In the dead of night....
"Psst-- Time to go out!" Jack's murmur awoke the little wolf, the latter emerging from the flour bag utterly snow white.
"Woo!" (More minutes...)
"C'mon, we gotta save Pumpkin Girl...."
"Woo! Woo-woo!" (I'm up, I'm up! Let's go already!)
Jack hurriedly got dark ninja clothes out of his inventory, the two covering their feet with cloth to remove the sound of their footsteps. It was time to hunt!
"Now remember, those guards don't look easy to defeat. Either sneak attack or avoid them altogether. We have to be on point!" Jack reminded.
The two left the pantry with no one to stop them. Luckily it seemed like the kitchen security was pretty bad, the owners not expecting enemies to use it to infiltrate.
Parts of the floor were filled with water, but the above surface had plenty of air. The oxygen was necessary to feed the ovens-in-a-bottle placed on various counters.
"Careful not to step in the water. Stay on the dry stone path. Otherwise, we'll leave water puddles all over." Jack remarked, frowning.
What kind of infiltration happened in the center of the freaking room? Theirs! This was so damn sad: if only he had learned water bending for that very moment!
In any case, the two quickly exited the kitchen, landing in a way too bright hallway. This was because of the glowing blue crystals embedded in the walls: as pretty as inconvenient.
"Woo?" (What are we waiting for?)
"Timing, the perfect timing."
Jack didn't simply rush forward. No, he wanted to get the timing of the patrols just right. Thus they remained near the kitchen door, ready to hide at a moment's notice.
1..2...45...54...113... then splashing sounds! This was their window of action, one that was so very short. Any fighting could easily lead to disaster in such a case.
"Get ready. Every other minute we hide...."
The two hurried over, following the stone path. Every time they heard the splashing sounds, they knew they had to find a place to settle.
They'd often enter random doors, Jack having to pick many basic locks. Many rooms even had sleeping occupants/pets that did their best not to wake up.
Thus they kept going, soon developing a rhythm to avoid the patrols. They were simply walking forward, Jack trying to sense a familiar aura.
But trouble showed up just as they were getting confident in their avoidance skills!
-- Splash! Splash! --
Crap! Talk about some horrible timing! Guards? Residents? Those were so out of sync with the other patrols! Either way, they had to disappear before the newcomers could see them.
Too late to backtrack and hide? Definitely! Another group'd spot them if they tried that. They were stranded in a bright hallway with absolutely no cover!
"Woo?!" (Fight?!)
"No, we can't. Too risky!"
Jack didn't hesitate anymore, grabbing Moon Moon and launching himself in the air. The kick plus the wind magic brought them all the way to the ceiling!
Then he acted like a Spider-Man, grabbing unto it for dear life. But even then, they stood up like a sore thumb!
With a wave of his hand, he sent a wind blade toward the nearest crystal, extinguishing it and plunging the area into darkness.
"Shadow, it's your turn now."
His shadow suddenly wriggled as if alive, diligently engulfing them both. They went from being visible to being a strange patch of darkness.
Then they waited, crossing their fingers as two guys showed up...
"Ah?! A light crystal ran out! How suspicious!"
The NPCs wore full coral equipment and would be far from easy targets. Level 50...freaking level 50! Two of them to boot!
The guy stared at the place, suddenly locking on the ceiling. "Hey, that place is way darker than it should be. There's something wrong with it, right?!"
"Sigh. Brother, it's called shadows. It kinda happens, especially at night. Who was it again that wanted to go for a midnight snack? Let's hurry up already."
The former looked especially reluctant as he kept staring at their location. But just when the two started to freak out, he finally relented.
"Fine, but I'll report it just in case...." The two then left, Jack thanking Heaven. This had been a close call!
But it also meant that the light trick wouldn't work anymore. One faulty stone? It happened. Two in quick succession? Improbable!
They kept going, praying for no further issues. Sadly there was no way that this would be so easy. It happened when they were trying to hide in a bedroom.
A sleeping NPC suddenly jumped up, his entire body glistening with cold sweat. He had been having a nightmare and had suddenly woken up...just to face them directly!
"W-who are you people?! A wolf?!"
Moon Moon didn't hesitate as it swiped his paw at the man. Except the attack was instantly blocked by a green protective shield. An artifact?!
