Hugo

Going through the Exogenous Garden was definitely harder than going through Starry Road. Thanks to the increased difficulty of the monsters, we had to stay close together at all times. Felicia had to be ready for defense while I had to be ready on offense. None of the others could handle A-rank monsters by themselves.

However, on the positive side, we finally had good food once more. We had run out of salted meat and vegetables a long time ago so we had to resort to eating monster meat back in the fourth stratum. And let me tell you, they didn't taste good in the slightest. In fact, if not for Felicia's cure, we would all suffer stomach pains from it.

In this stratum though, the monsters were a lot more delicious. Not to mention all the fruits and vegetables available to eat. Oh, they might look odd, but they were perfectly safe to eat.

The gardens themselves had pretty much every sort of plant that could exist (and some more). And with the eternal warm sun above our head, it really felt like a giant greenhouse of sorts.

As promised, Theo didn't sleep with Tama for an entire week, going back to her mother's crib instead.

And that led to certain… uh… complications.

The first morning after he slept with Tira, he came up to me and told me something that took me quite by surprise.

"U-umm, Master? Is it… is it normal to get… to get turned on by your own mother?"  He whispered.

"W-what did you say?"

I immediately looked around. No one else was there. I was the last on watch duty and Theo was the first to wake up.

"I… I woke up this morning. And her skirt… draped upwards. I-I could see her thighs and underwear. I stared at them, and then…"

My eyes traveled down as he pointed at his crotch.

Yep. That's an erection alright.

Well, as his superior in perverted stuff, I guess it falls to me to teach him this kind of stuff.

I placed my right hand on his shoulder. "It's fine." I smiled. "You two aren't really related, right? So it's normal for you to think she's attractive. I think she's attractive."

"Y-you do?"

"Yep! The way her skirt is so short, she flashes her panties quite often, you know. And how motherly she is, she's just my type!" I grinned.

Normally, I wouldn't be this blatant about my perversion, but it's Theo. He had my trust.

"T-then, I'll confess too! Miss Felicia… I like to peek at her panties too! Her legs are so long and her cleavage is really visible I can't take my eyes away from them!"

...Ooh, this feeling… it's jealousy, isn't it?

"W-well, try not to look too much, alright, or you'd make Tama upset. You should be looking at her instead!"

"I… I see…" He looked up, smiling. "If it's you, I don't think I'd mind if you marry Mother!"

"Y-yeah, about that…" I scratched my head with a nervous smile. "Felicia won't be happy. And she doesn't like me that way."

Our conversation was soon interrupted by Tira and Felicia exiting their tents. Quickly, Theo adjusted his shorts. As another pervert, I had taught him the best way to hide his erections.

The next morning, however, he came to me for the exact same conversation.

"M-Master Hugo, I-I nearly kissed her!"

"H-huh?"

"When I woke up, her face was right in front of me! And seeing those lips, I almost—"

"H-hold on there. No need to tell me more." I placed my hands on his shoulders. "Goddamnit, Theo, you really need to keep those hormones in check."

"I-I'm sorry…" He looked down, looking ashamed of himself. "Ever since I started doing it with Tama, I just… keep wanting more of it. Is there… is there something wrong with me, Master?"

He looked up, fluttering his eyelids like a lost puppy, making my heart skip a beat and a blush to creep onto my cheeks.

Once again, I was overwhelmed by his cuteness.

Oh goddamnit! How can he be this effeminate while having such a high libido? It doesn't make sense!

"N-no, there's nothing wrong with you. You're just a healthy young man! Like me!" I reassured him with a grin. "Though to be honest, you might want to make up with Tama. And I think I should help you in that department."

I'm afraid if he sleeps with Tira even more than this, he'll actually cross the line. I'm not opposed to it, but it'll cause a big drama for sure—something we should not have in a dungeon.

And so, I spoke to Tama once she woke up. At first, she was unwilling, of course, but once I told her about the circumstances, she quickly turned around.

