Chương 34: 1-33 Tasteless monsters

First came the sensation of touch, informing Josef that there were sharp claws still digging into his shoulder, and attached to them was a very disoriented Zippa, who looked like he was about to topple over and throw up his breakfast. Moments later, that look turned into a reality, as everyone present recovered their sense of smell. They had clearly made it into the dungeon, as the stinking sewage canal right next to them was proof beyond a doubt.

The transition had been more jarring than when Josef had first entered the dungeon, something he attributed to the fact that they had been in the middle of a spell that fucked with the dungeon's magical layers, just for things to go sideways for some reason. He had the distinct feeling that the reason was himself, but it's not like anyone could prove that, so it was fine.

"Josef, did you just break up the expedition before it even started?" Bezzo's tone was level, with no outward show of emotion, tinting his voice with a sense of danger that was completely ruined by the retching noises echoing around them. It was hard to tell if a reptile was getting pale or green from sickness, but by the way his face was scrunching up, he was close to following his brother's display.

"Maybe? Probably…" Josef avoided eye contact with the glaring lizard. Should he apologize? It's not like he could have predicted his presence to derail things so catastrophically, but sometimes that was simply the best method to pull one's head out of the proverbial noose.

"Sorry?" After several more agonizing seconds of glaring, Bezzo finally let out a sigh and instead turned to his brother, rubbing his back to help him recover from his current sickness.

"What's done is done, and blaming you won't help us."

"At least we got away from all of those Sanctum troops, right? That should make things a little less stressful for us." Josef tried to find at least some mirth in their current situation.

"And how do you suppose we find your friend without the help of a mage who collapses the dungeon's layers? Even if this whole place is destabilized right now, we can't just hope to cross into the right magical layer randomly before we can encounter her! We can't even get back out of this mess, since no one can leave the dungeon.

Worst case, we have to hold out until someone else fixes the mess, but in that case, you'll have to say goodbye to any chance of-" Zippa interrupted his brother by grabbing his wrist and pulling himself up from his hunched over position.

"It's enough, Bez. Don't curse the whole day before the sun even reaches its zenith." The phrase caused Bezzo to click his tongue, but he ultimately shut his mouth and dropped the argument.

"All we can do is move forward and hope for the best. We'll see how things turn out as we go deeper. Who knows, maybe we do get lucky and run across that friend of yours after all." The sheer level of optimism his friend displayed once again baffled Josef, even if he was happy about the change of perspective. Maybe Zippa was right and things could just work out for them for once.

Otherwise, between the circumstances of their meeting, their first night out and now this, he was starting to suspect that one of them might just be cursed. Definitely Bezzo and his frowny face, he concluded. Unfortunately, things always got worse before they got better, as they did now when the echo of many small steps came down the tunnel, announcing the arrival of several unwanted guests.

Turning to the source of the sound, what Josef saw was not the rats he expected, though, but something larger and uglier than that. They looked like smaller, more monstrous versions of kobolds, as if someone had crossed a poodle with a lizard and put a rat's head on top of it. His eyes might not have fully recovered after his last use of the skill, but he didn't need to be stealthy about it, so Josef analyzed one member of the incoming group of creatures.

Juvenile Rachse - Level 17 That wasn't something that should be on the first floor of the dungeon, that much he knew for sure. He had been here before and probably hit every single monster group before progressing, but had never seen a 'Rachse' before, and certainly nothing on that level. Just why was this name familiar to him then? On top of that, he quickly counted a whole six of the creatures, a larger group than anything that should be roaming about the first floor either.

Nor were any of the old groups this aggressive so early on, often requiring him to get fairly close before they reacted, while these came running from beyond their sight. This was no longer the child-friendly version he had encountered the first time, but a place that wanted to see him dead. A sentiment he was going to return enthusiastically, and he wasn't alone in that stance.

He was no longer the traipsing kid on his first run under a senior dungeoneer, but a slightly less incompetent guy with two senior members! There was no need for words as they all turned like one to face the new threat, ready to lay down the law of looting and leveling with the angry locals. The first one to make contact was Dusty, who followed his usual approach of throwing himself forward with wild abandon, going straight like a missile towards the closest threat.

Surprisingly, the Rachse actually made an effort to dodge this charge, but ended up just slightly too slow to dodge properly. As the violence-propelled rabbit made contact, he latched onto the monster's front, and both of them went tumbling wildly before rolling over the edge of the canal. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Josef could barely extend a cast of Regeneration to his familiar before they disappeared out of sight, but was otherwise not overly concerned with this outcome. He knew his little companion was savage in close combat, and would have no issues returning once his fight ended. After all, the sludge in that canal was too thick to see through. Well, he was somewhat concerned about a stinky bunny returning to his shoulder, but that was a problem for later.

