Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game! Book 2

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Book 2

Chapter Twelve

It was eerie how similar places could be, and yet how different they actually were. A prime example for Copper was the difference between the Ancient Dragon Empire, and the Lunar Sol Kingdom. The labyrinths were surprisingly similar in some regard. The monsters that existed in the Ancient Dragon Empire were weaker, certainly, but they also were more abundant. The guards that were stationed at the entrance of the labyrinth were something that was familiar, but having his Adventurer’s ID checked wasn’t.

One of the reasons he supposed was because adventuring was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, profession in the Lunar Sol Kingdom. It was a foregone conclusion that every individual that went into a labyrinth was either an adventurer or they were in an adventurer class at the Academy. Either way the guards usually wouldn’t check the ID unless the labyrinth had a tendency to kill lesser equipped adventurers. If that was the case then the IDs were checked, but only to ensure that the Adventurer was of a high enough ranking that they would make it through.

Being checked to just go in was novel. Still, Diamond Tiara, Monika, and himself had all been checked, and now he was facing the part that was similar. While each labyrinth was different in how they were set up. For one, the labyrinth that was formed due to him dropping the few cores from the Skycarp, was muddy inside. It had sections that were slick, and it was difficult, at best, to navigate through it without too much trouble. Other labyrinths tended to be different depending on the cores that formed them.

The one that always made them similar was that a monster core had created it. They had grown from a core, and they had become a living entity on its own. Its entire purpose was to grow, to attract adventurers, and to feed off of their life energy. That was what they were. In essence they were large monsters consuming everything that came into them. The smaller monsters could be considered to be their antibodies. For any adventurer it was a good way to make some money. For the novice adventurer it was a chance to prove themselves, and for the more seasoned ones it was a way to ensure that they stayed it the green.

Finding anything in a labyrinth was always a bonus. Thanks to the flow of magic, the way things worked in a labyrinth, anything dropped by adventurers was changed into some kind of boosting item. Normal boots would make an adventurer faster, or capable of walking completely silent, or they could allow an adventurer to walk up walls and walk on the ceiling. It really just depended on which labyrinth they were in, and what floor they had been dropped on.

Copper was currently wearing a pair of gloves that he’d found in the capital labyrinth. Those gloves had actually been able to increase his strength. He found that while wearing them he was able to lift several times his own weight, just as if he were an ant. The fact that they had been found on the floor with the crystal ants weren’t lost on him. The more he lifted the more they seemed to work. It wasn’t to say that they were a broken item though. They drained his magic.

He found that the more he lifted the more mana was consumed. It wasn’t like channeling his magic for a fight. That consumed his mana too, but it was usually a big chunk that was taken out at once. It was also a situation that needed to be done under dire situations. That one good punch from him with his channeled magic needed to be what decided the fight. It had to be the last punch. Otherwise the result was that he would be weakened afterward. He’d become exhausted. It was more than enough to be worrisome, but again he only used it when he needed to.

The gloves steadily consumed mana, but it was a trickle. Even when he began moving things that were way heavier than he should have been able to, it was still less mana consumed. He’d even done a punch that was way more powerful than one that he could do with his channeled magic, meaning he’d actually punched through a tree without problem. The glove had protected his hand, and the loss of mana was completely negligible compared to charging his arm with his own mana.

Still, even considering this he realized that this labyrinth was very similar to the ones back in the kingdom. The floors were rocky, but they were off-colored. Instead of being earth colored they were a mixture of purple and green. They almost appeared to be scaly if he was honest, but then that likely was because it was called the Ancient Dragon Empire. He shook his head, knowing that he was doing his best to refer to it as an Empire and not a Kingdom. He laughed a little and then looked further down. That was the difference. There had been one other labyrinth that was similar to this one, and that had been the one where Artemis had been.

As he stepped further into the labyrinth, Copper looked around at the ruins of what had obviously been an old human base. The Ruins of old underground buildings dotted the area. But what drew his attention was a small statue. It was almost completely out of place. Of all things it could resemble he saw that it looked similar to a triangle, wearing a top hat. A single eye looked blankly into space. He looked at it, trying to understand what it was that he was seeing until he heard the voice. It was loud, and quiet, there, and not anywhere at all.

"I can help you, you know," it said, "I can give you the power to protect them, to keep that lich trapped, to ensure that everything you know, and love, is forever protected. Just take my hand. I mean, come on, make a deal with me kid."

