Dungeon Menagerie 28 (Patreon)

Commissioned by InfiniteChaosRei

Dungeon Menagerie

Chapter 28

-VB-

It took her and her entourage less than an hour to reach and enter the Dungeon.

And it was here that the Celestial Menagerie decided to activate. With no way for her to hide it… she decided to come clean to the one of the most trustworthy and the least trustworthy people (so far) in Orario.

She dragged them to a side room.

“Bell, Lili, I need to tell you something,” she said to them quickly. “I have a skill. A unique skill. It lets me summon creatures. I don’t control it!” 

The Menagerie reached out.

Bell and Lili looked at her in surprise. 

And then there was a burst of light. 

“Squig.”

All three of them - and all of her Friends - turned to look at something small that sounded … hoggish. 

It was red. It was round. It had two legs and two very stubby arms. 

It was … its head and body seemed to be one thing instead of separate parts. 

It rolled out a tongue and stared up at her.

“... Yeah,” she finished off lamely. “All of my Friends came to me like this.”

Bell opened and closed his mouth before nodding. “They’re still your friends, right?”

She looked back at him and smiled. Bell’s just this kind of guy, huh? “Yeah.”

Lili, however, was less enthusiastic.

Especially when the “squig” turned to look at her with its wide-open, drooling, and tongue lapping mouth.

“... So what does this thing do?” Lili asked. 

Vanessa looked down at the … squig. 

… 

… It just existed. 

It turned and looked at her, and she noticed it shedding … spores?

Whatever.

“... It looks mean enough.”

The squig preened as if that was a good compliment. 

“Wait, so Mori also…?” Bell asked, and she sighed.

Of all times that the Menagerie had to act up, it had been right here inside the Dungeon.

“Yes,” she replied. 

“So they aren’t monsters…?”

“... Not the strictest sense, no,” she shrugged. “But we still need those magic crystals to save Chrysalismon.”

It took Bell a moment to get his wits back after the revelation, but Lili looked like she needed a bit more time. 

But Vanessa didn’t have time.

“Ask your questions we go through the Dungeons,” she dictated before she gestured for everyone to start moving. 

-VB-

Deften was a cunning man. He liked to think that he knew how to keep things quiet, if you know what he means. 

But when the King himself showed up with Soma and an offer…

He knew he had to take it. 

“... We’ll wait for a bit before moving in,” he told his people. There were two dozen guys, some of whom were from his familia and others who weren’t but Deften trusted not to rat the rest of them out. 

“Why not just go in?” Renges, a Chianthrope, asked him. 

“Because the bitch is stronger than she looks,” he replied with ease. “Otherwise, our client wouldn’t have asked us to gather twenty level 2’s to take her down.”

“Oh shit. She’s like level 3 or something?” someone else asked. 

“Has to be,” he hummed. “But the other two are supposed to be Level 1’s. The client specifically stated that they weren’t to be touched at all.”

Renges grunted. “Has to be some goddess for a thing for soft looking boys.”

“Could be the girl.”

“That girl? Nah. There aren’t many gods and goddesses that like the animal ears.”

“Ssshhh! What if someone hears you say that? We don’t want trouble before we get in the Dungeon, ya hear me?!” Deften hissed at the idiot, who raised his hands up in surrender. “So the deal is simple. We want them tired when we attack. It’s even better if they’re wounded. It’ll make it easy for us to kill the tall girl and kidnap the other two. Aight?”

“... What about her corpse afterwards?”

Everyone turned to look at the woman who spoke up.

“... I don’t care,” Renges groaned. 

“I don’t care either. As long as I don’t see what happens to it,” Deften added his own two cent.

“What?! Don’t look at me like that! At least I don’t inconvenience the living with permissions or whatever.”

There really were freaky people out there.

-VB-

Vanessa tore through the monsters on the Upper Floors with ease. 

Her spear and sword blurred, and she chainsawed her way across the horde of monsters that tried to block her way.

Behind her, Mori and Bell were hot on her tail, dispatching any monster she missed. Chauky, Lili, and … the Squig did their best to keep up with them while scooping up any magic crystals that were easy to pick out.

Their plan wasn’t to farm the monsters in the Upper Floors.

No, Vanessa wanted to get down to the highest Middle Floor and farm the monsters there for the best magic crystals. It was the best she could get in the shortest amount of time, and she doubted that she could go any lower.

And if she encountered enough dragons before that, then she might not have to venture down there. 

She ducked under a suicide bombing bat, swatted it aside, and bisected a kobold at the end of the same swing. 

She let out a explosive breath of air before sucking in with a hiss. 

She needed to kill better..

She needed to go harder. 

But ultimately, she needed to get back quickly enough that Chrysalismon could survive whatever Void infection Vel’Koz caused. 

And if she ever pulled Vel’Koz, she was going to kill that bastard! 

-VB-

Freya smiled after Ottar explained his plan to her. 

It was a very simple plan.

Ottar approached some lowlives to kill the girl, bring Bell and her familia member to a hidden location, and Ottar would dispatch the “kidnappers” and save Bell in the name of his goddess. 

Bell would appreciate her, if nothing else, for saving him and his familia member. But it would be too bad that the other girl died deep down in the dungeon.

“Thank you, dear,” she cooed and gave him a kiss on his forehead.

Ottar liked it when she did that.