My body hurts a fuckton.
The good thing is that the rain helps lift my spirits, I like this weather.
I slowly walked down the stairs, careful not to fall. I could still feel some dizziness.
Fucking hell, I didn't expect to find someone that armed down there.
What is Sin anyway? I've never heard of a faction with that name.
Also, what are they doing here? This is obviously not the Zone, so why and how?
Questions for later I guess, I have almost no information about this place and I would like to change that.
That's easier said than done, I don't know where to ask and Liliruca is no longer here to explain anything to me.
I hope she came out alive.
"Master Yuri!"
Speak of the devil...
"Hey, Lili." I greeted back.
She stopped in front of me and looked at me carefully.
"Master Yuri, are you okay?"
If I'm honest, I feel like shit.
There's no way I'm going to tell her that.
Let's see how I paraphrase it...
"You don't have a spare one of those health potions in that pack of yours, do you?"
"Ah! R-Right away."
She dropped her backpack to the ground and looked inside it for a few seconds and then took out a vial filled with a blue liquid.
That should be it.
She handed me the vial. "Here you go, master." She said, to which I accepted the miraculous thing. "What happened down there? Lili didn't understand anything except that the monster you faced was too dangerous..." She rubbed her hands to comfort herself after that horrible memory that was surely experiencing the influence of a controller.
If I had to guess, this would be the first time she's encountered something like this.
I popped the cork out of the vial and raised it to my lips, drinking in all the bittersweet liquid.
As soon as I finished, I could feel something inside my chest moving painfully.
The bastard must have broken some ribs, it's a good thing I'm not dead already.
"To begin with, that wasn't a monster, but a person."
She frowned at the response.
"The next thing is that that guy was a Stalker like me, so you're right, he was a pretty dangerous person... the good thing is that we won't have to worry about him anymore."
I saw her grimace at the last part of my explanation.
"Anyway, thanks for waiting, now, wouldn't you mind to show me how to make money from all the trash we picked up down there? You know, I'm new and all..."
She rolled her eyes at that. "Yes, it's no problem, just follow Lili."
We both left the plaza and walked through the most open streets of the city until we stopped in front of an important-looking building.
It looked like...
To summarize, it had the appearance of a musseum... although I couldn't be sure.
"Any idea what this is?" I asked, scratching my chin.
Maybe it's time to shave this growing beard.
"It is the main headquarters of the adventurer's guild, here anyone with Falna could register as one and exchange the magic stones and monster parts that are collected from the Dungeon for Valis." She explained to me as if it were a tour guide. "Of course, although you couldn't, after all you are not an adventurer and you don't have a Falna."
I assume that the local currency is called Valis then.
Also, stop with that about the 'Falna' thing, I've survived without one so far and I doubt I'll need it later.
What is it supposed to be anyways? Some kind of magic-?
On second thought, maybe I'd like to have a Falna or whatever the hell it's called.
"Interesting, do you think they'll look at me strangely if I introduce myself as an unregistered adventurer?"
She put a hand to her chin. "Now that you mention it, you'll probably be interrogated and banned from the Dungeon until you get a Falna and register properly with the Guild."
Huh...
"If that's true, then how will I get money?"
"You can always look for another job." She responded with a cocky smile as she looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "Besides, being an adventurer is overrated." Then finished with disdain.
Shrugging, I said. "I guess I won't be one then."
I pointed out all the luggage she had on her. "Since you're bringing everything we took from down there, you wouldn't mind going and exchanging all that, would you? Consider keeping the waist bag, I don't have much use for it."
She sighed and adjusted her backpack. "Yes, well... okay... wait here, Master Yuri."
Great.
I saw her enter the building through the glass doors and get in line to talk to one of the employees at the counter.
She turned and looked at me from afar to which I greeted her with a thumbs up.
She laughed lightly at that.
While she takes care of that, I went and sat on one of the different benches and tables that were around.
With the rain, the seats were wet. The good thing is that some of my clothes are waterproof.
The other part, being my underwear, are not.
I left my backpack and the PKM I was carrying on the stone table and relaxed in the seat.
Somehow, I could see the similarities of this site to the Zone.
There was a dangerous place with monsters of any kind to get money from, the people who went there had their own name, 'adventurers', and at the end of the day, everyone was going to exchange their loot for money that they could use to buy better gear or survive one more day on Earth.
Still doubt that I am on Earth, I don't know why, maybe because the day felt a little longer than before.
And besides the fucking magic.
I took my backpack down from the table, putting it on the floor to one side, and took care of checking the PKM I brought.
The metal frame had some rust and some pieces were loose from each other, being held by adhesive tape, glue or screws that were only uncomfortable.
If I were to deduce, this weapon has been through a lot and has survived the test of time relatively intact.
Which is doubtful, since few weapons achieved such merit even in the hands of the most veteran Stalkers, so I have to assume that this weapon has not seen action until it began to accumulate rust.
After all, the average lifespan of a Stalker is quite short.
My best bet is that it was recovered from somewhere, probably an old warehouse.
Which leaves the question, what kind of fool has the money to buy a Nosorog, but not a damn quality weapon? It's easy to make money with the right skill or... a fucking Nosorog of all things, man those things make you a tank sized person.
Anyway, not that it matters much, that guy is already dead and won't be using his gun.
Still, it's his faction that worries me...
If this 'Sin' has among its ranks controllers trained in the use of firearms and each and every one of them carries Nosorogs, I fear that an encounter with a squad of these could prove fatal without the necessary equipment or preparation.
Which only leaves me with the option of having to level the playing field.
I wonder what kind of firearms Lili might like...
"Master Yuri!" It was the melodious voice of the tiny ray of sunshine approaching in the distance with a couple of bags full of golden coins.
Welp.
I took the PKM down from the table and greeted Liliruca. "Hey, everything okay over there?"
"We made 25,000 Valis!" She exclaimed with a smile, sitting in front of me and leaving the bags on the stone table. Those ringing with a metallic jingling, giving a sign of the amount that was inside.
Pfffft... damn.
So, being an adventurer is profitable.
I just hope the currency here isn't too undervalued.
Too bad for me, Valis sounds a lot like rubles, so I don't have my hopes very high.
...but seeing Lili smile when mentioning the amount, I have to assume that we actually made a small fortune with all the trash we brought.
"Brilliant." I answered, and it's true. "One question, how much does food cost around here?"
"Hmmm." She thought about it for a few moments. "It really depends on where you shop and what restaurant you eat at, but the cheapest food could cost you 50 to 100 Valis, maybe even less if you buy at a very cheap restaurant... or if you decide to buy the ingredients yourself, although It also depends on what you want to cook, although Lili doesn't do that much, so she couldn't tell you, but she can recommend some cheap restaurants she knows."
Great...
Okay, if we get 25,000 and split everything equally between both of us, I would have 12,500 which, if I follow Lili's advice about restaurants, would be enough for me to eat about 125 meals.
That's... pretty cool, with the economy back in the Zone the amount was depressingly less, so I see this as a profit on my plate.
That's not counting all the reserves I have back home, as well as those other stones I collected.
Yep, making a living from this sounds good.
"Well, I will listen to your recommendation another time, for now, let's talk about the distribution of the money."
Her look became gloomy as soon as I mentioned that.
"Ehm... yes, okay... Master Yuri..."
Did I touch a sensitive topic? Oh, right, she was robbed not long ago.
At first I thought she didn't have parents, but now that I've confirmed that she's self-employed, I can say I'm probably right.
Maybe she needs the money more than I do?
Since my stay in the Zone, I have learned that doing charity for others is useless. They are all ungrateful and treacherous, so, to survive, I had to be the same.
But now that I am in a relatively stable situation, I am not persecuted by anyone and above all I am not in the Zone? Maybe I can afford this.
Here goes my third good deed
"Amazing, here's your part." I said, pushing both bags towards her, then standing up and carrying my backpack and PKM onto the table.
"Eh...Eh? Master Yuri, there seems to be an error with the distribution..."
I looked at her with some surprise.
Didn't she want the money?
"Hm..." I put a hand to my chin and looked at both bags, pretending to analyze the situation. "Nope, I don't see any."
"Eh!? B-But master-"
"No buts, that's your pay, you did a very good job today, I must note, and I can see that you are someone very skilled with that knife of yours."
"¡Master-!"
