Mage of the Abyss: Siola Mithra

Chapter 8 - New Path to Thread

Smashing the ground with enough force to blow dust away, "West Gate is OUT OF THE QUESTION!" yelled one of the old men with a beard reaching his hairy chest.

The other says, "He's right. West Gate has unordinary undead guarding the gate, even Travelers are keeping their distance from them."

"And we can't get through the North Gate without meeting the sea of Travelers."

Travelers, it is what the people in this world call a player. Something I cannot believe however is the fact that these people are actually the same NPCs I met in my first playthrough back in my previous life. The time I plays also different, so I kept hugging my legs around these people, asking myself, 'Why?'

'In any case, I've already prepared a plan to go through and get to the surface. Once this cutscene ends, I'll get out, meet with Galliano, speedrun the North Gate and git.'

"What do you think, lass?"

"Eh?"

The bald old man stared at me after I heard that question. I thought to myself, 'Was it him?' my eyes peeled, 'Did he just... talk to me?'

"Between all these 4 gates, which one do you think we should go for?"

"Wait, Boland, are you seriously asking a little girl about this?"

"I'd like to hear everyone's opinion, Ken."

'Little girl?' made my eyes twitch, but, 'He's talking to me... they're talking about me. Boland, so that's his name. Is this what playing Realism Mode is like? Am I going to be able to engage in a normal conversation with NPCs? Th-That's cool, but...'

"So, what do you think, lass?"

"... Scary."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

'Shoot, did I say that out loud?' but he actually responded, which caught me off guard, "Ahh um, nothing, I mean, um..."

'Calm down, Siola. It's just Baldy, it's not like answering him is gonna kill you.'

This man is the last person in the group to die. I left him alone when a PK group came out to get me, I made him my shield while I escaped through the portal.

They're waiting for me to answer, but I ponder about it a bit, 'I'm playing on Realism Mode. The moment I got injured, it's gonna hurt a lot. I already have a plan but... going to the North Gate with these guys. There's bound for me to encounter another player killer. But I haven't gone into the other gates before, what do I do?'

Experience is important, and if I can repeat the past but do it better, without a doubt I might be able to become the number one player in this lifetime, but my curiosity is still in gear. Recalling the past where Kurira talks about her experiences on passing through the South Gate which is the second easiest one out of the four.

Its layout. I drew it on the ground using my finger. Shaping the sands.

Between the South and the East, it's arguable whether one is harder than the other, but I know that it's possible to go through those Gates, unlike the West. With North being out of the question, I think it's right for me to opt for the [Righteous End] Gate instead.

[Siola]: What about going this way? To the South Gate.

[Old Man Ken]: Why?

[Boland]: Kenmartha.

[Old Man Ken]: No, Boland. We can't have her say her opinion if she doesn't explain why she came to that decision. Especially after looking at our condition.

[???]: He's right.

[Boland]: Dura...

The baldy sighed and all of them proceed to stare at me. I don't mind their gaze but this sure is uncomfortable. The last time I was in a spotlight was when I accomplished a feat, now I feel like I'm being interrogated. But this too, is fine. They didn't bother to ask me about anything like, I don't know, introduction or something. How I got here. In any case, the reason that I came up with.