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Rating:
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Fandoms:
Parahumans Series - Wildbowダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか | DanMachi | Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Anime)
Characters:
Taylor Hebert | Skitter | WeaverQueen Administrator (Parahumans)Bell CranelHestia Familia (DanMachi)Tiona HiryuteLoki (DanMachi)Demeter
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English
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Published:2022-08-25Completed:2022-10-27Words:146,083Chapters:53/53Kudos:1,252Bookmarks:306Hits:60,447
Dungeon Warlord
bridielux
Chapter 7: Hatchling 1.6
Chapter Text
Hatchling 1.6
The kid surprised me.
He crouched to a ready position with a dagger and dove to the side as the warshadow flew at him.
I wasted no time in approaching–I refused to be shown up by a child. Besides, even if he did dodge and knew how to use that knife, he was still a kid.
"Hii-ya!" the kid shouted, swiping at the shadow with his blade.
The shadow flowed around and stretched out its knife like claws. The boy fell on his back and rolled.
My wasps hit the creature's eyes, obstructing its vision. My beetles were too slow to reach the creature on their own, and they were too heavy to be air-lifted. I once again formed the beetles in my hand from my excess miasma and I ran forward, reaching the boy and the monster.
I slammed my hand into the creature's back, feeling the cloth like skin fold around my palm as I shoved my beetles into it. Mandibles pinched and tore at its skin, while my other insects crawled through the holes, forcing their way in.
The creature hissed as it began deflating, a cloud of shadow flowing out from the holes.
The boy dove back in and stabbed the monster through where its neck should have been.
My beetles found the stone in the center of its chest and bit down, shattering it. The creature froze, seemed to expand, then exploded into black ash that dissipated.
The boy was left standing over where the creature had died, where my insects crawled on the floor where they failed.
"Where's the stone–" he started looking on the ground before seeing the bugs "-wha!" he shouted as he began stomping on them. "Miss Eina said there weren't supposed to be bugs in here! Were they inside the warshadow?"
I let the miasma return to me and swirl about my legs as he killed my insects. As I could reform them easily enough, I was not overly offended.
"They were mine," I said. "You were looking for me?" I asked, returning to the subject.
"Ah yours?" he asked nervously, then seeing the shadows swirl about me. "Mage?"
I shrugged.
"Ahh… sorry for stomping them–they startled me was all."
"Why were you looking for me?"
"Goddess Echidna asked my Goddess to send me to find you."
"Why."
"You've been down here for over a day… and Lady Echidna was worried."
"So they sent a child down?!" I seethed. Of all the reckless things to do, sending a child into a monster farm seemed high on the list.
"Hey! I might be young but don't underestimate me!"
I took a deep breath. I should know better than anyone how effective kids could be. But still. Why send kids to fight when plenty of adults were just as effective? What was wrong with this world? I realized I had spent too long fuming. The kid was looking like he bit into a lemon.
"Apologies," I said. "Child soldiers are a sensitive topic."
"Huh?" He asked. "Anyways… where's the stone? The warshadow should have had a decent sized one."
"My magic destroyed it to kill it," I explained. He looked crestfallen.
"That… huh. It would have been worth more than the usual monsters. Wonder what it was doing up here anyways?"
"Oh?"
"They're normally on the sixth floor…" He scratched behind his head after sheathing his dagger.
"Hm." I began turning back to my hunt.
"Hey wait a second!" he shouted after me. "Where're you going?! Are you collecting your stuff? We need to get back! Your Goddess must be really worried if she asked Lady Hestia to send me down here."
"Pass along word that I am well then," I said. Only one hallway off the atrium was still green. Other adventurers had filtered in over the past few hours, though most of them had gone deeper on to the floor, or to lower levels.
"But…" Bell kept up with me. "Don't you want to sleep? Take a break? I know what it's like to want to be a hero, but rest is important! And besides, your Goddess was worried!"
I had been slowing down. And while my hunger and thirst had been satiated by the stones, my body felt sluggish and tired. Perhaps he had a point?
"Hey Miss Taylor, where's your stuff?" Bell asked, following along behind me. "You bags and weapons? You've been down here a while right? Don't you have a ton of stones?"
"No."
"...were you robbed?" he gasped.
I pressed my eyes shut and stopped walking. This kid… was pissing me off. Was it my fatigue? Or the strain of the world pressing down upon my shoulders? I could not simply rest, not now that I was on a path that would grant power. But the flesh was weak.
"And your clothes–" he pointed at the tears and bloodstains. "You–you need to take better care of yourself!" He said. "The moment you lost your weapon and bag, you should have come straight back to the top!"
"My magic is my weapon," I told him. To elaborate, I formed an Executioner Wasp and had it land on my finger. I held it out for him. He shuddered.
"Interesting magic… are you some kinda tamer too?"
I shrugged, not wanting to reveal more details on my skills, innate abilities, or… curses.
The wall cracked and a frog monster fell out, along with two of the wolf humanoids. I sent my wasps in as the boy shouted, "Look out!" He tried pushing me back. No, he did push me back. He was stronger than he looked. He held his dagger out and ready but froze as he saw the monsters thrash on the ground in pain.
My beetles and ants flowed across the ground like a carpet towards them, finishing them off and devouring their stones.
"As I said, my magic is sufficient."
"You–they–" he gulped. "But where are the stones?"
"My pets ate them," I gave him a thin smile, hoping the creep factor would send him away.
"Huh. Kind of a waste?" He continued following me when I progressed further. "I mean, what's the point of being down here otherwise?"
Another monster spawn, this time five of them. A carpet of venom attacked them and left me just slightly stronger than before.
"No magic stones again?! Wow. I mean, you're strong, but… don't you need to rest? … or eat?"
I shrugged.
"Yeah… You know, most new adventurers don't come down below the second floor. If I wasn't asked to find you, I probably wouldn't have either…" He trailed off as I found another spawn.
"Why are you down here anyways, if not for the stones?"
This kid. He just would not take the hint.
"Gaining strength," I answered, once more progressing onward.
