Chapter 3: Diving Deeper

(This chapter was uploaded on Friday 27/October/2023 8:45 PM, timezone GMT+3) 

('1), ('2), ('3), etc. means that there is some explaining for the thing in the notes at the end of the chapter. 

"..." small moment of silence 

"Talking" 

"He-" Someone was interrupted. 

'Thinking' 

[Skills' names, chanting and spells' names] 

Don't shy from commenting on typos and/or inconsistencies. That and/or suggesting a modification to certain things that didn't make sense to you. 

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. 

(Line Break) 

'Where would be a good place to sleep?' 

Nephelont's thoughts wandered for a bit. He saw some monsters getting out of the walls like he did. Anywhere near a wall was not safe. He then remembered that the tree he saw when he first got out of the wall had a chasm separating it from the closest wall and some distance for a walking creature. 

'Might as well capitalize on my time' Nephelont thought as he had a plan. 

By trying to go there using his wings, he will get more familiar with how he can safely fly. He spread his wings and started getting off the ground. Once he was high away from the ground, he angled his body forward. His wings' beat pushed him on. 

Once he reached the tree, he landed less gracefully. He let his momentum be absorbed by the ground. He slid quite the distance, leaving a trail on the dirt below. As he looked around, he saw no other monster in the vicinity. 

'I might need to be extra careful when and where to sleep next time' 

He closed his eyes and fell asleep after staying on the lookout for any intruder who might target him in his sleep. There was no one for some time, which gave him enough sense of safety to sleep. 

Day 1, 9:48 PM. 

(Line Break) 

"Where is Bors?" 

"It's the middle of the night, man" 

"This is urgent! We found an irregular green dragon! It could talk and understand the meanings of promises and patience! We must kill it before it becomes a threat!" 

"An irregular, you say?" 

The party Nephelont extorted reported his existence to Rivira. 

Bors, who now was level 5 after twenty years of hard, grueling work, could potentially deal with the monster on his own. 

Bors was called from his station on guard duty for the night. 

"What's that about an irregular?" 

"Hear this, Bors! Some newbs said they saw a green dragon that talked and understood reason! Ha! How funny their joke is!" 

The person was sarcastic. He was laughing while thinking it was just a hallucination or a joke made in bad taste. 

"Shut up! We're gonna investigate how true that is! Gather the men!" 

(Line Break) 

Day 2, 3:27 AM. 

Nephelont woke up and yawned. He was full of energy after only sleeping a little less than six hours. 

'That was surely a short sleep. Let's find a few stones to stop my hunger in its tracks and then search for the path up' 

He found a few mad beetles and a group of lizardmen. The mad beetle's carapace was a bit resistant to slashes, so he smashed them with the palms of his hands. 

As for the lizardmen, slashing them worked wonders on their abdomens. It still worked on their backs to a lower degree, but his strength more than compensated for that difference. He also tried picking lizardmen up and ripping them apart. It was messy, gory and full of blood and other things, but it worked. 

The magic stones were their own hassle. While he knew where to generally find them, he had no experience in carving them. 

He does not know the strength recommended to do the job, nor how deep they normally are in individual monster types. 

As a result of this shortcoming, many stones shattered. He was left with a success rate of 1/10. 

Day 2, 7:21 AM. 

'I am not full, but this will do. I should go now' 

Nephelont flew through the floor. He caught sight of many adventurers who were busy fighting off monsters. 

He let them be and went the opposite way to where they were headed to. He assumed that many would go down at this time of day. 

So, going the other way will lead him to the path to a higher floor. If otherwise, he could always turn the other way and still find an exit. 

'Under the crystal tree might be a safe spot for me, where no monsters appeared the entire night. I must be wary of people, though. Crystal is attractive to them' Nephelont thought as he soared through the artificial sky of the floor. 

Minutes later, he found a hole in the walls of the floor. He landed by slamming his feet to the ground. 

Peering at the hole, he saw stairs leading down. He immediately looked the other way and flew to the other side of this underground dome. It took him a few more minutes to reach the other end. 

'My path is set!' He found the stairs leading up. 

What he did not account for is the possibility that others might be using the stairs at the time he wanted to use them. 

"A GREEN DRAGON! RUN AND INFORM THE OTHERS! WE FOUND THE IRREGULAR GREEN DRAGON FROM YESTERDAY!" 

A group of battle-hardened adventurers came searching for him. The adventurers from the day before reported him to Rivera's adventurers. 

