Chapter 5: Diving Deeper Yet

(This chapter was uploaded on Sunday 12/November/2023 8:00 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) 

'I feel three of them coming from around one o' clock. Some other 2-5 people follow them from behind. A separate group stayed behind at a great distance' Nephelont shared his assumption as he turned a little to the right. 

'Correct' Arsalan confirmed Nephelont's assumption. 

'I want to know, though. Why don't they hide the sound of their steps?' 

'Your hearing is just too sharp' Allen answered. 

(With the adventurers) 

"Captain, is it just me? Or is that monster looking at us and holding what looks like a landform weapon?" 

"That's because it is, Ralph" 

The party of ten had separated into roles. The vanguard, consisting of the captain, a tanker and a magician, would take a closer look at the source of the roar if they could. 

The middle guard, consisting of the two supporters, a swordsman and an archer, would be following the vanguard from a distance. If the vanguard needed the supporters, they were sufficiently close to aid them without much difficulty. 

The rearguard, consisting of another archer, another tanker and a spearman, would keep the tail of the party safe so that no monster ambushes them from behind. 

While Nephelont was looking at them, an opportunistic monster tried to steal from his game. It tried its best, but the closest it got was a single step in Nephelont's range. His tail whipped out at the monster with such strength, its blood splattered on a tree. Nephelont squinted at them one last time while pointing his 'spear' in their direction, as if to warn them, and turned around to start carving the monsters he killed. 

"That last look..." This party's leader recognized the look Nephelont gave them. It was the same look an adventurer would give them if they thought the party tried stealing their prey in the dungeon, even though they did not have intent before. 

"Its actions were a warning. You saw how it whipped its tail at a target it didn't see with its eyes? It was warning us with that look, that we will find out what happens when we try anything" The party leader sighed. Although the shadow cast upon Nephelont's eyes prevented them from really knowing if it saw that monster or not, it added to the eerie feeling of being watched by a dangerous being above your level. It was a lack of color that brought back their feelings of fearing the unknown, as if this is the first monster they see at all. 

"It doesn't look like a monster we know. The closest in size would be peluda, but that monster-type has a fur-like growth all over its body. But this one... it has crystals on it? Why does it feel familiar?" The magician lady started analyzing Nephelont's appearance and wanted to deduce which species of monsters it originally belonged to. 

"It's not the time, Jerria" The tanker reminded her. 

"Should we retreat, then?" Jerria asked. 

"Considering the fact that it sensed us, was smart enough to use a landform weapon that looked like it was carved by the monster itself from a tree and the fact that it gave a threat, I think we should leave after a little observation. Ralph, call a supporter draw it on a piece of paper" The leader was cautious. If it was not a monster they were required to hunt in this expedition, they did not need to try their luck with an unknown. 

(Back with Nephelont) 

Day 3, 10:09 PM. 

'Are they finally gone, Allen?' 

'Yes' 

'Giving them that warning was a good call' Arsalan complimented Nephelont's action. 

Nephelont was almost done with the monsters. 

When he did not see any more dead monsters around, he headed for the safe floor, the 28th. 

(With the adventurers) 

"Captain?" One of the party members was shaking in their boots. 

"Yes?" The captain replied as he was setting up his tent. 

"Are we sure that that dragon's glare wasn't a threat that we should prepare for?" Their voice came out in jitters. 

"And why do you think that?" The captain continued setting up the tent, oblivious to what that member saw. 

"Because it came to this floor, and is heading in our direction" 

At these words, the captain leapt to his feet and looked at Nephelont. He was there, going for a place in their vicinity, but not directly where they were. 

'DAMN IT!' "We don't have a choice. We will fight it" The captain mentally cursed but kept a calm face to his party members. He was sneakily looking at four of their injured members. They were careless after arriving at this floor. They knew it was not the absolute safest place, as monsters could still get in here. Their carelessness left an opening that allowed a few monsters to injure the two supporters and deal damage to the archers before they were put down. 