"Then you should definitely come back up with me," he said. "I wanna get strong too, but it's important not to push ourselves so far that we make a mistake. It's tough to come back from injuries–" I waved my stump at him and he coughed "-or death? And also! You won't actually get stronger until your Falna gets updated. So you should definitely come back up with me."
Another spawn, this time more frogs. Both the kid and I dodged the tongues, though he cut one with his knife when it went by. I finished them off and my swarm grew several wasps stronger.
But that last part he said caused me to pause before progressing down further. I had been growing in strength, with each dungeon stone my swarm devoured. I had previously been content with this rate of growth, considering the Trump effect implemented and done.
But was there more to it? I did not know enough.
"How are Falna updated?" I asked.
"Oh wow, you don't know?" he asked, sounding surprised. I regretted asking my question. Speaking of revelations, this child now knew that my magic ate stones; he might infer that my magic grew from eating stones.
Was he a liability? A loose-end? Perhaps. But I would not murder a child. Well, another child. Besides, I could impress on him to keep his silence. I hoped.
"I just recently gained my Falna," I said. I turned to face him appropriately and tried to give my warmest smile. He flinched. "What can you tell me?"
He coughed. "Well the Guild or your Goddess should really be the one to explain, but the basics are that your Goddess will mix her blood with your and bring out all the excelsia you gained, which then adds to your stats."
It appeared I could gain additional strength besides consuming dungeon stones. In addition, I was filthy, tired, and in need of a break.
"Will you continue harassing me until I return?" I asked.
He laughed, "Maybe? I mean, I did come down here for you. Not that I wouldn't have come down here anyways? But yeah, Lady Echidna was pretty worried! And my Goddess would probably be upset if I didn't bring you back."
"Fine," I bit out. "Let's head up then."
"Sure! I'll show you back to my place!"
He was inviting me over to his home? Why? How young did he think that I was? Was this a play date? Why had Echidna sent this boy to find me? Why could she not just come find me herself?
"Why?"
"Your Goddess is probably still there?" he laughed. "Oh! Also, jagemarakuns!"
As he continued chatting, I could not help but wonder if I should further optimize my power gains. It would be a matter of pacing myself, avoiding breaking, and preparing for when Scion arrived. I doubted I could find a portal back to find him before he killed everyone I knew–if he had somehow avoided killing them yet.
God. Had I been too slow? Everyone from back home dead. I had to hope they were still alive, that they had slowed down Scion, or maybe even won. While I worried about things I could not possibly resolve, a wave of weariness washed over me, and I let the tears fall down my cheek. Fortunately, the child–Bell Cranel–said nothing. He hopefully failed to notice. Or he found himself often in the presence of crying women…
Once we hit the surface, we passed through the Guild entrance. Bell waved towards one of the clerks, an elf named Miss Eina. The same cat person who had tried registering me winced when she saw my gear and whispered behind her hand to another coworker.
"People gossip a lot?" I asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe," Bell answered.
He led the way through the streets, back towards the rundown suburbs near where Echidna laired. We eventually arrived at a broken down temple, with a partially collapsed roof and several broken windows.
"Here's home! An old temple to Zeus!" he said, leading the way inside. He stopped at a hatch door leading down to a basement. "I know it's not much up here, but it's actually nice down below. Running water and everything!" He opened the hatch then shouted, "Goddess we're home!"
"Is my wayward daughter up there?" Echidna shouted up. "I hope she can provide a good reason for staying out all night!"
"Haaa…" Bell trailed off, looking up at me from where he began descending wooden steps. He swallowed. "Lady Echidna, I think she just lost track of time trying to get stronger. I found her on the fifth floor."
"What?!"
"Fighting a warshadow," Bell added.
"Did she win?" Echidna asked.
"It was hardly a challenge," I spoke up for myself, entering the basement of the ruined temple. A couch had been set up, a small bedroom off to the side, and a little kitchenette. It was cozy and well lit, unlike some lairs.
"Welcome home Bell!" Hestia ran over to hug Bell, shoving his face into her breasts. She seemed to relish the intimacy, while Bell waved his arms to either side and tried to escape.
"Does he need to breathe?" I asked. "Follow up question, is that appropriate? I was under the impression he was much younger."
"Ah ha ha…" Hestia trailed off in an awkward chuckle, finally letting Bell go. "We still have some left over jagemarakuns from yesterday, can I interest you in any? You must be hungry from spending all night off galavanting in that dungeon?" She held out a plate of golden brown fried–something…?
"What are these made from?" I asked, taking half of one tentatively.
"Potato puffs! Everybody and their God loves them. Especially adventurers!" She winked over theatrically.
I smelled it–it felt like an extra large, extra fluffed french-fry. I loved fries. Though the seasoning seemed different from home. I glanced at Echidna to see her smirk. Bell mimed eating one and gave me a thumbs up. Hestia continued watching, waiting expectantly.
"Alright…" I said, biting down. The second the potato puff hit my tongue, I felt ill. It tasted worse than manure smells. I spat it out and tossed it aside. "Actually, I'm not hungry."
"Whaa?" Hestia said, her mouth hanging open. Bell frowned.
"You look ill daughter, are you well?" Echidna asked, approaching me and putting her hand on my forehead. "Hm. A bit warm. And your robes… You were wounded?"
"They look worse than they are," I said.
"This won't do at all…" she said, hurrying over and lifting up the jagged flaps hanging off my chest and back of my legs.
"Indecent exposure?" I asked dryly.
She scoffed. "With Amazons running around? Hardly. No, indecent because it makes you appear weak. We live in a city filled with predators."
That made sense. I was all too aware of the things scum could get up to if they thought themselves outside of the law.
"That's what you're worried about?" Hestia said. Her pigtails bouncing along with the rest of her.
"My daughter is practical. I doubt she would care otherwise."
"If she were practical then I would expect to see armor. Or a weapon… actually, she looks pretty destitute."
"Ha yeah, so about that!" Bell started talking.
"Armor would have improved my performance," I said, cutting him off. "And perhaps a weapon. Though my magic proved sufficient."
"Magic? From a level one? Are you secretly an elf?" Hestia asked, while making a show of peeking at my ears.
