Selling Drugs in the Dungeon should be a profitable business, no? Chapter 16 (Patreon)

“Usually, you’re not this calm when you are about to scold me.” My voice – My old Voice – speaks up.

I ‘blink’ awake, finding myself standing before a place I’ve been missing dearly.

My family home in the woods, back on Earth.

And out of the door walk two figures, and one of them makes my ‘eyes’ sting with tears. My father.

His enormous form casts an imposing figure, mixed with his large mane of untamed black hair and huge graying beard, it made him all the more menacing.

But also earned him the nickname of ‘Papa Bear’ from us when we were young. He loved it, but acted like he hated it.

Behind him was… me. My old me. A young, teen old me.

Father grunts softly, large ax in hand. “That’s when you fuck up real bad.” His rough voice rumbles, his stride never slowing down as he descends down the steps from our home in the woods.

Old me pauses momentarily before following Father in the shed, “And I didn’t this time? I got suspended for what I did.”

Again, Father just grunts, “Ain’t an expulsion.” He then stops and turns his head towards ‘Me’, large hand lifting the ax in his old, “Unless ya want yer ass to turn purple.”

Old Me smartly raises his hands in surrender, “I ain’t complaining. Just curious.”

I find myself following them, an old memory coming to life as I watch my past self and my Father walk to the shed where we keep the wood logs and branches for the fireplace.

It’s been a while since I’ve dreamed of home. Since I dreamed of my family.

“...Why did you do it?” Father asks ‘Me’, his voice soft yet still rough and strong.

‘I’ pause as Father grabs a log and sets it down, before placing a much smaller one on top of it.

Then, ‘my’ shoulders shrug, “Just because.” Father’s ax comes down, splitting the upper log and going nearly half-way through the lower one before stopping.

The ax comes back up, and Father gives me ‘me’ a stare, “They needed ten people to pull you off that kid.” He says softly, and ‘I’ flinch, “Ten. Fucking. People.”

“I saw the cameras. I know you.” Another log is placed atop the half-split one, “You wanted that kid dead. Your hand was covered in his blood. Look at how fucked up it is now.” ‘I’ do, and stare down at a bandages covered right hand.

It was still stained with blood.

“So… Why did you do it, son?” ‘I’ pause. ‘My’ breath shudders.

Both logs are split in half.

Two more take their place.

And ‘I’ speak, “He insulted Mom.” Both logs are split in half, and the ax gets stuck in the wooden plan below. “And having him below me, face covered in blood while everyone tried to pull me away… It felt good.”

Father remains silence. Two more logs are cut in half.

‘I’ raise a confused brow, “This should be the time you scold me… Or something.” Slowly, Father stops and fully straightens himself.

A long breath leaves his beard-covered lips, ruffling those graying hair. “I’m more mad you got pulled off by ten motherfuckers. Were it me, they’d need fifty- Fuck that, that son of a bitch woulda been dead already.”

‘I’ groan.

While I laugh to myself. Good ol’ dad.

Funny thing is that he surely ain’t lying.

“I’m not gonna scold you.” Father says, tapping the ax blade against ‘my’ chest. “You are young. You make mistakes. You learn. You grow better. That’s the whole fuckin’ point about growing up.”

‘I’ lick ‘my’ dry lips and breathe out, “I feel a ‘But’ coming.”

“But.” Father stresses out the word with a sigh, “It’s time we get that temper of yours in check, my boy.”

‘My’ gaze strays towards the other side of the shack, “Easier said than done.”

Father chuckles and nods in agreement, “Oh, I know that well. It ain’t just the anger that is hard to control…” His huge form bends over to stack two more logs on top of each other, “It’s the fact that we like it.”

“We like the violence. The blood.” ‘I’ chew on ‘my’ lower lip. Another log is split in half. “You’ve had that since you were young, my boy. Took it from me, unfortunately.”

Another log is stacked atop the still intact one. ‘I’ turn ‘my’ gaze towards Father yet again, “How did you learn to control it?”

And both logs are cut in half. “’Cause I had no choice.” Father’s voice cracks lightly, filled with emotions.

My ‘eyes’ wrench shut, yet I can still see everything. Seeing Father like this was a rarity.

I’ve only seen him week on mom’s funeral, or during the anniversary of her passing.

