Chapter 42: Chapter 42 – Floor 5: Part 3

Chapter 42 – Floor 5: Part 3

“Shouldn’t there be more people here?” Alivia commented as the four Champions entered the main base.

The sealing structure was massive, covering the entirety of the Pit. Miles wide, the army base built to contain the creatures within was the size of a city, with streets and buildings ringing the Pit.

There wasn’t a soul in sight, where Mathew typically assumed there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

He remembered what Albert told him about the Pit, how items brought out from within were magical and worth a lot of money on the surface. He wondered if the trade of those items sustained this base and the people working here.

“The Mimics probably got them. Watch everything. They could be hiding as the most mundane objects.” Oscar advised.

Ken was on edge, his head constantly turning left and right as he searched for even the slightest sign of danger. Mathew wasn’t sure how the teen spotted the irregularities with the gate guards, but he appreciated Ken’s abilities at this moment.

“All of them? Shit, what are we walking into?” Alivia replied, nervously flicking a card from her deck with his fingernail.

“We take it as it comes, one step at a time. We should search the base first before trying to enter the Pit. I don’t want to go in there just to have someone lock the door behind us or stab me in the back.” Oscar muttered, and Mathew agreed with the sentiment.

There wasn’t a time limit on this floor, meaning they could take it at their own pace. It was better to be slow and careful than rush into a situation where they had no idea what was waiting for them.

“Agreed. Ken, point out anything odd. We hit first and ask questions later. Alivia, don’t hold back with the cards, I get the feeling we’re going to need all the firepower we can get. There’ll be more than enough Aether to purchase more cards.” Mathew said.

The mimics they had killed outside had given each of them thousands of Aether, even after whatever power controlled their silver wristbands automatically divided the spoils between the four of them. This floor was exceedingly dangerous but also profitable.

They started by searching the more prominent buildings, which were as empty as the streets outside. After nearly an hour, they didn’t think there was anyone left alive when their party came upon a group of people barricaded in a fortified bunker at the rear of the complex.

There were over forty people, with a dozen rifle-wielding guards who aimed at Mathew and the others from around a line of concrete barriers.

“Halt! Keep your hands where we can see them!” A soldier shouted, and Mathew felt a sense of Deja vu. It was like a near similar scene to the gate guards, only this time their party looked to Ken, who shook his head to signal that they were indeed human.

“We’re Champions, sent here to seal the Pit!” Oscar shouted, his voice echoing across the distance between them. They were careful not to make any sudden movements as they didn’t want to scare the first real people they had come across on this Floor.

They could hear whispers amongst the soldiers, then the crackle of a radio. Soon, the door to the bunker behind them was opening, revealing a middle-aged man in an officer’s uniform. He stopped just behind the guards, still wary of them.

“Sergeant, the device.” The officer ordered, looking to another soldier who was standing behind the guards. He had a large backpack on, with a strange apparatus that looked to Kal to be an oversized tuning fork.

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Slowly walking toward them, the sergeant held the device up, and it began to emit a whine while sending sparks between its two forks.

“What the hell is that?” Alivia asked, concerned about the obviously dangerous device approaching them.

“If you’re Champions, you won't have a thing to worry about. These creatures react to the electric field the sergeant is generating. If you are taking the appearance of a human, we’ll know soon enough.” The officer said.

Mathew watched curiously as the Sergeant began to wave the contraption around them. He could hear it hum and hiss before the man withdrew it. Turning back to the officer, he nodded.

“They’re clean.”

“Very well. Please, come forward. I apologize for the treatment, but we had to be sure. We’ve lost half the base to these monsters before we could come up with a way to identify them.” The officer said, meeting them halfway and extending his hand.

“Colonial Nielson. I’m acting commander of the base.” The officer was introduced, and a round of introductions from Mathew and the others soon followed it.

“We have teams securing the surface, but the containment seal on the Pit is intermittent. Every few hours, the electric field we used to keep everything back fails, and we get a wave of these ‘Mimics.’ Luckily, none of the more dangerous creatures have breached the surface.” Nielson explained.

“Half your base is gone, and you don’t consider these ‘Mimics’ dangerous?” Oscar asked with surprise.

“If creatures taking the form of our base personnel and everyday objects were the only thing down there, you wouldn’t have been summoned. We aren’t sure how long the seal has been failing, but by the time our engineers discovered it, many of our people were already replaced.” Nielson responded.

“What do you need us to do? Join in the search for Mimics?” Mathew asked, and Nielson shook his head.

“No. Something is draining the base’s power, causing the seal on the Pit to weaken and fail. We’ve been waiting for you to arrive. It’s too dangerous to send anyone else down there. I need you to find and deal with whatever disrupts our energy supply.” Nielson explained, and Mathew felt his wristband vibrate.

Objective Update: The seal on the Pit is growing weaker, allowing the creature within to breach the surface. Find and eliminate the source of the disruptions and cleanse the Pit.

Note: Shop services and Leveling will be unavailable within the Pit. You cannot return to the surface until the objective is complete.

The others were also reading the updated summary of their objectives. They shared a look, understanding the importance of the note at the end. They would need to prepare before venturing down, and there would be no turning back once they did so.

The Shop and Level screens were accessible to Mathew as if the entire base was a Temple. They could purchase what they needed here before going down.

“How deep is the Pit, and what can we expect when we start to descend?” Alivia asked, and Neilson gestured for them to follow him into the bunker. It was small and cramped, the hallways narrow and the ceiling lower than expected.

It was stifling, and Mathew could feel the weight of the concrete around him.

“It’s a mile deep, but a warren of caverns is down there. I don’t think we have explored half of it. The only reason we have been able to seal the Pit was due to past Champions' efforts. I don’t know what they did, but we’ve been assured that this is the only exit.” Neilson explained.

They came to a large room where various electronic devices monitored the station. Compared to Mathew’s time, they were antiquated. A screen showed a simple outline of the base with a few red notifications Mathew took as a breach of the seal.

“You’ll go in here.” Nielson said, pointing at a small entrance to the Pit next to a large red warning sign.

“Once you’re inside, don’t trust anything. We’ve never properly catalogued the creatures inside, and the Champions were hesitant to speak of it. At least the few that came out.” Nielson explained. He pointed out a few other areas of interest, as well as some tips on how to navigate once they were inside.

“Good Luck.” Nielson said, shaking their hands again.

Mathew and the others moved out of the command area of the bunker into a small side alcove. There, they began their preparations. Alivia seemed to be buying every card available in the shop and refused to explain to anyone what they did.

Oscar was purchasing materials, and Mathew felt a small wave of power from him, a sure sign of a level-up.

For Ken, the Burglar leaned against the wall, and Mathew didn’t see him open his wristband once. Perhaps he had everything he needed in his inventory. The teen had been valuable so far, and he would hate to think that he would stumble now when it was the most important.

For Mathew ,he purchased the next tier of ‘Catapult,’ upgrading the useful spell to 60 feet and medium velocity. He also spent the remainder of his Aether on a number of items, healing potions and sundries.

As prepared as they would ever be, the four companions left the bunker and entered the Pit.