Chapter 11 - "Reaching the last floor"

My back still hurting and wondering where the hell I found the vitality for this intense night, I descended the stairs while holding Mysty...

At the bottom of the stairs we finally reached the 21th floor, but there was already difference with the others floors, the light is a little weaker, at first i was not sure but, Mysty also said the same. Well shit, I hope it don't turn darker than this or it's going to be quite annoying. Buck and party didn't tell me anything about the floors after the 20th one since they never got this far themselves. Just to be sure let's take a light stone out of the beginner pack.

After making Mysty change back in human form I took the light stone who was a magic item like the heat stone, it was a stone that used for city lighting most of the time but it could also be used as a torch. It was a glowing blue stone floating in a small lantern. I hang it to my waist and continued to advance after Mysty returned to her sword form.

After walking for a moment we arrived in a big room where waited for us lot of monsters, they don't laughs around on this floor, there was no less than ten white wolfs and four orthros.

"Seriously?! there was at most 7 monsters at the same time on the 19th floor!"

Let's do it like before and just rush while avoiding those annoying bastards, but as I started to run on the wall I suddenly heard a roar, and the white wolfs started to run at me from the opposite side of the wall running on it, as for the orthros they were trying to get on my back. Since when those dogs are this smart?! I jumped from the wall and started swinging Mysty at an impressive speed and slashed every white wolfs who followed after me, it was like they were just jumping straight at the center of a whirlwind of blade, and of course I was now covered in blood, ahhh... I was even able to reach here without getting bloodied. But more importantly are those things smart or dumb? That's kinda weird they where showing good tactics a second ago and after that they just jumped at me in a suicide attack... But i soon understand why they acted like that as the creature who roared when I started to ran on the wall showed up, to simply describe it, it was a giant chihuahua... Yeah this word definitively have a few screws loses, I mean this thing had eyes the size of my freakin' head! But as he appeared the orthros suddenly started to surround him while facing me as if to protect him.

Ah, so this roar I heard was to give command to the wolves... Poor fellas... Annoyed by the simple view of this ridiculous thing, that even a werebear would look good compared to, I rushed at it while avoiding traps, but that when the bastard showed his true face. He stepped back to get back to the hallway he came from and ordered the Orthros with a roar, hearing his command they started to run on every side of the room, as I was wondering what the hell they where trying to do, the Orthros all stepped intentionally on all the traps in the room.

"You bastard chihuahua! Tch!" (Shun)

As spears and blocks of stones started falling down from the ceiling or coming from the walls,impaling and crushing the orthros, i put all my power in my leg and reached the chihuahua in a single leap.

"Tough luck little shit!" While saying that I ripped his giant head with Mysty, it was disgusting when his eyes literally popped out...

"*Sigh* No wonder every cursed blade is insane when they have to stay in such dungeon..." (Shun)

[Hey! I'm not 'that' insane, am i not?!]

"Weren't you the one who said I shouldn't expect something else from blades who killed a god using curse and 'insanity'?" (Shun)

[Uhhhhh... That's low, using my own words like that...]

"Just think more before talking next time. Okay let's advance, what was you supposed to do when trying to find a labyrinth exit already? A right! You have to follow a wall as to not get lost!" (Shun)

[That doesn't really make sense...]

Don't worry your little pretty head with thing you won't understand honey...

And so I followed the wall on my right side while running on it, luckily it seem we killed most monsters present since we didn't see any other while exploring the floor.

And... Uh?

"Wait what the hell is that?!"

As I reached the room with the stairs to the next floor, a single treasure chest was in the middle of it... Suspicious as fuck!

[Oh it's a mimic! Kill it dear he must have a treasure!]

"Wait what?! Isn't Mimic supposed to have monster inside and no treasure?" (Shun)

[What are you saying? Everyone know that they are monster in form of chest that like to leave in dungeon and collect precious item to attracts human prey!]

