Versatile: Alternate World



Renatta tightly clung to her grandmother's old garment, as if it held the weight of the world in its fabric. Tears welled up in her eyes as she cradled the cherished item.

"Grandma..." Renatta's voice quivered with emotion.

Curiosity piqued, I turned to Alena, who had been silently observing the scene beside me. I whispered, "Why do you think Renatta's so emotional?"

Alena shrugged, her gaze never leaving Renatta. "I don't have all the details, just bits and pieces about her grandma. If you want to know, you'll have to ask her yourself. But maybe it's best to give her some space for now."

Nodding in agreement, I suggested, "Yeah, let's not interrupt her. We can talk about it outside."

Alena and I quietly exited the room, leaving Renatta alone with her memories. As we walked away, Alena began filling me in on what she knew about Renatta's grandmother.

"Take it with a grain of salt, folks. Most of this is just publicly available info, so I can't vouch for its total accuracy. Renatta-sama's grandmother was one of the founders of the Elven Kingdom, alongside her husband, Renatta's grandfather. These two are legends, known to all as the elves who kickstarted this whole elf kingdom gig."

"Sounds like they were pretty big shots," I remarked, impressed by Renatta's grandparents.

"Oh, they were, and still are. They're considered the rightful rulers of the Elven Kingdom, almost like living symbols blessed by the Goddess. Everyone knows them as such. However, here's the twist: Renatta's grandmother and her hubby, were more into adventures than building up the kingdom, much to the annoyance of some of the older folks," Alena continued.

"So, did they just carry on with their adventures and keep going on their journey?" I ventured a guess.

"Pretty much, but not quite. They stuck around to help build the kingdom, but they passed up the chance to be the rulers. Instead, they preferred to be the founders and support the kingdom's growth without sitting on the throne. The ones who ruled were their son and his wife, who became the king and queen. They're still the king and queen, by the way. As for Renatta's grandparents, they continued their adventurous ways, clearing dungeons and setting up those Teleport Stations. But then, one day, it all came to a halt."

"Did something happen to them?"

"No one knows. They just vanished without a word. No one could figure out where they went, and they didn't drop any hints that they'd be gone for long. They simply disappeared, and their tales of building a kingdom out of thin air are all that remains."

They just vanished into thin air? That's rather unsettling, especially considering the clothing I found in that chest. Then, I just remembered something.

I turned to Alena once more, holding out the unreadable paper. "Alena, can you make sense of this?"

Alena looked at the paper in my hands and she frowned. "Isn't this Elven Language? Where did you get this?"

"Elven Language?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, it's Elven Language. And I can understand it perfectly. It had a single sentence that said, 'I will be waiting at the bottom.' That's the whole message."

"I will be waiting at the bottom?" I pondered. Did that mean Renatta's grandmother was inviting us to go deeper?

"So, where did you find this?" Alena inquired once more.

"It was among the things in the treasure chest where I found Renatta's grandma's garment."

"What? So, this note could be something her grandmother left behind?" Alena exclaimed.

"It's possible. How about we show it to her?" I suggested.

At that moment, Renatta emerged and overheard our conversation.

"What are you going to show me?" Renatta asked, still clutching her grandmother's garment.

"Take a look at this, Renatta-sama. Manato found it inside the chest along with the garment you're holding," Alena explained.

"Wait, what?" Renatta immediately snatched the note from Alena's hand and read the words. Then, tears welled up in her eyes once more.

"Grandmother, she must still be alive! She left this for me, or for any elves, to find her! She's down there, waiting for a rescue! Maybe she's with Grandpa!"

"Relax, Renatta. I get your excitement, but charging headlong into a dungeon isn't the smartest move, especially with these Corrupted Elves lurking about. We can't just assume this will be a cakewalk," I cautioned Renatta, hoping to keep her from doing anything reckless.

"You're right, my bad. I just got carried away knowing this belonged to my grandmother. Time's ticking, though, Manato. We need to let the others know and find our way down ASAP."

