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Is it Wrong to Skitter in a Dungeon? Chapter 8
🕑 Added 2024-07-20 17:02:01 +0000 UTCChapter 8: Seventh Floor Bounty
“Bell… what did you do this time?” Taylor asked with a sigh, running a hand over her face. It was the next day, and the two were raring to go back into the Dungeon after their day off. They had made it to the front of the Tower, only for a young girl to approach Bell and ask about joining them in the Dungeon for the day.
“I didn’t do anything!” the fourteen-year-old albino spluttered out. Taylor just raised an eyebrow, and glanced over at the girl in the white hooded outfit standing next to him, and he winced.
“Okay, so, I may have, uh, saved her from being mugged yesterday, and she wanted to repay me somehow?” Bell admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
“And how exactly does that lead you to recruiting her as a supporter?” Taylor demanded, the implied ‘Without consulting with me?’ going unsaid but heard by everyone.
“I thought it would help! Lili has a long-ranged option, and she’s able to carry a lot of extra supplies!” Bell explained.
“I will grant you the first one, but Chris can still act as a pack-mule, so we don’t need somebody to carry things for us,” Taylor replied.
“But it would be better to have a dedicated supporter, leaving Chris free to fight with us!” Bell argued.
Taylor nodded, accepting the point he was making, before turning to look over the young girl Bell had apparently saved yesterday. She had already been observing her through the swarm, but it was good to look at somebody through her own eyes.
The girl was cute, Taylor could admit. Small, too, with auburn hair and dog ears partial hidden by the white hood. The most noticeable thing however was the enormous stack of bags strapped to her back. How much did it weigh? And how was she able to stay upright and balanced with it?
“What is your name?”
“Liliruca Arde!” the supporter said, speaking up, voice trembling a bit with nervousness. “C-call me Lili!”
“Alright. Lili,” Taylor replied, feeling a small twinge as she recalled a parahuman with a similar name from so long ago. She hadn’t known the Ward Fletchette for long, but the small tangential connection still stirred something within her. She hoped Lily and Sabah had made it out of Gold Morning in one piece.
Ignoring the pang in her chest, Taylor looked over the young girl who couldn’t have been older than Bell himself. “What are your talents? Why should we hire you?”
“Well, Lili is a supporter with many years of experience-!” she began, but Taylor raised her hand to cut her off.
“Not what I meant. What can you do beyond carry our supplies and baggage?”
“Um, well, Lili has a crossbow,” the girl – chienthrope, Taylor believed the dog-girl’s species was called – “I have good aim, and can hit a goblin in the eye at fifty paces!”
That was interesting, though Taylor wondered just how strong the tiny wrist-mounted crossbow could be. She motioned for Lili to continue, and the supporter went on.
“Lili has been down to the 10th floor! She knows the weakpoints of every monster on the way there, as well as the location of the pantries!”
Now that was much more intriguing for the parahuman. The existence of pantries, or small safe zones scattered about within the Dungeon, was a curious one, especially as it was the only place where clean water could be obtained.
Monsters, even those born from the Dungeon, still needed some way to sustain themselves. And Taylor knew a person could go a week without food, but would die in three days without something to drink. Monsters would congregate there, as while it was rare for them to actually live long enough to need it, those that did would unerringly locate these safe havens to rest and recuperate.
More importantly, however, adventurers could use them to stock up on water as well, as it was safe for them to consume, and meant they didn’t have to worry about packing as many supplies, especially liquids, since those were always tricky and cumbersome to lug around.
“Alright, we’ll give you a chance,” Taylor finally said with a nod. “Come on, we’re burning daylight.”
She then glanced at Bell. “You’re in charge of her, by the way.”
With that, she walked off towards the Tower and the Dungeon below, Bell and their new companion trailing behind with Chris taking up the rear.
“You didn’t tell Lili your other Familia member was her!” Lili hissed to Bell as they headed into the lobby of the Tower of Babel.
“Huh? Why, is something wrong?” Bell asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
Lili let out a strangled whine. “She’s able to perfectly control a Crystal Mantis! That monster can kill Level 2 adventurers if they’re not careful! To say nothing of what it does to unwary Level 1s!”
