they'd start coming back. With the exception of a few brave and/or powerful players like Rose, no one wanted to deal with the super mobs that replaced regular ones after midnight. Gambol couldn't blame them. As interesting as the Grimm were to fight, they were still dangerous and downright terrifying.
A message pop-up appeared in the lower right corner of her vision. It was from Myrtenaster. Gambol raised an eyebrow and swiped up at the pop-up, automatically opening it. It was oddly satisfying how convenient it was. To think that such a cute little quality-of-life feature was only just figured out within the past week.
[From: Myrtenaster
To: Gambol Shroud
Subject: We're going hunting
Be at the southern gate by 15 minutes. Bring potions.]
Hunting, Gambol noted. She glanced at the clock on her menu and smiled. It seems like Weiss of one of the brave ones too, she thought. She dismissed the message and walked off the roof, dropping straight down to the streets below.
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It took Rose a little bit of time to get a hold of herself but she eventually did. Unfortunately, by that time, only she and Oobleck remained in the room. Rose winced at the thought of how much time she wasted and approached the NPC.
"I take it you have recovered?" He asked, sounding concerned. Rose nodded timidly. "I did not expect how negative the reaction would be to my magic. Tell me, there is no stigma against magicians among you, is there?"
Rose shook her head. "No. We're okay with that. There's just... just trauma, I guess. A lot of people died in the last raid we did..."
Oobleck raised his eyebrows. "Oh? I was under the assumption that your people came back after death. Your immortality has always been a reason to enlist your help in dangerous matters - that and your incredible power. Has that changed since I last encountered your kind?"
"Uh... Yeah? It's changed..."
Oobleck frowned. "Hmm. That complicates things..."
Rose tilted her head curiously. It's long been established that Remnant Online had very life-like NPCs, many of whom could pass off as actual humans as long as the topic made sense in the context of the game. The current topic was... borderline. Normally NPCs would just freeze for a few seconds to parse what was being said - and even then, they'd sometimes just repeat themselves due to lack of available dialogue options. Oobleck seemed to be far more sophisticated. Rose reckoned that he was a major NPC that would likely interact with every single person playing through the story. He was probably made more complex on purpose to make the story more interesting.
"No matter. The frequency of these expeditions might take a hit but keeping everyone alive will be prioritized," Oobleck concluded. "In any case, you and I have a lot of work to do."
Rose glanced at the quest objectives in the corner of her vision. They were supposed to map as much of the area as possible while also looking for an ancient relic. More objectives would be unlocked upon completion of the current ones. She shrugged. Seems easy enough.
She and Oobleck turned towards an entrance and walked into the tunnels.
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Myrtenaster tapped her foot. She had been waiting at the gate for twelve minutes now. She was starting to grow impatient. Milou had been with her for pretty much the entire time while Gambol was probably lurking around somewhere, out of sight. The only one left was Magnhild and Stormflower whom she had recruited earlier that day. She gave them a time to meet and even gave them allowance of fifteen minutes. If they were seriously going to cut it right down to the wire then she would have told them a much earlier meeting time.
Milou looked around. "Interesting. Where is your other bodyguard, Ada-er... Wilting Blush?"
"Wilt?" Myrtenaster shrugged. "Getting drunk at a tavern? I don't know. I told him to leave me alone for the night and he left."
Milou raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. For a bodyguard, he seems quite eager to leave you."
Myrtenaster looked away. "He's technically not my bodyguard. He's just Gambol's mentor." She scowled. "Nothing in his contract says he has to protect me. Unfortunately Gambol still has years worth of training ahead of her and can't reliably keep me safe. Until she finishes her training, her responsibility to protect me is, by proxy, Wilt's responsibility as well. He was never happy about it..."
Milou hummed in acknowledgement but made no comment. "I wonder. Can people actually get drunk in this game?" She instead asked in what seemed to be an attempt to lighten the mood. Myrtenaster continued avoiding eye contact.