'Things went to shit quickly. And if they called for someone, then I can safely assume that they have someone who could potentially deal with me' 

Nephelont, after thinking it over, decided to run to the deeper parts of this cavern. His pause perplexed the adventurers who were originally ready to fight. 

"Leader... did that thing just run off?" 

"I am as surprised as you are. Normally, they attack first. That one was thinking first. I felt like we were being appraised. 

And from the way it looked at the stairs, it probably realized that a stronger adventurer would be coming down. It is too smart to leave alive" 

"We must kill it before it goes deeper into the dungeon, then. Should we send someone to track it every now and then?" 

"That is for the better. Carl, go after it for now. Return after the thing slows down or settles in a spot" 

"Troublesome" Carl complained and started tracking Nephelont. 

"Wait, Carl" One of the party members said. 

"What is it?" 

"I remember seeing this dragon on the surface before, and he had falna at that time. He showed it to us. This dragon may be an adventurer belonging to the Hestia familia. 

Although, you might not have known, as you have only arrived in the city three years ago" 

"How far back is this 'before' you are talking about, Ramon?" 

"About six years back, Carl. It was the first time the city saw a skill that transformed the adventurer holding it to a monster with a human's mind" Ramon said to Carl. 

"Shouldn't we try talking to him, then?" 

"Maybe not. The one I am talking about sacrificed himself to revive someone using a skill. He is no longer alive. 

Unless the people associated with him confirm that the dragon is the same as that person, we can only guard the exit to the higher floors for now" 

"Is that so?" The leader let them talk to know the details himself. He thought of something just now. 

"Then, do you think it is a good idea to send someone to inform them of the dragon's existence?" The leader asked Ramon, as Ramon was a senior adventurer who had experience. He may know the better decisions to make as one. 

"I think we should take Bors' approval on the matter. Once that's taken care of, we could go and ask one of Hestia familia executives to confirm it for us" Ramon was indirectly telling his party leader to not abandon the current mission without Bors' approval, seeing that Bors is the one leading the parties involved in this operation. 

(Line Break) 

Day 2, 11:42 AM. 

'So, this will take me deeper, right?' 

Nephelont stood before the stairs to the next floor, floor 25. He stood there for less than a second and dived right down. 

What greeted him when he reached the bottom was the waterfall leading straight to floor 27. The floors had so much water everywhere he knew he would need to be careful of aquatic creatures. 

'I may need to leave it to my instincts to discover my other abilities. The fire breath was a simple one. Others, if they existed, are more obscure to me' He thought only for a few seconds before having a desire to just throw it at his instincts. 

'What do you want, physical body?' Nephelont heard many voices mixing together. They ranged from man to woman. From young to old. From ill to sound. They were too many that starting to grasp which belongs to who was nearly impossible. 

'You can think and talk separately? Color me surprised!' 

'Yes. Now, what did you call us for?' 

'Direct and to the point, I like that. Well, I want to know if I had any abilities my conscious mind didn't know about' 

'You could use your crystal scales to fracture light. If done right, you will become invisible' A single voice said. This instinct's voice resembled that of a gruff, middle-aged man. 

'A little help?' 

The weirdly conscious and self-aware instincts guided mind (the energy) to the right places using the right amount of it. Nephelont could not see himself anymore. 

'Remember, physical body, you are only invisible. Senses other than sight can still detect you' The middle-aged man-sounding instinct added. 

'Thank you, instincts' 

'You are welcome, physical body' 

'Are there any other things I could do?' 

'You can repair the link you have with another being. That being is higher than you in familial hierarchy' A voice like that of a gracious old woman replied to him this time. The way the instinct spelled the words was pleasant to the ears. 

'One of my parents?' 

'Could be. But we must wait, physical body. There are monsters nearby, and the repairing process takes time and energy' 

'Is that all?' 

'We will tell you the rest later, once you are in a safe area. Focus on survival for now' All the other voices returned. 

'I will, and many more thanks' 

Nephelont found a monster flying in the distance. It had golden, green and blue feathers. It had a woman's body from the waist up. It also had wings the size of shields for arms. 

It was looking around until it opened its mouth. No sound came out, but it turned to Nephelont and dived at him. 

'Ah... Instincts?' 

'This one is weaker than you' This instinct's voice was like that of a young man in his late twenties. It conveyed a sense of experience, sprinkled with inexperience in some areas. It was the original Nephelont's instincts as an adventurer to identify what was weak or not. 

Nephelont calmed down and simply slapped it to the ground when it was close enough. He stomped on it lightly to preserve the magic stone inside. He then slashed its head clean off with one of his claws. 

'I see red shadows moving in the distance. Are they also monsters?' 

