As they entered the next floor—one that, very unfortunately, turned out to be a jagged, sprawling mountain range—Chris let out a tired sigh. "Hey, watch… is there a skill or ability in the shop that will let me and Momo share exp?" he asked while looking down at the device on his wrist.
The watch responded in its usual monotone voice, "There is no such skill due to the existence of the party function."
Chris stopped dead in his tracks. His head snapped up, eyes widening in disbelief. "What party function?" he demanded, irritation rising in his voice.
The watch calmly answered, "The creator forgot to inform you of the communication tab, which allows you to communicate with other watch holders and enter a party with them."
Chris dragged his hands down his face. "Yeah… I guess he did," he muttered through clenched teeth. "Explain the party function, please."
The watch continued, "User can enter into a party of up to four people. While partied, user can share exp with party members, splitting exp down the middle."
Chris didn't even wait for it to finish. He'd heard enough. He immediately pulled up the communication tab, fingers moving quickly, and set up a party between himself and Momo. His eye twitched in frustration. "We could have been leveling together this whole time. Damn it…"
Momo stepped closer and gently patted his shoulder, her expression sympathetic.
He let out a defeated sigh but managed a small smile. "Thanks… let's get going." He glanced up warily at the open sky above the mountain peaks. "Watch the sky in case we've got flying enemies."
Momo nodded firmly, and the two continued forward into the treacherous rocky landscape together.
As they were going through, Chris noticed plenty of edible and medicinal plants, all of which he carefully harvested and placed in his inventory, hoping to be able to farm them later. Chris said, "I unfortunately don't know much about farming, but maybe we'll find someone who does."
Momo glared at him with an expression that very clearly said really?
Chris blinked and replied, "What? Did I say something? I don't know jack shit about plan—oh." He paused, facepalming. "Right, you can talk to and control plants. Do you think you'd be able to get some crops going once we're ready?"
Momo gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up and immediately darted around the forest, swiftly harvesting wild vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms before placing them neatly in her inventory. As they continued their journey, they had already made it to about a mile away from the door.
Chris sighed in resignation and said, "I know this is going to jinx us, but where the hell are the monsters?"
A loud screech tore through the sky. Chris snapped his head upward and saw two massive black-and-white birds, each one the size of a fighter jet, descending rapidly. His watch automatically beeped and said:
Species Identified
Death Condor
Classification: Floor Boss
Worth: 5 Levels
Chris and Momo hit the deck just in time to avoid the two giant birds' talons. Chris said, "So that's why there aren't any other monsters on this floor. It's got two bosses that can attack you at any point. Momo, I'll slow them down with magic—you try to cripple their wings."
Momo nodded sharply and slid into a battle stance with her halberd.
As the condors dove again, Chris launched a rapid barrage of fireballs at them. The clever birds were momentarily caught off guard but soon swerved and rolled through the barrage, avoiding every hit.
Chris rolled to the side and slammed the nearest bird with a Force Push, knocking it into a tree. Before it could recover, Momo hurled her halberd with deadly precision straight into its chest. The winged beast collapsed to the ground, taking its final rattling breath.
The second condor swooped down, and Momo leapt out of the way—only to freeze in bewildered horror as it began devouring the dead condor.
Chris said, "Oh shit. Not good. Quick, kill it!" He started pelting it with more fireballs, but it was too late.
The surviving condor began to mutate. It grew even bigger; its wings lengthened, the ends sharpening into blade-like edges. Two twisted horns sprouted from its head, and a pair of long, human-like arms unfolded from beneath its wings—each ending in razor-sharp talon-nails.
It roared, and as it did, a strong gust of wind exploded outward, violently pushing Momo and Chris back.
Chris's watch beeped again:
Monster Re-Identified
Condor King
Classification: Elite Floor Boss
Worth: 15 Levels
Description: A Death Condor who reigns supreme over its brethren and has evolved to wield the power of the winds.
Chris said, "This is the beginner dungeon—why has everything we've faced been nothing but shit like this? What's in the intermediate dungeon, Godzilla?"