"Besides, you're quite useful, you helped me with a potion when I was dying of pain." Oh, speaking of that. "Also consider the cost of that potion with your pay."
"¡Master Yuri!"
What the hell do you want now...
"Fine... shoot..."
"Master, I... I can't accept this!"
HUH?
"What? Why not?"
"If someone found out that I was taking all the Valis of an adventurer, no one would do business with Lili anymore, much less let her get a job!"
Oh.
"Well, I'm not an adventurer and I guess that only leaves you with me as the only option to continue traveling into the Dungeon." I responded with a small smile on my face as I found the situation amusing. "Seriously, don't put yourself down, accept the money and I hope to see you tomorrow, it was great working with you."
I slung the backpack over my shoulders and tied the PKM next to it. "One more thing." I opened one of the pockets of my vest and took out the bar of chocolate I had been saving for myself.
It's the last bar, but I doubt she has ever had anything as sweet as this candy in her life.
I left the snack on the table. "Your money from yesterday... consider this a way to give it back to you, I would hate if they stole it from you after so many hours of effort."
She looked at me dumbfounded and with lost eyes.
"I'm glad to see you well." I felt how that pain in my chest disappeared. "Take care of yourself." I said goodbye and left there.
I hope she likes chocolate, that brand is the one I loved.
I watched him leave after that last farewell, the afternoon sun hitting his figure, giving a somewhat heroic aura to this strange person who was the 'Stalker' Yuri.
Then... he knew...
I... uh...
I looked at the thing he gave me, it looked strange and alien, like it didn't belong here.
It had strange letters written on it. A language I didn't know.
I took it in my hands and looked at it closer.
It looks like it opens from here...
I removed the shell and looked at the slightly melted dark brown solid inside.
It had a... pleasant smell.
Is it eatable?
I put it in my mouth and took a bite.
It was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted, so much so that it gave me a feeling of inexplicable nostalgia.
Somehow, I was eager for tomorrow to arrive early.
Aaand... there she goes.
I followed her to an inn that she never left, just to make sure nothing was going to happen to her.
To her credit, the girl is quite a bit more perceptive than she lets on, she almost caught me several times.
Well, now with that out of the way, all that's left to do is head home.
"Aye, you."
Now who the hell...
"Yes, you fuckface, clear out your pockets before we make a hole on you."
Two guys dressed in rags were threatening me with knives.
At least they don't carry guns, I'd be truly screwed if they did.
The funny thing is that...
With my free hand, I motioned for him to come.
He smiled evilly and tried to stab me in the chest, only for the blade in his hands to bounce off my plate carrer and fall out of his hands.
His eyes widened when he saw how badly he had screwed up.
I lowered my Altyn's mask and grabbed the back of the bandit's head.
With a single headbutt, the guy fell to the ground crying in pain.
I looked at the other one, who dropped his knife to the ground and started running in the opposite direction.
Pft, morons.
From there, the way back was uneventful.
The few people left on the streets just looked at me strangely or just ignored me, which I appreciate, I don't want to have to deal with nonsense now.
I crossed that dark alley and again found myself in the ruined part of the city.
Yep, it still looks like a dump.
I descended the large stairs and walked towards my shelter, the wind blowing lightly and the rain hitting my helmet and visor.
I reached the stairs of my refuge and went down.
Once inside, I turned on the light, left the PKM on the shelf and my backpack on my workbench, to then sit on the couch and took off my helmet to rest for a while.
It's been a long day and my neck hurts a little. Also, I feel like fainting at any moment because of those pills.
...
So, past floor 5 and I'll be smashed potatos.
I need something that kicks much harder and faster, screw not making noise.
A Benelli M4 or MP-153 would be awesome, but... well, maybe something else...
I really don't want to have to break those good weapons, I only have one of each.
For that same reason I will use the Remington 870.
Pump action, 12x70 cartridge, absolutely good kick and, above all, the one I have has no stock so it's quite portable.
Amazing for close combat, the ideal weapon for the Dungeon environment.
I've seen several Mercenaries use them to break into rooms, so even if I'm not breaking into any rooms with this weapon, I will be breaking into monster skulls.
I stood up and walked over to the shelf to grab that nice, beautiful sawed-off Remington 870, it will come in handy for whatever comes next.
Lili mentioned some giant armored ants, I just hope the .50 AE can be enough.
Well, I'll take this shotgun, a PMM, which is a modernized Makarov, and the Desert Eagle.
I chose the PMM because it has a 12-round magazine instead of the 8 that the PB has, so I replaced the magazines in my vest.
Now I feel respectively equipped.
I just need to find a way to convince Lili in the use of firearms.
Leaving that aside, what else did she say there would be? War Shadows, Killer Ants...
Purple moths, yeah.
I'll bring a respirator for her and some protective glasses, after all, the poisonous dust may affect the eyes too.
As long as she has it on all the time, I don't think she can get poisoned. After all, she said that the poison was spread by some kind of dust or something.
Also some filters just in case.
I grabbed a few boxes of 12x70, shotgun shells with 8mm pellets, and started distributing them between the pockets of my vest, that way I'll always have a reload on hand.
Also, to aid in the exploration, I will bring a headlamp for Lili because I don't trust her to be able to carefully handle the various night vision goggles I have.
Well, that should be enough. Tomorrow I'll try to convince her to use something... maybe a Makarov.
Although with her size, I think that will be the only weapon she can use.
Welp.
I left my equipment on the couch and lay down on my bed.
Without a doubt, a good day.
I closed my eyes and felt my consciousness slowly slip from this plane.
Knowing that she was fine, I slept without much trouble.
That bitch... where is that damn bitch!?
I swear that if I see her again, I will rip off her legs and feed her to the monsters.
The boys said it wasn't of much importance, bah! Fuck them.
Stupid Pallum, you'll regret stealing from me.
One way or another, I'll make you pay for every damn Valis.
Especially now that I know you can transform...
Hehe... hehehe... Now that I think about it, maybe you will be very useful to me.
Yes... yes...
You'll see, Lili... you'll see.
What was the guy's name? Kanu?
I think I'll pay him a visit.
Yuri woke up early on instinct.
He sat on his bed and yawned audibly, he had slept well.
Looking at his watch, he noticed the time, it read 5:06.
He got out of bed, stretched his limbs and prepared to go back down to the Dungeon.
Yuri planned to go one or two more floors into the Dungeon, these being floors 5 and 6.
He would test the waters and see how difficult it really was, it would be disappointing if the monsters were absurdly weak.
Although he doubted it, since the way Lili talked about the monsters on those floors made him think that they would cause some trouble. Although he didn't know it, but she did so more because of Yuri's lack of knowledge of the Dungeon.
Yuri doesn't consider himself a newbie, but he'll take the advice anyway. Failure to do so would make him no better than a careless rookie.
He packed extra bullets for his Desert Eagle, some extra food and water, his shotgun and a few other miscellaneous things like screws or batteries, as well as another pair of headphones which were immediately put on his head.
Once he had the backpack on his shoulders, he left his shelter. The morning light making him squint his eyes.
He walked as his vision adjusted to his surroundings.
In the distance he could notice the figure of a white-haired boy walking out of the dilapidated church that he thought was empty.
It was the same boy he met the other time.
What were he doing here? Did he live there? That was not possible, he had checked every place in that church.
Maybe a secret entrance that was missed.
It was probably the best to ignore him, after all, he doubted the boy realized that he also lived nearby.
He walked behind him as the boy trotted up the stairs towards the crowded streets of the city.
Just to entertain himself a little, he decided to follow him.
And so he did, following him through the streets crowded with people. It was easier for him to walk among them if he did his best to ignore them all, it still made him nervous to be among so many individuals, anyone could attack him or have a hidden weapon to end his life.
He noticed that he started breathing heavily, so he calmed down knowing that he was in a quiet town and that it was highly unlikely that anyone would try to kill him of all people, being a complete stranger to everyone. Plus his armor can probably stop cheap knives and dull swords.
Sure, it may be of no use against magic, but he doesn't know that yet, not knowing how magic works, so he has to eventually find out.
He came back from his thoughts when he noticed the boy stopping in front of the giant tower. What will he be doing?
The young man looked up slowly.
Something up there fixed its gaze on Yuri, he knew it, he felt it for a second.
It made all his instincts jump in surprise.
God?
His heart was beating quite hard, for a moment he felt like helpless prey. It reminded him a lot of his self from two years ago and he hated it.