Even though he wanted to follow closely behind his familiar, Josef knew that this was not where he should be when working in a group, so instead he kept his distance as both brothers charged past him, merely placing two more instances of Regeneration on his allies. He knew this would most likely end up being pointless, as the seasoned fighters wouldn't have any issues with foes like that, but it was better to get used to supporting group fights, and having full mana wasn't doing him any good either.

His predictions quickly proved true, as the two brothers descended like natural disasters on the poor creatures. Bezzo's superior speed had him engage the first Rachse before his brother could even arrive, and his strike landed cleanly and precisely. Not because his attack was too fast to dodge, it wasn't even as fast as Dusty's lunge, but because he had tricked the monster into trying to move away from the attack, before expertly adjusting his own attack's angle.

Not to be outdone by his younger sibling, Zippa engaged the enemy with wild abandon, trying to sweep two Rachse at once with a wide swing of his arm. Unsurprisingly, both creatures were more than capable of hopping out of the way of such a telegraphed attack. What they couldn't account for, however, was the stream of fire that erupted from his mouth just after their little feet left the ground. By the time they came back down, they had already burned to a crisp.

Clearly, the two of them knew how to land their attacks on agile enemies, using different styles of feints. Even if one of them obviously had better situational awareness, as Bezzo's claws cut through another monster that had tried to lunge at his brother. As for the last remaining creature? Josef was no longer so inexperienced as to let his nerves get the better of him when facing down a single creature, no matter how much it snarled at him. Compared to the slime king, this was a kindergarten excursion.

No matter how agile this creature was, it still had to engage in melee to bite him, and his Water Prison was still up to the task of intercepting such an attempt, even if he had to strain a little harder to make it move quickly enough. That was how the last monster fell, drowning slowly under the scrutinizing gazes of an adventuring group.

There was even enough time for Dusty to return, who miraculously managed to leave behind any untoward liquids from his little dive, reappearing with nothing but a small magic core in his mouth. Josef recognized the feeling of notifications waiting for him, but they could wait a little longer.

"So, anyone got an idea what the heck those were?" He calmly addressed the senior adventurers.

"Rachse, nasty little creatures whose bite can make you sick. More importantly, those aren't supposed to appear before the eleventh floor. This has just gotten a lot more dangerous." Bezzo told him, steady and informed as always.

"So the stronger creeps have come further up? Neat, I always thought the first floors were way too boring." Zippa chimed in with his rather wild opinion.

"Zip, think of the people that came in here for those easier floors…" Josef spoke softly, "what do you think became of them if the harder monsters appeared earlier? What about the deeper floors? What if this trend is true all the way down?" That didn't bode well for Cana, but he could only pray she was alright. That answer took the wind out of the lizard's proverbial sails, as his expression dropped.

"Oh. Sorry…" None of them were upset with Zippa, though, as this was just the kind of response that anyone who spent even a single day with him would have expected. Always trying to see the positive side of things, but rarely thinking it through. Josef patted him on the back.

"People are often hardier than we expect them to be. I'm sure most adventurers will adapt. Cana is gonna be fine, we'll just have to press on, like you said." Now he just had to convince himself, as he was not only comforting his friend but also himself.

"What he said," Bezzo agreed with him, though it wasn't clear whether he did so to cheer them both up or if he really agreed.

"Now then, take stock of your items, see if everything's still there, and then we'll set out. We have no time to waste, after all." Thankfully, none of them had lost their backpacks with supplies during the sudden transition, though he still went through the things he brought, including what Vasaj had given him. As he did so, he began checking his notifications. The first one immediately threw him for a loop.

✩ Mental Resistance(Moderate) -> ✩✩ Mental Resistance(Inferior) Resistance beyond the mundane, your mind is being strengthened by the energy within. You have managed to partially resist the allure of magic-laced words. When had he picked that one up? Logically, it must have been during the speech outside at the plaza, but he didn't even notice any magical effect in those words. Was that a magic meant to make them follow the Sanctum's group more willingly?

Did they seriously cast mind magic in the middle of the city? Maybe it was some kind of rallying buff, and his resistance caught it as collateral? That thought didn't placate Josef, however. If it was really that innocuous, why couldn't he remember receiving a notification at the time? Something felt shady about that, and he didn't like it one bit. With a frown, he turned towards his companions and explained his discovery.

He really hoped he was only acting sensitive to a perfectly normal type of magic, but his gut told him it wasn't so. Bezzo's concerned expression agreed with him.