Lili gestured helplessly towards Taylor and the monster in question. “Hardly anybody outside of the Ganesha Familia bothers with the Taming ability, and yet Lili has heard she isn’t even Level 2 yet! So that means she has a Skill to do it! Everyone wants to know who she is! Not to mention the rumors of her making silk clothing using insects, completing undercutting the Far Eastern silk merchants who previously had a monopoly over the stuff! So, yeah! She’s a big deal!”
Taylor fought the urge to snort as she listened into their conversation with her bugs. ‘It seems I’ve gained something of a reputation,’ she mused to herself.
“Today, we are descending deeper than we have gone before,” Taylor announced as they walked to the entrance of the First Floor. “Today, we’re going to the Seventh Floor.”
“Seventh?” Lili asked, surprised.
“I wish to perform an… experiment,” Taylor revealed.
“Oh? Oh! The Killer Ants!” Bell guessed. “You want to see if you can control them?”
“Exactly,” Taylor nodded.
Lili looked taken aback at the thought that Taylor could control more monsters, which caused the dark-hair teen to hide a smirk.
The party rushed through the upper floors, trying to avoid the War Shadows on the Sixth Floor to get to the next floor as fast as possible. They were a truly annoying monster as they were intangible save for their glowing eye until the moment they attacked. It was immensely frustrating to try and eliminate them, though according to Lili they were weak to magic and could be destroyed despite their intangibility that way.
There was also a bit of dislike from Taylor towards the War Shadows due to Taylor’s less than pleasant memories of Shadow Stalker, or rather, Sophia Hess. Thinking about her former tormentor caused the bugs she had hidden on her body to writhe and vibrate angrily before she was able to calm down.
‘Perhaps some of my bias towards her is coloring my opinion of Lili?’ Taylor couldn’t help but wonder. The shadow-themed parahuman had also used a crossbow, after all.
To that end, Taylor decided to at least give the young woman a chance for now. And Taylor was glad she’d done so, as it turned out that Lili really was a good shot with her tiny weapon. She managed to nail a War Shadow right in the eye as it appeared, killing it instantly.
The crossbow had a lot more power than the former Brockton warlord had expected, too. Normally, a tiny projectile launcher like that wouldn’t have much oomph behind it due to the constraints of size limiting the amount of potential force the weapon could bring to bear. But it seemed Orario had access to some fascinating materials thanks to the Dungeon, and Lili’s crossbow was as strong, if not stronger, than the one Shadow Stalker had once used, despite being more than half its size and weight.
“Here it is, the Seventh Floor,” Lili said as they approached a stairwell set into the ground in front of them.
Taylor observed it closely. Normally, her powers operated in a perfect sphere around her body, and any insect within it was under her control. The field of influence could pass through any material back on Earth Bet, yet here in the Dungeon, that was not the case.
Inside the tunnels of the Dungeon, her power could not pass beyond the ceiling, floor, or walls. Instead, her power seemed to be squished and would deform to fit the space. This meant that instead of being a perfect sphere, her field of influence was closer to a mass of groping psychic tendrils, at least as far as she could tell.
This did have the effect of increasing the range of her control. Still the same volume, so to speak, just flattened and spread out.
Another important discovery Taylor had made was that unlike the boundary between the Dungeon and Orario, her powers weren’t stopped by any sort of barrier when ascending or descending the Dungeon. This meant there was no risk of losing control of Chris or any of her insects when they went between floors. This was good to know, and opened up the way for quite a few tricks.
“Chris is going on ahead,” Taylor said, the Crystal Mantis doing just that as they stepped onto the stairs.
The rest of the party followed when the monster confirmed the floor around it was clear. And as soon as Taylor was halfway down, she felt the first so-called ‘Killer Ant’ fall under her control.
Like the Crystal Mantis, its mind was full of nothing but the desire to kill. Hatred was so deeply ingrained into its being the Killer Ant couldn’t even do anything else. Nor could it put up a fight. It was even easier to subdue than Chris had been, too, as ants were eusocial insects, and even when scaled up into giant killing machines their instinctive obedience to following orders made it simple to dominate.
Taylor spent a moment scrubbing its brain of the Dungeon’s influence, then after ordering Chris forward, took a few steps back, allowing Queen Administrator’s field of influence to receded once she was too far away.
‘It’s not doing anything,’ Taylor noted as she peered through Chris’ eyes at the Killer Ant, getting a good view of it as well.
