NOVEL WEB Chapter 3: Grand Debut
———?????———
<3: 03 pm>
Alright then, Karra. Let’s see how you do…
“<So do you think she’ll be fine?>” Jeff asked on the other side of the call.
“Should be. If she is actually that confident then she must’ve figured out magic, right?” I said, not seeing why else would she even announce the stream.
“<Maybe I should’ve gone with a magic class after all…>” Jeff solemnly said. I’m sure he’ll figure something out eventually. I still don’t know if being in that game actually helped her out.
“We can figure something out later, hopefully.” I said as I took a glance at my closet, and back at the computer screen waiting for her stream to start. “Anyway, where is this dungeon she is going to again?”
“<It wasn’t that far from the school, right? It’s like a few miles north of it.>” Jeff said, not being very specific. Better than saying ‘Somewhere in Philadelphia’ at least.
“I see…” I muttered to myself, hoping nothing actually goes wrong. “I think she’s the only one in our class trying anything this daring, right?”
“<Yeah. Everyone kinda went nuts after hearing about this. I mean, one of your schoolmates learning magic and stream themselves doing something dangerous. Like I feel silly saying all that.>” Yep, before all of this I would’ve thought you were dreaming something weird.
“Oh! It’s starting!” I said, seeing the screen changed to show live footage.
“<We’re live!>” Karra announced.
———Karra———
<3: 14 pm>
Alright. Keep your cool. You got something extraordinary, now you just gotta show it to the world with confidence!
“Chat! We’re going inside a dungeon today. I know everyone has seen THAT broadcast so I know why you’ll be super duper scared, but trust me, I can keep myself plenty safe!” I said, putting on a brave face. “From what I know about this specific dungeon, it’s kinda like one of those underground medieval dungeons but like heavily ransacked. No one had even gone further than the second floor, at least as we know.”
{u gonna touch the third floor then dipped?}
{sure hope you got some insurance}
{So do you know any actual magic or are those still in your head}
{don’t overextend!}
“Still some skeptics in the chat I see. I’ll make sure you eat those words soon enough!” I boastfully said as I walked down the stairs into the dungeon, with a small flashlight pinned to my jacket so I could see better, as well as a secondary camera pinned on the other side just in case.
Okay… first floor. There shouldn’t be much but one or two monsters.
*Growl*
Suddenly a furry creature that looks a bit like a goblin makes a noise, letting me know it’s there and has nothing but its claws. It’s pretty small and I’ve seen people beat this thing up already.
*Kick* *Thud* *Whimper*
“What are these things anyway?” I wondered out loud.
{That’s like… kicking a small child}
{weird furry goblin thingy}
{It’s not dead}
{do you have a weapon on you?}
“Weapon? I don’t need any weapons. Watch this!” I boastfully said before aiming my fingers at the monster trying to get back up. “[Fire Shot]!”
*Sizz*
A small fireball launched out of my fingertips and right at the monster, burning it up. “How about that!”
{whoa!}
{this fr?}
{MAGIC!?}
{Holy crap!}
{rumors are true?!}
“That’s right, chat. Actual, real magic. In real life!” I can barely contain my excitement! “With this, these small fries are no match for me!”
{Training in VR actually work? Seriously?}
{EX-VR became a lot more sus…}
“Haha! Time to move on!” I said, walking further into the first floor of the dungeon.
*Growl*
More of these things then showed up. “[Fire Shot]! [Fire Shot]!”
*Sizz* *Sizz*
Easy peasy! Shooting them down with fire magic and they quickly burned up. I think those fur are working against these, even!
“Heh!” I can’t help but let out a smirk as I walked down to the second floor. From what I’ve seen, people immediately tried to flee the moment they saw what was on the second floor. Guess I have to be the one to do it!
{is this real?}
{How do you do it?}
{okay anyone actually know how or why?}
*Roar*
“Whoa!” I got a bit startled seeing one of them riding a pretty large wolf, with a few more trying to hide among the rubbles. They do know they’re not being sneaky, right? “Guess it’s time to use a big magic spell here! [Flame Burst]!”
*BOOM*
“Ow!” I got pushed back by the recoil of the spell, ended up feeling on my butt. I guess I’m not as strong in real life to withstand that… for now.
{lol}
{u okay?}
{haha}
“I’m good, chat.” Feel a bit out of breath, and of course falling down hurts a bit. “Anyway, how are the monsters… Uh oh.”