For a moment it was a thought that consumed Copper. Power, all of the power he would ever need, and it would be at his fingertips. He wouldn’t even need the bell. He could feel the power radiating from the statue. He could feel the overwhelming amount of raw power that would be at his command. Flashes of being able to bend reality with a mere snap of his fingers began to race through his mind. He could literally undo the magic that held King Sombra together. He could forever erase him from existence. He didn’t even realize that his hand was stretching out toward the statue until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Darling?” Monika asked, her voice worried, “Don’t, please, don’t do it.”

The words reached him, and he understood what was going on. Slowly his hand came back, and he could hear a low growl, “Go ahead and think about it kid, think about it, but we both know that I’m going to be the best choice that you’re gonna have. When you’ve come to your senses, come back and see me. And remember, reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, and buy gold!”

He shook his head, trying to process what had just happened. Somehow he’d managed to contact something ancient, something dangerous, and it had tempted him with power. Not just overwhelming might, but actual power. It was the kind of power that could give him everything he could ever want. The kind of power that would ensure that no one he cared for would ever be hurt again. It was an amazing amount of power.

He breathed out, trying to get his thoughts under control. He wanted to take that thing’s hand. He still wanted to. There was a very real part of him that wanted the power that was needed, the kind of power that it was offering, but if Monika was against it then he knew that it was something beyond what could handle. That meant that to someone that had been able to literally rewrite her original world it was too dangerous. He looked away from it, and he looked at her, “Thank you,” he said before he felt a hug from behind him, “I don’t know what it is,” Diamond Tiara said as she held him, “But it heard it too. I heard the promises, and I saw what we could do. We must never approach it. I don’t think that we would even be ourselves if we did,” she said as she held him, “I’m afraid that we would simply become avatars of chaos. I doubt that there would be enough left of us to even realize what we were doing.”

With that the three of them began to move further in. Still, with each step he felt the draw from the statue. He could feel the presence there, and he could hear the voice. The soft call that he just needed to make a deal, and it would all be taken care of. He did his best to ignore it. The last thing he needed was to give into this appeal to his more primitive nature. As soon as they turned a corner he draw he felt was gone. He looked around and noticed that the archway above them was glowing faintly. Ancient runes were carved into it, and what looked like some kind of glowing rope was woven around the runes.

He realized that it was a doorway, and that this doorway was somehow negating the effects of that magic. There was something about it that was canceling the power of that statue. With a sigh of relief he began to move again. This was his chance, his best chance, and he was going to do what he needed to do in order to make it. Looking around he noticed that this was more like the ruins where he’d found Artemis. He could see automatic doors that had been grown over with vines, and in the distance he saw the giant doors that he’d seen in the book.

“We’re close,” he said as he looked around, “I think that statue, whatever it was, had been left there as a test. It was meant to see who could withstand it and make it this far. So, now we just need to find wherever it is that they hid Grogar’s bell. I’m sure that it’s around here somewhere.”

He moved toward a door, and he began to pull the roots away from it. Slowly, he saw it give away, and as it did he looked at the faded writing. Old letters that had been painted in English still hung on after all of this time, “Magical Testing?” he asked as he looked at it, “What was this?”

He tried the door and found it locked. There on the side was a key card. The memory of the old keycard that he’d found when he found Artemis came to him. He looked around, and he saw a few skeletons that were lying against the walls. One of them as still holding onto something. He moved toward that skeleton, and he slowly moved its decayed hand. There in its grasp was an identification card.

“I hope that you were a high enough level buddy,” he said as he moved back to the door and swiped the card. For a moment there was nothing, and then the door slowly began to move. The sound of air hissing from behind the sealed door filled the hall, and he watched as it slowly opened and old hanging lights began to flicker to life, “Good, let’s check it out.”

Stepping inside of the room he was faced with what looked like hundreds of tubes. All of them filled with strange glowing liquid. He studied it for a moment, trying to make sense of what it was that he was seeing. He couldn’t quite understand it, the concept of whatever it was seemed to escape him. There was a part of him that tried to make sense of it, but nothing came to mind. Finally he looked toward the center tank, and there was what looked like a humanoid shape. Two mismatched horns adorned its head, and he felt that the fluid was somehow connected to him.

It was a sight that boggled his mind. What was this thing, and why was it here? He moved a little closer to it, and as he did a stray laser hit his badge. For a moment there was nothing, and then slowly the lab began to fully light up, “Welcome Dr. Jason Letcher,” a computerized voice said over the P.A. system, “It has been exactly seven thousand, six hundred, fifty-three years and seventy-two days since you’ve last visited. In that time the extraction process on Project Chimera has been at work. A deep analyzation of the fluid has revealed that the very biological makeup of the creature is the reason for its bizarre powers. It is believed that Project Chimera may well be more powerful than Project Illuminati,” it stated as it began informing the long dead doctor of the news, “Furthermore, it appears that the powerful sedatives that was used to subdue Project Chimera have been nearly depleted. At this rate there is only enough sedatives to contain Project Chimera for another six months, four days, and twenty-one hours. At that time the project will begin to awaken.”