The ant-shaped monster was covered in a grey carapace that looked almost black in the dim light of the Dungeon, and was quite big, larger than a basset hound, and just as low to the ground. Taylor could see why it was known as an adventurer killer from that alone. With it being so low, lower than goblins or even Shooter Frogs, it would be hard for anyone who was short like Bell or Lili to hit it in melee. A spear would bridge the gap, but the confines of the Seventh Floor were cramped making polearms less effective. Only when somebody reached the Middle Floors and the space opened up did larger weapons prove their worth.
The Killer Ant continued to do nothing as Taylor observed it through Chris. That was another bit of relief to the parahuman. She hadn’t been sure if the Dungeon would regain dominion over a monster once she released it from her control or it was outside of her power’s reach, but this proved that after a monster was created by the Dungeon, whatever malign force put that hatred into their heads couldn’t keep influencing them. Without it, they were just animals. Dumb animals with zero survival skills or knowledge beyond the bare basics and their instincts, but animals all the same.
“Miss Taylor?” Bell asked, looking back at her in confusion. He and Lili were already at the bottom of the stairs, and were waiting for her.
“Just testing something,” she assured them as she joined the pair on the Seventh Floor. “And good news. I can control them.”
Bell perked up excitedly while Lili turned pale at the thought of a woman controlling an endless tide of chitinous death. To demonstrate, Taylor ordered the Killer Ant she’d taken control of to approach, and it obeyed, following Chris back to their side.
“Bell, Lili, remind me about the capabilities of a Killer Ant,” Taylor requested, looking at the two of them as she bent down and patted the monster’s head.
“Um, Killer Ants are sometimes called ‘Rookie Killers’ alongside War Shadows because they can quickly swarm adventurers and drown them in numbers,” Bell said. “They can also summon more of their kind to their side if they aren’t killed in a single hit. They do this by releasing pheromones.”
“Their Magic Stone is located inside of their head, near the brain,” Lili added. “Their head is heavy and can actually stay alive for a little bit even if you sever it from their neck. A Killer Ant’s mandibles are extreme sharp, and can bite through bone. The joints on the legs and neck are their weakest point and can be cut through to disable them. Also, their Drop Item is a piece of chitin from their exoskeleton. It is used to make armor as well as specialized alchemy tools.”
“So, their exoskeleton is resistant to acid and other caustic chemicals?” Taylor asked, and Lili nodded.
“Yes. Oh! And sometimes, rare variants of Killer Ants are known to appear that can spray acid from their abdomens.”
“Good, that’s exactly right,” Taylor said with a nod. She already knew all of this thanks to Eina and studying it herself, but she wanted to make sure her companions were aware of it as well.
She then stood up. “Time to start collecting. Don’t worry about fighting.”
They both blinked at that, confused, but when she led them to a central chamber with three branching tunnels leading away from it, they instantly realized what she was talking about.
The chamber and the tunnels were packed to the brim with Killer Ants. Dozens of them, crammed together, some piling on top of each other to make the most use of the space they had.
And they were all tearing into each other, violently ripping themselves apart. While Taylor had been quizzing Bell and Lili, she had been ordering her newly acquired Killer Ant to release its pheromones, which natural drew a bunch more that instantly fell under Taylor’s control.
Then, she used the Killer Ants within her range to summon more of them, but also ordered them to kill the monsters that were beyond the range of her control.
‘Even if they pass outside of Queen Administrator’s range, my order to kill all monsters aside from Chris will remain within them, and they’ll just keep obeying the final order I gave them,’ Taylor mused. Every so often she would instruct a Killer Ant to bring the Magic Stones and Drop Items over to her, where they quickly made a pile that kept growing.
Bell and Lili were staring in disbelief at the sight, and Taylor couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement at their expression.
“Whoa!” Bell breathed out, shock turning into admiration, and he soon had stars in his eyes. “This is amazing, Miss Taylor!”
“Lili is very glad Miss Taylor is on our side,” the supporter murmured, unable to take her eyes off of the loot.
“If you two want to train, I will instruct some Killer Ants to fight you,” Taylor informed them, and Bell and even Lili perked up at that. The chance to fight a monster without it actually trying to kill you would be a great way to gain practical combat experience, even if it wouldn’t provide much Excelia.
