The air in the Inventory was still, smelling faintly of old ozone and the cold, metallic tang of the Void. Lid stood frozen, his talons clicking against the crystalline surface of a magic stone the size of a wagon wheel. He looked like he wanted to pray, but wasn't sure which god would listen to a monster standing in a graveyard of ten thousand kinsmen.
"So," I said, breaking the silence as I watched the Juggernaut finish its 'playtime' on the screen below. "About that orphanage."
Lid blinked his reptilian eyes, his emerald scales shimmering under the pale light of the hoard. "Orphanage? You... you kill thousands to feed children?"
"It sounds bad when you put it like that," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. "But Orario isn't exactly cheap, and these kids... they don't have anyone. No Familia, no Falna, nothing but a roof that leaks when it rains. I figured if I'm going to be a monster in the Dungeon, I might as well be a provider on the surface."
Lid looked down at the mountain of stones again. To him, this was a massacre. To me, it was a year's worth of high-grade flour, warm blankets, and medicine.
{Tell him about the playground,} the Seed whispered, its voice muffled through the mute. {Tell him you're going to build a swing set out of dragon bones.}
'Shut up,' I snapped internally.
"I need someone I can trust, Lid," I continued, turning to the Lizardman. "The Guild doesn't like 'monsters,' and the Familias are too busy playing politics and watching out for any evilus. But you... You dream of the sun. You have a heart that beats like a man's."
Lid straightened his tattered blue scarf, his fear slowly being overtaken by a strange, desperate hope. "You would trust... a monster? To watch human hatchlings?"
"I'm currently standing in a pocket dimension filled with the souls of your cousins, Lid. If anyone here is the monster, it's probably the guy in the white bandages." I offered a small, genuine smile. "Besides, kids don't care about scales. They care if you're kind."
Lid went quiet, his tail giving a slow, thoughtful thump against the floor. "The sun," he whispered. "If I help you... Can I see it?"
"I'll do you one better. I'll make sure you can walk under it without being hunted."
I clapped my hands, and the black space began to dissolve. The "Inventory" folded back into the seams of reality, and we were standing once again on the 25th floor. The Juggernaut was gone—dissolved back into the Dungeon's walls now that its 'task' was finished. The only thing left of the adventurers was a few scraps of polished plate mail and the lingering scent of iron.
"Let's get to work," I said, handing Lid a heavy leather sack I'd scavenged from the vultures. "We have a lot of stones to bag, and I have a feeling Riveria is going to have a heart attack if I'm late for dinner."
The time I spent with her made me realize how deeply she cares about newcomers, especially someone jumping 4 levels in less than 2 weeks.
Lid took the bag, his movements hesitant at first, then determined. As we moved through the Blue Canyon, picking up the shimmering blue shards, the "Maniac" stayed silent. For the first time in a long time, the weight in my chest felt a little lighter.
The climb to the 18th Floor was surreal.
Lid moved with a frantic, nervous energy, his emerald scales clicking against the limestone walls whenever a distant monster shrieked. He was carrying a sack of magic stones that weighed nearly as much as he did—a literal fortune in crystallized mana—and he looked like he expected the Dungeon to swallow him whole for the sacrilege.
"Relax, Lid," I whispered, my eyes scanning the luminous moss of the transition tunnels. "The Juggernaut cleared the path. Anything with a brain is hiding right now."
"It is not the monsters I fear, Allen," Lid rasped, clutching his faded blue scarf. "It is the Town. The 'Island of No Law.'"
He was right to be afraid. Rivira, the adventurer town on the 18th Floor, was a nest of vipers. It was populated by high-level murderers and profiteers who lived outside the Guild's reach. To them, a Xenos was a jackpot.
I pulled two masks from the void and gave one of them to him.
"Wear this and stay behind me," I commanded as the tunnel opened into the massive, glittering cavern of the 18th Floor.
The Under Resort was a spectacle of giant glowing trees and a ceiling that mimicked a starlit sky. But as we approached the wooden shacks of Rivira, the atmosphere curdled. The scent of cheap ale and unwashed leather wafted toward us. Under the cover of our masks, we drew glares, but that was part of the play.
A crowd began to gather—Level 3s and 4s, their eyes glinting with vulture-like greed. A bearded dwarf stepped into our path, leaning on a heavy axe. "Hey, kid! That's a fancy mask. I think it's worth a fortune. Hand over the goods, and maybe we won't charge you a 'toll' for breathing our air."
