With the kitchen knife in hand, Eric seized a brief respite. When her strength waned, she applied a healing pack, rejuvenating herself to continue the battle. David's strikes were powerful and deliberate, clearly bolstered by a healing pack as well.
The assault from the mutated eagle swarm gradually lessened, some soaring higher, circling above them with angry cries.
Together, they advanced cautiously, confronting the threats overhead while carefully treading the fragile glass walkway beneath. That final stretch was traversed inch by painstaking inch.
Upon setting foot onto solid ground, Eric was drenched in blood and sweat, her muscles emitting belated agonized groans.
The eagle swarm hovered over the walkway, refraining from further attack, their cries filled with frustration. After realizing their prey was lost, they circled a few times before diving away, vanishing from Eric's sight.
Eric sat to catch her breath before rising and approaching the nearby ticket booth, where a young female NPC awaited. The NPC glanced at the kitchen knife in Eric's hand. "Where did you get that?"
Eric tensed slightly but remained composed, clutching the knife firmly. "I have my sources. May I please have a ticket?"
The NPC blinked and reached out. "What about the chicken wings?"
Chicken wings? Eric nearly forgot! Pretending to search her pockets, she actually produced them from her supermarket stash.
The savory aroma brought a delighted smile to the NPC's face. After nibbling a wing, the NPC handed Eric a simple ticket.
Remarkably, the moment Eric received the ticket, a glowing ring appeared beneath a tree by the booth.
As Eric approached the ring, she overheard David's panicked shout: "Where are the chicken wings? My chicken wings!"
She halted and looked back to see David frantically patting himself down, his face pale.
Though his wounds had healed thanks to the healing pack, his torn clothes remained damaged, the ragged strips insufficient to secure the chicken wings. During his desperate flight along the high-altitude glass walkway, the wings had vanished—lost or perhaps devoured by the eagles.
Eric wondered if the eagle attacks were linked to the chicken wings. Perhaps if a player lost their wings, they would no longer be targeted—yet without wings, they couldn't obtain a ticket.
All speculation was futile; the dungeon would not let them pass easily. Facing David's predicament, Eric cast her gaze downward.
"No wings, no ticket for you," the NPC declared lazily, settling back and crunching bones between her teeth.
"But I finished the dungeon—I traversed that entire glass walkway," David said, bewildered, looking to Eric.
"The glowing ring is here. Try stepping into it," Eric suggested.
David's eyes lit up as he hurried over and stepped into the center of the circle, but nothing occurred.
"Did you point me to the wrong spot?" he asked hopefully.
Eric shook her head silently. David was indeed standing at the very center, yet without a ticket, the ring did not acknowledge or admit him.
"Let me borrow your ticket!" David pleaded, eyes filled with hope.
Clutching the ticket tightly, Eric called to the NPC, "May I share this ticket with someone else?"
The NPC leisurely picked a tooth. "One ticket per player."
David was rendered speechless. "Then… what am I supposed to do? What am I to do…"
Seeing his devastated expression, Eric felt sympathy but was powerless, so she encouraged him with an example Austin had once told her. This gave David a glimmer of hope.
"Really? When does this dungeon reset?"
"I heard it resets every three years."
"Three years…" David collapsed hopelessly to the ground.
When Eric had taken out the kitchen knife, she had hesitated. Her current appearance was vastly different from before. Though her mutated features concealed her face from recognition, they had also become her 'signature.' She had planned to disguise herself for a while after this dungeon. Unexpectedly, David was trapped inside.
In truth, this was beneficial for her. When the dungeon reset—if David was fortunate enough to encounter its reset, which might be an unknown time later—his impression of her would have long faded.
Yet such a "blessing" was born of David's suffering; Eric felt no joy whatsoever. David's plight today might easily become her own tomorrow—in this game, none were safe from sudden misfortune. Her gaze fell upon the kitchen knife David had placed on the ground; she made no move to retrieve it, instead turning to step into the luminous ring.
[Player Eric completed the common dungeon: Glass Walkway, earning 4 points.]
As she exited the dungeon, Eric heard David's anguished sobs. She dared not imagine how she would cope in such a situation... and in truth, she was powerless, left only to await the dungeon's reset.
With a heavy sigh, Eric returned to the inn.
Facing her reflection in the mirror, she noticed the fur covering her body had lightened somewhat—the lingering aftereffects of the Beast Combat Laboratory dungeon had finally begun to fade. Testing her stamina, she found it slightly diminished; when she switched off the lights, her night vision was noticeably weaker.
She had been unable to prevent the onset of these aftereffects—nor could she halt their gradual withdrawal.
Optimistic, Eric sat down to lunch, which today consisted of roasted dinosaur meat. Its taste and texture were rather ordinary, yet she convinced herself it was beneficial to her body, and thus endeavored to consume it.