He immediately started firing fireballs and blades in rapid succession, pelting the creature as it dove.
Chris rolled out of the way, and the condor spun around and came at him again—only to let out a pained, guttural roar as several thick tree branches suddenly burst upward and pierced the monster. Momo, breathing heavily, waved her hand again, her expression strained, and several more branches impaled the bird from different angles.
Chris quickly created and launched several mana-forged blades, skewering the condor even further until it finally collapsed to the ground, lifeless. He exhaled slowly, the tension leaving his shoulders, and walked over to the exhausted Momo. He gently patted her head, offering a small smile.
"Nice job, Momo. I'm guessing doing that took a lot out of you."
Momo nodded with heavy eyes, her body swaying slightly with fatigue.
"Alright," Chris said in a calmer tone as he glanced around warily. "Let's go to the next floor real quick. We'll rest in the starting area. I don't want to stick around here just in case the bastards respawn."
He stored the condor's corpse in his inventory, then he and Momo headed through the door. The next area opened up into a surprisingly large room containing four beds, a small kitchen setup, a couple couches, a TV, and a coffee table.
"Oh, cool," Chris said, relieved. "It's a rest area. Momo, you're leveled enough to evolve, right?"
Momo gave a tired nod, rubbing her eyes again.
"Alright," Chris murmured, "take a nap and we'll do it after."
She nodded once more, hopped into one of the beds, curled up, and quickly drifted to sleep.
While Momo napped, Chris checked his stats and missed notifications. His new stat sheet read:
---
Name: Chris (Nihil)
Race: High Human
Job: Mage – Level 12
Overlord Level: 5
Health: 4300
Mana: 2600
Strength: 254
Perception: 123
Endurance: 239
Charisma: 133
Intelligence: 135
Agility: 113
Luck: 123
Skills: One-Handed Weapon Mastery, Shield Mastery, Battle Instinct, Dismantling, Enhanced Strength
Spells: Fireball, Slow, Force Push, Blades
Abilities: Minion Summoning, Subordinate Contract, Blue Minion Summoning, Red Minion Summoning, Summon Advisor, Summon Builder, Mana Regeneration (New)
---
Chris tapped on Mana Regeneration to bring up its details.
Mana Regeneration
Description: An ability that allows the user to passively recover mana by 2 points per second without the need for rest.
"Alright, that's really useful," Chris said, stretching his arms overhead. "Hopefully it gets stronger in the future."
He stood, cracked his neck, and walked over to the kitchen. Soon he was frying some deer meat and making soup with the wild vegetables they'd gathered. Checking the cabinets, he found various seasonings and sauces, though the fridge and freezer were completely empty.
"Okay, note to self," Chris muttered irritably, "make sure to tell any followers who challenge the dungeon to bring their own goddamn food."
As he finished plating everything, a yawning Momo walked over to the table, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She dropped into a chair with a thud.
"Evolve first," Chris said gently, noticing her half-awake state. "Something tells me you're gonna be hungry after."
Momo nodded and brought up the evolution tab. There were currently two options:
Lesser Vampire
Lesser Demon
Staring at the screen, Chris frowned slightly.
"Okay… how the hell do you already have the option to stop being undead? Honestly, vampire makes sense, but demon really doesn't. The only thing I can think of is that each time you evolve, your body repairs itself a bit, so that could explain getting rid of your undeath— but not the demonic evolution. Unless the corruption from being my subordinate has something to do with it."
He shrugged. "Oh well. Momo, it's up to you."
Momo tapped both evolution options for more details, and her watch displayed:
---
Lesser Vampire
Description: A low-level vampire with weaknesses to holy objects, blessed water, and light sensitivity. However, they boast great physical strength and speed, superior stealth abilities, and can strengthen themselves through consuming blood. They can also move through and manipulate shadows.
