The three waited to hear Wattyson’s answer with anticipation to the question: ‘What is that monster?’ Only the sounds of burning flesh and the snoring of Xylia’s accompanied the wait, even if they were faint.

  Wattyson for his part just sat still, not rushing to answer. His bandages were held tight to his chest rising and lowering with every deep breath.

  Naciv’s eyes lingered on the man, while Rinea lay on his lap now. Arlene sat with her back turned to Wattyson, as both her hands glowing in green and white, healing the injured Rinea.

  Arlene clicked her tongue, a sharp click pierced through everyone’s ears. “Watty, are you going to answer or not?”

  Naciv gulped down once more. Hoping whatever answers Anathema gave wouldn’t expose himself as a vampire. Even though Rinea’s eyes were too heavy to open, a sense of vibration rummaged at the back of her head. It was Naciv’s.

  Wattyson shut his eyes. It was like he was contemplating. Arlene who knew of the supernatural even surface level from Wattyson, believed he was likely stalling to find the right words. After everything that happened, that werewolf’s corpse was right there, and the way he fought it with familiarity, there was no way to avoid answering.

  Still, she also wanted to hear how he put it. Perhaps she too could learn how to cover something up like this. Back in Tamare, she learned of how Wattyson handled covering up a vampire massacre, even if she was against using her status as a shield. But that was when Rond was let in on the secret, how would he spin the story to someone he didn’t want to let in?

  Wattyson finally turned around, his chest clutched with hand tugging slightly on the bandage. He looked straight to the group, to Rinea.

  “Huh? What question?”

  Arlene groaned. Due to her wanting to understand, she pushed Rinea’s question again. “You fought that monster with familiarity. What is that monster? There isn’t any archive or information on monsters like this.”

  She tapped on Rinea’s scratches which elicited an ouch from her.

  Rinea’s voice stammered like a panicked. “Ahh.. yes!” She calmed down after. “The monsters… I’ve never seen anything like that in the adventurer’s handbook. To think such a ferocious monster, live here and wreck this much havoc, I can see why this dungeon claimed so many lives. Have you ever seen anything like it, Naciv?”

  “Nope. Nope. Never anything like it. I don’t know anything!” Naciv spoke faster than a thunderbolt.

  “Hmmm… I thought so. This is new then.”

  Rinea strained her neck as she tried to turn fully to where Watty was through her limited vision. “I doubt it’s an outside monster either… otherwise we would’ve seen this. I also don’t think it’s a dungeon monster. Dungeon monsters don’t eat or toy with people, and if it was, we would have vague report of it or people with similar delirious status.”

  He couldn’t retreat now. That was one of his excuses—to claim it was a mutated monster or something. Rinea hit him with data only those of experienced adventurers could rely on. Any wrong word or jargon would just make him more suspicious. There had to be other explanations. Fields that mundane people knew, but didn’t understand fully.

  At the very least, Naciv would keep his shut. He didn’t want to expose himself, that much Wattyson knew. Arlene knew why the supernatural had to be hid, even if he hadn’t told her explicitly.

  “Rinea… when you saw it, what did you think it was?” He asked, his tone was calm and measured.

  “I… truth be told, I didn’t see much. My entire vision was… blurry. I could make it out slightly though…” She drifted, trying to recall. “Larger than an average person… hairy with thick furs, brute esque body and smaller torso… like a Kobold?”

  “A Kobold, huh?”

  “Yeah… but Kobolds are all scale no? This one was thick with furs.”

  A Kobold. A small link of reference for Wattyson to tangle. Question was… what other creatures with same physique and furs to come here? An Eastern Kobold? That monster fit the description as it evolved to adapt to colder climate in the mountainous east. No... that wouldn’t work. Why would an Eastern Kobold be here in the West size of Avalevd?

  Perhaps a dungeon mutation at hand? Rinea already ruled that out herself, and Wattyson only knew the dungeon as much as a small child. This was outside of his depth.

