The central area of the underground ruins.
Boots sloshed into a puddle, kicking up the scent of decaying humus, lifting and sinking back down.
“I hate this place.”
The dwarf muttered, glancing down at his filthy, soaking-wet boots.
“Me too,” Rosie replied.
As she spoke, Rosie reached into a seam of her plate armor, plucked out a squishy leech, and pinched it dead before tossing it into a nearby puddle. A tiny ripple spread across the surface of the water.
From a distance, the ruins had looked magnificent—the grayish-white clusters of buildings resembling a sleeping city beneath the glow of the crystals.
Only upon getting closer did they realize that the ground was covered in puddles and mud, the entire area essentially a vast, endless swamp.
The crystals on the ceiling cast a faint, greenish-white glow that fell upon the water, reflecting fractured images of the ruins.
There was no shortage of life here.
Worms like leeches wriggled through the puddles and blades of grass.
Brightly patterned, venomous snakes glided through the mud.
And crocodiles several meters long lay half-submerged in the pools, completely motionless.
Countless other nameless creatures flitted in and out of sight all around them.
Rosie's boots were already filled with water, and with every step, she could feel the liquid sloshing inside.
Every step sank deep into the muddy water.
She could feel her toes pruning inside her soaked socks, a lingering discomfort crawling up from the soles of her feet.
The dwarf walked ahead, holding a long wooden stick. He would poke the ground, take a step, poke again, and take another step.
Rosie followed closely behind, also leaning on a stick. Every few paces, she would probe the water in front of her and to her sides, ensuring they wouldn't plunge into some bottomless mud pit.
“Stop!” Rosie suddenly called out.
The dwarf halted immediately, keeping his stick planted in the muddy water as he warily scanned their surroundings. “What is it?”
“There's something in the pool ahead,” Rosie said.
Taller than the dwarf, her gaze swept over the patch of weeds in front of him, spotting a large pool of water just ahead.
And on the far side of the pool lay their destination: a large, grayish-white building.
Rosie bent down, yanked up a clump of weeds, and threw it—roots, mud, and all—toward the pool.
The clump of grass sailed through the air and landed near the edge of the pool.
Splash!
Water sprayed everywhere.
An eel-like creature at least two meters long burst from the water, its body twisting into an S-shape in midair. Its wide mouth, lined with rows of curved, needle-like teeth, clamped down hard on the clump of grass before it splashed back down into the shallows.
“Take this!”
The dwarf bellowed. Charging forward in three quick strides, he raised his axe high and brought it down with all his might before the eel could slip back into the deep water.
The blade sliced clean through the eel's neck, splitting its head in two.
The eel's body convulsed violently, and a surge of pale blue electricity erupted from its carcass, rippling across the surface of the water.
The dwarf shuddered violently, his hair standing on end, his fingers trembling as he clung to his axe.
Standing behind him, Rosie also felt a sudden numbness surge from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head.
A moment later, the electricity dissipated.
The dwarf shook his head and grinned. “Ahahaha! That felt like a full-body massage! Amazing!”
Rosie stared at him, feeling a wave of sheer exasperation wash over her.
Why did he have to go and chop a random fish anyway?
Splash.
A heavy splashing sound echoed.
Rosie looked toward the sound. A massive crocodile was sliding out of the tall grass by the pool and gliding through the water, heading straight for the eel's carcass.
Rosie grabbed the dwarf's collar and yanked him back a step. “Be careful. If you get dragged into the water, we're in trouble. I can't exactly swim in this heavy armor to save you.”
As she spoke, the crocodile opened its massive jaws, clamped down on the eel's body, and with a jerk of its head, swallowed the creature whole.
The dwarf snorted dismissively. “Just a measly crocodile. What's there to fear? If I weren't so full, I'd jump in and deal with it right now.”
Splash!
No sooner had the words left his mouth.
The surface of the pool suddenly bulged, and a massive, worm-like mouth—reminiscent of a sandworm—burst from the water, clamping down hard on the retreating crocodile.
The crocodile thrashed a couple of times before being dragged beneath the surface, vanishing entirely.
The water churned for a moment before quickly settling back into a calm, though murky ripples continued to spread.
The dwarf shut his mouth instantly.
Rosie remained silent as well.
A few bubbles gurgled to the surface before silence reclaimed the pool.
Without another word, the two carefully skirted the edge of the pool, doing their best to avoid making any noise.
Once past the pool, they finally stood before the massive, grayish-white building.
The building was half-submerged in water, its walls covered in a thick layer of moss and vines, their dangling roots trailing into the depths below.
A wide set of stone steps led upward from the entrance, ascending to the portico on the front of the building.
The two climbed the stone steps.
A slick layer of green moss coated the steps, making them incredibly slippery.
By the time they reached the entrance, the ground was still damp, but there were no more puddles.
The dwarf looked around and muttered, “In this state, can we really find anything good here?”
“Did you forget the exhibits in the Exhibition Center?” Rosie asked. “They remained undamaged after all these years. This is the core area, so its importance is obvious. There must be some good things hidden here.”
