Chapter 111: Crawler's Nest (1)
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"I love you," Lucy mutters with a smile so wholesome, it almost made my heart melt.
"I love you too,"
…
(Lucy POV)
I awoke from peaceful slumber, only to be met by a beautiful woman with brightly flowing red hair.
Scenes of last night quickly filled my head, reddening my cheeks as I quickly sat up and turned my head away to avoid eye contact.
"Good morning," The beautiful woman speaks first.
"Good… morning," I reply, hiding my face with my hands.
She removed my hands from my face, and even though her grip wasn't that tight, I couldn't get myself to tear my hands away.
"You really are a pervert, Lucy," She mutters with a smug face.
Huh…
I jolt upwards, ripping my hands away from her and shoving myself in the bathroom.
My face reddened even more, so I decided to take a warm shower to calm myself down… but the images of last night wouldn't go away.
As soon as the shower finished, I grabbed my towel and exited the bathroom, ready to face Mia face to face.
But when I opened the door, I could only look away.
"I'm sorry for teasing you," Mia apologizes as she circles around and hugs me from behind.
"I-It's okay," I mutter, my eyes unable to focus on anything but the ground.
"Ah, you're so cute… Yesterday was quite fun, but don't worry. I'll research more,"
I shivered from her words, and I didn't realize it, but my expression slowly shifted into an excited smile.
…
"So, how was it?" Aria asks with the biggest smug face I'd ever seen.
"Y-you bastard," I reply, squeezing the jar of ice-cold coffee in my hand.
"Wow now, did you not enjoy it or something?"
"I-I did… But you set us up, didn't you! Or you're the one who planted the thought in Mia's mind!"
"Yep! I knew it wouldn't work on you since you're so weird, but it will definitely work on Mia, who is nowhere near as smart as us," Aria replies with a slight smirk.
Aria Balthasar… A brilliant young woman, the same age as me.
We're both geniuses per see, but we specialize in different things.
I'm better at manipulation and overall smarts, but she has a good sense of street smarts and grasp of each other's emotions… and I guess she's alright at manipulation as she managed to manipulate Mia.
"Hey, hey, hey… Don't discredit my manipulation of you. I managed to plant a seed in you that affected you later on,"
"I guess," I mutter.
She managed to plant words in my mind that affected me later on… And it did manage to play a big part once the time came.
"Anyway, forget that… I want to know who was top," Aria says with an almost evil smile.
"I was top," Somebody comes from behind and wraps their arms around me.
"Oh, my, who knew our little cold ice princess would be a bottom…." Somebody rises out of the shadows next to me.
It was obviously Charna, and she intended to tease me for a bit.
She trailed her finger along the back of my neck, sending chills down my spine.
"H-hey!"
"I'm just joking," She chuckles, but Mia looked as if she was about to kill her.
Charna did an excellent job at ignoring her, though.
Soon, everybody from Tolf had gathered at this little restaurant near the corner of the campus.
"So, we have our first mission today outside the monitorization of Auntie," Celestine says as she shoves part of her burger into her mouth.
"Hey, calm down a bit. The burger isn't going anywhere," Clio says, wiping the ketchup from the side of her mouth with a napkin.
"I'm excited," I mutter, unable to hold the small smile growing on my face.
"Same," Mia mutters.
"Okay, you crazy couple, our objective is to find an intelligent monster and try to extract information from them… Like always," Amanda rolls her eyes.
For the past four years, while we were under my Mom's watch, we had to complete these missions, which consisted of entering dungeons, not killing any monsters, trying to find the boss, and then if they are intelligent extracting information from them.
But the problem is… None of the bosses we have encountered were intelligent.
I don't know if that's because we were only entering dungeons B-rank and lower, but we just haven't found an intelligent boss.
Even that Arachnid Queen which I fought looked as if it could communicate, but it obviously couldn't despite how humanoid its upper half looked.
"Well, what's the rank?" Sophia asks.
"A-rank," Amanda replies with a smile.
"Good, good! I haven't been in one in so long! This should be good!" Nell shouts, her blood practically boiling in excitement.
…
We arrived at the dungeon entrance and were surprised at how big the portal was.
It was bigger than any other portal we had seen before.
"U-Ummm… Did Auntie allow us to enter this?" Celestine asks.
"I found this dungeon on my own," Amanda says, puffing her ċhėst out proudly.
"Okay, well, did you get permission from Auntie?" Mia asks.
"N-no… B-but that doesn't matter because we can finally enter a super hard dungeon," Amanda replies.
Huh… I have a bad feeling about this, but we can't just let this chance slip through our fingers.
"Okay, let's enter," I spoke up first as everybody was a bit hesitant.