"I'm huma–" I started to say, but Echidna cut me off.
"Then we will need to acquire armor and a weapon," Echidna said. "Did you have a profitable trip to the dungeon? We require funds after all."
"If you're after a new weapon, you should try Hephaestus! I can talk you up to her and get you a discount!"
"Then we shall definitely require funds," Echidna said, a small smile gracing her lips. "Regardless, I appreciate the favor of Lady Hestia, and Bell Cranel. Please do not hesitate to call upon me for a like service."
"Well actually–" Bell started, but Echidna kept going.
"As it was, we shall be retiring for the evening. I trust you both to maintain my daughter's confidence?" She arched an eyebrow at both child and Goddess. They both gulped and nodded. "Very well. A good day then."
And she made a shooing gesture for me to lead the way up. I left a few bugs behind to listen for any treachery. Once we went topside, Echidna offered her right arm to me, and refused to move until I looped my left arm through, and then she began leading us forward.
I kept a field of scouts circling around us to check for threats. I also maintained a few listeners in the temple with Bell.
"Who can possibly hate my potato puffs!" Hestia wailed.
"They are delicious, my Goddess," Bell said. "But maybe she's got weird taste buds? Who can say…" he sighed dreamily. "You shoulda seen her. Such an awesome mage."
"You aren't going to leave me for her right?!"
"Never!"
"Good. But she might make a good party member for keeping you safe."
We passed out of range for eavesdropping on the inane chatter.
"Did you improve your magic greatly?" Echidna asked softly. I nodded. She must know about my innate trait of consuming dungeon stones. "Because I would hope you had some profit to counter the incredible risks you took."
"The monsters were handled."
She shook her head. "Those creatures you fought were mere drones. And that is not the risk I referred to."
Drones–as in automatons? They appeared organic, with the exception of the warshadows. But perhaps they followed a third party's will, just as my insects followed mine?
"No, the true risk you took was in revealing yourself. Now all the city will know you are able to fight without weapons or armor. Now all the city will know you failed to return with a single stone, despite over an entire day within the dungeon. Either the city will think you incompetent, or they will suspect other, worser, truths. Which would you prefer."
I supposed I had taken risks, and I had revealed several of my cards. But in return, my magic had grown. How much longer until the impressions of the city no longer mattered? I suspected that I had a ways to go.
"It would be safer to seem incompetent," I said reluctantly, unable to shove all of my distaste into my swarm. I hated appearing weak. Almost as much as I hated losing.
"Do the opinions of the chattel matter overly much, daughter?" Echidna asked, continuing to lead me towards the wall, into the parts of town that almost seemed criminal. I recognized this as the area where Echidna laired. "Or is this merely your pride?"
"What do you recommend?"
"These are mere thoughts for your consideration," she said smoothly, her voice a rich contralto almost lulling me to sleep, despite the fact we were walking. I must have been more exhausted than I had thought. "But until you are secure in your abilities, perhaps avoid undue attention."
We finally got back to the burnt out dive bar. No one had observed or followed us, at least not that I found with my scouts. We headed down, back into the dark tunnel, and her pitch black room. Only now, it was not pitch black. A single lantern sat glowing above the table.
Echidna noticed my attention on light, and she laughed. "I know you preferred the light. You truly ought to have mentioned your poor night-vision."
"It was difficult to read in the dark," I said, nodding thanks.
"Think nothing of it. Are you ready to update your Falna?"
I slipped out of my robe and sat backwards on a chair, hugging the front. "You only need my back, correct?"
"No modesty at all?" Echidna sounded amused.
"The end of the world does that."
"Just so," Echidna said. She pulled a small paring knife and nicked her finger. A drop of gold blood beaded, smelling sweet and divine. My stomach rumbled, leaving me blushing. "No reason to be embarrassed," she said softly, hovering just behind me.
Her finger trailed down my spine, leaving heat in its wake. The warmth spread out, filling me with a sleepy sense of drunkenness. She pulled a piece of paper and set it on my back. I felt another bit of warmth, but this in reverse.
"My, but my daughter has grown much."
She placed the sheet on the table and went to fluff the bedding, which meant shaking out loose furs. I paid her no mind as I read my sheet. I was not sure what I was reading, but she claimed the growth was good. Several of my stats had gone up, including my magic. But I already knew that.
"Will my daughter come to bed soon?" Echidna asked.
I got up to look at myself in the mirror. I looked a bit more muscular than I had in the morning, maybe. The scale-like discoloration on my chest felt about the same, though they were a bit glossier. And my lower back itched. Otherwise, I felt fine.
"Just one last thing," I said, barely resisting the urge to yawn.
I laid out my robes on the floor, stretched out, and summoned a legion of Darwin Bark spiders to begin stitching the torn fabric back together. I had them work with ants to thread the webbing into fabric.
I hoped Passenger would keep the insects working while I slept.
And I did fall asleep promptly, nevermind the fact that dawn had been only a few hours ago. Echidna hummed a soothing lullaby that reminded me of a long, long time ago.
—
Name: [SOUL DUALITY] Monarch Administrator | Taylor Hebert
Race: [HIDDEN]
Age: [HIDDEN]
Level: 1
Stats:
STR: 0 I -> 12 I
END: 0 I -> 35 I
AGI: 0 I -> 12 I
DEX: 0 I -> 12 I
MAG: 0 I -> 216 G
Innate Magic: Abyssal Shadow: In the Abyss, shadows hurt… Magical abilities are only ever expressed as Abyssal Shadows, however this magic is intuitive to use without incantations.
Skill: Queen's Court: The shadows serve and swarm… The Abyssal Shadows can be formed into manifestations of your servants, assuming you have the souls to fill them.
Innate Trait: Blood and Stone: All but flesh and stone are ash… consuming cooked flesh or non-flesh tastes like ash upon the tongue and offers no nutrition. Consuming magical stones supplements the Abyss.
Innate Trait: Kali Yuga: The nine hells would overflow with the souls of your slain… The chorus cries out and weeps to those who may behold souls.