“Yes, please, Miss Taylor!” Bell said, Lili nodding in agreement. Taylor smiled at them from behind her mask and gestured to the side where a couple Killer Ants had cleared out some space and were standing at the ready.
Bell went first, darting in and testing the strength of a Killer Ant’s carapace by stabbing it in the head. It shrieked and flailed about, showing that its body was quite sturdy. A second stab revealed to Bell the location of its Magic Stone, and with that mystical gem broken, the monster collapsed into ash.
At his side, Lili provided covering fire, piercing a Killer Ant’s left eye, blinding it as yellowish-green blood oozed from the wound. Bell disabled a third monster by severing its legs, then finished it off by cutting off its head. Like Lili had said earlier, the Killer Ant stayed alive for a full two minutes despite being decapitated, the mandibles continuing to futilely gnash as it rolled about on the floor until Lili fully killed it with a crossbow bolt.
“A regular ant can sense vibrations as well as smell using its antenna,” Taylor informed them as they fought. “In essence, they are the ant’s ears and nose at the same time. You will be able to cripple them by cutting them off. Aim for those if you need to escape as it will severely hamper their ability to chase you.”
“Got it!” Bell called out, putting her advice to work by severing the antenna from a fourth Killer Ant, and watched with interest as it went berserk, unable to sense the world around it properly anymore.
Taylor watched, impressed by their skill and coordination, as well as marveling at the superhuman feats the two could perform. A normal human wouldn’t be able to backflip over a giant ant while also accurately cutting its head off upon landing. Nor could regular people fight while carrying what had to be hundreds of pounds of gear on their back at the same time.
The teenaged parahuman turned adventurer had ordered the Killer Ants to act just like they would with the Dungeon’s influence clouding their minds, and they did so, but with the caveat not to harm the two adventurers. Even so, both Bell and Lili were displaying considerable fighting skills. It was good experience for them, and they also seemed to enjoy the chance to fight without the risk of death.
Bell even started teaching Lili how to use knives and daggers as a close combat option in the event she ran out of ammo, and the young girl seemed to pick it up rather quickly.
When the party finally decided to return to the surface, it was only because both Lili and Chris’ bags were stuffed to the brim with treasure and unable to hold more. Everyone’s pockets, pouches, and whatever else could be used to carry items ended up being used. Bell even took off his socks to use as tiny makeshift sacks!
It was barely even noon when they made their way back to Orario, and yet this single trip had been the most profitable excursion any of them had ever been on.
“L-Lili has never seen so much money from a single trip!” she murmured, staring at the massive pouch of valis in her hands, before looking up with wide eyes at Taylor and Bell. “N-normally a party of five Level 1 adventurers only makes twenty-five thousand valis a day if they stay around the Fifth Floor. But this… this is ridiculous!”
“We’re not normal adventurers,” Taylor said dryly, something that was hilariously understated.
“I-is it really okay for Lili to have this much?” Lili asked hesitantly, as if she couldn’t believe her luck.
“We divide everything evenly between us,” Taylor told her. Each of them had gotten a quarter of the haul, with the final fourth being put into the Hestia Familia’s bank account as usual.
Even with an extra person to divide the money with, each of them had made a little over a hundred thousand valis. That meant the entire haul was nearly half a million valis total!
“Yeah! Lili was really useful! You knew about that shortcut through the Third Floor that I’d never even seen before, plus you knew where the pantry on the Seventh Floor was!” Bell said. “Not to mention you carried way more stuff than Chris did on the way back!”
“Th-thank you,” Lili said, looking down with a blush, unable to meet Bell’s beaming face anymore.
The former warlord held back a snort at that. ‘What a lady killer,’ she thought, amused. ‘And he doesn’t even realize it.’
Still, while the trip had made them a lot of money, Taylor, however, considered the best part of the day the fact she’d gotten a new insectoid monster to add to her collection. She had decided to bring back the very first Killer Ant she’d taken control of, and after bidding Lili and Bell farewell, had gone to the Guild to pay for the license.
“Another one?” Eina asked, her voice cracking a bit as she stared at the enormous ant. It stared back, unblinking, one feeler twitching a bit.
“Her name is Anne,” Taylor replied, patting it fondly on the head.