He only looked so weak, so fragile, so… small, when it came to Mom. Not even on his death bed did he look weak or fragile.

A chuckle escapes my ‘lips’. Pretty sure he was just waiting for Death, so that he could throw hands one last time.

“I met your Mother,” His voice was filled with emotions. With love and adoration. “She was… so small. So adorable. So… fragile. Like I could break her if I hugged her a little too tightly.” ‘I’ snort faintly.

“We both know you’d be the one getting snapped under her hugs.”

“Damn straight.” A good and short chuckle is shared.

Then, Father straightens himself, “I fell in love.” The ax head rests on the floor, and his gaze grows distant. “And I realized that I had to change. That I wanted to be the best Me possible, just for her.”

“That I didn’t want her to see the monster I was before… So I changed. Because I needed to.” A large hand grasps ‘my’ shoulder, giving ‘my’ smaller body a light shake. “It ain’t something I’m expecting you to learn to do by tomorrow. Just… try it for me, son.”

“You’re better than me. Always have been. So… Conquer that desire.”

I breathe out softly. I… lost myself in my fight against Nemea.

I was enjoying the violence and the blood that came with it. The sheer thrill of being able to hit someone and not be afraid that they’d die is… amazing.

Yet also horrifying.

And I have an inkling that this newfound fear of loosing myself to this thrill, to this desire for violence and blood, to fight as much as I want… Is all because I do not wish to become like those Cultivators I’ve read about.

I do not wish to become an unfeeling monster. I do not wish to just forget what my Father told me.

I should find the line between ‘Enjoyment’ and ‘Too much’.

“...I miss her, Dad.” ‘I’ whisper softly, allowing large and strong arms to wrap around me.

“I know, son. So do I.”

And the memory flows away.

I wanted to scream. To drag it back. To make me look at him longer. To hear his voice or feel his hugs once more.

But it’s long gone now. Has been for decades.

My eyesight grows blurry, my senses numb… Yet I can feel myself resting on something soft and warm.

I can feel gentle fingers through my hair and on my cheek.

My eyes peeks towards the owner, and I catch strands of silver hair.

Meteria? Alfia?- No, neither of them…

Warm fingers brush hair off my face, and my blurry eyes fall on a flawless face, then meet glowing ruby-like eyes.

Who is she?

A loving smile spreads across a flawless face- And suddenly I find myself stirring awake.

Yet not in the real world, but within my Soulscape.

My Heart Devil stares back at me through the reflection of the clear surface of water below me.

The water stirs and ripples, my once numb senses sharpening once more. A copy of my Bladey appears in my grasp, almost if everything around me could feel my intent.

By fighting it- Killing it, I’d basically be doing what I want to avoid. Further violence. More anger being released.

“I’m not better than you, Father.” I’ll never be. He is embodies everything I want to be… Yet I never want to reach that level, because then what else will I have to strive towards to?

Do I keep raising his pedestal? Making him grander so I can chase after his progressively bigger shadow?

Do I just keep on running?

Or do I face this thingstaring back at me?

My first Heart Devil. My Anger.

Do I just face it with more anger? With more violence?

I take a step forward, and watch as it rises out of the water a dozen meters ahead of me, shadowy form billowing and growling with fury, glowing blood-red eyes never leaving my form.

A blade in his grasp, ready to be met by mine at any violent movement.

“What do I do with you?” I whisper aloud, seeking no answer. Just an escape from this feeling. Just time to think.

And yet… An answer is given to me.

“You face it.” A warm, ethereal voice speaks up from right beside me. Gentle steps resound upon the wet surface of water, and I breathe out.

Before turning to face the other resident in my Soul.

Flawless is the first word that comes to mind. Beautiful. Perfect.

White-beige hair that descend down to the back of her knees, fading into an ashy color by the end. Fair skin, ruby like eyes, the same beautiful and warm face I saw before appearing here.

Tall, maybe a bit taller than me, and clad in a long golden dress

There are many things I wish to say. Many questions I wish to ask.

But for now…

“Face it?” I repeat, turning my gaze towards the thingjust waiting for me to attack. “The cycle will just repeat itself then.”

The woman hums lowly, naked feet taking slow steps forward and around me, hands resting behind her back. “A cycle, huh?” She repeats lowly, a light smile on her lips, “Anger fuels violence, violence begets more violence.”