Curse: Magic of the Eldritch Abyss: The stamp of the abomination rests upon the flesh… your magic is forever locked outside of your body in an external representation of your might.
Curse: Cast of Conflict: Peace is impossible… you are driven towards conflict; failure to satiate this thirst results in weakness, irritability, anxiety, and compulsive mania.
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Entire Work ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Chapter Index Comments Share Download
Work Header
Rating:
Not Rated
Archive Warning:
Major Character Death
Category:
F/F
Fandoms:
Parahumans Series - Wildbowダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか | DanMachi | Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Anime)
Characters:
Taylor Hebert | Skitter | WeaverQueen Administrator (Parahumans)Bell CranelHestia Familia (DanMachi)Tiona HiryuteLoki (DanMachi)Demeter
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:2022-08-25Completed:2022-10-27Words:146,083Chapters:53/53Kudos:1,252Bookmarks:306Hits:60,447
Dungeon Warlord
bridielux
Chapter 8: Hatchling 1.7
Chapter Text
Hatchling 1.7
When I woke up, I found that I still had summoned insects and that my spiders had continued stitching the robes back together while I slept. It took me a few minutes, but I eventually figured out how to turn on the dungeon stone lantern, letting me inspect the patchwork.
The formerly torn cloth was covered in inky black irregular patches; bits of the regular cloth stuck through. The spiders had not kept the weave even. Gaps could be seen in some places, and in others, doubled up stitches forming black ridges and lumps. At least the stitches felt tight; they refused to break or tear when I pulled them.
Given that the robes had been a lighter gray color, the black patches stood out noticeably.
Echidna groaned from where she laid on the bedding. She threw an arm over her eyes.
"Why…" she asked.
I shook my head and started summoning a legion of spiders. If I could create cloth, then I could start building my old costume again. I was assuming that the spider silk maintained its properties that I was familiar with.
Come to think of it, I should test that assumption.
"Do you have a knife I could borrow?" I asked.
"...no."
That was a hard to believe answer.
"You mean that the Goddess of Adversity does not have the simplest of weapons?"
She blinked her eyes open and peeked out from under her arm. "The simplest of weapons is not a knife."
"So you don't have one?"
"...check the chest," she glowered. "Must you be up this early?"
"What time is it anyways?" I asked, heading over to the chest to see what was in it. There was a smaller, locked and decorated box, along with pieces of fine cloth, and a needle. "Wait a second," I said loudly. "You keep a knife for cutting your finger!"
"Clever girl," she said. "My knife can be found in the left pocket of my dress. And you awoke before dawn."
I found her snakeskin dress hanging up on the front of the wardrobe and a quick pat-down found the knife.
"We did go to bed yesterday afternoon," I said. "I don't mind though. Waking up early only means I can head to the dungeon before it becomes too crowded."
I tested the edge of the blade and found it plenty sharp. I accidentally nicked my thumb, causing a bead of crimson to well up. Savory crimson. Without thinking, I shoved the wound into my mouth. It tasted infinitely better than those nasty treats Hestia had given me the day before.
The flavor disappeared all too quickly as the wound healed, my skin regenerating.
I still needed to correlate how much magic I was spending to heal.
But that was for later. The knife was sharp enough for my test. I held the blade against the spidersilk patch and I slowly pushed down. It took most of my body weight before the tip of the knife pushed through the fabric and into the wood behind it.
Echidna had gotten up by that point and peered over my shoulder at my test.
"Must you damage my table?" she asked.
"Sorry," I said, forgetting that Divinities were walking lie detectors.
"I doubt you feel overly much sorrow over it," Echidna mused.
She was correct that I did not.
"Your patchwork appears remarkably resilient. What is it crafted of?"
"Spidersilk," I said, summoning a Darwin Bark spider on the table and setting it to stitching over the hole I had carved into the cloth.
"That looks like Abyssal Shadow," she commented, reminding me that everything I projected or summoned was kind of made out of the same stuff.
"I used to make clothes from my spiders–the fabric was bulletproof. I was unsure how it would hold up from this, Abyssal Shadow , but it seems to be comparable."
"Bulletproof?" Echidna asked. I had forgotten that this world was lacking in so many ways.
"Bullets were small pieces of metal shot from handheld weapons," I explained.
"Like crossbows then?" She pondered thoughtfully.
"Right. I don't know if the fabric was completely bulletproof, but I think if it was thick enough it would be. I only got shot once while wearing it. My suit caught the bullet and saved my life, but it still hurt like hell…"
"The spiders of your home world must have been incredible..."
"They really were," I said wistfully, nostalgically remembering my first Black Widow farm.
"You might even try selling the fabric. Although…" She held up the robes and traced the black stitchings with a finger. "Somewhat crude. You would need to refine your technique most likely. And then there would be the depletion. But if you sold it for enough you could purchase enough dungeon stones to account a profit."
"Hey! I did that in my sleep." I glowered. I had had a lot of practice making silk bodysuits.
"I shall reserve my judgment when I see your true finished work. Opening a shop is a thought to consider all the same." She continued petting the spider silk patch.
It was an amusing thought to consider. Me as this city's version of Parian: setting up an atelier or clothier shop. However profitable it might be, the very idea felt Ridiculous.
But something that Echidna said had sparked a concern.
"You mentioned depletion?" I asked. I felt an uncomfortable twist in my gut, suspecting what she was going to say.
"Indeed. From the permanent manifestation of your magic." She gave me a wry smile. "You thought that the cloth was made from nothing?"
"No…" I said, but I felt ill. How much of my miasma had been permanently lost by patching the robe? I had no real way to test, but I could get an idea. I began summoning all the wasps I could.
Just over a thousand. Still far more than I started with yesterday. Overall, a net gain. Though I would still need to be wary of these permanent manifestations of my Abyssal Shadow. I wondered if venom counted against me? I suspected that it might.
"You are a terrible liar," Echidna said, sounding amused with herself. "Regardless, you plan to dive the dungeon today?"
I nodded, while Echidna pet one of my wasps that had landed on the table.
"I will not tell you what to do, but please exercise caution. And return to me tonight for your Falna. It will improve your gains."
