Like any other day, she returned to her usual fishing spot. The water here was calmer than elsewhere, steady and quiet beneath the crystal light. It was one of the few places where she could sit without constantly listening for footsteps.
But before she could catch any fish, a strange noise echoed across the entire floor.
Sharp cracks. Distant bursts. It had echoed through the cavern like something striking the Dungeon itself.
She had retreated at first.
The sounds were wrong. It was Not like usual monsters fighting and definitely Not like adventurers something in her instincts told her to stay hidden.
When the noise finally stopped, curiosity began to outweigh caution.
So she came to investigate.
The air near the river still carried a weird sent. The stone along the far wall bore shallow scorch marks that had not been there before. Something powerful had passed through this area.
She crouched near the edge of the water, white scales catching the soft blue glow from the ceiling crystals. Her tail curled loosely behind her, the tip moving in slow, thoughtful arcs.
Then she noticed it.
Something floating.
It hovered several body lengths above her, round and pale, with a single dark lens fixed in her direction. It did not flap. It did not breathe. It made the most weird sound she have ever heard.
She narrowed her eyes.
"New monster?" she murmured quietly.
It did not respond. It did not attack either.
It simply watched.
Her head tilted slightly without conscious thought. The floating skull adjusted its angle in return, maintaining a careful distance. Not retreating. Not advancing.
Strange.
If it were a monster, it was the calmest one she had ever seen.
She took one cautious step forward. The construct shifted subtly, drifting back just enough to preserve space while keeping its focus locked on her.
Her curiosity deepened.
She extended her senses carefully. There were no other immediate movements nearby. No monster scent. No territorial pressure. Just the quiet river, the dim glow of crystals, and the hovering skull.
Then she felt it.
A subtle distortion in the air behind her.
Not loud. Not violent. Just… a presence where there had been none.
Her muscles tensed instantly. Her tail stiffened.
She turned.
A figure stood on a rock outcropping across the shallow stretch of river.
Red cloth hung from its body, heavy and layered, the color deep against the blue glow of the crystals above.
Its face was hidden behind a smooth metallic mask. No visible expression. No visible eyes. Just a cold surface reflecting faint light.
Behind it, several long shapes extended outward.
Tentacles.
Not flesh. Not scales. Something darker. They shifted slightly in the air, curling and uncurling without sound.
What kind of monster was this?
It did not smell like one.
It simply stood there, red cloth hanging still, the strange tentacles behind it shifting in slow, deliberate motions.
Her instincts did not scream.
They got confused.
Then it spoke.
"Follow me."
The voice was just cold with no emotion behind.
Her tail flicked once.
All the experience she had honed in the Dungeon told her the same thing—do not follow strange things that appear without sound.
She took a small step backward instead.
The figure did not took any action against her.
So she turned sharply, scanning for an escape route. But what she found was
Three floating skull around her.
One was entirely metal, smooth and polished, its single red light fixed directly on her.
The other two were worse.
They looked almost like human heads fused with metal, hollow eyes replaced with faint glow. Not fully flesh. Not metal Suspended in the air as if gravity did not apply to them.
They drifted slowly into position, closing off the open angles without rushing her. She felt it immediately. Not panic—calculation. One figure across the river. Three floating above. The space that had been open moments ago was now subtly restricted.
When she stepped back, the metal skull adjusted its height. The other two shifted with it, not attacking, not lunging, simply correcting their formation as if they had anticipated her movement. That was what unsettled her most. Monsters attacked. Adventurers shouted. These things did neither.
They were guiding her position without force, tightening space without touching her. Her tail lowered slightly as understanding settled in. Whatever this red-clothed being was, it was not going to let her go.
When the figure turned and began walking away, as though certain she would follow, she made her decision. The instant his back faced her, she lunged—fast and silent, claws aimed at his head. But she never reached him.
Before her strike could land, The dark tentacles behind him moved all at once, coiling around her mid-air and stopping her momentum instantly. Cold restraints wrapped around her waist and limbs in the same breath,with absolute force.
She twisted violently, claws scraping against smooth, unyielding surfaces, tail lashing in frustration. The restraints adjusted and countering each movement as though anticipating it.
The red-clothed figure did not turn around, did not slow, did not even acknowledge her attempt. He simply continued forward. Suspended and held in place, she was carried away from the place.
Back at the riverbank camp the small controlled flame crackled softly as Daphne stared down into the pot with narrowed eyes. The broth had thickened into something darker, a thin layer of oil circled the surface in slow, uncertain patterns.
She lifted the spoon, examined the liquid coating it, then lowered it again with visible hesitation.
"It looks worse than it did five minutes ago,"
she muttered under her breath.
For a moment, she considered abandoning the attempt and returning to nutrition packs. At least she knew how they taste.
Before she could decide what to do movement caught her attention .
She looked up.
Luthar was walking back along the riverbank, red robes heavy against the stone, mechanical appendages shifting quietly behind him.
He was not alone.
Suspended within the dark mechanical limbs was a small white-scaled girl, restrained firmly at the waist and arms. The girl was awake. Her tail lashed once in clear irritation as she didn't wish to be here.
Daphne straightened slowly.
"…What did you bring back?"
Luthar stepped onto the flatter ground near the camp and halted a short distance from the flame.
"She is not a standard hostile creature," he replied evenly.
"That wasn't my question."
The appendages adjusted slightly, lowering the girl just enough for her feet to brush the ground while still preventing escape.
Daphne looked between the girl and the pot.
"Please tell me you didn't just capture a Dungeon creature for no reason."
Luthar's gaze moved toward the pot.
"You expressed uncertainty regarding its edibility."
Daphne blinked.
"…So you brought her to test it?"
"she have ability to speak so we can just feed her then ask about the test"
The white-scaled girl stared at both of them, clearly aware she was being discussed.
She looked at the pot again. The broth bubbled thickly.
Then at the restrained girl.
Then back at Luthar.
"…You caught someone because I doubted the soup."
"I have no such a thoughts ," he corrected calmly. "I found her interesting so I got her here as for testing the soup it's a separate issue"
Daphne exhaled slowly.
"…This is not normal "
The servo-skulls continued hovering overhead, indifferent to everything.
Author's Note:
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