39: The Hall of the Luminous, Part Four

The Hall of the Luminous, Part Four

"U-Um... Is she also a human?" Minerva asked nervously as Erin slithered behind Neve the next morning. 

The two of them stood just outside the lady's house, as they were about to walk over to the Infested Hall. 

She wanted to get a sense of what it would be like before she committed to doing anything else. Because the enemies were going to start off so weak, she figured there was no risk in doing so. 

Naturally, she was still going to be cautious. Things had a tendency of going terribly wrong, even if she hadn't died yet, so, she wasn't about to let her guard down. 

"Eghk, no, no, no. She's a 'lamia'," Neve replied. 

"I-I see," Minerva laughed awkwardly. "Good luck with the Infested Hall, then. I pray for your success." 

"Thanks. I'll be back in a bit." 

With that, Minerva closed the door and Neve began moving through the city. 

"So, the way this is going to work is that the enemies are going to come in waves," Neve told Erin. "One group after another, understand?" 

The conversation Neve and Erin had yesterday went quite well, all things considered. Maybe the System had stepped in, to some degree, to ensure that it would. However, right now, Erin looked... distracted. Her eyes remained on the ground as Neve spoke and her face, though not exactly sad, appeared distant and slightly brooding.

It was natural, given what they'd discussed last night, but Neve hoped it wouldn't be a problem soon. 

"Erin?" 

"Hm?"

"Do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied with a pause. "We will be defending against a siege?" 

"Of sorts," Neve shrugged. "You'll understand once you see it. But," Neve added, "like I told you yesterday, you're only going to be in fights for a minute before I have to summon you again. We need to make the most of it." 

"I'm aware," she replied. 

As they paced through the dimly lit streets of Rorvan, Neve's curiosity got the better of her and she asked:

"So, what did you write last night?" 

"Ah, I was simply trying to see how much I could remember," she answered. "And, I jotted down everything that I could in the notebook you gave me." 

"How much could you remember?" 

"Most things, surprisingly," Erin replied, with a hint of a smile appearing at the corners of her lips. "Well, I do not know if it is common or not for summons to have memories. I guess it is, right?" 

"Not at all," Neve replied. "Most summons don't talk, let alone have memories." 

Erin's brows shot up. 

"Is that so? Well, I found that I could recall a great deal of my life. My childhood, my friends, my lovers, my hobbies... Countless things I did not think I would be able to remember given the fact that I am... whatever it is that I am." 

She considered those words for a moment, as they cut through Rorvan's streets, disregarding the curious gazes of those around them. 

"... I'd like to hear about that stuff," Neve told her. Erin glanced over at her. "Your memories. Later, I mean. If you don't mind." 

"Is that an order?" Erin asked, tilting her head.

Maybe Neve was just being paranoid but she sensed a small amount of venom in that question. 

"No. I'm just saying, I'm curious about you." 

Erin nodded slowly, considering that answer. 

"I suppose I should thank you in some form or another for allowing me to have these memories in the first place. If you want to know about them, by all means, I will tell you." 

"It wasn't m- whatever," Neve replied, figuring that she didn't want to get into the whole System side of things. "You're welcome." 

As they arrived at the Infested Hall, a few nosy citizens stopped and watched them. They whispered amongst each other, pointing and gawking at the two foreigners. 

Neve regarded them with almost the same amount of curiosity. She could understand why they were watching so closely, though. To Neve, this was just another dungeon, albeit a uniquely structured one. To them, this was an obstruction that had persisted for years. 

She couldn't blame them for wanting to see whether salvation had finally arrived or not. 

As Neve stood in front of the temple's doors, a similar message to the one from before appeared before her, from when she'd entered Roha Vala. It summarized what Tamira had told her earlier. 

