Chapter 17
MIRA AND THE OTHERS took a quick break in the chamber at the top of the third-stratum staircase.
She commanded her Dark Knight to kneel down and used its leg as a chair, sighing with a mixed berry au lait in hand. Aaron plopped down on the ground and drank from his canteen. Those with experience in the Citadel of Scales kicked back and relaxed.
Meanwhile, the first-timers Scorpion and Snake peered around as they ate their snacks nervously.
Aaron turned his empty canteen upside down and shook it. He reassured the two Hidden, “It surprised me, too. But this room is harmless. Relax a little.”
“There aren’t monsters hiding around here or anything?” Scorpion held a cookie in her left hand and her dagger in her right, narrowing her eyes as she kept watch.
“It’s just so eerie.” Snake had slipped between her golem’s legs, using them as an iron wall.
“Even if another Legion Wraith popped out, we’d be able to leave as long as we made it back to this room. You can tell they really didn’t want people getting in when they used that spell on this place.” Aaron looked around with a grin and reassured them. He remembered how he’d felt his first time here all too well.
Around the party were a group of intimidating knights, running around with expressionless faces and swords at the ready. They were an illusion made to throw off invading monsters, the remnants of spirit magic cast in ancient times during the war with monsters.
“A type of barrier, huh? I’ve heard of these, but I still can’t relax like this,” Scorpion said. She threw a disk at one of the illusions. It sliced through the wind directly toward the knight and passed through its legs, making a shrill noise as it screeched across the gray stone floor.
“See? Just illusions.” Aaron smirked as the noise echoed through the room.
“I guess, but…let’s just hurry!”
The spirit magic cast on this stratum was high-level stuff. On top of normal enemy attacks, adventurers also had to deal with terrifying, sword-bearing illusory knights. As they were illusions, they dealt no physical damage, but they were just as intimidating as the Dark Lord. Scorpion’s tail puffed up in alarm as she stepped closer to her comrades.
Scorpion’s fear also reminded Mira of her first time here. She stood up and looked at the too-high ceiling.
***
The third stratum of the Citadel of Scales was actually a three-dimensional maze that spanned from the third to eighth floor in one open space. Staircases stretched wildly here and there, intermingling like spider webs, occasionally diverging, and running all over the space above.
In the very center of the tangled mess of staircases was one big, cuboid room supported by a tower. The added third dimension made it even easier to get lost in this maze.
“Go all the way up this staircase, then take the left staircase down to its end. There should be a bend along the way.” Snake read the complex map of the third stratum and guided the group along the correct path.
Preferring not to waste her energy climbing stairs, Mira sat on her Dark Knight’s shoulder and had it fold its arm in front of its chest. There she rested her legs, reclining luxuriously as the group trudged along.
Aaron stood behind Snake, peering at the sketched map and furrowing his brow at the complexity of it.
Scorpion got a little more tense each time the illusory knights charged at her, but she pressed on, managing to face them head on without turning tail. With each success, she stood up straighter, and soon enough was swishing her tail happily and waving at the hostile knights.
The illusory knights were no problem once one was accustomed to them, but the defense mechanisms of the Citadel of Scales didn’t end there. Barriers were placed on staircases and sometimes in midair, refracting light and making it difficult to know where one was going with each step. Above, illusions of knights ran up and down stairs, some even appearing to run upside down. It was like being inside an optical illusion.
This third stratum was the main stratum of the Citadel of Scales. Even monsters didn’t appear in this stratum, nor would they follow adventurers into it.
When first visiting, one might find this place fairly annoying. But many forebears had already cleared this dungeon. Even in this three-dimensional maze where their path seemed to disappear due to visual tricks and traps, it would be fine as long as they followed the map.
They repeated this process several times, climbing staircases, passing through hallways, and going through the big square room until they finally stopped. The group looked down—though it was hard to tell what was up or down at this point.
“The map says this should be it,” Snake said, her confidence wavering.
“Seeing isn’t really believing here, is it?” Aaron looked down the stairs and frowned.
