V1.C13 Eri and Irene, In the Abyss
Eri eyelids fluttered gently then her eyes snapped wide open. Her body jerked as she sat up on the bed.
Her mind was still lost in the memory of Leo falling, she took a few deep breaths and quieted her pounding heart. She rubbed her eyes and found a blue-haired woman sitting there.
"Who are you?"
"...I'm Irene, Leo's friend… … Everything that happened in the labyrinth was my fault."
Eri felt the guilt and resentment in her voice. "What did you do?"
Irene opened her lips and shut them tight, after repeating it for several moments, she opened her trembling lips. "We were on the 20th floor… I-I saw a beautiful glanz crystal… I touched i-it without a thought and we w-were teleported there… s-so k-kill me… b-because of m-me, he… to p-protect us..."
After confessing her crime Irene slumped on the chair and began crying.
Eri's calm face wore off, for a moment resentment welled up inside her. But she shook her head along with the anger.
"No, I won't."
Irene was surprised, she thought she'll be killed when she saw that aura of hatred.
"W-Why?"
"If it was old me, I would have tortured you for all eternity, but I won't do it anymore," she said, "his kindness changed me? I won't do anything to you if he chose to protect you. I can't even kill myself… this life was given by him… I don't have the right to take it."
Eri hung her head as a loud sigh mix of sorrow and helplessness escaped her lips.
In Irene's eyes a dark blue aura of depression surrounded her. She stood from the chair and gently pulled the depressed girl in her Embrace.
"We will find him... I'm sure he is alive, he said 'I won't die from something like this'. So let's believe in him, right?"
Eri nodded her head, she herself saw him surviving miraculously from the most wounds that would have killed any healthy person.
'He will survive this time too and come back like always.'
"Yeah, I will find him and... keep these things away from my face."
Irene just laughed and hugged her tighter, the weight on her chest became a tad bit lighter.
Knock
Hearing the knock, Irene released Eri and began to wipe the tears from her face.
"Come in!"
The door opened and two beautiful girls entered.
"How are you feeling now?" asked the ponytail girl with a smile.
"I'm good."
Anyone could see her eyes red from crying.
"Way to ruin the mood Shizuku-chan," the girl in priest robes scolded her.
Shizuku glared at her, telling her to read the mood. Her friend had just lost an important person and here her another friend was making out of place gags.
After silencing Kaori, Shizuku moved her warm gaze to Eri. "Was that Evans-san?"
Eri understood the nature of Shizuku, who would try her best to answer the expectations placed on them.
She gave a curt nod. "... Yes."
A thoughtful look appeared on Shizuku's face. "How did he come here? He wasn't summoned with us."
"I… don't know," answered Eri. She herself was stumped about it, how did he come here? Was he summoned by the same God who summoned them?
Irene with a contemplative expression said, "So my guess was correct, Leo really is an apostle."
"Yes, he is my... Childhood friend. He must have received some cheat skills," Eri answered, her feelings were complicated. She knew that Irene had deep feelings for Leo.
'I won't let you go this time,' she thought.
Meanwhile, the others were still stunned. The door opened once again, this time a rather short girl with twin tails came.
She jumped on Eri and hugged her. "Say Eriri, do you love him?" was her question.
Eri formed a delicate smile as she answered, "Yes."
Her direct answer astounded the girls, Kaori had an envious glint in her eyes.
"I won't lose!" declared Irene.
Eri lips curled in an amused smile. "I've spent 8 years with him, I went on dates with him, I kissed him(on cheeks) and I slept with him(when we were little). Can you still say that after hearing it?"
"Yes," Irene said with her poker face on. She was jealous, spending childhood with Leo, she thought with a smile.
"I see."
The others were surprised by their exchange, they thought there would be some kind of carnage like they watched in TV dramas.
Kaori replied, "I-I'm confessing to Hajime today."
She didn't want to end up like Eri, unable to confess her feelings before she lost him.
"Good for you," whispered Eri.
Suzu hugged Eri from behind and began fondling her breasts with a perverted smile. "No~ Eriri~ will always be mine. I won't let him have you, he needs to go through me first."
Eri released herself from the grasp of perverted girl and looked at Irene with an inquisitive gaze. "Tell me how you met him?"
With a nod of her head, Irene started her explanation,
"My party went to the forest outside Heiligh kingdom to collect plants for a quest, we ran into a mutated Ogre. It was a hopeless battle, we were about to get killed."