"R-really? He starts seeing her like that? Ooh, Theo! I know it'll end up like this!"

"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked.

"You should know by now that Theo loves Tira a lot." The catgirl lectured as she had her arms folded. "He told me he wanted to make her happy for the rest of his life. That's not something a normal boy would say to his mother."

"Ah, you mean he has an Oedipus Complex."

"Oedipus who?" She blinked. Oh right, she wouldn't know. "Whatever. What I mean is, I know once he's older, he'll see her as a mate instead of a mother. Humans have their mating seasons all year long. And Theo's desire to mate…" Blush crept to her cheeks. "...is quite strong. But to think it'll start happening this early…"

"It's because you awakened his lusty side." I smiled. "You made him do it first, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah, I did. So what? I'm his girlfriend. It's within my right to make him do it with me."

About that, there's this thing called consent…

She sighed. "Fine. I'll take him back. As for you, I expect you to protect us as always. If anything happens to Theo, I swear, I'll hunt you down if it's the last thing I do!"

Sheesh, girl, calm down!

Still, what an aggressive girl. A good pair for the passive Theo, I suppose.

--------

We went through the stratum carefully and methodically, knowing just how dangerous the monsters could be. There were these A-rank Death Rafflesias that could immobilize you with their spores if you even breathed a little in. I had to be on point with my wind spells. There were also the Two-Headed Flower Giants, a tall, towering humanoid monstrosities with flowers growing all over their green skins. They could feel no pain and would not flinch as they ran to hit you with their wooden clubs. As for the S-rank monster, it was a Flower Dragon. We would encounter at least one every floor. It could fire seeds from its mouth that would grow thorny vines, wrapping you in an instant. With its wings, it spread more spores around, only this time, they were highly poisonous. Without Felicia's immunity potions, you would die in just a minute after you inhaled some.

That wasn't all of them, of course. There were a lot more monsters as we went further in.

If I were to use my Super Boom Cannon to clear the environments… yeah… we would be overwhelmed.

As a result, we reached the 500th floor only after a grueling month of travel. It didn't help that there was no nighttime. We only slept when we felt sleepy enough, cutting our rest time significantly.

And there it was. Our first SS-rank monster.

I gulped. This isn't going to be easy, is it?

-----------

Back at the Relfatia Estate, it was time for Marlene's departure at last.

It was really early in the morning where all the butlers and maids came together and wished her fortune in her campaign. They knew nothing, of course, on her plan to betray the Human Alliance.

Of course, she had to have a few words with her little sister before she left. That morning, as Victoria dressed up in her room, she barged in without warning, taking the half-fairy by surprise.

"Well, would you look at that?" She smirked, folding her arms under her chest. "You actually are going to see me leave."

Victoria had no maids to help her dress. And she was struggling with buttoning the front of her top, thanks to her massive chest.

"Urgh, those eyesores… I can't believe yours are bigger than mine."

She walked over to her and yanked her hands away, grabbing her breasts as hard as she could."

"A-ahnnn, S-Sis!"

"Look at these monstrosities. I'm glad I don't have them after all. I actually need to be mobile in my fights. This amount of fat would only impede me on the battlefield."

Releasing Victoria's chest, she then squeezed and lifted her own.

"This… is the perfect chest. The size and the firmness—they're simply without flaw. Unlike yours. Yours… are only good to serve men in the bedroom. Unlike mine, which actually enhances my charm and loveliness in the outside world."

"S-Sis! I… please be careful out there!"

"Silence, imbecile!" She slapped the half-fairy. "I don't need your prayers. Your worthlessness would only rub off onto me."

Grinning, she took out her wand from between her bosom and aimed it at her.

"Undress!"

A violent wind appeared in the room. It swallowed Victoria whole, destroying every inch of her dress.

When it was finished, she was on the ground, naked, and in tears.

"There you go. You don't need clothes to serve your purpose."

Putting back her wand in her cleavage, she walked towards the door.

"Oh." She stopped and turned. "One more thing."

