Part Eight

Ow, damnit. What the heck was that? Did that monster just self-destruct? Seriously? They do that now? Fuck. It’s a good thing I have Rapid Recovery, or I’d need a lot longer to shake this off. Ow.

I’d been fighting the second field boss, a large clam-like thing with an extremely hard shell and a warped humanoid upper body inside. Its shell had been too hard for even the white sword to cut, but it had thankfully been susceptible to Grudge Magic, which greatly softened it, allowing me to slowly chip away at it.

Unfortunately, just before I could reach the main part of it inside, the damn thing decided to blow itself up, something I’d normally think stupid if this wasn’t a Dungeon. I’d felt the upsurge of mana, but I hadn’t been able to get away before the blast went off.

Thankfully, I’d gotten off with only light injuries, which soon healed up with Rapid Recovery, but that unfortunately meant I was now low on mana, meaning I’d need to rest. Something I most certainly did not want to do.

Every time I went to sleep in here, there was a chance I’d relive one of my memories in a dream, much like what had happened on my first night here. The memory itself was completely random, and I’d already experienced memories from my early childhood up to just a few months ago. One of them had even been of my time in the Siege Dungeon, which had just been weird for me.

The randomness of the whole thing scared me. Normally, reliving a memory wouldn’t be all that bad. I’m sure I’ve forgotten plenty of pleasant things, but it’s the unpleasant things I’m worried about. There were a handful of memories I absolutely didn’t want to relive, which almost guaranteed that I eventually would.

…Haaaaah. Might as well just get it over with. Thank god there’s no real trauma in my past. This place would be hell in that case. I just hope she isn’t in the next one…

***

Oh? This is my old school. Oh boy, that guy sure looks pissed. Oh wait. That’s me, isn’t it? Hm, when is this? Based on my clothes and height, I’d say tenth, maybe eleventh grade? Well past when I usually stalked along looking for a fight.

…Why don’t I remember this?

The high school in my hometown wasn’t all that big, so it wouldn’t take long for past me to find whoever he wanted to murder. It was just odd that I couldn’t remember who he (or I, I wasn’t really sure how this worked) was hunting. I’d rarely gotten into fights once I’d gotten into high school, so I should remember this. Maybe it hadn’t ended up being a big deal.

Fortunately, it seemed that things would soon get moving. As I dispassionately watched my past self, he soon arrived at the school's lobby, where a crowd of people were gathered around one wall. A few of them were watching the connecting hallways, and one of them peeled away to come over once he’d spotted me.

“M-Michael! Whoa there! Easy boy, you don’t need to kill anyone.”

“Shove it Clint. I’m not gonna kill him. I’m just finishing what I started.”

“Gah! I-I mean, uh. Oh, damnit! Michael, the guy's in a cast. Don’t you think this has gone far enough? Do you want to get arrested again? I doubt even your parents can get you out of jail a second time in a month.”

“I don’t fucking care. Get out of the way Clint, or you’ll be next.”

Wooooow. Okay, I know when this is. There’s only one time I’ve ever threatened Clint like that. Hoo boy, this is gonna get ugly.

Clint was one of the few people who could calm me down, but even he was treading on thin ice here. A single misspoken word would be enough to make me deck someone, and Clint knew that. Unfortunately, there was only one person who could’ve actually diffused me here, but she wasn’t present today. In fact, what happened here made it obvious why she hadn’t gone to school today. Without her, any efforts to calm me were in vain.

“You’ve got to the count of three. Move.”

“Uh, uh. Ah, fuck it! Fine Michael, do what you want.”

“I usually do.”

With Clint backing down, there was no longer anyone to stop the oncoming tragedy. A few of the onlookers, sensing the ensuing disaster, ran off to presumably find help. Of course, even though past me had noticed that, he still kept going towards the gathered crowd.

“Ack! M-m-m-Michael!”

“Oh shit! Run!”

Those on the edge of the crowd all noticed me simultaneously, and most had the same exact reaction. Run. Honestly, everyone’s reactions seemed so overblown to me. I obviously wasn’t going to actually kill the idiot, but everyone seemed afraid that they’d be a witness to a murder. Or a victim of one.

Honestly, do any of you actually think I’d kill a guy in broad daylight? I’m not a freaking moron. Jeez, why were all my classmates idiots?...oh, I just sorta realized that most of them are probably dead now, and it bummed me out. Fuck.

Anyway, a chain reaction started amongst those in the crowd, and it parted like the Red Sea, leaving me a clear path to the man, no, the boy with a plaster cast on his arm, and bandages around his face. Honestly, I’d never actually been told all the injuries he’d suffered, most I just assumed from where I’d stomped on him after I knocked him out. I didn’t even know why he had a cast on his arm since I hadn’t done anything to it, but maybe he’d hurt himself some other way. It honestly didn’t matter now anyway since it had happened years in the past.

Past me walked up to the guy, (I didn’t even remember his name) and looked him straight in the eye. The dude looked about to piss himself, though nothing was going to happen.

“If you ever, and I mean ever, come near my sister again and I find out. Well, I won’t stop next time.”

