“Oh, so that’s the way it’s gonna be then, is it?” Sidestep said, taking a step towards Alan.
“Drop it,” Aurora said in a commanding tone. “It isn’t important, and Phantom is secretive. Not even I am sure what he does.”
“Yes milady,” Sidestep replied in a somewhat exasperated tone. He turned around and went up to the nucleus he destroyed, examining what it dropped.
Aurora turned to stare at Alan. “I do trust that you will not share what you saw with anybody.”
“Of course,” Alan said.
“Very good then,” Aurora responded, smiling brightly at Alan, who blushed slightly, looking away.
He found Void standing right next to him, somehow making his way within an inch of Alan undetected. Void whispered, “Remember you can always tell me and the bunny gods your secrets.”
“No thanks,” Alan said, backing away. He quickly walked over to Kitana.
“So, um, nice job! Where did you learn that attack, by the way?”
Kitana shrugged. “You’ve seen me use it before in the tutorial, right? This was an improved version. The psionic energy and martial arts I learned fused to form some sort of sword arts.”
“Oh, cool. By the way, um, what did the slime drop?” Alan asked curiously.
Kitana lifted up her hands, showing a circular black crystal about the size of a small coin and a bottle of slime with a small red nucleus, looking subdued.
“Ooh! Now that might be worth a pretty penny,” Void said, appearing once more right behind Alan, looking over his shoulder at the items Kitana was holding up. “The black crystal probably holds a platinum mark’s worth of energy, while that bit of slime or whatever it is might be worth something as either a pet or resource gatherer, depending on its ability to gather energy.”
“Yes, it was rather odd that we faced resource gathering slimes and Spiderbots that multiplied, wasn’t it?” Alan asked lightheartedly, though he was secretly feeling rather depressed he had said that he had given up his loot rights.
Void shrugged. ”I wouldn’t call it odd, exactly. Monsters and the like adjust to their surroundings. Look about you, do you see any food? I don’t think so. Thus, you have the self producing Spiderbots that can eat scrap metal, and these slimes that absorb energy. It makes perfect sense.”
“Um, right.” Alan replied.
The nuclei Aurora and Sidestep had slain dropped the exact same items, and after a short break, they continued up the ramp the slimes had dropped from with the help of icy steps Aurora created. At the top they found a large platform, with a cage at the center, probably where the slimes had been released from.
Eve had Alan try out his different forms of vision, and sure enough he detected an invisible path that branched out from the platform, similar to the path that he had found when he first entered the Abyss Labyrinth.
“Well, looks like that’s it, better head back now,” Void said.
“Um, if it’s okay, I’d like to look around a bit, you guys can head back without me,” Alan said, trying to appear unconcerned.
“Oh, know something about the secret pathways?” Void asked. “Don’t bother, it's a dead end. Trust me, we’ve tried.”
Well, that sounds surprisingly familiar, Alan silently said to Eve.
“Um, I’d still like to try to go down the path myself. I want to try to gain some sort of trap detection skill,” he responded.
“Hmm, all right,” Void said, “Just remember, it’s your fault if you die! I won't be here to save your ass. I’ll head back with the others, and have someone wait for you to return. It might be a few hours though, so don’t get too impatient. The creatures shouldn’t respawn anytime soon. Probably.”
Void then turned back the way they came, Kitana, Sidestep and Aurora walking with him. Aurora sent Alan a questioning glance right before she left with the others, but Alan simply shook his head.
Once the others were out of sight, Alan stepped onto the hidden pathway, activating his power armor’s basic invisibility. It was time to find some treasure.
Chapter 19
Alan progressed slowly and steadily. Unlike the last time he had trodden down a hidden path, he did not simply rely on Eve’s directions and assistance. Instead, he attempted to navigate through the traps and puzzles without help. Eve would occasionally bring up a warning or complete a task for Alan, but the number of obstacles Alan was able to get through on his own surprised him.
After stepping through a hidden trigger before Eve could even warn him, Alan learned the value of patience. He managed to dodge most of the lasers that shot from the wall at him, taking minimal damage, but from that point on prudently examined his surroundings. After waiting too long at one intersection, Alan learned the value of haste. A giant boulder descended from the sky, crashing onto the ramp behind Alan, triggered by some unseen timer. He had to follow Eve’s directions to barely avoid being squashed like a bug. (She had solved the simple astrological riddle in 2.71 microseconds, whereas Alan had been sitting there trying to figure it out for over 15 minutes.)
A few hours later, Alan finally made his way to a cube-like structure. Only slightly worse for wear, he had gained a basic Rogue ability, Trap Detection (Rank F). He wasn’t sure if this structure looked like the one he had been to earlier, as then he had been blindly following Eve’s directions. Now he could see.
It was miraculous what a difference sight could make. Whereas before the Abyss Labyrinth had been an unknown, inhospitable dungeon, it now seemed more like a clean, orderly facility to Alan. Gone were the shady pathways, the ever encompassing darkness. In their place Alan was able to see well maintained metal roadways, connecting the overall facility in a logical manner like detailed circuitry. While there was still a depth which Alan could not penetrate all around him, he had plunged into the darkness before, it was no longer unknown.
Boldly, Alan strode up to the doorway that blocked his path, noting the letters and numbers painted onto the wall. Consciously, he attempted to find an AI presence to interact with. His mind immediately thought of the Connect ability he had gained, and he felt his subconscious activate some protocol. A faint presence began to power up. Alan sent it a message immediately.
Greetings.
… Systems Initializing. Error. Warning: Limited Power.
Greetings Traveler. Warning: Main Systems Offline.
Right, can you let me in? I have something that contains some energy, and wanted to test it out. Alan held up the crystal he had received earlier.
Energy signature recognized. Hypothesis: Enough energy for five months in Low Power Setting. Adequate… for now. Please follow the designated path. Traveler set as friendly. Please do not fire upon defensive structures and workers. Sector 3 Chief Warden will guide you on how to deposit the energy.
Resuming Power Savings Mode. Estimated remaining power supply for limited functionalities: 3,000 years. Please contact the Authorities and repair or supply a permanent power source, Traveler. Current threat leveclass="underline" Gamma.
The connection ended. Alan’s quest failed to update, but he did receive a notification that he was now on friendly terms with the Abyss Labyrinth, which hopefully meant the wardens wouldn't attack him. Alan pushed against the doorway in front. This time, as a whirling of gears sounded, Alan could see a metal tunnel extend outwards from the structure, downwards to his right.
Not questioning it, Alan proceeded forwards. This central hub area looked to be in somewhat better repair than the one he had been in earlier. A few metal desks and tables remained, while the screen held fewer cracks. There was a flicker of light as the screen suddenly flashed to life, displaying what Alan assumed to be a map.