A dark figure landed on top of the wall next to the gate. It was Gambol, crouching there quietly. "They're coming," she said, pointing to the northwest.
Myrtenaster and Milou turned to the direction that Gambol was pointing and, sure enough, they saw Maggy and Stormflower rounding a corner. The approaching two caught said of the waiting three and waved in greeting. "Hey! Sorry we're late!" called Maggy.
"Hello again!" Milou greeted back.
Myrtenaster glanced at her clock and there was a minute before her given deadline. Down to the wire, she thought to herself dryly. She sighed and waved back.
Maggy looked at everyone and sighed nostalgically. "Oh man, it's been so long sing we were last together. The only one missing right now is Rose, that big tall angry guy and..." she hesitated, her smile faltering somewhat. "Well, and Crocea."
"It's only been a month. No need to get so worked up. More importantly, you were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago."
"We're technically not late, though." Maggy grinned. "Come on. Don't be so stingy with time. We have literally the entire night ahead of us."
Myrtenaster crossed her arms and turned away. "I am so not giving you any time allowance next time," she growled. "In any case, let's get going. There's no use in waiting around now that we're all here."
She turned to Gambol Shrould. "Gambol, take point. Stay out of sight." Gambol jumped off the wall and disappeared. "Milou, stay in the rear - keep us covered. We walk in a straight line until midnight and then walk back."
They all equipped their weapons and headed out.
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Rose followed Oobleck through the tunnels, regularly activating her [Detection] skill when it was available. So far they had encountered no mobs, though her mini-map said there should be lots nearby. It was worrying, but since she was partied with the massively overlevelled quest NPC, the worry was minimal. Still, the thought of being surrounded by enemies she couldn't see kept her on her toes with a tight grip on her weapon.
She had opted to switch out her [Ancient Harvester] for her [Tribal Ritual Spear], one of the many item drops she looted after her time hunting Grimm - the same weapon that Milou used. It was less powerful than her scythe weapon but was also lighter and not as unwieldy - it made combat while in a tight corridor much easier.
There was a flash of orange light that caused Rose to jump. It was just Oobleck who had just lit his weapon on fire - apparently the gas lamp on top of the staff wasn't just for show. "Normally, tunnels like these are lit with a special type of crystal," he explained. He tapped on one of the crystals on the wall, frowning. "Unsurprisingly, they don't seem to be working."
Rose was not listening and was instead staring at the staff in awe. "Magic?" she wondered aloud.
"Magic? Well, yes, but not magic in a traditional sense." He started walking - walking quickly, mind you - and gestured for Rose to follow. "Come, we can speak of this as we walk."
Rose blinked. "Ah, right." She picked up her pace and caught up to Oobleck. "What do you mean by not in a traditional sense? Like, how is magic even done?"
Oobleck hummed. "That is quite a broad topic, my friend. I am more than willing to discuss that at a later date but for now we much focus on the task at hand."
Rose pouted. "Oh come on. You've been spouting exposition for pretty much the entire quest. Why stop now?"
"That is because-" He paused, switching to a more readied stance. "That is because we are currently surrounded by enemies. It seems my lights have aggravated the the local wild life."
Rose went wide eyed and immediately activated [Detection]. No sign of anything? No, that can't be right. Oobleck tapped her shoulder. "I suggest you look up." With some reluctance, she looked up.
With the added visibility and detail brought about by her currently active skill, what she saw made her skin crawl. The entire ceiling was writhing as hundreds of low level [Cave Spiders] circled the ceiling above Oobleck's flaming staff. Rose swallowed a scream that almost escaped her mouth. She had half a mind to just return to the respawn point and wait for sunrise. She turned to the NPC, somewhat disturbed. "Uhhh, Oobleck...?"
"They are merely agitated at the sight of fire as they are hopelessly weak to it. Normally, [Cave Spiders] are quite docile and will only attack when provoked - that is to say, only when they get stepped on. With my staff alight, they will know to keep their distance but will actively try to follow us."