Afterward, she retrieved the black egg adorned with white streaks—a snake's egg—and dripped two more drops of blood onto it. Watching the shell absorb the crimson liquid, she caressed the egg, her mind filled with anticipation about what the emerging serpent might look like.
She harbored a dislike for crawling creatures, fearful even of earthworms, caterpillars, and silkworms—and utterly averse to snakes. Yet perhaps a snake raised from birth by her would prove less frightening?
"Will you harm me, or be my companion?" Eric whispered softly.
Within the Glass Walkway dungeon, David sat despondently for a long time. Night had fallen completely, and only after a prolonged darkness did dawn break. Drenched by dew, David sneezed and rubbed his nose as he rose, noticing that the eagle swarm circling the bridge's far end had vanished. An idea took hold within him—he resolved to descend and search for players who had fallen the day before. If any still possessed chicken wings, he might reclaim them for his own use!
This thought breathed new life into him.
The glass walkway seemed to have emerged from thin air, linking two mountains end to end. David wandered in vain, unable to find a path down the mountain; the surroundings were an untouched wilderness of dense forests, rugged rocks, and tangled bushes. Reluctantly, he began to forge his own way forward, thankful for the kitchen knife in his hand.
Speaking of the knife, it reminded him of the girl who resembled a monkey—she must have had some unfair advantage! How else could she suddenly produce two kitchen knives?
Regret crept in. Perhaps she had cheats that could have aided him... or maybe he should have snatched her ticket then and there... David slapped his own face, banishing the shameless thought. She had been kind enough to help him—he could not repay such kindness with betrayal. If she managed to hide the chicken wings, his failure to do the same was his own shortcoming. Alas!
Descending exhausted him terribly; his tattered clothes offered no defense against branches and brambles scraping fiercely, leaving his skin burning with pain. Thankfully, he encountered no beasts. It took him two days to get down the mountain, and another three to locate the bottom of the glass walkway.
No bodies were found—and no chicken wings.
White-faced, David clutched several scraps of fabric picked from the ground, recognizing the blue shirt cloth as belonging to a fellow new player.
Scanning his surroundings, he saw no sign of wild animals, only black feathers caught amid the bushes.
The truth was clear: the eagle swarm had already scavenged the fallen player corpses.
Hope extinguished, David's spirit crumbled. After sitting in a blank daze for long, he returned to the glass walkway to await the dungeon's next reopening.
——
The Transfer Station.
After an afternoon nap, Eric proceeded to the quest hall to accept tasks. Along the way, she noticed the crowd of players had swelled noticeably; even the streets were somewhat congested. Many clearly appeared to be newcomers, and Eric regarded them as if observing a former self. Though she had arrived only ten days prior, it felt as if much time had passed.
Upon reaching the quest hall, the throng grew denser still. Scores of fresh players poured out from the ordinary dungeon entrances like blades of grass, unfamiliar with their new surroundings. The halls were packed to bursting, and veteran players attempting to deceive novices struggled to keep pace! Eric squeezed her way in, immediately confronted by a cluster of recently emerged players.
The throng was overwhelming!
Entering the glowing portal, Eric's thoughts lingered on this influx. It seemed the number of people at the transfer station had been growing lately—she simply hadn't noticed before. For some reason, a vague unease stirred within her, though what troubled her she could not discern. She dismissed it as mere paranoia.
Inside the dungeon, she found herself seated in a restaurant.
Elegant piano melodies filled the air, mingling with the fragrant aromas of fine cuisine and rich wines. Eric stood before the dessert buffet, a plate in hand.
She reached for the tongs and swiftly selected two slices of velvet cake, two flaky fruit tarts, and two fragrant cookies, then hastily stepped away from the buffet.
Navigating through the crowd, she made her way to the restroom, entering the last stall. Happily, she stored the desserts in her inventory, intending to consume them later in the dungeon. Then she pushed open the window—
The room was situated on the fifth floor, overlooking a bustling street below. Her gaze swept across towering skyscrapers, spires, and a suspension bridge spanning a river.
This dungeon was set in a thriving metropolis.
Acknowledging this, Eric felt a touch of nervousness. It was her first time entering such a large urban environment since beginning the Wireless Escape dungeon game, and she was unsure what perils awaited.
Before any crisis unfolded, she resolved to remain hidden in the restroom for the time being.
Suddenly, footsteps approached the restroom, and someone entered another stall. The newcomer walked directly to the last stall, paused briefly in surprise to find it occupied, then knocked lightly.
"Anyone in there?"
"Yes."
"A player?"
"Mm-hmm."
"You're quick today."
The visitor opened the door of the adjacent stall, closed the lid, and perched atop the toilet, peering at Eric through the divider. "I'm Aaron. And you?"
Eric looked up. "Eric."