"Namo, Randy, do you think you are still able to fight?" The captain asked the archers. 

"I can" 

"I can, too" 

Both affirmed it by standing up. While the injury on their legs will limit their movement, they will be able to shoot their arrows like usual. 

"Then let's prepare before it strikes first" 

(Back with Nephelont) 

Day 4, 12:23 AM. 

'Bothersome. For the last hour, I didn't get a comfortable sleep because I was staying alert even while sleeping! And now, these annoying humans approached me!' Nephelont was going to teach them a lesson. From how they retreated a few hours earlier, they were either weaker than he is or did not know what he could and could not do. 

While waiting for them to do something, Nephelont had a disturbing thought. 

'Should I burn this floor down on them?' 

He mulled it over and finally came to the conclusion that it will not kill them immediately, if at all. That leaves them the chance to heal. As a bonus, he would be less likely to fight them, giving him some much-needed sleep time. 

'I will do just that and rush to the next floor. The fire and the smoke wouldn't follow me down' 

(With the adventurers) 

"Captain, what is it doing? I don't like the way it opened its mouth" Jerria was anxious. What Nephelont did reminded her of what other dragons do. They breathe fire. 

"I don't like it either, Jerria. We wouldn't be able to move away if it wanted to roast us right now. Chant your ice spell while I and Ralph distract it. Have the others group up with you and be defensive" The captain said as he was followed closely by Ralph. 

(Line Break. Return to 3rd person) 

'They are coming my way even when I wanted to intimidate them with fire. Fuck it. Killing them isn't worth the guilt I will feel later' Nephelont prepared to rough them up a little. He stopped his fire breath before it even started and repositioned his body to strike them with his pointy stick. 

'Allen, sit back. I will try to deal with them alone, unless direct communication was necessary' 

'Noted' Allen complied. All of Nephelont's instincts were now working like other living beings' instincts, indirectly assisting him with his mind having all the say in everything. 

Nephelont noticed the captain and Ralph separating on either side of him, trying to make him focus on choosing between them while Jerria casts her spell. 

"HAAA! Look here you beast!" Ralph banged his greatshield with his mace to create noise. 

His mere voice agitated Nephelont and demanded his full attention, as if a fly was buzzing near his eardrum. It was annoying. 

Nephelont did not like that. And as a result, he took a leap in Jerria's direction and swung his stick at her, launching her off to dent another. 

'Damn it! We didn't think it was this sharp!' "Ralph! Take the others away while I take all the attention!" Seeing that Nephelont could ignore Ralph's aggro skill, the party's captain decided to sacrifice himself to distract Nephelont while the others fled. If fate allows it, he will crawl his way back up. 

"... Come back safe! You hear me? You still owe me a drink!" Said Ralph as he went back and grabbed a limp and unconscious Jerria and went to tell the others of their captain's command. 

"Look here! Beast!" The captain threw a sizeable rock at Nephelont to irritate him. 

'Let's comply. That will make it easier to deal with them' 

Nephelont turned to the captain of the party, giving the others time to flee and maybe get their captain some help. 

"Haaah!" The captain rushed at Nephelont, his shield raised defensively. His one-handed broadsword brandished in the other hand. 

Sadly for him, Nephelont's tail was too much to handle. It was too fast for his eyes to catch a glimpse of. Nephelont's tail swiped him off his feet. Nephelont then pressed him to the ground and lowered his face to be closer to the captain's, looking him in the eyes. 

"ROOOOAAAARRR!!" Nephelont released a full-force roar at pointblank. 

Nephelont picked up the man and threw him in the general direction the rest of his party went to. 

'You let them go easy' Marthanóir complained. 

'You know it, too. Humans tend to always kill whatever they consider the highest threat first. If a group was killed, another will appear to take care of me. But if they didn't lose anyone, it's less likely to get us in trouble' 

'Hah! Whatever!' Marthanóir hid himself away again. He was satisfied as long as they can see another day. 