{Dungeon: The Hall of the Luminous} 

{Recommended Level: 60}

{Minimum Players Required: 1} 

{Note: In this dungeon, you will face 25 different waves of enemies.}

{The enemies will begin at level 1 and gradually increase in power.}

{Every 5 waves, you will be allowed to leave, rest, and resume your clear. Your progress will be saved.} 

{All EXP gains and WS Token gains are doubled}

{The number of enemies will be adjusted for the number of players}

{Rewards will be given after completing waves: 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25}

{Are you ready to enter the dungeon?}

{Yes} {No}

Neve inhaled sharply. 

[The enemies here are going to be level 1, early. I don't plan on tackling the whole thing right now. I just want to get a taste. Once I reach level 5, I'll stock up on equipment. Tamira had said that I could buy stuff here, right?] 

"Tamira did indeed say that, yes," Tamira helpfully replied. 

[Can you not read my thoughts, please?] 

"But, they're so interesting!" 

[Whatever.] 

"Are you ready?" Neve asked Erin. 

"Yes," Erin replied. "You do not need to worry about me. I will set my personal thoughts aside once we are in combat." 

"Okay... Thank you," Neve replied. "I just want you to know, even though you're a summon, you're still your own person to me. I'm grateful that you're putting in as much effort for me as you are." 

"I will continue to do so," Erin replied. "It's all I can do." 

There was that small amount of spite again. Neve let it go. 

As that was said, the healer pushed the doors to the temple open. 

She and her summon walked in and a barrier quickly appeared behind them, keeping them from going back out.  2

The temple, or arena as one could also call it, was spacious and ancient. 

Just in front of the doors they'd just walked through was an altar, with a statue behind it. Neve couldn't tell who, or what, the statue was made in tribute to as half of it was missing. The room stretched to form a massive hallway with old, dust-covered pews and a red carpet covering the floor space between them. It formed a path leading to two more doors far to the back, which stood below a set of windows from which an ethereal blue-white light poured out and bathed nearly the entirety of the temple. 

Skeletons could be seen all around the temple. Some wore armor, others wore more casual outfits. All of them looked like they had been running away from the doors beneath the windows when they died. The doors that Neve guessed led outside of the temple, to the path out of these caverns that the inhabitants of Rorvan simply could not reach. 

Cold, abandoned, and eerie, this temple certainly made for a decent stage. 

"Stay behind me," Erin said. "Where will our enemies be coming from?" 

The temple itself answered the question. 

Up ahead, five figures appeared to teleport into the center of the hall. 

Three goblins carrying small wooden weapons materialized, along with an archer and a mage behind them. 

All were level 1. 

"Let's do this," Neve said. "Erin, you have one minute. Take them out." 

"Understood." 

The lamia dashed forward. 

The goblins, stunned, let out a series of yelps as she closed the distance between them in a terrifyingly quick fashion. 

Two of them were taken down before the others could even move their arms. The third melee fighter saw itself be launched to the side with one quick swipe from Erin's tail. It slammed into the walls, its head bouncing off the temple's stones with a disgusting crack. 

As the archer goblin went to nock an arrow with its little, green hands, unsteady and panicked, Erin slashed its throat with the claws on her right hand. Green blood slid down from its neck as it hit the ground. 

The mage goblin turned, looking like it was going to try running away. Erin reached it before it could take 2 steps. 

She grabbed its head from behind with both hands, wrapped her tail around its body, and yanked up. 

The goblin's head was separated from its body and, just like that, the first wave was gone. 

All in just 10 seconds. 

[I guess this is what a power gap looks like when it's in our favor,] Neve thought. [Wonder how long it'll last, though.] 

The bodies disappeared before Neve could search them. 

She looked up to see how much EXP and how many WS Tokens she'd gained from that. 

EXP Gained: 20

EXP: 380/410

WS Tokens Gained: 50

WS Tokens: 6200

[Honestly, that's decent, for them being low-level.] 

Around 10 seconds after Erin had eliminated the first wave, more enemies teleported in. 

This time, it was a set of four creatures. Two goblins wielding axes and two mages. 

They growled and Erin glanced back at Neve. 

"Same as before," Neve said. "Give them hell." 

"On it." 

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