19 Wrong Dungeon (1)

A few minutes passed as they walked deeper into the forest. It was quiet until they heard a loud screeching sound; the screeching noise sounded like it was coming from multiple monsters.

It also sounded like it was near them.

Isona started to shake, grabbing onto Owain's arm since the man was next to her. Owain was also trembling. Wey did not show any fear, but he did move closer to Owain and Isona. Neban was walking in front of them, so they tried to move closer to him.

Neban looked around, using [Absolute Sense] to try and find where the monsters were. There were eleven of them, sitting in the trees near them. He saw them moving, getting ready to come out the trees and towards them.

"Duck down and huddle together." He told the others. They instantly dropped to the ground, sticking to each other as they looked around.

When the monsters popped out of the trees, Neban saw that they were Yushees.

Yushees are bird-like monsters that are fast and able to breathe fire while using shockwaves at the same time. They are high-level creatures because they can get through any shield that an S-level and higher Warrior or Supporter can make. Their shockwaves are on the same level as an Ebis.

The real question is why they are here in a mid-level dungeon? Neban didn't have time to dwell on that question as two of them were in front of him, opening their mouths.

Neban cut off their heads with fluid, swift movement before fire and shockwaves came out of their mouth. The heads and bodies dropped to the ground, almost hitting the group huddled together. He heard Isona whimper at the bodies before covering her mouth.

Nine more of the Yushees surrounded him, with their mouths already opening; smoke was coming down it. He did not have enough time to kill them all since their mouths were already open, but he did have time to dodge and warn the others, "Cover your ears!"

Once the fire started to come out, he dunked down, rolling away as the shockwaves hit at the same time. The trees were shaking before they broke from the shockwaves; when they hit the ground, it caused the area to shake while letting out a loud thud sound.

They set each other on fire (a few of them) while simultaneously setting fire to a few trees. The area was becoming hot as it sent a signal to other monsters to come.

As the Yushees were closing their mouths, Neban crawled over to the others as he used [Creation] to make them a mask. Smoke was starting to mix with the fog, making it hard to breathe. Once he finished with them, he handed them to the others, who were already coughing.

"Put these on." He told them as they grabbed the mask, nodding their heads.

'Enough with the humans; the two monsters were not enough; I need more. You are on a time constraint; kill them already.' Siren spoke, growing annoyed.

Neban rolled his eyes before standing up, using [Shadow Web] to get the Yushees stuck on something, so they couldn't move. Five monsters were remaining since their brethren burnt the others. They began to struggle on the web, trying to get themselves out.

When they realized they couldn't, the Yushees opened their mouths but did not get far as Neban started to cut them down, one by one. Once they were all dead, Neban moved back, making sure blood was not on him as Siren drank the blood on its blade.

Then he saw the blood from the monsters' wounds, moving towards the sword before getting sucked into the blade. The last time Neban saw Siren do that was when he first met it.

'Are your powers coming back?' Neban asked, even though he remembered that Siren said it needed 142 high-level creatures to gain its full power.

'Excruciatingly slow. I can now suck the creatures dry if you make a wound on them. Except if they have any protections, I cannot; my power is not at 100% yet.' The sword answered

Neban hummed as he walked to the group, "Come on, let's continue. Other monsters are probably making their way over here."

They stood up; Isona made her way towards him, grabbing his hand. He looked down at Isona's hand in his, raising his eyebrow. He ignored the way his hand felt in hers. "It is easier to hold hands to know where we are going; the smoke is making it hard to see." She said, her voice sounded muffled due to the mask.

He looked behind Isona and saw Wey holding her hand while Owain had Wey's other hand. He frowned; for some reason, he did like Isona nor Owain holding Wey's hand. Neban internally shook his head, ignoring those thoughts. He needs to focus.

Maybe the smoke was starting to affect him.

Neban shrugged as he started to walk forward, almost stepping on the ameis that the Yushees dropped. They can come back and collect the loot later when the area is clear of the smoke.

And speaking of smoke, Neban used [Shadow Rain] to take the fire out so it would not spread and continue to signal other monsters. Although, the smoke was already doing that.

When they finally moved away from the smoke and into clear air, they let go of each other's hands.

'Let's not do that again.' Siren spoke, disgust apparent in its tone.

'No one touched you, but me. Why are you complaining?' Neban wanted to roll his eyes. Siren is always making him want to roll his eyes.

'I can read your thoughts.'

