Chapter 48: She wouldn’t let herself be captured so easily

Pepper was running through the caverns of a distant dungeon as if her life depended on it. Her friends had reluctantly left her behind to log out while she chose to stay and grind another level. Unfortunately, she had been followed by a group of shady characters.

At first, she thought they were just some other group that wanted to clear the dungeon, but turn by turn, they dogged her every footstep. That’s when the fear set into her heart.

She watched the news on a regular basis, so she’d heard about all the terrible things that could happen in Chaos Online. Yet, as time passed without incident, she’d figured it’d never happen to her since she always played with her friends. So there was no way she’d be targeted. No way at all.

’Shit!’ She cursed herself for her complacency as she sprinted. She should have gone back with the rest of her friends, but she just had to get that last bit of experience.

She turned down another abandoned shaft, slamming her staff into the ground as she ran. A glyph appeared wherever the wood touched the stone. It was a simple trap that could close off a passage with a wall of rock, possibly separating or stalling any pursuers. Pepper was a Terramancer, so the fact that she was being chased inside a gigantic cave was her only thread of hope.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed of the walls, fooling her into believing that her pursuers were terrifyingly close. Then the sound of one of her glyphs activating interrupted the sound.

“Argh!! My nose! Fuckin’ bitch!!”

“Hurry up and knock it down!”

“Hah hah...” Pepper’s breathing was rough and her stamina was starting to tap out. If there was any other exit to the world outside, she’d have to find it soon. Otherwise…

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“We’re comin’ for ya girl!”

“Just slow down and we’ll talk it out!”

“Don’t make us wait any longer than we have to!!”

“Hah hah ha ha.” Despite her labored breaths, a terrified chuckle escaped her lips. She wouldn’t let herself be captured so easily. In fact, she’d collapse the entire dungeon before they could even lay a hand her. But that was a last resort, she wanted to delay such a painful death for as long as possible.

Pepper ran her hands against the wall as she turned again. Her ‘Read Stone’ ability allowed her to see the formation of nearby passages to see if they were clear of monsters. The dim light from the various luminescent fungi lit her path, but it was her ability she had to rely on the most. Running into a monster in her current situation wouldn’t be funny at all.

She turned down another narrow passage, and this time, there was a high rock wall at the end of it. If she could make it up there, she’d be able to put some much needed distance between her and the pursuers. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

She quickly ran to the rock wall and summoned her mana, carefully adjusting how much she needed. If she didn’t have enough for ‘Earthquake’, then she’d have to get creative with her suicide, and Pepper wasn’t a very creative woman.

“Mighty stone of the earth, take me to new heights! Rock Stair!” she cried.

A giant square of earth rose from the ground and rushed her toward the top of the rock wall, right into the path of a cave prowler. The giant cat must have been out of range of her ‘Read Stone’. That, or she was simply too scared to pay close attention. Whatever the case, it was her problem now.

The prowler pounced as soon as the rock stair merged back into the earth.

“Boulder Member!” she cried as she slammed her free arm into the ground. The stone crumbled under her blow and wrapped around her arm in time to receive the cat.

Hungry jaws clamped around her arm while the cave prowler used it’s full weight to pin her to the ground. The feral snarls it made as it tried to chew through her arm would no doubt carry to her pursuers, informing them of her plight.

As a mage, Pepper’s strength was non-existent, so it was impossible for her to push the beast off. However, Pepper was a veteran dungeon crawler, so she had plenty of tricks up her sleeve for situations like this.

She let go of her staff and placed her other hand against her rock arm. “Member Spikes!”

Her arm suddenly sprouted jagged spikes that stretched outward, proving to be especially deadly for the cat that had its mouth around it. The stone spikes punched through the skull in several places, killing it instantly. When it died, Pepper got her desired level up message, but she payed no attention to the signature sound as she struggled to escape from the corpse.

“We’re coming up to help you! Don’t shoot!”

“I’mma do a lot more than help.”

“Ha ha. She’ll hear you.”

Pepper finally managed to squeeze out from underneath the cave prower and quickly reached for her staff at the edge of the ledge.

[-725hp]

But a lighting bolt came roaring past her shoulder, numbing her arm and burning a hole in her robe. Thankfully, her arcane shield mitigated most of the damage, but the maneuver had stopped her long enough for her pursuers to catch up.

[-2322hp]

Another bolt hit her in the chest as the figures of three men rose over the edge of the cliff.

Numbness spread throughout her body, but it wasn’t full paralysis. She could still move.

Though given the situation, she’d have to logout to avoid the worst. After the tangle with the cave prowler, she didn’t have enough mana for strong ‘Earthquake’, and she needed her staff to channel her larger spells. She still had ‘Spike’, but it would only take one of them by surprise.

‘You’ll get my corpse, but you won’t get me!!’ If she didn’t log in for a couple days, she respawn in town as if nothing happened.

“Log-”

“Silence.” said one of the men.

“....!” Pure terror gripped Pepper’s heart when her mouth moved without sound. She reached for her staff again in desperation, only to have a heavy boot come down on her hand.

