Dimensional Descent

Aina pulled her sword out quickly.

She didn't quite understand what was happening. Shouldn't Invalids be creatures of instinct? They shouldn't have any intelligence or sense of comradery. Something like signaling one's allies was a distinctly human trait. Sometimes beasts of higher intelligence would engage in such matters as well. But, Invalids? That should never happen.

'It didn't become energy?'

Aina was shocked once again. The Invalid before her collapsed, but it didn't disappear into energy she could absorb. Just what was happening?

Aina's heart seized. Did she make a mistake? Was it not an Invalid at all?

No, that was impossible. Its eyes, its aura, its demeanor, it all screamed Invalid. So, what was happening exactly?

Aina didn't believe that she would make such a rookie mistake. Plus, what existence other than an Invalid could shriek like that even after having its head pierced through?

Aina was certain, it hadn't been a shriek of pain or unwillingness. It had no emotion behind it all, it was completely hollow and without conscience.

'I need to move.'

Aina thrust these thoughts to the back of her mind, taking a glance at the wall the 'Invalid' had been scratching at.

If Leonel had been there, he would immediately recognize the Tier 5 Black Ore embedded into the wall. It wasn't very valuable, but it wasn't worthless either. At the very least, it could sell for a couple kilograms of Black Urbe Ore.

'I don't have time to dig it out and it doesn't seem like a very high level ore either.' Aina nodded to herself. 'Run.'

turned tail and ran. She felt it was unfortunate that she had placed herself in such a difficult situation for such a worthless

back in

the wall. And, if she got lost in these tunnels, there would be

as she thought, then it likely meant that there were more Invalids on their way. If she was correct, then her arrows wouldn't mean much if anything to them. With their

rounded a corner with confidence, only to come to a grinding

facing her. But, they all simultaneously rotated their heads in her

her

go forward?

the only way for her to continue following her arrows. But, the latter would force her to forget her initial plans entirely. There was no way she

this, there was no way that Aina would only meet these Invalids on her way back and never even

grit her teeth.

If there were Invalids on her way back, that only meant that she had been very lucky not to run into them on the way here. If that was the case, there might very well be even more if she headed in deeper

a faint red hue covering her blade and her

she shot forward,

as Fourth Dimensional humans, their joints would often bend at odd angles as though they were double jointed in all

less like humanoids and more like some alien species just learning how to walk

but this was a good thing for her. The less coordinated they were, the greater chance she had of leaving this

Without even bothering with the remaining two, she shot by the gap

quickly as she could, no longer minding the noise she might make. As long as the Invalids

couldn't she had traveled in a straight line before? What possessed her to take so many

But, a few came in groups of two and three. Still, it wasn't beyond

anxious the more she ran. How were there so many Invalids here? Why did none of them become

there were so many here. The more she ran into, the more she began to question how she had traveled so deeply without running into even a