The diverse, multicolored eyes of pale-skinned children widened as they finally arrived at their destination, their colorful pupils reflecting an endless sea of greenery that seemed to unfold infinitely before them.
The rustling of trees, the echoing of wildlife in the distance, and the fresh breeze that blew from nature's bossom, these were all new sensory details to them, who had already been accustomed to the quiet, dampness of the underground.
And at that instance, all of them strangely shared one instinct: they wanted to take off their shoes and sink their feet into the cool, moist soil.
Serenity. This was the first time in their short lives that they experienced this emotion, and there was probably nothing in the world that could ruin it for them—
"...Blergh!"
...
Kaelen collapsed to his knees and hurled his innards out, his body cringing and shuddering as he remembered the sensation he'd been forced to endure for the past six hours as they made their trip to the first floor.
"Hmm... You probably have motion sickness, chiek, how strange for one of your kind."
"... Or perhaps not?"
The bipedal Roach snapped his mandibles and deduced, his honeycomb-shaped insectoid eyes reflecting Kaelen's hunched- over frame.
[Motion sickness my cheeks!]
[I'm never riding those damn cockroaches again, they're so hairy and they kept twitching like some —]
"Blergh!!! "
Those were six hours Kaelen would never, ever forget, and it only served to worsen his phobia for cockroaches.
"...Huff..."
As soon as he was done emptying his stomach, Kaelen reached into his pocket dimension for a bottle of water, and he used it to rinse his mouth.
"..."
"Let us leave if you are done. It would be rude to make both Lord Charymos and Lord Honyopi wait for too long."
Said the Roach, reaching into his breastpocket and offering Kaelen a clean handkerchief, like a gentleman would.
[...Ugh.]
Kaelen slightly twitched, but he had no other choice than to receive the gesture and soon after, the group ventured deep into the forest, lead by the Roach as usual.
[... Let's see, given that we entered this place using the hidden entrance to the basement floor, we must be at the southern-most part of the first floor.]
[...]
[... It really turned out better than I expected, considering there were barely any places like this left in real life.]
Kaelen mused as they continued their trek through the lush greenery. When he created the map for the first floor, he researched deeply on what the world looked like a thousand years prior to his time.
And what he found was breathtaking to him, who only ever saw concrete his entire life, he almost couldn't believe that nature once took up so much space.
[Ah! I want to see the waterfalls! They should be a few kilometers west of here!]
He screamed inwardly and grappled with an intense excitement, the waterfalls in question are ones he carefully modeled after the Niagra Falls.
[Or maybe the hanging bridges!! They're all the way up that mountain, but it should be worth the trip!]
He not only grappled with excitement now, but an intense desire to break away from the group on his own so he could feast his eyes on his own creation.
But alas...
"Make sure you stick close, we're almost at our destination."
The Roach said as he picked up the pace, fearing the combined wrath of his two Lords if they were to be late even by a second.
"Tch..."
[...Maybe I'll be lucky and see those places during our hunt.]
He could only hope.
[Anyway... This blueprint creation subskill is really useful, it's been creating a crystal-clear map of everything I've set my eye on.]
Kaelen was fascinated to say the least, even more so by the fact that the blueprint was etched deeply into his mind. He was certain that if he had a piece of parchment and a quill, he'd be able to recreate it with all its intricate details, without a single fault.
[Ugh... It's a bit taxing on my Mana reserves though, I should save some for later.]
He undid the subskill, Creator's Eye: Blueprint Creation, and the dendritic spiral in his eye faded.
[Sigh... I hope I can reach level 10 on this hunt, because only then will I —]
[!!]
Suddenly, four large shadows were cast over the five, neat rows of decadons, and looking up, Kaelen saw creatures with pinkish skin and long snouts, adorned by leathery armour made from the pelts of their prey.
[... Orcs.]
They were naturally unmistakable to him, however, the foul stench they carried was something he did not expect, it was as if they had never once bathed from the moment they were born.
"Oink, insect bring food."
One of the Orcs pointed at the Homunculi, who mostly seemed terrified, safe for the ones who had received names.
"Oink, insect never bring live ones before, is this special day?"
Another tilted its head as it began salivating, drooling on its large belly.
"Oink! Oink! Oink! Yes, this must be special day!"
Another one stepped forward and clenched the club it wielded.
[Ugh... Why did I think mullets would look cool on them? They look so geeky!]
Despite the apparent danger, Kaelen could only cringe at his own creation.
"Slurp! Let's eat this one first, the arms and kidney are mine, oink!"
The Orc raised his club above his head, aiming to slaughter a quivering Homunculus from Draven's decadon.
Fwosh!
[!!]
He swung with all his might, and Draven coiled his legs to —
"Chiieeeeek!!! "
Thud!!!
In a movement so rapid that the canopies above were left rustling in his wake, the bipedal cockroach deftly parried the Orc's strike with his bare hand.
"Oink?! Insect! You stop me? Why —"
"Be quiet you brainless swine, we are guest of Lord Honyopi, yet you dare attack us?"
The gentlemanly Roach spat, squeezing its tarsal claw and almost shattering the Orc's weapon.
"I-insect c-can talk?! Oink!"
The Orcs were baffled, and quite frankly, they couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"Chiek..."
The bipedal Roach snapped his mandibles, his bodily fluids churning.
Why?
[Pfft! They can't tell the difference between him and the regular cockroaches that crawl.]
Kaelen could barely stop himself from bursting out in laughter.
[A cockroach versus a pig huh, only in Bloodbound Ascension can one witness such a sight.]
The corner of his lip perked up, and his emotion shifted from amusement to anticipation.
"Oink, Boss won't know if we eat just one right?"
"Oink, yes... Us will tell Boss that mistake happened and they die."
"Oink! Oink! Oink! Kill insect and eat one of live food!"
The Orcs, driven by gluttony, seemed rather adamant on slaughtering one of their Lord's guests.
[Looks like the situation is about escalate, there's clearly no reasoning with these guys.]
[Let's see... If memory serves, the average level of the Orcs on this floor is between 18 - 20...]
[The one that looks like he's about to attack seems to be the leader of this group, so I'll assume he's at level 20.]
[...]
[Haha... They don't stand a chance.]
Kaelen's anticipation grew along with the rising tension between the two creatures.
"Sigh... Forgive me Lord Honyopi, however these subordinates of yours have dung for brains as usual."
Fwosh!
The Orc who is presumed to be the leader swung down his club with all his might, aiming to splatter the gentlemanly Roach's insectoid skull.
"... They only understand one language..."
The Roach deftly bent his posture before springing back up and unleashing a deadly uppercut that flew in-between the Orc's chubby arms.
POOOW!!!
The sound of his fist striking the Orc's chin was deafening and it carried enough force to send the Orc's large frame crashing through the canopies above.
[Woah... So much power.]
[So this is what a ten-level difference looks like huh...]
[Forget about DPS, that was literally a one-hit kill.]
Kaelen turned his gaze from the Orc that was still rising high into the skies, its form gradually becoming indescernible and turned to the Roach, who was surrounding by slowly falling leaves that resulted from the destruction of the canopies.
The other Orcs were dead-silent as they slowly retreated.
"Now then..."
The Roach pressed his sleeve upon noticing that it was slightly wrinkled and turned to his Lord's specimens.
"... Shall we be on our way?"
The Roach adjusted its tie and they continued on their way as if nothing happened.