Chapter 51 – Floor 8

“At this rate, I’m going to end up piercing through everything.”

Besides the straight vertical passage I had created from the 6th to the 10th floor, there was also the hole the goblin had made on the 7th floor and the hole I had made on the 8th floor. I thought that if it rained, the water might even fall down to the 9th floor.

I peered down the hole where the Composite Being had fallen. Its corpse, with its broken waist, lay there growing cold, having crushed several predatory plants beneath it.

“Should I just jump down from here? There doesn’t seem to be much left to gain on this floor.”

I’d already claimed the floor conquest experience points using the Scroll of Insight, and I’d slain the mini-boss Composite Being too.

The Orc Village sub-quest remained, but after the intense battle, it had ‘unavoidably’ disappeared, so I wondered if I could even accept it anymore.

‘Besides, I still have the silver chest and the goblin’s bulging backpack, so I might as well head straight for the boss.’

None of the objects confirmed on the map seemed particularly useful.

Of course, if I were to use them, they would certainly bolster my strength, but the fire burning through the Orc Village didn’t seem like it would be easily extinguished, and would likely consume the entirety of the 8th floor.

If that’s the case, rather than lingering on the 8th floor trying to consume everything, jumping down to the 9th floor would be more beneficial.

‘So where’s the silver chest anyway?’

The Giant Slime had it inside its body, and The Wanderer had it in the collapsing ceiling.

Even now that this had become reality, the silver chest that appeared forcibly as if it were some kind of reward would surely manifest in some way. Although I was skeptical, I looked into the blazing flames.

Surely the chest wouldn’t appear in the fire just because the goblin died in it?

That would be quite unfortunate.

RUMBLE—!

But fortunately, my imagination was off the mark as the ceiling a little distance from the village collapsed with a tremendous noise.

And like rain, crude weapons, armor, ornaments, fruits, and more came falling down…

I noticed something that looked like a silver box mixed in among them.

It seemed this place had been a warehouse or secret base where the Thief Goblin had stored all its stolen goods.

‘I didn’t see anything like that before.’

Did it use its small stature to squeeze through those dense trees and create a space for itself?

UWOOOOOOOOOH!!!

Shouts from outside the village, the sound of crude metal weapons clashing against each other, and the sound of the massive flames devouring the surrounding vegetation and heating the air spread like hell.

Gathering the rewards is important, but I should clear the surroundings first.

***

“KHAAK!”

Crushing clashing weapons and spattering the red blood of kindred.

Unwanted casualties.

If only they weren’t heretics serving that unholy thing, I would have wanted to call out and persuade them that now was not the time to fight, but my experience so far told me they had no intention of talking.

“TheGreatOneIsComingWhoWillEndTheLifeOfTheseVerminAndCorrectTheWorldWeWillWorshipAdoreAndPraiseAndDieBecomeDustAndBlowTrumpetsAtHisSide”

“Grr…! Don’t fall back! We have nowhere to retreat to!”

I cut down another of my kindred who was babbling incomprehensibly with wild eyes.

His spine was split in half, and as he spilled his entrails onto the ground, I kicked his jaw to free myself from his grasp at my ankle.

After severing yet another life, I glanced back to see only a mass of red heat brightly illuminating what had once been a gloomy forest, with no trace remaining of the village where we had lived.

‘I know it couldn’t be helped, but it makes my blood boil.’

The monster summoned by Shairok, the disgrace of the village, was too powerful.

Even I, along with the shaman and the former warrior chief who is now the chieftain, couldn’t defeat it, to the point where we had given up on life once.

The human who had Kali with him.

I didn’t believe he would risk his life to fight alongside us. Even if one human joined, the desperate situation wouldn’t have changed.

But that human exceeded my expectations.

He chose to reduce the monster along with the entire village to dust!

‘I can understand the village burning, but I wish it had at least ended by the hands of our own kind.’

CRUNCH-

As I split the skulls of charging crazed kindred in half, I kept looking back at the burning village with lingering attachment.

‘Is the human dead?’

I knew nothing about that human, but somehow I found myself shaking my head at that question.

He would survive by any means necessary. I had that ‘feeling’.

It was the instinct of a veteran warrior who had survived hundreds of battles.

***

“Were you all waiting for me?”

When I arrived at the scene of the fierce battle, many orcs were fighting orcs.

To be precise, I should say enemy orcs versus NPC orcs.

In D.D., there wasn’t any particular explanation, so I had only wondered why they were attacking when we were on friendly terms with the orcs, but seeing it right before my eyes, I noticed something strange about the enemy orcs’ eyes.

As if they were on drugs, they revealed the whites of their eyes, drooled, and muttered something, making it clear why the search party called them crazed kindred.

“Human! What happened to that monster and Shairok?!”

The warrior chief, who had just vertically bisected a crazed orc in one stroke, shouted loudly.