"I feel like we should inform Auntie… Y'know, just in case anything bad happens," Astra says, but everybody ignores her.
We all entered the dungeon, but my stomach's bad feeling wouldn't go away.
"Hmmm… Okay," I mutter.
Our vision distorted before revealing the blank canvas of a cave.
It was so basic you'd think it was an E-rank dungeon.
Gray, damp, dark, rocky, and ridged. The literal definition of a cave, but this one is just massive.
"This is… an A-rank dungeon?" Astra asks.
"Somebody light up the place. I can bȧrėly make out the surrounding area," Celestine says, and Mia immediately nods her head.
But before Mia could light up her hand in blue flames, I yelled out,
"Run! Run towards the corners of the cave!"
None of the other girls besides Sophia responded as they felt the overwhelming panic flowing from my brain, connected to the hivemind.
"W-what-"
Sophia was confused but Astra yanked her with her, pulling her as we ran towards the corner of the massive cave.
I saw it.
A massive smooth hole at the top of the circular cave.
Its circumference was enough to fit a wide skyscraper in it.
The reason only I could see this is because of my enhanced vision due to my evolution.
It's not like I have night vision, but my sight is just so good that it practically becomes night vision.
"What's wrong?" Mia asks as soon as we reach the corners of the cave.
It had a rough circular shape but as it was jagged, there were some corners where you could hide next or behind.
Click Click Click
But before I could respond, a chill was shot down my spine.
[Warning]
[Warning]
[Warning]
[Dungeon has evolved]
[Warning]
[Dungeon has evolved]
[Complete Dungeon for a larger reward]
[Failure to complete this task with result in death]
I stared up at the multiple panels but one particular panel completely caught my attention.
[Gate has evolved into a Low S-Rank Gate]
Shit….
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"I love you," Lucy mutters with a smile so wholesome, it almost made my heart melt.
"I love you too,"
…
(Lucy POV)
I awoke from peaceful slumber, only to be met by a beautiful woman with brightly flowing red hair.
Scenes of last night quickly filled my head, reddening my cheeks as I quickly sat up and turned my head away to avoid eye contact.
"Good morning," The beautiful woman speaks first.
"Good… morning," I reply, hiding my face with my hands.
She removed my hands from my face, and even though her grip wasn't that tight, I couldn't get myself to tear my hands away.
"You really are a pervert, Lucy," She mutters with a smug face.
Huh…
I jolt upwards, ripping my hands away from her and shoving myself in the bathroom.
My face reddened even more, so I decided to take a warm shower to calm myself down… but the images of last night wouldn't go away.
As soon as the shower finished, I grabbed my towel and exited the bathroom, ready to face Mia face to face.
But when I opened the door, I could only look away.
"I'm sorry for teasing you," Mia apologizes as she circles around and hugs me from behind.
"I-It's okay," I mutter, my eyes unable to focus on anything but the ground.
"Ah, you're so cute… Yesterday was quite fun, but don't worry. I'll research more,"
I shivered from her words, and I didn't realize it, but my expression slowly shifted into an excited smile.
…
"So, how was it?" Aria asks with the biggest smug face I'd ever seen.
"Y-you bastard," I reply, squeezing the jar of ice-cold coffee in my hand.
"Wow now, did you not enjoy it or something?"
"I-I did… But you set us up, didn't you! Or you're the one who planted the thought in Mia's mind!"
"Yep! I knew it wouldn't work on you since you're so weird, but it will definitely work on Mia, who is nowhere near as smart as us," Aria replies with a slight smirk.
Aria Balthasar… A brilliant young woman, the same age as me.
We're both geniuses per see, but we specialize in different things.
I'm better at manipulation and overall smarts, but she has a good sense of street smarts and grasp of each other's emotions… and I guess she's alright at manipulation as she managed to manipulate Mia.
"Hey, hey, hey… Don't discredit my manipulation of you. I managed to plant a seed in you that affected you later on,"
"I guess," I mutter.
She managed to plant words in my mind that affected me later on… And it did manage to play a big part once the time came.
"Anyway, forget that… I want to know who was top," Aria says with an almost evil smile.
"I was top," Somebody comes from behind and wraps their arms around me.
"Oh, my, who knew our little cold ice princess would be a bottom…." Somebody rises out of the shadows next to me.
It was obviously Charna, and she intended to tease me for a bit.
She trailed her finger along the back of my neck, sending chills down my spine.
"H-hey!"
"I'm just joking," She chuckles, but Mia looked as if she was about to kill her.
Charna did an excellent job at ignoring her, though.
Soon, everybody from Tolf had gathered at this little restaurant near the corner of the campus.
"So, we have our first mission today outside the monitorization of Auntie," Celestine says as she shoves part of her burger into her mouth.