This bastard was seriously packing some heavy defense! Had he been expecting to be assassinated in his sleep or something?! Such foresight!
Fight and break the shield? Too long! Negotiate with the man? The chances of it working were meager! That's when Jack attempted a foolish plan.
"Muhahaha, mortal, I am the Sleep Devil of the Nether Realm! This time I've finally managed to trap your soul!" Jack roared.
"W-what?!"
"What? How unoriginal! This is your reaction? How about you freak out a little instead? You've already fallen for my unbreakable spell!"
"What spell?!"
"The unbelievably potent spell no one can ever wake up from!"
An utterly puzzled little wolf chimed in, "Woo?!" What the heck was happening right now? Were they attacking the guy or not?!
The man stared at the wolf, his jaw hanging wide. Was this wolf talking? Also, what the hell was wrong with its fur? Why was it orange?!
Whatever the little wolf said, it made the "devil" react.
"Nooo! Why did you tell him how to break the spell?! Tch-- He was just getting heated and ready to fight us too!"
The man jerked in shock. Wait, could this be a dream? It had to be, right? Sleep Devil, orange wolf, the strange scene...it all pointed to a nightmare!
But was this Devil real? Either way, it seemed to be hoping for them to fight. Why?!
"Woo?!"
"You're right. Even if he knows, he's not calm enough to do it. His soul is ours, hehe!"
Even now, the duo was cackling at his expense. Even if everything pointed to a nightmare, this whole thing felt so real...and the danger probably was too! What should he do?!
What had the wolf even said? A method to break the curse? Wait, perhaps he only had to wake up?! But how would one go about that?
Ah! The calm part! Wouldn't he simply have to go to sleep in a dream to wake up in real life?! This had to be it!
The NPC tentatively tried returning to bed with the barrier still protecting his body. That's when the "Sleep Devil's" expression wholly changed. The being absolutely hated the idea!
That's when the smug resident gave a victorious grin to Jack as he simply went back to sleep, utterly convinced that he was exorcising a Sleep Devil.
Moon Moon watched it all happen, with confusion written on its fluffy face. Was this fish guy a complete idiot, or was there something it had missed?!
But then Jack dragged his partner out, the way finally clear. The patrol on the other side had already passed, and they could now progress.
[Recalibrating NPC's Intelligence!]
[Raising it!.... Lowering it! Raising-- Error!]
In the background, the system was freaking out. On the one hand, the NPC's actions were foolish, but his intelligence had allowed him to "see" Jack's clues.
Jack couldn't help but chuckle as he saw the AI's struggles. It would obviously have to increase the enemies' wisdom....but this was an entirely different challenge.
In any case, they kept progressing...
They were getting closer, the two just knew it. Jack could sense her aura, and it was growing stronger by the second. They had this!
Then they finally reached the end of their journey. It was a bunker-type area with massive doors that reminded them of the Palace.
The problem was that it was guarded even better than the front gate! What kind of crazy concept was this?! How were they supposed to bypass the enemies?!
"Woo!" (I'll attract their attention!)
The little wolf was ready to sacrifice itself for the cause. So what if it died? The only thing that mattered was their rescue mission.
"Wait, no. The last guy was half-awake at best and easier to fool, but it probably won't work against them. They'll sound the alarm as soon as they see you."
After all, there weren't any wolves in the area. They'd instantly realize that there was something unnatural about the situation.
"Actually, I may have an idea..."
This time Jack made them backtrack. They had seen many rooms on their way over, and many had pets inside. That's exactly what he needed right now!
It didn't take them too long to find a dolphin: quick, aquatic, and probably valuable. It was the perfect bait!
Jack grabbed it and drove demonic energy into it. It wasn't enough to seriously hurt the poor creature but sufficed to make it crazed for a little while!
[Temporarily Corrupted An Innocent Creature!]
[This Definitely Has To Be Illegal!]
Then the two returned toward the heavily-guarded room, throwing the dolphin in the waterway nearby. It instantly began swimming toward the door.
"Is that...a dolphin?!"
"Wait, that's the squad leader's pet!"
"Quick, catch it!! Don't let it swim away!"
How was a silly dolphin so effective?! Either way, the duo used the time while they were distracted to sneak inside.
....And there she was, Pumpkin Girl! But then they saw her state...
"W-what did those bastards do to you?!"
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