One of the distorted creatures wandered along a crude trail.
"H-help."
Its body trembled whenever it turned its head, searching the surroundings.
Its neck twisted unnaturally with every movement.
The moment it heard a sound, it let out a warped scream and rushed toward it.
....
"Has it left already?"
"Yeah."
Kris and Marceline jumped down from the tree they had been hiding in.
After running for hours, they had finally managed to lose the creatures.
Even without seeing the sun, it was obvious night was beginning to fall.
"We need to find shelter."
"Is there even a safe place around here?"
"Maybe spending the night in a tree."
"That's not gonna be great for my back."
"Well— got a better idea?"
"…No."
"Then that's all we've got…"
Psst.
The two immediately tensed up, recognizing the sound.
But unlike what they expected, a figure draped in a black cloak calmly walked toward them.
Before they could silence him without drawing attention, the figure raised a hand toward them.
Its hand was bony and covered in fur, with long nails stained by dirt.
"मुझे यात्रियों से मिले काफी समय हो गया है, क्या आप व्यापार करने में रुचि रखेंगे?"
("It's been quite a while since I last came across travelers. Would you be interested in doing business?")
…
"What?" "What?"
The figure scratched its head beneath the cloak.
"आप हिंदी नहीं बोलते?"
("You don't speak Hindi?")
Ahem.
"Is this better?"
"Oh? And who exactly are you?"
"Ah! Much better! Now then, would you foolish travelers be interested in doing business?"
"Hey! How are you trying to do business while insulting people?!"
"Well, anyone who walks into this forest willingly can't be all that bright."
Marceline glanced at Kris, who quickly avoided her stare.
"Come now, come now! My time is valuable. Are you interested in doing business or not?"
"And what exactly do you have for us?"
"Why, everything of course! I'm the finest merchant around these parts!"
"—mutter— I don't think he has much competition around here —mutter—"
"Hm? What was that, little lady?"
"Nothing. Just thinking out loud."
"Huff. Then tell me, are you looking for something specific?"
"Oh! Do you happen to have an encyclopedia of creat—"
He was cut off by an elbow to the ribs.
"I mean— do you have anything that could guide us out of this forest?"
"A way out of here… hm?"
he muttered to himself, scratching his chin.
"Hmmm… I don't think I have anything like that."
"Huh? Didn't you just say you had everything?"
"Oh! That's right! I do have an artifact that can lead you to the Loop Hole…"
"Can you sell it to us?"
"Of course…"
"Great! What do you want in exch—"
"…Absolutely not. That's the only one I've got with me!"
"…"
"Isn't there something else you'd want instead?"
"No. We need the artifact."
"Good grief, what a troublesome bunch of customers…"
Sigh.
"Look here. What's stopping us from just stealing it from you?"
"The fact that everyone says that, hihihi."
"And… what exactly do you mean by that?"
"That I always end up getting robbed. Doesn't really matter though. Most people never make it to the Hole anyway."
…
Kris pulled Marceline a little closer, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"I don't know if I trust this guy."
"And do we have another option?"
"We could rob him and try our luck at the Hole."
"And what if what he said is true, and there's something there way too dangerous?"
"We're vampire hunters. What could possibly kill us?"
"Something stronger than vampires?"
"…"
Glancing over his shoulder, Kris looked back at the figure.
It was fiddling with something beneath the cloak, picking a booger out with one of its claws before wiping it against a tree.
"Ugh."
With another sigh, he walked back toward the figure, which rubbed its hands together while staring at them.
"Ah! So, are you finally buying something?"
"Do you have another way besides the artifact? Also, you said it was the only one you had 'with you.' Can we find another one?"
"More questions? You people are annoying. But yes, you can get another one."
"And where can we get it?"
"By buying one from my shop, of course!"
"Didn't you say you only had one?"
"With me, I only have one."
"…"
"Why didn't you say that earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
Sigh.
"Just take us there."
"I don't know if I can take you there. You two don't seem very trustworthy."
Both of them deadpanned at him.
Us? Seriously?
"If we wanted to, we would've robbed you already."
"Hmmm… Perhaps you do have a point. I'll take you there."
"Phew. Finally."
"BUT."
"What now?"
The figure pulled two pieces of cloth from beneath its cloak.
"You'll need to cover your eyes."
"Fine. Whatever."
The two took the cloth bands and tied them over their eyes.
"Hehe, that's it. No peeking now, hm?"
"Quit that already, you weirdo."
"I'm not a weirdo, you pointy-eared brat."
"Blah blah blah, just don't kill us."
"Very well, follow me."
Unable to see, they listened as his footsteps slowly moved away across the dry leaves.
"..."
"Is he leaving without us?"
A second later, the footsteps returned.
"Oops, I forgot you can't see me."