His voice was so powerful that all the fighting orcs turned their heads to look at him.

“Of course I took care of all of them~”

When I gave him a thumbs up, he crushed another orc’s face while gnashing his protruding tusks, then ripped it off with his bare hands and raised it high into the air, shouting:

“Hear me all—! That hideous monster has fallen, and the abominable kinsman Shairok has also fallen into the dark underground! We have survived! But we have lost our village and are fighting with our crazed kindred!”

The village orcs’ faces brightened at the news that the monster had been killed and they had survived, but the mood instantly soured at what followed.

With the morale dropping, the crazed orcs pushed the village orcs back several steps.

“Does that mean we give up on life? We have always fought to claim our lives! Poison insects, moving plants, lizards! We are here because we fought and won against all of them! We are warriors! Even if we’ve lost our village and have nothing left, we will continue to live! Like our ancestors who first set foot on this land!”

A speech as crude and raw as could be.

But that raw language was an excellent means of conveying truth.

The orcs began to grip their weapons more firmly.

“STRUGGLE! CLAIM! SURVIVE!”

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

And so the orcs won, and would continue to live once more.

Amidst the smell of blood and the acrid smoke from all manner of burning things obscuring our view.

The orc and I came before the mound of the Thief Goblin’s hidden treasures that had piled up like a mountain where the ceiling had collapsed.

“Human, you brought him down, are you really fine with this?”

“Ah. I can’t carry it all anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Since the village is gone, you might as well salvage what you can.”

The pile of items that tiny creature had stolen over time was higher than my head.

The surviving orcs each took as many items as they could carry, gradually reducing the height, but it was still an astonishing amount.

The warrior chief didn’t gather any items but simply watched the orcs carrying them away before glancing at me.

“Where is Kali?”

“Here.”

At my call, The Wanderer who had been named Kali slowly walked out.

The warrior chief, who appeared startled by The Wanderer suddenly appearing out of thin air, stared at her intently, then looked at me as if sensing something strange.

“…What exactly happened? I sense something strange inside her. Moreover, she seems bound by some alien energy.”

The strange thing would be the Bell of the End… and by alien energy, could he possibly mean becoming an onahole?

I was freshly surprised that such things could be sensed in a fantasy world, and I snapped my fingers to command the Bell of the End to come out.

Squirm-

A fleshy tentacle working its way out of Kali’s lips squirmed at its end, searching for me.

“This is..!”

“She was already in this state when I found her. And… um… yes, I’m currently suppressing it. I’m a kind of sealer? Like this.”

KEEE-

I struck a predatory vine that had approached without making a sound with a gleaming greatsword and used Onahole Creation.

[The predatory vine has become an onahole.]

[You have obtained a Nepenthes Onahole.]

Looking at the predatory vine that had been reduced to just a stalk, the warrior chief nodded as if somewhat understanding, and I put it in my backpack.

“Kali was a traveler who occasionally visited our village. She was also my teacher and friend. In my prime, I challenged her many times, learned from her techniques and knowledge, and enjoyed her company.”

The warrior chief looked at Kali with a complicated expression before turning his head again.

I had never heard about The Wanderer’s background before, so it was quite intriguing. It seems she was originally a traveler.

Given that she visited occasionally, does that mean she traversed this cursed jungle as easily as her own home?

Somehow, while Severa was the soul of a hero and the Giant Slime was a mutated specimen that grew stronger by cannibalizing its own kind, Kali seemed exceptionally strong even as a host for the Bell of the End.

Perhaps that level of input was necessary to qualify as a mini-boss.

Considering these orcs didn’t seem particularly worldly, perhaps Kali was also one of the famous heroes.

“She was bright and thoughtful, beloved by all, but her visits ceased several decades ago. So only I and a few elderly shamans among our kindred still remember her.”

I looked at Kali. But her blindfolded face didn’t turn to look at me; only the crimson tentacle squirmed, trying to reach me.

‘Is there no way to remove it?’

I thought of several objects that could lift curses, but none seemed capable of removing the Bell of the End that had parasitized so deeply.

“So what do you plan to do now? That fire will probably burn this entire floor. I don’t think even rain would reach it.”

“Hmm…”

The warrior chief pondered. But his deliberation wasn’t long.

About as long as it takes to blink fifteen times.

“Since it’s come to this, I’m thinking of leaving this jungle. Our ancestors must have had their reasons, but this place is too inhospitable. Even ill-omened humans like you come visiting.”

“Aren’t I a splendid hero by your standards?”

“Ha! How shameless. Anyway, I’m leaving. And… though I know she’s no longer the Kali I knew… please take care of her.”

With that, the warrior chief disappeared among the orcs without waiting for my response.

At his request, I put my arm around Kali’s shoulder. The moist sensation of the tentacle tapping my cheek as I drew closer wasn’t particularly pleasant, but I decided to think about it.

Now, let’s collect the rewards.