... The more i know about the world the more it's seem totally screwed up!

"So if i understand, they are monsters that collect precious item who had been dropped from fallen adventurers in a labyrinth, as to make adventurers go after them?! That just plain stupid no?!"

[That just how that work, don't ask me what go through their minds...]

Oh well let's not mind the small detail and just take what this thing have to give... I approached it slowly still doubting the story, but wait a second if their no monster inside how is he gonna attack me? As i was thinking that, the chest suddenly jumped at me showing two eyeball who were on tentacles like a snail and and two other tentacle with blade at the end of it.

"What the hell! So their really a monster inside after all!" (Shun)

[I never said their was no monster inside, I just said their was also a item.]

"Say it in a way i don't misunderstand next time!" (Shun)

I sure was surprised but in the end it was just a weak monster and I beat it with my fist as to not tear what inside using Mysty. As I broke what was in reality his shell with my fist, a large amount of green slimy blood started to flow and it died, and the slimy monster inside the chest disappeared leaving just his broken shell in the appearance of a chest behind. Now i'm really curious of what inside... But seriously are all the monster here nasty or creepy?

As i approached the shell still cautious, I finally seen what was inside... Inside was none other than... A legendary sword! No just kidding it was a scarf... A really long red scarf...

"What the hell that kinda disappointing, but since it was a weak monster it's not that weird..."

[Mmm? Dear i don't know what it do, but that scarf seem like a really powerful item!]

"What? This thing? It's not cursed at least right?"

[No don't worry it's just enchanted, it must have been made by a genius craftsman! I feel a lot of power coming from it!]

Still kinda suspicious of Mysty word but believing it's really not a cursed item I wear it at my neck...

"What the hell?! I just look like some make believe ninja like that?!" (Shun)

The red scarf was so long it almost touched the floor even after i roll it around my neck two time. But strangely it wasn't hot, it was really comfortable.

"I guess it doesn't hurt wearing it, apart from my look..." (Shun)

[Really? I think you look cool like that.]

Well it do seem like, you love flashy red cloth...

[And now we're matching!]

So that was your true motive! Well anyway it's really comfortable to wear so let's keep it. I guess I gonna need to ask a expert to identify it when I have the time. And I can also use it to hide my face and peculiar hair from afar, but I guess up close it would be useless because of my eyes...

(Remember he have gray hair and cyan eyes.)

Kinda happy of this short distraction that was the mimic and obtaining a pretty good item I walked to the stairs while humming.

[So you 'do' like it in the end!]

I couldn't really deny it...

And so we arrived to the 22th floors after exploring the 21th for around two hours, at this rate it's going to take a long time.

"Mmm? Like i feared it's getting darker on this floor... I hope we won't end up in the dark latter on, with the trap and boss that would be really overkill..." (Shun)

But as we reached the 23th floor after fighting against two giant Chihuahua leaded group and searching for the stairs for 3 hours, my hopes got crushed as it was getting even darker, and now my light stone was the best source of light to see anything here...

"At this rate we gonna be in complete darkness in two floor..." (Shun)

[Seem like it, it's not that surprising since the mages themed the dungeon after the blade sealed here...]

"I see... I can understand the darkness due to the 'blind' part, but what with the dogs?"

[Her personality?]

Ah! Yeah it kinda match up... They do say dogs are masochist...

"Then what was your dungeon like?" (Shun)

[Mmm? Nothing that interesting, monsters there are slimes and the traps are acidic fluid. Those slimes have the interesting ability of dissolving cloths before asphyxiating their preys.]

So what, it's a dungeon of sexual harassment and 'Vore', thanks Ymylfana I didn't had to explore this labyrinth... But wait if the traps have something to do with the theme, what the spear and stone pillar have in common with Setsuna? Maybe that have something to do with a blind being, sixth sense or something? Or maybe those mages just didn't know what to put there, that sound strangely likely... That or could it be... Na those mages sound crazy, no way they think this much about it. And with the name she have of 'slasher', it doesn't add up...

