<~> CHAPTER 28

I squinted as we approached the end of the stairwell. It was bright up here. This was the first time since I've fallen into this place that it's been this bright. Sure the minotaur arena was pretty bright too but not like this. This felt like outside even though I knew it wasn't. Like the misty floor, the stairs opened up into a forest, but the trees smelled different than on that other floor. Instead of the scent of pine, it was instead the scent of... maple maybe? I couldn't remember the scent of other trees the same way I did for pine. Pine has a very particular and pleasant scent. These trees just smelled like... nature.

The scent of animals also permeated the place. I hoped they would be less fake than the other floor. Despite smelling them I never heard nor saw any actual animals in that misty forest and hills. I squinted as I looked around. Everything was too bright. It was manageable, less annoying than the mist was but it was a tiny bit uncomfortable. It reminded me of the hot cloudless days of summer, yet even brighter.

("Are you okay? The light isn't bothering you is it?") Luna asked worriedly.

I turned to her and tried to smile, my wolf form was less good at that. ("It is bothering me a little but it isn't so bad. I'll get used to it.")

This place was also easier on my ears. I could hear things moving off in the distance even better than I could on the misty floor now but since we were no longer in an enclosed space the sounds didn't echo around as much. It wasn't as if that were uncomfortable on the previous floor but it was less... input to process. I closed my eyes and decided that I probably could still navigate totally blind if I needed to but I still wasn't as comfortable with that as I was just looking at things normally.

I turned back to Luna and noticed her long fox ears were perked and turning to take in the sounds as well. The sight struck me as cute, it reminded me of a cat I used to have. She smiled when she noticed me looking at her.

"Helena's eyes are .... .... .... .... ...." Maxwell said to Piper.

I tilted my head. I caught about half of that but I wasn't sure what they had said about them. Luna noticed me look at him and confusion and patted my shoulder. ("He says that your eyes are still quite bright looking out in the daylight. Or, well, what passes for daylight in the dungeon anyway.")

Looking up toward the sky, I could see the false sunlight filtering through the canopy of the trees above. They were tall and somewhat more densely packed than I would expect. It wouldn't be impossible to walk through them or anything but combined with the brush on the forest floor it would be difficult to travel anywhere in a straight line. There weren't any obvious trails through the forest, at least not from the stairs we were standing near.

("My eyes still glow in the daylight?") I asked.

("Yes, it's not as obvious as it is in the dark but your eyes are still noticeably glowing if we look directly at you.")

I huffed. ("Well, I had been hoping it might be less pronounced during the day but I suppose I'm not terribly surprised.")

("Why's that?") she asked.

I shook my head. ("I'm worried what others will think of me. I've built some trust with the three of you but I'm not convinced everyone will be so... kind. I had hoped it would be less noticeable outside but I suppose I'm not that lucky.")

Luna frowned and nodded. Not arguing with my worries.

I cleared my throat. ("It doesn't matter though. What monsters should we be looking out for on this floor? Is there anything especially valuable I should be looking out for, similar to the bat wings?")

("Not really,") she replied. ("Most of the monsters on the floor are plant-type monsters. Some of the plants are useful in alchemy and medicine but none of us know much about which plants or what parts are valuable so this floor is mostly just a quick stop before we move on. It's notably easier to deal with than the floors above and below it though. You can also hunt game on this floor, though the only reason to do that is to stretch your rations further, or if you want fresh meat and have the time.")

I nodded, it probably beat their plain rations. ("What about traps?") I asked.

("No traps, though some of the plant monsters can ambush you. They're not hard to avoid if you know what to look out for though. Most use things like vines or sticky sap to hold you in place since these plant monsters can't chase you.") That implied that there were plant monsters that could chase you. ("Maxwell can lead us through the forest though, I'll ask him to point out signs of the monsters so you know what to avoid stepping on.")

("I would appreciate that. Maybe once I can trust that I won't get caught by a plant monster I can hunt some game on this floor. Give you guys something to eat that isn't your bland rations.")

Luna's ears perked up and her eyes widened in surprise. The expression was so adorable I could barely take it. ("Really? I hadn't considered that but... it would be really nice to eat something more fresh. We never spent the time here before, too busy...")

I patted her on the shoulder before she could get caught back up in her thoughts of rushing to cover her debt. No need to go there. ("Sounds like a plan then. Go ahead and ask Maxwell to point things out for me. I'll make sure we all get a nice fresh meal before we move on from here.")

She rushed off to Maxwell and got his attention before scratching words into the dirt. I looked down and noticed that the dirt was less packed than it was in the misty forest, it wouldn't be hard to scratch out messages like it was there. I smiled, I was happy that Luna would have an easier time communicating.

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Maxwell picked a direction and started shoving his way through the brush and tall grass as Luna relayed things he said about the monsters back to me. Apparently, the most obvious things to watch out for on this floor were colors. Reds and purples were bad news, most of the monstrous plants were either carnivorous or would use you as their own fertilizer by killing you on top of themselves. Most of those kinds of plants had lots of either reds or purples. There were a few plant monsters that were primarily green but those were less directly dangerous. They would at most scratch or lightly poison you but the degree of danger was significantly lower, especially for a group with a healer and myself who could regenerate.