I acquiesced. I doubted I could get strong enough fast enough even if I hunted in the dungeon until I collapsed.
As I slipped my robe on and left, I could not help but notice Echidna smiled at my back. My back still felt itchy. I really should ask about that…
The sun had yet to rise when I reached the Tower of Babel; I was able to pass through to the pit leading down into the dungeon without running into any other adventurers. The first floor had many green-lit hallways. It was perfect for my needs.
I did a few stretches at the bottom of the stairs and began building out my swarm. Tarantula Hawks, Executor Wasps, Asian Hornets, and Black Widows. I had experimented with some of the ultra rare arachnids that I had never really been able to incorporate into my swarm, both because of rarity, and lethality, but now that I had fewer limits and desired lethality, I had a chance to use them.
This included the Banana Spider, also called the Brazilian Wandering Spider–sometimes known as the murderess.
The spider itself was a natural hunter, meant to wander forest floors at night; it could deliver a powerful neurotoxin that was fatal to small animals and children.
From a single bite.
Given the spider would be under my control, and that I could deploy multiple spiders, I could cause significant damage with it.
However, the spiders were large, over several inches in diameter. Normally intimidating, they unfortunately required a substantial amount of miasma to create and field, much more than my wasps. They were also slower.
But still–they were absolutely huggable .
I formed one, a large female, and left it sitting on my right shoulder.
With my preparations complete, I began to jog down the green lit tunnels.
The goblins began to spawn. My wasps intercepted them. As I passed, I dropped the beetles near where I thought the goblins would drop.
I reached the end of the hallway and entered a large chamber that had three other hallways branching off of it.
Only one of the goblins that spawned reached it before it fell convulsing at my feet. I thought about manually extracting the stone, but that would have been inefficient given my toolset. In went another beetle.
I had harvested fifteen goblins thus far, and I had been hunting for less than ten minutes.
I scouted the hallways leading away from the chamber and was deciding on an optimal course when loud cracks sounded from all around. All of the walls surrounding the chamber began spawning goblins. They surrounded me. I counted seventeen of the statues beginning to flake.
Did novice adventurers deal with this obstacle, or had I offended the intelligence behind the dungeon? It did not matter. The first of the statues flaked the stone away, revealing goblins raring and ready to go: their teeth jagged, their claws sharp.
I pulled in my swarm from the surrounding tunnels. I had left beetles behind to harvest the goblins that fell on the way in, and these I had self terminate, as the miasma would return more quickly than they could crawl, and I had no fliers to spare to airlift them.
The first three goblins charged towards me after 'roaring.' The sound they made came across closer to a squeal. Especially after my wasps found their faces.
I positioned my second string of wasps around the soon to emerge goblins, ready to strike the moment the stone fell away. Meanwhile, the first wasps returned to me, died, and were recreated, refilling their venom glands and stingers, before sending them out once more.
My third string of wasps hit the last of the goblins. Meanwhile, the miasma from the beetles had returned, allowing me to recreate them and begin the harvest. The floor had been filled with thrashing seizing foaming squealing goblins.
A chitter sounded from my shoulder. I glanced down and saw my little murderess glaring up at me.
Passenger? Is that you?
"What?" I asked it, which was ridiculous, as I ought to have been in control, and I was in control, but the spider was behaving like a spasming muscle would. Under my control, but not. It had to be the Passenger driving. But… Passenger had never exhibited any behavior like this before.
She waved her chelicerae at me and then turned her body to look down at the vanishing goblin bodies.
I could only guess at what she was trying to say.
"Did you want to hunt?" I asked her. Again, ridiculous–akin to speaking to myself.
The spider lifted and dropped her head several times.
"Alright I guess," I held out my left hand and let the spider crawl onto it before lowering her to the ground. She darted off down a hallway, faster than I anticipated.
With the seventeen goblins harvested, I gathered my swarm, created a few more Brazilian Wandering Spiders, and headed after the first, to see what she was after.
Still a ways ahead of me, right where my murderess had passed, two goblins spawned. Had she triggered the spawning? I had thought that was only when adventurers passed through. Was she large enough to trigger the dungeon spawns?
If so, this could change things.
My murderess scurried up one goblin's legs and bit down on its inner thigh. The goblin squealed and slapped a hand down where she was, but she was already moving up, climbing onto his chest and biting down again.
The other goblin came from her blind spot and latched its nasty claws around her, crushing her abdomen.
Spiders were overly optimized and overall fragile creatures–and he had just crippled her! She bit down on his hand, dumping the last of her venom into him, before he dropped her. She hit the stone floor and died, returning to miasma and flowing back towards me.
I felt rage.
On one hand, I knew that my bugs died all the time. And that they could be recreated easily, given my 'magic.' However, that spider was special! She had been my little murderess, and she had been almost sapient!
But then, of its own volition, a blob of miasma crawled up my leg and torso and settled on my shoulder. It reformed into a slightly larger version of Murderess.
Ok.
Now I know that this is Passenger.
Back on Bet, when Passenger did things without my knowledge, I felt out of control. I had hated that feeling, to the point that I wore a body camera just so I could know if Passenger started acting out without my knowledge.
But now? Now I could use the company. I reached over and ran a finger across the spider's back.
"Good girl," I told her.
It chittered in reply, leaning into the pet.
The rest of my spiders reached the goblins and they finished the job. It involved a substantial amount of pained squeals from the goblins.
But now that I knew large insects could trigger spawns? Now I could optimize.
I began sending out teams of large Brazilian Wandering Spiders carrying beetles and flanked by wasps. I only had enough miasma to create two teams because the spiders took up a lot of volume. But with them heading out, I found I could be in two places at once.
I was unsure if this way was faster than running down a hallway and triggering the spawns, but this way at least, I could be at two places at once, and I never saw the actual combat.
Yet, standing still in a chamber while my spider-parties went hunting felt wasteful. I could be doing more.
The chamber I was in had three hallways leading out from it. Two of those hallways had spider-parties, leaving the last for me.
