Author Notes:

Bit of a small rant here, feel free to ignore it UNLESS you're the user 'Red's Melancholy', if you are, please read it and follow my suggestion, it would give me tremendous pleasure.

SMALL RANT: You know, I've dealt with some really aggravating negative reviews before, and it's mainly the reason I make sure to put WARNINGS in every fic I write, because I had the hope that humanity might have a few brain cells left to look before touching.

And it worked for the most part.

But every now and then I get some dumb shit single digit IQ'd fucking self-entitled brat who thinks a warning is just a suggestion. Not surprising considering it's 2021. To those people, I wish they would get curious about the effects of dropping a toaster in a full bathtub while being inside it. Trust me, it's relaxing.

Anyway, to the one user who decided to ignore my warnings on a day where I am STRESSED THE FUCK OUT from work and shitty stuff in life, I say to you, what do you hope to accomplish by being a little shit?

It wasn't even that bad of a review to be honest, but you picked the wrong day for this shit. And your not the only one, some fucker on S&M Maid decided to be a little bitch today as well, but I don't have an update for that fic, so you drew the short straw.

Are you attempting to aggravate me? Do you wish for me to stop writing because you decided to make a fun experience for both me and my supportive readers into a negative one?

Because the only thing you accomplish is making me decide to wait a few more days to think of writing some more.

I am a human being, I have my own shit in life, I'm not here to complain about my problems, I'm here because I enjoy writing for fun, and those who enjoy my work make it rewarding.

With that said, WHO THE FUCK do you think you are to tell me how to write my shit? You think your important? You think I give more fucks about what you dislike then I do about where I stop to get gas for my car?

This is FANFICTION (Que Sparta meme). I can write whatever the fuck I want. I can play god because that's how FREE writing works.

I don't charge you; I don't get paid for this, I do it because I ENJOY IT.

Telling an author of fanfiction you are mad about their writing style is the height of self-entitlement. This shits free bitch, you think you're a professional critic and I care?

Did they ask for your opinion? Some do, I don't. I ask for opinions about the story itself, but my writing style is mine. And if your opinion is shit, I would rather you say nothing and leave my story alone.

I'm long winded, I like details, I focus of weird shit, I like adding parenthesis when I desire it, that's just me.

There is writing style 'A', writing style 'B', and writing style 'Curiosity44 fuck you'.

You don't like it? You can leave.

But to actually have the balls to complain about it to me? Get the fuck out of here before I shove my foot so far up your ass, it comes out your throat and I decide to wear your fucking corpse as half a pair of pants to work.

When my boss asks me what's on my leg, I'll give him a fake as fuck customer satisfactory smile and apologize for showing up with dog shit on my leg because it's 2021 and 1/3 of customers want their 10 seconds of fame as a piece of shit Karen who wants to ruin everyone's life for a nonexistent slight on their 'royal' being.

And calling me lazy? Fuck you bitch I'm lazy as fuck, it takes me a month to write a chapter I could finish in hours, but don't go calling my quality lazy you fucker. And where the fuck is your work huh? What the fuck have you written and done with your life? Self-entitled little shit. I'm a petty and vindicative little bitch when I'm stressed and pissed off, and you decided to step on that fucking land mine so fuck you! Tell me where you live so I can use my shotgun to give you a new fucking asshole to pour shit out of.

*cough*

With that said, I feel better now. I don't even imagine stabbing that user anymore, well maybe once or twice wont hurt anyone. I.E. it won't hurt me.

To everyone else, sorry for the rant, gotta get it out once in a while, it's bad to hold it in you know. enjoy the chap, I finally got to squeeze in some Tiona time, Yay!

Taking away all author notes, it's a 13K chap!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my balls and my own creations.

Chapter 14:

Dungeon, Floor 14.

*AWOOooooo!*

"Hahahaha! Come!"

I punched a hellhound into dust before backflipping to avoid two almiraj's and countering with a split kick to turn both to dust.

"Hehe~ he looks like he is having fun, nya~."

"Mn, very skilled."

I ignored the peanut gallery on the side.

*Awo!*

Half a dozen fireballs came my way and my eyes flashed as I slammed my foot down and used quick attack to launch myself forward like an arrow in the ranks of hellhounds before lashing out with rapid fire hits that incapacitated each foe one after the other.

"Ohh~ what amazing short burst speed, even I might be caught off guard by that."

"Mn, no wasted movements, beautiful form."

Four almiraj's came at me from different directions forcing me to rely on instincts and dexterity to contort my body and use the speed of the horned rabbits charge against them with quick jabs that snapped their necks.

Why use excessive force when they do the work for you?

It took not even two seconds for all four of them to fall with thuds, not a single one turned to dust but all dead without a doubt.

I stood up with alert eyes that scanned the cavernous area before coming to a rest and releasing a breath as my adrenaline cooled.

My neck tilted to the side to give a satisfying pop.

"Ah~ a nice workout."

I heard sniggering off the side and finally gave them some attention after ignoring my Familia members for the last hour.