"Hey, calm down a bit. The burger isn't going anywhere," Clio says, wiping the ketchup from the side of her mouth with a napkin.
"I'm excited," I mutter, unable to hold the small smile growing on my face.
"Same," Mia mutters.
"Okay, you crazy couple, our objective is to find an intelligent monster and try to extract information from them… Like always," Amanda rolls her eyes.
For the past four years, while we were under my Mom's watch, we had to complete these missions, which consisted of entering dungeons, not killing any monsters, trying to find the boss, and then if they are intelligent extracting information from them.
But the problem is… None of the bosses we have encountered were intelligent.
I don't know if that's because we were only entering dungeons B-rank and lower, but we just haven't found an intelligent boss.
Even that Arachnid Queen which I fought looked as if it could communicate, but it obviously couldn't despite how humanoid its upper half looked.
"Well, what's the rank?" Sophia asks.
"A-rank," Amanda replies with a smile.
"Good, good! I haven't been in one in so long! This should be good!" Nell shouts, her blood practically boiling in excitement.
…
We arrived at the dungeon entrance and were surprised at how big the portal was.
It was bigger than any other portal we had seen before.
"U-Ummm… Did Auntie allow us to enter this?" Celestine asks.
"I found this dungeon on my own," Amanda says, puffing her ċhėst out proudly.
"Okay, well, did you get permission from Auntie?" Mia asks.
"N-no… B-but that doesn't matter because we can finally enter a super hard dungeon," Amanda replies.
Huh… I have a bad feeling about this, but we can't just let this chance slip through our fingers.
"Okay, let's enter," I spoke up first as everybody was a bit hesitant.
"I feel like we should inform Auntie… Y'know, just in case anything bad happens," Astra says, but everybody ignores her.
We all entered the dungeon, but my stomach's bad feeling wouldn't go away.
"Hmmm… Okay," I mutter.
Our vision distorted before revealing the blank canvas of a cave.
It was so basic you'd think it was an E-rank dungeon.
Gray, damp, dark, rocky, and ridged. The literal definition of a cave, but this one is just massive.
"This is… an A-rank dungeon?" Astra asks.
"Somebody light up the place. I can bȧrėly make out the surrounding area," Celestine says, and Mia immediately nods her head.
But before Mia could light up her hand in blue flames, I yelled out,
"Run! Run towards the corners of the cave!"
None of the other girls besides Sophia responded as they felt the overwhelming panic flowing from my brain, connected to the hivemind.
"W-what-"
Sophia was confused but Astra yanked her with her, pulling her as we ran towards the corner of the massive cave.
I saw it.
A massive smooth hole at the top of the circular cave.
Its circumference was enough to fit a wide skyscraper in it.
The reason only I could see this is because of my enhanced vision due to my evolution.
It's not like I have night vision, but my sight is just so good that it practically becomes night vision.
"What's wrong?" Mia asks as soon as we reach the corners of the cave.
It had a rough circular shape but as it was jagged, there were some corners where you could hide next or behind.
Click Click Click
But before I could respond, a chill was shot down my spine.
[Warning]
[Warning]
[Warning]
[Dungeon has evolved]
[Warning]
[Dungeon has evolved]
[Complete Dungeon for a larger reward]
[Failure to complete this task with result in death]
I stared up at the multiple panels but one particular panel completely caught my attention.
[Gate has evolved into a Low S-Rank Gate]
Shit….