I did not have a weapon, but I kept a few wasps orbiting me, and of course I had my Passenger driven spider, murderess, perched on my shoulder.
It had been a while since I had practiced combat. And my Falna incentivised me to practice. I headed down the last green-lit passage, unarmed, unarmored, and ready for a good time.
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Rating:
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Major Character Death
Category:
F/F
Fandoms:
Parahumans Series - Wildbowダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか | DanMachi | Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Anime)
Characters:
Taylor Hebert | Skitter | WeaverQueen Administrator (Parahumans)Bell CranelHestia Familia (DanMachi)Tiona HiryuteLoki (DanMachi)Demeter
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English
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Published:2022-08-25Completed:2022-10-27Words:146,083Chapters:53/53Kudos:1,252Bookmarks:306Hits:60,447
Dungeon Warlord
bridielux
Chapter 9: Hatchling 1.8
Chapter Text
Hatchling 1.8
It was not a good time.
I was not ten feet down the hallway when three goblins spawned.
I had no weapon and no armor; I had left most of my miasma invested in my hunting parties, with only enough magic left to field five tarantula wasps and Murderess.
I sent the wasps in, aiming for eyes. Two goblins got two wasps each, the third goblin got only one, the last one. The third goblin managed to swat its wasp from the air, but the other two goblins stumbled and shrieked and clutched their faces.
The swatted wasp died, reverting to miasma, and returned, trickling back towards me, crawling along the ground. This was joined with the continuous flow of miasma returning from my hunting parties, as they harvested dungeon stones and in turn suffered their own losses.
The third goblin, the only remaining on its feet, jumped towards me.
Idiot creature.
Using my good arm, I grabbed its wrist and pivoted, altering its trajectory and sending it flying face first into the stone wall. While I torqued and spun around, Murderess leapt onto its back and chomped down, envenoming it.
While I focused on the third, I lost track of one of the blind goblins. This one stumbled into me and found my stump–it bit down, right on the end, where the arm terminated above the elbow.
I let an involuntary gasp and yanked back with a thrash. It followed, keeping its jaws latched into my skin, scraping the bone. I needed to get it off! I needed to strike. The first goblin was getting back up, following the sounds of the scuffle!
I drove a knee up into goblin's stomach, causing its diaphragm to spasm, driving the air from its lungs, and causing its jaws to involuntarily loosen. I punched it away and gained space.
During this, I was resummoning two wasps and three Black Widows.
The first goblin made its play, having discerned my location from my gasp–it had to rely on hearing, as its eyes were a weeping mess and obstructed by wasps.
It collided with my legs, catching me off balance. Its grangy teeth bruised my shins–they were unable to completely pierce the silk cloth of my robes, but they still bruised the bone.
I fell on top of it, letting my knees carry most of my weight straight down onto its shoulder blades.
A satisfying crunch later, and my freshly summoned spiders emptied their venom into its neck, while my wasps and Murderess struck at the goblin that had bit me.
Less than thirty seconds later, the goblins were well on their way to death. I formed Larder Beetles to harvest the goblins' dungeon stones.
If I had even a simple knife, I could have carved the stones from the goblins' chests and increased my gains further. I needed to get a knife.
Passenger, remind me later.
My Murderess chittered at me–I had not realized spiders could look offended.
I took stock of my wounds. My robes remained intact, likely from the mesh of Abyssal Silk that I had loosely woven into the robe's fabric. I had bruises along my shins which were healing. My knees, while sore, remained functional.
The only wound that concerned me was my right arm. The stump, where I had been bitten, burned. I worried that the goblins had envenomed saliva, or flesh eating bacteria, or something else nasty–fitting of the disgusting creatures.
Because it burned and itched, and even with my regeneration, it ached far more than a bite should have.
In the dim lighting, it was hard to tell, but it almost looked like a thin layer of my miasma had settled over my stump, giving the end of the arm an irregular patchwork quilt of skin and Abyssal Shadows.
I poked at it–the miasma did not dislodge. I tried summoning insects with the stuff, but got nothing. The itching had subsided a little, but it still felt like a mosquito bite. A rather large mosquito bite.
I would have to wait it out and see if it went away. Otherwise, I could try asking Echidna when I got home later. At least I was fairly confident in my regeneration… not that I had really tested it–or understood long term consequences of relying on it.
Huh.
I really should ask Echidna about that.
Regardless, my hunting parties continued their work, though several of the wasps and spiders had run out of venom. I formed fresh wasps and spiders and airlifted them to resupply.
I continued forward. The next spawning only dropped two goblins on me, which was far easier.
The next one spawned four. I took a few more light injuries, but my performance had improved. I was learning the goblins' tactics–they never changed.
I lost track of time on the first floor, hunting, both with my body, and with hunting parties, growing my swarm, when Bell Cranel found me.
"Hey! There you are!" he said, coming up behind me. "I thought you'd be back here."
"How'd you find me?" I asked, finishing up another group of goblins.
"Just followed the creepy crawly mist," he said, chuckling nervously, glancing at Murderess who had just finished biting down on a goblins carotid. "Anyways! You wanna team up? I figure between the two of us that we could hit maybe the sixth floor even!"
"Why do you want to team up?" I asked. "I'm not the safest to fight beside. I also rely on my creepy-crawlies…" I smiled, crouching down and letting Murderess crawl up my hand and arm.
She waved to Bell.
"What? Because of the bugs?" he asked. "Nah, those are fine. Super creepy, but I grew up on a farm so it's fine. Me and Hestia both thought you were effective, and it would be safer to team up! Besides…" he eyed me slyly "You wanna get strong quick right?"
"Who doesn't?"
"Ehh… you'd be surprised? Anyways, I figure with both of us working together, we could take down bigger monsters, and earn more excelia! Whaddya say?"
I had a few concerns. But as I looked at this bright-eyed kid, I remembered what it was like for me, when I was only a little older than him. And I had nearly lost my life fighting a rage-dragon. I had a foreboding feeling that he would soon find himself in over his head, especially without supervision.
"What would you do if we didn't party?" I asked, trying to gauge his reactions.
"Eh… ?" He coughed.
