Marzipan grunted as she hefted the bag onto her shoulder and made her way down into the depths of the Dungeon. She was heading in deeper today, as far as she can go this time. Maybe she'll meet the boss monsters of the fourth or fifth floor, she didn't know. But she was determined to go as low as possible this time. Down, down she went as the stairs spiraled into the ground. She reached for her two swords and began working her way through the Dungeon. The goblins weren't much of a chore as she slayed them and collected their soul stones. And she found, to her surprise, that kobolds weren't a match for her as well. Have I really gotten that strong? she thought to herself as she passed the second floor. The third floor she traversed with ease and as she headed to the fourth floor, she didn't know what would await her. The fourth floor, she met some adventurers fighting off the kobolds and watched as the group slayed them before going on her way. They seemed fine, but she would have jumped in if it didn't count as kill stealing. Those put off some people, she had heard. Again and again, she slew monsters until she reached the fifth floor. Here she found ants, just waiting to clamp their mandibles on her arm. She gritted her teeth and charged, jumping back every so often to dodge their acid. The ants came by tens, but she found that she wasn't overwhelmed. Far from it, in fact. She found joy in killing the ants because she knew she had gotten stronger and that these creatures were a walk in the park. Flicking off acid from her swords, she traversed the floor to find the entrance to the sixth.
She found the entrance to the sixth floor soon enough, though there was no boss monster guarding it. She couldn't help but stiffen as she neared the entrance, wondering if a boss was going to come her way. She didn't know, and it always frightened her when she went down into the deeper levels and saw there was no one guarding the place. Maybe she had grown used to seeing these hulking beasts guarding the entrance, who knew? She slowly made her way down and breathed a sigh of relief as she came down onto the sixth floor. Here she was, now she just had to go in deeper. As she moved on, she thought about the ant queen some cat folk went into and killed it by shattering its soul stone. Would the queen respawn? Her minions were still there, though the sight of eggs became less prominent than before, so perhaps she wasn't back yet. She made sure to slay the eggs before moving on. While picking up the soul stones left behind, she couldn't help but wonder if there were things beyond the eighth floor of the Dungeon. Surely there had to be more, right? But what the plains that were the eighth floor held, she didn't know. She gritted her teeth as she continued slaying ants in order to get their soul stones. She found that she wasn't really tired from the fighting, the thought only entering her mind after fighting back some ants. She lay against the wall and began to think. How had she not grown tired from all that? Was she really getting stronger? She could pick off her opponents with ease now, none of the monsters proving to be a challenge for her yet. It was only due to their sheer numbers that she began to feel any exhaustion at all. At least I'm not mind down, that would've been a problem, she thought to herself as she began her trek deeper into the Dungeon that had claimed the lives of more adventurers she could count.
The Hume Bunny continued to kill and kill as she went through the Dungeon, trying to find the entrance to the seventh floor. I hope I don't see that queen again... she thought to herself, shuddering at the thought of a swarm coming towards their fallen queen and being swallowed by them, torn limb from limb. Still, she kept going, despite the fear. The ants acidic insides splashed across the walls and, sometimes, onto the Hume Bunny as she hacked and slashed her way through the throng of monsters that were in her way. She noted, after a while, that her bag was getting full with the amount of monster soul stones she had. She would need to throw away some of the goblin soul stones to make way for the ant soul stones, since they were more profitable. She just didn't think she killed that many, though. As she pushed on, she felt herself getting a chill down her spine. She didn't know why. The room she entered next was hollowed out and full of eggs just waiting to hatch. Here, worker ants came and went to tend to the eggs. Where they came from, she didn't know. Maybe they were left behind by the queen we killed. These eggs don't seem to have matured enough, she thought to herself as stared at the spectacle before her. Then a thought crossed her mind. "...I'm going to have to kill all of these, aren't I?" she groaned. Well, looks like the sixth Dungeon was just as acidic as it was before. She walked into the the nest of eggs and worker ants grimly, her swords by her sides. She went over to a group of eggs and slashed at it. Acid spilled out from their contents and she had to leap back to avoid being hit by the rain of acid. That got the workers' attentions and they clicked their mandibles together as they began to swarm her. "Gah...thought so." She turned around and readied her swords as the ants started to come.