“One hateful act begets another… Sounds like anything you know?” Her gaze flicks up to meet mine with a knowing glint.

She comes from one of thoseCultivation worlds.

“I’m sure you know better than me.” Her gaze falls, and her steps resume.

“That I do. Unfortunately.” Her voice was barely a whisper, yet I manage to catch it. “A never-ending cycle indeed… But that is not what I told you, was it?” I pause at those words.

What?

I turn to face her, and her smiling visage fills my vision. “I told you to face it. To face your Heart Devil.” She repeats, and understanding dawns upon me.

“But I interpreted it in a violent way…” I whisper, nearly wanting to throw up at the fact that that’s the first solution that came to my mind at those words.

The woman hums and nods softly, “The way you interpret things may lead to many errors…” Again, she’s hinting back at her world. The Cultivation Worlds.

A simple act, even a kind gesture, may be interpreted as derisive. A mocking gesture instead of a kind one. A scornful gesture out of pity.

Yet, it was but an act of kindness taken wrong. It gives rise to anger, which fuels hate…

Which then sparks violence.

Death soon follows it’s wake, for that is how those worlds are.

“...So, sometimes, an outside perspective is needed. To give advice, a different interpretation of what is before you.” I lower my gaze to the reflective water surface and breathe in. “Or a light shove to get you started.”

And a light shove is what I get.

My eyes widen as I stumble forward, a faint giggle echoing out from behind me as my Heart Devil lunges forward with a roar.

Anger poured off it’s form and flowed into me.

Memories of when my anger prevailed surface and flash before my very eyes.

A young me, throwing their toy at the wall and breaking it when it ran out of battery while I was playing.

A kid me, roughly shoving another one down the slide when they were taking too long to get down.

A young teen me, screaming at my Mom in anger for being unable to take me to a friend’s birthday party.

A late teen me, nearly killing that same ‘friend’ after he insulted my late mother.

A me in my twenties, putting my fist through the car window of the man that crashed into me. His kids in the backseat.

And finally… Me, leaving my home for one last time. To hunt a man down, and break him with my bare hands.

That and more flow through me. Over and Over.

I’m mad. I’m always mad. It’s always there, deep down, waiting for release.

The Heart Devil howls, drawing closer, and my blade is in my grip.

I regain my footing and stare at the distorted version of myself lunging at me… Then toss my blade away, letting it sink into the water.

A shadowy form slams into me… only to disperse and flow past me as smokey wisps that fade into thin air after a few seconds, much to my shock.

I blink and stare down at my chest, where a sword should have gone through, before turning back to stare at the woman’s smiling visage.

“I don’t feel any different…” No burst of enlightenment. No surge in power or some bullshit like that.

The woman chuckles at my words, “It’s a Placebo Effect.” She says with no small amount of amusement, though there is no small amount of annoyance in her eyes. “It is something that I have comprehended just recently.”

But the memories she gave me… Those cultivators using their Elders to slay their Heart Devil, so to gain a burst of ‘enlightenment’ and-

Then it clicks. “Ah, I get it now…” The woman’s smile grows, her form coming to a stop before me. “The Heart Devil acts as a nagging annoyance at the back of your neck, stopping one from fully concentrating on their Cultivation.”

A proud glint surfaces in her glowing eyes, and a low nod soon follows, “That is my conclusion too. By having the Heart Devil cleansed, one suddenly feels their mind to be more clear.”

“A burst of enlightenment hits, further progress in one’s Cultivation is done, they excel at what they do best… And then suddenly, they start lagging back once more.”

I sigh softly, “The thought of the Heart Devil return. Maybe just as a stray thought, maybe due to a failure in comprehending a technique, or in any other failure, really.”

...A never ending cycle indeed.

All because we are the ones starting it.

Wegive rise to it, wemake it stronger, weput doubt within ourselves, wefear it, we hate it… And we use violence to get rid of it.

“Then, in the end, this really didn’t do anything?” It’s a bit disappointing, but oh well.

I pause when the woman just smiles softly at me, her eyes never leaving mine. “Is that what you think?” A soft hand comes up to cup my cheek, making me feel it’s warmth. I don’t pull away and hold her gaze. “Then, let me tell you how I interpreted what I witnessed.”

