[Chapter 45. The Weight of Survival]
"Iris, how are the four young ones doing?" Searanox asked. His gaze distant, his dark eyes still haunted by the violet afterimage of his own weapon firing at the only person who had shown him unwavering loyalty in this brutal world.
"They are safe. They have been staying in the house since you left." she replied, her voice still calm. But with a hint of concern that didn't escape his notice. Her silver eyes observed him carefully, reading the tension in his shoulders that hadn't eased since his return.
Searanox nodded slowly, his mind still reeling from the near-fatal mistake. He had almost killed Iris. The thought was a constant weight in his mind, a reminder of the thin line between survival and destruction in this new world. He had become a monster, a being who reacted with lethal force to the slightest perceived threat. In the dungeons he had found a part of himself, a part that was once only possible virtually. That primal bloodthirsty joy in domination and destruction that both thrilled and terrified him.
He forced the memory of the Howling Caverns down, burying it beneath layers of cold necessity. Just as he had buried every other regret from his past. There was no luxury of dwelling on mistakes, only the brutal march forward. The weight of what he had almost done to Iris settled in his gut like a stone, but he pushed it aside. What was done was done.
"Get them ready." he said, his voice flat devoid of the warmth it might have held just days ago. "We're heading out. I've checked all the dungeons nearest this campsite. One of them is level five. Good experience for them."
He turned from her, his gaze dropping to the ground before moving toward the sheds. The wooden doors creaked as he pulled them open, revealing shelves stocked with preserved food and basic supplies. He filled his storage ring until the system notifications confirmed it was at half capacity. His mind calculating exact portions for the journey ahead. When he returned to the center of the clearing, the house door swung open.
Four women emerged from the prefabricated house, their movements hesitant as they stepped into the dim moonlight that filtered through the surrounding trees. Their faces were gaunt, eyes wide with a terror that had yet to fade from their abduction. The memory still fresh like an open wound. Clad in mismatched garments that hung loosely on their frames they clustered together as if proximity might offer some measure of protection against the cold night and their captor. His gaze settled on the young Asian woman, her long black hair tangled around her pale face the moonlight catching in the dark strands.
In his mind he closed the distance between them in three strides. His fingers brushing against her cheek as he tucked a stray lock behind her ear, feeling the softness of her skin. With a short soft shake of his head he banished this thought, instead he let his gaze drift over all of them once. Noting the subtle differences in their reactions.
"I'll power level you all." he said, his voice low and even devoid of emotion. "Until you can handle it yourselves. Without me losing my…"
After a short thought he corrected himself, the word tasting wrong even as he said it. "assets. my assets."
With a flick of his wrist three travel drones appeared, their blue light briefly illuminating the clearing before settling into a soft hum.
"Two on each drone." Searanox commanded, his voice flat as he turned away not waiting for a response. "We're wasting time."
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The women flinched at his tone, the sharpness cutting through the night air. Lana and Carmen shuffled closer. Their hands finding each other in the gloom, fingers intertwining like frightened children. Vanessa's jaw clenched, a spark of defiance burning in her eyes for a brief moment before it was snuffed out by the crushing reality of her powerlessness. Sarah simply stared at him, her expression a hollow mask of resignation as she moved to obey guiding the younger ones toward the drones.
They mounted the drones in silence. The hum of the magitech the only sound between them, a mechanical heartbeat in the stillness of the night. Iris took her place at the rear, a silent looming presence that needed no words to remind them of their fate. The drones lifted off, cutting through the night air as they accelerated toward the waiting dungeon portal.
Searanox felt a weight against his back. He glanced down to see Iris clinging to him, her snout buried in the crook of his neck. Her body pressed tight against his, seeking comfort or perhaps offering it in her own strange way.
"Iris." he said, his voice low. "You don't need to hold on so tightly." Her grip only tightened. Her claws pricking through the fabric of his new coat, barely breaking through the metallic plates beneath. Warm breath fanned across his skin as she tilted her head up, her silver eyes catching the faint moonlight like two chips of polished ice.
"I know." she murmured, the sound a low rumble in her chest that vibrated through his back. "I want to." Her gaze held his for a moment longer, something unreadable swimming in those silver depths before she buried her snout back against his neck.
The connection was a silent, unbreakable thing a comfort that gnawed at the edges of his control. He let her be, a faint sigh escaping his lips as the drones sped through the darkness toward whatever fresh hell awaited them. The drones descended into the clearing where the hollow tree stood, Iris's body still pressed tight against his back. Her teeth grazed the skin of his neck, a light testing pressure that sent a shiver down his spine despite the warmth of her breath.
As they reached the ground and the drones dissolved into sparks of blue light, she let out a soft whimper against his skin. The sound vibrating through his body, a strange mix of fear and contentment that confused him more than the dungeons ever could.
Searanox stepped away from her. His boots crunching on the dry leaves as he approached the pulsing portal. He tapped it with his finger, a gesture more for his own satisfaction than necessity. Feeling the strange energy ripple beneath his touch, a sensation that was both familiar and deeply unsettling.
"Twelve minutes until it resets." he announced to the group, his voice flat and devoid of warmth. He moved to a cluster of moss-covered rocks nearby. The damp chill seeping through his new coat as he settled himself atop the largest one, making it clear this was not a discussion among equals but a directive from a position of absolute authority.
"Here's how this works. We enter together, stay at the entrance. You four don't go deeper." His eyes swept over them, lingering on their varied expressions of fear and defiance taking in every flicker of emotion. "When it's cleared, you leave. I'll collect the loot."
He paused. Letting the simplicity hang in the air like the scent of pine and earth, before he looked directly at the women who stood clustered together like frightened sheep.
Vanessa's back stiffened. Her hands clenching at her sides, knuckles white. "What's the catch? You're not doing this out of the goodness of your heart." Her voice carried the sharp edge of someone accustomed to finding the trap in any offer, each word laced with suspicion born from experience.
Searanox leaned back against the rock, a faint smirk playing on his lips that didn't reach his eyes. "you're weak. This world has no room for the weak." He thinks before he speaks, the words tasting like ash in his mouth. "They get exploited."
"I don't want to be out for days in some god forsaken dungeon, worrying that someone might lay his hands on you. So... I will make you so strong, that this won't happen. Call it... a moral obligation."
Searanox turned to Iris and with a short huff of a laugh that sounded more like a dry cough. "On second thought... Never mind, Iris you will do this one on your own. Be careful and don't push yourself to hard, there is no need to rush."
Then he turned back to the others, his gaze sweeping over them once more, "You will come with me into the Webbed tunnels. That should give you a good amount of Levels."