Rose almost didn't want to ask. "What happens when you turn off your lights?"
"Then they will attack and we will have to fight."
Rose smiled wryly. "Fantastic," she said in a weak mutter.
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"And with the Beowolf pinned, I swung as hard as I could, breaking its neck. It died in one shot, dropping this!" Maggy raised her newly acquired war hammer dramatically.
"Technically it wasn't one shot," Stormflower added.
Maggy waved him off dismissively. "Oh, those were arrows. Barely any damage."
Myrtenaster massaged her temples. "I fail to see how this is relevant."
They had stopped at a clearing to rest. Maggy, of course, stuck up a conversation with everyone. Eventually the conversation became a tangent and that tangent became a full blown story. Myrtenaster stopped listening halfway through and rechecked her stats and experience levels. Of course, that meant she had no idea what Maggy was talking about when the story finished.
Maggy smirked at Myrtenaster. "Well, if you listened, you'd know why it was relevant," she teased. "Your brain's been exploring, ain't it? Did it bring anything back?"
Myrtenaster raised an eyebrow at the weird analogy. "Mmhmm," she hummed, unamused.
Magnhild slowly stepped backward, pouting. "Stop staring at me like that, it's so serious."
"So it is," Myrtenaster grumbled. Perhaps I should have listened. It sounded like a fun story... She sighed. ah there's always next time.
Gambol dropped down from a nearby tree. "All the mobs have respawned. Six patrol routes pass by this clearing."
Maggy blinked. "How does she know that, again?"
Stormflower sighed. "Detection, Maggy."
"Oh. Okay then."
Myrtenaster rolled her eyes. "Alright, time to get up. Let's get going."
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A new little feature I'd like to add to every chapter are stat sheets for all of the major characters. I got the idea from one Pandoras-box last thing inside. This chapter, we'll have Ruby "Crescent" Rose.
Crescent Rose Lv54 (as of chapter 17)
Ruby Rose 16 yrs old
Stats
Health: 54
Defense: 54
Strength: 81
Agility: 81
Luck: 54
Equipped Weapons:
Ancient Harvester (+5)
Attack: 96
Block: E
Crit: C
Parry: D
Scaling: Strength D / Agility C
Weight: E
Tribal Ritual Spear (+3)
Attack: 67
Block: E
Crit: B
Parry: D
Scaling: Strength D- / Agility C+
Weight: C
Beowolf Fang (+3)
Attack: 38
Block: E
Crit: S
Parry: A
Scaling: Agility S
Weight: S
Equipped Armor:
Red Riding Hood
Soft leather vest
Soft leather gloves
Fair commoner blouse
Fair commoner skirt
Worker boots
Belt bag
Most used skill:
Nimble Feet Lv100 (Max)
Passive: Increase movement speed outside of combat, decrease fall damage
Active: +200% movement speed boost for 3 seconds. Cooldown of 30 seconds
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At the cost of making this chapter somewhat uneventful, I decided to cut it down, else it would have taken another two weeks or more to release.
In any case, this chapter has Oobleck in full form. Is anyone surprised that he's Mr. Exposition because I made no attempt to hide that fact. I am uncertain as to what you, dear readers' reaction to him will be but I hope it wasn't too obnoxious.
I'd like to talk about the Underground Root Complex and my design choices for it. I'd liken it to the Depths from Dark Souls or the Chalice Dungeons in Bloodborne mixed with Rick Riordan's depiction of the Greek Labyrinth in his Percy Jackson books. A maze of tunnels that constantly double back on themselves, circles within circles. Rose and the others will only be in it for a few chapters sure enough, they will get lost.
There are other things that happened in this chapter but honestly, is there anything to talk about with them? Weiss and the others are going to be doing what Rose did in the last mini-arc. It's nothing special. At least not yet. Just wait and see.
Until next chapter.