He shook his head and did his best to push those thoughts out of his mind.
Anyway, what was the boy doing here in the Dungeon? Is he also coming to kill monsters for magic stones? It is a dangerous job, much more so for someone with little to no experience, he knows it after seeing those bodies of dead people down there, so it left a bad taste in his mouth to see him having to go down by his own decision to the depths of that parallel to the Zone.
Maybe he's like Liliruca, he thought.
He saw him descend the stairs and lose sight of him between the shadows.
He did not see anyone traveling with him, so he assumed that the boy was going alone.
A small idea floated through his mind.
Maybe, one day, he can invite the boy to work together. This could increase his chances of survival.
Just an idea.
Now that his target was gone, he returned to the plaza and, not finding Lili anywhere, decided to sit on the edge of the fountain.
He did an equipment check, it wouldn't do to having anything malfunctioning down there in all the action.
While doing his routine scan, a familiar high-pitched voice caught his attention.
"Mister, mister! You, the terrifying mister in black!"
Yuri raised an eyebrow and turned his head to see little Lili looking at him with those golden eyes she had before.
Whatever she was trying to do, he figured he'd play along.
"Hey."
"Hello! Don't you require the assistance of a supporter? Lili can do all kinds of jobs, as long as it's not fighting!" Liliruca spoke with a huge smile.
He scoffed at that. "Heh, yeah, I guess I'll need the assistance of a supporter, where do I sign?"
Lili laughed lightly and took off her hood, revealing a pair of animal ears on her head.
She then moved a little closer and whispered to him with a smile. "It's my disguise."
"I've noticed." Yuri responded. "Reason?"
Lili's apparent cheerful state deflated a bit, now showing a slightly more tired face. "The same reason I dressed up yesterday too, to avoid getting in trouble..."
Yuri knew there was something more behind it, but decided not to inquire.
"I guess that's fair, I used to didguse as other people for the same reason too, maybe I can give you some advice." The Stalker said as he put down his equipment and crossed his arms.
Lili laughed and crossed her arms, imitating him. "You? Me? Pfft, I've been doing this for years, what could you teach Lili that she doesn't know?"
Now it was Yuri's time to laugh. "And you're still asking? It's obvious that anyone could recognize you if you always wear the same clothes, so a wardrobe change would be great, don't you think?"
"Ha ha, as if you were the one to talk." She laughed fakely. "Now you will tell Lili that you do you have several clothes with which to disguise, right?"
In fact, yes I have.
"Ah, let's leave that aside." Yuri said as he stood up. "My name is Yuri, an experienced Stalker from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, it will be a pleasure to work with you."
Lili rolled her eyes and bowed slightly. "Lili's name is Liliruca Arde, a poor supporter who has no money to eat, it will be a pleasure to work with you, Master Yuri!"
"Please don't call me master."
"But Lili-"
"Ugh, whatever... do what you want..." He replied. "Shall we go?"
"Sure! How far will we be going?"
They both began to walk towards the entrance of the Dungeon.
"Floor 5 and 6 if possible, I have come equipped for this." He said patting the shotgun hanging from his back.
She grimaced upon hearing that she would be going even lower with someone without Falna, but he had surprised her before, so she hoped he would do it again.
Otherwise, they both would die.
"If you say so..." She responded with some insecurity as she put her hood back on. "Anyway, what's this thing about Stalker and Exclusion Zone and...? what did you call it? chir-nu-bil?"
Yuri thought for a few moments about how he would make the appropriate analogy.
"I'm basically an adventurer if entering the Dungeon were illegal and I had no choice but to live there until the end of my days."
She didn't understand at all, but nodded to show that she did.
Yuri sighed. "You did not understand anything."
Lili snorted in amusement.
"Well, I'll explain it to you another day."
"Okay, okay! Lili may not understand much where you're coming from, but at least she wants to know something, what does Stalker mean?"
"Ah, you noticed."
"Ehh... Lili knows what it means, but you say it like it's something else, so it caught her curiosity..."
They both went down the stairs along with several other groups of adventurers.
Somehow, talking to Lili made him forget about all the people around him.
Maybe it's because this is the second time in a long while that he's had a civil conversation with someone and not a forced interrogation or exchange of insults.
"It has a lot more meaning where I come from." He answered. "It's a set of acronyms."
She tilted her head.
"It means that each letter is a word."
"Ah..."
"Yup." They separated from the other people. "It goes like this." He added. "Scavengers, Tresspasers, Adventurers, Loners, Killers, Explorers and Robbers."
"Oh... uhm... I see."
Both remained silent as they walked through the corridors of the Dungeon, cutting paths and getting closer to the descent to the second floor.
"And... you are all that..."
"I have my fair share of experiences." He responded, drawing his sword and carrying it in his hand.
Now she was slightly nervous, she could already see why a Stalker was someone dangerous.
Loud but effective weapons, strange tools, tough clothing and armor, terrifyingly effective killing skills...
Just by looking at Yuri, she felt like she could keep adding to the list.
Somehow, she felt a professional aura about him, as if he was already used to this kind of thing, like the aura that a first or second class adventurer gave off.
Which she noted is quite strange for someone who recently started exploring the Dungeon, if what Yuri said was true and he didn't know anything about Orario.
Maybe... maybe she made a mistake choosing him... she doesn't think there's a chance she could scam someone as skilled as him, he's just out of her league.
Although it also served as a challenge for her, she had already lied to him yesterday about the amount of money they got.
If she could do this, she could do anything.
"Uhm... master."
"Just call me Yuri, Miss Lili."
She sighed. "Lili can't do that, it would be unprofessional on her part... plus that way Lili remembers her place as a supporter, nothing more than the mule, while the brave adventurer gets the treasures."
Yuri raised an eyebrow at that.
"Then why don't you become an adventurer?"
Lili stopped, Yuri doing the same, wondering what was happening.
Those words... made her very angry.
When she was very little, her parents became adventurers to get money to continue buying Soma wine.
They died the same day they left, leaving her tied to the Familia as a consequence.
From then on, she was left alone.
What could she do? She was just a girl who was barely 10 and didn't know anything about the world other than what her parents told her.
Without strength, skill or any other knowledge to do a decent job, she had no choice but to be a supporter for adventurers.
Years of abuse, harassment, lack of recognition... she felt all that pent-up anger about to explode after hearing those words that Yuri said without any importance.
He didn't know anything, she didn't have to tell him.
He's not from around here, why does she bother with this?
He's not even an adventurer, why-
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she was capable enough to control her own emotions. A couple of words won't make her drop her mask.
She took off her hood and put both hands on her head.
She chanted the spell that would return her to her normal state and reluctantly let both her arms fall.
"When you saved me the other day, what was the first thing you thought when you saw me?" She asked, trying to test Yuri's character as well to find that answer.
CRACK
Yuri drew his PMM and planted a bullet between the eyebrows of the goblin that had just emerged.
She flinched at the sound and watched the monster finish climbing out of the wall and then fall abruptly to the ground.
She put on the headphones that she had hanging around her neck, the ones that Yuri had given her.
"I thought that if I left you there I would have nightmares that night."
His response was... strangely expected.
"Well, that and that it wasn't fair." He added. "I wasn't going to let a couple of morons steal a child's well-earned money-"
That last thing he was about to say irritated her. "Lili is a Pallum." She interrupted, a serious tone in her voice as well as on her face. "I am a Pallum and I am 15 years old, I am part of one of the weakest races that exist in the world, I do not have the physical or magical capability to be someone recognizable and get money on my own... that is why I am a supporter... and it's not fair... it's not..." She finished letting the air out of her lungs.
They were both silent for a few moments.
In the end, she ended up saying it
She didn't know why, the stranger that was Yuri seemed a lot more trustworthy than the average adventurer.
Maybe that was it, he wasn't one to begin with. Plus, he was rather nice to talk to.
Yuri simply watched her for a few seconds before taking a breath.
He put the safety and turned the gun in his hands, grabbing it by the barrel, and extended it towards Lili.
"Take it."
She looked at him, confused.
"You may be weak, but I can see that you haven't given up yet." He said and lowered the gun, seemingly lost in thought. "That is admirable, worthy of appreciation and recognition... you remind me of me."
She frowned at his words.
"I'll have you know that, before I was a Stalker, I was part of the military... someone who was supposed to protect the peace..."