The ants came slowly, but steadily towards her direction. One of them got too close and she plunged one of her blades into its head. The giant ant died instantly and left its soul stone. One down, more to go... she thought to herself as the ants started to come a little quicker when their comrade died. She leaped back at their clacking mandibles and slashed at them experimentally. They responded in kind by moving towards her. She found herself being surrounded by ants, too close to the acidic eggs. She groaned. Had she bit off more than she could chew at this moment? Will she die here, alone? The grip on her blades tighten. "No...I won't fall here!" She would fight till her very last breath was exhaled and she would do her best to make it out of the nest alive. She began to spin around, lashing out at the ants surrounding her. Some got hit while others backed off, though they began to close in on her again when she stopped spinning. She sliced off the head of an ant and plunged one of her blades downward into another ant's body. There was just the clicking and clacking of mandibles and her own breath as the noises she could hear at the moment. She could also hear scuttling from ants approaching. She didn't bother to look up, knowing there were more ants coming into the egg chamber and finding their comrades begin slayed by her. She grunted as she sliced at the oncoming ants, trying her best to fight them off. She didn't want to run, but it would probably be the best choice. But what about the adventurers who run into them? a nasty voice said in her head. She shook her head at the thought and faced the ants with determination on her face. No, she will fight here and now, no matter if the ants kept surging forward! She sliced off a mandible of one of the ants while she severed one of the legs of another ant. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. She wasn't too tired just yet, but she continued to fight against the group of ants that approached her. Her ears twitched as she heard some more scuttling coming from many directions. She couldn't look up to see, but the severed head of the ant she had killed had attracted some more ants. She didn't care though, she needed to win this fight. The Hume Bunny let out a battle cry as the ants came in droves.
The ants come marching one by one, two by two, three by three. Wasn't there a song like that or something? Marzipan's brain skimmed that thought and pushed it aside to focus on the ants. It was a mess, dodging from the acid that was splashing everywhere her blade hit them. They proved to be more dangerous in large numbers, and now they were coming in waves as she threatened the nest. She didn't care, though, for she was fighting for her life. The Hume Bunny continued to hack and slash at the growing horde, sometimes accidentally cutting into the eggs that were there, which sprayed out acid. She gritted her teeth as some acid splashed on her, sizzling as it wore away at her clothes. The ants' acid was not helping the condition of her clothes either. Need to get through this and destroy those eggs! she thought to herself, this time slashing at a bunch of eggs on purpose before leaping back, right into the jaws of an ant. She hissed in pain as the insectoid clamped its mandible down on her. "Let go!" she yelled as she tried to turn to plunge one of her blades into its head. It wouldn't budge, so she had to settle with it hopefully opening its mouth while facing the other ants. The ants were starting to dog pile the ant that was holding her down and their acid was splashing onto her clothes and armor. She knew she had to get away soon, but how? She couldn't really twist her body around and plunge her blades into the ant's head and she couldn't really cut out the mandibles either. She craned her neck to see if she could reach the mandible connecting to the ants head. ...Maybe I can cut it out! She raised one of her swords and began to cut away at the ant's mandible while fending off other ants using her other sword. She focused primarily on the mandible to get out and didn't mind the fact that she was getting dog piled on quite yet. Her eyes lit up as the mandible came apart. "Yes!" She continued to slice through the horde that was piling on top of her, trying to wiggle her way out of the dog pile. She gasped as she finally managed to clear the way out, having acid splashed on her hair and the rest of her body. She didn't dare rub her hand against her cheek in fear of spreading the acid and making the damage worse. Using the fact that the ants were piling on top of each other, she began to slay them while dodging every now and then to avoid acid. The ants stopped dog piling onto their comrade as she hacked away at their chitin. She was thankful they even dog piled on top each other in the first place, it made it easier to kill them. Once the amount of ants had significantly lessened, she got right to work destroying the eggs. The eggs were like pustules as they popped and spat out acid from within. Every so often, she would have to kill a baby ant to make sure that the egg wouldn't hatch soon. While she was doing that, she began to run as fast as she could, ducking and weaving among the monster ants so she could focus on the eggs this time. She sighed in relief when the last egg in that chamber was destroyed. Now she had to get out of there as soon as possible. She darted down one of the tunnels and the ants began to chase her. She ducked and weaved through the underground passageways that the ants had hollowed out, breathing heavily as she ran. Then she stumbled upon a large chamber, the ceiling reaching to hundreds of meters. In the center of the chamber was a grotesque looking figure that lifted its head up as she approached and chittered. Marzipan stopped dead in her tracks. "You have got to be kidding me for the love of- I just fought some of your soldiers out there!" she yelled at the queen. The queen chittered again as it slowly made its way towards her. Guess I have no choice but to fight. She readied her swords as the queen approached her.