“It looks familiar, but I can’t say for certain,” Mira added. Even in-game, this wasn’t a place players came often. Her memories would have been vague even without the illusions.
They stood in the middle of yet another staircase, exactly like all the others they’d traversed to get here. According to the route map, they were twenty percent of the way there. Scorpion squatted at the edge of the staircase and peered down. She waved to the reflection of herself below and suggested, “We can just go down and find out, right?”
“Oho. How handy.”
“Glad to have you around.”
“Good luck.”
The other three happily volunteered Scorpion to test the theory. Their expectant gazes made Scorpion wince—perhaps she’d made a mistake.
Below their feet was a set of staircases built like a lattice, though it was difficult to see due to the refraction of light from the barriers. Depending on where they landed, they could take a huge shortcut by jumping down.
The third stratum was such a vast labyrinth that it could take all day going the normal way. If they took all day to clear it, Chimera Clausen might take a shortcut and overtake them. As long as they didn’t know when their enemy would show up, they would have to take the fastest path possible and be ready for their arrival.
The shortest route was marked on the map, but their sense of sight couldn’t be trusted here. Though Snake was sure this was the right spot, she struggled to take the final step. Aaron had experience clearing this dungeon, but back then, his party had taken the time to go the long way. He’d never used the shortcut and could now only stare down the staircase.
Mira was the only one who had firsthand knowledge of this shortcut. But either due to the citadel’s annoying nature or due to how much time had passed—probably both—her memories were vague enough that she couldn’t say for certain that this was the exact spot.
“We won’t see you, but we can hear you. When you’re down, tell us how it is.” Snake checked the map over and over and nodded to Scorpion, as if to say, This absolutely must be the place.
“Mmm… ‘Kay…” Scorpion grinned wryly at Snake, then laughed quietly to herself. Steeling her nerves, she jumped down with a hearty war cry. “See ya soon!”
The three leaned over the side to watch the odd illusion of her being sucked into the mirror below, then fell quiet, listening intently.
“Whoa, that was closer than I thought!” Scorpion called up to them. “Jeez!” They couldn’t see her, but her voice came through loud and clear.
Aaron looked back to the group and shrugged. “Sounds like we’ve got the right spot, at least.”
Mira also straightened up. “Right.” She repositioned herself comfortably on her Dark Knight.
“Report situation,” Snake called out after the initial wave of relief.
“Ooh. I can’t see you, but I can hear you! This is weird!”
“Hurry up.”
“Okaaay! Uh, so this looks like a stair landing. It was really close. There’s a staircase going down, and there’s another that goes up. The one going up splits into two along the way. Does that sound right?” Scorpion gave a clear account of what she could see.
Snake compared her description to her map, and dropped her shoulders with a sigh of relief—this was the place.
“Looks like we got it,” Aaron called out. “We’re jumping down, so you get out of the way, Little Miss Scorpion.”
“Got it!” Scorpion promptly answered.
A few seconds later, Aaron was the first to leap down. Snake followed right behind, taking a step forward and disappearing into the staircase.
This is quite the run. Mira had only ever cleared the Citadel of Scales alone. She grinned with pleasure and jumped down the staircase on her Dark Knight.
“First, we go up and take the path to the right.” When they reached the landing, Snake swiftly ascertained their location and began climbing once again.
“How much time did we save?” asked Aaron.
“About six hours.”
“Whoa. That much?” He peered over Snake’s shoulder to peek at her map.
Everyone pretended not to see what had just happened. Scorpion played along too, asking performatively, “It sounds like we’re close, then, right?”
In the middle of the landing lay Mira, writhing with her hands on her butt and tears in her eyes. Scorpion said it wasn’t a long fall…but it was still a fall. This one was about two stories, which someone with any training could take with ease.
Scorpion had her acrobatics, Aaron’s muscles were well trained, and Snake was no slacker either. With Mira’s sage abilities, a simple fall shouldn’t have hurt her so much.
The problem was the Dark Knight she’d sat on. It was shaped like a human, but as it easily performed inhuman maneuvers, it had no need to bend its knees to cushion a fall. As a result, Mira had taken the entire impact on her petite rear end.
