It's like a smell mixed with a sound mixed further with an idea tinged with color. It is a complex language. I don't like it. --38.5 Seconds Post-Integration.
"What the heck was THAT?!" Theo and he screamed.
Flames and smoke claimed the entirety of the cubes to their rear. When they arrived at the blast site, Clark saw how the ground, and its black goo, had been completely burned away. Underneath where the black gunk had been, was a series of intersecting lines. Pointing to the lines, he asked SIMP if those are the leylines. "Yes," was the response. "The explosion was likely the result of the engine block's internal plague rot coming into contact with the purifying power of the leylines. A combustive result triggered, resulting in the destruction of the engine cube."
Theo whistled. Then SIMP chimed in with another notification: "Incidentally, the Noir Slimes which formed and were chasing you, were killed."
To their backs, another explosion, this one on the far end of the chamber.
"Often," SIMP started to explain, "engine cubes are interconnected with at least one other cube in the same local network. Often, destruction of one cube results in destruction of its twin."
Then, another explosion, and another...
"SIMP! What is happening?!" he screamed. The answer he received was the same he had just received. Twin cubes often die together.
"This is what you want to happen, for this is my plan," SIMP told him. "Look! Clark, the wall is destroyed!"
"That was your plan -- to blow a hole in the wall?! Are you--!" he was beyond the verge of a panic attack. Clark experienced a full-on rage attack.
But then, his emotions calmed. Once he got over the fact he and Theo were alive, he realized what SIMP told him: the wall, that thing keeping them inside of the dungeon interior, and by extension, the lost sector, was no more. "SIMP! I could kiss you!" he screeched.
Clark grabbed Theo to make a beeline for the newly created explosion in the wall. Theo kept his attention glued to a shining sparkle to their back. He stumbled over to the spark and leaned down to pick up shards of crystal. "Is that from the engine cube?" Clark asked.
"I think? This... could be useful," Theo said as he took hold of the shards. "I am going to make them into weapons."
"Fine! but we need to haul arse out of here and--"
A force beyond nature interrupted Clark. It was as if they had been jumping on a trampoline -- both of them were flung high into the air, clear across the chamber's other side. They careened through the open air above the raging fires. When they started to fall, panic wrecked Clark. "We're going to die, we're going to--" he repeated.
His worry was for naught. They landed in a soft part of the large chamber. As if gravity gently deposited them, it's fun over.
"What was that?!" he griped.
Theo hadn't a clue, so it was up to SIMP to explain. "That is an aspect of the dungeon's aura. A weak aspect only triggered by your mana's close proximity, but an aspect nonetheless."
Both Theo and he looked at each other confused. "A-aura?"
"The dungeon emits a powerful magical field called an 'Aura.' This aura is concentrated at specific points along the tower's many leylines. The aura has many sub-auras, such as the variety you just encountered. If I had to guess, I would venture that it was reacting to Theo's mana more than your own, Clark," SIMP explained, though Clark was left more confused.
"Why would it react to Theo's mana? Neither of us have training -- well, I guess Theo has some experience in using magical items. Is that all it takes?"
"Correct. In the future, I would suggest you make gaining more mana through aura farming a high priority. Do this by focusing on unlocking Accomplishments and gaining more Imbued Levels. Using magical items will also help by acclimating your body to magical conditioning. For now, Theo should take lead on this particular instance of the dungeon's aura until your own aura has caught up."
Questions about the dungeon aura still littered his head. Like, why had the aura flung them so high into the air? That didn't make sense. Clark knew, however, he and Theo couldn't spend forever gabbing. More slimes could form at any moment.
"Another mystery to add to the roster. We need to find ourselves through that huge gap in the wall. How do we do that? Theo, do you think if we found a similar dungeon aura section, it would fling us all the way back?" he asked.
"How would I know?" Theo laughed.
"Well -- SIMP! Help?"
As always, SIMP provided the answer: "I detect no complementary dungeon aura sub-type. You and Theo will need to walk back and through the dungeon and wall if you wish to leave the dungeon interior. On the wall's outside, I am detecting a high number of Containment Guards. My advisement would be to wait for the guards to enter the interior and then slip by as their focus is directed toward finding the source of the blast."
Not having a better direction, they did just that. All was going well before SIMP broke the bad news to them: "Clark. several large groups of slimes are forming, likely spurred on by the guards entering the dungeon. Exercise extreme caution."
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Alerted to the fact the situation was about to worsen, both of them booked it!
Clark resumed his duty babysitting the sigil stone on the dolly. Both of which had, blessedly, followed them through the aura's launching of them clear across the chamber.
Traversing their new side of the chamber was not so different from traversing the other side. It was relatively wide open with only the momentary block -- deactivated and lacking any emitted light -- breaking up the shadows and goop. When the gaping hole they punched through the wall was within sight, and Containment Guards visible in the distance, Clark wondered whether he should shout out for their aid or keep to the shadows. Considering the fact that they were the ones responsible for blasting the hole in the wall, he figured he should keep his mouth shut.
"Let me take the lead," Theo whispered to him.
Not having the energy to argue, he allowed Theo to take point. "No killing," was all he said.
For his part, Theo's eyes widened. "I'm not going to kill anyone, Clark! JEESH!"
"Okay, well, I figured, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't traveling with a psychopath." Clark played off his mild social SNAFU by laughing, as if he meant it as a joke. In hindsight, he asked himself why he told Theo not to kill as the boy never gave violent vibes. He guessed it was how Theo had looked so longingly at the engine block shards he found.
