Kirito and Tenten descended into the underground passage. The deeper they went, the more oppressive the darkness became. Though they each held a softly glowing chakra rod, the dim green light only made the tunnel feel even more eerie.
Kirito took the lead while Tenten followed closely behind. Like most people, she harbored an instinctual fear of the dark. Kirito, too, might've once shared that fear, if not for the Assassin template he possessed.
Ever since he'd awakened that power, the dark no longer frightened him. In fact, it felt oddly… familiar. Moreover, the Assassin's innate [Night Vision] rendered the pitch-black tunnel no obstacle at all.
Because he could see clearly, Kirito moved forward at a steady pace. Naturally, the distance between them gradually widened.
"Hey!" Tenten huffed as she hurried to catch up, grabbing the corner of his shirt. "Could you not run off like that?"
"Oh, sorry," Kirito replied, slowing his steps. In truth, he wasn't going too fast, Tenten was simply moving cautiously. For ordinary people, walking at normal speed in this kind of darkness was impossible.
His tight-fitting combat gear didn't leave much fabric to hold onto, and with the uneven pace, Tenten occasionally stumbled into his heel or lost contact altogether.
Realizing this, Kirito simply reached back and grasped her hand.
"Eh?!" The sudden warmth startled Tenten. But when she heard Kirito's calm voice, she understood what had just happened.
"Stick close, Tenten."
"…"
In the enveloping black, the two pressed forward without another word.
By the faint light of her chakra rod, Tenten stared at Kirito's back. Strangely enough, she didn't feel scared anymore.
After a while, Kirito suddenly stopped.
Tenten, unable to see clearly, walked straight into his back.
"Wh-what is it?!"
Kirito exhaled lightly. "There's a stream ahead," he said with some surprise.
"A stream?" Tenten tilted her head. "Now that you mention it, the air does feel more humid… but I don't hear any running water?"
Just beyond them lay a patch of sunken swampy terrain, thick mud and stagnant dark water. Kirito's enhanced night vision let him see it clearly.
More troubling, he spotted something pale and white sticking out of the muck. His brows furrowed. Bones. Human skulls, to be precise. That meant someone else had entered this place before, and died. There was danger here.
Kirito's eyes scanned the surroundings and landed on a jagged rock on the far side of the mire.
He glanced back. In the dim light, Tenten's wide, dark eyes were fixed ahead, completely unaware of the situation. Without a word, he summoned a [Hooked Chain].
"Eh?!" Tenten suddenly felt a hand wrap around her waist.
"We're jumping," Kirito said, his voice calm as ever.
Before she could react, he had already leapt forward, one hand flinging the chain. The hook latched perfectly onto the distant rock. With a firm tug, they soared over the swamp.
In midair, Tenten instinctively tightened her arms around Kirito's neck. But in doing so, she dropped her chakra rod.
"Huh?!" The dim glow fell into the swamp, and illuminated a ghastly white skull staring up from the mud.
Tenten froze for a split second. Then-
"Aaahhhhh!!!"
"Ggh!"
The shriek was deafening. Tenten's arms tightened around his neck like a vice, nearly strangling him. Kirito staggered in the air, almost losing his grip on the chain.
Fortunately, he managed to land one foot on solid ground at the swamp's edge and kicked off, sending them both safely across.
"Let go… Tenten… I can't breathe…" Kirito gasped.
But she was still clinging to him.
One hand on her wrist, the other gently patting her back, he murmured, "It's okay. Calm down."
After a while, the trembling in her limbs began to subside. She slowly let go.
"Hah… hah… hah…" Kirito sucked in deep gulps of air. "You nearly choked me to death…"
"Ugh…" Tenten's face flushed with embarrassment. "I-It wasn't on purpose! That skull just popped out of nowhere! What kind of freakish place is this?!"
"It's fine, it's fine," Kirito said, brushing it off. Honestly, anyone would've been scared stiff by a surprise like that, he just happened to see it in advance thanks to his night vision.
He offered her a hand and helped her up.
But instead of letting go, Tenten gripped his hand even tighter.
Kirito didn't mind. He gave her fingers a comforting squeeze. "Don't worry. I'm here."
Though he said that lightly, his eyes were already scanning their surroundings.
Something wasn't right.
The tunnel beyond the swamp didn't look like a collapsed mine at all. The passage was rough and narrow, the walls smooth and seamless, as if molded from some kind of hardened paste, not stacked stone. And the floor, there were strange marks in the dirt. Not footprints, exactly, but drag patterns. Slithering tracks.
"Mm? Hey, Kirito… do you hear that?" Tenten asked suddenly. "That weird sound?"
Kirito narrowed his eyes.
"No doubt about it," he muttered. "We've wandered into the den of some kind of… summoning beast."
<><>---------------------------------------
200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters