Chapter 21: Wrong Dungeon (3)
Chapter 21: Wrong Dungeon (3)
Note: My laptop broke and I do not have money to get a new one (all my money goes to bills and paying off loans). So, getting out chapters will be slower; I meant to have three chapters up yesterday, but my laptop broke. I apologize everyone!
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When Neban finished wiping his face, he put the dirty wipes on the ground, resting his head back for a second as he waited for Wey to finish collecting the loot. He was going to change his clothes by using [Creation], but he changed his mind. He would do it later.
Neban would also have to take Siren out of the monster's corpse soon.
As he waited, he felt stares on him, more specifically, his face. He brought his head back down as he glanced at Isona and Owain. They were staring at him with a weird expression.
Their expression reminded him back in school when people would stare at him, whispering to each other while blushing before it turned into disgust when they found out about his personality.
"Do I still have blood on my face?" Neban asked, pushing back his old memories.
Isona's face turned a bit red as she shook her head, "We saw your face before at your son's birthday, and I knew your eyes were green, but I never knew how intensely green they were."
His stomach felt weird, once again, after Isona spoke those words.
"I swear I am straight and not hitting on you, but why hide your face? You are really attractive; I'm jealous." Owain added.
He frowned, the expression showing on his face to Isona's and Owain's surprise. Neban stood up, not saying anything as he walked over to Siren and Wey.
Wey bagged all the loot, but he still stood there, looking at the corpse. Siren seemed to finish sucking the monster dry as the Dru looked like it did not have anything to sustain a good look; it reminded him of a mummy.
"Are you ready to go?" Neban asked, frightening Wey a bit as the man jumped up. 'He must have been deep in thought.' Neban thought as he grabbed Siren, pulling the sword out.
'I am ready to feed on more monsters.' Siren answered.
'I was not talking to you, but we will continue soon.' Neban told the weapon.
Wey turned towards him, getting ready to say something, but stopped when he got a good look at Neban's face. Seeing the man's expression, Neban wanted to roll his eyes. Maybe he should make his glasses again.
"Wey?" Neban questioned as the man did not say anything for almost a minute.
Wey's face turns red, making Neban think the expression was kind of cute; it reminded him of Isona's earlier. But as quick as the thought came, he dismissed it.
"Uh. I apologize; I got distracted. Yes, I am ready." Wey finally answered as he looked everywhere but at Neban.
Neban hummed before walking away, making his way back to the others; Wey followed him. "We can go now," Neban told the others.
Isona and Owain stood up. Owain made sure he had everything before putting his backpack back on. Neban started walking forward, trying to continue his original destination as the others followed him.
They walked for a few minutes in silence as they did not encounter any monsters. Neban still had [Absolute Sense] open as he surveyed the area. The creatures were around, but for some reason, they were not coming towards the group.
Neban wondered if it was because he killed the Dru. Monsters could feel fear and try to escape when the hunter was more robust than it; Neban experienced it a few times. So, maybe killing the Dru made the creatures not want to come close.
'Then we should hunt them. I want more blood.' Siren spoke, reading his thoughts.
'Stay out of my mind.' He told Siren.
'Stop thinking so loud and capture those weak monsters. You said you would feed me.' Siren answered back, almost sounding like it was rolling its non-existent eyes at him.
'How will I get them? They will run if I come close, and I do not own a bow and arrow.' Neban replied.
'Drinking the blood of that thing gave me another piece of my powers back, but I cannot hold it long; four minutes at best. I can transform my look.'
After Siren spoke those words, the sword started to glow with a dark aura before it completely surrounded the weapon. In a second, when the light died, Neban had a bow in his hand instead of a sword.
Neban was amazed as he moved the weapon close to his face, turning it around while surveying it. He was not the only one in awe, as the other behind him was moving closer to have a look at the weapon that changed its look.
"I never heard of a high-grade weapon doing that," Isona commented; her hands itched to write the information down. The weapon seemed different from all the others that came from the dungeons.
Wey and Owain nodded, agreeing with Isona as they looked at the weapon.
'Stop admiring me and use me already. I can catch the creatures without them being in your view.' Siren spoke.
'How can I use you? I have no arrows.' Neban asked.
'Pull my string back and release.'
Neban picked up the weapon, facing it forward as he did what Siren instructed him to do. Once he released the string, six arrows came out of the bow out of nowhere as they all went in different directions. Neban heard a noise as it sounded like monsters dropping to the ground.
Using [Absolute Sense] to look around, he saw the monsters' outlines near them, on the ground as they were not moving. 'How powerful are those arrows?' He thought.
'Do I need to get the arrows back?' Neban asked.
'No. I can use the arrows to suck the monsters dry before making them disappear.'
'Okay.'
He glanced at the others behind him and watched as they looked amazed at what Siren could do. Isona looked like she had a lot of questions she wanted to ask. Neban almost wanted to laugh because he also had questions he wanted to ask the weapon.
Looking away, Neban started walking again, using the four minutes that Siren has in the bow form to get the other monsters that would not come near them. A few tried to run, but Siren's arrows followed them until they died.
"Do we need to collect the loot from those monsters?" Wey asked when the others started to catch on that the arrows were killing the monsters that they could not see.
"When we come back over here, we will," Neban answered.
It was silent again as Siren turned back into a sword, successfully killing about thirty monsters. Half an hour passed before they reached something different in the forest: a cave.
They entered the cave that gave off an eerie feeling. It was dark with a bit of light as candles were hanging on the cave walls. There were monster bones on the ground and guts decorating the walls. The cave smelled rotten like the dead lived here.
"We entered a Nrach lair," Isona spoke up as she covered her nose. She looked pale and like she was close to throwing up.
"How do you know?" Owain answered. His voice sounded weird as he pulled his shirt up to cover his nose.
Isona gave Owain a look that said, 'look around, anyone can tell what this is,' causing Owain to quiet down.
Nrachs are the undead. The King of Nrachs would get the flesh of other creatures, always leaving the bones and guts out to decorate the places they reside in; the king used the guts to create a stench to keep monsters and hunters with sensitive noses away.
After the King of Nrachs would eat the flesh, it would throw it right back up, creating its army of the undead. They were different from how a Summoner, who uses Necromancy, would bring monsters back to life.
The Nrachs are solid globs that are 5ft tall. They can regenerate, and the more flesh they eat, the more they turn back into their original form. They did not have fighting skills like the king, but the monsters are hard to kill due to their regeneration skills. To kill them, a hunter has to burn them thoroughly.
That is why it is always good to have a Mage when a hunter is going against a Nrach. Neban guessed he would have to play a mage to defeat the Nrachs and their king. "Stay close together, and if any of the Nrachs come near you, run. The monsters are not fast." He told the others.
They nodded as they moved closer, keeping their nose covered as the cave's smell was getting worse as they walked deeper into the place.
'Blood of the undead? Gross. Switch me out with a different weapon.' Siren said with disgust clear in its tone.
'No, I am going to fight with you. Do not ingest the blood.' Neban replied. He could finally torture the weapon after all the times it had annoyed him and for waking the Dru up.
'And they call me a demon.' Siren sighed.
Neban ignored the weapon as he walked into a vast open area. A few feet ahead showed the King of Nrachs sitting on a throne made from creature bones as Nrachs surrounded it. The majority of the children (Neban couldn't help but call them that) were mostly globs while the rest were in their original forms with disfigured faces, showing they were undead.
The king looked at them, smiling like a predator that found food. But its smile dropped when its gaze landed on Siren. "A human holding that demon. How dare you touch it with your filthy hands! Babies, kill the humans, feast on their flesh, and give me that sword!"
The children stood up, it looked to be almost 200 of them, as they ran towards the group.
"Time," Neban asked as he tapped into copying the skills of a Mage.
"Forty-eight m-minutes left." Isona stuttered as she told Neban the time.
'More than enough.' Neban thought as he moved forward, meeting the monsters halfway. He picked up his free hand, facing it ahead as he used [Fire Blast x4].
Fire shot out of his hand, filling the area as it burned the monsters in the front of the horde.