Path of the Pioneers

I sunk my dagger into another imp’s neck, and with another squeal it turned into a puff of smoke. It felt odd to have its wrist in my hand and then nothing. The sensation of driving the blade into its flesh still made my skin crawl, but I forced the feeling down.

It bothered me that the same trick seemed to work on them so often.

Adeline had been rather insistent that I didn’t need to push myself into fighting again, but I knew I was being foolish and naive with my line of thinking. Combat and strife would be unavoidable for the two of us, I couldn’t shy away from it. Even though it made me terribly uncomfortable, that was something I would have to live with. I chose to live a life of discomfort the minute that I stepped out of my shop.

And that was alright.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and felt Adeline pat me on the back, “Good work! You’re getting better with that dagger, I think the points in agility really paid off.” The compliments were very nice, but something about them felt hollow. Before this day, I probably would have been thrilled to hear that from her.

Everything felt hollow since my little incident. It felt like my body was just operating on its own, or like somebody else entirely was in control. I simply went through the motions without any conscious thought about doing so.

My cheeks rose, my lips curved to form a smile on my face, and I allowed my eyes to soften up a bit. A few words spilled out from my mouth, “Thank you, Adeline.”

Walking through the mines, charting down our path, it all felt so hopelessly blurry. Kind of like dreaming while I was still awake.

We were coming upon a larger intersection, a room on the map that took up a sizeable space compared to the rest. Adeline suspected, given the density of imps, that the boss would likely be in this room. Though, in her eyes it was fine even if it wasn’t there. Slaying more imps meant more experience, after all.

Five imps rounded the corner, exiting the room, and immediately froze up after seeing us. After exchanging hurried looks between each other, the imps drew their daggers and took up fighting stances.

Adeline glanced over towards me, and I nodded. Following her lead, the two of us began to approach the imps. They only decided to attack once they were within the range of [Aesthesia].

Fighting multiple imps at once with a weapon was far scarier than just one. You could simply grab a lone imp after letting it charge you, but they fought with completely different methods when surrounded by allies. Adeline had a significant amount of defensive ability with her two longswords, but I was using a single dagger. It meant that I was far more reliant on weaving around their attempts to run a knife through me.

I would have had more than a few grievous injuries if I hadn’t received [Dagger Proficiency], so I felt very fortunate.

The skill seemed to have the effect of giving me muscle memory. Or at the very least it seemed to allow me to accrue it much more quickly. Still, there were times that I found my body trying to move in a way that I had never even considered, so I assumed that it must be giving me at least some manner of head start.

I ducked underneath an imp’s slash, knees silently screaming at me for bending down so quickly. I reached forward, stabbing my dagger into the imp’s chest, dragging the blade down. It cut through effortlessly, leaving a crimson streak across its chest. I felt it tear through its innards, and it yelped with what sounded like a great deal of pain in its voice, but it didn’t die.

Adeline swooped in with lightning speed, cleaving its head from its shoulders with one graceful, sweeping motion.

I stood back up as fast as my poor legs would allow me, dodging to the side of another imp’s stab. It was quickly in the same position that seemed to get them killed the most. Grabbing onto its wrist, I pulled the imp closer towards me, taking advantage of its unsteady balance. As it had done so many times before, my dagger tore into its throat and summarily turned the creature to smoke.

Adeline killed two more in an instant.

An imp behind me sought to take advantage of the situation, swinging down at my back after I took out its ally. I knew what I needed to do, but I didn’t have the confidence. If I stepped to the right, I could probably get a blow in after its movement came to an end.. But if I failed the timing…

I swung my left hand behind my back, casting [Barrier]. As I turned to face the imp, I felt its blade crash against the small bit of magical energy, the knife chipping slightly on the sturdy shield. All at once, I stepped in towards it. I rotated my hip, sending out my shoulder, elbow, and arm to swipe at the imp’s throat with my dagger. It cut through cleanly, the blade digging into its flesh and arteries, and another was finished. The last imp in the group had been slain.

Adeline was grinning, as ever. A hand made its way to my shoulder grabbing onto it in a way that made me feel comfortable. “You did so well, Sybil!”

I smiled. This one felt genuine -- I did well, after all.

It took me a moment of languishing there before I came back to my senses. Adeline was looking towards the other room, eyebrows furrowed as if she were trying to figure something out.

There was some kind of noise in the other room, like scratchy muttering. Adeline didn’t bother putting her swords away, “There’s something big in that room. Do you think you’re feeling ready for a boss?” I nodded, and she continued, “Alright. Try and get close to me if things turn out bad. And don’t forget about the return tablet! I’ve seen too many people die because they refused to use it, and I don’t want you to be one of them.”

I was nervous. Unbelievably nervous. The last boss I encountered was the minotaur, and it very nearly sent me to an early grave. I would have died, if not for Stella and Adeline. We rounded the corner, finally getting a good look at the room. The sight filled me with something akin to shock.

There were at least two dozen imps filling the room, their gaze all trapped upon one other figure. Lounging upon a wide throne in the center of the room was a humanoid at least three meters tall. It wore dark, flowing fabrics. Two darkened, ashy-red hands poked out from its clothes. Its individual fingers were slightly longer than what a human's would have been, proportionally. They almost looked sharp and spindly. One hand was currently being used as a headrest while the other drooped lazily at its side. Long, shaggy black hair framed its sharp face, and its eyes seemed to be closed, as if it were resting.

Two spiraling horns came out from the sides of its head, their tips incredibly sharp. A laurel made from gold rested upon its head. Like the rest of the imps, its proportions were odd, but in a slightly different way. It was lanky in a similar fashion, but its alien nature almost seemed more dignified, more structured. Even its patches of red scales seemed to be placed in a more deliberate, almost aesthetically pleasing way.

Four imps seemed to be fanning it off gently with large, makeshift fans. The ruler, a title which seemed fitting enough given its position, seemed to be the source of the muttering. It spoke in a language I couldn’t understand, its voice scratchy and its words quiet, despite the fact that I could hear it just fine.

The room was terribly quiet outside of the sound of the fanning and the rulers’ muttering.

The room itself was large, at least 15 meters by 15 meters. However, instead of the normal mineshaft decor, it looked.. Very regal. Gilded ribbons ran along the edges of the room, and even the lanterns appeared more ornate than the rest. Not to mention the throne, it was plated in all sorts of precious metals, including gold and silver.

Adeline stepped ahead of me, drawing the attention of some of the imps. However, they didn’t move from their spots, instead opting to just stare at her. They glanced back at the one on the throne with panicked expressions, and then back to us. Eventually, every imp had their eyes on us, while their ruler continued to sit there lazily, still muttering away.

They still didn’t look hostile, just fearful. But.. Something told me that they weren’t fearful of us.

Adeline raised an eyebrow, looking to me. Then, looking back towards the throne, she cleared her throat, trying to draw the rulers’ attention.

One eye cracked open, and the muttering stopped, revealing the same black sclera and white iris as the rest. In red, a symbol seemed to be etched into its left iris. It was familiar. I squinted, trying to remember what I was looking at.

It clicked in my mind. It was the alchemical symbol for vitriols -- corrosive chemicals, more or less.

It sat up in its chair as it opened the other eye, a surprisingly conscious expression on its face. One of annoyance. It stretched, arms raised up as a quiet groan came from its throat, its eyes locked on the two of us. One hand moved up to its chin, stroking it lightly before its lips parted once more.

“You reek of impsmoke and dust, humans. Couldn’t you at least bathe before darkening my door?”