Another day passed. Benny, no longer alone, couldn't train in his usual place at the first floor sanctuary, so he'd have to travel down to the second floor sanctuary to train there. Of course, he wasn't by himself, the leader still tailed him like a loyal puppy, which Benny found both funny and annoying.
But it wasn't just the two of them anymore. Meredith, the woman who'd recognized him, was also joining them. He wondered what made her decide to join their group of two. Not that they were really merry enough to be called such, but maybe with this overly jolly woman, they would be a merry band now?
Meredith was a spear wielder, but she filled more of a supporting role despite her main weapon being a spear. She had knowledge in medical aid, an advanced version of the basic first aid. So she'd be rather helpful to both of them.
Being the jolly type, she was very extroverted and liked to run her mouth most of the time. The only saving grace was when she was in combat, she'd be forced to shut the fuck up. To which Benny very much liked the sound of, "silence" . That woman's voice just puts him on edge every time she speaks so happily. The leader on the other hand seemed indifferent, he might have his own methods to cancel out the annoyance, or he might just be a rock who was like that with everyone. He had that passive-looking face but with an overwhelmingly felt presence even when he didn't intend it.
"So Benny, what are we doing today?" Meredith asked. Although this was her first time coming with them, she said it as if it was her hundredth time.
"Aghhhh," Benny groaned internally. "Well, we're going to the second floor to observe, train and find food. And additional materials." What he meant by that were the monsters' hides, carapaces, and other useful parts. He replied and talked no more, although he could feel that bubbly, smiling face of Meredith beaming behind him. He imagined her surrounded by a light aura with flowers and hearts floating around her while she smiled.
This earned Benny some visible veins popping out from the side of his head just from thinking about it. And yes, if you looked behind him, she was indeed like that. It seemed she'd recovered enough to return to her usual personality.
A few days back, she was still sulking in her own space back at the first floor sanctuary, but now she was revitalized.
"Fuck," Benny said under his breath. A lot more annoying things were starting to buzz around him.
Today they were incredibly unlucky. They managed to get caught between the two fighting monster species once again. As usual, it was the mutated scorpions and the rabbits.
What happened was that as they tried to get around the two opposing forces, they sadly met an oncoming wave of monster reinforcements.
They were still quite a ways from the sanctuary to be able to retreat to safety. And their backs were now being swarmed by the two monster groups. Benny noticed something about these monsters, they would hate human presence more than they hated each other. As soon as they were discovered, the two species would stop fighting and unite against them.
"Shit! We got careless!" Benny shouted. "Prepare for combat!"
Taking out their weapons, sweat began pouring down their faces. Benny wasn't a frontliner so he couldn't really tank attacks, he was more of a flexible attacker. So Gustav took the front. Well, there was no real front since they'd been surrounded.
The experienced leader quickly gave commands to calm their desperate situation. "Benny, is there a way we can at least get our backs covered?"
Benny didn't hesitate. He began thinking and looked around. They were halfway between the first floor stairwell and the sanctuary, though they were currently closer to the sanctuary. But it was still a good distance. "No! We have to push through if we want to escape this encirclement!"
"Got it! Protect my back and sides! We'll break through up front!" Of course, Gustav had already regained some of his strength after a few days of good rest and time away from combat. The guy could take on two mutated scorpions at once.
Meredith also couldn't be discounted. She used her own array of spear skills to poke and kill the enemies that the leader was able to off-balance or temporarily stun. Benny didn't want to get left behind either, so he protected their rear, skillfully avoiding fatal blows and sending his own counterattacks. They managed to destroy the enemies up front and pushed forward.
This incident made their trust rise after it ended. They'd managed to get through a life-and-death battle with little to no damage. It spoke to Gustav's timely commands and leadership in holding their newly formed team together, and it also showed his and Meredith's skills. They also realized just how much time Benny must have spent observing these monsters to be able to pinpoint their weaknesses and attack patterns.
They reached the sanctuary sweaty, bloody (theirs and the monsters'), and covered in grime, but they were alive. That was the important part.
They were gasping for air, sprawled on the ground, when Meredith began giggling uncontrollably. At first, the two were confused as hell. Benny could only think, "What the fuck? Was she struck with scorpion venom or the rabbit's rabies?" Well, he was sprawled on the ground, though he felt concerned. In the end, he didn't worry too much since the sanctuary's defenses didn't activate. Otherwise, this woman would have been dead.
Then she spoke. "Hehehe, this is fun! It feels like I'm on a proper adventure now!"
Benny and Gustav could only think, "Ah, so that's what it is."
The silence that followed was broken only by their heavy breathing and the distant sounds of the labyrinth. Gustav propped himself up on his elbow and looked at Meredith with something between admiration and concern.
"You know," he said slowly, "most people who've been through what we've been through don't find near-death experiences 'fun.'"
Meredith's grin didn't fade. "Well I am not those people, they haven't spent months thinking they were going to die slowly from starvation and exhaustion. This?" She gestured around the sanctuary. "This feels like actually living again."
Benny found himself staring at her. He'd spent so much time alone that he'd forgotten how different people could be. Her enthusiasm was annoying, yes, but there was something almost infectious about it. Here was someone who'd been through the same hell as the rest of them, and instead of breaking, she was finding joy in the challenge.
"Besides," she continued, cleaning monster blood off her spear, "we just fought our way through impossible odds and won. That's pretty fucking amazing if you ask me."
Gustav chuckled despite himself. "I suppose when you put it that way..."
Benny just shook his head. Maybe having someone around him who actually enjoyed this insanity wouldn't be the worst thing. At least she could fight when it mattered, and her medical skills had already proven useful.
But if she kept up that cheerful chatter during their expeditions, he might just feed her to the next scorpion they encountered