  The sound of foot dragging across the scraped metal floors and a lazy yawn broke the conversation. “Augghh~ Oh my greatness! Are you okay, Rinea?!”

  “Yes, I’m quite alright.” Rinea replied weakly but light in tone.

  Xylia rushed to her side, noticing all the gaping wounds and scratches. “Is there anything I can help, Arlene of the Chosen One?”

  Arlene gave herself a slight chuckle seeing how exasperated Xylia was. “It’s alright, I got it.”

  “I see…” Xylia took it a bit dejected. She gazed up to see the corpse of a monster she never saw before. “What is that monster?”

  “Oh… we don’t know too,” Rinea admitted while feeling Naciv’s vibrated laps though she didn’t bring attention to it. It felt like a massage. “We were listening to Sir Wattyson answer before you yawned in.”

  “GASP!” Xylia said aloud rather than doing the action. “The Sage knows it?! You must tell us!” Her eyes beamed to Wattyson, much to his inner protest.

  However, what Xylia referred to him as was ‘Sage’. No one seemed to question it so far… Yes, he could use it to his advantages, and another plus to rub it in Arlene’s face; that robe was superior in every inconceivable way.

  He couldn’t just bring another monsters in, nor could he claim it was a mutation. Instead, he would take the middle path—to forge realities side by side: One lie and one truth. Enough to fool the mundane, but not enough to put them as a target for supernatural’s hunt. The supernatural had always wanted to hide themselves after all.

  “I know of it… to some extent, yes.” Wattyson spoke slowly and methodically. Arlene listened with clear understanding; to learn how he lie. Naciv was having his heart rattling out and feared of his own bloodhunt. Rinea and Xylia listened close as if the knowledge Wattyson was about to pass on was sacred. To them or Xylia specifically, he was the Sage after all.

  “They are… we called them the Moonless.”

  “The ‘Moonless’?” both of them whispered out.

  “Yes… a mutation in Kobolds, or perhaps a disease specifically. Think of it like a parasite. It started appearing after Arlene defeated the Dark Lord?”

  Both glanced to Arlene briefly before returning to him. Rinea asked while trying to piece her own understanding. “Is it… like excess of mana from the Dark Lord’s defeat?”

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  Excess mana? So they knew something about it. Wattyson barely understood it. It was all mumbo jumbo related to how mages felt nauseous in the Far Tundra.

  Nevertheless, it was a thread Wattyson could push on.

  “We’re… not too sure yet. We still need to study the phenomenon. Alas, we couldn’t just bring a Kobold and inject it with that excess mana. We’re not sure how the parasite-esque mutation work.”

  Xylia chimed in with a question. “Is that why the Guild hasn’t said anything about it?”

  “Uhh… yes. Wouldn’t want to endanger adventurers with false information.”

  “Then-then did you come here knowing there would be one? With Arlene of the Chosen One?”

  “No… I’m just traveling as her companion.”

  Arlene scoffed mid-scrub while tending Rinea’s wound with honey. “Of course. Quite the coincidence. The world felt small doesn’t it with what you’re chasing for.”

  “Quite right.”

  Naciv noticed the look on Rinea, that of contemplating. Perhaps she was buying it. What Anathema said wasn’t enough to guarantee a leak of their kinds. He wouldn’t be blood-hunted. His heart simmered down.

  “Then… how do you fight one? Assuming we run into one in the wild, that is?”

  Naciv’s heart rattled like an engine again to Rinea’s question. This was a make or break it question. Depending on the answer, any weakness could already breach the veil of supernatural.

  Xylia locked to Wattyson, filling with reverent to what wisdom he would impart.

  Wattyson didn’t answer, not right away. He stood, hand still tugging at the bandages around his chest. Then he walked over to sit near Arlene.

  “Is this a secret knowledge, Great Sage?” Xylia leaned in over Rinea, whispering out.