“Of course it is,” the half-elf said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Miss Taylor, far be it from me to tell an adventurer what to do, but if I may make a suggestion, too many monsters out in the streets will be seen as odd. Try, at least, to only have one of them accompanying you at a time.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Taylor said, making no promises.
“This is going to get out of hand, I can tell,” Eina muttered. Even so, she dutifully retrieved the monster registration paperwork for Taylor, who quickly filled it out and paid for the iron tag with the proper information stamped onto it.
“Thank you,” Taylor said, taking the collar and putting it onto Anne’s neck. It was a little harder to see compared to Chris’, but it was there, so legally everything was fine and dandy.
She paid, then bid the Guild worker farewell, who just gave a weary, half-hearted nod farewell.
Having nothing else to do for the day, Taylor decided to get some more shopping done. Clothes were good, especially as she wanted to browse for dye to color her silk with as well as check out what sort of styles of clothing people in Orario liked to wear, and getting a new blade or two wouldn’t be amiss. Then of course there was dinner to prepare…
‘Hmm, I might not have enough free time as I thought,’ Taylor mused to herself as she began to walk through the streets of Orario.
As usual, people parted around her, the presence of two monsters doing much to deter crowds from forming. She even got discounts from terrified merchants, though Taylor always felt bad about that, even if it was familiar to her warlord days.
A few of the bugs in a nearby alleyway detected some odd as she was walking through the marketplace, and she frowned.
‘Is that Lili?’ Taylor wondered. For some reason, she didn’t seem to have dog ears anymore, but the young girl’s hum was unmistakable: a soft tinkling of broken glass.
She was also being cornered by a very large – and by large, Taylor meant fat – adventurer, who was backed up by two more. His hum was louder than Lili’s, but not as loud as Bell’s. He was likely a Level 1. A strong one, but gone to seed if his waistline was any indicator. He had the ears and tail of a raccoon as well, which was an odd sight, but not exactly unusual in Orario.
She pushed her swarm closer, trying to hear through it. It was not as clear as she’d have liked, but from the tone and the actions going on, the raccoon adventurer had an antagonistic relationship with the supporter, and had knocked down Lili.
‘That’s not good,’ Taylor thought to herself, watching as the raccoon beastman loomed over Lili, trying to extort the money she’d earned in the Dungeon earlier from her.
Lili attempted to resist, but he was stronger than her and with a kick to her ribs, pried the bag of valis out of her hands.
‘I’ve seen enough,’ Taylor decided, and stepped in before he could leave the alley, summoning her swarm to surround him and his followers.
He flinched as the buzzing mass appeared before him, same as the other two, but to Taylor’s surprise, Lili looked hopeful when the insects gathered.
“I don’t like bullies,” Taylor said through the swarm behind the adventurers, while also putting aside Lili’s reaction for the moment, focusing instead on the rats in front of her.
“This is none of yer business, bitch,” the raccoon-man spat, glancing around at the circling mass of insects, likely trying to find where she was. Joke was on him, though. She wasn’t anywhere near him.
“You are trying to steal the hard-earned money of a supporter who had made a contract with the Hestia Familia,” Taylor replied, making her voice come from a different corner of the alley.
“And the rat is a member of the Soma Familia. What happens to her is none of your business,” raccoon-guy growled out, his eyes starting to dart around a bit in worry when he couldn't immediately detect Taylor.
“I beg to differ,” Taylor retorted. “Your actions shame your Familia, and if you do not drop the money and leave, will be forced to take… drastic measures.”
“She’s right, nya!” a peppy voice called out, and everyone turned to face the newcomer. Not Taylor, though. She’d seen her coming well before anyone else did. “Being mean to somebody as cute as her has gotta be a crime!”
The person who had appeared was one of the cat-girl waitresses from the Hostess of Fertility. She had brown hair and eyes, and had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looked over the situation in the alleyway.
And she was powerful. Far stronger than anyone else there. Combined.
“This does not concern you,” the raccoon uttered, his tone much more respectful as he faced the cat-eared woman.
“Nope! It doesn’t, nya! But I agree with buggy girl! I don’t like bullies,” the waitress – Anya, Taylor recalled – stated, her voice turning low with a dangerous purr at the last bit.
That seemed to break the member of the Soma Familia’s spirit, and he grunted in disgust, tossing the bag of money back at Lili before stalking off. Taylor generously parted the curtain of insects to allow them to leave without issue. She left a few bugs on their clothes to keep track of them, however.