The queen made strange noises to the Hume Bunny's ears. With her hearing like a rabbits, she could detect sounds humans could not. And the noises the queen made? They were grating to her ears. Marzipan growled as the queen inched ever so slowly to her, clicking her mandibles together as they lusted for blood. Her blood. Not today! She dashed to the right as she tried to get under the queen's body. She pushed her swords up and stabbed deep into the queen's meaty body, like how the cat folk from long ago had stabbed into its body. She immediately wiggled away as acid began to pour from the wound, but kept the blades on the queen's underside to slice it open. The queen then administered a call, a call to her ant soldiers to come and kill the Hume Bunny. Marzipan began to panic a little. She needed go kill the queen and she needed to kill it now! The girl put away one sword, but kept the other one out before turning around and flopping onto her belly. She remained under the queen's belly, moving whenever she moved as she heard ants coming into the queen's chamber. She gritted her teeth as she started crawled, intent on not dying. The Hume Bunny turned her body and began digging into the fleshy underbelly, wincing a little at the acid still dripping from the wound. She needed to get inside, and she would do it, it was the only way to stay alive. She hefted herself up into the queen's insides and started using her sword to cut away at the flesh. More acid started leaking from her wounds and she had to wince. Was this what the cat folk girl that eventually killed the creature felt when she crawled through its underbelly? But then again, she was nowhere near the chest area. She gritted her teeth as her blade sliced through the queen's flesh, ignoring her calls. Time seemed to speed forward as she crawled through the queen's insides to reach her heart. Her other hand that was groping for the queen's heart felt something hard. Touching it made her jolt in surprise. Had she already gotten to the heart, this soon? She was surprised, but didn't stay that way for long. Using her sword, she cut away at the flesh until she could easily see the soul stone and immediately rammed her sword into the stone. It shattered and she was soon left with a horde of ants surrounding her as the soul stone clattered to the ground, useless now that it had been destroyed. She slowly got up and pulled out her second sword as she faced the chittering ants that were now without their queen. "Wanna fight?" she challenged, staring at the monsters. Then the ants came moving forward in an attempt to overwhelm the Hume Bunny. She let out a battle cry as she charged into the fray, still hurting from the acid eating away at her. This time, though, she knew she had to get to the eighth floor to recover, and she planned on clearing the way to it before she could collapse from exhaustion and pain. The ants came in waves as she fought on, not even bothering with the soul stones. Since when did she stop collecting them? She didn't know, nor did she care as the silly thought went through her head. She continued to hack and slash at the insectoids as she tried to find an opening through the angry horde. The fight took who knows how long and she was starting to feel tired. Panting, she continued to fight the remaining ants that were in the queen's chamber, ears twitching as she heard more incoming. She couldn't last at this rate, she needed to go. The Hume Bunny searched for the entrance to the seventh floor, until her blurring vision managed to find the hole. There! She began to hack and slash her way towards the entrance and, once she was free, darted down it as soon as possible. She could hear the angry noises of the ants as she ran, gasping hard as she ran away from the group. She began to duck and weave through the tunnels as she tried to find her way into the eighth floor while losing the ants that were following her. It felt like ages before she could stop and breathe heavily, leaning against the wall. She could hear sounds of other monsters within the distance, but they didn't seem to be coming after her. "Finally," she panted as she sat down and began rummaging through her bag for the medical kit and some lembas bread to bring her spirits up. While she tended to her wounds, cleaning each area effectively, she kept an ear out for any monsters that might come at her. She munched on her lembas bread once she was finished tending to her wounds, wiping off as much of the acid on her clothes as she could. She began to take off the upper portion of her armor, her chest plate and arm armor, before she began to take off her shirt. She wrapped the shirt around her waist before putting her armor back on. She didn't care if she looked ridiculous, it wasn't like anyone was going to come after her because of this, right? Just a few more moments... she thought to herself as she closed her eyes and let the bread take its course.