  The title caught Wattyson off-guard mid sitting. “Great Sage?! And yes… I thought I should speak closer since this could be life or death situation.”

  Xylia gulped while Rinea strained her neck to face upward, taking in that monotone voice and face of Wattyson with how little her eyes could see. Arlene leaned a bit closer too, positioning her ear to him more. Naciv was… Naciv.

  “If you ever run into one,” his voice continued to be monotone and slow, “do not ever try to fight one. We don’t know how… the mutation got there in the first place. It could pass on to you or any other people, no matter what race you are.”

  He let go of the bandage to show them the bandaged wound. “You can see here. I almost died, but that’s not the worst part. We don’t know how the… disease transmits. I could be infected right now. Thankfully, we know enough that it’s not from the claw.”

  “Then… where is it from? Where could it be transmitted from?” Rinea asked, her voice shaking. She got closed to the werewolf after all.

  “We’re not sure, but from our study is usually from the mouth. It’s saliva and whatnot.”

  Rinea sighed in relief. She was at the lower body, slashing away its legs and got kicked out of the way by it.

  “You can see why if you can recall,” Wattyson continued, “I never go in for the offense I was injured and fighting it directly would risk the disease finding home in my wound. Arlene did so by trying to get behind it, because I had told her where it was unlikely to be infected.”

  He leaned back pointing at the corpse. “If… you cannot get away in time, if you have to fight, aim for the legs. Immobilize them enough so they’ll be slow to catch your escape.”

  Wattyson didn’t continue. He wagered that would be enough. The main point was to get them to understand what it was from a mundane point of view, and how to identify and run away. True still sentient werewolf wouldn’t bother showing themselves. At least with this, they should be able to escape from werewolf losing to the Beast and became actual monsters.

  Xylia raised her own question, her tone more solemn and quiet. “Then… if we are to escape from it, why do we… lose conscious in ourselves? I couldn’t move at all and I blacked out.”

  Rinea remarked on it too. “That’s true... I couldn’t see thing clearly. I could feel my consciousness slipping out. I had to kept hurting myself and talking to myself while charging in just to be awake.”

  She sighed out. “I wasn’t there initially when that thing rushed to you guys, but even I could feel its indirect effect after a howl. I rushed in and saw… only Naciv and you able to move. I could make out you guys shape as I rushed in. Why is that? I can somewhat understand why you can move, Sir Wattyson, but why could Naciv?”

  The massage on her back head intensified.

  Wattyson answered with his eyes looking to Rinea’s wound. “Yes, you already understand why I could move, but for Naciv. You see, when someone blacked out and felt their mind slipped. Their body won’t respond. You already experienced that yourself.”

  He flicked the wound which Rinea let out a sharp ‘ow’. Her eyes widened fully before collapsing to barely lifted.

  “Do you see that? You can’t open your eyes fully, but pain forced it even brief. Naciv was near me so I had to stomp his foot with my staff, hitting right in his pinkie. It woke him back up there and then.”

  He didn’t stop to let his words sink in. “It only work on people that just became delirious under its effect. It’s why there are so many adventurers above us still under the same effects and need to recover naturally.”

  Xylia pressed further. “Then how does a disease mutated roar affect us like that in the first place? You skipped my question, Great Sage!”

  “I was getting to that.” He rested a hand and tugged out her cheek. “Be patient, young one.”

  He took a deep breath. “While we’re still unsure how it works, we could only guess. I am certain adventurers like you all are aware of Harpy and Mermaid, right? How their songs can influence the mind and lead people to their deaths?”

  Xylia alone nodded.

  “Kobold can’t actually do that, but we assumed because of the mutated disease… the increased in Kobold’s muscles and body mass could also increase its lung and vocal cord, making it howl out in a strange intonation.”

  Xylia tilted her head. “Uh huh…”

  “What did you hear, Xylia? When that thing roar?”

  “Like a wolf?”

  Wattyson tilted his own head in response. “Mhmm. Like a dog right?”