"Prepare yourself. Mother is going to make you perform on an actual man soon."

Victoria's eyes widened.

"W-what do you mean, Sis?"

"She'll buy a male slave and make you pleasure him. What else could it be?"

With a shrill laugh, she left the room.

Ah, what joy. Her useless sister would be degraded to be less than a slave while she would rise further to the top of the world.

Oops, that's not quite true, wasn't it?

She's just a changeling. She's not even her real sister.

She was just a thorn in the illustrious history of the Relfatia Family.

-------

Hugo

Well, there it is. The Sonic Mantis.

A monster capable of Mach 5 movement, Mach 10 if in short bursts. A monster stronger than a dragon. A monster capable of destroying an entire kingdom on its own.

I've heard about it in those books. I have no idea how they managed to estimate its speed though, so I'll take the info with a grain of salt.

It's not that big in size. It's around my size actually. And yet, those scythe-like hands it wielded could cut through mithril like butter if you don't protect your sword with aura.

I reached into my pocket. Good. Felicia's poison is ready. Two of them actually. There's the killing one and there's the one that slows it down.

"Felicia, are you ready?" I glanced at the redheaded woman beside me.

"At your signal, Milord."

She would act as support, striking only from the shadows when there's an opening.

As for Theo and the others, they were further away. I couldn't trust myself to protect them in this fight.

"You two! Are you ready?"

"Ready, Master!"

"I am ready."

I had summoned my two fairies as well. Against an opponent this level, I would not hold back.

"Then, in the count of three…"

I leaned forward, readying my feet for a dash.

"One… two… THREE!"

I flew forward, using both Graceful Step and Wind Step for maximum speed. Felicia melted into her shadows while Earth Sprite tunneled underground. Water Fairy, on the other hand, took to the skies.

The mantis, content on ignoring me before, now dashed forward, sensing my intent to attack.

Fast!

Its front leg, or rather, arm, clashed with my sword. The other arm went for a slashing motion but I managed to block via a miniature Wind Wall, acting like a shield in my left hand.

And then, the barrage began.

With speed that eclipsed Fiora's sword swings, it swung its arms over and over, every time going for a weakness in my guard or an opening I carelessly had made. A hundred swings in one second. That was how fast it could attack.

"Gah!"

One slash. Followed by two. And then three. The first one scratched my arm. The second one scratched my leg. The third one scratched my abdomen.

I was overwhelmed.

"Now!"

At my signal, the ground burst open, transforming into mud in the process. Earth Sprite, using a large golem-like hand, grabbed the mantis and dragged it down.

It was enough to give me time to disengage.

"Hyaah, take this!"

Water Fairy then fired her scorching hot water jet onto the mantis. Felicia was next, sending a swarm of her dark tendrils to pierce the mantis' body.

It didn't do much, of course. The mantis quickly freed itself from Earth Sprite's grab before sending a slashing attack towards Water Fairy, cutting her into two in a single move.

"Owww! I wasn't fast enough!" she said before she disappeared.

Felicia, sensing danger, immediately hid herself once more, just in time before her tendrils were shredded into pieces.

However, all that made enough time for me to fire a Boom Cannon.

Damn it!

It blocked it, barely. It stabbed its legs to the earth to keep itself from flying.

Luckily, I still had another Boom Cannon to fire, thanks to my Dual Cast.

It hit the mantis once again. And this time, it couldn't block it. Its front legs shattered and it was sent flying a good distance away from the impact.

Bingo!

Quickly, I ran to follow it. I had to finish it while it was still down.

Yes, I could now cast two Master-level spells at the same time. I kept up my training, and little by little, my control became good enough to reach this point.

To my disappointment, the mantis managed to regain its posture before it landed. Like a fighting game character, it cancelled its fall, landing on its two legs perfectly.

Tch! I should've known it won't be that easy!

Still from range, I fired a Boom Rifle. It was faster than a Boom Cannon and I needed all the speed I could get.

Only for the monster to dodge it at the last second.