I blink, then lean back and let her do so.

“’Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.’ is the quote that came to your mind before you decided to follow the Path of a Sword Cultivator. A path where one either takes their own life when they can advance no further, or where they fall in battle, having met their match. A Path of Violence and Death.”

“Yet, you also decided to become a Philanthrophist, thus taking on the Path of Alchemy. Once used for greed and further growing one’s strength, now turned into a way for you to simply be a doctor. To make medicine and help others. A Path of Benevolence and Life.”

I close my eyes and breathe out. Her hand is warm, and her voice is soft.

But she falls quiet, hand slowly slipping off my cheek, depriving me of it’s warmth.

“You tossed your sword away.” She whispers lowly, my eyes opening to meet hers. “You didn’t match violence with further violence. You didn’t rip your Heart Devil apart. You tossed your sword away… and embraced your faults.”

“You broke the cycle. I believe that’s a step in the right direction, no?” Maybe. I hope it is.

I don’t feel different. My views don’t seem different. But… I understand myself more now.

The thrill of battle, it’s nice. It’s refreshing, and it clears my head.

Yet, I bring myself down by calling it ‘Violence’. There will be blood, there will be pain… But as long as I don’t do it with evil intentions behind it, then it is not ‘Violence’. Well, the bad kind at least.

“It’ll just start again.” Her smile never disappears, even as I try to keep bringing myself down.

“Then you’ll just keep on breaking it. That, I believe, is what Heart Devils are for.” I turn my gaze to the endless expanse of water and clear skies, “To push us forward. Make us better.”

And for once… I actually start to like the scenery before me.

A place I’ve always wanted to visit in my past life became something that represents me. Something I’ve found disgusting since I discovered it.

A sigh leaves my nostrils, and my shoulders sag lightly. Finally, my eyes meet glowing ruby-like ones. “I’m still mad that you pushed me.” The woman blinks, then bursts out in a peal of beautiful laughter.

“Oh, don’t be a baby!” She lightly slaps my arm with her hand before drawing back, her face relaxing back into her usual warm smile and gentle looks.

I stare at her, and she stares at me, and we remain like that for several seconds.

I, because I cannot decide on what to ask or say, and she because of her own reasons.

But finally, her eyes flick to the side. “We have much to talk about.” She whispers softly, and I chuckle at the understatement. “But alas, as much as I wish to sit down and chat with you for a long while, my time is running short.” Her gaze seems distant, like she’s looking at something that only she can see.

Yet her eyes swiftly flick back to meet mine, “Just know that we are alike.” I raise a brow, and her smile grows warmer. “A fresh beginning. I want that too… Like I want to make up for the mistakes of my past.” I see… I’m usually good at reading people with a glance, but the woman before me is good at hiding everything.

Still, I can see the weariness in her eyes. That she is tired, yet also hopeful.

“You’re injured.” I point out, mostly because it’s just a hunch.

Her smile doesn’t falter, but I can see a tinge of pride rise in her eyes. “My Soul is… fractured, for a lack of a better term. My physical body has also been destroyed, so there’s that too.”

Deep down I can’t help but wince at that.

The fuck did she go through that she came out so badly injured? I don’t know how bad a ‘fractured’ Soul is, but it sure as hell doesn’t sound mild.

“I presume that’s why you haven’t contacted me before.” I still don’t really know how to react to this.

It’s… weird.

First, I’m living a whole fucking trope right now. Like, seriously, what the fuck?

Second, there’s a stunning woman in my Soul. A woman who very likely has seen everything I’ve done since I’ve come to Orario.

The light cough on her fist and slight flush on her cheeks tells me that yes, she has seen everything. “Hard to give one their privacy when I reside deep within your Soul…” She whispers before shaking her head and moving the conversation along, “But yes, and no.”

“I could have contacted you a bit sooner, around… three months or so ago, give or take... But it would have been for a few minutes at most, with large gaps in-between.” Too little to do much then.

“Alas, I am not here to say excuses.” Taking in a deep breath, the woman straightens herself to give me a kind look, “I mean you no harm, and… I honestly cannot wait to talk to you more.” My eyes widen marginally when I see her form start to fade away, growing more and more transparent as the seconds pass by.

I… Gods, I have so many questions.