'I will go to sleep, then' 

Day 4, 1:04 AM. 

(With the adventurers) 

"Are we safe here?" Ralph asked the supporters. 

"We should be safe. This alcove is hidden right beside the entrance to the 28th. As that monster rushes after us, we may be unnoticed" 

"And what if we weren't lucky?" 

"We will be dead" 

"Let's hope, then, that we will survive this time around" 

The party was surprised when their captain was sent flying away. When he landed, his body slid on the ground and collided with the other tanker. He was unconscious after the impact. 

"What about the two's conditions?" 

"Captain has a few dislocated joints and cracked bones. Nothing was broken. His life is safe for now. As for Jerria, her condition is getting worse. Her ribs broke and she suffered from other internal injuries, among them is some internal bleeding. Thankfully, nothing is directly life threatening for her... yet" 

"And the potions?" 

"We only have one elixir and a few potions left" 

"Hold onto them until the two of them wake up or until we are forced to leave. Use the elixir on Jerria and some potions for the captain then" 

They set up camp in this alcove to rest and wait for their companions to wake up. As for the tanker who the captain collided with, he was fine after using a potion for his legs. 

(Back with Nephelont) 

Day 4, 10:32 AM. 

'I slept more than I should have. I should go hunting now' 

Nephelont hunted for over an hour, killing some of those red lizards and swarms of those small ones with larger arms. 

Day 4, 12:21 PM. 

'This will lead me deeper' Nephelont found the stairs to the next floor as he flew along the wall. 

When Nephelont stepped foot in the next floor, he saw lizards that walked on all four. The perplexing thing was that some of them walked on two legs to reach low-hanging branches to eat fruits. 

'They look cute' Nephelont saw one eating fruits with its beak-like mouth. 

In total, Nephelont stood before at least twenty of them. 

"Khrrrrrrrr!!" One of them made a deep, low sound that was between a purr and a bark. It led the gallop towards Nephelont. The other twenty or so of its kind came at him as well. 

'Well, that escalated quickly. They don't look so cute anymore' Nephelont sweat dropped at this. 

'You bet. Now kill them before they kill you!' Marthanóir appeared yet again. 

Nephelont whipped his tail at the leading lizard, splattering it on the ground. The others were not so lucky either. They were either crushed or bitten in half. Some of them were wounded and left to die by bleeding. 

'That was anticlimactic...' Nephelont was disappointed. He was hoping for a challenge in numbers at least. But even that did not compensate for the other side's weakness. 

'Get used to this and be wary of it. If we compare, you are one and a half times stronger than the strongest opponent you encountered yet' Hunter explained. 

'I'm getting bored' 

'You are surviving' Marthanóir intervened. 

'I guess I'm thankful that I'm alive right now. But I need to get so strong that nobody can prevent me from reaching the woman I will see as my mother soon' 

'Let's hope' Allen said. 

'You can get smaller' Allen added. 

'I didn't even ask' 

'We can, whether we want to or not, hear your thoughts all the time. We know what the question is' 

'Well, I guess that's fine. You are just another part of who I am' Nephelont accepted it in that aspect. He was surprised yet creeped at first. 

Other intelligent beings sharing your body with you? No, thanks. He feared something happening. But after three days, going through the fourth day, Nephelont started accepting that they could not really take control and that they were really his instincts, not just some entities he thought to be his instincts. 

'But how do I do it? Do I just use it in reverse?' Nephelont was getting impatient. He had an ulterior motive as to why he wanted to get smaller. 

'That is correct' Allen replied. 

"Let's do this!" Nephelont started shrinking with Allen's help. 

'This is it! This is it! I can get small enough to get some challenge from them! I can fight things my own size all the time! Every time!' He was over the moon. He felt he was too happy not to be dreaming. He felt a rush. 