Has I was deep in thinking I suddenly heard a *Clunk*... Shit... In the dark and thinking about something else I activated a trap, but this time it was something completely different than before, unlike before where spears and arrows tried to stab me or stone pillar crush me a giant blade suddenly tried to cut me in half at an incredible speed... Now it add up, I thought while crouching in a hurry to avoid the trap.

I won't be able to verify if my thoughts are rights before seeing Setsuna and fight her but seeing everything I encountered since I entered this dungeon it seem really likely...

"Hey Mysty was the monster in your dungeon in few number and giant in size?" (Shun)

[Yeah how did you know? They get bigger at every floor and attack by leaping with a lot of speed.]

So it's really like that... Those mages weren't as much of a fools as I first thought... But why would they do something like that?

"I think that I found why they made those labyrinth in such a roundabout way when they could have make every floors as difficult and do it so nobody wouldn't even dare to enter inside."

[Uh? What do you mean? Didn't they just made dungeons to seal us?]

"No it wouldn't make sense even if they were totally crazy... I can't say i'm sure for now, but if i'm right the more we advance the more blades there be and darkness, also the boss must be something with a lot of speed and a huge numbers of blades."

[How do you know that?]

"Don't worry about it let just advance even if i'm right it be useless until I fight Setsuna." (Shun)

[Mmumumu, I don't like it when you hide things!]

I don't hide anything, it's just logical when you take the time to think about it, well not that I can talk since I didn't guess it until the darkness thing.

In this floor there was even more Chihuahua army and every trap where those insanely fast blades. It took me no less than 4 hours before reaching the next floor, who was now just only dim-lighted like there was a weak led bulb every ten meters, but still only passing three floors in 10 hours, those floor are really no joke and they get really harder and harder, on floor 24 the numbers of blades that show up every time a trap is activated is now three, it's insane, if not for my body capability being higher with the help of Mysty I would most likely have already been killed by those. And i'm starting to get hungry...

Well I'm also always hungry when wielding Mysty, but I'm starting to sense a difference between the hunger the curse give me and a natural one. Pretty strange uh, it's like the curse just give me pains and a natural hunger plea me to eat, like that... But there no rest area until the end from now on, that quite the problem...

As I was holding my stomach because of the pains of the curse and my natural hunger, I activated yet another trap, but not using my eyes but my sense of touch and hearing, I was able to avoid the blades unconsciously even before they came at me sensing the vibrations in the air and the floor.

"Guess it starting to show effect uh?" (Shun)

[What do you mean?]

"No matter how you look at it this labyrinth is for training, to fight against the cursed blade and help you win against her. Everything points at it. And I'm starting to show result from it." (Shun)

[Uh? How did you come to that conclusion? Why would the mages even do that?]

"Yeah even I don't know why they would do that, but their a lot of proofs it's the case. First the light, why would they even bother to make lights in a dungeon that's supposed to oppose invaders, secondly the growing difficulty, the more you advance the harder it get, thirdly the rest area, why would they let floor empty as if to invite people to rest there and help them to continue. And lastly the fact the dungeon is themed after the cursed blades, they are made like that to train you to resist the curse of the cursed blades, in this dungeon it's too resist Setsuna blind curse and train you to be able to fight while blind and being attacked on all side, as for your dungeon it's to be able to fight while in pains, giant enemies." (Shun)

[Yeah... It's true it really look like that, but really why would they even do that... It's like they made it in hope someone would be able to win over the cursed blades...]

