"sorry!"
"I got carried away!"
"Please forgive me!"
On the 19th floor of the dungeon, a female monster wearing a cloak but with her head and face exposed was kneeling down in front of Xiao Lin and others, bowing her head to admit her mistake.
Can you imagine that?
Monsters that originally refused to die as soon as they met actually knelt down to humans and begged for mercy...
"Anyway, it's very disillusioning."
"Indeed, this kind of scene is completely unexpected."
"Same below."
"…………"
Zolf and the others couldn't help but complain. Only Bell remained silent, but his expression was just as unacceptable as the others. Not only is the expression rich, but the speed of begging for mercy is also extremely fast.
"Well, it's almost time to untie it. It's actually very uncomfortable being tied up."
"Aha?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! But I didn't actually hurt you, right? So please, please let me go!"
"If you had any ill intentions, I would have killed you long ago!"
Xiaolin widened his eyes to scare her.
However, she still pulled back the silk thread that bound her, and the female monster, who was feeling uncomfortable all over due to the contraction of her body, relaxed her body and put the messy cloak back on to cover her appearance.
Both sides took a short break.
During this period, Xiaolin kept staring at her, and he could see her whole body through the [eyes] through the clothes. With Rey hiding in discomfort, he finally confirmed one thing.
"You must be the singing bird."
"Yes...that's right."
No wonder.
Singing birds are a kind of monster in the dungeon that can sing beautiful songs. It is said that they use their songs to attract adventurers and kill them. They are one of the more powerful monsters in the middle level.
After thinking for a while, Xiaolin said: "Originally, Winnie was the only one who was not sure, but now it seems...sure enough, monsters and weirdos are different."
"Weird? Did you meet the same guy as the talking monster in the dungeon before?"
Zolf asked.
Xiao Lin did not answer, but took out a green magic stone and asked Rey, "Do you know what this thing is?"
"Magic stone? But it's strange. The energy inside is a bit chaotic, and it's different from ours."
The songbird doesn't know this.
In fact, they also eat magic stones from monsters to become stronger, but they have never seen the green magic stone in Xiaolin's hands. In fact, this magic stone is actually the giant piranha... which is the magic stone in the female monster's body. stone.
"It doesn't seem to be the same breed."
"Well……"
For some reason, Xiaolin's words were a bit hurtful.
"Please wait a moment!" Bell suddenly shouted: "Just now you said you also eat magic stones..."
"This is to become stronger, and monsters will also attack us, so there is no need to hold back if we encounter monsters."
Her words seemed to tell Bell that they were no longer the same kind. It felt like Dio was treating humans like buns.
what happened.
Suddenly I no longer want to save them...
Bell, who was originally reluctant to attack the monster, finally let go of his grudge after hearing the explanation.
It seems that he no longer hesitates.
"Okay! The chat is over. Let's go to the stronghold first." She stood up and said, "Actually, I came out just to find you because Fels said he would take you there."
"Fels?"
Bell and others looked puzzled.
This person's name has appeared several times, but they really don't know who Fels is.
Xiao Lin interjected: "It's my colleague."
"Eh?"
"To be precise, we are all minions of the god Ouranos."
"……is that so?!"
Bell and others were surprised.
After all, Xiaolin is a dependent of Ouranos, and he is the only one on the surface. But if Fels is also a dependent of the god Ouranos, then the problem will be huge.
Zolf clicked his tongue and said, "Is even the guild's god hiding something?"
"How many things do those gods hide?"
Lily also echoed.
"Don't say that, God actually has hidden secrets, doesn't he?" Although Ming said this, something strange could be heard in his tone, and even Bell felt that something was not good.
Then they headed towards the 20th floor.
On the way, probably seeing that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, Songbird took the lead in introducing himself: "My name is Rey, please give me your advice."
"I'm Xiaolin."
"Zolf."
"Lily."
"I'm here to order."
"I'm Bell, please give me some advice."
Several people reported their names one after another.
Rey was not surprised when she heard their names. Instead, she seemed to have known them for a long time. It's just that a few people were preoccupied and didn't have any intention of asking too much.
Neither did Xiao Lin.
But he guessed it was Fels who said it.
"After all, generally speaking, you shouldn't take us to the station."
"……What?"
"You were just preparing to leave directly. It didn't seem like you were taking us to the station. What changed your mind?"