"I love you," Lucy mutters with a smile so wholesome, it almost made my heart melt. "I love you too," Lucy POV I awoke from peaceful slumber, only to be met by a beautiful woman with brightly flowing red hair. Scenes of last night quickly filled my head, reddening my cheeks as I quickly sat up and turned my head away to avoid eye contact. "Good morning," The beautiful woman speaks first. "Good morning," I reply, hiding my face with my hands. She removed my hands from my face, and even though her grip wasn't that tight, I couldn't get myself to tear my hands away. "You really are a pervert, Lucy," She mutters with a smug face. Huh I jolt upwards, ripping my hands away from her and shoving myself in the bathroom. My face reddened even more, so I decided to take a warm shower to calm myself down but the images of last night wouldn't go away. As soon as the shower finished, I grabbed my towel and exited the bathroom, ready to face Mia face to face. But when I opened the door, I could only look away. "I'm sorry for teasing you," Mia apologizes as she circles around and hugs me from behind. "I-It's okay," I mutter, my eyes unable to focus on anything but the ground. "Ah, you're so cute Yesterday was quite fun, but don't worry. I'll research more," I shivered from her words, and I didn't realize it, but my expression slowly shifted into an excited smile. "So, how was it?" Aria asks with the biggest smug face I'd ever seen. "Y-you bastard," I reply, squeezing the jar of ice-cold coffee in my hand. "Wow now, did you not enjoy it or something?" "I-I did But you set us up, didn't you! Or you're the one who planted the thought in Mia's mind!" "Yep! I knew it wouldn't work on you since you're so weird, but it will definitely work on Mia, who is nowhere near as smart as us," Aria replies with a slight smirk. Aria Balthasar A brilliant young woman, the same age as me. We're both geniuses per see, but we specialize in different things. I'm better at manipulation and overall smarts, but she has a good sense of street smarts and grasp of each other's emotions and I guess she's alright at manipulation as she managed to manipulate Mia. "Hey, hey, hey Don't discredit my manipulation of you. I managed to plant a seed in you that affected you later on," "I guess," I mutter. She managed to plant words in my mind that affected me later on And it did manage to play a big part once the time came. "Anyway, forget that I want to know who was top," Aria says with an almost evil smile. "I was top," Somebody comes from behind and wraps their arms around me. "Oh, my, who knew our little cold ice princess would be a bottom." Somebody rises out of the shadows next to me. It was obviously Charna, and she intended to tease me for a bit. She trailed her finger along the back of my neck, sending chills down my spine. "H-hey!" "I'm just joking," She chuckles, but Mia looked as if she was about to kill her. Charna did an excellent job at ignoring her, though. Soon, everybody from Tolf had gathered at this little restaurant near the corner of the campus. "So, we have our first mission today outside the monitorization of Auntie," Celestine says as she shoves part of her burger into her mouth. "Hey, calm down a bit. The burger isn't going anywhere," Clio says, wiping the ketchup from the side of her mouth with a napkin. "I'm excited," I mutter, unable to hold the small smile growing on my face. "Same," Mia mutters. "Okay, you crazy couple, our objective is to find an intelligent monster and try to extract information from them Like always," Amanda rolls her eyes. For the past four years, while we were under my Mom's watch, we had to complete these missions, which consisted of entering dungeons, not killing any monsters, trying to find the boss, and then if they are intelligent extracting information from them. But the problem is None of the bosses we have encountered were intelligent. I don't know if that's because we were only entering dungeons B-rank and lower, but we just haven't found an intelligent boss. Even that Arachnid Queen which I fought looked as if it could communicate, but it obviously couldn't despite how humanoid its upper half looked. "Well, what's the rank?" Sophia asks. "A-rank," Amanda replies with a smile. "Good, good! I haven't been in one in so long! This should be good!" Nell shouts, her blood practically boiling in excitement. We arrived at the dungeon entrance and were surprised at how big the portal was. It was bigger than any other portal we had seen before. "U-Ummm Did Auntie allow us to enter this?" Celestine asks. "I found this dungeon on my own," Amanda says, puffing her hst out proudly. "Okay, well, did you get permission from Auntie?" Mia asks. "N-no B-but that doesn't matter because we can finally enter a super hard dungeon," Amanda replies. Huh I have a bad feeling about this, but we can't just let this chance slip through our fingers. "Okay, let's enter," I spoke up first as everybody was a bit hesitant. "I feel like we should inform Auntie Y'know, just in case anything bad happens," Astra says, but everybody ignores her. We all entered the dungeon, but my stomach's bad feeling wouldn't go away. "Hmmm Okay," I mutter. Our vision distorted before revealing the blank canvas of a cave. It was so basic you'd think it was an E-rank dungeon. Gray, damp, dark, rocky, and ridged. The literal definition of a cave, but this one is just massive. "This is an A-rank dungeon?" Astra asks. "Somebody light up the place. I can brly make out the surrounding area," Celestine says, and Mia immediately nods her head. But before Mia could light up her hand in blue flames, I yelled out, "Run! Run towards the corners of the cave!" None of the other girls besides Sophia responded as they felt the overwhelming panic flowing from my brain, connected to the hivemind. "W-what-" Sophia was confused but Astra yanked her with her, pulling her as we ran towards the corner of the massive cave. I saw it. A massive smooth hole at the top of the circular cave. Its circumference was enough to fit a wide skyscraper in it. The reason only I could see this is because of my enhanced vision due to my evolution. It's not like I have night vision, but my sight is just so good that it practically becomes night vision. "What's wrong?" Mia asks as soon as we reach the corners of the cave. It had a rough circular shape but as it was jagged, there were some corners where you could hide next or behind. Click Click Click But before I could respond, a chill was shot down my spine. Warning Warning Warning Dungeon has evolved Warning Dungeon has evolved Complete Dungeon for a larger reward Failure to complete this task with result in death I stared up at the multiple panels but one particular panel completely caught my attention. Gate has evolved into a Low S-Rank Gate Shit.
