The World Which Is

Chapter 09

"Hello?"

Still no answer.

The light's still strong, so I'm under an hour of walking in the darkness. The class is still there, so I haven't walked by them so much I've stepped out of range, but I have no idea if I'm getting closer. All I have to go on really, is that they are inside the ruin.

Well, I hope they are.

They could be somewhere outside, but it feels like I'd be skirting the range then and I'd have stepped out.

The plan is simple. Keep going until the light dies. Then, I find a spot to sleep. It'll hopefully be daytime again when I wake up and go from hole to hole in the ceiling until I've worked out where they are, or the class disappears and I can't find it again, which should mean they've left on their own.

The ground opens up before me, and I look down into the darkness.

They could be under me, that would be... problematic. How many levels? Does the class come with an auto-mapping ability? It gave me the skill, so maybe not?

"Hey, System. When do I get an auto-mapping ability?"

No response. I'll at least know the answer to that question once I look over my class abilities.

I walk around the hole, and the next one I come across is in the ceiling. Stars and a waning crescent moon. The sky is the one thing my dad enjoys. He grew up on a farm, so it was something he got to watch a lot, and even then, the cities were close enough to encroach. Now, even in Court, the nights are dark. Base doesn't believe in wasting power for sleeping people, and the town itself has to use oil or magic for its light. Neither of which are cheap.

At the next intersection, I make a right, and a while later, the class vanishes from the list. The light is fading now, so I'm close to two hours of exploring.

Just how much of the place have I explored at this point?

Darlington Nuclear Power Station Ruin, 33% explored

Okay, that's nice. If I've explored all that, how about you give me a map of it?

And nothing.

The class returns to the list within two steps, and I continue in that direction when I reach the intersection. When the light is low enough I have difficulty making out more than a few steps ahead of me, I know it's time to look for a place to—

Is that light further ahead?

It's not daylight. It's still full dark outside, and it's green, instead of... well, sun colored.

The chemical light dies before I reach it, but I can tell it's coming from an opening in the wall now. And it's lower.

When I reach it, all that's left of the door are crooked hinges. Inside are untrustworthy metal stairs going down, and the light is stronger, and much greener. It also moves slightly.

"Hello?" I call again. Light would be what I'd got for if I was hurt.

The stairs creak when I put a foot on it. I look next to it. That's what, three meters to the floor? I can drop it without killing myself, right? If I get hurt, I have healing bars left. Bars I should keep for the trek back home. Even during the day, the forest can't be a safe place.

I straightened and look to the left.

Thoughts of home pull me in that direction with a certainty that's uncomfortable.

How much of Court have I explored? I ask the system.

Town of Court, 87% explored

That must be what it meant by the more I've explored a location, the more precise my sense of where it is will be. It's comforting to know I don't have any chance of missing it once I head home, just because I'm not where I thought I was in relation to it. Doesn't matter if I don't know where North is anymore.