It wasn't that hard for Haruto to complete his daily quests as he already had an idea of what he'll be doing and where he'll be landing, especially on that particular quest to find corals. It was tasking, but this time, he wasn't plunging himself into the unknown. During the free fall though, he still felt nauseous, this was just his second time experiencing it after all!!.
'Damn it! Damn it all'
More importantly, he was especially careful to not leave the street of where the Sentinels were located. He still hadn't forgotten about how the darkness had almost devoured him the previous dusk, the feeling of utter powerlessness and the high probability of being plucked by death with what he thought to not take more than one move.
Remembering it, he shivered slightly.
What were the chances that whoever was lurking in the thick darkness that night, had not placed a kind of mystic tracking device on him without him knowing? He had an answer already…Zero!!. So, he really didn't take any chances. Only doing his jogging and running from the end to end of the whole street. Not daring to wander off it.
Few minutes before the sun rose above the horizon. He was already back, bathed by its inexplicable radiance only when he got to the small door. Exhausted and gasping desperately for breath. He looked like he went through hell, only it was somehow…cold?.
'Curses!'
As of yesterday, the young girl opened the door, and rather slowly. Gasping in surprise, she immediately helped him in.
"Gods, Haruto what happened to you?!"
Haruto suppressed a smile, it would seem that someone cared about him. Her voice was tainted with worry and she looked all concerned. He looked at her amidst desperate gasps.
'Did she really care?'
But, he knew better than anyone, humans were all the same, right?. They'd smile and act until you'd almost believed them, deep inside, they harboured ill intentions that could erase you from existence. But, he didn't have to show it.
He smiled at the young girl, then spoke when he could at least control his ragged breath and heaving chest in an even tone:
"I just went on a minor expedition, I'll be fine, thank you"
With that, he helped himself upstairs.
The girl didn't worry too much, only momentarily. After that, she found herself behind the desk already scribbling on her tattered note as usual.
Haruto wondered what she was always scribbling on the note.
Not thinking too much about it, he made his way upstairs and to his room. He had much to do than worry about the little girl as it seemed.
He quickly decided to take his bath.
His room was the smallest in the hallway, so a bathroom wasn't built into it.
'Well, at least the architect was considerate'
His bathroom was just opposite his room. He didn't take too much time, he was out just a few minutes after he was in. Then, he put on his Sentinel uniform and set out.
Finally, he was ready for the next task of the day.
***
By the time Haruto was done, the morning had informed the whole of Tokyo of its unmistaken existence. Sliding through the corridors, Haruto scowled.
'I take it back. That architect is a bloody bastard!!!'
He had not thought too much about it when he first set out because he felt it was still early. But what about now?.
Even during the day, the corridor was still dark! Only ignited still by those two yellow torches that burned as if they'd lost all sense of purpose.
Sighing, he focused on putting his right leg in front of the other. And soon enough, he reached the room opposite the Captain's. Not directly opposite—just a few paces short, separated by a staircase that spiraled into an ominous underground lair.
He lingered for a few moments.
The staircase was nothing short of harrowing, it was deep, dark, shadowy, and Unwelcoming. Occasionally, he'd hear the sound of colliding glasses. He could tell someone was there, doing something. But who?
He didn't like the feeling one bit.
But, he really had no choice.
Two more torches stood at the top of the stairs—barely useful. The light died quickly, swallowed by the thick darkness below. Not as suffocating as the one he'd encountered the night before, but dark enough to stir old dread.
Grimacing, he stared at it for a while, then he let out a sigh to release his pent up nerves. It did nothing to relieve it, but it helped a little.
He gritted his teeth and started his descent into the staircase. To collect his salary as the captain had instructed, he had to evolve his core into Grade 1. That person that would help him out with that, lived in the creepy darkness.
Gritting his teeth even more, he advanced into the darkness. Then, it swallowed him whole.
***
Haruto moved cautiously, all his collar soaked with sweat. His heart, attempting to break out of its jail.