[-1239hp]

“......!” she screamed silently.

Standing over her was a warrior clad in heavy platemail. He was smiling as he removed his sword belt. “I’ll admit, you made us work for it. But trust and believe, you’ll be worth the trouble.”

Tears streamed down Pepper’s face. Even if she fought after the silence wore off, it would be too late. She shook her head, praying that this was just some nightmare she’d yet to wake up from.

“Now don’t be like that.” The warrior whispered as he kneeled down to caress her face. “You’ll enjoy this just as much as I will. I’m quite gent- Who’s there!?” he shouted in surprise. He quickly grabbed his discarded sword belt and unsheathed his weapon, staring into the dark tunnel that stretched out before them.

“I thought you said she was alone!”

“She is!! I already used ‘Detect’!”

As the other two quarreled with each other, the warrior stared into the void. Moments passed before the sound of footsteps could be heard.

“Whoever you are, turn back if you know what’s good for you!” the warrior threatened, releasing his full pressure on the unknown figure. The sound of the footsteps only grew louder.

Everyone watched as a the mysterious figure walked out into the dim light of the ledge. He was a slim man dressed in an all black tuxedo. He sporting a top hat, leather gloves, and a cane to match. In the soft light he was extremely pale, and his blonde hair seemed saturated in comparison. A mechanical eye surveyed the situation while an eyepatch covered the other.

The warrior took a cautious step back as the man came to a stop beside Pepper.

“Ms.Pepper, you seem to be in distress. Are you in need of assistance?” the man said as he looked down at her. The red glow in his eye was ominous, but Pepper nodded vigorously. She wasn’t in any position to deny help.

“I thought so.” The man took of his hat and held it out to her. “Would you mind?”

he asked kindly.

Pepper took the hat with a confused look on her face, for she was wondering how the man could act so calmly in this situation. She looked down into the hat and found a small silver mallet inside. Had the man intended for her to use it?She couldn’t have been further from the truth.

“Please don’t touch that.” he said, giving her a stern look with his eye.

“Hey, Alfred! You should get out of here while we’re still in a good mood. It’d be a shame to get blood on your suit.” the warrior threatened once more as he took menacing step toward the man.

“It would be a tragedy to soil this tuxedo; however, should any blood be spilled, I assure you that it will be yours Mr. Magnum.” The man glared at Magnum, whose blood seemed to freeze in his veins.

“Where did I put- Ah, here it is.” The man pulled a small notepad from his coat pocket along with a quill. “Now that I have this, we can begin our introductions. My name is Jeeves, and I will be your mentor in regards to etiquette and proper social behavior. Today’s lesson gentlemen, is that a woman’s virtue is a gift to be given, not loot to be taken whenever you please.”

“Jeeves!? I got a message about this guy yesterday.”

“You too!?”

“Shut it!” Magnum screamed as he positioned himself in front of Jeeves and readied himself for combat. “All we need to do is kill this bastard and we can get back to business!”

The other two men readied themselves as well, but before Magnum could take a single step, Jeeves was behind him stabbing a quill into his neck.

“Argh!”

“Pardon me, I wasn’t supplied with ink.” he said solemnly.

“You bastard! Sky Render!!” Magnum swung his sword high into the air and brought it down with lightning trailing along the blade.

Jeeves caught the sword in his hand while he was still holding the quill. “That’s quite rude. Can’t you see I’m trying to write?” He leisurely tossed the blade aside and continued to write in his pad. “I’ll be with you momentarily Mr. Magnum, please be patient.”

None of the men moved while Jeeves scribbled in his pad. He’d taken Magnum’s strongest attack as if it were nothing, so any further fighting would be futile.

Only a moment had passed before Jeeves snapped his notepad shut. Then he smiled, “Thank you for waiting Mr. Magnum, Mr. YungDolla, Mr. PewZapPow. Your patience is appreciated. I will now be administering your punishment.”

“””......!”””

The trio went pale as Jeeves pulled a rapier from his cane. “Don’t worry gentlemen, this is simply a warning. Should you refrain from sexual crimes in the future, it’s possible that we’ll meet under friendlier circumstances. Now, Mr. Magnum,” Jeeves turned toward the retreating warrior, “I believe we were having a discussion about your blood on my tuxedo.” As he spoke, his mechanical eye shined brilliantly.

“Wait a se-” Magnum’s words were cut short by a stab to the heart. He was dead before he hit the ground.

A bolt of lightning stuck Jeeves as he turned to face YungDolla and PewZapPow. The electricity washed over him and dissipated without so much as a singed thread. Then he proceeded to take the lives of the last two men in rapid succession.

Pepper could only watch in awe as Jeeves sheathed his weapon.

“I’m terribly sorry that you had to witness such grisly business Ms. Pepper.” he apologized as he helped her up.

“I’m just glad you showed up when you did.” Pepper handed over his hat.

“I’m always watching Ms. Pepper, for it is my duty to protect Travelers like yourself.” Jeeves bowed and replaced his hat.

“Well, thank you Mr. Jeeves.”