“What’s your name?” But I’ll settle to at least know the name of the woman who gave me the means to achieve what I have today.

I’ll trust her, for now. Not like I can really do anything else.

Her eyes widen minimally, clearly taken aback at what I decided to ask.

Before a beautiful smile pulls at her lips. “Ningguang.” She offers her smaller hand to me, and I gently take it with a smile of my own. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Riley.”

And with those final words, her whole form just fades away, like she was never here.

I should have thanked her.

The dream I had, where I saw Father once more… I’m sure that was her doing. She must’ve seen my inner turmoil and decided to help me deal with it in a way she knew would work.

Still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I’m living a goddamn trope.

Actually, what does Ningguang even think about this thing? If she went through my memories, then she must’ve seen those Cultivation Novels I spent far too long reading.

It must either feel weird, or hilarious. Or both.

Shaking away those thoughts, I clear my head and breathe out, allowing the Soulscape to fade away.

Then I stir and truly blink awake in the real world, tilting my head and loudly making my neck pop as I sigh through my nostrils.

I flick my gaze around, then relax when I find myself still on the large branch of a tree I picked to be my resting spot.

Bladey purrs from it’s spot beside me, and I lean to the side to peek down at the clearing below, where the Hera Familia made up camp.

It’s quite empty, other than the curled up form of Calydonia lounging like a cat on the Hera Familia carts, clearly guarding them while the rest is away and doing their own things.

Like looking for ingredients and still getting used to their new strength. It’s a lengthy process that has been going on for the whole week – at least I believe it’s been a week– we’ve been down here.

One day for each floor, from the 29thto the 36th. It hasn’t been a pleasant time, but I can’t really complain seeing as everyone here is doing this all for me.

It’s flattering, but I’d wish they do not push themselves too much and take time to rest.

I grunt and grab Bladey, then hop down from my tree, making Calydonia perk up slightly, her gray and fluffy ears going straight before her head rose up.

Huh… Was she asleep?

“Where’s everyone?” I ask as she stirs and stretches like a cat – pretty sure I hear some purrs too– something that looks quite adorable, might I say.

“Getting some last training in, gathering materials, that kind of stuff…” She drawls out before yawning, then nodding her head to the cart beside the one she is lounging on.

I blink, then move up to it, my eyes widening once I see the contents. “Well, damn…” It’s full of herbs, flowers, different kinds of fruits and peculiar roots.

And like I’ve done before with each floor we’ve been on, I swiftly start flicking through them all, tossing away those that are actually useless while breaking down and perfectly preserving the very useful ones.

Funny how the majority of plants born in a place where there’s only fighting and death can be useful to heal.

There are plenty of poisons too, and some ingredients that cause other kinds of damage.

Like some that can be used for a Pill that makes blood harden. It’s not really poisonous for Cultivators due to being able to use Qi to combat it’s effects, but for those that can’t?

Yeah, it can be quite deadly.

Pills can do plenty of things, but they can only fit an assassin, as one can’t really throw a Pill down someone’s throat in the middle of battle.

“Not many good ones this time, huh?” Calydonia muses from her perch as I dust off my hands. I nod lightly at her words, as I just threw away more than half of the gathered herbs and roots. And all the fruits.

Strangely enough, neither the fruits or their seeds are useful.

Oh well, there’s still a fantastic ingredient among them though. “At least the girls found this…” I muse to myself as I pick up a small, dried up and spiky root.

It’s poisonous, and it was part of a rose-like flower that was equally poisonous but held no great value other than being a decent ingredient for a very slow acting poison.

The root instead? It’s good for several things. It can still be used to make a far stronger poison due to how the one within it is.

The poison within the flower has been contaminated from the soil it grows in, giving rise to many impurities that will make up it’s slow acting poison due to being a polluting agent.

The one inside the root instead has a purifying effect, and I can use this as a substitute to create Impurity Cleansing Pills… Or to help me assist in the production of another Pill of far higher Tier, like the one needed to regrow Agnodice’s legs.

With it’s cleansing effect, I won’t have to worry too much about the excess impurities within the Pill, as this root can be used to cleanse a great deal of them.

And I have five of them. For a total of five tries.

“They look useless to me.” Calydonia sniffs, chin lazily dropping on her open furry palm, “What’s it good for?” She asks as her ears perk up momentarily, sharp green eyes shooting to the side for a split second before coming back to me.