After digging our way through the woods we eventually came across a deer trail and started following that. Monster and animal trails weren't always safe to follow in dungeons but on floors like this where all of the monsters were plants, they were one of the safest paths you could take. Everything along the trail had been stomped flat and the only plant monsters we came across were very out of place and distinct from the surroundings.

The first monster we came across on the deer trail looked similar to a green flower bud with huge thorns inside of it. It looked like the kind of plant you would see in a cartoon if it didn't look so realistic. When Maxwell got close enough to poke it with his sword the flower bud opened up and tried to take a bite out of his leg. He was ready for it of course and dodged the attack before stabbing his sword right into the center of where the bulb had opened spraying green... plant juice? blood? all over the place.

Once the monster was dead I bent down to sniff at it. My instincts for once were completely silent on this. I didn't have a voice screaming in the back of my head to eat it or look for its non-existent heart. I suppose I didn't get much out of the slimes either come to think of it. Did my instincts only demand I eat animals? Maybe only animals with hearts? I wasn't sure but I was happy I wouldn't be compelled to eat... this gross thing. As disgusting as it was in retrospect to tear through the chests of animal-like monsters, at least I was eating meat. I could still recognize that as food in a solid way. Being compelled to eat weird flowers or slime cores would just be... gross. Fruits, seeds, and nuts would be okay but those didn't seem to trigger any of the same instincts in me.

"We should camp soon," Maxwell said after we had been walking for hours.

I looked up at the treetops. "It's still... sun." I frowned, sure I hadn't said that correctly.

"Daylight," Piper said while patting me on the shoulder.

Maxwell turned to Luna and said a bunch of words that I hadn't picked up yet.

("Uh... Maxwell wanted me to remind you that time doesn't move in the same way in the dungeon. It will always be daylight on this floor, just like it was always night on the floor that we found you.")

Oh... right. I shook my head and looked at Luna. ("Sorry, I forgot since this floor seems so... normal.")

She smiled and gave me a nod. ("It's true that it can be challenging to keep things straight on floors like this, ones with little danger compared to the others. It's still important to make sure you have enough rest to continue though. It's important to pace yourself.")

We spent a bit more time wandering and avoiding the obvious monstrous plants before finding a clearing. We killed a few more of those flower bulb monsters before dragging them away. I helped the three of them set up their tents before shifting back to my human form and sitting in the grass. I looked up at the sky. The part of the clearing I was in was shaded and the temperature felt comfortable. The forest wasn't particularly wet so there wasn't much humidity, meaning the floor had almost perfect weather. If it wasn't for the plant bulb monsters it would be easy to mistake this place for a nice park.

Luna sat in the grass next to me, maybe a little closer than I was truthfully comfortable with. I felt a bit anxious but I didn't want to say anything, I liked the idea of her sitting so close to me it just made me... nervous.

("Are you tired yet?") She asked.

I looked at her. She was smiling softly and her pretty blue eyes sparkled in the natural light. My eyes wandered up her ears, the reddish fox ears faded to black tips that were a bit harder to see in the darkness of the cave. In the daylight, the colors of her ears were vibrant and contrasted well with her shiny blond hair. A detail that I hadn't even realized I had missed in the darkness of the other floors.

Her eyebrows furrowed. ("Helena?")

Oh! She asked me a question! I wiped my face with my hand. ("A little but I could stay up for a while longer. How about you?")

She smiled and relaxed. ("I'm not that tired yet. I haven't used much mana since the fight with the bull-monster so I'm not feeling fatigued. I was hoping... we could take the first watch together and talk for a while. If you want...")

I scratched the back of my head and smiled. ("I wouldn't mind... Do we need a watch on this floor? I thought you said that the plants don't move.")

She touched her lips in thought. ("Most of them don't but even if none of them did, you always need a watch in case something unexpected happens or another group comes across yours.")

("...another group?") I asked.

She tilted her head slightly. ("Uh, yes? Most hunters leave each other alone in the dungeon but that doesn't mean... unsavory people don't occasionally think it's worth stealing from each other. There are probably other people on this floor, it's a large place but it's safer than most floors and it has a few sources of food. People who aren't on... time constraints like us often spend extra time on this floor resting and hunting for food before moving on or going back. This is one of the more popular floors to rest on for a while.")

I... hadn't considered that there might be other people in the dungeon. But now that I thought about it... it made sense. If there weren't other people in this dungeon then how would I have come across these guys? And while they were concerned about my eyes, they never thought it was strange to come across another person. Somehow I just... didn't expect it.

I nodded. ("Alright. Let's take first watch together then.")

Luna lit up and beamed. ("Great! I'll go tell Piper and Maxwell then!") She excitedly got to her feet and went over to tell the others.

I frowned and looked at the edge of the clearing and into the trees. I suddenly felt less safe in this forest.