Rustle! Rustle!
Kaelen's Decadon scurried back into the forest, a few of them having suffered minor injuries.
"Here, somebody take her!"
He shouted, his barked order echoing deep into the dense forest.
A Homonculus with a worried expression rushed over to his side and gently placed Specimen 2902 on the ground —they must have been quite familiar with one another.
"Here, use these... Do whatever you can to save her."
He took out three bottles of water, a pair of clean towels, folds of cotton and bandages.
[Damn it!]
He stood up and turned to the direction of the mountain's base.
"Don't follow me, Veylith!"
He shouted again, and she immediately stopped in her tracks.
"Get some rest."
Somewhat regretting having lost his temper and raising his voice, Kaelen soften his gaze before continuing on his path.
[How could I have been so naive?!]
He grit his teeth and stared at his palms which were drenched in Specimen 2902's warm blood.
[Why didn't I consider this possibility?]
He stopped walking and turned his eyes to the mountain top, where multiple rocks, boulders and stones were still being thrown off.
[Why didn't I think that there were more of them already up there?!]
His pink eyes narrowed, his snow-white brows hardened by a deep scowl as he beheld multiple Kobolds and Goblins incessantly throwing boulders.
Each boulder that crashed on the mountain's base resounded like thunder, a sound that seeped into his very core, causing his blood to roil like molten lava.
[Why did I think that such a large number of them would just fucking loiter around the mountain's base, knowing very well that they were being hunted?!]
[Was it because I saw the class of the lone Goblin that was climbing? Because he was a Scout?]
[That's unacceptable!]
Pow! Crunch!
He sank his fist deep into the trunk of a tree that stood proudly beside him as it had been for decades, its bark and splinter scattering in the air.
[I almost died just then because of this!]
[If it wasn't for that girl...]
Kaelen began breathing heavily through his teeth, never in his wildest imaginations would he have anticipated death to one of the weakest monsters of his own creation.
[This no good!]
[I've been too complacent, I'll die at this rate!]
[Wake the fuck up Liam, this is reality not a game! This is a Major Tower!]
He spun around and stomped back to his Decadon, steam blowing from his nostrils like a Bull Elephant in musth.
///
"Man~ is this really the Obelisk of Tiamat?"
"We've only been fighting Goblins all day... Well, not that I'm complaining."
Said Athur, chewing a thin strip of processed meat, which was actually quite tasty, there was a store in the city which was renowned for their meat.
"Yeah, you better shut up before you jinx it, what're you gonna fucking do if a Dragon shows up huh?"
Magaret responded to Arthur as usual, and despite her foul mouth, she had quite the etiquette whenever she ate.
Even now, with a bowl of brown bean soup, thin meat and a block of dried bread, she ate it so exquisitely that one would think she was eating something only fit for nobility.
"Run away obviously, the heck else would I go? Your mom's house~? Keke."
He sneered, purposefully chewing the meat loudly to annoy Magaret.
"Why you... What did I say about mentioning my mother?"
She glared at him —if looks could kill then he'd be sprawled on the ground, drowning in a pool of blood.
"Ah... My bad, I didn't mean to."
He bowed his head sincerely, but Magaret stood to her feet and walked away from their campfire.
It wasn't that Arthur knew her mother, it was one of the common your mom jokes that are strangely popular with the Human race.
"... You should learn to guard your mouth, Arthur."
Igor said, glancing at his facial expression.
Not just him, the entire party looked at him with pity in their eyes.
"Yeah... You're right."
He sulked, and reached into his pocket for another strip of meat.
[Pfft... How can he still eat?]
Hank scoffed inwardly and averted his face so that no one could see him hold his laughter.
"Tell me, Arthur..."
"... Why haven't you told Margaret that you like her?"
Helena's question struck him like lightning and left him flustered.
"W-what?! Who said I l-liked her?!"
He stammered, as though a freshly boiled egg was dancing on his tongue.
"Oh come on Arthur, we all see it."
She said, and they all nodded.
"And if I had to follow my feminine instincts, I would that say she likes you too."
She smiled warmly at him, and his cheeks became flush red like ripe tomatoes.
"You have nothing to lose... Especially now since we're here, in this Tower of Dread."
Her warm smile faded, and an extremely anxious expression dawned on her face.
"Hey don't be like that Vice Leader, we just have to survive until the fifth floor..."
"... Isn't that right, Leader?"
Julius nodded at Arthur's question.
It was a widely known fact that the Towers, be it the Lesser or Minor, allow their challengers an opportunity to leave after every five floors.
Then, once they feel like challenging again, when they enter its gates they would be returned to that specific floor and only leave after conquering five more.
Outside of this, there was no other way to exit the Towers.
[That explosion earlier... What is happening on this Floor? Are the monsters at war with one another?]
It was an explosion that only Julius heard.
"Yes, that's right Arthur."
"We will reach the fifth floor, all of us, I'll make sure of it."
He kneaded an invisible lump of dough, his stern, determined eyes burning brighter than the embers that crackled before him.
"Heh... Of course you will, you're Julius Vanger after all!"
Pat...
Hank patted his childhood friend's shoulder and the morale of Soaring Boar was raised.
They then shared a jovial meal together, filled with the usual banter, Margaret also came back and joined them at some point.
However, they were unaware that the scent of their food had been caught and attracted hoardes of very gluttonous creatures.