The dwarf nodded. “Fair point.”
They searched around the entrance, but all the doors were tightly shut, encased in thick layers of moss and tangled vines.
Rosie looked up at the structure of the building, walked over to a vine, and yanked on it to test its strength. Turning to the dwarf, she said:
“Set up a camp here. I'm going to head up and take a look.”
With that, she began removing her plate armor, stacking the pieces one by one on a moss-covered stone platform. Finally, she took off her soaked boots, stepping onto the cold stone surface barefoot.
The dwarf nodded. “Alright. I'll see if I can find some kindling to start a fire.”
He began searching the area for dry vines and moss.
Armed with only her meteoric iron sword and dagger, Rosie walked to the side of the ruins. She grabbed a dangling vine and tugged hard to ensure it was secure. Satisfied, she began to scale the wall, using the protrusions on its surface as handholds.
Though the moss made the wall slick, the vines were strong, and she climbed without too much difficulty.
Before long, she reached a platform at the top of the ruins.
Fortunately, there was an open portico here, and Rosie stepped inside.
The interior was also overgrown with moss, with light filtering down from the ceiling to illuminate portions of the walls.
She walked along the walls but found nothing of use, save for the name of the ruins inscribed on the inner wall near the entrance.
“Biological Engineering Experimental Research Center No. 1.”
Rosie also found a staircase leading to the lower level.
Standing at the top of the stairs, she peered down into the pitch-black darkness, unable to see a thing.
Since she didn't have a torch, she had no choice but to give up for now.
She walked back to the edge of the platform and climbed back down the way she came.
By this time, the dwarf had managed to start a campfire using dead vines.
He was sitting by the fire with his boots off, warming his bare feet—which were still speckled with mud—near the flames.
Beside him lay a dry vine binding several large clams.
Seeing Rosie return, he looked up and asked, “Find anything?”
Rosie shook her head. “Nothing yet. But we can explore the interior once we have torches.”
The dwarf pointed to the burning vines. “The insides of these vines are dry. If you peel off the outer bark, they burn well. Hold on, I'll make us some torches.”
“Thanks.”
Rosie smiled, picking up her boots and placing them near the fire to dry.
“Where did you find those?” she asked, pointing at the large clams.
“Found them while looking for kindling,” the dwarf chuckled. “Just picked them up along the way.”
As he spoke, he tossed the vine-bound clams directly into the fire.
“Keep an eye on the food. I'll go make some torches for us.”
With that, the dwarf grabbed his axe, walked over to a nearby patch of dead vines, selected a few thick ones, and chopped them down. Dragging them back to the fire, he stripped off the bark and bundled the dry inner fibers together.
He secured the bundled fibers with thin vines, fashioning three torches, which he set near the fire to dry slowly.
“Rest up for a bit, and I'll go down with you to take a look,” the dwarf said.
Rosie nodded. “Alright.”
The large clams soon popped open in the heat, sizzling and bubbling inside.
Rosie used her dagger to scrape the clams out of the fire, prying the shells open to reveal the plump, white meat inside.
The clam meat was firm and flavorful. Though it carried a hint of muddy aftertaste, after trudging through the muck for most of the day, having hot food was more than enough.
After finishing, Rosie used the large shells to scoop up some water and boiled it over the fire.
Once the water boiled, she waited for it to cool to a drinkable temperature before filling her waterskin.
Only after finishing these chores did she lean back against a stone pillar near the fire and close her eyes to rest.
The dwarf tended the fire, tossing in a few more pieces of wood before sitting down on the opposite side.
When Rosie woke up, the dwarf had already put his boots back on and was squatting by the fire, roasting something.
Walking over, she saw that he was roasting several palm-sized fish. They were incredibly ugly, with long, sharp teeth protruding from their lips—not a very appetizing sight.
“When did you catch these?” Rosie asked, crouching beside him.
“While you were asleep, I made a fish trap out of vines and threw it into the water. When I pulled it up, I had these,” the dwarf replied, flipping the fish over the fire.
Rosie glanced toward the pool outside. “You're quite brave. Weren't you afraid of that big creature?”
The dwarf chuckled and patted the axe resting beside him. “Nothing to fear. That thing clearly can't come ashore. Besides, I have this.”
Though the roasted fish were ugly and smelled heavily of mud and fishiness, they filled their stomachs, and Rosie didn't complain.
Once they finished eating, Rosie scaled the wall to the top of the ruins first, then lowered a vine to haul up their backpacks and her plate armor piece by piece.
Finally, the dwarf grabbed the vine and scrambled up.
Rosie quickly strapped on her plate armor, hoisted her pack, and lit one of the dried torches.
The torch flared with a bright, orange-red flame.
Holding the torch aloft, she stepped through the entrance of the ruins and walked toward the stairs leading to the lower level.
Axe in hand, the dwarf followed close behind.
The firelight cast two shadows, one long and one short, stretching across the walls.
Rate on N.U.
