Level 1 Fallen

I gestured for the captives to stay quiet, whispering as they gathered around. “I’m going to leave a summoned minion here to protect you while I get the others. Do any of you know what skills the woman overseeing this operation has?”

The captives looked at one another, biting their lips. Eventually, an elven man stepped forward, nodding his head and answering in a quiet tone. “I’ve been here the longest. Her name is Ruina, I think. I’ve seen her summon and command monsters, mostly beast-type. If you see any bats or snakes, they’re probably her eyes and ears.”

I thanked the man for his information, and then summoned my Ki General, briefly startling the group. “I’ll be back once I’ve gotten the prisoners from the cells. I don’t know if there is an alarm that will detect our escape, so I want to take care of this as quickly as possible.”

When I said this, a halfling girl stepped forward, her shoulders trembling. “Are you going to save the pit fighters, too? My sister and I were brought here together, and she’s being kept there…”

My eyes widened slightly as I looked at that halfling. It was incredibly rare for anyone to remember their family after being Chosen, whether it was their parents or siblings. In fact, they might not be actual sisters, but just friends that were Chosen together with similar appearances, leading them to that conclusion.

Either way, I smiled at the girl. “Don’t worry. I’m not leaving anyone behind. And once we’re gone, I’m bringing this whole place down.”

The captives let out a small gasp at my declaration, their fists clenching at their sides. However, I turned and ran towards the prison, my senses sweeping over the area. Thankfully, neither bats nor snakes would be fond of staying in such a suffocatingly hot environment as the lava pit.

That said, I did find several of them flying or slithering through the passages further in. Had I not received the elf’s warning, I may have killed one or two in my haste, thinking that they were nothing more than harmless animals obstructing my path. Now that I knew that they were under the control of the farm’s overseer, I had to be extra careful to not bump into them while making my way through the passages.

Of course, the prison area was not nearly as inhospitable as the lava pit. More than a dozen bats hung from the ceiling, meaning that these cells were under constant passive surveillance. As soon as I freed this group, Ruina was sure to learn of it. This forced me to change my plans.

If I were to free the prisoners, Ruina would have enough warning to gather her more combat-oriented summons to fight, and may even be able to use the pit fighters as living shields.

Right now, she was vulnerable, a tamer without any of her pets to protect her. The idea of one of her victims below level ten ever turning against her must have seemed so laughable that she never even entertained the idea. And if she did, she would have been confident that she could subdue such a rebellion with just her own power.

Thus, I changed course, making my way towards the pit fighters. In the worst case scenario, the bats would torment the prisoners in the cell, but… I felt awful thinking this, but that group had already completely given up on life. It was a higher priority to prevent Ruina from preparing for a proper fight and using those still with a will to live as shields.

I sprinted through twisting caverns, descending down more than a hundred meters while dodging small rats, bats, and snakes. Soon, I could hear the sounds of combat, the clashing of wooden blades and grunting of injured fighters. And every now and then, the dark and ugly laugh of the woman orchestrating it all.

I stepped out behind the audience stands, Ruina sitting only a few meters before me. I was careful not to appraise her, just in case she had a counterdetection skill that would sense it. Instead, I began to prepare, wanting to end this in a single strike. Since I didn’t know the level of the other party, I had to aim for an absolutely lethal move.

First, I took one of the stones that Wisteria gave me out of my inventory, tucking it into the pocket of my pants. Next, I took up a striking stance directly behind her, maintaining my stealth. Golden energy gathered on my palm, and I stood there, condensing it for a solid twenty seconds as she scolded the pit fighters for their weakness.

Finally, once I felt that the energy had been concentrated to its limit, I thrust my palm at the back of her head, activating Internal Strike. Even if she were a true grandmaster, taking such a hit would likely be fatal.

Her body stiffened, moving to lean forward at the last second, as if having sensed some hidden danger. However, her movements were sluggish, unable to get completely out of the way before my strike connected.

The sound of something wet popping filled the room together with a dense crush as the top half of her head shattered. The pit fighters stopped in stunned silence, looking at their prison warden with wide, questioning eyes. I felt the stone in my pocket shatter, showing that its effect had been triggered.

Dropping out of stealth, I revealed myself to the pit fighters, who recoiled back a step. Some of them readied their wooden weapons defensively, as if afraid that I would target them next. “Let’s get you all out of here before anyone else shows up, yeah? The others are waiting near the exit.”

“Who are you?” one man asked, a burly dogfolk with large muscles. Throughout the time that I had been monitoring things, he seemed to be the most skilled with the sword, ensuring that all of his attacks were nonlethal while intentionally stepping into a few fatal strikes himself, as if willingly surrendering his life to help the others.