Theo proved to be a capable lead, though. He led the both of them stealthily through the many pairs of Containment Guards who were not investigating the area. More than once, when he thought they would be discovered for sure, Theo urged him not to move and to hold in any sounds. "They will pass. Just because we can see them, doesn't mean they can see us, especially with those helmets."
And so, Clark held in his sounds, hoping his body would not betray him by demanding a sneeze or a fart. Able to keep it all in, they waited for the guards to pass, then would crouch low and slip on by, using the darkness to their advantage. By the time they made it to the aforementioned 'gaping hole,' there was only a single obstacle left for them: the guards standing watch inside and he assumed outside as well.
But Theo had a solution for that, too: "Take off your shirt and wrap it around your head as a mask."
Normally fine with removing clothing in front of people -- living in the Wastes taught him survival over modesty -- Clark couldn't say he enjoyed the wet, sweaty shirt wrapped around his head. It was necessary, of course, as they couldn't afford the company detaining and questioning them for their role in blowing a hole in the wall, but it was unpleasant.
"Wait for my signal," Theo warned. "And keep close. The sigil is going to slow us down."
Signal? What did he intend on doing?
Theo's intent was answered soon enough when, with a click, and a lob, a smoke bomb was sent reeling over their heads. 'Of course, what else would Theo, Sneak-Man extraordinaire, do?'
Once the smoke spread, Theo gave the signal -- a waving hand, urging him forward -- and he rushed off just behind Theo, him trying his best to push the dolly with the sigil stone. He ran with everything he had left in the tank, which wasn't much, but oh well, nothing he could do there.
The confused cries of the guards followed an alarm going off. With an acrid smoke everywhere they glimpsed, visibility was reduced to an all-time low. His heart throbbed like his legs and arms. Clark was so tired. He had to rest soon, he had to -- 'Snap out of it! Almost home free!'
His vision practically attached to Theo's hand gestures leading them forward, he didn't think, only mechanically obeyed. 'Forward,' 'hold,' 'back.'
Clark's only clues about where they were in relation to the guards came from the ground underneath his feet. Smooth, rough, how much debris littered the floor. How much plague rot was underneath his feet. By the time the floor transitioned from gunk, to rough, to smooth, and the guards shouting dimmed just a little bit, not to mention the thinning smoke, he figured they were nearly out of the dungeon interior. Theo lobbed another smoke grenade, then they continued to make their way, cautiously, across the landscape.
Minutes crawled by. On top of their slow progress, the smoke started to thin, and in the bilious cloud, the outline of Containment Guards became more numerous. Close encounters (which he dodged) became more common. Clark's anxiety peaked. He hoped he would be able to fend off a panic attack.
Throughout it all, Theo kept his cool. No matter how close guards got to them, Theo relied on his rogue skills. He relied on the guards and their inexperience in dealing with the explosion, the strangeness of the smoke, and all such things. Which, to Clark, was a mighty cover indeed, though he was initially confused by it; to the guards, a massive explosion carved a hole in the store, then smoke started coming out from the crevice, polluting the sales floor. There was no explaining that by mere deduction!
When he and Theo finally reached part of the store where the smoke was thin enough and the guards were thin enough for them to make a break for it, Theo surprised him by moving around to Clark's back and helping him push. "Run over there!" he said before pushing him with gusto.
Thanks to Theo's added pressure, and momentum, he was able to push the dolly not in the slow, half-dead manner he had been pushing it, but with actual force. It was like a whole team of strongmen were pushing alongside him. Together, they pushed the dolly straight through the smoke and clear through part of a small crowd which had formed. Clark didn't think they attracted too much attention from the crowd, despite their odd appearance, not with several sirens blaring, guards and workers shouting, and the much more noteworthy sight of a massive crack in a massive wall lording over them.
Flagging hard, he and Theo ran and ran. At a point, they dodged into a lonely section of the store and undid their makeshift turbans.
"Where... are... we... going!" he asked Theo between pants.
"You'll see. Just find something to cover the sigil stone with," was the reply.
Finding nothing, Theo settled for buying a tarp in the store block they had emerged into. He paid using his own funds, so Clark couldn't complain. Though he thought Theo would've liked no one to see their sigil, maybe that was the least of their concerns at this point.
With the tarp bought, the sigil covered, and they back on their journey, they walked in silence, neither having the stamina or words to describe their situation. Let alone what they should do. Clark only wanted to be done with this absurd misadventure and sleep... speaking of, how much sleep would he be able to get before his shift? 'Wait, my shift -- that's right, I have work! Crap! Crap!'
"Uh, Theo? I hate to bounce, but--"
"I need your help a while longer," was all Theo said.
Together, they walked down aisles, backrooms, and employee-only spaces. People looked at them wherever they went because of how dirty they were and because, frankly, how much they stank. Dried sweat permeated their skin, their hair was slick with sweat from their shirts, and what wasn't sweat-drenched or sweat-dried, was covered in black goo or gray dust. Clark felt gross. Growing up in the wastes, he was used to being tired, smelly, and not-so-much a gentleman after a hard day's labor. But this, how his body hung after plowing through the dungeon interior, was a whole extra world of disgusting. So, yeah, he thought the people had a right to stare.
Eventually, the spaces they moved through became a haze. Corridors, aisles, even the people who gazed upon them, who turned them into mere objects, all became a blur.
A ding, an elevator door opening, and an empty antechamber was where they stood.
Galaxies, stars, and a field of never-ending wheat decorated the four corners of the antechamber's walls. "Is this... a dorm?"
Theo turned to face him. "Yeah. It's my dormitory section. I think you've earned a small look."
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