Lid began to tremble, his courage failing. But then, a voice—soft, melodic, and entirely wrong for my frame—echoed from behind my mask.
"Excuse me, sir," I said, my voice shifting into a perfect, feminine lilt. "Could you please let us pass? Our mother needs medicine so she can see the world again."
The transformation was magic. The dwarf's aggressive posture melted instantly; he smoothed his beard, his eyes widening with sudden, misplaced gallantry.
"Oh my, where are my manners? I'm terribly sorry, miss. Please, go right ahead."
'Do people really lose their minds for a pretty voice?' I wondered, a devious idea taking root. I offered a playful, unseen smile behind the mask.
"Thank you, sir. I might come again next time to look for a strong man who can take care of me."
The tavern-dwellers practically puffed their chests out, preening like peacocks. "So," I added, suppressed laughter bubbling in my chest, "how about you guys fight to decide who I go out w—?"
"Men! This woman is mine!" the dwarf roared, turning on his own crew. "Any man who crosses the line gets the axe!"
"Forgive us, boss, but there's no law against winning a lady's heart!"
"Boss, we're getting old! We need a good woman!"
"Dude, aren't you married?"
"I said a good woman!"
As the pirates of Rivira devolved into a full-blown brawl over a phantom maiden, Lid and I bolted. We ran until our lungs burned, finally collapsing in the safety of the transition tunnels, howling with laughter.
"THEY FELL FOR IT!" I wheezed, clutching my sides. "They didn't even notice my build! They were ready to kill each other for a man in bandages!"
I stopped to catch my breath and placed a hand on Lid's shoulder. My smile faded, replaced by something sharper, colder. "Lid. If you tell anyone about this... I will make sure you join your kin in the stones."
Lid shivered, nodding frantically. "Don't worry. My lips are sealed shut."
"Good, now let's continue."
As we walked, I noticed something was wrong.
'How the hell am I supposed to get him out of here without being noticed by others?'
"Hey, lid."
"Yeah?"
"We have a massive problem." A cold sweat broke out under my bandages. "The 18th floor is a lawless hole, but Orario? That's a fortress. To reach the exit, we have to crawl through the upper floors—the territory of a thousand rookie 'heroes.' If they see me walking a talking lizard through the corridors, there'll be a riot before we even reach Babel."
I realized the absurdity. I was trying to walk a prehistoric predator through a crowded marketplace. Even using my aura to clear a path would backfire; the Guild would have the Ganesha Familia—the city's peacekeepers—on our necks in minutes.
"The stairs are guarded," I muttered. "Checkpoints. Guild logs. If I walk through the front gate with you, the headlines won't be about an orphanage. It'll be 'Loki Familia Member Leads Monster Invasion.'"
Lid's tail drooped, dragging across the stone. "So... no sun? I return to the dark?"
"No," I said, my mind racing. "I promised you the sun. But I can't walk you through the front door." I looked at my shadow, then back at Lid. 'System, Seed... can I tuck him away? Is the Inventory safe for biological life?'
[Negative, Host. The Inventory is a stasis-locked pocket of the Void. A biological being would be eroded by the emptiness within minutes. He would not survive the journey.]
{Just wrap him in the silk, you idiot,} the Seed grumbled. {Use the Weaver's art.}
Hornet's Silk. Of course.
"Lid, I need you to trust me. This is going to be uncomfortable, and you're going to look like a very large, very strange piece of luggage."
"Luggage?"
"I'm going to cocoon you," I explained, silver threads already shimmering from my fingertips. "I'll wrap you in layers of silk and Void-shroud. To the world, I'll just be an exhausted adventurer hauling a 'massive bundle of rare materials' or a 'monster egg.' People carry weird things out of the Dungeon every day—Udaeus bones, giant shells, artifacts. A six-foot silk bundle won't raise eyebrows; a talking lizard will."
I began to spin, the silver webbing glowing faintly in the dim light. "I'll leave a gap for you to breathe and use the Void to mask your scent so the hounds at the surface don't catch your trail. We'll look like a hardworking porter and his prize."
Lid looked at the webbing, then at me. He took a deep breath and sat on the floor, tucking his tail in tight. "Do it, Allen. I want to see the red ball."
"Hold your breath," I whispered.
As the silk began to envelop him, I realized this would be the most stressful walk of my life. I was carrying a secret that could burn the Loki Familia's reputation to the ground.
And looking at the hope in Lid's eyes before they were covered, I knew it was worth the risk.
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have a good day everyone and see you in the next time.