“Thank you,” Taylor said through her swarm, and Anya blushed and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.
“Nah, it’s okay, nya! Just doing what anybody should do.”
“If only more people thought that way,” Taylor muttered. Anya gave a nervous laugh at that before gasping.
“Oh! I’ve gotta get back before Mama wonders where the ingredients are!” Anya exclaimed, turning around and running off, making sure to grab a large bag of groceries as she did so.
“This is the second time Lili has been rescued by a maid and someone from the Hestia Familia this week alone,” Lili chuckled, but the tone was grim and there was little genuine amusement to be heard.
“About that,” Taylor began, unsure of where to start. What could she even say? “Do you want to talk about it?”
Lili gave a deadpan stare at one of the bug clones, clearly as unimpressed by the offer as Taylor herself felt.
The member of the Hestia Familia winced and was glad Lili couldn’t actually see her right now.
“Thank you for saving Lili, Miss Taylor,” the supporter eventually said, standing up and brushing some dust off of her cloak. “But Lili must be going now.”
“Wait,” Taylor said, moving a portion of her swarm in front of the smaller girl. “I have questions.”
“Lili is sure you do,” she replied bitterly. “But since Lili has no connection to you anymore, it’s better if you leave Lili alone!”
“We have a contract,” Taylor pointed out.
“That was just a lie you told to get Canoe off Lili’s back,” Lili replied with a scoff.
“Canoe? That was his name?” Taylor asked with a snort.
“Canoe Belway is one of the Soma Familia’s top adventurers,” Lili replied darkly. “He’s the strongest Level 1, and Zanis’ lap dog.”
“Ironic, considering he’s a raccoon beastman,” Taylor said, and Lili laughed darkly.
“Yes, Lili supposes it is.”
“What was he trying to do to you, Lili?” Taylor asked, changing topics.
“That is Lili’s business,” the younger girl huffed.
“If you say so,” Taylor said.
“Can Lili go now?” she demanded, and after a moment Taylor complied, parting her swarm.
“Bell and I will be delving into the Dungeon again tomorrow,” Taylor told her as she left. “We could use your help as a supporter.”
“…Lili will be there,” she muttered.
“Good. Meet us out front at six am. And bring some more bags. We’re going back down to the Seventh Floor.”
Lili perked up at that, and Taylor could tell that the prospect of another day as bountiful as this one appealed to her. She then left, and Taylor discreetly placed a few more bugs on her.
Afterwards, Taylor went about her day, checking out the market place and a few stores. She had money to spend, but hadn’t brought any with her, having left it all at home. She considered going back down into the Dungeon for a brief stint to collect some extra money since she had the time, and after some thought decided it would be a better use of her time than just wandering aimlessly.
She stuck to the First Floor, and carved a bloody swathe through the goblins. With Chris and Anne protecting her, it gave Taylor a chance to train with her dagger and shake the rust off of her martial arts skills. Back in the Wards, she'd taken the opportunity to learn a few different unarmed combat styles, including Krav Maga, because fuck the Empire 88. She was unsure of how useful such techniques would be against the less humanoid monsters, but it couldn't hurt to have them, just in case.
Having only one arm threw off her ability to fight a bit, not to mention being significantly stronger than before thanks to the Falna, but having the chance to adjust was worth the time spent down below in the Dungeon’s halls. Not to mention that without a larger swarm, Taylor was forced to rely more on her regular senses, something she hadn’t done in a long time.
Very little of note happened during that time. There was a moment when she caught a glimpse of a strange green rooster-like bird, but it sprinted off faster than she could keep up with when it saw her, vanishing into the depths of the Dungeon. Other than that, most adventurers kept their distance. Walking out a few hours later with her money-pouch a few thousand valis heavier, Taylor was pleased with the workout and went up to the market to grab some ingredients for dinner, feeling like curry. Then, she strolled back home.
“Welcome back, Miss Taylor!” Bell said happily when she returned to the church around four in the afternoon. Taylor saw Hestia was already back, the twin-tailed girl sitting on the couch with an exhausted look on her face. Did her shift working at the food stall end early?
“Did you get your stats updated?” she asked Bell instead, and he nodded.
“What in the Gods’ names did you do today?” Hestia demanded, glaring at her.
