Chapter 21: The Monster Den on the Fifth Floor

Chapter 21:
The Monster Den on the Fifth Floor

 

I GOT TO THE FIFTH FLOOR and checked my immediate surroundings, but there were no monsters. Momentarily relieved, I proceeded along the floor with my guard up. The halls here were particularly wide, probably around thirty feet. They made it easy to swing a sword, but they also made the whole situation scarier. They must’ve been built that way to accommodate swarms of large monsters.

Something caught my attention, and I flattened myself against a wall at the end of the hall. I could hear a rustling noise.

“Huh?!” I slapped a hand over my mouth, desperate to keep myself from making another sound.

Just beyond the hall was a giant ant, about ten feet long, eating a meal. The other creature squirmed and struggled as the ant consumed it. It looked like a buffalo—a generally strong and ferocious animal that, somehow, hadn’t stood a chance against the ant.

I marveled at the strength of the ant’s jaws—even a regular ant could easily carry something well over ten times its own body weight. I remembered a scholar once saying that giant ants would be dangerously dangerous. Dangerously dangerous, really? The phrasing was so bad I had dismissed the idea entirely.

 

Name: Giant Pincer Ant

Level: 45

Skills: Agility Up; Carrying Capacity; Powerful Pincers

 

I shuddered. I probably wouldn’t be able to escape if that thing got me in its pincers. That said, it wasn’t as high a level as I’d expected. I wasn’t sure what to do. I was scared, but I felt like I should fight it. It was distracted with its meal too, so it seemed like a prime opportunity.

I figured I might as well use what I’d just learned, so I summoned a fiery Stone Bullet. I quietly poked my head around the corner and fired the burning three-foot stone at the giant ant. The boulder roared through the air, clad in white flame.

The ant noticed the attack and used the buffalo as a shield. The carcass was quickly consumed by white flame. The ant hurled it away and skittered toward me. It moved at incredible speed! If I hadn’t dodged it with a back-step, I would’ve been ant food. All of Ms. Elena’s practice really saved my butt.

I put some space between myself and the creature and fired off a normal-size Stone Bullet before closing the distance again. The stone smashed into the ant without doing much damage, but it was enough of a distraction that I was able to slice off one of the ant’s antennae with my sword. I took the opportunity to retreat and prepare for another attack. The ant clicked its pincers menacingly and came at me again. Kind of?

“Huh?”

I was completely baffled. The ant was spinning in circles. It took me a second to realize that this must be happening because it had lost an antenna. I couldn’t let the opportunity pass by, so I fired off another flaming Stone Bullet.

Pew! Fwump! Bwam!

The projectile pierced the ant’s abdomen and came right out the other side, setting it on fire to boot. The whole beast went up like tinder.

“Whoa, the heat’s intense.”

I dodged between the flames to quickly remove the legs, since they seemed like they could be useful.

 

Giant Pincer Ant Legs (Grade B)

 

I checked myself while I was at it, and found I’d gone up to Level 43. I only had 500 LP left, so I considered heading back. Ultimately, I decided to stick close to the stairs for the next hour while the Dungeon Elevator skill recharged. That way, if things got too dangerous, I could use it in combination with Blinding Light to escape.

Once the hour was up, I set about exploring the floor again. I walked down the labyrinthine corridors for about three minutes before I heard some sort of rustling again. Something was just around the corner.

“Coo coo…”

“Hissss!”

An almost cute bird-like call was followed by a menacing cry. I peered around the corner to see a heated battle developing between a python and a toad. They were both even more massive than the ant, and they were glaring at each other with incredible animosity.

This floor is just a monster den, isn’t it?

The python made the first move. It slithered quickly across the floor, opening its mouth wide to bare its fangs. It tried to bite the toad, but the toad swiftly hopped away until—

Fwump!

It smashed its head against the dungeon’s ceiling and fell to the floor.

Well what did you think was going to happen!