The other three were a bit worried, but the ridiculous sight of it left them with no words to console her. The only option was to turn away as if they never saw a thing.
***
Setting out to follow Snake’s directions up the stairs and right, the three slowly climbed until Mira finally recovered and caught up with them.
Snake opened the sketched map and examined it. “There are two more shortcuts after this point.”
Aaron used the opportunity to take a look as well. “At this rate we’ll be there before dinner this time.”
This was nothing but a performance meant to put the adventure back on track. Though his motions were stilted, Aaron played his role well. Snake rarely showed emotion anyway, so her blank expression was not suspicious.
“Woo-hoo,” Scorpion said. “Can’t wait for din dins.”
The problem was Scorpion.
Even Mira was blown away by her poor line delivery. Calling her amateurish would be an insult to amateurs. Yet Scorpion’s eyes held the confidence of someone who was certain she’d aced her role.
That said, Mira seemed wholly aware that they had put on this little pantomime as a way of pretending she hadn’t embarrassed herself.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Right. Let’s.”
“Straight ahead here, then turn right.”
The silence lasted only a moment. Aaron and Snake tacitly agreed to say nothing more about it and moved on.
But Scorpion kept trying. “Snake’s suuuch a goood cook!” At least her smile seemed genuine.
“Oh. Well, er, I can’t wait…?” Mira tried to conceal her grimace.
Aaron and Snake refused to turn around, dutifully gluing their eyes to the map.
***
About four hours after Scorpion showed off her lousy acting, the group overcame the second shortcut without difficulty and proceeded on, taking short breaks here and there, until they reached the third and final shortcut.
“This is the last one,” Snake announced. “The map says we’ll reach the hall before the grand staircase to the top.” At a landing with six divergent paths going up and down, she stood on the only side with no staircases and indicated that this was their destination.
“Ooh. So this is linked to there?” Aaron remembered the full day it had taken to explore the first time and jumped down with now-practiced footwork from the landing.
“It’s finally over… I wanna eat soon!” whined Scorpion.
“You’ve talked about nothing but food for a while now,” Snake sighed before jumping down herself. “Will curry do?”
The quality of her acting aside, it was true that Scorpion was starving.
“Yes! I love you!” Scorpion’s tail stood straight up, and she leapt for joy, hopping over the edge and down the shortcut.
Mira alighted from her Dark Knight to follow. But as she stepped forward, she stopped and pulled her foot back.
Come to think of it… I recall the left corner was best here. A vague memory surfaced from her long-ago runs. Mira went as far left as she could from their jumping-off point and then jumped.
Once she was through the light-refracting barrier, a large hall appeared below. The moment it was within view, Mira landed on a circular platform. Her Dark Knight followed shortly after, landing with a low, metallic thud.
The area before the grand stairs leading to the top of the Citadel of Scales served as the last line of defense. It was a hall made entirely of stone. Deep gashes on the walls and floors told the story of an intense battle. Defensive towers stood all over to slow and counter the monster intrusion, with rotting ballistae peeking out of each.
The battlefield was crumbling and chipped in places, but it was by no means shabby. It was a grand sight, worthy of the heroes who had fought and died here.
Mira stood at the top of one defensive tower. Nearly ten meters high, it commanded a splendid view of the ground below…as well as the three who had jumped first.
Aaron leaned forward, his hands on his knees, looking pained.
Scorpion stamped over and over, yelling, “You could’ve warned me!”
Snake was hunched over in the same posture as Aaron, lips pressed tight and tears shining in her eyes.
The final shortcut was three times as long a drop as the others, making it impossible to avoid fall damage. Mira had landed atop a defensive tower and managed to avoid the pain.
With a private, self-satisfied grin, she took the spiral staircase down the tower and rejoined the group. Aaron and Snake remained immobile in their curled-up postures, as if they’d been nailed to the spot.
“Uh… My apologies. I only remembered right before I jumped,” Mira said sheepishly in the face of their condemning gazes. She looked away toward the grand staircase.
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