My Demons

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Lost in my thoughts about the equipment, Ellen suddenly spoke up.

How about we scout around the stairs?

Huh? Why the sudden focus on the stairs?

Ah, right. We were debating whether to continue exploring or not.

Just around the stairs?

With that said, Ellen took out what looked like a folded greaseproof paper from her sling bag.

Give me the map.

Huh? Oh, here it is.

She took the map of the second floor, covered it with greaseproof paper, and marked the locations of the stairs using charcoal.

Then, she pointed to the marked spots with her finger and explained.

Now, these are the locations of the stairs on the third floor, right? Even if we just investigate the area around the stairs, we can greatly improve the accuracy of the map.

Hmm. Since were heading to the third floor anyway, its a good idea to familiarize ourselves with the terrain in advance and be prepared.

Exactly.

Oh, this

Its a common strategy in Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, or DCSS for short, a venerable game that offers infinite gameplay possibilities with numerous races, gods, ever-changing dungeon layouts, and complete freedom to enjoy.

I quite like this approach.

Ellen brushed off the charcoal dust with a huff, folded the greaseproof paper, and put it in her pocket. She added,

And there might be creatures like Ratmen appearing further down. We could earn some money from them.

Great. Lets take a slow and careful look around the stairs.

Okay.

So we decided to explore the area around the stairs on the third floor.

There were a total of four staircases connecting the second basement to the third. It wasnt surprising since there were also four stairs leading from the first basement to the second.

What was slightly different was that unlike the stairs from the first to the second floor, which were located to the north, south, east, and west, the stairs from the second to the third floor were rotated about 45 degrees clockwise.

While this method of exploring around the stairs required crossing the second floor multiple times, making the route longer, it turned out to be a wise choice. Along the way, we stumbled upon and eliminated a pair of aimlessly wandering zombies.

After dealing with them, Ellen pouted, tallying up the slingshots she had lost.

Ugh, annoying zombies. I lost slingshots for nothing.

As she grumbled with a regretful expression, I shrugged my shoulders and reassured her.

You still have plenty left, right? And when you run out, you can buy more from the armory.

If you keep spending recklessly, youll run out of money soon.

What does she mean by run out of money?

She had already spent most of the money she earned from selling a moonstone silver ring to buy a six-pence crossbow.

By now, she probably had one pence? No, probably less than that.

Well, being broke is a common condition in youth. Lets not say anything.

I silently teased her, and Ellen seemed quite content with my silence.

So, we should just avoid zombies like these. Its a waste of time and energy.

Thats not possible. You never know when we might have to escape from the third floor. Its crucial to secure a retreat route.

At my firm refusal, Ellen pouted with a sulky expression.

I understood her complaint, but from my perspective, even small amounts of experience were valuable, not to mention the importance of securing a retreat route.

I was particularly concerned about experience because, despite leveling up after defeating the pirates on the ship, I remained at level 11.

Even in a hardcore mode game, neglecting experience farming could delay scenario progression and greatly increase the risk of death.

After all, isnt this like reality? In this cutthroat world, survival chances were undoubtedly linked to ones level. So, I had no choice but to care.

But the frustrating part was that I couldnt accurately gauge my current experience level. The dream only showed the character sheet and provided no information about required experience, inventory, or equipment.

Phew, is this mode even more intense than hardcore?

Well, at least being able to allocate stats and skills was something. Its just that some information was concealed.

And I could roughly estimate the required experience. Ive been playing Dark World for several years, so I should be able to do that.

First, lets think about the experience table needed for leveling up

The experience required at level 11 was 4500, or wait, was it 3600?

There was no way to know the exact amount of experience when I arrived in South Harbor, so lets assume it was around 0.

However, watching her struggle, I couldnt help but feel sorry. Even though we took breaks here and there, it had already been 9 hours.

Give it to me. Were almost done. Let me carry it.

I told you, Im fine.

Hey, are you afraid I might tease you? I promise I wont, just give it to me. I wont tease you at all.

With my assurance, Ellens blue eyes wavered for a moment, but she quickly closed her mouth tightly and vigorously shook her head.

No, I said I dont need it. Are you deaf?

Alright, judging by your expression, it seems you still have some energy left.

As we continued our conversation, we arrived at the stairs leading to the 11 oclock direction.

Once we descended here and found the first hub, our work for the day would be complete.

As we made our way down the stairs, illuminated by a bullseye lantern, something caught my attention when we reached the third floor.

Huh? Hey, take a look at that.

Is that water?

As Ellen murmured, I realized she was right. It appeared that the central waterway had overflowed, and the stairs were surrounded by water.

Whats going on?

Either the downstream is blocked, or the upstream has opened. It could be one or both.

Listening to her mumble, I fell into deep thought.

The surface of the sewer Did the ancient empires sewer system have such points?

As far as I could recall, the ancient empires sewer was just a monotonously long structure with a regular layout.

The unexpected environment naturally heightened our tension.

The instincts that had dulled while dealing with dung beetles and zombies suddenly sharpened.

What should we do?

At Ellens question, I found myself lost in thought.

Its just a slight water overflow. Is there really a need to be overly nervous?

Although weve gained plenty of experience, we havent earned a single penny. Dont we deserve to gain something from this?

Besides, were only on the third basement level. At most, we might encounter Ratmen. Plus, we have an exit secured right behind us.

After a brief moment of hesitation, I made up my mind.

Lets just check up to the hub and then leave.

Upon hearing my words, Ellen set down her heavy backpack on the stairs. It would be better to travel light since we would be returning here later.

After confirming that she had reloaded her crossbow, I continued down the passageway.

It took about five minutes of cautious walking to reach the hub but damn, it was a disappointment.

Ah, how frustrating. The hub area is only ankle-deep water, nothing else.

As I grumbled in disappointment, Ellen furrowed her brow and murmured.

Something doesnt seem right.

What do you mean?

Look. Theres literally nothing here. No corpses, no trash.

Huh?

As she pointed it out, I realized she was correct. There was nothing noteworthy in this hub. If I had to point out something, there was a collapsed wall in one corner with soil flowing out of it?

But even that was a common sight in the sewer.

Wait a minute, but that

Something in the middle of the soil caught my eye. As I carefully approached to examine it

What is this?

Ellen, come take a look at this.

What is it?

As I sifted through the soil, clusters of fist-sized spheres came into view.

The white spheres, covered in dirt and speckled with brown, were slightly elongated as if they had been pressed from the side.

Eggs.

Ellen, who had come to my side, studied the speckled eggs for a moment.

Then, her face quickly turned pale, and she said,

Phoenix, we need to run.