  “Yeah… a dog.”

  “It’s what similar enough that our mind can relate. In actuality, it doesn’t roar like a dog or wolf. It’s a sound our brains cannot understand. Hence why we froze. Those sounds are alien to us. Think of it like a brainfreeze when you eat too many cold things. Except here, it’s your brain trying to process what that sound even is.”

  Xylia glanced down to Rinea’s now stitched scratches. “How do you know all of this, Great Sage?” She asked quietly, like praying for an answer.

  Wattyson lingered on hers, and let out a long sigh. “I studied them. It’s what we do. Protect the world from new unknown threats.”

  He glanced to Rinea briefly before back to Xylia. “Since I told you everything I know; I want to ask you a favour.”

  Rinea shut her eyes completely with a soft smile. “Yes of course. What do you need of us, Sir Wattyson?”

  Xylia lifted her head back up, hitting the ‘Great Sage’ in the chin with her big wizard hat. Her eyes beaming. “Of course!”

  Arlene chuckled at the sudden damage he took while Naciv was… Naciv.

  Wattyson sat back, stroking his own chin. “I need you all to not say a word of this. Simply say anything like a high level dungeon monster spawned in and rummaged through the Floors. The dead looked like they were eaten because of how said monster attack.”

  Xylia pressed both her hands onto Rinea, much to her dismay and a loud groan of pain. “BUT WHY?! A LOT OF PEOPLE DIED! WE SHOULD WARN THEM!”

  “We can’t. Not yet.”

  Arlene nudged Xylia with a flick to her forehead. “You should back down a bit, Rinea is still healing.”

  “Oh.” Xylia noticed Rinea’s face was red and purple from the pain. “Sorry.”

  “It’s ok,” Rinea replied with a forced smile, “You were just… taken aback by the favour. Though I would like to know why too.”

  Wattyson sighed once more, but it felt heavy this time. “Because we don’t know for sure. I would wager we understood only five percent of the issue. Telling and reporting to the Guild now would just create a panic. I understand I ask a lot from you about this, but please understand.”

  He took a book out his own black hole storage, but hid the ability by putting his hand inside Arlene’s bag first. “We studied them. The likelihood of one showing up is astronomically low. The fact it showed up in the dungeon at all was a one in ten million chances.”

  Rinea matched his tone of voice, but more anxious. “Then… how am I, how are we supposed to tell them? They will ask question. I don’t know… any high rank monsters that can do.. do something like this.”

  “Then let Naciv lie for you.” Wattyson gazed to the shaky automaton. “He actually had come across something like this in the past with me. Hence why I trust him with this, he was also the one I sent to recruit you two because I trust his judgement. You will handle this, won’t you Naciv?”

  The name whiplashed him, brought him out of his inner own spiral. “Y-yes, Ana-Sir-Wattyson!”

  “Very good. Can you two follow him and repeat or support the story he will come up?”

  Such a thing would be way too imposing for them. They reported to the Guild directly… and to entrust them to follow Naciv. He wasn’t sure of how their relationship to Naciv was like. He knew he should’ve taken the time to understand them before this Floor, but… he was too far gone to care for others as much.

  Much to his relief, they nodded—one with sincere bob, the other a small yet strained one.

  “We’ll do our best. Lead the way once we’re out, Naciv.” Rinea said in her teasing voice while smiling. Likely savouring the enjoyment of watching him squirm.

  “You can count on us, Great Sage!” Xylia said with reverence. Her eyes beaming once more like a star.

  Naciv only nodded half-scared and half-determined.

  Arlene chuckled quietly and muttered to herself. “So that’s how you do it, Watty.” She continued healing Rinea in earnest.

  Wattyson didn’t notice his own shoulders were tensed the entire time. Only until they bought into his forged reality did he felt his shoulders slump in relief.

  “Let’s rest for now. Once Rinea heals, let’s return back to the surface.”