'Yes, they are. They are individually weaker than you are' 

'So, they are stronger in a group?' 

'Not necessarily. You can overwhelm them with an area of effect ability from a distance' The gruff instinct replied. 

'A fire breath?' 

'That will do well as a surprise attack, only if you plan on hiding immediately after' The gruff instinct praised his choice. 

'Be wary. The ones that remain alive after the surprise attack will target you, unless they cannot see you' The young man's instinct added a warning of its own. 

'Well, I am invisible' 

Nephelont opted to walk their way slowly, as flying would create enough sound to catch their attention. 

Once he was below where they were going in circles, he observed their movements. They took nearly the same time every time to cross the same spot above him. 

He waited for the right moment and fired at them. As they were moving at very high speeds, they were not able to stop in time. 

Most of their numbers fell while about a quarter could evade in time. The remaining ones numbered about 63 crimson birds. 

'Well, shit' 

'It is, physical body. START RUNNING FOR YOUR LIFE! MINE DEPENDS ON YOURS! SO RUN!' This instinct's voice was that of a very, very old man. It sounded on the verge of death. 

Nephelont did not need his self-aware instincts to tell him that. He was already running while invisible. The waterfall with its crashing noise masked most of his heavy stomps. 

'YOU SELFISH INSTINCS! SO YOU ARE ONLY AFTER YOUR OWN SURVIVAL!' 

'OF COURSE I AM! I AM YOUR SURVIVAL INSTINCT! I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT ANYONE ELSE'S SURVIVAL! KEEP RUNNING!' The old instinct shouted at him, urging him to prioritize staying above anything else. 

'YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME TO DO THAT AGAIN!' 

Nephelont kept on dodging behind cover and letting them die on impact with the crystals and stalagmites jutting from the ground. 

When one was about to break, he moved behind the next. While moving between covers, some Iguazu would fall on him. 

'They hurt' Although they could not penetrate his scales, the blunt force from impacting them made him fear them a little and give them some weird form of respect. 

'Have they finally died?' 

'Yes, they did' The young instinct replied. 

'Sorry about that, instincts. I was desperate and nearly out of my mind from the fright' 

'I was the same, physical body. I also apologize' The old instinct replied in apology. 

'But how did they notice me? I am sure I was invisible?' 

'After the breath, they zoned in on the source and focused enough to hear your footsteps, physical body. You should try becoming stealthier' The gruff instinct analyzed their behavior and presented it to Nephelont. 

'Now though, we can help ourselves to this feast of tiny stones' The 

Nephelont already forgot the little fear he had in favor of falling in love with the idea of hunting for more of them. 

They became magic stones all on their own and spared him the time and the risk involved with digging out the magic stones himself. 

'Strangely, they are more fulfilling than the ones from the insects I slaughtered yesterday' 

'Their magic stones contain more energy' 

'Oh, that. So, my hunger could be satisfied with only magic stones' 

'Yes. You can consume other thing too' 

'That is good to know. But you sounded like lust over there' 

'I'm your lust for good food' This instinct's voice sounded like a distorted voice of an unidentifiable gender. 

'Fair enough. Can I increase my strength faster using them?' 

'If compared to the insects from yesterday, then yes' 

He then went on to kill more varieties of monsters. 

He waited on the riverside and hunted some big fish that swam near the surface. 

He killed some more of the monster that detected him through his invisibility and another one that shot feathers at him. 

'Just how louder can the green ones get?' 

'We do not know for sure' 

'Let's test that later' 

'We agree' 

He also encountered some cute crab monsters that tried to pinch him with their overdeveloped pincers. Their pincers did not hurt at all as they tried to pinch his rigid scales. 

"Aghh!" Nephelont got attacked by something that gave him pain. It was several times the magnitude of the miniscule amount of pain the crimson birds gave him by slamming into him at full speed. 

Nephelont turned around and saw a round object on the wall to his right. It had a yellow center. As he took his time trying to notice any monsters that might have been the ones that sneak-attacked him, he saw the yellow center light up. It fired another attack at him. 

"Agh!" It hurt him again. He saw some of his scales break and fall to the ground. 

'Instincts, how do I deal with this thing' 

'This monster attacks using light. It might become powerless if you used your ability to fracture light to reflect its own attack back at it' 

Day 2, 4:54 PM. 

He tried doing that, but it resulted in him getting hurt. He failed to reflect its beam attack over and over. He sat there for what felt like hours, waiting for the monster to attack and trying to return it back to it. Of course, there were some unfortunate monsters that wandered close to Nephelont. They became his nourishment. 