"Exactly... If we follow that thought it look like they had the precise goal of found a master for the cursed blades and that doesn't make sense, what would they gain from that? Well i guess we won't get any answer for now anyway so let's continue, I'm gonna try to rest and eat while inside the stairs I hope monsters won't try anything there..." (Shun)

After walking for a while, and avoiding a lot of traps like it was a second nature I even started to try avoiding them with eyes closed to train for the next floors, and so I was now able to advance in silence, walking calmly, avoiding traps and fighting a huge number of opponents while having my eyes closed, frankly that amazing I didn't think a human being would be able to 'see' this well while being blind, well i'm not totally human anymore but my body his... Almost...

And like that I finally reached the stairs to the 25th floor, no less than 20 hours passed since I exited the 20th floor, I kinda got into my training, forgetting about my hunger and exhaustion and in the and I passed a lot of hours without knowing it. Anyway now that I reached the stair I really need to eat and sleep a little, the training really exhausted me as I got absorbed in it even trough I kinda played with my life there...

After eating my fill and sleep for some hours while Mysty kept guard in her blade form whom needed neither sleep nor to eat. I woke up and stretched myself like would a cat.

"Ouch." My back and hips still hurt, and sleeping in a awkward position in a staircase didn't help that...

"Okay let's advance it should be fast now that I know how to move in the darkness and evade the traps even when activated." (Shun)

Even if the numbers of blades traps or monsters grew I'm now at the level were they not even a problem anymore, the growth blessing is really something... But as I entered the first room of this floor not only there was not even a trace of light, my light stone suddenly shut down. Guess they see it coming and prepared counter measure against cheat... And so here I was, in complete darkness... Not that it change anything since I was already walking around with my eyes closed. Good thing I trained before entering this floor...

I started to walk never minding the darkness and just passed through everything on this floor and the next without feeling even a single time in danger. I sure grew a lot since I entered this dungeon, when I think I even had difficulty against the few monsters and slow traps before, I'm almost felling ashamed of myself... But I was now in the last room of the 27th floor, in front of what seem to be a giant monster, from what my guts and sense tell me but since I don't even know what it look like, i'm starting to get really nervous to face it...

As I was thinking, I sensed something cutting the air and was going my way, I evaded it like I would the blades traps, but suddenly after I succeeded to avoid it, it abruptly changed direction and came back at me.

"Shit!" It was stupid of me to think it would move in a same way would a mindless trap, I guess the boss are a passing test to see if you even have a chance against Setsuna.

As it was almost reaching my neck I quickly parried it with Mysty who made a shriek a the sensation since she was completely unable to see what was happening.

[What?! What happening?!]

"I'm currently fighting the boss of the 27th floor you idiot, can't you even sense thing around you?"

[Well excuse me to use my eyes like a normal person!]

Do you even have eyes in this form?

And even more, the thing is Mysty, someone who can change into a blade isn't really considerate normal... Uh?

Wait a minute, how is he able to see me in the darkness? The dogs were clearly able to see in the dark, there moves and the sense I was glared upon confirm it, i first thought it was also the case here but if it's to test me, it should be something close to the monster form of Setsuna who is blind. Guess it's time to use our family sure kill technique, I started to fill my lungs at the maximum of their capacity, and...

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

*RUMBLE*

*SSHHHHHKKRRRRRIIIIIIIII*

HOLY COW! That was more powerful than last time! Seriously I was even afraid that the dungeon was going to cave in, but hopefully it did not and the monster soon cried in an insect like voice, guess it's a bug type monster... But sensing as it was really confused and even a little stunned I charged at him and just attacked blindly at it, while ripping it apart, the boss monster started to cry once again but it became weaker and weaker as he was dying until it finally stopped.

"That monster wasn't that strong but fighting something like that while being blind is really difficult if not for the training I did in the dungeon I wouldn't stand a chance..." (Shun)

[I just hope the next two, be this simple...]

"Yeah, me too..." (Shun)

They were not... I'm right now fighting the boss of floor 28th it gave the same sensation as the one before and must be a sub-species of it, but this one was throwing a lots of blades at me at the same time, to my guess at lest ten of them, it was a real pain in the ass to avoid and parry them while trying to attack, and that one seem to be protected against sound unlike the last one, as my 'Fenrik Roar' (nice name uh?) didn't do anything to him, and it's really hard to use either way while swinging my sword like crazy like that.