Marzipan had decided that she had to continue forward. Staggering upward, she stretched as if she had a good night's sleep. That was far from the truth, she was still exhausted, but she could feel her energy returning to her. She shouldered her bag and made sure her shirt was tied tightly around her waist before moving onward. She could hear various monsters going about their business as she trekked through the seventh floor, searching for the entrance to the eighth. She wasn't keen on running into any monsters any time soon, but she knew it was left up to fate whether or not she would run into anything at this rate. She just hoped that it wasn't too soon. Of course, fate was always a cruel mistress. She heard the flapping of wings and groaned, but nevertheless got into a fighting stance as it approached. When it came into view, she dropped her stance and looked at the monster, dumbfounded. It was a blue butterfly, a giant one. She didn't know why such a creature existed here, but it looked like it wasn't going to cause her any trouble. Grunting, she watched the butterfly flutter near her before turning around in midair and heading off back where it came from. Something told her to not follow the buttefly, but maybe it was from the eighth floor. She was pretty sure giant butterflies such as that one would come from the grassy plains of the eighth floor.With another grunt, she began to follow the monster, against her better judgement. And then she ran smack dab into some other monsters. She got into a fighting stance and surveyed them as they approached. The monsters looked to be rabbits, but with a horn on their heads. She didn't know what to make of them, being a Hume Bunny herself. Still, if it was a fight they want, it was a fight they were going to get. The first rabbit that darted towards her was met with a swift kick. The second rabbit met the end of one of her blades, digging it deep into its shoulder. It let out a scream as she removed the blade and began to deal with the other monsters. The fighting became automatic as she fought them off, a slash here, a slice there, a jab here, a stab there. She was getting into the rhythm of things when the blue butterfly appeared and began to spread its powder on everyone. She stared in shock as the monsters began to heal, from what she didn't know quite yet. She once more tried to stab at them and cut into their bodies. More powder spread onto them and the wounds closed again. She still couldn't pinpoint the cause of the healing at the moment, figuring that the needle rabbits had regeneration. I need to kill them off, quick, she thought to herself as she fought the rabbits off. She didn't notice the monsters coming from behind her and let out a gasp as she was kicked hard, stumbling forward a few steps before the rabbits closed in on her. She wasn't deterred, however. She knew she could win this somehow. She looked around to find herself surrounded by monsters. The frown on her face deepened as she began to attack once more, all the while the blue butterfly hovered over everyone. She sliced off one of the rabbit's ears, wincing as she sympathized with the creature. A moment later, she felt disgusted that she was sympathizing with a monster before continuing to fight. As the wounds continued to heal, Marzipan caught sight of the one eared needle rabbit with a frown. Why wasn't the ear regenerating? Something's up, she thought to herself as she fought her way through the throng of creatures. When a creature kicked her, causing her to land on her back, she caught sight of the blue butterfly spreading powder. Everything clicked in that moment. "Hey you!" she called to the butterfly monster, "Get down here so I can fight you!" The butterfly, of course, did not respond. I have to kill that thing! She fought her way through the circle of monsters that surrounded her so she can have enough room to run. Once she broke through, she turned around and made a running leap towards the butterfly monster. Her blades tore into its wings and fell down, the butterfly fluttering weakly as she stabbed her sword into the butterflies body. She sighed once the monster disappeared and left behind its soul stone. Now that that was out of the way, she could focus on the other monsters. Slowly she turned around to meet them and got into a fighting stance.
Marzipan could now handle the monsters with her now that the butterfly was gone. She felt some satisfaction seeing them disappear and leave their soul stones behind, which meant it was one less monster to deal with. She cut and stabbed at the creatures surrounding her as they attacked, sometimes able to dodge their attacks while at other times they hit her bare arms. She gritted her teeth as she fought, intent on killing them all. "There we go," she breathed as the last monster died. She was breathing heavily now, feeling exertion. She began to pick up the stones and put it into her bag. She still had room for more, but right now she needed to reach the eighth floor so she could rest. The Hume Bunny began to walk through the caverns as she headed deeper and deeper into the Dungeon. Of course, she had to run into an ant army again. Fate seemed to be against her as she groaned and started fighting the killer ants. These ants also had acid within them, but this time she wasn't protected by the cloth of her shirt and she hissed in pain when some droplets landed on her arm and began to sizzle. She'd deal with it later, but right now she needed to deal with these ants. She fought her way through the arm, not stopping for a break as she slashed her way through them. Truth be told, she was starting to get into the mood not to fight, wanting to reach the eighth floor as soon as possible. But she knew she needed to continue fighting or she'd be done for. Then she saw the sheer number of ants coming towards her and felt her heart stop. Nope! Not today! She immediately bolted down the opposite direction as she once more ducked and weaved through the caverns to lose the ants scuttling after her. Her breathing became ragged as she ran, trying to find the entrance to the eighth floor. She didn't know how long she ran, but the adrenaline kept her going as she tried to find the entrance and lose the ants. Finally, she stumbled upon a cavern that was sloping downwards. She went down without a second thought, tripping over her feet and tumbling headfirst down the slope and onto...grass? She opened her eyes and groaned as she pushed herself up to look around. She collapsed onto the ground in relief and began nuzzling into the grass. She was finally here, the eighth floor. Now she could take a break. She laid there for a few moments before getting up. She needed to wash everything and have a bath.