I send a glance the way she did and see a distant figure approach the clearing, but I ignore it seeing as it’s a woman. “It can help me make the Pill that can regrow Agnodice’s missing limbs.” Not by a great deal, but I know that it’ll be quite important.

My words make Calydonia perk up a great deal, “And the other ingredient you need?” Yeah, that one.

I hope we can get it.

“That one is important for several reasons.” I sigh and lean against the cart, putting the dried up root safely aside. “It can help me just like this root, but to a far greater extent, and it can act as a great pain killer too. Plus, make sure the regrowth process actually goes by smoothly.”

“Honestly, without that ingredient, I fear my chance of success at making the Pill is around twenty percent or so. Withthe root added in.” And the Tier Two Furnace waiting for me to use it.

Albeit it’s a one in five chances, and me having exactly five roots… I do not trust my luck, plus I’d rather have that herb additional effects in the Pill, just to be safe.

Calydonia sighs and leans back, “So it’s very important, got it.” I hum, then glance her way.

“What’s wrong?” She looks… tired, and in a very bad mood too.

A sniff escapes her, “I’ll be honest, I’ve been all over the Floors around Moytura,-” That name sounds familiar… Right, it’s around where we might find the herb, “-and I’ve never seen a speck of life other than monsters trying to reap ours. Not even dead weed.” That doesn’t truly bode well.

“Plus, it’s around Balor, and…” She pauses, looking nervous, “That thing is possibly the strongest fucker down here- Until we find the next Monster Rex, that is.”

I sigh and cross my arms.

I haven’t been told much about this Balor, other than the fact that fighting in a one on one fight is suicide, as it excels at it.

Unlike the other Monster Rex types, this one is around the size of a human… And horrifyingly fast and deadly.

Even Kirin said that her chances against the thing aren’t high. Wonder how she would fare now that she has her true strength at her disposal though.

“We’ll just have to hope, then…” Plus, not many of us will go down there. It’ll probably just be me, Kirin, Calydonia and Alfia.

By their words, if we run we can reach those floors within just two dozen minutes and come back just as fast.

Especially since Zald and Leonidas already cleared the way and had their group slay Udaeus, another Monster Rex.

Some got badly injured, but nothing fatal or crippling, luckily.

“But that’s not what I meant by the question, by the way.” I point out, making the tired woman throw me a confused look. “You look… well, like shit. What’s wrong?”

She blinks her tired eyes a few times before shrugging. “Juno decided to send Atalanta and some of the other girls back with one of the carts.” I blink and look around, noticing that the cart holding the Leviathan’s fins is indeed gone.

Since when thought? I didn’t even notice.

“Why is that?”

A low growls escapes Calydonia’s lips, “She feared the Zeus Familia fuckers would retreat before us and take the glory of what you did for themselves.” I didn’t do that alone, but yeah, Nemea did kind of say Socrates wouldn’t shy away from doing that.

“They are making a stray shot for the surface with no breaks, so I’m just worried…” She sighs and lounges back on the cart, looking rather depressed. “Doesn’t help the fact that the fuckers have finally left. Either because they noticed something wrong way too late, or because they have seen enough.”

I hum and hop on the cart beside her, taking a seat beside her lounging and slumped form. “I hate to admit it, but Socrates is smart. I can tell he is planning something, so do be careful…” She whispers softly, making me smile.

Then grin teasingly down at her. Her ears instantly twitch, even her tail goes straight as she senses the coming danger. “Aw~!Didn’t know you cared about me so much!”

I pat her head, making her lock up for several long seconds.

Her eyebrows twitches, same as her right eye, her face flushing more and more- Until finally, she screams.

Then starts hissing at me, claws digging into the cart and her back rising up behind her. Just like an angry cat.

How cute.

“D-D-Don’t you fuckin’ touch me!”

“I just wanna scratch your fluffy ears! Come on!”

“No! Fuck you!”

Hah, she fell into my trap.

“Do it yourself, coward!” I shout back, then scream when she lunges at me with a ferocious hiss.

Still, my scream turns into a cackle as my back hits the wooden cart, my hands grasping Calydonia’s wrists as her sharp claws try to scratch my face. “Man, you are feisty!”

