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994 Words
Once she had taken a drink, she continued. “Now that I’m mobile, we’ll be departing soon. We need to get out of this system. Somewhere the entire Realm won’t be watching.”
Luna narrowed her eyes as she glared at all of them, and this time, Matt knew it was a glare without a doubt.
“You have questions to answer.”
3
As if waiting for the cue, Carol walked through the door with a bag slung over her shoulder.
“Is everyone ready?”
Matt looked at Susanne’s manager and then down to his bed and wheelchair, wondering exactly what he was going to take with them.
As Luna nodded and jumped to the other manager’s shoulder, he got his answer.
Nothing.
His oh-so-convenient wheelchair and bed were both left behind as Carol teleported them to Luna’s house. On instinct, he tried to catch himself with his Concept, but Carol was already lifting them along as Luna unlocked her front door and went inside. Matt, meanwhile, noticed his house on Luna’s lawn where he normally set it. He probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but he had been half-comatose when Luna had set it up and hadn’t left the hospital since.
“Gather your house Matt, we’re getting out of this system as soon as possible.”
As Matt collected his house, a much easier task now that he was Tier 13, Luna recalled her own home from inside, leaving a barren patch of earth that Carol set her ship on. With a casual wave of her hand, the four of them floated through the hatch and into the lounge, while she and Luna went to the cockpit and took off. Below them, the moon and then Minkalla itself shrank away, leaving behind all the wonders and nightmares it brought.
It took them a little while to get out of the mana-draining field that Minkalla exuded, but once they had, Matt practically gasped in relief. It wasn’t truly noticeable on its own, but the sudden shock from leaving it felt like a breath of fresh air. Shortly after, he felt the twist that accompanied breaking through to chaotic space, and Luna returned, tail held high, to check in on them and get them more situated.
After about a day of travel, they returned to realspace, dropping in above a Tier 1 planet Matt had never seen before, then jetted out to the distant reaches of its solar system. Only then did Carol return from the pilot’s seat and join them in the lounge.
Luna stretched from her catnap, licking a small tuft of fur back into place, and settled into a sitting position even as she said, “I am aware from Liz that you managed to reach the core at Tier 11. Welcome to the one hundred.”
At the group’s questioning look, she further elaborated, “In the Empire’s recorded history, there have been less than a hundred people that have completed Minkalla and exited with the Tier 11 reward. Even Duke Waters didn’t manage to do it. Admittedly, he didn’t even enter Minkalla at Tier 11, but the point still stands. For that, congratulations are earned and due.”
Matt smiled at that. They had pushed themselves to the limit to try and get through the hurdles Minkalla and their fellow delvers put in their way, but in the end, they had succeeded.
Hearing Luna acknowledge that felt really good and put him in a contemplative mood as Liz started to describe their delve.
Liz, by some silent agreement, spoke first, and Luna’s ears flicked as the children began recounting their delve.
“Floor one was Eternal Darkness, and honestly, everything went along with your predictions and training. The fights, while slightly more difficult because of the floor theme, weren’t anything unexpected.”
Luna resisted the urge to sigh. She had tried to beat into the children’s heads that Minkalla was dangerous, but the way they described their early encounters in Minkalla, it didn’t seem like that particular lesson took. Saying as much now would do them no favors though, and the condition their bodies were still in indicated that they had gotten the message…eventually.
Eternal Darkness was one of the most dangerous starting floors, as evidenced by the below-average survival rate from this cycle, but the kids clearly considered the floor practice. A little jaunt in a ruin with a fun twist. It spoke to their ability that it could be so simple, but she would have preferred they learn the painful lessons that would teach caution at the start.
Still, she nodded along, taking everything in until Liz mentioned that Matt had shortcut a rift by overpowering the binding on the end prize.
Luna shot Carol a look and the other manager understood.
As Liz was actively speculating, Minkalla’s tests often had multiple ways to complete them. There was always an ‘intended’ way, but the planet often included ways to outwit, circumvent, or in this case, brute force its challenges. Other times it would insist on playing by the rules, but it seemed that this time, it was content with Matt’s physical struggle.
To demonstrate, Matt pulled out the reward he’d gotten from it, a pair of gauntlets connected to a tiny black orb. As she realized what she was looking at, her ears drew back in surprise.
The core of a Tier 14 black hole.
That was….
Impressive.
And useful for someone with an opposing Concept.
She began to say something, then thought better of it, dispelling the sound waves she’d generated with a flick of her ears.
“Was the core a part of the original item?” Carol asked to Luna’s approval.
Matt shook his head. “No, we got it on floor…six, right?”
“Fascinating,” Luna cut off Carol’s next question. “I look forward to hearing about that once you get there. That looks removable, yes?”
Matt nodded.
- Writer
