The tunnel was narrow and without light, yet its singular path and the echoes of scraping dirt made navigating the cramped space a rather simple task. The trek was not a short one. She did not know exactly how long the tunnel was, but she was definitely at least a couple hundreds of meters away from the entrance and she did not feel as if the exit was near. She wasn’t even sure if she would still be in the forest by then. It was as if the tunnel led to an underground base of some sort.

However, the issue was not with the tunnel, when it would end, or where it ultimately led to. The issue was with what was beyond the exit. The confining walls and lack of branching paths made it easy for whoever was on the other side waiting to know exactly when an intruder would emerge. If there was an ambush, it was not something to be taken lightly.

Rana didn’t know how long she walked, but eventually, she was met with a faint light in the distance. It was as small as a speck of dust, but against the darkness, it was as clear as the sun during a foggy morning. She slowed down her already unhurried approach. She closed her eyes and tried to sense if there was anyone or any traps that awaited her arrival. There was none. She did not open her eyes and continued to feel the area at the exit. Something was amiss.

It was not as if her zombie senses were not working. The temptation of flesh did not cloud her mind anymore and her awareness was clear. She could tell that exit did not have anyone lying in wait. However, what was strange was not the lack of an ambush. The enemy would've had to know she was coming and already made it past their search perimeter. She knew that as far as they were concerned, she was still in the forest and their guards still had their secret entrance guarded. What was strange was the feeling she had in her mind. It was as if something was masking the lack of humans in the area as if they were blocking her zombie sense.

Could her enemy have known she was coming and who she was? No. That made little sense. If they knew she was coming they would not have sent out lone marked ones against her. The soldiers searching the woods would also be recalled and assigned to support the captains. The chains she felt that tried to restrict her senses were deliberate, but they were not targeted towards her. She was part of what they targeted.

When Rana exited the tunnel, she hopped out of the opening and landed in a room that held the answers. There were runes written all over the stone walls. They were characters she had never seen before, and they read more like a language than ancient runic-patterns. That did not make sense. Runes were like a language but it had no rules found in one. For example, the concept of ‘spear’ had its own runic expression and so did the idea of ‘throwing’. However, combining the two runic patterns did not form the pattern for ‘throwing spear’, that had its own unique and separate pattern. The runes written on the walls emitted similar energy with ancient runes, but it did not have the same elegance and testament of age as them. It was crude and had a rhyme to them. It was almost as if they were made by the hands of man.

She studied the writings on the walls much more closely and found something that unsettled her. She recognized some of them if she squinted hard enough. They were bastardized formations of old runes. The wards being created was not something that concerned her. From what she gathered, they were most likely wards created that messed with monster aggro. This room was like a wall that shortened aggro-range and slowed down its recognition speed. The problem was why these wards were created.

The implications of humans creating faux runic-patterns was something to be investigated, but she doubt she could find the answers here. The wards seem like a tool that was employed rather than what was being guarded. What bothered her was the reason for the blocking of monster aggro. The wards were clearly used as a wall that prevented monsters from crossing to the other side. However, the concerning part was which side it wanted the monsters to stay on. The entrance to this place already had guards, the tunnel prevented most dangerous monsters from entering, and the perimeter they implemented could alert the people within of approaching monsters. So it only mean that the wards were to keep monsters from going out.

Rana hoped that the humans here were not as foolish as she thought they were.

She continued forward and entered an empty hallway lit by candles that were nearing the end of their use. The people here most likely already abandoned the place. She continued searching rooms and found nothing as if the entire place was cleaned out of what was important. However, it was not a clean escape. If she hurried, she might’ve been able to catch up to the researchers. However, she quickly abandoned the thought. Without knowing the identity of her enemy, it was too risky. What was left would have to do for clues. Then, she entered a room and it confirmed her suspicion. It was a large area of cages and chains engraved with powerful wards. These bindings were overkill for normal people. They were used to bind something as strong as a marked one.

This place was a research facility and its main subject for experimentation was monsters. Whatever they experimented on was long gone, and she hoped dearly that they were eliminated. However, she knew that was wishful thinking. They were either transported away when the researchers escaped, or they were already unleashed into the world. She could not even begin to imagine the havoc they would wreak.

Monsters were a mystery, something only known as the enemy of humanity. They were completely different than any living being, and the rules they followed were completely dictated by the System. There should be nothing that could alter them. However, with the abominating runes she saw earlier, that idea did not seem impossible anymore.

Rana sensed a flaring hostility. She tensed and prepared for an attack, but there was nothing. There was only a faint smell of flesh entering her awareness followed by soft footsteps. Before long, a woman appeared before her, the same woman she saw that day who improved the patrol of the soldiers. It was the marked one captain she was the weariest of.

“I honestly did not expect you to get past Jerome. He should’ve been quite adept at dealing with mage-class and rogue-class marked ones. I guess I was wrong. However, you don’t look quite like a warrior-class,” the woman said. There was a playful tone to her voice, but she was clearly experienced. Rana knew the woman was being talkative on purpose, but she decided to let her continue. The risk of her gaining mana was minimal compared to what could be learned. Not to mention this conversation suited her as well. “I do not know why, but Jerome seems to always struggle when facing other warrior-classes.”

“No. He was just careless.”

“Interesting. I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. I shall see for myself what you are capable of. However, you do not strike me as someone they would send after us. Why are you here?”

“No reason. I guess I just took a wrong turn when taking a stroll” Rana said. “Who might you be?”

“I am someone of no importance, just a hired sword for some people who wanted this place free of nuisances. You, unfortunately, are someone that needs to be removed.”

“Do you know what they are doing here?” Rana asked. She wanted to see if the enemy would give her a hint of an reaction, but no such luck. It was almost apologetic.

“That does not matter. What my employer does is of no concern as long as I get my pay. I don’t ask any questions. I simply do what I was told. Not an exciting job, but it is an honest one,” the woman said with a hint of a chuckle. “It seems like our time is up and now our little conversation has to end. I’m surprised you let me stall for time. You should know by now that I am a warrior-class.”

“Unfortunately,” Rana said with a slight smirk. “It is you who let me stall.”

Rana raised her staff and began to form the blades of ash.