Slightly curious, she asked. "And what happened?"
He looked at the ground. "I died." He responded, taking Lili by slight surprise. "To the world, I am dead, there is no trace of me they can find."
Even though she hardly cared, she found herself listening intently to what the Stalker had to say.
"I was betrayed and left to die like a dog, but... I found certain people who helped me not get lost in misery..."
He shook his head at the memories.
"Long story short, I got my revenge and now I'm here... what I mean is, I get it... the world turned its back on you and you survived on your own, so cheer up, you're still alive after all, that's an achievement that not many get if they were in your position."
She felt her frown relax and her breathing normalize.
He was right, she was still alive after all, but there is no way for him to understand what her life was like.
Still, those words managed to console her even a little.
She watched as Yuri raised the weapon again and extended it to her, waiting for her to receive it.
This strange weapon that killed monsters effortlessly, this stranger was handing it over to her, as if he trusted her.
It was... a feeling she wasn't used to.
She swallowed and took the PMM in her hands with some hesitation.
Yuri smiled at that, he had achieved his goal.
It left a bad taste in his mouth to manipulate her like this, but he convinced himself that it was for her own good.
"How about I teach you how to use a firearm? It would be quite useful for you and me if you knew how to do it." He said. "Who knows, maybe you become an expert, I've seen the little crossbow you hide on your wrist." At that, she hid her right arm defensively. "So I hope you have a very good aim."
It doesn't seem like he's lying, she noted.
Maybe she can return that trust he gave her.
Just maybe.
"Okay, what does Lili have to do?"
"For now? Nothing, I'll teach you the next time we meet, now give me that..."
With some disappointment, she handed the gun back and he put it back in its holster.
"I have a hunch that it will be quite useful for you to learn how to handle one, who knows what might happen next, besides..." He crouched down next to her. "I would like to be sure that my back will always be taken care of by my supporter, after all, we could be like the three musketeers! If only there were two of them, haha." He stood up and approached the goblin's corpse, opening it with his sword and removing the magic piece from inside. "Have you read the book? Really confusing, but I liked it, I always wanted to be Athos... all for one and one for all."
He turned to look into her eyes.
"Is it not so, d'Artagnan?"
"Who's that guy?"
"Ah... I'll tell you another day..."
The two of them continued their descent, eliminating the monsters in their path until they eventually found themselves on the 5th floor thanks to Lili's guidance.
Going down, Yuri noticed that the walls changed from the light blue coloring they had on floors 1-4, being replaced by a lighter greenish color.
Just like that first impression, something important also changed.
"Well..." Lili mentioned. "Monsters at levels 5-7 are more dangerous, remember that, Master..."
Yuri kept his bloody short sword close to him. "Anything else I should know?"
"Yeah." Several cracks formed in the walls. "The spawn time of monsters is shorter."
Humanoid shadows emerged from the walls with an oval white sphere for a face.
"War Shadows." Lili mentioned, taking a step back.
Yuri threw his sword to the ground and grabbed his Remington 870. He carried it in his hands as the monsters continued to appear. There were around 7.
"Lili, behind me."
"Hmm!" She hummed as she moved away from the fight that was about to take place.
One of the creatures came out of the wall and lunged at the Stalker, planning to cut its throat with its razor-sharp claws.
Only to be stopped when the all the pellets from Yuri's shotgun lodged in the oval disc on his head.
The body fell to the ground and disappeared in a thin cloud of smoke, the magic stone inside destroyed.
Yuri pumped the shotgun and changed targets.
The head of another monster disappeared.
He pulled the trigger again and fired one last time, killing another one who was on his way to kill him.
3 dead, 4 left.
One got too close, but was sent to the ground when Yuri slammed the handle of the shotgun into its oval face, cracking it under the force of the impact and stunning the creature.
He wasted no time and, taking advantage of how hard the weapon was, he turned it and used it to finish the beast on the ground.
He slammed the weapon so hard against its head that the handle got stuck in the disc on its face.
He drew his PMM as the other war shadows approached.
He ducked behind the horizontal cut of one and stuck his gun under where its chin was supposed to be, then pulled the trigger twice, the beast dying and simply passing through his body because it was literally made of shadows.
Yuri thought it was the strangest thing he's seen of this place so far.
Besides the fucking magic.
Another approached from his side, but he moved out of the way at the exact moment for the monster to collide with the wall.
"Master Yuri, be careful!"
He fell to the ground on his own back just before another of the monsters fell on the place where he was.
The beast looked at him and he pulled the trigger.
6 down, 1 left.
"There, at your side!"
He rolled on the ground and turned in the direction Lili indicated, noticing how the remaining monster shook its head and turned towards him with movements that could only be described as angry.
It died definitively when a 9x18mm bullet passed through its head.
Yuri looked around, making sure that no other beasts were going to sneak past his guard.
As soon as he saw nothing, he stood up and picked up his shotgun from the nearby corpse and his short sword that was resting on the ground, securing both next to his backpack.
"Lili admits it." The Pallum said as she walked next to him. "Even if he doesn't have a Falna, Master Yuri fights well."
"I come from an equally dangerous place, so it's not like much has changed."
"Right, you mentioned a 'Cher-nu-bil Exclusion Zone' or something... what is that?" Lili asked as she got to work on the bodies and Yuri collected the spent cartridges and bullet casings, as well as reloading his guns.
"Well, after all that trouble and my expulsion from the army... it became my home."
"Hmm..." She hummed. "It must have been pretty hard."
"You can't even imagine it." He responded, snorting as he found that euphemism amusing. "It's a radioactive dump full of mutants, anomalies you probably don't understand, and all kinds of undesirable people... but it was my home for the last two years, so you can't really blame me for becoming a little homesick."
"It sounds... pretty dangerous." It was Lili's honest reaction.
"Too much, it's a place that will test your abilities to stay alive in exchange for giving you the most beautiful views you've ever imagined..." He placed everything in his backpack to process in the near future. "The Zone is pretty, beautiful, free... just as it is fair, it can also be unfair..."
Lili finished off with the last monster. "Aside from the Zone... do you miss home?"
He did, he wanted to return to Kyiv, for everything to be normal again.
But it was no longer possible.
"I do, a lot." Answered. "But there's a saying where I come from, do you want to know what it is?"
She didn't say anything, but continued listening.
"You can take a Stalker out of the Zone, but not the Zone out of a Stalker..." He narrated. "It talks about the nostalgia we feel for something that obviously wants us dead."
"But if it's so dangerous, why?"
He noted the irony in her question. "You ask a lot of questions, let's continue and I may answer it another time... shall we go?"
Lili adjusted her backpack to her shoulders. "Sure."
With everything in order, they both continued exploring the corridors of the 5th floor of the Dungeon.
"And... the master plans to join a Familia?"
"The hell is that?"
"Ah... that's right, you're not from around here..." Lili cleared her throat. "At least you've heard about the gods, right?"
"Huh? Are you trying to turn me religious or something?"
"What? No, it's" She stopped. "Don't tell me you don't even know about that..."
He shrugged.
"What do you mean you don't know!? You should have at least heard of them! They're all over the world!"
"Well, not mine."
"Ah?"
"Nothing." He replied. "Why don't you tell me about them instead?" He mentioned while staying alert of his surroundings.
She rolled her eyes, somewhat irritated. "Ugh... okay, it's not a problem..."
CRACK CRACK
Two War Shadows appeared
Yuri took his sword. "Speak while I deal with this."
One of the monsters pounced on him while the other began to surround him.
Yuri rolled under the first and raised his sword just as the other war shadow came straight for his neck, causing the blade to get stuck in the monster's face.
"Eh... okay... well, long story short, the gods came down from Tenkai a long time ago looking for entertainment and started living with the mortals for that reason."
Yuri twisted away from the other's claws, drawing his pistol and firing in a second.
The monster fell limp the second later.
He put away his pistol and picked up his sword from the other corpse.
"Erm... so they promised not to use their powers while they are in the mortal world and give blessings to their Familia members... like the Falna..."
"Hm, and what is a 'Familia'? It sounds like something important." He questioned as he took out the magic stones.
"It is when a god gives a Falna to a person, then they become part of the Familia."
"So they're like a Faction and handing over a Falna is recruitment?"
"Practically, yes..."
"Huh, sounds interesting, so what's a Falna?"
Lili sighed. "It is the blessing that the gods give us, they help us improve with the excelia that we achieve to make us stronger."
