<~> Chapter 132

I bisected the crab in front of me and took a step back. Blades of wind hurled past me and sliced the legs off of one of the other nearby crabs while chain lightning took out three others. I turned and killed another one nearby that was trying to flank us. It turns out these monsters aren't completely stupid, they just really wanted to kill us, even if that meant throwing themselves at us with the hope that one of the many behind it might be the one to get a lucky blow.

As much as I looked forward to seeing what they came up with regarding crabcakes, I was quickly growing tired of killing them. Things weren't bad enough to worry about being overwhelmed by them yet, but we were running out of time to find the stairs. From the slowly increasing density of the enemies, it wouldn't be much longer before we were forced to turn around and return before the floor flooded and crabs swarmed us. With a final swing of his sword, Maxwell finished off the last crab from the group that had run into us.

Piper wiped the sweat from her brow. "You know, come to think of it, the Lost Halls in the Fallow dungeon liked to point you in the opposite direction you were supposed to go once you got separated."

"What's your point?" Maxwell asked.

"What are the chances the path directly ahead of us, right as we left the stairs, would lead to the next set of stairs if this dungeon followed a similar pattern?" Piper asked.

I leaned on my axe as I stared at her. "You're bringing this up now?"

Piper shrugged, "I didn't think of it until now."

Maxwell sighed. "I think that's our cue to start heading back. The water is starting to rise too much to continue forward anymore."

I glanced down at Iris. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay. A little tired from using so much mana, but I feel stronger after every fight," the mousegirl replied.

("That's normal, the strength you gain early into your empowerment is the most noticeable,") Luna said.

I scratched the back of my neck, being careful with my claws, "It is a little disappointing that there doesn't seem to be anything in this direction though. Just more trees, grass, and crabs. Is it normal for dungeons to have just one monster the entire floor? Or, well, two, counting the snake."

"It's uncommon, but it happens. Usually there's at least two, though," Aria replied.

I put my axe into its sling and started following the group from behind. The enemies were most likely to attack us from this direction on the way back, so it made sense for me to be in the rear. "Doesn't this floor seem... a little boring, compared to some of the others we've fought in?"

Piper stopped and gave me a look. "Helena. Don't tempt fate, and don't give the dungeon ideas. It's like you're asking for the dungeon to come up with something clever to kill us with."

I sighed. "Sorry, I forget sometimes that dungeons are basically alive... and can hear us. It's kind of a creepy thought, you know?"

"I know," Piper replied.

Aria had an arrow ready but seemed relaxed. "A lot of dungeons have rules. This one's rules seem straightforward, but don't forget that you almost died the last time we were here."

"I'm just getting sick of killing nothing but crabs," I said, shaking my head.

Aria laughed. "You're just grumpy because you don't have anything bloody to tear into."

I tilted my head from side to side. Was that right? Was I just feeling this way because I haven't been able to let loose on these things with my bestial instincts? These enemies were so trivial for me to kill, I think I was getting bored of them.

"Maybe... I think I'll take the next fight in my beastkin form," I said.

Maxwell looked back at me. "That's fine, but make sure to keep an eye on Luna and Iris."

I shifted to my beastkin form and nodded. "I will, don't worry." I switched to a two-handed grip on my axe and continued walking along with everyone.

("Why are you taking the next fight in your beastkin form?") Luna asked me privately.

("I think it would be good practice. These enemies aren't too difficult, but I'm inexperienced at fighting like this. I did a lot of sparring while we were stuck in Ironcastle, but most of the time I've relied on my Umber Hound form. I think a bit more technique would make me better,") I replied.

It wasn't long after that, that we ran into another group of crabs. The water was up to my ankles in my beastkin form, but that wasn't deep enough to interfere with my footwork quite yet. I hung back near our casters and Aria, while Maxwell and Piper moved forward to create a buffer for them. I was mostly on guard duty, which was fine by me.

My axe was a bit more cumbersome to use in my human form, but it was still effective at killing the crabs in one hit. It always amazed me how much stronger even my human form has become since coming here, and that's only improved as we've killed more monsters in the dungeons. My umber hound form always seemed to maintain a physical advantage over my human form, but I felt like I was more in control of my thoughts in this form.

I had a sudden spark of inspiration and decided to grip the knot of mana that gave me plant control while fighting this time. The nearby grass began to grow and tangle around one of the crabs ahead of me, effectively locking it into place. I took advantage of the opening to quickly finish it off. Like that, I continued to use that trick to hold monsters down and finish them off with a heavy swing of my axe. The clearer head I had in my beastkin form allowed me to better focus on the multitasking required to use my new magic while fighting at the same time. I figured if I got used to fighting like this in my beastkin form, I would be able to do it more easily while in my umber hound form too.

