“Whoa.”
After returning from Historia, I entered the Fifth Floor following a few days of rest and reorganization.
But something was off.
– You have been robbed of your party members. Retrieve your treasures or substitute them with someone else’s!
“Was this even a thing for people…?”
The Fifth Floor is the layer where the God of Thieves is buried.
Like other layers, you can clear it by defeating many monsters or defeating the layer guardian, but…
Just one thing. There’s an added rule.
On the First Floor, there were various kinds of beginner monsters and traps you could experience, in a kind way.
On the Second Floor, there was the distinct characteristic of navigating complex paths, befitting its name, the Labyrinth.
Then, on the Third and Fourth Floors, there were characteristics of opponents tough to beat with ordinary physical attacks and the undead’s sheer numerical superiority, respectively.
Each layer has its unique characteristics, which serve as keys to clearing that layer.
The Fifth Floor’s characteristic is simple.
Insight.
Upon entry, you randomly lose a treasured item, which is automatically returned to you upon clearing the Fifth Floor and moving on to the Sixth.
On the flip side, if you retrieve a treasure stolen from you or steal a similar treasure from someone else, you can be recognized as cleared without ever having to fight a single monster.
Much like how the condition to clear the Seventh Floor is to seize a fortress, retrieving stolen items is a unique rule that applies only on the Fifth Floor.
Hence, insight becomes crucial.
After surveying my surroundings, I took a deep breath.
“Hmm… this coppery smell. Nostalgic.”
The Fifth Floor peculiarly resembles a labyrinth with the shape of a city.
Well, even if I say city, it feels like just the back alleys have been expanded widely and haphazardly.
Both the rules and the field are unique to the Fifth Floor for a reason.
The God of Thieves is a rare deity born of humans.
And this is where she was born and raised, laying the foundation for her legend.
All the monsters on the Fifth Floor are thieves and assassins who survived until the final moments of the Godslayer War, paying homage to the God of Thieves.
This place is akin to the largest-scale slum in history.
It must recreate the scenery of a time that predates even the Godslayer War by quite a bit, yet the smell wafting through is strangely similar to the back alleys of Pangrave.
I bet the back alleys of Earth smell something like this too.
The stench of rotten wastewater. The heavy, suffocating air. The strangely dense wind that seems to wrap around my skin.
The smell of despair.
I can’t help but smile at the revulsion exuded by those who’ve failed at life.
“Ah, home sweet home.”
It’s so much easier to feel at ease in a place like this than in the solemn royal palace of Historia.
I might not remember Gahelis, but the memories of surviving in the back alleys of this world for the past few years are strong, and that might be why.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I began to feel eyes like fish eyes watching me from various corners.
From someone slumped weakly against the wall. From someone who looks normal just chatting with a friend. From a shadow far off. From all sorts of creatures hiding everywhere.
These aren’t the looks of awe and affection I’ve been receiving lately.
It’s more primal, instinctual feelings. Things like lust, sadism, greed, and… hunger?
“Oh my.”
I had known this. I knew it in my head… but seeing it firsthand is beyond expectation.
If you mix together the bad guys and the crazies, this is definitely what you’d get.
And I really do like bad guys and crazies. Seriously.
Because…
“You can kill without a pang of conscience, right?”
Smirking, I drew my Unicorn Dagger and rolled it between my fingers.
The hilt and blade glimmered as they brushed against my body. Did they sense the true worth of my shining Unicorn Dagger?
Some of the gazes changed. More greedy, more explicit.
I smiled at those with good eyes and then turned and shot at those relatively close to me with my wrist crossbow.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In that instant, three arrows, empowered by Argetlam to enhance their penetration, were unleashed with a menacing sound.
And they pierced the eyes of three guys, turning their brains into mush.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Those with big holes in their heads fell one after another to the ground.
The God of Thieves didn’t survive until the end of the Godslayer War because she was strong.
Rather, she survived because she was clever and good at hiding.
Her deities were no different.
The monsters of the Fifth Floor were those who ran away until the end but ultimately couldn’t resist madness… or perhaps embraced craziness with a smile.
Their wickedness and cunning may be second to none, but their direct combat ability inevitably falls short.
