The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon

Krys POV

The group had gotten back on the road quickly enough, Puh'ma being left in the rear carriage to sleep off her exhaustion after having filled up on fruits and dried meats along with nearly a full skin of water.

Legosi decided to rest in the lead carriage with everyone else, settling along the back of the carriage with the white cub, Freyli, lying along his back and napping after having made herself comfortable in his thick coat.

Things had mostly gone back to normal with his team and the adventurers quietly playing cards or using the enchanted chess set to pass the time, but there was a sense of curious uncertainty lingering in the air as everyone occasionally glanced over at the wolf.

It wasn't really addressed at the moment, but the fact that Puh'ma had clearly stated that Legosi promised her food and drink once they got to the caravan was a rather odd thing to say in general. Even though Krys did verbally confirm with Legosi himself that he could actually talk and that he was clearly intelligent, the wolf in question hadn't bothered to speak up since then.

As the minutes started to turn to hours, Rantz ended up being the one to break the silence as he regarded Legosi curiously. "So... Wolf... Legosi... Can you speak?" He asked simply enough.

One of Legosi's ears perked as he was initially addressed, though once Rantz asked his question, the wolf shifted his head around to look over at the adventurer for a few quiet moments. "Well of course I can." Legosi replied matter-of-factly as he started to smile a little bit.

This earned various looks of surprise all around, though Cecil looked clearly excited as he piped up next. "That's amazing, how long have you been able to speak? How did you learn?" He asked, leaning forward with clear eagerness as he rested his elbows on his knees to get a little closer to Legosi while remaining in his seat.

Legosi just tilted his head at the questions, seemingly needing a moment to think on it before speaking up again. "Well, I formed a bond with Boss Vito, and then I could just speak. It wasn't all that hard."

"Is that sort of thing common?" Rantz asked as he looked to Cecil, who still looked rather excited by the fact that he was conversing with Legosi.

"Common? By the gods, no." Cecil stated as he shook his head. "But it is certainly possible." He clarified with a grin on his face. "The Headmistress of the Academy has a couple of awakened familiars herself, as do a few of the other notable mages who work at the academy. However, the materials needed for such a ritual are extremely expensive and require hours of focus and a considerable amount of mana to be used to even cast it. I'm talking thousands in gold worth of components are needed to be able to even think about starting the ritual." He explained diligently before looking at Legosi again. "Your boss, Vito, must be a truly impressive mage, as I'm sure you know."

Legosi perked up at that, his tail slowly starting to wag behind him as he smiled more. "You have a great eye for people. I knew there was a reason why I liked you." He mentioned cheerfully before laying his head back down on his forelegs, though his tail maintained a slow and consistent wag.

"Why would anyone spend so much coin on a spell?" Sera asked rather dismissively, Krys could tell from experience that she thought of something like that as wasteful, better to spend that coin on tangible things rather like food, clothes, and comforts if he knew her habits right. She simply huffed after saying her piece, gently grabbing at Krys' tail and pulling it carefully in her lap as she ran her fingers through the fur.

"Why not?" Cecil replied as he flashed a grin. "Sure, most magic may not cost all that much to do, but any worthwhile magic comes at a price." He said as he reached into his robes before procuring a blue crystal that glowed dimly and was inscribed with a number of runes. "Take this soul stone for example, it is an expensive magical tool that can only be used once. The market price for these things is a whole one hundred gold pieces, but thanks to this, I can adventure with the peace of mind of knowing that as long as this gets broken within three days of my death, I'll get brought back to life." He explained before tucking the soul stone away. "And that's just one type of boon magic can bring you if you have the coin to spend and the know-how." He mentioned before looking at Ren. "Not to mention if you get good enough to make these things among other magical tools, you'll always have good paying work."

Krys watched as Legosi seemingly relaxed a little more, ears drooping as he closed his eyes once the conversation seemed to move on from being focused on him.

"Where'd a Steel like you get hundreds of gold?" Sera asked, basically ignoring everything Cecil said and grabbing onto the one thing that she understood, which was money of course.

Cecil looked a little sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. "Ah, well, I didn't actually buy this one myself, my mentor crafted it for me when I graduated, they knew I was planning on becoming an adventurer and they wanted to make sure I stayed safe." However, Cecil then looked like he had a thought as he glanced at Lily and Rantz. "Say, maybe I can ask and see if we can get you two soul stones as well. Maybe we can get a discount thanks to my affiliation with the Academy."

That earned a nod of silent approval from Lily and a smile from Rantz. "That would certainly be useful, especially if we'll be taking higher-risk jobs once we rank up."