On the last one, I decided to try and use the salt ability I had gotten from the snake monster. At first, I didn't know what exactly I was trying to do, but after essentially flailing around for a bit, I realized I was able to hold the crab in place with the salt covering it as well. Again, I took advantage of that and killed the crab while mentally holding onto the knot to restrict its movements. I was only scratching the surface of what this salt ability would be able to do, but using it at all while fighting and maintaining my awareness of our surroundings was difficult. I perked my ears and looked around after I killed my final crab. After a pause, I decided that was all of them.

Maxwell sighed and kicked one of the crabs. "There are so many of these. It doesn't even feel worth taking any of them back with us. The soldiers are going to have to kill all the ones during the flood. They've been running at us faster than we can eat them all. I wish they had something worth taking."

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"I'm sure the alchemists will find something, just give it a little time. Remember, this is only the first floor. Most of the good stuff is from the later floors anyway," Piper said to console him.

It seems I wasn't the only one to get tired of fighting nothing but crabs all the time. I shook my head and looked up at the sky. We were running out of time, but I think we were pretty close to the clearing by the stairs again. It would be fortunate if we made it back before we were sloshing through the water too much.

"I can hear arguing," I told the others as we were approaching the stairs.

"Arguing? Can you tell who?" Maxwell asked.

"I think it's the draco team again. I can hear that whiny blue one from here," I said with a sigh.

When we returned to the clearing, it quickly became apparent what everyone was arguing about.

"Release me! That one is a changeling!" The blue draco yelled.

"Don't be ridiculous, he's the changeling! We've known each other for years, don't you recognize me?" The same blue draco yelled in response.

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked as we walked up.

"Oh no, not another changeling! Go away, this situation is complicated enough!" The first one cried out.

"Quick! Help me! There's a changeling and he's tricked my team into tying me up!" The second one cried out while overlapping the other one.

"See! I would never beg for help from that monster! Get it! Kill it now before it can trick you again!" The first one frantically yelled.

"N-no! I thought she was a changeling, but this is different! Help me, please!" The second one squealed before trying to scoot away.

"Uh..." Maxwell looked back and forth between the two of them. "It looks like you guys have found yourself a problem."

Jol'ket sourly looked between the two tied up draco. "Unfortunately... we found the second floor. We did some scouting but ended up with an extra person before we even realized it. We've been trying to figure out which one is which ever since, but we only have so much time before too many crabs show up."

I was still in my beastkin form, so I looked over the two with my blindfold. They looked identical to me. Their amount of mana and how it circulated was the same, which led me to believe that actual changelings can change their mana somehow. Celeste and Luna said the transformation could be detected, but I couldn't spot the difference.

The orange draco pointed his dagger at the second Tor'jek. "I think it's this one. He was begging for help from the wolf woman after calling her a changeling for days."

"No! Sek'fet! We're friends! It's me, I promise!" The second one begged.

"Don't listen to him! He's trying to trick you by appealing to your emotions! He's trying to use our friendship against us! This is exactly what I have been trying to warn you about!" The first one begged.

The orange draco shoved the second one away and sighed. He looked even more confused than ever.

Rell'kor grimaced. "We don't have much longer to figure this out. The rain is about to start, and the flooding will happen in earnest."

("Ask them if they've seen Milana's team yet,") Luna told me.

"Have you seen Valkin and Milana's team yet?" I asked.

"Go away, filthy changeling! You're not making things better!"

"Forget about them, help me! That thing is going to trick my friends!"

Jol'ket ignored the two of them and took a few steps closer to us. "No, they haven't gotten back yet, but there's still some time left."

"Do you want me to help figure out which one is which?" I asked.

Jol'ket's eye ridge raised. "Do you think you would be able to?" he asked.

In a blink, I shifted to my wolf form and lifted the two of them up by their robes. "I should just eat them both. I never liked Tor'jek in the first place, and now I'm wondering what changeling tastes like. Getting to kill both of them would be a win-win for me."

I opened my mouth and drool began to spill from my maw when the first one suddenly felt light in my arms. I dropped the second Tor'jek and tried to catch the thing that suddenly flew out of the empty clothes, but it was too fast to catch. I chased after it, but the deep water slowed me down too much to keep up.

A short creature about the height of Iris slipped out of my grasp yet again and giggled at me. She looked like an evil fairy with dark black eyes and an inhumanly wide grin with sharp teeth. Her small pearlescent wings buzzed, and she zipped down the stairs as a trail of purple and pink glitter flittered behind her. The second some of the sparkling dust touched me, I sneezed and tripped on something in the water as the evil little thing escaped.

I stood up and had a sneezing fit. It utterly clogged my nose and I felt really dizzy. When I shifted back to my beastkin form, the overwhelming sensation to my senses eased, but my nose remained clogged, and I still couldn't stop sneezing.

("Helena, are you okay?!") Luna asked while hurrying over to me.

I sneezed again and shook my head to help clear away the dizziness. "It got away."

Jol'ket looked down the stairwell. "I don't see it anymore..."

"That's kind of a problem... right?" Aria asked.

All of us could hear the echo of its high-pitched evil giggling coming from down the stairs.

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