<~> CHAPTER 46

These little golem things were starting to piss me off. There were so many of them. My friends found them easier to deal with than the goblins... but not me. The goblins would go down in one or two slashes of my claws, let alone the huge axe I was using now. But these dumb golems take sooooo long to kill. They're slow enough that I don't really have trouble with them but anything other than a headshot isn't enough to kill them, meaning it usually takes me two or three hits.

My axe collided with one of them and Aria jumped forward to finish it off with the mace Maxwell had lent her. She's been in a lot better shape fighting these since she was given a more appropriate weapon. I could tell she was still working off the anger she had after being burned in the first fight. Apparently, in addition to the pain, she was embarrassed to have been hit by one of them. She finds them just as slow as I do, she just didn't really have a way to fight them off and she let one of them get the better of her. That's what Luna told me after listening in on their conversation.

The only one who was having any fun on this floor was Maxwell. His stupid new sword could slash through these things as if they were as soft as anything else. My logical brain told me there was no point in being jealous of a person being trained with a sword getting the sword, but my emotional brain told me it wasn't fair that he was having such an easy time. Maybe that's how these guys usually feel with me around...

I groaned and shifted down to my human form as soon as Maxwell finished off the last one. I wiped the sweat off my brow and rubbed my eyes. After the second time shifting back, I gave the blindfold to Luna for safekeeping. I liked the idea of wearing it regularly now, but I didn't want to absolutely ruin the thing with all the sweat that was pouring off of me. It didn't take me long to come to the conclusion that I pretty much couldn't maintain my werewolf form on this floor. I wasn't cooling off fast enough to keep it up. The heat was really getting to me now. The worst part was that we pretty much had to stop after every fight to catch our breath, there was no way around it. Swinging weapons around was tiring, doubly so when you're hot and exhausted. And because even our breaks were in this sweltering heat, that meant every fight was grueling and it took us even longer than normal to catch our breath.

I was guzzling down water as fast as the others now. I hoped our water lasted because that is not the way I want to go. Who knows, it might not even kill me right away, I might be stuck in a regenerating hell until my body runs out of mana or whatever it runs on. The thought itself was enough to send shivers down my spine. But right now I couldn't force myself to care. I just needed enough water to offset all of the sweating I was doing. The water breaks were all that was keeping us going I think.

Luna was faring about as well as I was. I got the impression that she was doing better than the others though. She seemed to have less trouble with the heat the the other three, maybe it had something to do with her fire magic. She hasn't been as talkative as usual on this floor, I would ask but even that sounds like too much work for me right now. I just want to get moving as soon as possible. I wanna get out of here. We haven't even found any of those other monsters that Luna had told me about, the ones that could possibly give me heat resistance.

I suddenly jerked up. I heard something! A monster I hadn't heard before, this one sounds alive unlike the stupid golems.

("Luna! I hear a monster! Something other than one of those golems!") I told her excitedly through the rings.

She looked over at me and wiped the sweat from her brow. ("Is it coming this way?") she asked.

I closed my eyes and perked my ears. ("Doesn't sound like it, it sounds like it'll pass us by...")

When I looked back at her I frowned. I could tell what she was thinking and I didn't expect any of the others to be that much more amenable to the idea of chasing after a monster that wasn't coming this way.

("Should I go chase it on my own?") I asked.

Luna frowned. ("That may be best. I don't think that anything on this floor would be able to hurt you too badly but you could still get overwhelmed... especially in this heat.")

I wiped the sweat from my brow again. ("I have to risk it. If one of those things can give me heat resistance I need to take the chance.")

("...Okay. Just tell Piper you're leaving first,") she replied.

I told Piper that I was going to go hunt whatever I was hearing before it got away. Piper told the others and it seemed that none of them objected to me going. It could just be that everyone was so tired they weren't thinking enough to stop me but I'll just be generous and believe they were confident in my ability to take care of myself. I set my axe down next to Luna before I left. I think I would be better off fighting whatever this was with my claws. I think the others were relieved that we were extending our break so that I could hunt.

Speeding up to a light jog was the best I could do right now. I couldn't even tolerate being in my werewolf form until I got closer. I would need all the time in my werewolf form that I could stand before I passed out from heat stroke. Luckily the thing wasn't moving very fast. It was loping around on all fours at a relaxed pace. I could tell I was gaining on it even like this, which was nice. I would just have to hope it didn't detect me before I got close enough to chase it.

As I crept up on it my instincts asserted themselves again. I had gotten better at dealing with them but it was so hard to think that I quickly just found myself going with the flow. Without fully understanding what I was trying to do I adjusted the angle of my approach as I got closer.