Shit!

I ordered the bullet to home back in from behind but once again, it dodged it by a hair's breadth.

And then, it ran right towards me, raising his right stump in the process.

Or it would, if not for the fact that a new arm had just growed itself in the place.

Crap! It's his regeneration!

I had read about it in the books. But I didn't expect it to be that fast.

"Wall! Now!"

I ordered Earth Sprite to erect a wall to block its blow. In the meantime, I would sidestep said wall while enchanting my mithril sword with wind for a quick slash from its flank.

A large gash was drawn on the wall at impact. I used Graceful Step, created those wind saw blades on my drawn sword, and then—

"Staccato! Storm!"

I hadn't trained much with this technique to be honest. I was just imitating what I saw Fiora did all those years ago.

There!

My first slash was aimed at the mantis' freshly regenerated arm. I needed to cut it immediately without hesitation, or else it would outspeed me and overwhelm me again.

And I did. I was fast enough to do so without it being able to dodge or counter the blow.

And then, I aimed for its legs. I wasn't sure if decapitating it would immediately kill it—I heard some insects could survive such a state for hours or even days—and so I prioritized immobilization instead.

However, I wasn't so lucky this time. The mantis blocked my blows using said legs. And not only that, the other arm regenerated back, ready to strike me down in an instant.

If not for Felicia intervening, conjuring a giant blade of shadows that cut through said arm immediately before it could do anything.

Nice one, Felicia! Good teamwork!

I unleashed the rest of my slashes towards its abdomen, forcing it to lift its legs higher to block my blows. That should make it more at a disadvantage!

"Gahh!"

Damn it, even with this handicap, it's still faster than me!

Two more slashes managed to land on me—one on my chest and another on my thighs.

This guy… he's amazing! Even though he's a monster, he's like a samurai that can use his toes to grab his blades! And he's tough enough to harden his legs to block my wind and aura-enhanced mithril sword.

Still, anytime now, that should take effect. I only have to survive until then.

And by that, I meant Felicia's poison. I had coated my blade in a split second before, knowing I would be able to land a blow on the monster.

There!

A split second of sluggishness was all I needed to land my blow.

Got ya!

I slashed its abdomen cleanly in the middle, as it wasn't protected by its aura. Green blood poured out, soaking its lower body completely.

It let out a pained screech, trying to counter by its legs. As I predicted, the lower half could still attack even without the upper half.

No. Not yet.

I disengaged, running backwards as fast as I could from our current position. The lower half followed. But it soon found out that without its eyes, it couldn't keep up with my movement.

I saw from the corner of my eye that Felicia had thrown a bomb on the upper half. Good. I don't want it regenerating in my absence.

Now, to finish this guy.

I flew upwards, aimed my wand down below, and shouted, "Explosion!"

It couldn't escape. The lower half couldn't use its wings to fly to where I was.

A powerful fireball engulfed the area, about the radius of half a mile. Explosion. Another Master-level spell I had mastered on the side.

I waited until the dust settled, revealing a burning, smoky field. Felicia should have retreated at this point. And we are far enough that I won't harm her as well with this spell.

My eyes scanned the area for the lower half of the mantis. I found it immediately. It was still in one piece, though burning from top to bottom.

Oh wow, it's still standing? SS-rank monsters really are something else.

It wasn't moving though.

Still on the air, I began charging my Super Boom Cannon.

Nope. Still not moving.

I didn't bother doing this at the start since I knew it'll be able to sense the immense mana I would be using. But now…

After half a minute of charging, I unleashed the spell.

It didn't stand a chance, as my super spell obliterated it into dust on impact, creating a deep crater in the process. How deep? I wouldn't know. Couldn't see the bottom from here.

I immediately checked on the upper half afterwards. Sure enough, Felicia did her job. Using her strong acid, there was nothing left of the mantis on her side as well.

"Haaahh!"

I took a deep breath, panting as I collapsed to the ground.

We did it!

We beat our first SS-rank monster!