"Dumbass."
"Over here, over here. Follow my sweet voice echoing through this beautiful forest."
He guided them through the darkness with his raspy voice.
The two followed him while he softly hummed to himself.
The wind brushed against their ears, while branches and leaves cracked beneath their footsteps.
Dry bushes shifted as they walked—
"Branch."
"Aw!"
The figure pushed a branch aside to pass underneath it, only for it to smack Marceline across the face.
"Warn me BEFORE you hit me."
"Sorry— Root."
Kris immediately tripped and fell to the ground.
"If you make me take this blindfold off, I'm gonna punch you."
"Don't worry, we're almost there."
Kris got back to his feet, already irritated with the merchant. Even so, he resumed walking.
After a while of wandering blindly, guided only by his "beautiful" singing, the two finally came to a stop.
"Are we there yet?"
"Almost. I just need to…"
They heard the sound of a hatch being opened.
"Perfect. You may enter now."
As they reached to remove their blindfolds, he quickly grabbed their arms.
"Hey! Hey! I said enter, not remove the blindfolds."
"And how exactly are we supposed to enter if we can't even see the entrance?"
"..."
Without answering, the merchant shoved them forward.
As soon as they hit the ground, the two quickly got back to their feet, visibly irritated.
"Alright, that's enough! I'm gonna smash your face in!"
"Easy! Easy! — hehe — you can take the blindfolds off now."
They removed the blindfolds just in time to see the merchant closing the hatch behind them.
"Welcome to—"
The two turned around, staring at a massive illuminated tunnel.
The light came from crude "torches" — greenish crystals lodged inside scraps of metal.
"My home!"
"What a dump."
"I thought it'd be bigger."
"We're only at the entrance, you idiots!"
The merchant finally pulled back his hood, revealing an elongated snout with long whiskers sprouting from each side of his snout and long protruding teeth.
His face was covered in fur, and his eyebrows were unusually long.
His round ears twitched up and down while his nose sniffed at them.
"Oh, you're a rat?"
"That explains the tunnel."
"A rat? No, no. I am a proud member of the नीचरी जनजाति."
(Neechari Tribe.)
"Member? There's more of you?"
"But of course."
The two immediately wore sulky expressions.
More of this guy?
"Anyway— follow me. I'll show you around."
He waved a hand at them before skipping further down the tunnel.
The two simply looked at each other before following after him.
As they walked through the tunnel, Kris couldn't help but examine the structure more closely.
The tunnel was supported by a mixture of wood, scrap metal, and cheap concrete.
It was surprisingly high-quality work — sturdy enough to remain standing even under heavy impacts.
"They're actually pretty good."
"You're falling behind."
He snapped out of his brief trance, noticing that Marceline and the rat were already farther down the tunnel.
"I'm coming."
Picking up his pace, he quickly caught up beside her.
"You're way too curious."
"Is that supposed to be a bad thing?"
"Curiosity killed the cat."
"Good thing I'm not one."
"Heh."
"We've arrived at the trading center."
Their attention shifted toward the rat, who was waiting for them at the end of the tunnel.
"Wow."
As they stepped closer, the light momentarily blinded them.
It was a massive space, large enough to fit dozens of houses.
The houses resembled stacked slums, built on top of one another with wood and scrap metal, reinforced by concrete and steel beams.
Greenish lights, similar to the ones in the tunnel, leaked out from the windows.
The "streets" and balconies were crowded with rats — some rushing somewhere in a hurry, while others exchanged goods with one another.
Countless stalls filled the ground below, where merchants traded weapons, artifacts, and simple trinkets.
"Damn… how long have you people been down here?"
"Hm… I think six years…? Somewhere around that."
"Only six…? Then you guys are engineering geniuses."
"Heh. Why do you think we call ourselves the नीचरी जनजाति?"
"I don't even know what that means."
"Bah."
"But how? Like— did you bring the materials before coming here or after— and how are there so many of you? Is it something related to your species? — and why do you even live beneath this forest—"
As he continued firing off questions, the rat stared at him in complete disbelief before slowly glancing sideways at Marceline.
"Is he always like this?"
"Yep."
"Doesn't the forest's radiation affect—"
"Haha! Easy there, pal. First, let's get you what you came here for."
"Ah— I got carried away. Sorry."
Phew.
"Right…"
"Come on, I'll take you to my shop."
Without even giving them time to answer, the rat immediately started walking deeper into the city.
The two followed after him, the half-demon lightly elbowing Kris in the side.
"I think your curiosity's gonna be what kills the cat."
"What do you mean?"
She laughed without answering, leaving him completely confused.
Setting that aside, he turned his attention back toward the city.
From atop the balconies, rats stared at them in surprise at the rare sight of travelers.
But what caught his attention the most were the stalls.