Finding a source of water wasn't all that hard. It took only about fifteen minutes or so to find a lake filled with water. With a sigh, she removed everything from her body and jumped into the stream. She shivered at how cold it was, but the feeling was welcoming after fighting and being chased down by monsters. She splashed cold water onto her wounds and dragged her clothes into the water so they could be washed. As she bathed and washed her things, Marzipan couldn't help but reflect on her past actions this time around. For one, she defeated the monster guarding the entrance to the seventh floor, the queen ant. For another, she survived a horde of ants in an egg chamber. She was lucky to even get out alive in that one scenario. Then there was the healing butterfly and the monster group she had to fight there. All in all, a very productive day. She sighed as she sat down and let the water wash over her body. She felt at ease here, at the moment. But she knew she would have to climb back up the surface eventually. But for now she was willing to bask in the water and her successes that came with traveling down deeper into the Dungeon. She wondered how other adventurers would act if they had to go through what she went through today. Would they have made it out alive? Of course, most had each others' backs to rely on. But her? She was currently alone. And she was able to make it through without serious injury. She placed the clothes alongside the stream to dry and began to lie down into the water. The eighth floor was very relaxing, compared to the floors above. For now, she didn't have to worry about any monsters, though she wasn't sure if any monsters would even show up in the eighth floor. And she was glad for that, finding herself sighing when she thought about the monsters up above her. It was hell up there in the later floors, she knew it. If one went alone like she did...would they have made it out? She paused before shaking her head. Her thinking was going in circles. She moved herself out of the lake and began washing the armor and her swords free of any acid that had eaten away with it with a frown. She would need to get new ones soon enough, the acid having eaten away at the metal somewhat. She made sure the metal was dry before setting them aside, a little bit farther than where the lake was. She lay on the grass, naked, and stared up at the giant soul stone that made up the ceiling. She wasn't sure how she got to be so strong. Sure she fought a lot of monsters, but did that really make her strong? Though she had to admit, she did gain a lot of experience just by fighting alone within the Dungeon. She was able to kill goblins and kobolds with ease, but that was because she spent so much time on the third and fourth floors. The others she hadn't really gotten into except for the fifth, yet here she was, alive. The Hume Bunny couldn't help but wonder what her old teacher say to her at this moment. Probably smack her upside the head for being so reckless before lecturing her on how to kill a monster and how to fight properly. She chuckled at the mental image as she lay there. The old man would be worried, that was for sure. She wondered what he was doing now. Training more would be adventurers? Or maybe even just living the peaceful life? She didn't know. She closed her eyes for a moment to snooze and found herself falling fast asleep. When she woke up, she bolted upright in a bit of a panic. How long had she been down here? She saw that her clothes were dry and immediately went to put them on. She wrapped new bandages around her breasts before she put on the long sleeved shirt that was now filled with holes. She'll deal with her weapons, armor, and clothes once she got back up to the surface. Dipping her flask into the water, she closed the lid and made sure everything was still there before making her way back up to the surface.
There was no ambush waiting for her when she went back up to the seventh floor. She didn't know why she would think there would be an ambush, but her the feeling that there was going to be one kept nagging at her as she made a beeline for the sixth floor exit. The corridors in the Dungeon seemed to be more winding as she tried to look for her way out. Of course, she met a couple of monsters on the way. It wasn't exactly a fierce battle, but it wasn't exactly easy either. The fights were helping her become stronger, though she didn't really know how at the moment. Maybe it had to do with how she expertly began using her two swords, using both hands to dance with her blades. She found the exit to the sixth floor and, to her surprise, the fifth floor as well. Well, she had to take a couple of passageways, but she met the exit without many monsters crossing her path. Shrugging it off, she went higher into the fifth floor. A pack of kobolds greeted her, but she was able to easily dispatch them soon enough. She sighed in relief when she found the exit to the fourth floor. Here was familiar territory, and she knew she would be able to get out of the Dungeon with ease now. She hiked her way back up to the surface, slaying any monsters that crossed her path. Her bag was full of soul stones by the time she reached the top a couple of hours later. She noted that it was dusk as she looked around and left the Tower of Babel, a smile on her face. She knew she was stronger now, and she was thankful for the strength keeping her going. Now all that was left to do was to go to the Guild, get paid, and then head off to the place she stayed at for a good long rest.