Neban ignored the sword as he watched the others take their mask off, but instead of throwing them down, Owain took them and put them in his bag.

Then they looked at Neban, showing they were ready to continue. Neban turned back around as he started walking forward again. Everyone was silent, not having a conversation as they thought about the time had. Plus, the others were on their guard, looking around so no other creatures can surprise them; it is not like they can defend themselves. They are only F-levels.

They did not get that far in their walk as Neban stopped them again by putting out his arm and telling them to "be quiet" before any of them could say anything.

Neban was still using [Absolute Sense] as he saw the outline of something huge under them. It was not moving right now, but Neban knew it was alive because he could see the monster was breathing.

Neban tried to map out its body while checking where its head was, but it was long, almost like it could be past 20ft. But he could not give an accurate estimate because he cannot find where the body starts and where it ends. And not only was the monster long, but it was huge too.

Then the monster moved a bit like it sensed Neban watching it as it slithered forward by two inches. As the thing moved, the ground, at the surface, began to shake. The others and even Neban had trouble trying to stay up as they wobbled all over the place.

Siren sounded excited, 'Oh, I want to drink the blood of what is down there!'

Once the thing stopped moving, the ground was not shaking anymore. "Is there something under us?" Owain whispered as he looked at the floor, sounding frightened. Isona was pale as she started whispering things under her mouth that no one could catch.

Wey was doing the eye twitch thing again that was weird and worrying (he won't admit that part) to Neban. The man looked like he was having a seizure because both eyes were doing it now.

'Do you know what is under us?' Neban's senses cannot pick up what was under them, but his instincts were telling him it was something dangerous. But why would it be dangerous? They were in a mid-level dungeon, weren't they?

'Nope. But I do know that I want it.' Siren answered.

Neban sighed at that answer before turning towards Isona, who looked close to passing out. "Isona." He whispered, calling her name. Isona stopped her murmuring as she looked at Neban.

"Do you know any kind of creature that could potentially be more than 20ft long, rest underground, and is huge?" Neban asked her.

Isona looked scared as she looked down at the ground, backing up into Wey along the way. Wey automatically grabbed her arms, making sure she would not fall over. "A Dru." She softly whispered as her hands shook, almost making it impossible for people to hear her.

But Neban had good ears, and he heard what she said. He rubbed his free hand across his face as he gave a heavy sigh. "D-did you say D-Dru?" Owain stuttered as he moved backward, hitting his back into a tree near him as he slid down. Wey was not reacting; besides his eyes, he was like a statue.

Isona gave a shaky nod as Owain looked like he was going to pass out anytime soon.

A Dru is a high-level monster that was like an Aifin; it was also under 'Do Not Engage' status. A Dru was a snake-like creature about 30ft long and giant like a bus or building. It can swallow anything whole while also being extremely poisonous. And even though it was big and long, the thing was fast. It didn't have to use its venom on a hunter; its teeth are sharp enough to break the skin and rip off a body part.

The Dru also had durable skin, making it hard for A-levels and S-levels to create a wound on it. The vulnerable areas are its eyes, the middle of its belly, and throat. But, it is impossible to reach any of them, as the thing was protecting its weak spots.

Even SS-levels had problems with the creature. There are only five SS-levels in this country, including Neban, and those four (Neban never faced the Dru) had problems killing it, and the hunters went as a group. There were scars on the monsters from the hunters, but the Dru left worse ones on them.

But it was weird; what is a high-level monster that is off-limits to fight doing in a mid-level dungeon?

'And how am I going to kill the Dru alone if it comes out?' Neban thought as he rubbed his chin.

'You have me.' Siren spoke like it was apparent.

'You do not have your powers; what can you do?'

'I am the destroyer of worlds; a weak monster cannot stop me.' Siren answered.

Neban rolled his eyes at how confident the sword was, but then again, monsters did fear it, and the King of Droks was trying to protect humans and monsters from it.

'Even if I believe you can do it, it does not matter. It is not like the monster is going to come up.'

After Neban spoke those words, the ground started to shake as cracks began to appear. His senses caught the monster starting to move up. "I spoke too soon," Neban whispered as he couldn't stay up much longer.

'No, you didn't; I called it up.' Siren answered. If the sword was human, he was sure he would see a smug smile on the weapon.

'What! Why?' Neban shouted at the sword, thinking it lost it.

'To kill it. Don't act dumb now.'

After this, Neban might end up throwing Siren away.