Although she repeatedly emphasized that it was Fels's arrangement, her actions just now were clearly disobedient.
This is also normal.
You can't rush the enemy to their hiding place. After all, it can easily cause disaster, right?
"Indeed. Originally I planned to leave directly, but then I changed my mind."
Rey didn't explain much.
The reason was that Fels had repeatedly assured them that Xiaolin would save them from their current predicament, so they chose to believe it.
It’s definitely not something you have to believe after being subdued.
Well, absolutely not.
"I want to make a statement in advance."
Rey, who was leading the way, stopped, turned her head and looked directly at the people behind her, and said, "Not all of us believe in Fels. Some of us don't believe it, or most of us don't believe it."
"I understand."
Kobayashi shrugged.
A team will inevitably have naysayers, whether they are sincere or have ulterior motives. From the monsters' point of view, rather than trusting humans who have been their enemies since ancient times, it is better for them to fight for their own living space.
But unfortunately, strength does not allow it. Having such thoughts will only lead them to destruction.
Level 20.
Like the floors inside a huge tree, the ceilings are all very high. There are several small tree holes, many of which are hiding places for monsters.
The passage banner is also very wide, surrounded by floor-specific plants, and the confusing fragrance exudes seems to lure hesitant adventurers.
The number of sightlines increased.
Bell looked around, feeling a commotion on his skin. He probably couldn't bear the scrutinizing gaze. He looked at Xiaolin as if asking for help.
Xiao Lin had already noticed these sights.
They couldn't catch even a suspicious shadow in the tree holes above their heads, in the countless forks, and in the trees on the left and right, but they were holding their breath to peek at the team.
Who are they?
What's their purpose?
Incomprehensible terror continues to stir up the heart.
Bell felt breathless and uneasy, but Kobayashi did not give any instructions, and Lei, who was walking in front, was still leading the way. He could only continue to move forward, but he still unconsciously touched the dagger at his waist.
The others also became alert.
As they went deeper, the light was completely blocked, darkness enveloped their hearts, and the depressing atmosphere made them breathless.
But they dared not light the torches.
Because the light source would provoke attacks from monsters, I had to endure it, but probably because I was used to it, I could see a little bit of the surrounding scenery.
Another walk.
"Okay, we're here."
Rey, who was leading the way, said something, and the sudden strong wind caused everyone to cover their faces with their hands.
It turned out that she was flying.
Before Bell and others could do anything, countless scarlet eyes appeared all around in the next second, and many rustling footsteps could be heard from the surroundings.
"It's a lie..."
Zolf's voice trembled.
He had to admit, he was a little scared.
Surrounded by so many monsters, your life is at risk!
Could it be that they were brought here on purpose just to kill them?
They couldn't help but guess.
Bell was the first to react. His first reaction was to take out the magic stone lamp for lighting.
But just when he was about to turn on the light, a pair of bloodshot beast eyes occupied his entire field of vision. At the same time, a breath of monsters poured into his nose.
The cold light shot straight to his chest under the illumination of the moss. The sudden disappearance of the knife shadow made Bell stop breathing. He subconsciously moved the artifact dagger clenched in his right hand and collided with the sharp edge of the scimitar.
Immediately afterwards, a powerful impact that shook his vision penetrated his body, and Bell was knocked away sideways.
"Bell!?"
"Lord Bell!"
"Lord Bell!"
Seeing their leader being swept away, Zolf and others shouted loudly.
Finally, it was Lily. She quickly took out a small bag from her backpack and sprinkled the contents around.
"Qing Guang Moss!"
Flying up into the air, what was scattered on the floor was glowing moss, which Lily had specially collected on the 19th floor.
The moss forms particles of light, and darkness is completely driven away.
When both sides were shocked, the place lit up completely, and Bell and others saw the true face of the attacker.
"How many monsters are there?"
In addition to the half-human and half-bird, there are gargoyles and griffins flying overhead, and lying on the ground are half-human and half-snake, unicorn rabbits, beast barbarians, war shadows, human spiders, unicorns, etc.
upper layer, middle layer, lower layer, deep layer
There are various types of monsters here, coming from various floor areas.
Seeing that the space large enough to accommodate the surface arena was filled with powerful monsters, everyone's faces suddenly turned pale.