*ROAR*
The giant wolf and the monster on top of it survived that!?
*Lunge* *Evade*
“Whoa!” I almost got bitten on by that massive jaw. I guess I need to pull all the stops here.
*Grab* *Throw* *Smack*
I took a nearby rock and threw it at the giant wolf’s rider, managing to knock it off somehow. That seems to have taken it by surprise as it noticed its master falling off and distracted.
{Nice shot!}
“How about this! [Lightning]!” I said aiming and shouted on the top of my lunge!
*Crackle* *Zap*
“...Is it dead?” I muttered out seeing the spell hit it directly, stunning it for a long while…
*ROAR*
“W-W-Whoa!” Nope! It’s not working! How resilient is this thing!? “It’s time to run!”
*Dash*
{Tactical retreat!}
{sure you’re gonna be fine?}
{we’ll get them next time}
{Wait is this the right way?}
“‘Is this the right- crap!” I tried to run to one end of the floor and that’s not a stair going up! “Ahh! Improvise!”
*Tumble*
“...Is my phone still fine?” I said, clutching onto it and thankfully nothing seems to be broken.
{well… third floor, amirite?}
{do you need help?}
“I think… I’ll manage…” I said, slowly walking and looking around. This third floor seems to be… abandoned? I think? I can’t hear anything else besides me. There’s gotta be some sort of gimmi-
*Creak*
“Whoa!”
———?????———
<3: 57 pm>
“<She fell through a trapdoor!>” Jeff shouted out in panic.
“Shit!” I can’t help but curse out and leave the call, getting up and running to my closet, opening it up, and ready to change.
———Karra———
<4: 04 pm>
“Ahh…” I think… I’m still alive… but… “Damn it… it hurts…”
{what trap was that!?}
{thank goodness you’re okay!}
{It looks like you fall for a while!}
I unconsciously rub the back of my head… and what I saw on my palm right after is blood… quite a bit of it…
{Medic!!!}
{oh shit!}
*Stomp* *Stomp*
“W-What?” I heard the sound of something with very loud footsteps walking towards me. “A… golem?”
Its massive stone body is walking towards me, does it see me as an enemy? Is this another monster? “[Fir- Ough!”
It hurts all over, I can’t even cast a spell with all this pain distracting me… Would it even do anything against this giant?
I don’t know… I can barely keep myself conscious at this point. Is it… going to kill me? Will it? I hope not. I can’t even stand back up.
It’s raising its fist, ready to strike… No… Please no…
*SLASH*
…Huh? Its arm was cut clean right off so suddenly… How did it…
*SLICE*
With the second strike, suddenly I can make out a figure that now suddenly appeared in front of me. The shock is keeping me awake, wanting to know why this sequence of events even happened in front of me right now. Am I hallucinating? Am I not?
*Crumble*
The golem was cut clean in half, easily destroyed with just two choice attacks by this individual in front of me, protecting me.
Her flowing white hair contrasting the long black puffy coat and black suit underneath, in her hand is a long rapier with dark blue guard that looks impossibly sharp. She turned around to look at me and blue eyes that looked bright like the clean blue sky. Her expression is sharp, calm and in control, pointing at me with her fingertip beginning to glow.
*Shine*
Suddenly the pain began to leave my body entirely, my body felt revitalized. I can stand back up again.
“Are you alright?” Her voice is smooth and somewhat deep, standing a few inches taller than me.
“I-I am, thanks to you.” I said, my voice still shaking, my face feeling kind of hot.
*Stomp* *Stomp*
“Ah!” There are more golems walking towards us.
“Begone.” She turned around, glaring at them with the long rapier in her hand, wielding it in reverse grip.
*SLASH* *Crumble*
A single stroke was all it took to turn them all into mere rocks. That was a lot of golems she just destroyed in a singular moment.
{Whoa}
{Too cool!}
{Is this scripted?}
{the swagger!}
“Now then. What are you doing down here? I don’t believe many people can claim to venture down so deep inside a dungeon.” She calmly asked as she sheathed her blade.
“U-Um… Well. I might’ve… fallen down from a trap, from the third floor…” I said, not really proud of how I ended up here.
“The third floor? This is the eighth floor, so you must’ve suffered quite a severe fall. It’s lucky that you even survived.” She remarked, keeping her tone calm and cool.
“Yeah… lucky indeed.” I muttered out, wondering if this whole ordeal is me being lucky or unlucky. “U-Um, what about you? Why are you down here?”
