16 Xenos

The next day, Shichika went to carry out the task given by the Guild. But before going deeper, there was one thing worth deciding.

- Die! - in a distant room on the 4th floor a clear order was heard.

A strange noise began to grow in space, similar to something between a hum and a whistle, the light began to distort into incomprehensible shapes, and the goblin in the center froze in place. It seemed that the world itself could not understand what it was obliged to do in such a situation, anomalies continued to grow. And then... everything fell silent, not a single trace of the chaos taking place here. Only the magic stone lay in the place where the green humanoid monster had previously been.

The man who gave the order was currently leaning against the wall with a terrible headache; it seemed as if someone had put a cauldron on his head and hit it with a sledgehammer. Several dozen times. Blood flowed out of his eyes in a thin stream, and all his senses were drowned out countless times. If it weren't for the support he found, Shichika would already be lying on the ground. This state of affairs continued for fifteen minutes. After which the adventurer's health began to return to normal. Only then he continue his way.

All this is caused by the load that falls on anyone who dares to kill living beings by bending the laws of the world. No one can take on such a burden, even gods, but as some know, "M****n rules the world."

Arriving at the place indicated on the map, the envoy with a bag on his back moved a large crystal in the stone wall. Behind it was an empty room with a pond filled with water. Uninterested adventurers at this moment complete their exploration and return, completely forgetting about this discovery. Shichika, obliging himself to fulfill the contracts, knew that if he swam forward underwater, then on the other side he would find a huge location divided into several halls.

On the other side, the usual darkness and a large group of monsters awaited him, the white figures of which the teenager could clearly distinguish even without a single source of light. An awkward staring game began.

- Is it just me or does he see us? - the gargoyle, consisting of an ashen-colored stone, whispered to the red lizardman.

- I don't know, Gros. In such darkness, even an experienced rank 3 adventurer would be unable to see a thing. But if he has some kind of special skill, then everything is possible, - a humanoid creature, among this community, the appointed leader expressed his assumptions.

- Then maybe we can check him? We will attack him and, based on his reaction, decide what to do next.

- Not an option. Fels strictly forbade him to engage in battle, I think there were reasons for that. We can only wait or make contact.

- Am I at the wrong time? I was asked to deliver magic stones to you, but it seems you are busy right now, - the adventurer's eyes were directed at a figure familiar to him, the siren.

- Um... So he saw us, and we stood and looked at him like idols. What a shame...

- N-no! You're right on time, we just didn't know how to start the conversation.

- I understand. Then I will introduce myself, Yasuri Shichika, 3rd level adventurer of the Loki family, martial artist and agent on behalf of the Guild, it's very nice to meet you.

- I'm Lyd, a lizardman warrior, the gargoyle's name is Gros, the arachne is Ranye, and the siren you saved is Ray, we're also very pleased to meet you. If you don't mind, as an apology for our behavior, we would like to invite you to dinner. I will introduce the rest in our camp.

The place where the xenos stopped was a hall similar to an amphitheater. The stepped structure stretched in all directions in the shape of a circle, in the center there was a depression in which local residents lit fires. As now, Lyd and others sat in a circle in the light of the fire. Periodically, the guest was served fruits and special edible plants characteristic of these dungeon floors. Having a very sweet taste, they were a popular delicacy among adventurers.

- Listen, can I call you Shichi?

- I have nothing against it.

- Nice! Shichi, I see you don't particularly like fruit, would you like a stone? - the lizardman jokingly extended his hand with one purple crystal to the teenager's face.

- Yes, of course, - the magic stone went into the guest's mouth with a smooth movement.

- What are you doing?! Spit it out quickly, it was a joke. Joke! - those around him with wide-eyed eyes and faces, expressing surprise in a unique way for each one, ran up to Shichika.

- Joke? Although I don't like their taste, I thought it would be rude to refuse such a simple request. I'm sorry for the trouble.

-Have you eaten them before? What a strange man Fels sent us. By the way, today we were going to have a party with dancing and singing, would you like to join?

- Lyd, although he helped us, there is a limit to everything. Let him go, - Gros' voice was heard from the places above.

- What a stubborn guy! Don't pay attention to him, just worry for nothing.

- I know a person who behaves the same way.

- Really?! *hahaha* Then you know exactly how soft they are inside.

- I think I understand what you mean.

- Well, fine! Let the party begin!