"Excelia?"
"Your memories and experiences converted into an energy capable of improving your attributes, whether they are physical, magical, etc."
He finished the other creature and stood up. "Amazing, and how do I know who in this city is a god?"
She approached him and they both continued walking. "It's subtle, but the gods emit a slight aura of divinity around them and are also able to detect lies in people... if you're not sure, try to get a reaction from them with a lie."
That... is terrifying.
"I'll keep it in mind."
Although in reality he doubted that his life was going interesting enough to meet a god of all things.
They both arrived at a crossroads of two paths with a descent of stairs next to one of the walls.
"Are we close to the sixth floor already? Didn't you say that descent was quite far away?"
Lili frowned when she saw the stairs. "That's what I said, but... this is weird..." She walked a little closer and looked into the darkness at the bottom of the steps.
She could feel something calling to her, she just… couldn't put her finger on what it was.
She could see a slight distortion in her vision, as if something was interfering with the light reflected by the Dungeon's unnaturally glowing rocks.
Yuri approached too and was a little scared when he recognized what it was about.
It was a psy emission column.
What was one doing here? He had no idea, but it was something he planned to find out.
He lightly pushed Lili back as he advanced to the stairs.
He took a step and felt a small pain in his temples, as if a pair of hands were pressing against the sides of his head.
The field was weak, but that still made it dangerous.
He took a few steps back and shook his head, the pain fading, but he felt his eyes burn a little.
If he wanted to enter there, he would have to numb his mind to resist the effects of the mental psychic invasion caused by these psy emission columns.
"What... what is that...?" Lili asked, sounding unsure. "I don't remember this place having been here before, so we'll be exploring unknown territory..."
He had two options, use his Psy-Block pills to protect them both from the psychic effects in exchange for a temporary loss of all emotion or use the Alprazolam again and cross his fingers that the field doesn't get much stronger while they are inside.
He took out the blister pack of O27 R pills from one of his vest pockets. "Lili, I want you to take one of these."
She looked at the pill Yuri was handing her. "That again? I don't know..."
"It will help reduce the effects of the psychic field that is coming down the stairs, so take it."
She didn't understand, but she listened anyway. "Uhm... o-okay, master..."
Yuri took his own pill without any problem.
CRUNCH
He turned and watched Lili make a disgusted face as she chewed the pill.
"What? No, no... the pills are not supossed to be chewed."
"Ah?"
"You know what? It doesn't matter, just... make sure to swallow it all."
He took a moment to look inside his backpack and pull out something he had brought specifically for times like these.
"Put this on, Lili."
"What is it?"
He handed her the headlamp and she checked it in her hands. "A source of light, now put it on your head."
She did as asked and positioned the lamp just below the headphones.
"Ready, Master Yuri."
He turned on the flashlight on Lili's head and hung his sword next to his own backpack before grabbing his shotgun.
"Wow."
"We'll go down." He announced. "Stay behind me and don't run unless I say it's safe to do so."
"Lili will try not to get in the way."
Yuri took his own flashlight and clipped it to a space on his vest (over his shoulder) that he had for that.
They both walked down the stairs apprehensively, immediately the effects of the psychic field trying to penetrate their minds.
'It was as if the voices became physical and tried to touch the back of my brain.
Thoughts, ideas, emotions, pain... the voices of people from the past coming into existence on the plane of reality. A reminder of the damaged Noosphere.'
He remembered reading one of the scientist's theory in his notes and found it interesting, there was just one small detail.
They were no longer in the Zone, so it made no sense for a psy emission column to be here.
Their flashlights illuminated the path ahead, helping them through the blurry darkness.
"Master... do you know what this is... or where we are? You seem familiar with all... this."
Without taking his eyes off the steps, he responded. "We are within a psy emission column." She still didn't understood well what he was saying, but decided to listen anyway. "Pretty dangerous, if we hadn't taken those pills, we'd have a fatal headache now."
"Oh..."
There came a time when their flashlights were not enough, leaving them facing a mass of emptiness that they did not know what to do with.
Lili was debating whether to stay or leave. On one hand, she wanted to know what kind of treasures she could find, on the other, she feared for her life in the face of the unknown.
As for Yuri? He simply wanted to explore this familiar part of the Zone.
"Should we continue?" Lili asked the question that Yuri wasn't sure how to answer.
"Meh." He responded, and then continued descending into the darkness.
Lili growled in irritation and followed her companion.
It only took a few seconds until the darkness around them dissipated, leaving them in a room dimly lit by the holes in the walls it had.
Checking behind them, they noticed that the wall they came out of was darker than normal compared to the gray concrete the rest of the wall and room was made of.
He sensed that it was a new type of anomaly.
Lili's coughing caught Yuri's attention.
He turned around and noticed Lili having difficulty breathing.
Seeing her, he also noticed the smell of sulfur in the air.
He immediately opened his backpack and took out the respirator and protective glasses he had brought for Lili, as well as a filter.
He left his backpack on the ground and approached the girl. "Sit down and let me put this on you."
She obeyed. Not that she could do much with her eyes and throat sore as they were.
He clipped the filter with the respirator and put it on Lili, as well as the protective glasses he brought.
While Lili calmed down, he took off his headphones and put on his own M45 gas mask to avoid getting poisoned.
"What was that? It hurt to breathe..." Lili said, her voice muffled by the respirator in her mouth.
"Honestly, I don't know." He responded as he set a timer on his watch to account for the time left on the filters. "But it's surely a poisonous gas, so I recommend not taking off your glasses or respirator."
"Ugh... okay... should I take an antidote?"
"... We better wait a little."
He approached her and turned off the flashlight on her head, just as he turned off the one on his vest.
"Well, we're here." Yuri mentioned. "Might as well check out what's around."
Lili stood up and adjusted her glasses. "Sounds good." She repsonded, sounding a little tired, the medicine taking effect.
They looked at the room they were in.
There were tables, chairs, a bucket with a mop and a metal cabinet. Everything covered in a thin layer of dust and cobwebs.
"Looks like we're in the janitor's room." Yuri said, a little nervous about how familiar the 'modern' of this place seemed.
"Janitor?"
"It's not important now." He replied, walking over to the room's only door and opening it. "We should go out."
When they both left there, Yuri noticed that they were in some kind of office complex and that there was a huge hole where a window was supposed to be, giving a view of the outskirts of the building and the city below them.
"What the hell..."
This was not a place he recognized... at all.
Outside there were other buildings, some looking in complete ruins, covered in vegetation and others that simply stopped being part of the landscape and were destroyed as the streets outside, in addition to a fog that covered the city, preventing anyone from seeing beyond of a few tens of meters.
This wasn't Pripyat or Limansk... he didn't even know what city he was looking right now.
It terrified him to think it could be Kyiv, but there was no way he could confirm it until he went out and checked the surrounding streets, those full of anomalies and environmental hazards.
"Wow..." Was the only thing Lili said. "Where we are?"
"I... don't know."
The fog dissipated momentarily, revealing the sea at the distance and the chaos at the bottom of the building they were in, with small ships literally stuck inside buildings or the giant ruined bridge over the sea.
They also noticed the exaggerated height at which they were from the ground.
Lili took a few steps back as she felt dizzy, falling onto her giant backpack while hyperventilating.
Yuri, on the other hand, did not. He had once started working as an administrative staff in an office complex a while ago and was somewhat accustomed to heights.
It didn't make it any less terrifying that he was one step away from certain death.
"It's going to be a bit difficult to get down..." He added. "Lili."
"... Y-Yes?"
"Can you make a map while we explore? I don't want to lose our way back." Was what he said while checking the time on his watch.
They came down the stairs at around 10, so he'll need to take the time into account in case the time zones are different.
He still hadn't ruled out the theory that he was now in another world, so he didn't want to get lost in another new world.
Lili stood up and nodded. "Don't worry, master, I'll write down our way home."
"Good..." With that, Yuri turned around and started looking down the stairs, Lili following behind him.
There were plants growing everywhere. Between the cracks in the walls, along the exterior walls of the building and even from the elevator, there were branches of some type of plant that he could not recognize.
"Be aware." He said to his partner who had a paper and pencil in her hand. "You can stumble with anything."
"Yes..."
As they walked down the old concrete stairs, they heard sounds coming from below them.
"Shhhh... don't make... any noise... my baby... daddy's... here..."