If they were outer monsters, my wrist crossbow would be sufficient without needing to put together huge numbers.
I spent a bit of mental power to deactivate Argetlam, then reactivated it, converting the enhancement effect from increased power to automatic reloading, and silently laughed with my eyes.
I didn’t expect a person to be designated as treasure, but if it was actually stolen as a treasure, then a few rules would apply.
It would have been stolen by a relatively plausible figure rather than a random monster, and unless I break it myself or forfeit, the treasure is safely guarded.
Then, the fastest way to retrieve my party members is to sweep the area and search primarily for human traffickers.
“Scary~ big sister, bros. Anyone here have connections with a human trafficker! Or know where I can find them?”
“…You’re gonna regret this, rookie. I don’t know where you came from, but you should learn that making a fuss like this isn’t wise.”
A middle-aged man approached me with a rather displeased expression.
Or rather, should I say he was already close?
His stealthy movement made it impossible to read his actions properly.
Assassin type, perhaps.
After gauging his estimate, I twisted my body.
“Hey!”
Before I knew it, he was behind me trying to strike at my neck. I twisted his wrist and snatched the dagger that looked like a pick in his hand.
Then I immediately returned it.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Stabbing him once in the side just above his waist, once in the chest heading for his heart, and once in his neck where the carotid artery runs.
“Slow….”
Well, they are all like bottom-tier versions of themselves on the outskirts, so I can’t blame them.
Though they may call themselves monsters, those who have a reluctance to kill humans or who aren’t used to quick and tricky movements might have a tough time.
But to me, it’s crystal clear what they are planning and what they intend to do.
Well. If we flip that around, it means the powerful monsters in the center can read my moves too.
Regardless, the important thing now is that I can read my opponents.
“Now, the next one is… huh?”
In an instant, one more collapsed, and the monsters fled without looking back.
Right. Those who can’t recognize someone stronger than them have to die, and if they don’t want to die, they should learn to run away first.
It’s impossible to catch all the spread-out monsters. So my priority is to chase after those sharp-eyed ones who kept an eye on my Unicorn Dagger.
“Don’t run away! We just want to talk! Just talk! Look! I’ve got my dagger stuck in you!”
Saying that, I stomped the ground with all my might. I didn’t enhance it with anything like haste or explosive stealth, but it was enough to catch up to one outer monster.
Thump! Thud!
Closing the distance rapidly. I waved my empty hands at the sister of the beastfolk who was running desperately.
“See, look. I really have nothing!”
“Ugh! Where did this monster label come from…!”
“But ta-da! A magical dagger appears!”
Hehe, I pulled out the Unicorn Dagger from my ring’s subspace. Then, disregarding her words, I thrust downwards towards the thighs of the turtle hybrid woman.
Of course, she tried to dodge with some flashy footwork… but it wasn’t flashy enough to surpass my dynamic vision.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
In the end, she tumbled to the ground.
I quickly climbed on top of her, pinning her arms down with my knees. Naturally, I placed my dagger, which was now stained with her blood, against her neck.
“Answer. You have to.”
“I, I am….”
“I saw just now that you were drooling at what this dagger was made of. Not the dagger, but me.”
“Ugh!”
The turtle hybrid gritted her teeth, refusing any answers.
Typically, those who kidnap people, whether for their use or to sell, tend to maintain some level of connections with real human traffickers.
At least it was so in the back alleys of Pangrave…
“Ah, I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you, just please spare my life!”
Fortunately, it seems to be the same even on the Fifth Floor.
For reference, the madness of the monsters on the Fifth Floor is one of indulgence.
Everyone lives through various instincts and impulses, don’t we temper them a bit and let some of them out occasionally?
However, the monsters of the Fifth Floor lack such restraint.
They act as their desires lead them, without thinking.
Right now, the survival instinct is likely raging fiercely.
In other words, the perfect state for interrogation.
Smiling, I scraped the back of the turtle hybrid’s neck with my dagger. More precisely, I gently scratched the sparse scales.
The dagger’s light dimmed.
Not particularly important information, but it seems she’s not exactly pure as a turtle.
*
That day, I obtained five magic stones.
The entry ticket to the slave auction was a bonus.
…I don’t know who it is, but they’re about to pay dearly for stealing my things.