“Just collecting some materials.” She dismissively said as she walked towards the dismantled golems. What materials? “These dungeon creatures have some part of their body that is quite valuable. Some people will love to use them to create weapons and tools.”
“W-What?” This is the first time I’ve heard of this.
“It’s like in games where you hunt and craft, really. But I don’t think you and many others realized what these are all for.” She said as she collected small orbs from the remains of these golems. “Anyway, you should leave this lower area, it’s definitely not safe for someone so weak,”
{Damn!}
{roasted}
{She called you out…}
“...Okay.” I can’t help but let out a defeated sigh. She’s definitely right. I can’t even tackle the second floor like I thought I would be able to. I let the whole magic thing go to my head. “B-By the way, if you don’t mind me asking… Who are you?”
“Just a swordswoman. Like I said, I am collecting some materials to sell off later. These things are more valuable than most of the world realizes.” …That’s really not telling me much at all! “But I guess I can stop for the day. I’ll escort you back to the entrance.”
“T-That would be appreciated…” I just realized that my voice has been shaking quite a lot still, my face still feels a bit hot…
“Follow my lead, make sure to stay close to me.” She said as she took the lead. Navigating the area without any difficulty and having me trailing right behind. “Say. What is your original intention? From what you’ve told me, you’re not aiming to come this far down.”
“I was streaming… You know, dungeons have been gathering interest and I just learned how to cast spells…” I explained myself, knowing full well now that it’s not exactly a very good reason to risk my life.
“Chasing fame? I guess that’s one way to do it. It seems like you don’t realize how dangerous it can truly be, even those with experience in combat are still failing, it has become quite a public scandal.” So she knew about that as well… “I would advise honing both your physical and magical abilities first before tackling it again. This is still a growing period for many, you have time.”
“W-What about you, then?” I actually have to wonder how she knew so much when it feels like everyone else is completely in the dark, including the higher ups. “Where did you learn all of this and keep your head cool?”
“Not interested in sharing.” She dismissively replied. Great… “Of course, if you need some guidance, you can ask, if I am in the mood for it.”
…So what am I supposed to say? What should I say?
“Then… Can I get your contact?” Why not test my luck a bit?
“...Sure. Just move your camera away, if it is still on. I don’t need your audience to harass me.” She said, giving me an easy enough condition to meet.
“Of course! Sorry chat, gotta stop the camera for a bit.” I said, stopping any recording with the stream still up and the chat moving.
{Not fair!}
{Awww}
{come on guys be reasonable}
“Let me borrow your phone for a moment.” She said and I did as she commanded, letting her type out her contact. “Done. Just remember that I can’t always answer.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be a bother.” I said, really not wanting her to avoid me. I then let the audience see again.
{sure love a black screen…}
Before I know it, we’re already on a familiar floor. I think this is the second floor, and I don’t see the giant wolf anywhere. Did it despawn or something?
“We’re almost back to the surface.” She stated as we go up to the first floor, where I can see some fuzzy creature-
*Snap* *SIZZ*
“Let’s not waste our time on them.” That was cold. Snapping her finger and lighting them all up and turning them to ashes…
“Finally… Fresh air.” The sense of relief I felt as I am finally out of here.
“Your tail is moving rather wildly.” Eeep! Why does she have to point that out! “Heh. Anyway, you should go back home and rest. I think you had a hard enough time today.”
“You’re right… Actually…” There’s one more thing I want to ask before parting ways for now. “What’s… your name? I’m Karra.”
“My name, is it?” She seemed slightly taken aback by my sudden question. I can’t help but to know the name of my savior. “My name is Wiina. Is that all you want to know?”
“I… Umm… Nice to meet you, Wiina…” I am stumbling so hard right now! “I’ll see you… later.”
“Right, see you later.” She said, noticing me standing still and frozen on the spot. “Then I shall take my leave. Make sure you don’t get into any accidents again.”
And finally, she walked away… My knee feels weak… I look down for a moment, and when I turn to look at the direction she walked towards, she is already gone…
{so what was all that?}
———Wiina———
<5: 07 pm>
I close my window shut, close the curtains, and then take off all these extra layers of clothing…
…
“Phew!” That was insanely nerve-wracking! Gotta give myself credit for keeping it cool the entire time. One hell of a grand debut, and I’m not sure what will happen next, but hopefully I can relax a bit the next time we meet like this…