"Urg!" Shit he made a cut into my leg!

[What happened?! Are you hurt?!]

"It's okay he just scratched me..." (Shun)

In truth I don't know how deep it wounded me since the pains of the curse made it hard to guess using the pain to gauge and I couldn't see it. But as I sense a lot of hot liquid flowing out of it, it's must have been much more than a scratch... At this rate I'm only going to get killed.

Trying to find an opening I ran to the left side of the monster, and I started to receive a lot less attacks, my guess is that this monster have a hard time moving here and can't use all his blades in this position, avoiding and parrying the blades he continued to launch at me, I was finally able to come closer, and when i sensed the monster was only a feet of distance from me, I slashed at it while jumping to the side as to avoid it's final attack.

*RRRROOOOAAARRRRRRRRR*

Mmm? It seem my guess was wrong and this monster wasn't something close to the last one, since this time his dying cry sounded more mammal. I really should hurry and start to eat it since I really lost a lot of blood. Eating while being in the dark is really a new experience, its like your taste bud do a lot of effort to tell you what your eating, since I am eating raw right now i'm pretty happy that the curse change my taste bud to accept anything... And so this time it was... Freakin' delicious! It was like eating a bountiful pork with caramel sauce on it, I didn't seem to stop until Mysty woke me up by asking what the hell I was doing when I wanted to leave as soon as possible... Right that to bad but I guess I should stop here... I did eat something close to 100 kg (220 lbs) of meats, if not for the curse my stomach would have seriously exploded, but since I ate with the curse and passed a lot of time to do it, all i did was making me hungrier.

"Shit I so want to eat... Hey wait didn't the beginner packs contained dried meat? Mysty would you change into your human form honey?" (Shun the humble)

[Yes, yes.]

After hearing my humble plea Mysty changed back into human form and I directly started to rummage through one of the pack using my sense of touch finding the grail, it didn't take more than a minute to devour it and fill myself.

"Ahhhh, that's the stuff." (Shun)

"Finished already? I'm changing back then, let's finish this in a rush!" (Mysty)

After taking back Mysty in sword form in my hand we descended the stairs to the final floor before getting to Sestuna, like the other before since I was able to walk in the dark and I didn't have any problem to reach the final room, but what was waiting for me there was nothing like before.... As I entered the room I was able to sense something, it wasn't something big, a little more bigger than a human at must... But my instinct was screaming at me, saying, that it is not an opponent I can win against. It was nothing like with Duran, the only two thing I felt as I had to fight this thing was, despair and excitement.

Yes the despair to fight an opponent I can't win against and excitement for this very same reason...

But even if I feel despair I don't want to stop here and neither can I, if I ran away here I would never be strong enough and all I will find in the future is death. So it doesn't matter if it something I can't win against I shall win either if I was to sacrifice an arm or more I shall defeat this opponent. And if I fall here... It mean I was only all talk...

As I made up my determination, I walked to the monster ready for battle and as it sensed I will fight with him he started his attack, it was ridiculous, there was so much attack I couldn't even start to guess how many blades it was launching at me, it made me remember when I died as Rick unable to do anything but take a barrage of steel and fire head on, but here, I was able to defend against it, swinging my blade at the attacks I parried as much as I could while trying to move to avoid the others but slowly a lot of small cuts was started to appear on me, I was able to avoid any deep cut, but it's clear that if we continue to fight like this he will kill me before I can do anything.

No choice I need to take a gamble, using Mysty as a shield I rushed at it taking blow as they come, but as I was getting close to it, it attacked the same point using all his 'weapons' and propulsed me in the air, I'm screwed, in the air I'm unable to avoid anything and the shock made me wide open as I struggled to keep my hold on Mysty.