After taking a breath she continued, "Then he appeared and fought against it like a beast and killed it. I used my unique skill to check his soul, it was like a ball of pure white bound by dark chains. He was…"
"I see," said Eri. "He was always like that, trying to hide his pain behind a smile. I saw how much he suffered in silence, never saying a thing about it. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive."
"He is an amazing guy," whispered Shizuku.
The door opened once again and three boys entered. A brown haired handsome young man accompanied by a hulking 2m tall man with brown hair and a black haired average boy.
Kaori stood from the bed and walked to the black haired boy. "Nagumo-kun!"
The sudden shout of Kaori puzzled Hajime. "S-Shirasaki-san," he replied in a panicked voice.
Without any words, Kaori grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside.
The girls looked at Kaori's back in admiration. While the boys were puzzled by this development.
"What was that about?" asked the handsome young man.
"Nothing, you will know soon~ Right Eririn~" replied Suzu in a cheerful voice.
Eri confirmed her words with a nod.
Shizuku looked at Kouki with worried eyes, she understood his character more than anyone, still, she tried her best to amend his relations with everyone. But she knew it would test his patience this time.
"Just don't panic, Kouki."
Kouki's puzzled expression grew further as he tilted his head sideways.
"How are you now, Nakamura-san?" asked the last youth.
He was a level high above the rest with a muscular build added with his spiked hair he gave off the air of a delinquent.
"I'm fine now."
Kouki flashed a bright smile at Irene. "How are you, Irene-san?"
"I'm good," Irene replied with a polite smile and grabbed Eri's hand. "Can I join your party? I want to know more about him."
"You can join, but what about your old party?"
Irene leaned forward and whispered something in her ears. Eri's eyes widened before a wide grin appeared on her face.
"Okay, you can join."
"Irene-san, don't worry about your safety, I'll protect you," Kouki said with his signature smile.
Irene ignored him and continued her talk with Eri.
Kouki lips twitched seeing this. Ryutaro patted his shoulder and went out of the room. Kouki shook his head and followed him.
Meanwhile, two men walking on the street sneezed.
***
(Wake up!)
Leo heard someone shout accompanied by the sound of running water. After releasing a groan he opened his heavy eyes to see darkness.
"Did I die again?"
He moved his head with difficulty and saw a river lit up by glowstones. His lower body was submerged in it.
"Still alive, I guess."
He whispered and dragged his broken body to rock nearby and leaned against it. With cracked bones, he wasn't in a condition to survive in this Labyrinth. Even a single Kobold could kill him with his current strength.
He opened his mouth and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Using his sleeves, he wiped the blood and asked, "Where is this place?"
[Hidden Quest completed: Greed]
Rewards obtained: [Mystery Shop] unlocked, 20,000SP
"100th floor?"
(Check the new shop!)
'Mystery Shop'
[Mystery Shop]
[Lucky Pervert Skill - 5,000,000SP
Gae Bolg - 1,000,000SP
Dragon Handle - 600,000SP
Reaper's Scythe - 500,000SP
Mana Crafting Skill - 100,000SP
10x Mid-MP potions - 10,000SP
10x Mid-HP potions - 10,000SP
P.S- Shop will update every month.
Update in 29d23h58m]
He lacked any energy to retort to the top option.
(Buy HP potions.)
He barely moved his hands to the potion option and checked on buy. He took out the potion from his inventory, a bottle filled with red liquid appeared in his hand. He opened the lid and gulped it down every drop of it.
The wounds healed in front of his eyes, his bones were still broken, but he could at least walk now.
'Any item like a torch?'
(200SP)
A simple lantern appeared in his hands. His armor was beyond repair, so he took it off. He looked around for cursed sword, which he found near the shore.
'Good thing I hugged my baby when I fell, or it would be lost forever.'
(.....)
He opened his status.
[Status]
Name: Leo Evans
Title: [Behemoth Killer]
[Behemoth Killer] - The one who kills giants.
Effect: Increases stats by 10% against giant enemies
Race: Human
Age: 17
Level: 10
Job: Berserker
Strength: 252
Vitality: 260
Defense: 260
Agility: 240
Magic: 660 (Sealed)
Magic Defense: 660
'So I went up four levels, a bit less than my expectations. Whatever, let's get out of here.'