The food vendors mostly sold legumes, vegetables, and a strange type of root. Meat, carbohydrates, and other perishables were surprisingly rare.
The weapon stalls weren't particularly impressive, mostly selling primitive weapons like knives, curved swords, and bows.
The tool stalls, however, completely hooked him.
Crystals, jackhammers, and crystal-powered tools, all entirely handmade.
Clearly, the Neechari weren't just brilliant engineers — they were incredible craftsmen as well.
He was just about to walk over to one of the stalls for a closer look when Marceline suddenly grabbed him by the collar.
"Quit acting like a child. You're gonna end up getting lost."
"It'll only take a few minutes—"
"No."
"…Alright."
He walked alongside her again, though his eyes still wandered restlessly toward the stalls.
Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she quietly looked away.
"Maybe we can take a look around before we leave later."
"Oh. That'd be great."
He turned his attention back to the path ahead, walking beside her in silence.
Kris listened to the bargaining and laughter around them while the scent of roasting roots drifted from a nearby stall, drawing a slight twitch of Marceline's nose.
The crowd flowed back and forth around them, yet in that moment, it all seemed strangely muffled.
Between the stalls, a few young rats chased one another through the streets, occasionally stopping to stare at the travelers.
"Watch out for the kids. They're crafty little things."
"Oh? Sure. Thanks for the warning."
Barely a moment after thanking him, he felt a tug on his cloak.
Looking down, he found one of the children staring up at him, holding a root in its hand.
"क्या आप इस लबादे के बदले मेरी जड़ों को लेना चाहेंगे?"
("Would you like to trade that cloak for my root?")
"Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying."
"क्या? आपको हिंदी नहीं आती? कितनी अजीब बात है।"
("What? You don't speak Hindi? How weird.")
Why do I feel like I was just insulted?
The child quickly ran back to its friends, completely unconcerned with the traveler left standing there in confusion.
I really need to learn other languages.
Some time later, after weaving past hurried rats and persistent merchants, they finally arrived at the suspicious rat's shop.
It occupied the ground floor of a small three-story building.
The shop was dark, and the display window was coated in grime.
The merchant reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.
After unlocking the door, he pushed it open as a small bell chimed above it, then gestured for them to enter.
Once they were inside, he flipped a switch beside the door.
Several hanging crystals lit up throughout the shop.
Kris's eyes widened, a shiver running down his spine.
Strange objects filled the shelves lining every wall of the shop.
While Marceline merely raised an eyebrow, his infrared vision revealed something entirely different.
Are those... artifacts?
"Hey."
His hand landed on the rat's shoulder.
"Are you an artifact hunter?"
"Hm? Oh, those things? I made them."
H-He made them?
"Why do you look so surprised?"
"N-Nothing…"
The rat simply shrugged and made his way toward a counter at the back of the shop.
Marceline followed after him, while Kris drifted off to explore.
Behind the counter, the rat crouched down and began rummaging through a massive crate.
Marceline leaned against the counter.
After several seconds of listening to him dig through piles of junk, she frowned.
"Is this gonna take long?"
"Probably."
"..."
|Kris|
He practically bounced from shelf to shelf.
Studying the color of each artifact.
The crystals they use for lighting have a strong glow, but these pieces are even stronger.
It's kind of similar to the river... except it has shape.
Curious, he began switching between visions as he moved between the shelves.
A hammer with crystals mounted along its sides, copper wires leading toward a trigger embedded in the handle.
Or a claw fitted with three steel graspers, joined together through a hollow mechanical frame.
Is that a prosthetic?
As he hummed to himself, he continued browsing until something made him stop.
"This..."
That's... an interesting color.
The artifact before him radiated a different hue from the others — colder, yet somehow still warm.
He briefly closed his eyes to examine its actual appearance.
A leather glove fitted with iron braces connected two crystals mounted along the back of the hand.
Steel joints ran along the length of the glove.
In its palm, a ring of the same metal linked them together at the center of the hand.
|Counter|
"What about silver? Do you have any?"
"I already told you, dude. I only have gold jewelry."
"Ugh. Fine. Gold it is."
She handed over a small pouch, receiving a device that resembled a pistol, with a crystal mounted on top through a web of wires and steel cables.
"Hey."
Suddenly, Kris appeared beside her, the glove resting in his hands.
"What do you want for this?"
"Huh? What do you want with that thing?"
"Are you sure? That adapter doesn't even have a battery, so it barely works."
"And how does the battery work?"
"That one needs a concentrated energy source, but I never managed to make a crystal that could withstand it."
"Then it's useless, right? Can I have it?"
The rat scratched his chin.
"Hmm. I'd probably give it to you… but it feels like you've got something fishy in mind."
Damn it.
"I'll give it to you if you do me a favor."