I remembered he had found me on a lower floor than this the previous day. He had no fear of going lower. He would likely seek to challenge himself soon. Could I in good conscience leave him to his own devices?
"Will we gain strength faster working together?"
"For sure. Bigger monsters mean more challenge. We can cover each other's weaknesses too. I can close in and fight in front while you use your magic."
"You would head down there on your own anyways?" I asked.
"Yep!"
I watched him silently while I began recalling my swarm and allowing my power to trickle back in. I had already made up my mind.
"How are we splitting the stones?" I asked.
"Fifty-Fifty of course!"
I growled.
"Uhm, unless you do most of the work? Then maybe sixty-forty?" He did look a little crestfallen. I felt like I had kicked a puppy.
"Fifty-Fifty is fine," I bit out. It would not do to make enemies with the child. Besides, I could always send out hunting parties while I teamed up with him.
He cheered. "Wanna head down then?! I was thinking we can start on the fifth."
On our way down, I kept half my swarm close so that I could pull my weight when we met goblins and kobold spawn. The rest of my swarm had been invested in hunting parties–though since we were moving, I was not able to replenish them with fresh insects.
On the third floor down my scouts smelled beer. They followed the scent until they found a short and stout woman who immediately began punching my flies right out of the air.
She started moving towards the stairway where we were descending. She was followed by a small child–a girl–that smelled like the same one from the previous day, the one who had traveled with Canoe.
I reached out and grabbed Bell by the shoulder, stopping him from progressing further towards the stairway down.
"Gah!" he startled, fumbling to unsheathe his sword as he twisted around. "What is it?"
"There is a dwarf approaching from below."
I continued scouting the dwarf's vicinity. What had she been doing? My insects smelled blood coming from one of the hallways. Several scouts headed down, until they found a heavyset man curled up in a puddle of blood. He was breathing, but faintly. I checked his ears–animal. He smelled like Canoe. The same guy that had threatened me.
"Yeah and?" Bell asked. "Lots of dwarves are down here. And how do you know anyways?"
"Magic," I said dryly, trying to figure out how to play this.
Canoe was not a friend, and chances were high he deserved whatever happened to him. I had no means of helping him, and even if I did, chances were good he would lash out or betray me. Bell could be hurt. Bell would want to save him, as he was a fledgling hero, and had yet to experience the darker realities. I made my decision.
"She smelled like beer," I said. "And was drunk the last time I saw her down here."
"Sounds like a dwarf," he laughed. "You should have heard some of the stories my Grandfather told about his drinking companions!"
"I ran into her yesterday. She was a little… challenging to deal with."
"Did you want to grind monsters here for a bit?" he asked. "We could probably still gain excelia, just not as much."
I did want to progress deeper into the dungeon. But I also was suspicious of the dwarf hanging out near the entrance to the third floor. But even yesterday, she never attacked me, just a few of my insects.
"Let's be careful," I said, pulling my hand off him and leading the way down.
As we came down the last few steps, we saw the dwarf and she saw us.
"Oy! You with Soma?" the dwarf called out.
She had a flagon in one hand, and a bloody winged mace in the other. The blood smelled fresh. And like Canoe.
How had I missed the bloody mace earlier? Probably because she killed my insects as they came in, which marked her as a higher level adventurer–since she was both fast and perceptive in the dim lighting of the dungeon.
"Lily does not recognize them," the small child said from behind the dwarf.
"Aye, but I wanna hear that from 'em."
"Nope!" Bell said cheerfully, apparently unaware of the danger of greeting strange women in the dungeon. "I'm with the Captain of the Hestia Familia," he bragged. "And my party-member's with Echidna."
"Echidna heh?" the dwarf said, offering a toast and pouring out some of her beer on the floor. I noticed it was red and foaming. "Your Goddess is friends with my Goddess, so I guess that makes you alright too."
"Who is your Goddess?" I asked.
"Can't you guess?" the dwarf laughed, but did not answer.
"Did you guys need a party or something?" Bell asked. "What're you all doing just waiting here?"
"Lily wants to go back up," Lily said, looking longingly at the stairway up.
"Lily's carrying muh booze," the dwarf said.
"Not willingly!"
I arched an eyebrow. I could not tell if Lily was serious or not. But the dwarf was not someone I would want to make an enemy of without cause, and Lily seemed resigned to sticking near the dwarf.
"We're keepin' an eye out fer those punks with 'at pretender," the dwarf answered. "Just keep movin' along now–an take yer bugs with you!"
"But does the little girl need help?" Bell asked.
"Lily is not a little girl!" Lily said. "Lily is older than you!"
"Heh, she's a Pallum. I liberated 'er from some other punk."
I pushed Bell along and whispered, "looks like they got it covered."
"A-alright…" he said, sounding unconvinced. We began to walk in the same direction as Canoe, although he was laying around several corners.
"Nah that way," the dwarf said, sticking her bloody mace out to half-heartedly block our path.
"Why not?" Bell asked.
"Cause I said so," the dwarf slurred.
"Lily thinks you should listen to her," Lily said.
Bell looked like he was going to push the issue and cause a fight–which would end up with both of us getting hurt.
"Because that way's been cleared already," I intervened. "We can get more stones if we head down here instead." I began walking towards a side passage. It would meet up with the stairway down eventually, though it would be a more circuitous route.
I kept a few scouts on Bell. He looked after me for a moment, before following.
"Good lad," the dwarf said to his back as he left. He tightened up a bit, but kept going.
We reached the fifth level and began hunting the frogs and giant lizards, along with the larger packs of monsters that spawned.
We entered a large chamber off one of the primary tunnels. It was a dead end, with a single entrance. No monsters were waiting for us, but we figured they would spawn if we poked around a bit, since the walls were all lit.
The dungeon waited until we were poking at the wall farthest from the entrance before it began spawning. A lot. All the walls in the chamber began blistering and cracking as monsters came through.
"A… Monster Party?!" Bell shouted. "Why! There's too many!"
Five frogs had emerged, along with six kobolds, and ten goblins. I pushed my fist against my thigh to crack my knuckles and I prepared my swarm.