The python casually coiled around the fallen toad. The outcome seemed like it was pretty much a foregone conclusion, but I was soon shocked by the true power disparity at play.

 

Name: Giant Python

Level: 50

Skills: Constrict

 

Name: Giant Toad

Level: 144

Skills: Venom

 

White liquid poured from the bumps on the toad’s back as the python wrapped around it. Everywhere the liquid hit, the python’s scales fizzed and hissed. That was a terrifyingly potent venom. Eventually, the snake’s whole body split in two.

The toad seemed almost too strong. It had to be an exception to the rest of the floor’s population. I mean, the ant from earlier was only Level 45. The toad had me completely outclassed. I was glad I wasn’t up against it.

But then I heard even more footsteps from down the hall.

“Coo coo!”

The toad was very much on guard. I couldn’t blame it; the sound of approach made all my hair stand on end too. My heart was in my throat as I wondered what it could be, but nothing could have prepared me for the truth: an inky black lion with a luxurious mane, taut muscled body, and long tail that swayed gently with a confident assuredness. The only parts of the creature that weren’t a deep sooty black were its gleaming red eyes. The color wasn’t the only thing that set it apart from normal lions. It was also massive, sure, but the weirdest part was definitely, definitely that weird-ass…thing right on top of its head.

“Guh! Guh!”

The toad, perhaps unable to contain its fear, struck at the lion preemptively. It shot out its tongue, which stuck to the creature’s mane. Then it leapt forward, smashed its head into the ceiling, and landed on its back again. Same old trick as the last time, no doubt.

But the lion was no fool. With a single swipe of its claws, it put an end to the oversized amphibian. I was in shock. That toad was Level 144! But an even bigger surprise awaited me when I used my Discerning Eye on the lion.

 

Name: ???

Level: ???

Skills: ???

 

Not a single piece of information. Perhaps it had a skill that blocked Discerning Eye? Either way, I didn’t have time to marvel. The lion had noticed me. It strode toward me with its kingly gait. It was impossibly intimidating, and what the hell was that thing on its head?! Why was it there?!

Running was my only option. So I used the combination my master had just taught me. Blinding Light flashed out of my hand.

<No, wait, human. I have someth—my eyes!>

I quickly deployed my Dungeon Elevator and leapt into the hole in front of me. I could finally catch my breath when I saw the door to the first level. Cold sweat coated my brow.

“Did that lion just talk?” I gasped to myself.

I could have sworn I heard a low rumbly voice say something. Could I have communicated with it? If the lion could talk, and didn’t wish me harm, I definitely wanted to ask some questions. Starting with, for example: “Why the hell do you have a tulip growing out of your head?!”

 

***

 

I ran through town, just a little late to my appointment with that cleric, when I saw Emma standing in front of a familiar secondhand shop.

“You’re so late, Noir! Over here!”

I was in a hurry, so I ran as fast as I could, but I was either going too fast or tired from my dungeon exploration earlier. My foot caught on a stone and I pitched forward.

Aaand I landed face-first in Emma’s ample bosom.

“Eep!”

“Whoa! I’m sorry!” It probably would’ve been cool if I’d had the guts to say something like “Nice catch!” But, alas, I was too much of a coward. And I really didn’t want to get slapped.

“You really scared me there,” Emma said.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to cop a feel, I just tripped.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Anyway, we need to hurry, we’re late.”

“Oh, right.”

As I kept pace with Emma, a thought occurred to me. Was that an effect of the Lucky Lecher skill? It only took a second for me to get confirmation.

“Eeek!”

A gust of wind blew past, flipping up the skirt of the woman closest to me. The image of those titillating pink panties was seared into my retinas. I wasn’t very happy about it, though. Why? Because they belonged to none other than a wrinkly old woman. I felt nauseous. “Blegh.”

“So turned on, you can’t contain yourself?” the old woman cackled. “Here, I’ll give you another look.”

“Bleeeeeeeergh!”

This skill could use some serious work!