Welcome, Player

Chapter Forty-Two: The Succubus' Territory

-chapter forty-two-
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"Who are you?"

WELL, THIS is awkward...

Biting my lower lip, I looked at Cord and Aisling. They kept on glancing at me making Hiraeth do the same.

"Uh..." he tilted his head and I don't know what to say! "They- uh, they're..."

"Do you know them, elf?"

Tatango ba ako o iiling? I mean, kilala ko naman sila pero hindi din.

"We-" nagsalita si Cord. "We just met. Naliligaw kasi kami sa loob ng dungeon at mabuti ay nakita namin siya."

Tumango si Hiraeth. "I see. Why do you have to be so strange about it?" tanong niya sa'kin.

Pinaypayan ko ang sarili. "Nah. I'm just tired from fighting, I guess."

Hindi na siya sumagot at pumunta kay Keiko. Hindi niya din pinansin pa ang dalawa na panay ang titig sa kaniya. I gave them a warning glance and they frowned at me.

"Don't stare at him too much or he'll notice," bulong ko habang busy pa si Hiraeth kay Keiko at Aslan. "Hindi niyo ba siya madalas nakikita?"

"We're almost forbidden from meeting him, you know~" sagot ni Ais.

"Forbidden?" grabe naman. "Bakit?"

"Because he usually hides himself and father teleports us away when we meet him."

Tumango-tango ako. That must be hard for him, to see his younger brother asleep in the real world and to be forbidden from seeing him in this world.

"Elf," tawag ni Hiraeth. "Are you going to go back to you friends?"

Tumango ako. "I want to look for them. But... I think going to the questpoint will be better. Siguradong doon sila tutuloy."

"Questpoint? The Lunaria Quest?" Ais asked. Tumango ako bilang sagot.

"So... you're here to save Mizuki," parang nakahinga ng maluwag si Cord. "I'm glad. I can show you the way. I know the dungeon pretty well."

"I thought he got lost?" kunot-noong tanong ni Hiraeth.

Sa gilid ng mata ko ay nakita ko ang paghampas ni Ais kay Cord at peke itong tumawa. "Of course~! We... got lost! Hindi namin alam kung ano ang daan palabas lalo na't nagshift ang dungeon, you know~?"

Isa pa 'yang pagalaw-galaw ng pader. Nagsimula kaming maglakad, tinungo namin ang direksiyon kung saan lumabas ang dalawa kanina.

"Bakit nga pala nags-shift ang dungeon? Kaya ba mataas ang difficulty level nito dahil doon?"

Ais nodded. "Kind of like that~ The dungeons sees the potential in each players and if you're a threat for them, they will separate you from the group."

"Gano'n ba..."

"Monsters will then sorround the players who were separated and make the remaining ones lose their path. This is one of the hardest quest in the game~ This dungeon works like a maze with monsters appearing at each shift. While the quest is at it's heart."

"So, nasa gitna ng dungeon na ito si Mizuki?"

"She's in the heart," sagot ni Cord. "It may be on the center or not. Walang nakakaalam kung saan ang sentro. But it should always be the way where you are blocked from."

"The way that I am blocked from?"

"Ang daanan kung saan ka laging nililigaw. The dungeon may look complicated but it moves pretty simple. It diverts you from the right path and leads you to the wrong one, that means that you should always choose-"