I need to move from here! I need to move! MOVE! Suddenly my scarf glowed in a weak red light, because of it I was able to see the monster I was fighting, it was a human octopus, with a crazy number of tentacles whom had all blades at the end of them. In the weak light I was also able to see the tentacles approaching me in slow motion, it seem like I will die here, shit...

But as I was thinking I was already a deadman the scarf suddenly stopped glowing and I sensed something aspire me and suddenly later expire me.

*Krrriiiiiii?!*

The monster suddenly made a weird noise a is if in surprise, and I must say I was quite surprised myself as that sound was realllllyyyy close, like I was just beside him, in my surprise I just slashed in a reflex in front of me, and surprisingly made contact with something that was soon ripped apart by Mysty...

*Krririirriririiiii* (Dying octopus cry...)

UH? Wait did I just kill it?! What the hell?! It was just about to kill me wha...

*Cough**Cough* * UUuueeee*

Shit, what the fuck?! Blood is literally flowing out of every fucking holes on my head, my ears were bleeding, my eyes were bleeding, my nose was bleeding, my mouth was vomiting blood and I could feel a lot of blood running down my throat. What the hell?! Was his blades poisoned?! No, it would have took effect earlier, and I had this freakin' headache that made me think I drank a whole bar and it's whole fucking reserve. It doesn't matter for now I need to eat! Now that it came to this I kinda regret to have seen what he was looking like. Ah wait that it! The scarf! What was it glowing and why did I suddenly appeared near him? Ah shit I need to eat stop thinking for now.

[What happened?! The scarf suddenly became bright and then we were close to the thing and now I feel like your quickly dying?! Please talk to me!]

*Crunch crunch gulp crunch crunch gulp*

"Ahhhh the headache is finally getting down and the blood flow slower, for now sorry, but I can't talk Mysty, wait for me to finish eating it." (Shun)

[*Phew* Okay, it look like your vitality is coming back, you really scarred me there...]

After eating the whole octoman or whatever it's name I was almost back to full health but it seem that even after all I ate it wasn't enough to give me back all my blood and to fully stop my headache.

"I don't know what really happened but from my understanding it seem the scarf was the reason why I suddenly was near the boss and why I started to bleed like that, it must have been an after effect... I wonder what that scarf even is, it's clearly too strong for a human to use. And it didn't even need mana since I don't have mana, and there something here that jamming the use of magic item either way."

[Yeah, if it have a power to teleport you to an unbound destination like that, it's clearly a divine item, not something that should be on this earth.]

"A divine item?! Why would I found something like that in a weak monster?!" (Shun)

Divine item are item crafted and owned by gods, cursed blades are technically divine items but since they were cursed they were discarded unto the earth as to not destroy heaven, or so the story say, but this scarf is not cursed if I believe Mysty why would this be here? Even more in a weak mimic? Is that a pure coincidence or was a god involved in this? It doesn't make sense.

Well either way it did save me so I'm thankful, even if it almost killed me in the process, I wonder if I can use it with my second soul, not that I want to change form into my second soul, if I can avoid it I will not use it...

"Ah let's stop think about it, there to much to think recently... It was better at the time I could kill without thinking, let's just finish already!" (Shun)

[Yeah! Let's get Setsuna and hit the road again the three of us!]

Mmm? It seem she doesn't mind anymore about Setsuna...

"You seem to not mind Setsuna as much. Is that my imagination?"

[It's because I now understand that she is no threat to my position as first wife! Our love is unrivaled!]

Is that so...? Well as long as she's okay with that...

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No chapter 12 today, you will have to wait tomorrow for Setsuna!

But later today I will post a special Side-story that involve a character that will be latter introduced into the main story!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as I had a really hard time with it... Anyway stay tuned for more waifu!

PS: Also i tried to follow thejman09 suggestion and changed the i and i'm into I and I'm and I also think it look better.