Chapter 392: Strange Goblin (Patreon)

Just as he and the girls had suspected.

Lyd and Ray simply spent their days active in the deeper Dungeon.

After the Artificial Labyrinth had been dealt with, Isagi, Loki, Freya, and the Ganesha Familia had all come to know of the Xenos' existence, and to some degree had come to accept them. But to ordinary adventurers and the average city resident, their existence remained a secret.

The Guild's intention was to take things slowly. To let the city and the world gradually accept these Monsters who could communicate and think for themselves, and eventually let them live aboveground — perhaps by establishing a village somewhere outside the city.

Not that it mattered much to Ray and the others. The Xenos' wishes were "simple" enough — just to see the sky, and to live on the surface.

These days, they took turns using the Artificial Labyrinth's hidden passage to reach the city, after which Demeter and the Guild would arrange things — sometimes it was Isagi and Riveria's group who escorted them — out past the city walls, to the granary within Beol Mountains. That was where they "lived," in secret.

Isagi recalled that it was currently the little mermaid Marie and the others staying there. The mermaid girl had even claimed a nearby lake as her home, and every time Isagi visited, she'd invite him and the girls to come swim. The Xenos seemed content with that.

They had also begun cooperating extensively with the Guild. As mentioned before, together with the Ganesha Familia, they'd started building an adventurer town like Rivira on the safe floor at level 28. And beyond that — keeping watch over the deeper floors. Not just routine monitoring, but also watching for special situations like Enhanced-Species or a [Monster Party].

There was also the matter of the Corrupted Spirit from before — the Guild wanted to avoid another such incident. Back then it had mostly hidden in the depths, making it nearly impossible to monitor, but now, with the Xenos' help, things were far easier.

As far as Isagi understood it, besides Lyd and Ray's routine trips to the depths to check whether the Corrupted Spirit's subjugation had left behind any "aftereffects," there was also a very secret commission — [Search for a certain Goblin].

Isagi had heard about it before. It had started with Heith, since it was Ottar and the others of the Freya Familia who'd first discovered this "Goblin." It looked like an ordinary Goblin, but possessed strength of at least Lv. 7 — and that had been a year or two ago.

At first, Ottar and the Guild had judged it might be connected to the Corrupted Spirit, but when the creature was finally subjugated, this Goblin never appeared. So Fels had asked the Xenos to search the depths for its tracks.

Meanwhile, Lyd and Ray believed the Goblin might be a "companion" — some kind of Xenos itself, since they'd actually encountered it a few times in the depths. But each time, it fled too quickly to catch.

This time had been no different. Ray had spotted the Goblin's trail, and together with Lyd, the two of them had chased it all the way up from the the Crimson Mountains below, ending up here.

That reminded Isagi of the "deep green silhouette" the Soul Teardrop had just detected.

"That guy seems to have gotten stronger too," Lyd muttered, sounding troubled.

He and Ray were now close to Lv. 7, yet they still couldn't match its speed at all. Clearly, compared to the Lv. 7 estimate from before, it had grown considerably. Now, it was quite possibly Lv. 8 or higher.

"He can understand what we're saying, but he never talks to us — just runs the moment he sees us. I don't get why."

"Maybe he's just an odd one," Ray said.

There were Xenos like that too. Gros, for instance, had once clashed with Lyd and Ray over whether adventurers could be trusted at all. And indeed, some Xenos lived entirely on their own terms in the Dungeon, never joining Lyd and Ray's group.

Earlier, when leaving the the Crimson Mountains area, Ray had been injured, leaving her temporarily unable to fly. Fortunately, they'd run into Isagi and the girls. After treatment from Heith and Ryuu, and a dose of a panacea, Ray's wings had healed completely.

"In that case, we won't intrude any further," Lyd said.

Lyd and the other Xenos had witnessed Isagi's special Dungeon firsthand back during the Artificial Labyrinth incident, so they knew exactly how dangerous it was here. Unlike adventurers, they had no need to risk themselves here to grow stronger. They had little interest in continuing to strengthen themselves anyway.

Every Xenos, it turned out, shared the same goal — to leave the Dungeon and live beneath the open sky. And besides that... for some reason — perhaps sensing some will of their "Mother" — the Xenos always kept a wary distance from Isagi's special Dungeon, never entering unless "Mother" called them in to play some role.

Once able to fly again, Ray and Lyd easily left the current floor, heading back up. Isagi and the girls no longer needed to worry about them.

After a brief rest, they set off again to continue exploring, curious whether today would bring any new discoveries. Before leaving, the girls made sure to touch each of the great stones on the hillside that could be "lit up" — meaning they gave every one of them a touch.

Meanwhile...

On another hillside.

Alfia stared at the deep green glow radiating from the great stone before her, as if trying to recall something.

"What's wrong?" Riveria asked, stepping closer.

"Last night, this stone glowed blue, didn't it?"

"Seems that way," the elf woman said, thinking back.

A breeze stirred, rustling through the wide grassland, and the sky's light shifted to a deep green, painting both the grass and the great stone the same color.

"!!!"

The great stone rose to its feet.

But it hadn't turned into a Monster — at least, neither Alfia nor Riveria had any name for it surface in their minds. Nor did the stone attack them. It simply began walking forward through the grass.

A heavy tremor shook the ground, sending a chill through them. Visible in that pale green glow, several other great stones on distant hillsides had likewise "stood up," scattered here and there. They all moved as if heading toward the same destination, in the same direction.

This was...

"Should we follow and see?" Finn and Gareth came running up.

"Let's go," Riveria said.

It beat wandering aimlessly around the grassland anyway.

Having made their decision, the group quickly gathered their things and hurried after the retreating shapes of the great stones.