As the adventurers talked amongst each other, Sera glanced up at Krys knowingly and flashed a mischievous smile that almost looked feline in nature as she leaned her head into his chest. She didn't say anything, but Krys just shook his head at her and murmured under his breath. "We're not taking the mage's magic rock, That'd be too obvious." He said before resting his chin against the top of her head as she pouted with disappointment.

Ren started asking Cecil questions about the crafting of magical tools as the ride went on, though it wasn't much longer until Krys could see the village on the horizon as the pillar of black smoke had begun to dissipate and fade into the skyline.

Vitmori POV

I had worked on another two more homes, each with somewhat similar stories as the one before as I did my best to salvage everything that I could.

The work in itself, while tedious and somewhat repetitive, was suitably rewarding and satisfying. While I personally did want to do even more than what I've already done, I had to remind myself to hold back and at least do some things in moderation.

After all, I've already established myself as a competent battle mage who specializes in fire as well as necromancy of all things, I've been showing off my ties with spacial magic, earth magic, and water magic during this whole cleanup. If I start doing full-blown repairs or conjuring buildings of all things while I am at it, then people might begin to question my existence even more than they already were.

As we walked to the next building, I decided to make a show of yawning before rolling my shoulders and stretching. This caused Basmori to stir and mrowl softly in his sleep as he continued to rest on my shoulders, though, despite my movement, he didn't wake up and went right back to dozing soundly.

I could feel Vivia watching me intently before speaking up. "Mage Vito, are you getting tired perhaps? You could retire for the day if you like, the gods know just how much you've already done for us, you don't have to push yourself you know." She suggested gently, and I could tell she meant that sincerely. With everything I've done for her people before and after the battle, she felt that I had more than deserved the time to rest and relax.

I just smiled a little while scratching at my cheek with an index finger. "Maybe I have pushed myself a little more than usual..." I sigh, gradually adding to my act of appearing tired as I slowly sagged my shoulders. "Though I don't feel comfortable just going off and resting when there's still work to be done." I mentioned as I glanced back at her and flashed a small smile.

Vivia returned my smile in kind before shaking her head a little. "There is no shame in resting Mage Vito, I'd say out of all of us here, you've more than earned it."

I chuckled softly at her comment and nodded at her words. "Maybe I'll think about resting once we're done cleaning up the remaining houses. If it's not too much trouble, could you get me a mana potion or two? I'm sure with a little pick-me-up, I'll be able to finish up strong with little issue." I asked before looking around until I found a stray crate to sit on as if to get off my feet for a little bit.

Vivia nodded intently at my words. "Very well, Mage Vito, I'll see what I can turn up, I'll be right back." She said with genuine respect in her voice as she turned on her heel and walked off, leaving me where I sat.

Now left to my own devices to 'rest', I found myself doing some people-watching; admiring how diligently the villagers worked as they moved materials and supplies from one of the streets to another, taking things where they needed to go. I'm vaguely reminded of my old life, of other survivors as they worked to put their lives back together after an errant horde or a band of raiders came rolling through their safe havens.

The only real difference that I could see between them was that the people of this world had more life and vigor in their efforts, rather than the grim spite and determination that motivated the survivors of my world.

As the seconds turned to minutes, I was suddenly aware of a general spike of anxiety in the air, the villagers around me becoming vaguely unnerved about something. Looking around, I spotted Wither and Blight making their way over to me, followed by the black-skinned leaper and the muscle mutant, both of which had fresh blood and viscera on their maws, claws, and chests; all of which made them that much more frightening in appearance.

"Welcome back y’all... I take it everything went well?" I asked, looking between them before standing as I looked them over.

Wither and Blight nodded once, one after the other, though they didn't have anything particular to say or report.

With nothing more to say, I looked over the muscle mutant and the leaper for a few moments, checking them for notable injuries when I took them back into my storage space; though before I could do anything else, I felt eyes lock onto me as someone began their approach.

Turning to look, I spotted Tul'mi making her way over to me. I could see her casually glancing around as she looked for someone else but was content with speaking to me in particular as she closed the distance. "Vito, it is good to see you are well." She expressed happily enough before regarding Wither and Blight. "And I should have figured this is where you two would have ended up, I didn't get to thank you two for all your help." She mentioned before lowering her head in a show of respect. "If it weren't for your healing and physical enhancements, we might have had a hard time against those soldiers." She said, though she then flashed a more confident smirk as she stood taller. "Well, I would've been fine, but for most of those guards; today was their first taste of actual combat."

I could feel that Wither and Blight weren't sure how to respond at first, sharing small glances from behind their masks before simply bobbing their heads in response to Tul'mi's thanks.

