As soon as my eyes fell on the village, I saw nothing but a central courtyard and a few houses. But everything was empty. I couldn't see a single human or xenos. Not even a monster.
I walked to the center of the courtyard and stood in silence, looking around.
I tried to listen. Maybe someone was still here, just hiding.
But even after nearly five minutes of complete silence, I heard nothing.
Should I check every house? There weren't that many. No more than ten houses in total. So I began searching them one by one. Unlike the first house I came across, the others had furniture.
But nothing remarkable.
No stove, no magic-powered freezer, or anything like that—just beds, wardrobes, and nothing else. Not even clothes. They looked abandoned, but well-preserved.
"This is so strange."
After inspecting all the houses, I came to the conclusion that no one was really here.
I sighed and sat down to eat something. Even though I wasn't hungry, I just felt like doing it. I sat on a wooden crate I found and ate, with only the silence to keep me company.
As I chewed a piece of bread, I finally heard something.
It sounded like something falling, but I couldn't tell where it came from.
I stood up and tossed the rest of my food to the ground.
Someone's here.
I couldn't sense anyone, but I was certain someone was nearby.
Did they create a hidden shelter somewhere around here?
I started searching, paying close attention to the sound. Then, as I got close to one of the houses, I heard something again. The sound of something falling. But it wasn't coming from inside the house—it was behind it.
I gripped my sword hilt and moved closer.
Thick vegetation had overrun the area.
Then I saw something on the ground—a piece of wood.
...
That's when I heard footsteps. Light ones.
My sharp senses guided me toward their owner. I quickly moved closer.
Eyes wide, I froze in place as the source of the footsteps turned to face me.
Short, with silver-blue hair and a red gemstone in the middle of her forehead. I don't remember her name, but I'm sure I've seen her before. The girl, startled, began stepping back.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." I threw my sword to the ground and raised my hands. "I just want to talk, alright? What are you doing here all alone?"
But she didn't seem willing to listen.
She kept backing away, then turned and started running.
She ran into one of the abandoned houses, through the passage I had created.
I'm much faster than her and could easily catch up, but I didn't act aggressively. I just matched her pace, trying to talk as we moved.
But even after several minutes, she showed no signs of wanting to talk and kept running.
Though slower than me, she was still fast, and her hair flowed behind her as she ran.
"Please, I just want to talk. I know you don't like humans, but I'm not one!" Technically, it's true.
Then, finally, she stopped running.
She turned and faced me.
Breathing heavily, she opened her mouth.
"Who are you?"
"My name is… Zane." I gave her my real name. "I'm just like you. A being humans refuse to accept. Not even the Gods accept me," I said, with a touch of drama.
I was already thinking about the future. A future where I would be hunted by everyone.
The girl, completely naked, stayed silent. I approached slowly. But when I got close, she turned and started running again.
"Wait, you don't have to run. I'm not going to hurt you."
I kept following her for a few more minutes—until suddenly, a monster attacked.
While she was running, a monster leapt out from the vegetation.
It was one of those bear beasts.
She panicked and tried to dodge, but I thought, 'She's not going to make it.'
Rushing in at high speed, I reached them just in time and landed a kick on the bear's side, sending it flying. I didn't expect my attack to have that much force or to affect the bear so drastically.
I looked down at the girl on the ground.
Then I smiled, and fireballs began to form around me.
Like bullets, they shot toward the bear, exploding across its body.
The girl stared at me like I was a god. Her eyes sparkled.
Once the bear was dead, I walked over and picked up the item it had dropped. Then I turned around. The girl had vanished again. What a headache… I guess I should leave her alone for now.
I took out some food from my inventory and left it on the ground where she had been.
Then I walked away.
There's no way I can get her to trust me right now. Besides, it's probably not a good idea to bring her to my side in the current situation. She'll probably keep living in that village.
I wonder who used to live there, and what happened to all the people—or xenos—who once called it home.
I'll have to ask her when we get closer.
####
I left the area so I wouldn't bother her and went back to exploring the 20th floor, killing a few monsters along the way. After that, I decided to head to the 21st floor. I want to catch up with my clones.
They'll probably reach the 24th floor soon.
We're getting close to what they call the "Lower Floors."
I opened my inventory to check the items and plants I had gathered—and right at that moment, I got a message from one of my clones.
[Master, the bald guy's started working. Everything's fine for now. We hired a few people to help us out—hope that's okay.]
It was Madara.
Since I didn't really care about that right now, I just replied:
'Do whatever you want.'
####
If you want to encourage me to keep writing and read more chapters, here is my patr eon:
patr eon.com/ZhangYe
10% patr eon discount code: 9BF37
Next chapters: Chapter 63 - Wiene / Chapter 64 - Green Dragon. / Chapter 65 - Obtaining information.