Kopii was descending to the 8th floor. Yesterday evening, he had thought about ways to gain control over himself during the thirst, but he had not come up with anything worthwhile, except to simply rely on herbs.
Taking a small packet out of his pocket, he thought:
«I hope this works.»
Having carefully examined the contents, he placed the packet under his lip. He hoped that when he lost control, he would automatically swallow it — it was a strong sedative. Kopii recalled how he had fought back against the slavers. Back then, the old man had shot him, and he had regained control for a second. Was that, perhaps, because of the poison or the drug they had coated the arrows with?
Kopii did not have to run for long before he heard the sound of approaching monsters… or, possibly, adventurers. He dashed towards the sound of footsteps.
«Killer ants» — he smiled. This was ideal, and at the same time risky, for one of their kind alone already awakened despair and hatred in him.
They saw him and began rapidly closing the distance.
He shot at the nearest ant. Kopii had another guess: kills with a bow differed from kills with a sword. After all, during hunting, he had always killed with a bow, and that was why such a fleeting thirst arose. It was foolish, but why not try?
Having killed the ant with a precise shot to the head, Kopii hoped that this foolish guess would work. But his hope collapsed. Hatred and thirst completely seized his body and mind.
«No, I must, I must… I must…»
But it was already useless. He threw himself at the remaining ants, baring his sword. Cutting down the very first one, Kopii crushed and broke; his sword sliced through chitinous shells as if they were cardboard. Having killed every last one, Kopii did not stop; he headed even lower.
«I'll kill them all, every last one.» – Kopii's mind was filled only with thirst. Killing the monsters that crossed his path, his body became covered with more and more wounds.
The ninth, or was he still on the eighth, perhaps even already on the tenth floor? Kopii understood nothing, sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of hatred and thirst. It was as if he were in a swamp, which dragged him in stronger and stronger.
Kopii regained control over his body again. Every particle of his body simply ached and throbbed unbearably, demanding rest. There was only ringing in his ears. Kopii could not lift his eyelids.
«Maybe I died…?»
But the pain said otherwise. He could no longer endure this pain; his consciousness began to rapidly leave him.
«I can...» – That was the only thing he managed to think before losing consciousness.
— What do we do with him? He attacked us. Let's hand him over to the guild.
— No, no, why? Look how handsome he is. — Wiping the blood from Kopii's face, she lifted him by the chin. — Why don't we make him our toy?
— Yes, he's very handsome. Even too much.
— Yes, indeed. Then I'll be first.
— And why you?
— I was the one who knocked him out. So I'll be first.
— But he attacked me!
— Well, I was the one who knocked him out.
— So what?! — But they were interrupted.
— Are you going to start a useless argument again? It's already clear that he will be mine. So calm down.
— And why is that?!
— Yes, why?
— Because I'm stronger than you. That's why.
— If you're one level higher, that means nothing.
— What else does it mean? Or did you want to test it?
— Let's do it!
— Why not? Whoever wins gets the boy.
— Enough, the three of you! — All three looked at the speaker. — Look at his condition. We'll take him to our home… and then we'll decide who goes first. — Continuing to look at her, they could not disagree with her.
— Alright. — Licking her lips in anticipation. — Let's hurry then. — Lifting the boy and placing him on her shoulder. — How lucky I am.
— What? Why you? Maybe he'll be mine. – She glared fiercely at her friend.
— Enough, you're arguing again. — She said, looking at the boy. — We need to give him a healing potion, so he'll be healthy as a bull by the time he wakes up. — After her words, they all laughed, anticipating a fun night.
— Aah… — Kopii sharply opened his eyes, but he had to close them immediately because of the light. But after a while, he got used to it.
— Where am I? — Examining the room, he clearly remembered that he had lost consciousness in the dungeon. And had it really been in the dungeon? Perhaps someone had saved him — that was the only explanation.
Kopii got up from the sofa and looked around the room. It was rather spacious.
«How expensive. Compared to my room, it's a hundred times better, or, more correctly, richer.»
Looking over the whole room from end to end. He could not help but marvel at the wealth of this room.
«Did some high-class familia save me?» – Getting up and realizing with surprise. – «Not a single thing hurts.» — stretching his body, he noticed, walking towards the door, but stopped halfway.
— Someone's coming? — Continuing to listen, he realized: a crowd. That was the last thing he thought before the doors burst open.
«Amazons!?» — Kopii understood, continuing to watch as they entered the room one after another. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by them. He noticed that there were predatory smiles on their faces. Under their gaze, he felt like a piece of meat. He did not like it one bit.
— You really are handsome!
— And cute, — said another Amazon.
At their words, his cheeks flushed with a blush. Of course, he knew he was handsome, but even so, he rarely received praise for his appearance.
— I wonder what his…
His cheeks turned even redder. And unconsciously, he covered his groin.
— Yes, yes, indeed, I wonder? — Kopii heard their whispers, and it made him feel awkward; it drove Kopii further into a stupor.
— Oh, you finally woke up. I was getting tired of waiting, — said one Amazon, closing the distance between them. Kopii felt the Amazon's hot breath tickling his skin.
«She smells so nice.» — he noticed, blushing like a tomato.
— Hey, hey, don't worry, I'll take care of you, — pulling Kopii closer. His whole face was deeply red. He did not understand what was happening. It was the first time he had found himself in such a situation.
For his virgin nature, this was too much.
— Hey, I'll be first, — said another, tearing Kopii from her arms and embracing him. — You agree, don't you? — he could not raise his eyes; he was so ashamed of this situation. — Why are you silent?
— Let him go; we agreed on who would be first.
— So what? I didn't know he was so handsome and cute at the same time, — squeezing Kopii tighter. After these words…
— What difference does it make now? You already agreed that I would be first, because I brought him in, — walking up to them and tearing Kopii away. He did not understand what situation he was in, but he decided to act. Breaking free from the Amazons' grasp.
— What's going on here? — His face was still red. This fact only amused the Amazons. — What's so funny? – He only blushed more at their reaction.
— He's so cute when he blushes.
— Yes, yes.
— Don't worry, boy, I'll take care of you.
— And why you? I can take care of him too.
— He will be mine.
— What? Aisha, that's not what we agreed! What? I'm supposed to be first; we discussed this from the very beginning!
— What's all this noise?
Before Kopii could recover, someone distracted him. He did not manage to see who had entered the room, but he decided to act while everyone was distracted from him.
— What do you want, Toad?
«Toad.» – A thought flashed, as if he had heard this somewhere before, but it was not that important.
— What are you hiding there?
— It's none of your business. Just go whe… Bang. — Everyone looked at the broken window. — He escaped!
— Whoever catches him gets the boy!
«How high up… Perhaps this was a bad idea.» — He thought before he landed. He managed to do a roll. – «I need to run!»
Kopii looked around; he did not recognize where he was. But the sound from above interrupted him. Looking up to where he had jumped from, he noticed that some Amazons wanted to jump down too. He ran, not making out the path.
— Hey, boy, want to spend the night? I'll charge cheap.
Kopii kept running, turning into an alley. He needed to catch his breath. Having found no better idea, he decided to hide in a dumpster and wait out the hunt for him there. And it was a stinking idea.
«How it stinks… How cramped… Why am I so unlucky? Or, maybe, on the contrary, am I lucky? They probably saved me in the dungeon. If it weren't for them, I would have perhaps died within the dungeon walls. Probably.»