Lesser Demon
Description: A low-level demon with weaknesses to holy power, holy objects, and blessed water. Unlike vampires, they are living creatures and possess powerful magical and physical capabilities. They also wield dark magics harmful to pure or holy beings.
---
"So basically the same weaknesses," Chris said thoughtfully, "you're just picking whether you want to stop being undead or not. And it sounds like you'll be better with magic if you take the demon route. I can vaguely guess what you'll become if you follow the vampire tree to the end, but not the demon one."
After a few moments of serious consideration, Momo touched Lesser Demon. Just like before, she was encased in a cocoon of swirling energy. Minutes passed before it finally shattered apart.
There weren't any dramatic physical changes, but her skin regained warmth and color, and her heartbeat returned—clear proof she was alive again.
Momo selected her job and checked her stat screen:
---
Name: Momo Belia Deviluke
Race: Lesser Demon – Level 1
Job: Mage
Health: 4150
Mana: 2675
Strength: 224
Perception: 104
Endurance: 224
Charisma: 100
Intelligence: 104
Agility: 210
Luck: 214
Skills: Two-Handed Weapon Mastery (New)
Abilities: Instinct, Chlorokinesis, Slow Regeneration, Tail Laser, Demonic Wings, Demonic Magic, Night Vision
Spells: Dark Bullet, Drain Shield
---
New Spells Added
Dark Bullet
Description: A bullet made of pure darkness, dealing additional damage to pure and holy beings.
Cost: 5 Mana per shot
Drain Shield
Description: A barrier that not only shields the caster but drains mana from the attacker.
Cost: 5 Mana per second
---
"Okay, you're already a lot stronger with just those two spells," Chris said with genuine approval.
"I know right? It's so exciting!" Momo replied, her eyes sparkling. Suddenly she froze and stared up at him in shock. "Whoa—I can talk again! That's wonderful! It was horrible not being able to speak! Anyway, master, it's a pleasure to finally be able to formally introduce myself—Princess Momo Belia Deviluke, at your eternal service."
Chris chuckled warmly. "I already knew all that."
"I know," Momo said, smiling brightly, "but I still wanted to introduce myself."
"Well, that's fine," Chris replied, softening. "But now that you can speak again, Momo… I've been wanting to ask: how'd things end up like this?"
Momo sighed, her expression drooping. "It was my airhead of an older sister's fault. Her latest invention was a machine that was supposed to allow people to travel to other universes, but naturally something went wrong. She ended up merging several realities at the same point in space and time… and some of those realities happened to be having a zombie apocalypse."
"Shit," Chris muttered, eyes widening. "Talk about bad luck. So how many of your friends and loved ones ended up here?"
"A few of them," Momo said quietly. "There's me, Nana, Lala, Rito, Mikan, Saruyama, Yami, and Nemesis."
"How'd you end up infected, Momo?" Chris asked gently.
"Me and my sister Nana got split off from the group during a supply run," Momo explained, shoulders tensing. "One thing led to another, and Nana and I both got bit. I turned faster than her, so I don't know where she is right now… but if possible, I'd like you to make her your servant like you did for me, master."
"Yeah, I don't mind that," Chris said softly. "But are you alright serving me?"
Momo nodded immediately. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I've been brought back from undeath and given the opportunity to become incredibly powerful."
"Okay," Chris said, relieved. "Any other things you want?"
"Not right now," Momo replied with a small smile. "Maybe a better halberd and clothes."
Chris let out a tired sigh and said, "Alright, eat up. We've got six more floors to do before we're done."
Momo's shoulders slumped, and she gave him a pouty look. "Aww, do we have to? I was hoping we could get out of here soon. Gnarl probably thinks we're dead."
"I know," Chris replied, rubbing the back of his neck with a weary expression, "but we gotta finish this place up. But you're right—I'm getting sick of this place too. So from the next floor on, I'm gonna summon minions. More hands should speed things up."
"Thank goodness," Momo said with obvious relief before quickly finishing her dinner.
Once the two of them felt ready, they stood up, gathered themselves, and headed through the door to the next floor.