He looked at the humanoid shape, “What happens when it awakens?”

There was a pause, “I’m sorry, but I do not have enough information to formulate a complete answer. Going from the past experimentations that were done it can be assumed that the world will end; however, Project Chimera’s very nature is chaotic, and as such there is no way to accurately predict what will happen once Project Chimera is released. As such it is suggested that more of the sedative be created.”

He looked around, “Where is it created?”

There was another pause, “The onboard fabrication lab has been damaged. The sedative cannot be created on site,” the voice said before going silent, “Connection through various networks has shown to be spotty at best. All reports coming in report that there are no more fabrication labs left working currently. Incorrect, there is a single lab on a ship that is currently registered as the Artemis. Negative, this lab does not have the precise equipment to create the sedative.”

He breathed out, “Okay, is there a different sedative that can be used?”

There was more quiet, “No, but video taken from the battlefields have shown the effects of something being used on soldiers. It causes instant sleep. This appears to be the special energy used by the new humans. This, spell, appears to work on large numbers. Comparatively it is possible that this energy will be able to keep Project Chimera in a continued sleep. Although, it is uncertain if there are side effects to this spell that would affect Project Chimera in any adverse way.”

He felt Diamond Tiara touch his arm, “Copper, you’re speaking in a language that I don’t know, what’s going on?”

He looked at her, “This ruin is from the war that pretty much predates all of our history. In fact, much of our nations have been formed because of it,” he said as he looked at her, “It’s where I found Avarice, and my ship,” he admitted, “I had to learn the language in order to proceed. This voice that’s talking is part of the item that’s here, and it’s entire purpose is keeping that thing contained,” he said as he pointed toward the tube, “Apparently it’s got the power to end the world several times over.”

She neared it, and she looked at the tube, “It looks like a boy,” she said as she marveled at the tube, “Wait, if I look from this side it looks like a girl, what’s going on here?”

“Unknown language detected, automated linguistics program running, picking up on vocal ques of new language, new language adopted. Hello, welcome to Project Chimera, as a guest of Doctor Jason Letcher I can only assume that you are either a spouse or child. Please remain next to Doctor Letcher at all time. Diverting from Doctor Letcher will result in possible loss of limb or death.”

She stepped back, “Wait, what are you?”

There was another moment of silence, “I am the Artificial Intelligence responsible for watching over the laboratory that you are currently inside of. My purpose is to ensure that Project Chimera does not escape, or that Project Chimera is used as a tool of war by either the old humans or new humans. As such, I am to ensure of containment of Project Chimera for the foreseeable future.”

There was a moment of silence, “Okay,” Diamond Tiara said, “What is your name?”

“Apologies, I am the Humanoid Intelligence Logistics Database Application, or you may call me H.I.L.D.A. or Hilda. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Please, state your name.”

She stood up straight, “I am Diamond Tiara Rich,” she said her voice full of pride, “And I am the bride to be to the man standing here.”

“Information logged, Dr. Jason Letcher currently has his bride to be with him,” Hilda replied, “Question, Doctor Letcher, I am reading another artificial intelligence with you,” Hilda stated, “It is registered as a program to ensure protection of a dock, and ensure continued operations. Yet it is currently downloaded completely into a single avatar. Is this wise? Would you like for me to purge the artificial intelligence?”

“No,” he said, his voice firm, “Monika is doing a fantastic job as she is. We don’t need to do anything to her, thank you.”

“Of course,” came the voice before a side panel opened. When it did a sleek looking body stepped out. It seemed to look them both over for a moment, “Apologies, I have been using the main system, and it appears that you prefer to be speaking to an avatar. As such, I will use this avatar to communicate with you.”

The android it was using reminded him of first meeting Artemis. It was similar, but where Artemis had what looked almost like rabbit ears this android seemed to have a tail made of energy, and small triangle ears. He was looking at a catgirl. He closed his eyes, trying not to focus on that, and instead shook his head, “That’s fine, although we’re currently looking for part of an experiment. We’re needing to use Grogar’s Bell. We believe that it could be connected to Project Chimera.”

There was a pause, “Grogar’s Bell is currently being used to ensure the containment of Grogar,” she said, “Removal of the bell will result in Grogar being released. Removal of it is unadvised.”

He cursed a little, “Damn, is there anything that could be used to continue to contain Grogar?”

For a moment she was silent, “yes, the power taken from Project Chimera has the capabilities to do so, but at current state it is unstable. In a mere century it should be stabilized enough to use.”