The spaceship had been ascending for hours, with all sides cloaked in darkness.
Grace and the others left the control room to rest in their private quarters, leaving only Stone, who seed intent on becoming one with the room.
"I wonder how deep the oasis city is. We have been flying for hours now, and there’s still no sign of reaching the exit," Grace voiced aloud as she stared at the white circle-shaped lights on the ceiling.
It reflected off the dium-sized cubic room. The steel walls encased the space on all sides, with wisps of blue light glowing from the edges.
Grace lay on the white bed, with Leo on the couch next to it.
The table in front of him was filled with tubes containing different liquids. He was currently fiddling with an empty tube.
"Maybe it will take us days to reach the surface. We just need to gather our strength now and face whatever challenges the surface brings," Leo responded, condensing his poison into liquid and pouring it into the empty tube.
"Then it’s a good thing I told everyone to bring their own food. The supplies in the inventory and theirs should be enough to hold us over until we leave here." Grace turned towards Leo with relief clear in her voice.
"Hmm. Have our beast eggs hatched yet?" Leo asked as he sealed the tube. He had almost forgotten about that.
Grace froze, then quickly straightened up. "How could I forget after that difficult test?" She shot to her feet and hurried to the next room beside hers.
Leo carefully placed the tubes into his rings and followed behind her.
Reaching the door, Grace placed her palm on the panel, which scanned her fingerprints before the door slid open with a soft hum—the light turning on imdiately as they walked in.
The room had the sa layout as the other room they had left, except for the two beast eggs in the middle.
"They haven’t hatched yet,’’ Grace muttered as she moved closer to the eggs to get a clear look.
"It had only been two days since we got them. It shouldn’t be that fast," Leo explained about the door, then turned to go back to the room when a strange sensation drew him closer to his beast egg. He looked back and saw a crack.
"It’s hatching," Grace muttered, her voice full of excitent and curiosity about what beast she would get. She couldn’t help but envy Eva whenever she saw that beautiful fox.
"Crack.’’
The sound echoed in the room as they watched the trembling eggs without blinking. As if the beast could feel its master’s presence, it struggles harder to break free from the egg.
Chips of eggshells and clear fluid fell onto the ground as two pink hairless beasts broke free. Grace’s eyes lit up when she saw the wing bone sticking out of her beast’s back.
"I got a flying beast... haa... Aaron, take that." Grace bragged with a smug smile as she squatted to face her beasts.
Leo, at the mont, was staring at his beast with confusion, trying to figure out whether it was a mix of a cat and a bird or another creature entirely. ’But it doesn’t look like a cat, though.’ This thought flashed through his mind as he touched the beast on the head.
"I feel like my beast is a blend of two beasts. Do you recognize the species of your own?’’ Grace asked as she looked over at Leo—her beast took the opportunity to hobble closer to her, growling softly, which sounded more like a baby cry.
Leo looked up and shook his head before responding. "Maybe if they grow out their furs, we’ll know what they are."
Grace poked the beast, rubbing against her ankle. "Hmm. Do they need to be fed?" she asked with concern as she watched him cry out weakly.
Leo, who was about to check if his beast had the sa poison powers as him, paused at her question.
"I didn’t notice Aaron feeding his beast when they were cubs. Hmm. They started eating the dungeon monsters when they matured into their huge form." He had once asked Aaron about this.
"That’s a relief. When we reach the surface, we can take them into the dungeon," Grace muttered, straightening up as she planned to leave the room and head to the control room.
""I’ll be staying here for a mont to check sothing. Rember to leave the work to your subordinates and not stress too much." Leo’s tone was filled with concern as he dripped a drop of condensed poison onto his beast, careful not to increase its toxicity, or it would kill it instantly.
"Alright, I’ll bring back lunch. And you, don’t stay cooped up in this room experinting with poison." Grace said these words and left the room, the door sliding shut behind her.
anwhile, in the other section where the crowd of Oasis City was gathered, it humd with discussion and activity.
The resting area was lined with rooms, each housing ten people, with one or two personal rooms.
The rooms that housed ten people were spacious and included a separate area, demarcated by a silver steel wall. Families often chose these rooms to stay closer to their loved ones in an unfamiliar place.
The other rooms, which housed fewer people, were either for couples or singles.
Children could be seen running down the hallway, making new friends, and touching everything that caught their interest.
"Whoa, just whoa, I didn’t expect such a huge spaceship to ever exist. I was really speechless, and my legs were wobbling the first ti I entered." One middle-aged woman spoke animatedly to the people around her.
"Hiya... I nearly thought we were in that famous dungeon. I almost peed myself, rembering those monsters my son always told about. Another woman patted her thighs, the sound echoing, but she didn’t seem to feel the pain as she talked happily.
"I heard we’re heading to the surface. What kind of place is that... Is it better than Oasis City? I hope it’s not dangerous," one woman murmured nervously, her heart filled with apprehension about the unknown.
Her words seem to extinguish the enthusiasm and lively discussion around her.
"You damn worrywart! Let’s focus on enjoying the present before bringing up the future. Anyway, I trust the administrators to keep us safe," a woman in the group snapped unhappily, glaring at the other woman.
"Alright, alright. There’s no need to worry; when we reach that bridge, we will cross it." Soone ditated before resuming the discussion, back to where they left off earlier.
"I brought so dried at along. Who has pickled vegetables to exchange with ?"
"I should go check on that little brat, who knows where he’s playing."
After a while, they all went their separate ways. Those who brought food ate what they had, while those who didn’t went to the dining area to eat the food provided there.
Ti moved slowly with little excitent aboard the spaceship, and after half a month had passed, Aries’ voice echoed throughout the entire ship.
[Reaching the final exit... opening the doorway... flying through in three minutes and 20 seconds. Brace for impact.]
Grace and Leo hurried to the control room, while so administrators checked the rest area to ensure everyone was strapped in.
The buttons lit up, and Stone watched as the glass panel he had thought was a way to see outside turned on, displaying different weapons on the screen.
The image flipped through and paused on a weapon that resembled a small copper rocket.
"It’s going to blow the entrance open!" Stone yelled in realization and sat on the couch. As soon as he sat down, a seatbelt slid out from the side and strapped him in place like the others.
The atmosphere grew tense and silent as three minutes passed, then the weapon was fired, resulting in a loud boom. The spaceship shook slightly from the impact before wisps of light shone through the cracked surface.
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