After saying that, he turned around and left leaving everyone present both relived and shocked. I was not known for peaceful resolutions. On the other hand, I was currently cradling my head in my arms.

What the hell was that!? Gaaaaah! Why did I try to sound so edgy there! I’m not a damn edgelord, I swear! Ah wait, maybe I am now? Fuuuuuuuck…..

Now I remembered why I didn’t remember this. I’d blocked it out of my consciousness, erasing it from my memory. Honestly, the whole thing had just been a load of blustering from me. I’d already been warned against any further fights by my parents, and even though I didn’t really respect them, I never would’ve gone so directly against them in something like this. I was too afraid of being cut off. And if I remembered right, the guy's family had moved away shortly after this, though I wasn’t sure why.

Haaah, that whole thing was just a clusterfuck. I was never even given all the details regarding that whole mess, so I don’t really know anything except for what I experienced. Well whatever, not like it’ll actually matter anymore. Apocalypse and all.

This was just another memory to me, nothing more, nothing less. I didn’t know what the purpose behind having me relive this could be, but I knew one thing.

Pfffft, fuck, I forgot how bad Clint’s fashion sense is. Why the heck was he wearing parachute pants? This certainly isn’t the nineties, and he’s not MC Hammer. I never did understand his fashion sense, nor do I want to.

***

Okay, almost there. Last one, but it’s a doozy.

After my little stint down memory lane, I’d continued on to the last of the field boss locations my familiars had told me about, though at twenty stories, it also happened to be the largest building I’d found since the one I started on.

While the increased size worried me, I was also concerned about the fact that the field bosses were steadily growing stronger and stronger. Each fight was taking me longer to finish, and I needed more mana and took more damage as well. If the trend continued, I’d soon run into something I couldn't deal with.

I may need to spend a few days or weeks grinding monsters. I’m not really sure if I’m making any growth right now, but upgrading my swords should help carry me a little further. Though since my Status no longer says my growth is halted, it might be a moot point. Either way, grinding it is. Just, later.

The inside of the building was no different than any other I’d been in, though there weren’t any monsters nearby. In fact, I couldn’t even find any signs that there had ever been any here. It was unnerving, like smelling smoke but not seeing the flame.

I gingerly moved through the hallways, checking around each and every corner for ambushes or traps, but nothing stuck out to me. Even the smells I’d come to associate with monster-occupied buildings were missing, something that might be even worse then there not being any visible enemies. Added to all that, a vague, uncomfortable feeling was slowly creeping up my spine. I personally wanted to just leave, but I did need the crystal dropped by the field boss. Without it, I could spend weeks looking for the Mid-bosses and never find them.

*…*

Tch, nothing. And the Spirits are saying there aren’t any life signs in the building except for the one on the roof. What the heck's going on?

To put it in perspective, every Fiend-Type monster I’d come across had been alive in the technical sense that their heart still beat, and their brain still sent orders to the body. That was what my familiars looked for when they sought out life signs, but they hadn’t found any in here. That either meant there weren’t any monsters in this building, or they weren’t technically alive.

Obviously the Undead fit that bill, though my familiars would still detect the Miasma possessing them and inform me of that. But there were other creatures that could move while not being technically alive, like Dullahans. Since they were just moving corpses, they didn’t count as being alive. I’d be in trouble if the building was full of enemies like that. Non-living monsters gave me more trouble than the living ones, mostly due to them being more resistant to Grudge Magic. It made fights harder than they needed to be.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I never encountered a single monster on my way up the building, not until I reached the roof. Once I’d climbed up the final flight of stairs, it became all too obvious what had happened.

The roof was a sea of red, covered in the blood and corpses of every monster that had been in the building. On the other side from me was a strange twisted figure, reminiscent of a human, but as warped as every other Fiend-Type monster I’d seen. Not only was her face hideously scarred by burns, but her limbs bent in odd directions, like they’d been broken several times and healed wrong. While she wasn’t as horrific as other monsters I’d seen here, she was still pretty bad. And strangest of all…

Captivating Slaughterer

Rank: B

Description: A Fiend-Type monster designed to seduce groups of people into lowering their guard, before utterly slaughtering them. Despite its appearance, it has the uncanny ability to appear as whoever the beholder wishes for most in their heart, often appearing as deceased family or lovers. They are also capable of charming other creatures by singing, luring them to a quick death.

Okay, that’s new. So, I hit B-Rank at some point? Confusing, but now I at least know what I’m dealing with. This thing is basically a crossover between a Succubus and a Siren. Hrm, but why am I not affected? Shouldn’t it be able to make me see something too? Eh, whatever. Its even singing for me, but I’m not feeling a thing. Huh.

Compared to the last two fights, this one was a bit of a let down. The monster barely reacted to me quickly closing in on it, only letting out a short confused croaking sound when I cut its head off. Though then again, maybe this was preferable.

…Why do I feel so dissatisfied? An easy win should be something to celebrate, not complain about.

I guess it didn’t matter. I’d gotten the last crystal I needed, and had even discovered that I’d reached B-Rank in the last couple days. Two good things that I shouldn’t take for granted. After all, I still had a ways to go before I’d clear the Dungeon.