"
*Thud*
"WIhiihihi-----"
Same old same old. The one still alive started snickering at his fallen(literally) kin. It is ignorant of the fact they won't be rising again... and that it is going to join them, now...
"
*Thud*
.
.
.
.
It has been three days since we moved onto this floor.
"It doesn't seem like more of them are coming." Rina analyzed.
"Yeah, let's move after they disappear." I slumped on the floor, despite not suffering any injury, my legs shivered.
'I still haven't got used to this, have I?' I chuckled, holding my knees. There is no way I will, at least not anytime soon.
Rina, along with cheetahs and Fena, roamed back and forth, guarding for any threats. Rina kept her eyes peeled for any signs of ambush. Whenever she gets serious, her face... it becomes like... No... All signs of expressions disappear from her face whenever she's like this. Even the air around her seems to change. It's like a part of her personality is hidden away from me.
*Ting*
The twelfth "Ting" rang into my head, the sound of level up. Another dozen of these weird big-headed human-faced monsters disappeared from this world.
'Level 1185->1210 hmmm, nice...'
"Rina?"
"My Level increased from 1099 to 1118. Since I crossed level 1100, psychokinesis got an increment in level." She replied, with a slight smile.
"What about your other skill, Mana Eye?" I asked.
"Well, its level increased too, but the texts showing levels are cut in half. And nothing changed in the skill's description too." She replied.
"Is that so? This is something I've seen for the first time, I don't know what it means... Does it have some meaning behind it or it is just a glitch in the display because of that error? Has the skill become irrelevant to the level? Will the skill remain as it is now, forever? Fuck it too many possibilities!" I sighed.
"Uh, Ren, did have this kind of power in your past life too?" She asked. I raised my brows. "It is just that you seem to be too familiar with this hovering screen, that's all" She added.
"Ah, no- no, I didn't have this kind of power in my past life." I waved, I explained a bit about RPG games to her. She didn't seem as excited to learn about such a category of games as I had thought. It looked like she was wondering how could people enjoy the experience of a dungeon and all.
Well, I was one of those people who enjoyed RPG games, it was my duty to explain the joy to her. I thought she'll it would be exciting for her to hear about something new, but all she gave me was a stink-eye.
"Well, anyway, I think we're approaching the middle zone, this time a dozen attacked, next time the number could be double or triple. You're prepared, right?" I asked as I asked for her hand for support to get up, "...When outnumbered, my skill won't be helpful that much, it'll all depend on how much you can slow them down." I said as I patted the dust off my pants.
"...Yeah," Rina replied. "Hmm? Oi! Bron! Stop gnawing on Emy's tail!!!!!" She hissed in a low voice.
'Thank god, Fena didn't chase her this time.'
All of them are aware of our position that's why they don't make any noises, but playful Bron doesn't allow herself to stop messing with Emy. Well, Bron has changed her target from Fena to Emy, seems like she enjoys her reactions. I guess this is just how Bron likes to form bonds with her fellow mates. Fena snuggled with Rina, meanwhile, Yelo just minded her own business. Despite being beasts, I could clearly see that all of them have gotten quite close and they also coordinate quite well with Fena during attacks.
'Heh, at least they're quiet...'
.
.
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.
It has been week since we moved onto this floor. We still haven't reached the boss room. Heck, I don't think that we even reached the middle zone yet. Because if we had..... Yeah, if we had reached the middle zone, there would've been a lot more monsters than we are encountering now.
In his diary, Bruce had mentioned how he battled multiple hoards of above fifty Arachnes in the middle zone. He even wrote to have fought over two hundred of Arachnes in this dungeon. The middle zone houses most monster nests. But we on the other hand only ever faced a dozen or below.
Well, the previous floor was almost cleared by someone else but since we never encountered any large hoard on this floor yet, it could only mean that we still haven't reached the middle zone.
.
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.
.
Twelve days have passed since we moved to this floor, and we still haven't found the Boss room yet, nor have we reached the middle zone.
We are not lost, is all I know.
Despite the path looking nearly identical at all places, I could discern that they were all different. That is because I was mapping the area we go to.
The knowledge of how to map this dungeon was written in the book- BruSelina. These glowing stones could really be used as landmarks. So, the chances of us getting lost are minimal.
!!
'Another quadruple, huh.'
These monsters, they're behaving oddly after seeing us. Usually they'd be gloated to see us, but instead, they got a bit wary.
'Ah, since this time they saw Fena with us, huh.'
"I guess they aren't as stupid as I thought,"
After glaring for a moment, they stuck their tongues out. They hopped a bit in delight and then charged at us. Springing and bouncing sideways on the wall and hopping all over the place... bouncing like a ball.
'Finally making their minds to not let go of the food, huh.'
Their expression says it all, that's the weakness of these monsters. They all behave like nasty stubborn children. They're easy to read.
"Go!"
At my command, Fena and all the Cheetahs charged toward the monsters. The big-headed monsters focussed on Fena.
I aimed at them, but it looked like they were faster than my arm could follow.
'If I invoke my skill right now.... it will connect to these monsters for sure, but I doubt that it will connect on the soul stone. The same trouble I had faced with those Arachnes.'