We grabbed all of the loot we could get on this floor. The other sentry tower also had a chest as well but it was only containing a few bottles of potions of the lesser kind that we carry and more gold coins. We divided the gold coins into everyone's coin purses.

...

...

We pressed on through the dungeon, stumbling upon another room infested with Corrupted Elves. This time, Renatta effortlessly dispatched them, her earlier hesitation completely gone. Thanks to her, we swiftly cleared the room, revealing a set of stairs leading deeper into the abyss.

As we descended, the surroundings grew darker, making navigation a real challenge. If it weren't for Sora's [Light] spell, we'd be fumbling around in the pitch-black.

"This place is giving me the creeps. We've faced dungeons with undead and eerie themes before, but this is the first time I've felt genuine dread," Sora admitted, rubbing her arms to chase away the goosebumps.

"It's not that bad," Pandora countered. Perhaps she'd braved even scarier dungeons, given her nonchalant demeanor in this foreboding place.

"Should we take a breather?" Renatta inquired, concerned for the group.

"Don't worry about us. We're used to this, so fatigue isn't an issue unless you guys need a break," Sora reassured.

"We're good to go," Labo chimed in, flexing his arm to show his readiness.

"Same here," Alena added.

"Alright, but if any of you start feeling drained, don't hesitate to speak up. I'd love to rush to the dungeon's depths, but I can't do that if my companions are running on empty. Don't be shy; just let me know," Renatta emphasized as we continued toward the next chamber.

As we pressed on through the dungeon's winding corridors, we stumbled upon a curious sight – a series of rooms secured by doors. Now, these weren't like anything we'd encountered on the first and second floors. Sure, there were those Sentry towers, but they hardly qualified as proper rooms with doors; they were more like mechanical guard posts. What lay before us was an actual room, complete with a bona fide door.

Instinctively, I approached the door, my eyes narrowing with suspicion. One thing you learn in dungeons is to never take anything at face value, especially when it comes to doors. Dungeons have a knack for rigging them to trigger all sorts of traps. So, with caution, we deliberated our next move.

"Is it booby-trapped?" Akira inquired.

"Nah," I replied after a thorough examination. "This one seems safe. But it's locked tight. Hold on a sec; I'll work my lock-picking magic."

With the finesse that only an Assassin class member possessed, I set to work, employing my trusty lockpicks and my trustier [Lockpicking] skill. It took a bit of jiggling, and a smidge of timing, but finally, the door yielded with a satisfying click.

With a sense of accomplishment, I nudged the door open, revealing what lay beyond. But the moment it cracked open, an overwhelming wave of putrid stench assaulted our senses. It was so bad that every one of us, including yours truly, recoiled in disgust.

I knew that smell immediately.

"This place reeks of a decaying corpse..." I wrinkled my nose, trying to ward off the unpleasant odor as I cautiously approached the room once more.

"A dead body?" The expressions on everyone's faces mirrored my disgust.

"Yeah, but before we deal with that, let's clear out this stench," I said, extending my right hand while the other clamped my nose shut.

"[Cleanse]!"

The magic started working, gradually dispelling the putrid smell that had hung in the air. After a few moments, we could finally breathe freely again.

I swung the door open wider and motioned for Sora to step closer, her [Light] skill illuminating the dark room perfectly.

Just as I suspected, there lay a lifeless body sprawled on the floor, with a treasure chest resting on its lap. We inspected the chest for traps or any signs of the body coming back to life, but there was nothing of the sort; it was just a lifeless corpse. As for the chest, it contains another set of gold coins and a few supplies as well but this time, there is a note among them like the other note we found in the second floor.

Renatta and the others joined us to take a closer look, and when Renatta caught sight of the coat draped over the deceased, she exclaimed, "I can't be mistaken. This coat belonged to my Grandfather, worn during his adventures with Grandmother!"

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