Haruto crept forward, collar damp with sweat. His heartbeat thudded in his ears like war drums.
The further he went, the more the torches behind him faded. Shadows stretched out, greedy and silent.
'Curses! What is this place?'
He gritted his teeth all the more and continued. Every step echoed like a threat. Still, he pressed on. And alas!, the staircase ended—leading into a vast, hollow cave.
Right ahead of him was an exit that led to a vast space bathed in…Yellow light?.
'What's with this place and yellow lights?!'
Haruto could swear the space was lit with yellow torches, only these ones were taken care of, so it burned vigorously. He found the use of torches really creepy.
Not wasting anymore time, he advanced at the hollow exit. The darkness— he didn't like it at all. He felt gazes burning all parts of his body, he felt like he wasn't safe nor welcome here, he had to leave.
Although there was no light in the path he was currently transversing, he used the light he could see ahead of him as a landmark. And finally, suppressing his fast beating heart and unyielding chest pain, he reached a vast cave hall.
'Cave hall? No that didn't come out right'
Still, all that just didn't matter, right now, Haruto stared at his bizarre discovery with a deadpan expression.
He had come into a really vast hall, bathed in the bright illumination of the constant burning lamps hung on the high roof of the cave. He didn't want to think of how the lamp oils were refilled.
What's more? All around the walls of the vast cave rested large bookshelves enough to contain at least five hundred books each? He could count about 15 just by scanning the whole expanse. The whole thing was filled with books!.
'Who had time to finish these? One would run mad!'
Although he liked to read books; at least that was especially what had made his former life bearable amidst the hardships—excluding Lily, the moment he had learned that too much reading could overload the brain and cause mental illness, he limited his reading time. Who was supposed to take care of Lily if he ran mad?! He wouldn't be in his right senses after all.
In front of each of the shelves, you would find either a long table or a short one, a long chair or a short one. Some were arranged, while some were not placed right; not that they affected the glamour of the grand library.
Suddenly, Haruto froze.
'Library? No that's not quite right'
Right in the middle of the whole cave were countless tables! Littered with big and small glasses.
'So this is where the sound was coming from'
He could spot a few things scientists in his former life used in their experiments. Pipettes, tripod stands, there were countless cylinders all over, and glass tubes. He recognized the lot of them.
Between the tables, there was just enough space left for two people to pass side by side undisturbed.
Suddenly, a voice cut through his line of thoughts.
"Hey there lad! Y'er the new Sentinel Gensei Haruto?"
Looking to his side, he beheld a man with deep grey hair. His voice betrayed his old age, it sounded very lively and loud. He wore just what scientists would normally wear, that long unbuttoned white robe riddled with useless pockets. The robe revealed just enough to tell that the man was wearing the Sentinel uniform, only he was putting on what folks in the dregs called bathroom slippers. Haruto didn't miss the glasses on his face either.
Not daring to keep the old man waiting, he quickly answered in a rather even tone.
"Yes"
The old man, struggling to carry a rather heavy cylinder that had obviously seen better days, let out a muffled groan and continued to advance towards him.
"Well, Gensei…Haruto"
He let out another muffled groan.
Haruto scowled in annoyance.
'Hey Mr Grey, don't pronounce my name like that!'
The man struggled to pronounce his name. Although he got the pronunciation of his surname a little right, he called his name like he had lost a couple of teeth! Emphasizing on the R as if wanting to pass a message with its mere existence in his name.
Mr Grey continued.
"As a sentinel, you should have probably learnt a lot from the captain being it just your second day at the corps"
Haruto nodded in affirmation, unsure of what the man was driving at.
"But…there's just one more lesson you need to learn"
'one more?'
The man hesitated for a moment, placed the rusted cylinder on its side and paused.
Then he screamed on top of his voice, his vein threatening to break out of his thick neck.
"Help your elders to carry stuff!!"
….Haruto froze.