I couldn't help but smile a bit before glancing over at Tul'mi. "Forgive them, they're men of few words, though I can tell you they appreciate your thanks."

Tul'mi nodded at my words and I could sense she had gotten that impression by now. "No worries, I had a close friend who I knew for nearly a decade. The entire time he likely said no more than three hundred words that I know of." She mused before looking at me again. "I also heard a few retellings of your battle already from various guards and soldiers; I could tell you were strong the moment I met you, but I've never heard of someone like you operating in this area. What sort of rock did you come out from under?" She asked with a playful smile on her lips.

Despite the cheery mood she was in, I could tell she was fishing for information to try and get a better bead on me and my background. Fair enough I suppose, I don't mind giving her something to work off of, even if none of it is going to be remotely true. "An elven one." I start with a grin on my face. "I was picked up by one of their wanderers and they decided to take me in when I was younger, I've only recently started wandering myself and have business in the capital of your country." I explained simply enough.

The surprise on her face was distinct, and I could easily tell she wasn't expecting that sort of answer. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before simply nodding a bit. "I suppose that could explain why I've never heard of you. I didn't know that the elven clans took in outsiders like that." She considered though I could tell she didn't know nearly enough about elves to argue my claim.

I chuckle softly as I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees. "Well, wanderers tend to have the freedom to do as they wish and have more authority than the elves who spend their centuries never leaving their clan territories. That being said, it's not like my situation is entirely unique or without precedence, it's just uncommon is all."

Tul'mi ended up needing to chew on that information some more, though before she could speak up again, some of the guards that I recognized from the field made their approach. They first lowered their heads in respect towards Tul'mi before turning to look at Wither and Blight in particular as one spoke up. "Excuse the interruption, but the healers in Lucfan's retinue and the local herbalists are rather overwhelmed at the moment; we could use your assistance with treating the injured if you two are willing to lend us your aid."

At that, Tul'mi spoke up, looking between me and the plague doctors. "I'm sure the Lucfan family will be willing to compensate you for your efforts, but I'll also be more than willing to pay for your time if that's what it takes."

I watched as Blight took a full step forward, already willing to help upon request, though Wither grabbed his shoulder before turning to look at me, awaiting my order.

I flash a small smile, looking away from my plague doctors and glancing at Tul'mi and the guards. "They'd be happy to help and don't worry about the compensation, this is just people helping people after all, it wouldn't sit right with us to turn a profit from something like this."

With that said, Wither nodded in agreement before releasing Blight's shoulder; the duo turning to look at the guards as Blight gestured for them to lead the way.

The guards eagerly led the plague doctors away, leaving me alone with Tul'mi once more.

It was quiet for a few minutes as he watched the villagers go by, working on this and that. However, after a little while longer, Tul'mi spoke up again. "Well, whoever you or whatever you're doing here, all I can say is thank the gods you had business in our country." She mused cheerfully enough.

I just chuckled a little bit before scratching my cheek. "If I'm being honest with you, I'm really only on my way to the capital for a date. Who knew I'd be getting tangled up in this whole mess?"

Tul'mi just laughed at that, a grin on her face as she couldn't help but be amused at the revelation. "Well, then I suppose we have the gods of love to thank in particular for your timely intervention." She mused while patting my shoulder. "Good luck on your date then, you've more than earned the right to have a good time by now."

It was then that Vivia finally returned, two vials of blue liquid in hand as she looked at the scene before her, a small smile on her face as she came up beside Tul'mi. "Glad to see spirits are high." She mentioned before holding the vials out to me. "Here you go Mage Vito, sorry I couldn't bring more, we just don't have the potions to spare right now, what with the healers taking priority right now."

Taking up only one of the vials, I simply shake my head at her apologies. "No worries then, I'll make do with the one." I say while standing up again, uncorking the vial and downing it as I stash the potion away in my storage space. Sighing with delight and licking my lips, I tucked the vial away into my satchel before looking between the two elite women. "I have a feeling you two have some business to discuss, I'll just get back to clearing away the ruins if you'll excuse me."

Tul'mi's ears perked as she was vaguely surprised when I dismissed myself, though she figured I wasn't wrong as she simply bobbed her head.

Vivia spoke up before I went, a smile on her lips as she lowered her head in a show of thanks. "Thank you, once again, for all your help. Find me in the plaza once you're done so we can make arrangements for somewhere you and your people can rest."

I gave a small nod as I started walking, glancing back at her with a smile of my own. "Sounds good to me." Making my way around the corner, I’m left to do things mostly at my own pace as I start heading for the next ruined building. It was time to get back to work after all.