For now, the three of them continued to explore and confirm that what they'd seen was not mere group delusion but actual fact. And so they recruited someone who could verify this.
It was the man who was both arrogant yet could back it up with his skills and passion for his craft. A guy who had openly said he disliked anyone he thought wasn't worthy of his time and admiration. This guy only respected those who were his peers or stronger than him. Hence why he would say such things without care for what others thought. He lacked certain emotions and human sympathy for others. That's why, although Benny openly rejected the idea to Gustav, he also thought the leader's argument was true. They needed this bastard who was too straightforward for his own good.
But Benny knew this guy was strong, maybe even more so than the leader right now in a duel. This man was Ripler Flamesworthy, of a noble bloodline, one of those who had the power to evoke magic. That's right, he was one of those sub-branches of the royal family who'd received their gifted genetic pool through marriage. Hence why Ripler could act so high and mighty. He had the backing and the skills of a warrior mage. Yes, he was one of those unique individuals who could do a rare form of combat in this continent, using a wide variety of physical weapons and the elemental fire he was born with.
His fiery personality would complement their weird group right now, and they needed this man's skills and straightforwardness so they could move on with confirmation. They would even invite him if they decided to go inside the sub-space.
Of course, Benny wasn't the one who talked to him. He hated this bastard who seemingly always bullied him! So he could only endure for now. He wouldn't win against him anyway, and that would mostly halt their plans to explore the sub-space.
There was actually a twofold reason why it was specifically him. First, they needed his input, no matter what insults came with it. He would say what his mind believed to be true. And secondly, they needed that talent of his.
Gustav, who was mostly respected by Ripler for his command skills, which indeed Ripler sorely lacked because of his poor character, agreed to make the request. He would entertain the leader's request because it was specifically him who asked.
Several moments later, the bastard came out of the first floor sanctuary along with the other two. "Heh, so you're the bastard these two are interested in. I hope you'll prove useful!" said Ripler, which only managed to irk Benny. He cursed under his breath. "If only I could punch this bastard in the face. Just once." But he didn't let it show outwardly on his face. He seemed bored even as they looked at him, as if denying Ripler's annoying presence.
Which earned him a "Tsk!" from Ripler. Then he goaded him to get a reaction from this weak, cowardly bastard they'd let run some months ago or whatever. They pitied Benny, but Ripler, with his superiority complex, had no such emotional complexities for such weakness. "Then prove your worth, little man," Ripler said.
He continued to belittle Benny since he thought of him as such.
Benny made no reaction himself, just that face that said, "Is that so?" So they moved forward as if nothing had happened. Admirably, Benny was able to hold and bottle his anger toward this fucker and made sure not to let him get tripped up by this bastard's incessant bullshit. They walked as if Benny didn't know he even existed, only acknowledging Gustav and Meredith, who both looked at the two with worried gazes. Would they be alright?
Ripler, on the other hand, wasn't amused. There was no reaction, and he was being ignored. Yes, this man was denying his existence! Rude. So rude of him!
They'd now reached the area of the distortion. This time they waited for the rats to return inside the sub-space. After sufficient time had passed, the mutated rats who'd gone out to gather whatever they were coming here for were now heading home toward the sub-space.
Eyes wide open and mouth agape, even this idiot, Benny thought, could make such faces. "They... teleported? What the fuck," Ripler said. "Is this truly reality? What the hell?" So even he could be taken aback sometimes. He was lost in thought about what might have been an illusionary trick.
"So what do you think? Did you also see what we saw?" asked Gustav.
Ripler couldn't argue with it. It was a cold, hard truth. He'd been skeptical and even mocking toward Benny for it. But now he could no longer refute it.
"Yes," was all he said, lost in thought. And so they told him their plans and what they thought about the matter. Then this bast... He paused his thought. He'd been about to curse at Benny for being weak, but now he saw him in a new light. While the leader was talking to him, his mind floated elsewhere, so there was background noise while he was thinking.
Then he stood up from where they were and approached Benny. "Wha... what are you doing?" asked Gustav, seemingly bewildered and confused at Ripler's unusual movements.
Then he spoke to Benny. "You! It seems you are quite capable yourself, huh? So what do we need to do?"
Even Benny could only stare at this man blankly. Like, what the fuck was even happening right now?
The silence stretched for several uncomfortable seconds. Meredith looked between them with barely contained amusement. Gustav seemed genuinely surprised by this turn of events.
Benny finally found his voice. "Uh... we need to jump on a rat's back when they're entering the portal. That's how I got in the first time."
Ripler processed this information with his characteristic bluntness. "So we need to physically ride these diseased creatures into a magical doorway we can't see, based on your word alone, to enter a place that may or may not exist, where there's supposedly an entire civilization of intelligent rats."
"Yes," Benny said simply.
"Good," Ripler said with a sharp grin. "That's the kind of insane plan I can respect. None of this cautious bullshit. When do we do this?"
Gustav stepped forward. "We need to plan properly first. Going in blind would be..."
"Boring," Ripler interrupted. "If this coward here managed to survive it on his own, then surely we can handle it together." He looked at Benny with something that might have been approval. "You've got more balls than I gave you credit for, running around down here alone while we were barely scraping by with twenty people."
It was perhaps the closest thing to a compliment Ripler had ever given anyone, and it was wrapped in so many insults that Benny wasn't sure if he should be offended or pleased.
"So," Ripler continued, turning to Gustav, "what's the actual plan, leader? Because I'm not leaving this labyrinth without seeing what's behind that magic wall."
Despite his abrasive personality, Benny realized, Ripler's enthusiasm might be exactly what they needed. Someone who wouldn't overthink the dangers, who would charge forward with the same intensity he brought to everything else.
Even if that someone was an insufferable bastard.