"Master." Lili whispered. "I hear voices... are they... speaking another language?"
He readied his shotgun and whispered back. "Be ready to run back in case they are extremely dangerous people."
She nodded at that.
They went down towards the door that would lead to the floor from which they heard the sounds and they leaned behind the wall, one on each side of the door so as not to get in each other's way. Lili being closer to the stairs up.
"Ehh...?"
"Hurgh..."
"Mama... uuugh... mama..."
They sounded like people, but at the same time, there was something very wrong with the feeling their voices conveyed.
Slowly, Yuri pushed open the bent metal door.
A burst of bullets nearly pierced his arm.
"Master Yuri!"
"Crap." He said as he stuck out his shotgun and pulled the trigger.
Something fell to the ground besides the spent shotgun shell.
"Aaagh... ugh, blood... ma... maaa..." They heard someone's last breath.
"Petya... Petya... I'll be with you soon..."
Yuri peeked out and took aim.
There were two zombified people slowly approaching, both with knives in their hands.
He shot one in the chest, the zombified person falling on his back to the ground.
He pumped the shotgun and shot the other in the head, his body ceasing all movement and simply falling like a rag of cloth.
"Petya... son... dad... is... going..."
As soon as there was no immediate danger, Yuri lowered his weapon and looked at the bodies of the unfortunate souls who had to face this fate.
Lili also appeared and frowned at the bloody scene. "A-Are those people?"
Yuri sighed and approached one of them. "They were."
They were dressed in ragged clothing, bandanas covering their faces and their skin was in a state of decay. It seems like they've been like this for a long time.
He approached the body who shot him and noticed his Kalashnikov rifle in his hands, as well as the improvised respirator and vest he was wearing.
He put his gun aside and examined the rifle.
It had marks, stains of dried mud, and seemed to be held together by pure duct tape.
He removed the small open-top 10-round magazine it had. There were only 2 bullets left, one in the magazine and one in the chamber of the gun.
He cocked the weapon and analyzed the rifle's 5.45x39mm bullet, which showed a duller casing, presumably made of cheap materials because of the several signs of deterioration.
A miracle it didn't explode in the hands of the zombie he killed.
He decided he would take the gun.
He handed it unloaded to Lili. "Could you put this in your backpack, please?"
"Sure." She responded, grateful for the fact that she would focus more on doing that than on the rotting corpses around her. It's a good thing she had the respirator on.
She was already used to seeing other people die. However, it was still a detriment to morale and being around dead people made her feel sick.
Yuri searched the other bodies' pockets, finding almost nothing but strips of dried meat and a bottle of a liquor he didn't recognize.
Both could be health risks, so he decided to leave them there.
It was when they both heard a distant roar that they knew how screwed they were.
"Lili, back, now."
"A-Alright." She responded, adjusting her backpack and trotting to the stairs, Yuri following behind her with his shotgun raised.
They had made noise, now they had to run and hide before whatever heard them found them.
They joged up the stairs towards the exit and eventually they were in front of the janitor's room.
They both entered and closed the door behind them. Yuri wasted no time and blocked the entrance with the metal cabinet that was there.
"Get in now." He told her and she didn't hesitate to go through the particularly dark wall.
Yuri stayed there for only a few seconds.
He was in the Zone, he knew it, but it didn't feel like the Zone...
There is something very wrong with this, but he would worry about that later, for now he had to take care of his tiny supporter.
And then, he passed through the wall, leaving behind the roars of those unknown creatures that echoed throughout the building.
Well, that was...
Interesting.
After our little exploration outside the confines of the Dungeon, we both stayed on the fifth floor for the rest of the afternoon, collecting monster parts and magic stones.
I must say he, unironically, is in fact a killing machine.
It even scares me a little.
But what terrified me the most was that strange place, full of poison in the air and things that I cannot understand.
It sounded exactly like the Dungeon, only, somehow, much more macabre...
Those were people, he told me.
What the hell happened to them?
"I'll tell you another time." Was his response, although I'm getting tired of that, I really want to know...
We won around 50 thousand, but I lied to him and we only shared 40 thousand.
It still surprises me how generous he is, because he didn't hesitate to divide the money equally and leave without even checking the bags.
It's like he trusts me or... something.
That guy is strange.
I got home and made myself comfortable, leaving my backpack and new 30 thousand Valis aside.
I also took off my 'respirator', 'headphones' and 'headlamp'.
All three are stupidly useful, I can't believe he gave them to me just like that.
Maybe I should patent these inventions as my own...
...
Meh, I don't even know how they're made, so unless I develop a skill out of nowhere that allows me to be the master genius of inventions, I won't be able to do anything like make money of my ideas.
But...
What I can do is draw.
One of my favorite hobbies, although the only thing I draw is pure landscapes of houses and buildings. Sometimes some points of interest in the Dungeon.
It helps me remember what I learn with a vivid image, as well as allowing me to exercise my mental ability if I need to do it.
...
Who am I kidding, I like to draw.
I took a pencil and paper and sat down at my desk.
That place, an inexplicable sight for a city girl like me...
It was like mixing my home and what I most longed to see, what was beyond the walls.
A city being taken over by vegetation, the oppression of society failing in the face of the unstoppable nature.
It was a pleasure that I couldn't find an answer to... and one that I wanted to see again.
I don't know what kind of civilization lived there. Probably people advanced enough to have the same kind of weapons as him, but I know one thing.
Yuri seemed to recognize the place, so maybe that was the Zone he was telling me about...
"... a place that will test your abilities to stay alive in exchange for giving you the most beautiful views you've ever imagined."
I think I can now understand why he speaks with nostalgia when he remembers that place.
I drew lines, shaded, included details...
I don't consider myself an exceptional artist, but without a doubt my drawings are like candy for the eyes.
At least, that's what I think...
I took a small nail and a hammer that I had in one of my desk drawers so I could hang my little drawing on the wall.
I bought the nails, although I can't say the same about the hammer...
Anyway, it was done and it looked beautiful.
But it was nothing compared to the real thing.
If we ever find ourselves near there, I'll ask if we could go back down again.
In fact, he told me that tomorrow we would take a break to do something else, so he asked me to meet him at the same place.
I wonder what it could be.
I went to sleep early this time, there were things to do tomorrow and fate rewards early risers, so I slept soundly until I could hear a bird singing outside my window.
It was that swallow again.
I stretched and prepared to go out.
Somehow, I felt lighter than yesterday.
Great.
Let's see what Mr. Yuri wanted today.
"Great, you're early." Yuri said to Lili when he found her sitting in the fountain in the plaza in front of the tower of Babel.
"Well, the more time we have down there, the more money we can get."
Yuri laughed a little. "I guess you haven't heard the early bird saying, have you?"
She just looked at him.
He shooked his head. "Again, nothing important, now follow me, I have some things to show you."
She had already been with him for two days and, so far, he seemed to have no bad intentions, so Lili adjusted her backpack and followed him without problems.
Plus, he had said he was going to teach her how to use firearms, so she agreed for that too.
She wanted to have one of those things in her possession, they looked extremely useful.
They both walked through the streets full of ordinary people going to their respective jobs. It wasn't crowded enough that they couldn't get through, but it was enough to trip over someone if they weren't careful.
They eventually walked out of the crowd and into a lonely alley.
Lili knew this path, she had used it several times to lose the adventurers a long time ago, it was a good place to hide.
They left the alley and found themselves in a giant place with ruined structures.
"Does the master live in the ruined area?"
"Huh, do you know anything about this place?"
They went down the large stairs calmly, neither of them in a hurry.
"Not really, it just surprises Lili that there are people living in this dump."
"... thanks."
"Eh... sorry..."
"Don't be." He responded as he took off his vest and carried it in one hand. "I usually live in garbage dumps."
They both walked to a place away from the main stone path.
It was a small plaza, where there were all kinds of objects scattered around the place.
"Everything you see will be our targets." He said, getting her attention. "Yes, this is an improvised shooting range, I spent most of the early morning organizing everything for this occasion, so make sure you learn what I'm going to teach you."
He approached one of the stone benches in the plaza and left his vest there, as well as his PMM pistol with the safety on.
Liliruca stared at the shooting range, finding that name a bit strange, since, as far as she knew, shooting ranges for crossbows and bows have targets made of straw or cloth dolls, not trash like bottles or... whatever those cylindrical metal things are.