As soon as the approval was announced, creatures of different shapes and sizes began to flock to the fire from all sides. Somewhere off to the side, Ray began to sing, and a pleasant atmosphere enveloped the hall to the sound of her beautiful voice. From time to time, some of the more friendly xenos invited Shichiku to dance, to which he, of course, agreed. Goblins, almirajes, cobolts, a harpy and a very clumsy waltz with a hellhound unable to stand on its own two legs. The whole evening flew by in a merry round dance, and the celebration returned to the table. A golden-winged monster girl approached the place where Lyd and the adventurer were sitting. -

- Shichika... I understand that you are probably tired, but would it be difficult for you to give me a dance? - to the surprise of many, Ray turned away in embarrassment.

- With pleasure, - as if according to the textbook, the hand extended in front of the siren's wing, palm up.

The two began to dance, during which the teenager invited his partner to sing together. Since the celebration was coming to an end, a melodic, slow song was chosen.

You sat down right at the corner of my table1

I don`t know what it is but I swear I`m feeling a deja vu.

Unfortunately, happy moments also come to an end. After the departure of their new acquaintance, the life of the xenos temporarily returned to normal.

- Ray, you liked Shichi, right?

- Yes.

25th-27th floors of the dungeon. When talking about any of them, it is necessary to mention others. The fact is that the place known as Water City does not have a clear division into floors with passages at points A and B. The 25th floor gives rise to the Great Fall, a huge waterfall, 400 meters wide and twice as high, reaching the 27th.

To get down, groups of adventurers have to walk along ledges and tunnels in the walls of the dungeon surrounding the waterfall. In this they are hampered by a large number of monsters, ready to attack from water streams inside caves or from the sky in a vast airspace. In addition, no one has canceled the newly born monsters from the dungeon walls. According to tradition, there are also more of them.

And the icing on the cake is the Amphisbaena. Monster Rex that appears once a month, capable of moving between the three floors of Water City at any time. In terms of strength, the dragon-type monster is rated as level 5, but due to the difficult terrain, the difficulty of the battle is awarded as level 6. Fortunately, adventurers willing to challenge her know of several rooms where there is enough land to fight without problems.

According to the contract, Shichika will definitely have to walk and swim the entire floor up and down. Underwater combat was very different from battles on land. Lack of support under your feet, the possibility of movement and attack in any direction, and a current that threatens to carry you to a cliff, promising a fall from a height of about 800 meters.

Adventurers from the few families capable of hunting in these places wear clothing made from Undine Cloth, similar to Salamander Wool, which was a material made with the help of spirits. Such equipment protects against water attacks, facilitates underwater combat for wearers, and cools the adventurer's body if necessary.

As for cursed Shichika, there was another option. The development ability received from Levi will greatly help him in this. As the ruler of the Hell Seas, her influence greatly simplifies combat in the water. Each time, diving into small bodies of liquid the teenager subconsciously adapted to the pressure, and his thoughts intuitively calculated possible situations. From now on, he will take full advantage of it.

On the way to the first stream, he was attacked by a group of aggressive flying monsters, consisting of giant devil mosquitoes, harpies and sirens, who attack from a distance. Fighting off such creatures is not a problem.

A completely different story began when he meets the Blue Crabs, Crystal Turtles, Crystaroth Urchin and others. Unlike the middle floors, the local inhabitants did not lose much speed in exchange for a good level of protection. In addition to everything, Raider Fish periodically jumped out of the water, trying to grab the prey by its vulnerable parts in flight and then drag it into the water.

And the lower the floor, the more terrible creatures await you.

Who would have thought that you could hide from most of them in the water? Small groups or even lone monsters, whose only advantage was life in water, a physical body and toxic substances. No magical barriers, death rays or shooting death balls. Shichika's smartest decision upon discovering this, was to stay in the water as much as possible.

A group of 4 raider fishes, also a drug octopus. The first attacked from the front, left, below and above. The cephalopod released a hallucinogenic liquid towards the prey, after which it joined. The nearest two monsters were cut from head to tail with two cutting blows, the remaining ones managed to grab the left shoulder and right palm of the adventurer in their teeth. The octopus jumped from behind, its tentacles trying to wrap around the man's neck in an attempt to strangle him.

The scene look desperate, but there was almost no blood. Monsters' teeth tried unsuccessfully to dig deeper, causing small superficial wounds. Following their brothers, the predatory fish were cut into pieces. The intellect brewing on these floors was enough for the last survivor to choose to escape instead of fight to the death. Too late, a hand grabbed the octopus's head and pulled it to the side, where it was met by the adventurer's second limb.

One of many expeditions to the Water City has begun. The results will be the first-ever three-dimensional map of these places with the bottoms of streams and Frontiers. And also a legend about a crazy man who swims in these places at night and scares adventurers passing by.