Dungeons Online

Chapter 105: Find me on the outside

"Is that all you've got?!" The girl screamed, swinging a massive two-handed sword in her tiny hands. Between her petite figure and this massive clunk of metal, a strange form of gap moe appeared. 

'I didn't even see her use a weapon at that time,' Tom thought, recalling the only other memory he had with this specific boss. 'Still,' he thought, 'is she the boss of every dungeon there is?' he asked the air. 

This kind of idea was hard to believe. For a single monster to appear simultaneously in all sorts of dungeons? Unless it was just a copy of the one original, there was no way for a single monster to be at different places at the same time. 

'That is, unless,' Tom froze even further, stunned by the sudden notion. 'Unless all the dungeons ultimately converge in one point,' he thought, unable to even tighten his grasp over his spear. 

"Futile!" One of the girl's opponents swung its massive mace at the girl. Unable to escape from the range of this long weapon, the boss of the last floor took the hit directly on her sword instead. "You will have to try way harder than that," she screamed joyously, pushing the mallet away with a wide swing of her sword. 

"You are all open!" a man-like monster appeared behind the girl, slashing his fencing sword from overhead. 

"Are you an idiot?" The girl turned her side towards the man, making herself as thin of a target as possible while shielding her exposed side with the body of her sword. "Who does announce his attack like that?!" she asked with ridicule, allowing the man's rapier to slide down her weapon before kicking him right in where no man should be ever hurt. 

"You bitch!" the man screamed through his teeth, squeezing his legs together mid-air before crashing into the floor of the room. "Huh?" the man shrugged when he raised his eyes, only to notice Tom and Claudia, both standing with troubled expressions on their faces. 

"I'm sorry to disturb," Tom engaged, slightly lowering his head. "You guys can duke it out between each other. We will wait at the lower floor," the young man said, pulling back without even lifting his head. 

"Wait," the female shouted as a wide grin formed on her face. "You guys go. I will punish you for that later," she said, glancing at her opponent from a single moment before. 

Tom saw the girl fight with three opponents so far, still leaving a single boss' spot missing. 

And sure enough, before anyone could leave, a fourth figure appeared.

This time, it wasn't some kind of war-hammer-wearing barbarian or a fancy swordsman. This time, it was a tall girl, with her entire body covered in nothing but a dozen of thin layers of fancy cloth. 

On its own, the cloth was so thin that it almost could float on the gentle winds. Yet, with all those levels combined, the real figure of the last of the bosses remained fully hidden, as if she was trying to look like some kind of pure maiden. 

'The mana around her,' Tom thought, watching the girl in the white muslin. 'It's on a whole different level,' he thought. Then, his eyes moved on the rowdy loli that was owning everyone on the battlefield just a short moment ago. 

"I'm sorry, but we are not open yet," the girl said, putting a wildly grotesque smile on her face. "I will have to ask our guests..." the girl continued. 

'Huh?' Tom shook when another wave of understanding flushed through his entire self. This sudden realization was something that his real self could never randomly notice. It was something that the vast improvements to the capabilities of his brain made possible. 'Isn't she kind of...' Tom thought, before finally daring to voice his idea internally, 'lifeless?' 

No matter how one looked at the small girl, she looked every bit alive. Her skin was flushed from the exercise she had just a second ago. The details went as far as showing drops of sweat trickling on her mostly exposed skin. 

Yet, there was this uncanny valley feeling, as if everything about this monster was artificial. 

"Do you recognize me?" Tom asked before the girl would have a chance to finish her own sentence. 

"Huh?" the girl shrugged, surprised by the question. For a moment, she stared blankly at Tom, only to lean forward a bit a moment later. 

"TO LEAVE!" the girl shouted, launching herself forward. She ignored the unexpected interruption from before, swinging her sword right at Tom's head instead. 

"Stop," a perfectly girlish voice appeared in the room. Tom, startled, turned his head towards its source, only to see the girl in whites from before standing in the opening of the gate. 

She brought her hand forward in the familiar, stopping gesture. The exposed skin of her fingers only proved how fair yet frail she was, allowing Tom to formulate a guess as to what her weird dress was for. 

"Why did you ask her that?" the girl in the whites didn't waste any time. She asked and then simply stood in place, lowering her hand before completely freezing. 

"I met her at the bottom floor of a different dungeon," Tom said openly. 'I know revealing information like that is a grave mistake,' he thought, clenching his teeth. 'But I'm just too curious to finally understand what the hell is going on with this place, with my father, with my memories...' Tom shrugged for the third time in this short span of a time. 

Because right now, he realized that ever since he drowned himself in the experience of exping and growing, he managed to forget all about his actual motivation of exploring the dungeon. 

Only now, at the very bottom of it, this awareness of the ultimate goal has returned to him. 

"So you have reached the bottom of two different dungeons?" the girl asked. Even though neither Tom nor Claudia could see her face, the two of them could tell that a small smirk appeared on her lips. "Impressive. But would you mind telling me what happened the last time you were on the bottom floor?" the girl continued her questions.

"I..." just as Tom was about to answer those questions too, the white maiden sharply turned her head to the side. Surprised, Tom attempted to follow the movements of her head with his eyes, but...

'There is nothing there,' he thought, looking at what the girl directed her face. 'Just walls and floor. Oh, and ceiling too,' the young man thought, puzzled by the strange behavior of the girl. 

Then, just as suddenly as she turned it away, the girl brought her face back to its previous position. Then, as if there was not enough surprises for today yet, she suddenly caught the sides of her muslin veil before throwing it up and behind. 

'So beautiful,' Tom thought, unable to stop himself from gawking at the girl's exceptional beauty. Because she wasn't just beautiful. She looked as if she herself was the definition of what beauty was!

"Go and find me on the outside," the girl said, looking intently at Tom. "Hurry," she said. She brought her hand up as if in an attempt to enhance her plea... 

Then, her muslin veil fell back on her face. And once again, Tom got this weird, uncanny valley feeling. As if everything was right, but not really. 

As if once again, this girl was nothing but the same as the petite girl, still frozen in the single moment of time. Still unable to break free from the still frame she was in. 

And then, she could. 

The girl threw herself at Tom without as much as a second thought. She swung her sword rapidly, clearly aiming at depriving the young man of his thinking unit. 

'Guard,' a vibration shook Tom's body as a familiar feeling of a skill activation on his own pushed him out of his momentary stun. 

'Haste,' Tom quickly invoked his most vital skill, already conjuring several magic spears in both of his hands. By the time the rebound momentum from the girl's sword could die off, Tom had already scattered his spears all over the place. 

He was ready to start swapping places with them at any given notice. But he could for as long as Claudia remained rooted behind him. 

"Interesting." The girl took a moment to regain control over her weapon. But instead of attacking right away, she stood her ground, gracing Tom with a moment of relief as she sized him down. "You are truly interesting!" 

A powerful surge of mana entered the room, concentrating around the girl. In a single instant, from a purely physical opponent, she gathered an amount of energy that could easily rival Tom's own mana pool. 

"I bet you have many questions, but those will have to wait," the girl said, kicking her sword up and bringing its tip towards Tom's face. "And if you want some answers, you will have to work hard for them!" she screamed, before throwing herself at Tom again.