“Drake Advent, King of Fallcry. I don’t know if that means anything to any of you. All you need to know is that I was requested by the League of Assassins to free you all from this prison before destroying it and the mastermind behind it.”

Hearing that a king was getting involved in their problem caused several of the fighters to tremble. The dogfolk man lowered his sword slightly, looking at me. “You’re aware that the person responsible for this is a Grand Duke of Athua, correct?”

Even some of the other prisoners seemed surprised at these words, but I simply nodded my head. “That’s right. I’ve been briefed on his abilities. Now, let’s get out of here before he shows up to try to stop me from getting you all to safety.”

Seeing the skilled dogfolk made me realize that there was yet another layer to this trait farm that infuriated me even further. These pit fighters weren’t made to battle one another purely for Ruina’s entertainment. Rather, it was to farm skill books for low-level weapon proficiencies and other similar skills.

Since these fighters still had the will to live, they could be forced to battle one another, and would naturally develop those low-level skills as a result. Then, when they inevitably died in the fights themselves, there was a chance that their skill books would drop. If they went too long without dying or dropping a skill book, Ruina would likely whip them as a punishment.

Was that why the dogfolk was actively trying to be killed in battle, or was he simply trying to allow his fellow prisoners the chance to earn their meal? I shook off those thoughts, looking towards the slowly approaching prisoners.

Once they had gathered, I led them through the passageways that took me down to the pit. The rodents I had avoided were now in a disorganized mess, attacking one another as soon as they saw each other. I swept a wave of flame over any such minions we came across, making our way back to the prison area, where I slashed open the prison door with a sword of shadows.

The prisoners inside barely even flinched as the iron bars clattered to the ground, their eyes as hollow as they were when I first saw them. I looked at them with a heavy expression, turning to regard those that I had brought this far. “Help them up, please. I want to bring everyone out of here together. Maybe we’ll be able to find a way to help them after we escape.”

The pit fighters moved forward, gently helping the prisoners to their feet. They moved like puppets, allowing themselves to be guided out of the cell with slow steps.

Next, we made our way towards where I had left the other captives nearer the entrance. My Ki General still stood among them, its eyes scanning the surroundings. When they saw us, the halfling girl that approached me before ran forward, jumping into the arms of one of the pit fighters. “Gemma!” she cried out, hugging the other halfling and sobbing heavily.

Gemma gave a warm smile, stroking a hand through her sister’s hair. Meanwhile, I walked up to the group and dismissed the Ki General. “Everyone, gather around and hold onto each other. I’m going to teleport us out of here.”

The captives hesitated, but soon gathered around me, grabbing onto each other. I closed my eyes in focus, teleporting the entire group back to the Fallcry square where I had left Diane. She stepped forward with a gentle expression, calling out to them. “Everyone, this way, please. I’ve already arranged a warm meal for all of you.”

That got their attention, many of them following Diane without a second thought. As for me, I teleported back to Bella, who was hiding near the dungeon entrance. “Any sign of people showing up?” I asked, but she shook her head.

“Nobody’s approached the area the entire time you were gone. Which, honestly, was more weird than anything. You would think that a farm like this would have someone managing it.”

“They probably only acquired it as a location for the dungeon,” I speculated, turning and destroying the windmill. I was starting to get used to destroying dungeons at this point, barely taking a moment to think about it before shattering the entire structure in a burst of black flames. “I killed the guard before they could send out any messages, so Yatagarasu wouldn’t have been alerted yet. However, there might be a way for him to detect when the dungeon is destroyed, so let’s find somewhere to contact Wisteria.”

Bella quickly nodded her head, and the two of us moved into the distance, hiding within the treeline of a nearby forest. Afterwards, I sent Wisteria a full report about the dungeon, including its layout and information about Ruina. I didn’t know if she was some important noble, and I didn’t particularly care. The fact that she was participating in this dungeon was more than enough to warrant her imprisonment.

We waited for about ten minutes before a response came back from Wisteria. I just got in touch with the agents we have watching Yatagarasu. Shortly before you messaged me, he ran out of his hunting ground, enraged. At the same time, we received reports that a high-level general from Athua’s military had been dispatched.

The general will be at your position within half an hour. As for Yatagarasu, it will likely take him at least a day to make his way there. However, he has two bodyguards accompanying him, each around level three hundred and fifty.

I pursed my lips as I read this. What’s the policy for the bodyguards?

There was another pause before Wisteria answered. Unfortunately, the bodyguards don’t have any indication that they are aware of his crimes. They’re just hired to assist him while he is leveling up. You’ll need to be careful to avoid getting them caught up in his final punishment.

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