“You saw the money Bell brought back, I take it?” Taylor guessed.
“I did! He also told me you got a new monster!” she scowled.
“A Killer Ant!” Bell ‘helpfully’ chimed in.
“Yes, Bell, thank you,” Hestia grunted. “A Killer Ant. Why?”
“I wanted one,” Taylor replied simply. There was no greater reason. She’d just wanted a giant ant. What girl wouldn’t?
Hestia let out an exasperated groan, slumping a bit, before shooting Taylor a glare.
“Do not keep it in here,” she ordered. “And can you control them when you aren’t here?”
“Yes, don’t worry about that,” Taylor assured her. “I can give orders to the monsters just as I can to the regular insects, and they’ll follow them even if I’m not nearby to enforce my will. As for where it will stay, I’m going to have Anne dig a den nearby. She’ll make a small cave for herself and Chris, and it’ll also be where the spiders will work on making silk.”
Taylor wasn’t planning on bringing Anne into the Dungeon regularly. Chris was more than enough to protect her on the Upper Floors. And with a Killer Ant guarding the place while the Familia wasn’t there, no thieves would get any stupid ideas.
“You named it Anne,” Hestia groaned.
“I like it!” Bell said cheerfully.
“Thank you, Bell,” Taylor replied.
“Let’s… let’s just get your stats updated,” Hestia mumbled as she got off the couch. Taylor nodded and followed her into the bedroom, took off her shirt, and lay down to let Hestia have access to her Falna.
Blood dripped onto her back, and there was a sound like the buzzing of her swarm that filled the air for a brief moment as Hestia’s power suffused the air.
‘It seems my hum has gained its own sound, for better or worse,’ Taylor noted as she waited for Hestia to finish.
When the tiny ‘goddess’ was done, she gave Taylor the paper with her latest changes to her stats.
TAYLOR HEBERT
LEVEL 1
POWER – I 21 → I 99
ENDURANCE – I 18 → I 68
DEXTERITY – I 30 → H 112
AGILITY – I 14 → I 77
MAGIC – H 101 → F 319
“Well, I think I can safely say you are going to end up being perfect as a Mage,” Hestia said as Taylor examined her stats. The parahuman could only nod at that, as her Magic stat was by far the highest of them at the moment, and it was growing the fastest.
“Magic… this stat influences how much ‘Mind’ I possess?” Taylor asked.
“Correct! Spells need it! But cast too many spells in a row and you can pass out!” Hestia confirmed.
“I think the reason Magic is growing so fast is because of my shard,” Taylor mused thoughtfully. “I have to control every insect myself, after all, and that takes up a considerable amount of brain power. The two must be connected, somehow. And my range… it feels like it has increased a bit.”
“Really? Interesting, I wonder how much bigger it can get,” Hestia wondered.
“It didn’t increase by much. Just a few feet. But even if it’s just a centimeter every point or so, that will certainly add up fast at the rate the stat is improving,” Taylor said.
Expanding her already prodigious range a single centimeter didn’t seem like much, especially when the radius of her power was currently around two thousand feet or so. But her power had grown in scope natural, so if it was possible for the Falna to artificially enhance it, that was just another trick up her sleeve.
Having experienced the way her power reacted in the Dungeon also made Taylor wonder if she could consciously reshape her own field. It had always been a sphere, but could it be more? Was it possible to extend it purposefully in one direction outside of the Dungeon?
‘Something to test later,’ she decided as she put her shirt back on.
“Tonight’s dinner is going to be curry,” she said aloud. “Bell! Start chopping ingredients! And get some water boiling!”
“Yes, Miss Taylor!” Bell called out, hurrying to the kitchen. She smiled, as did Hestia. Though the much shorter (if bustier) girl turned to her with pleading eyes.
“Please don’t bring home any more monsters!” she begged.
“No promises,” Taylor said. Hestia sobbed a bit in response. Taylor patted her on the head in response, which caused her to growl and pout. How adorable.
Comments
Ian Rodgers
Ants for the Ant God, Swarms for Taylor!
Ian Rodgers
Thank you!
Elaine
good chappie
Memory Dump
https://youtu.be/1aBzqu3vSyg?si=Hq3VC5eUa1PjuKzO Ant farm, Ant Farm! Ants for the Formicarium!