"We need to run!" Bell said. "I'll hold them off!"
He would be willing to sacrifice himself? Endearing. Noble. And I could see a little of myself in him.
"You're not dying today," I said.
Murderess began chittering in excitement.
"You're on tongue duty," I said.
The stone flaked off the froggers and they hopped forward to close the distance. My Tarantula Hawks met them halfway, dive bombing into their mouths.
Three tongues shot out. I dodged two, but the third got my ankle. It pulled, ruining my balance and sending me stumbling towards it.
"Oh! I'll just–" Bell started as he jumped onto the tongue and swung with his blade. The frogger let go of its hold on me and retracted its tongue before the blade hit it, leaving Bell striking the stone and chipping his knife.
My second wave of wasps hit the frogs just as the stone flaked off the kobolds and goblins. My arachnids were waiting for them.
Within a minute, the monsters were on the ground writhing and dying.
Bell surveyed the room of thrashing monsters and worked his jaw. He held up a finger, as though to speak, then let it drop and shook his head.
"Good work on that tongue," I told him.
"You just–" he waved around. "-what level are you again?"
I scoffed. As if I would reveal details needlessly. Although he could infer a substantial amount just by partying with me. He could potentially be a loose end.
"Right," he said. "You want me to cut the stones out?"
I nodded, walking over to one of the more resistant froggers and smashing its head in with my heel. "My swarm tends to eat them if not," I told him. "Not that I would mind…"
"But then how would we trade them in for valis?" he asked, chuckling. As if I had done something remarkably silly. I glared at his back.
He got to work with a hooked knife and began pulling out the stones. After each stone came out, the monster would disappear into a cloud of black ash, removing all evidence of blood and gristle.
We were soon moving along. A question had been bothering me, watching Bell panic back there. I finally asked as we cleared another small pack of monsters.
"Why'd you want to run from that Monster Party?" I asked. We were down here to kill monsters afterall. If more of them spawned at one time, then we could grow stronger faster.
"Uh…oh… Not very heroic," he said, his face turning downward and red. He looked so sad.
"Chin up," I told him, pausing for a second before patting him on his back. It was an awkward back-pat, and I was unsure if it would actually work. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself to give me a chance to escape. That's heroic."
"Y-yeah? You think?"
"Yes," I said. He started smiling. Until I continued. "But also incredibly dumb. If anyone were to sacrifice themselves, it should be me."
"You're going to be a hero too?" he asked, stars in his ruby red eyes.
"Maybe."
"You're already so much stronger than me. I need to get stronger too, but Miss Eina says that we need to know our limits! Adventurers should not go on adventures…" He said the last bit rather reluctantly.
"But aren't Monster Parties common though?" I asked. I had already encountered two just that day alone.
"No! Not really."
Huh.
We eventually called it quits and returned to the surface, with a pouch fat with dungeon stones. Lily and the dwarf were gone when we passed back through.
"Fifty-Fifty right?" Bell asked while fidgeting.
"Unless you decided–"
"Nope! That's good! Thank you very much, I'll just go exchange the stones now…" he trailed off chuckling. We passed through the Guild exit with the tellers, and Bell waited in line behind an elf, even though another teller would have been open. "Miss Eina!" He cheered as he came to the front. "Me and Miss Taylor got all the way to the fifth floor! There was a Monster Party!"
Eina gasped, putting a hand over her mouth in a display of horror. "You should never have been down there! Are you hurt? Did someone save you?"
"We~ell, Miss Taylor did most of the work… Her magic is really good."
I groaned–I needed to have a chat with Bell about sharing.
Eina glanced over at me. The cat girl who was manning the station next to her caught her eye and nodded. That knowing glance left me uncomfortable.
"I see," Eina said. "And did you know that Miss Taylor is not yet registered with the Guild?"
Now it was Bell's turn to gasp as he turned to me with an accusing stare. "Is this true?!"
I shrugged, "I was busy."
Eina pushed up a pair of spectacles on her nose and gave me a no-nonsense glare. "And did you realize that unregistered adventurers can cause their Familia to be fined? And if those fines go unpaid, then the Familia may be banished or barred from the dungeon?"
I resisted the urge to wilt back.
"You will register, yes?"
"I said that I would."
"See that you have your Goddess fill these out then." She passed a stack of forms to me, over her counter.
"You mean you don't need my sheet?" I asked to clarify.
"Just your name and level. A sheet is preferred for advisement, but it appears you'll just behave recklessly anyways. We don't need to waste our time or resources on such transitory fools."
I took the forms from her as she exchanged the dungeon stones for valis. "Could I have some of my stones left as is?"
"You may," Eina frowned at me over her glasses. "Though this is irregular, and I must question why."
"Aw, don't bully her Miss Eina!" Bell said, coming to my rescue. "I would have been in big trouble if not for her today."
"Was she not the one that led you into trouble?"
"We~ell…"
"Bell Cranel!" Eina scolded.
"I wanted to see what it was like! And look, we both turned out ok."
Eina passed two piles of valis towards us, mine smaller, but containing a few dungeon stones as well.
"Please take more care, Bell."
She turned her attention back towards me. "And you! Do not let him get hurt, or you'll answer to me!"
I coughed. "Could I borrow a pouch?" I said, wincing at my lack of preparation.
Eina glared hard enough to break glass. She eventually growled, but passed over a small pouch. "You had better return this tomorrow, along with those forms. Completed and signed!"
"Is she always like that?" I asked dryly as we exited.
"Miss Eina? She's great. She just gets worried sometimes I think. Anyways, did you wanna celebrate today with me? I was going to go to the Hostess…"
"No."
"Oh…" he turned his face down to stare at his toes. His expression drooped pathetically. "Maybe some other time."
He started walking off, slouched shoulders, head turned downcast.
Ugh!
"Hey Bell?" I called after him.
"Yeah! You changed your mind? You'll love it. Great food. My treat!"
"I can't tonight–I need to update my status and work on my gear. But maybe tomorrow?"
"You mean it?! So we'll party tomorrow too?"
"...yeah."
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