"I see, is this your base camp?"
It was Xiao Lin who spoke.
At this time, he was holding a pet in his hand.
At some point, the thread was wrapped around the neck of the monster in the center, and it was the guy who had a brief conflict with Bell just now.
Under the illumination of the green moss, one can see that he is a lizard man.
"Eh? You...?!"
Zolf was stunned for a moment when he saw it.
He has a long sword in his right hand and a scimitar in his left hand. The body is covered with red scales and is also equipped with protective gear. Although it does not appear to have been well maintained, it can be said to be fully equipped.
Isn't this monster the same guy I saw on the bulletin board in the guild?
"Gah...gah...!"
The lizard man's green face turned a little red, and he couldn't say anything because he had difficulty breathing.
"Roar!"
"Aww! Aww!"
"Quack!"
Seeing that their companions were caught, the surrounding monsters suddenly became violent. They roared and threatened Xiao Lin, as if to tell them to let go of their companions.
Bell and others were frightened.
Xiao Lin was not affected at all. Instead, he looked around and said, "Is this how you treat guests? It really opened my eyes."
Fortunately, monsters don't know what sarcasm is.
Otherwise, they would surely have heard that Xiaolin was implying that monsters are monsters and do not understand the etiquette between humans.
"Please let him go, Mr. Xiaolin."
Rey landed just above her head.
Xiao Lin didn't embarrass them too much and simply let go of the lizard man's neck.
The lizard man who got some breathing space coughed a few times and said in a rejoicing tone unique to humans: "I'm so suffocated. I almost thought I was going to die just now."
"Who told you to do it without any reason?"
"I can't help it. After all, there is a guy who insists on doing this. Is this okay, Guros?"
The lizard man asked a small group headed by a gargoyle in the distance.
But all he got was a cold snort.
The lizard man didn't care. It said with a human apology: "I'm really sorry. We have various reasons for attacking you just now. My name is Reed, please give me some advice."
After saying that, it narrowed its eyes into a crescent shape and stretched out its hand.
Eh?
Everyone looked dumbfounded.
The extremely rough right hand is covered with red scales and a gauntlet, and the tips of the fingers have sharp nails.
Um, maybe you want to shake hands, right?
A handshake is a sign of friendship.
But shaking hands with a monster, or establishing a friendship, is something that is unheard of and something that subverts common sense.
Bell was sweating coldly, Zolf moaned softly, Lily was worried, and Ming's face was extremely livid.
very scary!
To be honest, it’s super scary!
Those fangs, sharp claws, a lot of scales, yellow eyes, and an ugly appearance that could scare a child to tears.
They wanted to escape from here immediately.
I want to shake hands, how can I do it?
But at this moment, a hand suddenly shook his hand.
There was no rejection, no hesitation, and no fear. Instead, he handed over his hand generously, and even took the initiative to hold the opponent's rough claws.
"X-Xiao Lin?!"
Bell and others took a deep breath.
Isn't Xiaolin afraid of those claws with sharp nails? And the other party is probably a monster, so why do you hold it so readily?
They can't figure it out anymore.
The lizard man who got the handshake... No, Reed's grin was indeed a smile.
The next moment——
Thunderous cheers.
The monsters who had been holding their breath like Bell and others a while ago burst into extremely enthusiastic cheers at this moment.
They seemed to be dancing happily as they witnessed a monumental moment of friendship with humans.
"Little ones, light the lamps!"
Reed shouted the order.
The monsters acted hurriedly, pulling out the magic stone lamp hidden in the darkness of the rock, and lighting it flexibly with their mouths and claws.
"Monsters use magic stone lamps..."
Seeing their clever use of human-made objects, Bell and others doubted their own eyes.
The biggest difference between humans and animals is their ability to use tools. And the monsters here can also use tools. Does this mean that they have entered the category of humans?
Without giving him a chance to think, the monsters surrounded him one after another.
The red hat with a gentlemanly attitude, the emotional half-man-half-bird, the half-man-half-snake whose speech is not standard, and the silent war shadow... It doesn't matter whether it can speak or not, whether it is humanoid or alien.
All the monsters approached Xiao Lin to shake hands with their rational eyes, as if they were so careful and careful just to touch people.
Does this mean that they actually have expectations for humans?
(End of chapter)