I may be playing with fire, but watching her squirm and flush so much is so fun!

“I’ll fuckin’ kill you!”

My answer is making kissy faces her way.

Her scream gets downright hysterical.

Now, for the final blow-

“If you wanted to sit on my lap, ya just had to ask, you know?” Her whole form locks up, color draining from her face as she stares down at our position.

She tackled me, then ended up on top of me, her form pressing against mine.

Her form which is very revealing, especially down below.

Luckily I can contain my urges, because goddamn I’ve been feeling her rather large behind grind against my crotch for several seconds now.

Damn hormones. Even with me being close to my twenties they still haven’t gotten better.

Might be because I am surrounded by gorgeous women.

I push away those thoughts and blink up at Calydonia’s still frozen form, “You broken?” She twitches, then drops her head and headbutts my chest. Hard.

Oof…

Then, finally, she whines loudly into my robes before slowly rolling off of me, face flushed quite hard. “I hate you.” She growls, her back turned to me.

I just cackle and lean on my side, dropping my cheek on my palm. “But now you are distracted!” I point out, making her throw a glare back at me.

“Really?” She doesn’t sound impressed. What a kill-joy. “Your way of distracting people is stupid.” She’ll never understand how amusing it is to see her suffer.

Still, hopefully- “Thanks.” I pause and blink, then throw the woman a look.

Her back is still turned to me, but her tail is swaying slowly behind her.

I huff softly and smile, “You’re welcome.” I lean down and on my back, then reach for my pouch.

Slowly, I fish out a Healing Pill from one of the containers and reach over to pat Calydonia on the arm. Her head tilts to stare at my hand, and the Pill held between two fingers. “They help with fatigue too.” An added and welcome effect to the Pills.

I wait, then wait… But the Pill isn’t taken from me.

I turn my head, then deadpan. Calydonia is just there, with her mouth wide open, waiting for me to drop- And then she chomps on my fingers.

I snatch my hand back, minus the pill, and throw her a very not amused look, while she throws a smug one my way as she gulps the Pill down.

Her revenge, I presume.

I shall torture her further next time.

I pull back and return my gaze to the ceiling of the Dungeon… Only to stare straight into Kirin’s eyes.

Squatted down behind me, chin and cheeks in her hands, sweet and cute smile on her face.

But holy hell did she scare the shit out of me for a second there.“When did you get here?” Her smile just grows. Quit being so adorable, woman.

I wonder, what if… “Ei.” And her face melts into an adorable toothy grin.

Yep, still works.

“I’m gonna end up with cavities if I watch this for a few more seconds.” Juno’s grumble reaches my ears, making me perk up- Then raise a brow at her messed up appearance.

Even Kirin looks a bit dirtied up, now that I look at her better. “The hell happened to you two?”

“Training.” Was their immediate answer. I don’t miss the way Juno reeks of smoke, or how some of her hair look burnt up.

Must’ve gotten zapped by Kirin… Heh.

“How did it go?” I lean my head back down- And now it’s on Kirin’s lap. This woman…

She’s trying to whistle innocently, but turns out that she sucks at it. Just like Meteria.

Juno sighs and crosses her arms below her bust, “Not well. We can’t really go all out and explore our full power down here. It’s too… dangerous.” Hn? I wonder why…

Thought that explains why I got scolded for being so heavy handed after my spar with Nemea.

We did fuck up one of the previous floors, after all.

“Do it on the surface then.” I shrug, “There’s a lot of empty land. You can go wild there.” Something I plan to use for my sparring session with Alfia.

Juno hums softly, “Something to keep in mind. But now…” I tilt my head towards her when she reaches into one of the carts and pulls out a large horn.

Then blows into it, releasing a loud and resounding roar through the floor.

The recall signal. Guess it’s finally time to move?

“We’ll be moving quickly.” Kirin speaks up this time, her fingers combing through my untied hair. “While everyone rests up and packs up, we’ll be moving down to the deeper floors and rely on Calydonia to see if we can find anything.”

If not, I have five low chances of success. And even then, the Pill might not work perfectly.

“Don’t feel pressured.” Juno tells me as I sigh and hop off the cart, offering Kirin a hand to help her down too. “We’ll be overjoyed if you succeed, and we won’t be mad if you fail.” True.