Although she did appreciate the effort he put into the metal and wood plates hanging from trees.
Somehow, it made everything look a bit... rustic.
Yuri whistled to get Lili's attention. When she turned to look at him, he motioned to her and she approached.
"So it's true then... you mentioned that you would teach Lili how to use your weapons."
"Yup, now put on your headphones and leave your backpack over there."
She obeyed without problem, transforming back into Pallum and leaving her luggage aside.
She felt a little afraid at the idea of using one of those things, she saw how fast they were to kill and she didn't understand how they worked. She was afraid of making a mistake and angering her adventuring partner.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Lili asked. "Erm... Lili doesn't know if..."
"Bah, nonsense." Was Yuri's nonchalant response. "I told you yesterday, didn't I? It's better that you have and know how to use a weapon than not."
He could see the doubt in her eyes.
"At least for self-defense, any idiot will be scared at the sound of a gun, well, any idiot with a brain..."
He was momentarily lost in the memories he had of the few times he fought monolith fanatics.
"Anyway, here you go." He said, taking the gun and handing it to her.
She took it the way she had seen him do. She could feel a trigger on her index finger, as if she had a better quality crossbow in her hands, instead of her own that itself is more like a small bow than the crossbows used by city guards or other adventurers.
"You're doing well, you're holding the handle of the gun the way I normally do, but I suggest you do it with both hands since you're still a beginner, this way." He demonstrated as if he was holding an imaginary weapon.
She observed and understood, using her master's technique.
He approached her and stayed by her side. "This is the cannon, the projectiles come from here." He said, pointing to the end of the gun. "Never look at the barrel of a gun, a lot of stupid people have died for that reason and I don't think you'll ever be one of those... now, the trigger."
Lili observed said piece. "For now you won't be able to shoot anything because the gun is on safety to prevent an accidental discharge." He explained. "Try pulling the trigger."
She tried, but it wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she squeezed it.
She carefully examined the weapon, following Yuri's instruction about not looking at the barrel, but in doing so, she made a crucial mistake.
"Also, Lili, don't point your gun at anyone you don't plan to shoot." Lili stopped looking at the gun and then pointed the gun towards the sky, having noticed the way she deliberately swung the gun in front of Yuri so she could get a good look at it.
"Uhh, sorry."
"Okay, no problem, but I'm just letting you know that I've also known several idiots who accidentally killed someone by not handling a gun carefully." He said as he momentarily grabbed his vest and pulled out a magazine. "Now, in order to shoot, you just have to slide this lever with your thumb." He explained while pointing to that piece. "That way you'll take the safety off and be ready to pull the trigger."
She found the safety lever with Yuri's guiding help and did as she was told.
She smiled slightly as she understood how the "firearm" worked.
"Great, see these things on top of the gun? It's called an iron sight, it helps the shooter's aim... lower your head and try to align the back with the front, it should be easy."
She bit her lip and did as instructed. She noticed that it was better for her to concentrate with only one eye, so she closed the other in order to be more efficient.
"Now aim at a bottle and pull the trigger again."
She obeyed and the gun clicked, but there was no flash or explosion.
What happened?
She tried to look at the barrel, but instantly remembered the first lesson, so she moved the gun away from herself and asked. "Uhm... it doesn't shoot... is there something wrong?"
"Tell me, Lili, what does your crossbow shoot?"
A somewhat absurd question, but she answered it anyway. "Arrows"
"Technically, bolts, but arrows are just fine and they are projectiles, whatever you call it, now, what do you think your gun is missing now? You already know how to hold, handle and shoot it, so..."
"It's missing projectiles." She mentioned, answering the obvious.
He handed her the 12-round magazine of PMM that he was holding in his hands. "These are your projectiles, well a magazine full of them, think of this as a quiver of arrows that you can attach directly to your crossbow, sounds cool right?"
"Wow."
"Yup."
She took it with her left hand and examined it carefully.
"Uhm... and what do I do with this?"
He pointed to the gun. "Under the handle you will see a hole, insert the magazine there."
"Under the handle...? Oh." She said, noting that the hole was the perfect size for the magazine to fit through.
She gently put it in and pointed at the bottle again.
Something fell on her foot.
"Ow... what the..."
"Make sure the gun clicks when you insert the magazine, that way you know it's attached to the gun."
She bent down, picked up the magazine and this time placed it with a little more force, listening to the click that Yuri was talking about.
"Now there's one more step before you start shooting."
Lili was starting to get desperate, but she didn't say anything about it.
"This part here is called the slide, put your hand on it and pull it back, that way it will load another projectile inside... I better not make it complicated, just do it every time you insert a new magazine, then we'll get to the complicated part."
She nodded at the explanation and did as indicated.
When she pulled the slide, she noticed one of those projectiles he was talking about inside the gun, as well as the internal system that kept it running.
It looked quite complicated from her point of view.
She released the slide and it returned to its original place, 'loading' the weapon, as her master explained.
"Now, test your aim with all those targets and have fun."
She aimed with the iron sight and pulled the trigger.
The gun pushed her arms back forcefully as it released the bullet down the barrel. The flash of the gun slightly frightened Lili as she had it too close, making her blink.
The bullet missed the bottle she was aiming at by a few centimeters, more because of the distance she was at than because of her own aim.
Lili lowered the gun and blinked several times. There was a sound tinkling below her, making her look down.
There was a small golden metal shell bouncing on the dirt floor a few meters to her right.
"Woo... heh..." She couldn't help but smile slightly, she had learned how to use a firearm and it felt great.
"Amazing, try a closer target."
She raised the gun again and pointed it at one of the metal plates hanging from a tree by ropes that tied it.
She pulled the trigger and the gun pushed her arms back slightly, but she heard a metallic clang that told her she had hit the target.
"The weapon you have in your hands is a PMM or Makarov or, its long name, Pistolét Makárova Modern."
Lili laughed at Yuri's funny accent.
"Heh... well, it was designed by a guy named Nikolai who created the weapon to fit the ammunition... It's quite complicated so I'll just leave it at that."
"Oh, but that's cool."
"Sure, his weapon is widely recognized by people like me, although not many know that its creation was influenced by an already existing weapon... although it's not like I have a model of it to show you... anyway, the PMM has a 12-round magazine and you have already fired two times, that means you have 10 rounds left..." He turned around towards his shelter. "Finish that, I'll be back in a second... and don't kill yourself."
Yuri disappeared behind some bushes, leaving Lili alone in the shooting range.
Without him around, she was unsure how to proceed, but she remembered the brief lessons and took a deep breath.
The weapon kicked, for some reason it did, she didn't understand how, since she had only used a miniature crossbow in her entire life.
She observed the smoking casing that fell from the gun after it was fired.
Apparently, it has to do with an explosion, and it made sense, since things tend to be pushed around by explosions, so she assumed the small breath of fire that the gun released after pulling the trigger was the reason 'projectiles' found their marks.
She may be right, she may not, but she knew one thing.
It felt absurdly good to shoot a gun. It gave her a feeling of power, like when she used her piece of magic sword.
She continued practicing her aim, the practice she already had when using her crossbow helped a lot to adapt to the new weapon format, which translated into more precise shots.
Techniques such as holding her breath or slightly tensing her arms for better handling of the weapon also helped her, imagining the targets as weak monsters on the first floors.
It would be amazing if some of those targets could move so she could practice in a somewhat more 'real' environment, but she still appreciated the effort of the stranger named Yuri.
She pulled the trigger and noticed that nothing came out, only a small click was heard when she did so.
She noticed that the slide had been locked rearward. A look inside revealed that there were no longer anything inside.
She pulled the slide slightly and it returned to its original position.
Apparently the gun was already empty, she having fired all 12 rounds.
A curious thought came to her mind.
If there were no more projectiles, there will be no more explosions. And if there is no boom, then the gun was unloaded.
Which means it's probably safe to look down the barrel of the PMM.
She looked everywhere, looking for Yuri, but couldn't find him anywhere.
She swallowed and turned the gun briefly.
She took a look and the dark hole of the barrel looked back at her.
Staring down the barrel of a gun made her feel vulnerable, like she was staring at death... like the monsters in the Dungeon had done.
She pushed the weapon away from herself and waited calmly for her companion to return.
Only a few seconds passed before he finally appeared, carrying a rectangular green box in his left hand and what he assumed would be another weapon, but of a different design, in his right hand.
