POV: Zane
As soon as I reached the fifth floor of the dungeon, I dismissed Clone 1 and Clone 2 and summoned them again in front of me. The moment they appeared, I looked at them seriously and asked, "Which one of you annoyed that group of adventurers?"
Hearing my question, Clone 1 looked confused.
"Are you talking about the group with the woman? They didn't seem irritated."
So he didn't run into the group led by the guy who tried to kill me. That means Clone 2 must have caused the problem.
"Then it was you. What happened? I was hunted down by those guys, you know."
Clone 2 looked genuinely surprised.
"They hunted you? Where are they? I'll kill them."
He said it so seriously that it actually startled me a little.
"I already dealt with them. I didn't kill anyone except their leader—he was the biggest problem. So, what happened? Don't lie to me." Since he's my clone, he can't lie to me or try to harm me… right?
"Nothing happened. I ran into them and left right after. For some reason, they started chasing me."
He didn't seem to be lying.
Just as I thought—that guy liked looking for trouble.
And I've just confirmed that they really do retain their memories, since they remember everything that happened. I smiled, satisfied, and then asked, "How's the hunting going? I see you've been killing a lot of monsters."
"There are many adventurers on the eighth floor, Master, so I went up to the seventh floor instead. I was surprised when I ran into Clone 1 there."
"You were on the seventh floor?" I had told him to stay only on the fifth floor.
"Was I not allowed to? If I wasn't… I apologize." He looked genuinely upset.
"It's fine, it's fine." I waved my hand dismissively. "But you went up to the seventh floor just because there were too many adventurers? You'll find plenty of them on the upper floors no matter which one you explore."
"Yes, you're right. However, their numbers were higher on the eighth floor. Master, they are annoying. I hate them."
He said it while looking at me seriously, without the slightest change in expression.
I have to admit—hearing that come from a creature that's basically an emotionless machine is a little unsettling.
"Why?" I asked, wanting to hear his reasons for hating adventurers.
Then he began to speak.
"They talk too much. They are too curious. They are stupid. They deeply irritate me. Besides, they can't do anything alone; they always rely on each other. They are weak."
"Urgh…" He's being completely serious. "Listen, Clone 2. Please don't think that way. I know humans can be irritating, but I'm human too, you know?"
"You are human, but you are my Master. You are intelligent and strong. You understand what I mean, don't you? You know I'm not wrong."
Intelligent? Me?
I'm not intelligent. Not at all. In my previous life, I had mediocre grades in elementary school, high school, college… I was never an outstanding student.
I just know a lot about specific things—like games, anime, and other stuff that doesn't help me intellectually at all. Useless knowledge. Although now that I've ended up in a world similar to a game, maybe that knowledge can be useful.
"I understand what you're trying to say, but I think that's a very extreme way of thinking. If you really can't like them, then just don't interact with them. Don't cause trouble."
"I will interact with them as little as possible. Don't worry about that." Clone 2 lowered his hood, covering his face even more. "But seriously, this face is a problem. It attracts too much attention."
"Hahaha… I understand." I laughed at Clone 2's complaints. "And you, Clone 1? What do you think about humans?"
"Hmmm…" After thinking for a moment, he replied, "I don't hate them, but I don't like them either. I just feel indifferent."
That was a reasonable answer.
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After finishing my conversation with them, I told them to split up so we could resume hunting. They headed down toward the seventh and eighth floors, and I decided to stay on the sixth floor. On the fifth floor, I get 25 EXP points. How much will I get on the sixth floor?
As soon as I arrived on the sixth floor, I started looking for monsters to kill.
The walls had the same beautiful light-green color as the fifth floor. However, the structure was slightly different. The corridors were wider, and more rooms began to appear.
It looked like the kind of room where you would fight a boss.
After exploring for a few minutes, I finally found my first enemy.
'I read about this monster. Isn't it one of the strongest on this floor?'
A not-very-tall humanoid figure. Its arms were long, and each "hand" had three claws like knives.
"War Shadow."
Even though I said its name quietly, it noticed my presence.
The moment it sensed me, it turned in my direction. Even though it had no face, I felt its expression was one of pure contempt.
It felt like it was smiling at me, as if saying, "You're going to die."
I smiled back and raised my slightly damaged knife.
"I wonder if poison works on you. Let's find out."
The War Shadow charged at me at high speed with awkward, almost erratic movements. They looked like movements meant to deceive its opponent. Unfortunately for it, I could follow them easily.
I stayed in the same spot, moving only my eyes to track its movements.
I thought it would do something special, but it didn't.
It swung its claws and tried to strike me.
Without feeling the slightest bit threatened, I swung my knife. With a single motion, I deflected its claws and knocked it backward, throwing it off balance. Then I kicked it in the middle of its abdomen.
Its body was softer than it looked.
Confused, I stepped closer and cut off its arm with my knife.
Even after losing a limb, the poison should take effect—it had come into contact with its blood.
Yes, this monster has blood.
And just as I expected, seconds later it died and disappeared, leaving a magic stone on the ground.
'Why does every monster I kill only drop magic stones? Is it because I wouldn't have any use for items?'
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/Zhangye
Next Chapters: Chapter 14 - Explore deeper floors. / Chapter 15 - Clone 1 was destroyed. / Chapter 16 - Maniac? / Chapter 17 - Finn? / Chapter 18 - Loki wants to meet you. New abilities. / Chapter 19 - Encounter with Loki. / Chapter 20 - Why don't you join our Familia? / Chapter 21 - I want to take Freya to my bed.