I looked at Rina, she nodded and raised her arms. One of the big-headed monsters tumbled flat on the ground, another's knee got bent in the wrong way, and two of them looked like they were wading through something. Surely, they were opposing Rina's psychokinesis.
'Two of them could still wade through her psychokinesis, huh.'
'Ah, finally in my range...'
"
"....
Both of them slumped down on the ground, lifelessly.
"Odd.... I didn't think that these monsters were holding back this much. It was like when I was level 700." Rina said, a bit of surprise in her voice.
It wasn't that she used her skill first time on these monsters, it was just that, till now none of the monsters we encountered saw Fena with us, they underestimated us, and as such, maybe went easy on us.
Either that or this time we encountered a bunch that was stronger than the rest?
Well, once the level-up sound rings in my head, I'll know which was the real reason. If it was the latter then we'll get a few more level gains than normal.
Thinking so, finished the other pair off.
About fifteen minutes later I got the real reason for why this bunch seemed stronger.
This bunch didn't gave me oddly high level-ups, these monsters, they really were holding a little too much back.
.
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.
.
The Same kind of dome-shaped area, the same kind of giant gate, and the same kind of glowing emerald Ward stone embedded above it.
Unlike what I had thought, we didn't encounter any large hoard of monsters to reach the boss room, huh.
Did we somehow bypass the middle zone?
Or, this floor also was explored by someone before us, if so....
"Strange..." I mumbled.
"But still isn't it good that we got here without much trouble! Hah!... All our gauges are already full, and I am not tired too. Let's bang the door if you are ready too."
"....Yeah," I replied after a brief pause.
I went near the gate, and put my palm on that "gate opening stone". It accepted the mana which I poured as it glowed even more than before and the wicked gate opened with a creak...
This time I asked Emy to go forward and check for any instant door traps as we did on the previous floor. Bron was smartest, and strongest among the cheetahs, yes, Fena is strongest of all of us, but I can't afford to use her as trap tester.
'Good, no traps.'
I nodded, and we all moved inside.
.
.
'That's the boss monster, I guess?'
It is lying on the floor. From this point, it just looks like a bigger version of the monsters that dwelled on this floor. Though, calling its stomach just protruded would be an understatement. It was sitting with its thin legs wide apart, like a toddler. It grinned and pushed the ground to get up. It took him a lot of effort to simply get up from the ground. I guessed its oversized belly wasn't exactly helpful to it. Now that it stood up, I guess it was about 25 feet?
It stretched its body in a backward arc.
My eyes widened.
'Huh? Is it going to lunge at us from there? That looks like more than 40 meters!'
[YYaaawwwnnnn]
Huh? Did-Did it yawn just now?
I stepped forward as I had to get it in my range anyway, Fena and other cheetahs guarded me against all sides as I moved ahead. Bron in my front, Yelo, and Emy on both sides. While Fena was behind me.
In a few steps, she will leap over me and charge towards it, to distract it while I close the distance. Rina stayed behind as her ability will reach it from that distance itself, no need for her to get close. A similar strategy that we employed to kill that giant spider.
It pointed its 'fingers' at us.
[Meheememehihihihia]
'Ah, it's just laughing at us as those other monsters on its floor.'
Hmm?
It spun around and hopped. It raised its arms and hopped again, it spun and hopped again and again. It was in joy, it was laughing and dancing, with no care in the world, it was just dancing. Its behaviour looked similar to the monsters that we encountered on this floor all this time. A nasty giant child.
It was just happy about the fact that someone came to its place, to be devoured... Despite its comedic acts, something felt off.
My breath quickened, and cold sweat trickled down my cheeks. But I didn't stop, I still moved further to shorten the distance, I had to get this monster in range no matter what.
'This feeling of strangeness. I am not judging it incorrectly, right? This monster really is just rejoicing, right?'
I gritted my teeth, 'I've aimed straight towards it, towards the soul-stone. Aim-assist is activated too, if I just get in range, it would die, right? This is not an act to get our guard down, right?'
My heart started to beat faster.
'No...I've learned on the previous floor that at least boss monsters have greater intelligence than the rest of the monsters on the floor, then why would it act like the rest of them?'
On this floor, all this time, I thought that the monsters of this floor were so~ easy to read. Of course, this big-headed, big-bellied human-faced, giant boss monster could really be doing just whatever comes to its mind, one of its stupid whim. But if what I am thinking is right, if this monster is acting.... why would it act?
'Think, for what reasons would an enemy act?'
'Distraction!' My eyes widened in realization.
'Behind us?'
I quickly turned around. I frantically eyed everywhere, left, right, above, below. Nothing looked out of place...
'If not in our back... then!!!'
I turned my head again. I frantically eyed everywhere, left, right, above, below. Nothing looked out of place...
.... Shit, wait!!! The floor!!
"Halt!!!" I screamed.
*Crack*
'No way!!!'
It was too late.
Bron who was ahead of me glowed in stark white and turned into a stone statue. Instantly, at that moment, I felt my whole body being forcefully pulled behind, I was dragged to the back with enormous speed, along with Emy, Fena, and a petrified Bron.