Just as he was going to celebrate, an unknown assailant jumped him from behind. He was pinned to the ground and felt the tell-tale of biting attempts. 

'I thought there was going to be some challenge if I got smaller... How! Boring!' If Nephelont's rush was not over yet, it ended then and there. 

"Get off me!" He lashed out and grabbed his assailant from both their head and torso. 

It took Nephelont one look to know it resembles the long-armed small lizard. The difference was their feathers. Yes, both had feathers. The one from the floor above (An Utahraptor prime from ARK: Survival Evolved) only had a line of feathers growing on the outside of its arms, pointing back, and some on its tail, forming a tail-fan. In contrast, this new one was almost completely covered in feathers (real-life Utahraptor ostrommaysi). 

It proved to be similar in that it, too, hunted in groups. Nephelont knew this by being jumped by multiple others who tried grabbing his limbs and biting them. 

'It isn't even painful. It feels like someone is pressing toys against my limbs. It's just sad how my hopes shot high, only to be shot back down' Nephelont was let down by the monsters on this floor. 

Nephelont's body enlarged, going back to its natural size and throwing them to the side. He quickly disposed of those who did not flee and ignored those who did. 

'I may need to go to a floor where monsters as strong as I exist. Only there can I really gain strength. Right, Lo?' Nephelont asked Lo. 

'Proceed with caution. Success goes hand in hand with caution' Lo advised him and remained silent afterward. 

'As Lo said, be careful' Allen came out. 

'I will, Allen' 

'But for how long would I be able to stay in a smaller size?' 

'Indefinitely. Becoming smaller limits the usage of energy but makes your reserves lower. After going back to your natural size, your reserves will return to normal' 

'That's neat' 

Nephelont went on, searching for the next staircase down. On his way, a flock of flying lizards attacked him. 

These monsters had thin bodies and long, narrow beaks. Their wings were fused with their arms and were made up of a thin layer of skin (Pteranodon longiceps, or pteranodon for short). 

They stood no chance against him. He flew behind any fleeing ones, and they were no more. 

He also encountered the red lizards with inefficient short arms from the previous floor. He massacred any that appeared before him. 

He was urgently searching for the next floor's entrance. He wanted to get strong enough so that no human could possibly stop him from going to the family that would be delighted to see 'him' again. 

'Finally!' Nephelont rejoiced. He found the entrance to the 31st floor. 

(Line Break) 

Day 7, 4:51 PM. 

'This will lead me a floor lower' Nephelont rushed his way down for days on end. 

He only slept a little, enough not to collapse. While sleeping, he left Allen to make sure he stayed invisible. He could only maintain invisibility for a measly three hours for now. It was plenty enough sleep for him. 

When he woke up, he hunted the random wandering monsters and continued on, forging his way to his goal. For his efforts, he now stands over the stairs down to the 37th floor. 

'Caution, physical body' Lo reminded him. 

'Up until now, no monster could as much as scratch my scales.... Allen, is there anything special about the scales themselves?' Nephelont's mind finally caught up and he felt like something was amess. 

'The scales perpetually absorb energy to be more durable and more shock-absorbent at all times. The absorption rate is currently set at half your energy's regeneration rate' Allen answered. 

'Oh, really? Turn it off' 

'Never! If anything, make it as high as it could get!' Marthanóir was raging. 

'The audacity of you young folks! Defense is important for survival! By reducing it, you are more likely to die from a weak attack!' He continued raging harder. 

'At least lower it. I want to feel a thrill in my fights' Nephelont pleaded his case. 

'NOT A CHANCE! YOU HEAR ME? NOT A CHANCE! YOU AIN'T REDUCING DEFENSES UNLESS I DIED!' His fuse was burned. 

'Fine... I will keep it as it is for now...' 

Marthanóir calmed down and kept an eye on Nephelont's actions for a while. 

(End of Chapter)

Have a nice day, ladies and gentlemen.