I can always try again later if I fail all attempts, but still… Oh well, I’d best not worry too much.

I have a lot of stuff to think about now, so much to ponder on with a more relaxed mindset and in a more calm setting, so adding worries won’t really help me.

Hence, I sit back and relax as the supporters and all the other girls started pouring back into camp.

Alfia is among the first to come back, and just like all the other girls, she looks quite tired, though she hides it well.

It’s clear that sleeping in here isn’t nice one bit. It’s the thick, malicious atmosphere and the constant worries of the monsters being close by, even with Calydonia keeping watch thanks to her sharp senses.

Plus, one can’t even know how long they have rested down here without a day-night cycle.

It’s vexatious, which I believe is the most horrid part of the Dungeon as a whole.

But it’s clear that the mood is much better now, as everyone knows we’ll finally be going back. Just one more day, then I can spoil and bully Meteria.

Might as well prepare myself for her hugs. I fear that my bones will not survive.

Neither will Alfia’s.

Then a thought comes to my mind.

“What is it?” Alfia asks me softly, leaning against my left side as I blink a few times in realization.

“I think I might get struck by lighting once I get out of the Dungeon.” My Qi Palace has been fully upgraded, meaning that I should expect nearly two dozen lighting bolts once I get out.

Fuck’s sake.

Bladey purrs, enjoying my suffering for some reason, while Alfia holds back a snort of her own. “Oh yeah? You find that funny? Then I shall hog Meteria’s attention all for myself once we get back.”

An absolutely horrified look crosses her heterochromatic eyes at my vicious, downright inhumane threat. “You monster.”

I turn my nose up at her, then glance towards the camp as I feel a weird tension in the air.

I blink as Juno seems to do a quick headcount with Kirin’s help, Calydonia standing strangely upright and on-guard as she sniffs the air.

Alfia’s gaze swiftly sharpens and narrows as she straightens herself just as Juno curses under her breath.

“She was here just a fuckin’ second ago.” Calydonia curses softly, “I saw her coming back while talking with Riley!” Talking with me… Ah, the figure I saw in the forest heading towards us.

Completely forgot about her… What the hell happened then? Did she disappear?

“Shall I sound the horn again?” Juno asks Kirin as me and Alfia approach them from behind.

This is getting worrying now. “Is someone missing?” Kirin’s attention turns towards me, worry and anger in her eyes. And in the eyes of all the other girls in the camp.

“Calypso is missing.” I raise a confused brow at the Vice Captain as she chews on her lower lip from worry.

“Miss Agnodice’s daughter.” Alfia helpfully supplies. I should probably get to know all the girls by name… Which might be dangerous knowing their desire to shatter my hips.

Miss Agnodice’s daughter…

“Oh, fuck…” Realization hits me like a meteor. And it hits Calydonia too, seeing how our wide eyes instantly meet. “Did she listen in on us?”

Furry claws ball into shaky fists as the gray haired woman snarls, “She might’ve… Don’t tell me that fucking idiot is trying to go to Moytura by herself?”

I couldn’t help the anger that starts burning in my chest at Calypso’s utter idiocy and carelessness.

If she reaches the Monster Rex before all of us, she’s guaranteed to die.

An expedition meant to help Agnodice will in turn take away her daughter.

That absolute fucking idiot.

I palm my face and sigh deeply and heavily.

I’m told that her arrogance led to her mother loosing both of her legs. Now, her idiocy is trying to make her mother lose her fucking daughter.

“Fuck it.” Everyone’s attention falls on me.

“I’m gonna go after her just so I can slap her in the face.”

And it was all going so damn well too!

If we ignore the fact that the Leviathan itself tried to body us outta nowhere, that is.

A.N. Next chapter will be shorter and shall come out quicker, and will mark the end of this short Dungeon trip!

Hope y’all enjoyed! And also, look towards Alfia’s spar with Riley, am cookin’ up some stuff for that! Wonder how you’ll take it, though…

And finally… The Drugs making of this fic about Drugs is coming soon!

Lotsa love for all the support! Like always!

Next on the list will be another chapter of Drugs, btw!

Toodles!

P.S. Due to some people seemingly requesting it, i am actually thinking and planning a possible Original Cultivation Novel with my own views and take on it. What do y'all think?