He left the box on the floor next to the bench and the gun on his vest. "Are you done shooting?"
She approached and handed him the gun. "I think it has no more projectiles."
"Good, how was it?"
Lili smiled. "It was great, Lili managed to get used to it thanks to similar skills she had developed with her Little Ballista, so she did very well with the targets."
He smiled too at her enthusiasm. "Yeah, I figured you'd like it, now..." He pulled out the magazines he had in his vest and handed them to her. "I'll teach you how to reload."
There were six 12-round magazines, all full. Lili held them in both her hands.
"Uhm..."
"Put them in your pockets or something, it's a lot easier that way."
"I... I think that would be a little inconvenient."
Yuri examined the white coat Lili was wearing.
It only had two pockets on the sides and it didn't really look like it could fit much in them.
"I see..." Something came to mind. "Okay, nevermind, I'll teach you how to reload first, leave all that there."
She placed the magazines on the stone bench and received the PMM from Yuri.
"Hold the gun like I taught you and, right where your right thumb should be, there should be a button."
"Button, button..." Lili searched for said button until she found it. "Hey, I got it!"
"Press it."
She did so and the magazine she had previously inserted fell to the ground.
"Oops."
Lili picked it up and examined it with her free hand.
It was empty of those golden things from before.
"Leave the empty magazine on the bench and take one of the full ones, then load it into your gun."
She obeyed and exchanged magazines, inserting the new one and cocking the weapon, being careful not to point it at herself or her partner.
"Ready!"
"Okay, now you can continue having fun, I'll bring something for your lack of pockets problem."
"Uhm... okay!" Lili responded, then resumed her shooting practice.
It felt great to be in control of a powerful weapon, plus she liked its design. It was nothing spectacularly ridiculous like that very expensive weaponry people sell in Babel nor too boring to look at.
She liked the black design of the weapon, it made it look simple and professional on the outside, but the intricate system with which it operated made it a tool worthy of a price in the millions.
Price in millions...
She... could sell this...
She had forgotten her original purpose, she was supposed to be looking for something of value to steal from the stranger named Yuri, and it just so happens that his weapons are impressive enough to be sold at a very good price.
She could be bathing in money now if she escaped with all his things, but...
For some reason, she felt like that would be stupid.
She put a hand to her chin.
First there is the fact that Mr. Yuri is someone who is quite skilled at fighting and can get money easily, very useful qualities that she could exploit if she were in charge of guiding him. In addition, with his unnatural kindness, she would always receive half or more of the rewards, which in the end would be much better for her since this way she would get someone trustworthy to protect her and enough money to leave the Soma Family in a short span, amazingly better still if she gets him to join a Familia or... hers, so that no one else can-
She shook her head.
The plan sounded good, but there were still quite a few things to worry about. For example, Kanu.
That bastard would do anything to take revenge for that beating, she knew it.
She couldn't let them hurt-
She stopped her thoughts.
Whom?
"Why did you stop?"
"Eep!" Yuri's voice surprised her.
"Don't tell me you've already burned through all those bullets..." He looked at the untouched stack of magazines. "Huh, did something happen to the Makarov? Did it malfunction?"
"A-Ah... no, nothing like that..."
Yuri watched her for a few seconds and shrugged. "Well, what are you waiting for? Keep practicing." He told her as he sat on the floor next to the bench and made holes in a belt with a knife.
Lili became curious about what he was doing. "Master, what are you doing?" She asked as she took a stance to shoot.
"I'm adjusting this belt."
She pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting another bottle and sending it flying into several pieces. "Uhm... if I may ask...for what?"
"For you."
Lili stopped and looked at him.
"Ah?"
"Done." He said as he stood up and approached her. "Try this on."
"Uh... alright?"
"Believe me, it will help you a lot."
She put the gun on the ground and grabbed the belt from his hands. "Above the...?"
"However you want."
She placed it over her coat and adjusted it to fit her waist without any problems.
"I should have assumed it would end up being small."
"Hey! What does that mean?" She asked, a little irritated.
"Haha, nothing." He laughed. "Now give it back to me for a second.
She obeyed and handed it back to him, so he could then cut off the excess strap and take out some rectangular blocks from his jacket pockets, plastic magazine holders.
He placed them on the belt with the help of the clips they had, although he did not pay much attention to the order since he assumed that Lili would organize it to her own comfort.
When he finished, he took off the gun holster that he himself was carrying and also adjusted it on the belt that was for Lili.
"Here you have." He said, handing the final product to her. "Your own tactical belt."
She blinked several times at the accessory.
"Here, put in on."
She took it and adjusted it at her waist.
"As you see, it has several pockets in which you can fit your magazines and a gun holster which was mine, but now consider it yours."
She could not help but smile.
"Eh... hehe... uhm, thank you...master."
"Pft, stop that master thing already." He mocked. "Look, if you call me that, I'll start calling you apprentice Lili."
She just looked at him. "For me there's no problem"
He sighed. "That's not the point... ugh, okay."
He crouched down to her height and they both exchanged glances. "We've both lived shitty lives, survived the worst the world had to throw at us and we're still on top, aren't we?"
She could do nothing but nod.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "To me, you are an equal and I will treat you as such, so stop making yourself seem less and cheer up a little, Lili."
She felt her eyes starting to water a little.
She closed them tightly and nodded. "Okay, master-"
"Apapap..."
"... okay... Yuri..."
He smiled. "Better." To then stand up and point to her belt. "Let's go back to what we were doing, okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Great, now, what's so special about a tactical belt? That it gives you easy access to your supply of bullets."
She tilted her head. "Bullets?"
"Well, that's the name of those projectiles, but I didn't want to confuse you too much so I just kept calling them as such."
"Oh."
"Anyway, now you can carry all those magazines with you, plus those pockets are modular, so you can change their position if you want... do it at your convenience."
Presented with the customization option, she didn't really know what or how to do it.
"Uhm... could you tell me how?"
"Sure."
Yuri helped her with a demonstration of his own belt, which had pockets that contained magazines for the Deagle he was carrying, as well as the weapon itself. "If you want maximum efficiency, I suggest placing the pockets in front of you, this way you will have them close at hand for easy access and reloading, but I suggest you put them on your side since it can get a little uncomfortable." He explained as he unholstered his weapon and applied a tactical reload, placing the changed magazine into one of the pockets. "I'm only explaining this to you because it's the way I'm comfortable and used to, but you're free to try something new as long as it's not deficient."
She looked at her own belt, it had pockets on the sides, as well as the holster.
She picked up her gun and tested it by placing it in the plastic holster to her right. She was surprised when it fit perfectly.
He then proceeded to arrange everything the way Yuri had it, as well as the magazines that were on the stone bench since, if that was his style and it worked, she didn't see why not use it.
"Eh, well, you can also use it like mine, however you like."
She smiled.
"Now, just some advice." He spoke back. "If you prefer to have the element of surprise, you can hide everything under your coat, although it will take some practice until you get used to it... anyway, keep shooting, I'll see you from here."
She nodded and went to draw her gun, but noticed that it wouldn't come loose from the holster.
"Eh?"
"There is a button that releases the weapon, it serves to secure it in place so that it does not fall accidentally."
She found the button after playing with the holster a little and pressed it.
The weapon jumped upwards slightly with a click.
She took the gun and assumed a shooting stance. She was starting to like all this.
"Great, now empty all those magazines and let me know when you don't have any more so I can refill them."
"Fufufu... I'll do that."
She took aim and pulled the trigger.
All her worries seemed to melt away as she spent time at the range.
The two practiced until the afternoon and Lili only noticed when she had returned home that she had a lot of fun.
It wasn't a day in the Dungeon, but it was a pretty productive day for her, and although she had to give everything back to him, she didn't find herself annoyed by it, just a little anxious for it to be tomorrow.
Strangely, during her return home, she couldn't erase the slight smile that was on her own face.
GOT IT! Last freaking translation of the day.
Whew, my eyes hurt now.
I'm hungry again.
To the guy that said that I should use AI, I... don't know if it could work.
Maybe yes, maybe not, isn't it the same as using google translate...?
Anyways, I dunno, never used AI before.
There is always a first to everything, I guess.
I'll look into it.
Anyways, stay safe out there... or not.
Haha, just joking.
And forget that '¡' on last chapter's final words from Lili, it was an error and I'm sorry.
~ Moi