(Line Break) 

"ROOOAAAARR!!!" Nephelont celebrated his success. He finally did it. He reflected the attack back at last. Although, it was sad that it was not right where he wanted it to go. He only needs to adjust the angle at which he reflects it the next time. 

He saw the monster ready for another attack and got ready himself. When he reflected it this time, it was closer to the monster. 

Day 2, 9:47 PM. 

'Did you notice it, Instincts?' 

'Yes, physical body. We noticed it, too. The monster is starting to slow down. It is starting to get exhausted' 

'Then I might as well move on and kill it. We can always find another one later to practice with' 

'That is preferable, physical body' 

Nephelont finally released the monster of its misery and went on the hunt for other monsters to eat. 

Day 2, 10:58 PM. 

'Do you think I could sleep anywhere?' 

'We did not see or sense any monster that could be life-threatening to you, physical body. You can rest anywhere as long as you are ready to be rudely woken up by an attacking monster' 

'I would rather avoid that' 

Nephelont was looking at the great waterfall when an idea struck him. 

'Say, do you think the waterfall will have a cave behind it?' 

'Maybe' 

'Then I will go check its length, see if there was any cave hidden by it' 

Nephelont descended the waterfall's length from between it and the wall. 

'Surprisingly, there is enough space for me to fly behind this huge current' 

He saw a few holes, but they were a bit too small for him to fit through. 

'Hell yeah! That one should be big enough!' 

Nephelont found a sufficiently big hole at the bottom of the waterfall. He went in to investigate and found no monsters there. He went a little further in and found a space big enough for him to ball himself into. He slept there with the hope that no monster would appear and ambush him in his sleep. 

(Line Break) 

Day 3, 3:24 AM. 

"Marie, you say an irregular green dragon has inhabited this resting spot?" 

Nephelont heard a voice just as he woke up. He started fearing getting cornered in this small space. 

"And I thought I could rest here for longer..." 

"Huh? Who just talked?" The person whose voice Nephelont heard was surprised. There should only be that person and Marie with them. This place was supposed to be empty, bar for one dragon monster that did not belong to these floors. 

Nephelont broke the stone of the enclosed space around him as he moved out of there at top speeds. He flapped his wings and soared away. When he took a glance behind him, he saw a half fish half human monster and one other that looked like a spider down the waist instead. 

'What? No other person is around. Don't tell me they were the ones talking? But then, are they even monsters? Maybe they are just some other races that don't identify as monsters. In which case, I need to be wary and stay away' 

Nephelont flew away from them. He did not want another snitch to be on his tail. He will be hiding in levels even further down. 

"He was the one talking. Right, Marie?" 

"The scary dragon talked, Rayne" Marie answered her with a dazed expression. The voice of that dragon sounded familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. 

"But the fact that he didn't attack us means that he is one of our kin. We must reach out to him one day" Ranye wanted to tell him of their hidden village, to protect him from any adventurer threats spread around. 

(Line Break) 

'Instincts, do you think we could sense monsters without seeing them?' 

'We cannot do that, physical body. We do not have the ability to sense things without them eying us' 

'Let's hunt as we head down, instincts' 

(Line Break) 

End of Chapter. 

So, let's get this out of the way. I have bad news for you, ones that some might perceive as good news instead. 

You see, I was thinking of the flow of the story and noticed that I allocated a very lacking number of chapters for the time Nephelont spends in the dungeon. As I was editing this chapter, I decided to, sorry for the foul word, screw with that number. I wanted to add more build up to the point of him getting out of the dungeon. 

In wanting that, I decided to add at least up to five more chapters of him being stuck in the dungeon, maybe up to chapter 8 or even ten if I could stretch it that far. He will work more for the grand thing I wanted him to achieve what I wanted of him before being free to do what he wanted, meeting up with the previous Nephelont's mother. 

Without these 5-7 extra chapters, we already have a total of 15 chapters (not edited). With their addition, It will take more time for me to upload them. But alas, they are necessary for the story to progress more smoothly. If he got out of the dungeon and to the comfort of Hestia's familia by chapter three, it would have ruined a part of the story where I could flesh out a good arc but did not.

And so, it is imperative that the number of chapters spent in the dungeon increases.

Now, for some trivia. Augustus was originally planned to be called Oswald. The name reminded me of a creepy character from Dark Souls and I refrained from calling him that since then. His name was later changed to Augustus.

Lastly, as was written above, you can suggest some improvement if you see a part that needs it. Any suggestion coupled with the reasoning is appreciated.

Have a nice time, ladies and gentlemen.