"So... what did you guys talk about?" Liora asked as they descended to the first floor. She had a few guesses as to why, and it made sense in her mind. Of course, I am not the first girl Bane likes... Bane contemplated telling her the truth, but it would get back to her eventually, so he was honest.
"I asked her if she wanted to get dinner. She has been a real help with the dungeon and stuff, and she is really nice in general," Bane answered.
"I see..." was all Liora said as they continued down the steps of the dungeon. Bane rarely walked the whole way down and was used to fast traveling. He trusted Liora and wanted to try something; it was a gamble, and if he misread Liora's trust, it could spell the end of him entirely.
He craned his head around the stairs behind him and saw that they were the only people in view. Bane reached down and grabbed Liora's hand that swung as she walked. She balked and looked up in shock at Bane for his action, especially after what he said about Winter.
Bane attempted to do his usual fast travel. The system never specified if Bane could transfer another person, but it was worth a shot. Hand in hand, Bane attempted to fast travel to the entrance of floor eight.
The two adventurers' vision darkened as they were transported from the dimly lit stairs to the darkness that was the entrance of floor eight. Bane's night vision immediately kicked in, and Liora panicked, gripping Bane's hand as she cast her usual light spell.
A bright green aura appeared around her and lit up the surrounding area. She looked down and realized she was still gripping Bane's hand. She whipped her hand away and wiped the sweat on her gown.
"What was that?!" Liora whisper-shouted, unsure if they were safe being transported.
"It is a skill of mine; we are okay," Bane said, reassuring the frazzled young woman. "It allows me to move between points... and apparently move other people too," he added.
Liora gawked. No words came to her. The ability to transport yourself and others... she thought. This only made her more curious about him, about what else he hid within himself, hiding from others. However, Liora started to understand why; if others knew of such a power, it would put him at risk.
"Could you keep it a secret?" Bane asked, hoping she would understand.
Liora still did not speak and only nodded that she was not going to share his secret. "Sorry to bring that on you suddenly. I didn't want to tell you about it and have it backfire, then you be left doubting me," Bane apologized. It was like Liora saw the devil, her eyes wide and still darting around.
"T-that's okay," she stumbled over her words, trying to recompose herself. She couldn't be distracted with whatever was on the next floor of the dungeon. Liora lit their path downward, and soon Bane was hit with the floor-clearing quest text box.
Floor 8 Completion:
Slay all enemy types on the first floor of the dungeon:
Unknown – Incomplete
Unknown – Incomplete
Rewards: 25,000 Shill, two Skill Points
Bane noted the two different enemy types and the rewards before closing out of the box. Bane had become an expert at using the system with others around. The only thing Liora could have noted was his eyes moving around, but she didn't and only continued to descend.
"Do you know what enemy is on this floor?" Liora asked, breaking up the silence with a whispered question. Bane had access to the encyclopedia, which contained information on the first ten floors of the dungeon, but Bane thought reading past his current floor would make the others boring.
"No, I do not. Do you?" Bane inquired. She mentioned going with other guild parties into the dungeon but never mentioned how far she had gone. Since he found her on the seventh floor, she could have been as deep as ten at one point.
"Yes, I do. It was with my tryout at the Athena Faction; they are a really smart bunch. With Athena being the goddess of strategy, it makes sense they were a very organized group. We made it to the eighth floor before turning back," Liora shared. She didn't have complaints about them, and Bane wondered why she did not join such a prestigious faction.
"I see; that's quite different from just the two of us diving in headfirst," Bane observed. One of Liora's reasons for joining the Eir Faction was the safety she felt. Did she really feel safer with one person instead of a whole group?
"I know. They were really smart and meticulous about entry, but... I can't tell you why, but I just feel better adventuring with you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Even with that, Bane heard everything and just nodded.
"Hm... Anyway, what are the enemies on this floor?" Bane asked.
Liora looked at him with a tilt of her head and squinted. "You want to know?" she clarified, thinking she had misheard him in some way. But he just nodded.
"Yeah, why not? I changed my mind; I want to know what is on this floor. Now that I have a companion, I have to be able to protect us both," Bane said. He knew it was the smartest thing to do. With just him, he was fine going in blind, but with another person, he couldn't risk anything.
Liora set aside her suspicion and nodded, understanding his reasoning. "I believe the people in my group called them liches," she said, putting her finger to her chin, trying her best to remember back.
"Liches? What's that?" Bane knew nothing of the sort; he didn't even have a guess.
Liora continued with her explanation: "I saw a few of them. They wore odd clothes and cast spells in a language unknown to everyone. Every other member of my group was used to that floor, and among them were demons, elves, and dwarves, but none of them recognized the language."
Dungeon enemies that can speak? Bane thought, trying to imagine such a crazy scenario. "Wow, sounds like an interesting enemy," Bane added.
Liora nodded. "They were pretty strong, but I know you will be no match for them, and with my spells to help you out, we can be like boom..." Liora punched the air and almost tripped down the steps. Bane had to intervene and catch her.
"Haha... You are funny. We can be like boom..." Bane mimicked her punch with a laugh. Bane enjoyed the company of another in such a drab, cold place. Liora literally shone in the dungeon, and he was so thankful that she was here to keep him sane.
Bane and Liora reached the bottom of the stairs and were presented with another different setting, which Bane appreciated. A mist hung in the air, and a grassy, earth-like floor greeted their shoes as they stepped off the last step.
The ceilings were incredibly tall, and weeping willow trees stretched high into the air. Accompanying the trees were little gravestones. It was like they were outside at night in an old cemetery. It made for a spooky effect that made Bane shiver.
Bane looked to Liora to make sure she was alright, but she seemed unaffected. "You ready to go?" she asked, a smile on her face. Bane nodded, hoping that he would be as fearless as her someday.
Their footsteps were masked by the green grass that stretched across the dungeon floor. It was a blessing and a curse; while adventurers could be sneaky, that also meant the enemies on this floor could be too.
The two kept a hushed conversation to calm their nerves as they waited for an attack. Bane kept his hand rested on his katana, ready for whatever lurked in the shadows. He felt he was being watched but couldn't pinpoint from where or what—until a lich made its move.
To Bane's left, an alarm seemed to sound in his head as he whipped in that direction and focused on the shrubbery. From behind a tree, he saw a figure and a magic circle forming from the hand it held out toward them.
"Watch it!" Bane shouted, motioning for her to move behind him. From where he stood, Bane couldn't hear the undead creature, its rotting flesh and torn clothes a testament to that. A moment later, the creature finished its incantation, launching a small rock at lightning speed.
Bane was prepared. He unsheathed his sword and cut the rock clean in half as it met the sharp blade.
One of the many activities Mr. Grey had instructed Bane to do was cutting rocks that Mr. Grey threw at him. He had doubted the practice's usefulness, but Mr. Grey promised the added precision would come in handy. It seemed he was right.
"Come here!" Bane shouted, rushing toward the lich, which ducked back behind the tree. Just as he left Liora behind, he felt the presence of another lich—directly behind her. He could only shout.
"Liora! Behind you!" Liora turned and locked eyes with the casting lich. She held out her hands before her in a triangle. Bane only saw her lips move before the entire area was engulfed in a white light.
Like lightning striking next to him in a storm, Bane heard the crash of thunder as electricity arced toward the lich. Just as it exploded, everything fell back to silence as the lich convulsed and faded away.
Still under threat, Bane used his skill, Feared Hunting, and slew the remaining lich. With both defeated, he returned to Liora in awe.
"What was that?" Bane asked. "The power... was incredible!" Bane praised the young woman's work. She was known as a healer, but she could unleash such power.