Squirming

"Haa… haa…"

To say he was exhausted would be an understatement, but Des knew he could not allow himself to grow too lax just yet.

He was not done with his mission, after all.

'Still… I made it in time, didn't I?' He smiled, watching as the flare lost the last of its dim light and finally sent the whole place into sheer darkness.

As he lay on the ground, nearly motionless, he cast his sights on the Worms that were hurriedly digging the ground to find shelter in order to hide them from the imminent daytime.

'I'm supposed to get the bag before daytime, which means my time limit is drawing close.' He thought to himself while leaking out a heavy sigh. 'Looks like I have to start moving soon.'

Still, just one look at his limbs, and it was obvious that it would take some time to heal.

—A few minutes, at the very least.

'It'll be cutting it close, but I should still be able to complete the mission.' As Des told himself this, he began to crawl—literally slithering on the ground like a snake.

His target was the bag that he dropped a distance away, and he figured he'd be able to while away time and also make progress regarding his assignment by crawling to the target.

His naked body slid against the hard surface of the ground, and he squirmed, coiled, rolled, and whatever else he could manage thanks to his limited form of motion.

Des reckoned he had to look pathetic while advancing, but he didn't care about any of that.

Instead, his mind was more occupied with other things.

'I honestly thought I had more time, but I guess time flies when you fight.'

He needed some kind of timer on him next time, but how exactly would he go about procuring one? His best bet would be to ask Eve about it.

'She's able to make stuff with the materials found here. Being an Architect is really amazing, no matter how I look at it.' He smiled, squirming even faster after healing quite a bit.

'The problem is its weight. If it's anything like a compass, it'll have considerable drag, which will have to be factored into my calculated movements…'

Anything that was equipped—no matter how small or seemingly weightless it was—had a contribution to the total amount of drag experienced by the one who wielded it. Multiple Items piled up and could cause a considerable decrease in speed and less flexibility.

This was the main reason why Eve chose to be naked in her expeditions, only relying on the most minimal resources in order to Explore and Traverse the Dungeon Floor. 

Des was able to understand this and adopted her method as well.

Thick armor and powerful weapons were important, but when it came to fighting the Horrors of the lowest Floor, such things were immaterial. These Horrors were unbelievably fast and powerful, and a majority of them had tricks that couldn't simply be dealt with by engaging in the predictable acts of striking and defending.

This was why flexibility was key.

By carrying as little luggage as possible, Des could react to all of the moves of his enemy, escape if need be, and also deliver counters. 

Since he could regenerate, there was no problem in taking damage—so long as it wasn't fatal—which made defense an unimportant thing to focus on. As for attack, he could use his Horror Aspects, or a variety of other options, to his advantage.

Proper utilization of weapons took tons of practice, and optimal movement in a particular set of armor took time to fully adapt. So, rather than focusing on the mastery of these things, which could turn out to be useless or useful, depending on the circumstances, Des decided not to even bother.

Blades could be useful for one Horror, while others would be better dealt with using blunt weapons. Ranged weapons were also best for certain kinds of Horrors, and the list went on.

It seemed unwise, if not impossible, to learn all of these weapons to deal with every single kind of Horror. Even if that was achieved, there was no way one could be a master of all of them.

Besides, since one couldn't always predict the Horror they would encounter in the field, they would have to take their chances with just one or two weapons equipped and hope the Horrors they encountered would be vulnerable to those precise items.

The alternative would be to carry all the weapons, which was unwise for a myriad of reasons.

Not only would it slow a person down, but it would also greatly exhaust such an individual as they journeyed due to the weight. Last but not least, it would make a swift escape very cumbersome, if not downright impossible.

More often than not, such an Explorer would have to choose between their weapons and their lives. Needless to say, it was an inefficient way to live.

This was why Parties were essential in Dungeon Exploration. Each member had specific skills and weapons—allowing them to react to varying situations without compromising speed and efficiency.

They also had the Porter, whose primary role as a non-combatant was to bear the burden of the rest of the Party Members. Not all Parties were perfect—in fact, most weren't. However, this was still a rather convenient arrangement that was responsible for the success of any long-lasting Explorer.

This truth even developed into a saying among Natives that rang true even till the current era:

~There is no such thing as a Solo Dungeon Explorer!~

Those who went into the Dungeon Solo hardly ever went far in the job. They either remained as close to the topmost Floor, or ended up dying if they dared to venture any deeper.

None of these concerned the current Des, though.

'There's no one here except for Eve and I.' He had this thought as he finally arrived at the foot of his luggage, a small smile on his face.

One of his legs was almost done healing, and his right hand was pretty much done regenerating. 

A minute or two more, and he would be good to go.

"I guess I can use this chance to catch my breath." Muttering to himself, Des watched as the last of the Worms burrowed their way underground.

On his way to the luggage, he had passed by a few of them, but they did not pay him any heed. It could have been due to their instinct to burrow to safety due to the incoming Daytime—a directive that they could not refuse.

This was most likely the cause, but Des liked to think that his decision to smear his body in the remains of the Colossus Horror also helped mask his presence.

Either way, he was safe from them.

"Any second now…" He smiled, placing his healed hand on the luggage as he readied himself to carry the bag and be on his way once his healing was complete.

Despite his certain victory, and his careful evaluation of his current situation, Des couldn't help but feel something ominous..

A certain sensation that reminded him of the terror he once forgot.

The ground rumbled at that point, and right as he was about to fasten the buckle of the bag on his back, he witnessed the destruction of a huge portion of thick, dark floor.

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

I wonder what it is now. Well, read the next chapter to find out.

Once again… apologies for my late updates.