The monster looked like a black panther from behind but with a less shiny coat. Could be the lighting, I couldn't tell. It didn't seem to reflect light back at my eyes though which could mean something. It was hard to care right now. I crept closer. It didn't detect me yet. I shifted forms. I was already panting from the heat but I would have to put up with it for now.

As I pounced from around the corner I was hiding around it spun and leapt up at me. The thing was big, but not as big as I was. Its claws raked against me but I didn't even bother trying to stop it, instead I just bit right down on its neck as we clashed. It started struggling, so I started to SHAKE IT. I could feel blood dripping down my chest but I didn't know if it was mine or the panther's. The blood was as hot as everything else. In one last act of defiance, it spat flames out of its mouth at me but the angle I happened to be holding its head at made it only singe my shoulder a little as I held the struggling monster in place.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

When I managed to grab hold of one of its forelimbs, I used that to get the leverage I needed to break the thing's neck. With a loud crunching snap the thing finally fell limp, dead in my jaws. I spat the monster out and flipped it onto its back. With only a quick glance around to make sure nothing was near I began to rip open its chest and tear into its flesh. The monsters were getting worse every floor but this one was still salvageable. It didn't taste bad but its flavor wasn't as strong.

I fed on it to replenish my strength. After letting myself take so much damage I needed the meal, but that wasn't my goal. At last I found it! I tore into the heart and swallowed it down in only a few bites and waited for a change. I felt something tingle down my spine and alter my body further... but it wasn't heat resistance.

I almost cried.

I took a few unsteady steps back and let myself shift back. I felt dizzy and overheated. This was what happened when I stayed in that form too long here, bare skin and sweat glands were better at displacing the heat than panting. It was still too hot though. I started undoing the straps to take off my shirt. I'd fight topless if I had to, I just needed to cool myself off a little more. I walked back to my friends with my shirt under one arm. All that I had covering my top half was my sweat-soaked silk chest wrap.

Luna looked up at me when I returned. ("No luck?") she asked through the rings.

I nearly collapsed next to her and wiped the sweat from my face. ("Panther thing that breathes fire. Whatever it did, it didn't give me heat resistance. I don't know what changed and I frankly don't care enough right now to worry about it.")

("I'm sorry Helena...") I could tell she meant it. It was kind of sweet. I don't think I would have been as kind if she had gone off to find a source of relief only she was able to gain. But maybe she understood how I was feeling.

She handed me a canteen. I took a sip of water then looked down at it curiously. It was full... ("Luna, how much water do we have left?")

("Plenty, Maxwell always carries lots of spare canteens for this floor. We've taken this trip too many times to mess this one up after we had to turn around the first time. This floor isn't very hard if you discount the heat... but it always sucks.")

("Sometimes it feels like the floors have been getting harder for me, not easier...") I griped.

Luna laughed. ("This will be the last really hard one before the Lost halls on floor six. Most of the remaining floors aren't that difficult.")

I took another big gulp of water and wiped the sweat off my face again. ("Those groups that come through here just to harvest crystals on the next floor down are masochists.")

("What does that make us?") Luna asked with an amused grin.

("Masochists,") I responded flatly. ("Going through this to hunt goblins is even worse.")

She lightly batted at my arm. ("Anyway, Piper and Maxwell were wondering if you still wanted to track down one of those striped horses. We're about two-thirds through this floor by Maxwell's estimation but we could hang around the stairs of the next floor and dip back in until you find one of those to eat too.")

("Being two-thirds through this awful floor is the best news I've heard all day,") I said with a sigh. ("I don't know. I feel like I probably should? If there's a downside to what I've been doing I haven't found it yet. It would be sad if one of those things gave me heat resistance after I cleared the floor but it would be nice in the future I guess.")

("I think it's probably worth spending some extra time hunting one down... after we get to the other side. I don't know if it would be worth me coming with though, my magic is near useless against those striped horses. I'd probably just slow you down if I came with.")

I laughed. ("That just sounds like you're trying to get out of helping me.")

She pouted. ("It's true though! And sure, I am trying to get out of helping, but why should I be hot too when I won't even be doing anything!")

("Moral support?") I suggested.

She pouted even harder.

I laughed and patted her head. ("Fine fine, you don't need to come back down to this hell hole again once we get to the other side. It'll make hunting them down a lot less fun though.")

Luna pulled herself to her feet. ("It's about time to get moving again. Are you okay to keep going now or do you need some more time?")

I took another swig of water and dragged myself up after her. ("No, no. The sooner we get out of this place the better.") I got Piper to carry my top in her pack for the rest of the floor and I grabbed my axe.

Man do I hope there aren't too many more of those dumb golems ahead.