"Nyaha~ only you would consider that a workout Jake~."

"Mn."

I rolled my eyes at them.

It's not my fault it only took three days for floor 13 and 14 to utterly bore me.

Floor 13 was loads of fun for me at first, like going to an amusement park.

The trap dungeon worms had no presence before they struck, the Almiraj were like deadly intelligent arrows, and the hellhounds could appear at random and lodge explosive fireballs at you when you weren't paying attention.

It was great for training the senses, but it got old fast, and I got bored.

Floor 14 was actually worse considering the lack of dungeon worms and increase in the other two monsters.

So, in the spirit of getting more out of the floor, I decided to run a train for an hour and gather up as many monsters as I could.

That's how I started an all-out brawl with around two dozen hellhounds and twice the number in almiraj's.

Chloe and Ryu decided to accompany me for the day as the store was closed.

I made it a point to only be open three days a week after all.

Business had picked up with positive reviews from civilians and even without the adventurer side business, just the civilian side would keep our Familia's coffers filled for a while.

But on the four days a week we were closed, the girls were free to do what they wished.

That resulted in them wanting to see how I fight considering they hadn't actually seen me do anything besides summon Pokemon so far.

I may or may not have inadvertently decided to show off a bit by taking on a large group of monsters that a fresh level 2 would be shitting their pants to face.

I felt a weight on my back and turned to see Chloe smiling at me.

"I loved the show~. Perhaps you can do it again in.. less clothing? Nya."

I felt a weight on my front and turned to see Ryu pressing into me and placing my hand on her head.

"Mn."

I felt my eyebrow twitch as I still rubbed her head which made her smile.

But that left an annoyed purring in my ear as Chloe started nibbling on my ear.

"Well~?"

I sighed.

"You two know we are in the dungeon right?"

"Mn. Only floor 14."

I sweat dropped at that while Chloe laughed.

"Nyaha~ she's right, these floors can't bother us, and that includes you cap~tain~."

I shivered at her tone and breath and decided to end this.

My arm flashed behind me and slapped her ass making her jump and break her seduction play while I gave Ryu a final pat and stopped much to annoyance if the slight downturn of her lips was any indication. Which is to say it's the equivalent of a very annoyed cat versus a happy one.

"Enough playing girls, come, it's time to go further down, I won't grow much around here."

"Nya, sure, sure, but I liked how that felt."

"Mn."

They had different meanings, but I still got it and rolled my eyes while walking away.

With the combo of existing maps and my own travels around floor 13 and 14, I already had the place mentally mapped out including where the stairs were.

Floor 15 looked the same as the previous two, but it had two additional monsters.

*Mooo!*

I rose an eyebrow as I was almost immediately confronted by a minotaur as I walked away from the stairs.

"Ohhh, our fabled captain comes across his first minotaur so soon~, I wonder if he can triumph over the mighty newbie killer~, nya."

"Dumb cat."

"Nya! It's called sarcasm!"

I ignored them and focused my mind on my new foe.

Standing at {INSERT DESCRIPTION}

"Well then, aren't you ugly?"

*MOoo!*

"Ah, I see you agree."

*MOOOO!*

"And now your angry? Denial much?"

I had a lot of expectations for the big guy of these floors, but my eyes flashed in disappointment at what I saw.

The ground cracked as the hooved creature charged showing its tremendous strength, with red eyes and anger driven foam dripping from its mouth.

The beast looked like a moving tank, but a mindless one, nonetheless.

And how does a trained martial artist deal with a mindless wrath filled berserker?

You use their force against them of course.

The minotaur charged me, and I sidestepped while circling the beast.

My foot lashed out into the side of the creatures knee with a sickening crunch as it screamed and tilted to the side.

Before it could even process the lack of mobility, in one swift and elegant movement, I spun and impaled the creature was a spiked elbow to the back of its head and moved past as it fell.

'Tremendous strength and agility, that charge was not slow by any means, but that's all.

I assume its constitution is higher in more muscled areas, but the joints have no protection.

And overall it just charged me without any thought or plan.'

My initial judgement of the newbie killer?

Perfect enemy for the unskilled, but for the trained and ready, it was a child throwing a tantrum, but one with the power to kill you if you slipped up.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

I gave a mocking back to the two clapping young women.

"Thank you, thank you."

"Nyaha you look depressed."

"Yeah, I gave the minotaur more credit."

"Mn, good for newbies, not for experts."

I gave her a nod at that.

"Aw.. did the big baddy not give you enough excitement? Nya, don't worry, I'm sure I can get your blood pumping~."

I threw my water bottle at her to shush her making her laugh and take a drink.

"Shush you thirsty kitten, Chansey has healed my hands and back three times in only a few days, she might start restraining you from being near me soon."

Ryu nodded eagerly at that while Chloe pouted.

"Muuu, but I can't help myself nya!"

"Perverted cat."

"Oh like your much better! I have a heightened smell you know!"

Ryu blushed and looked away while she started reaching for her sword.

Chloe responded in kind as she reached for her knives.

Sensing the oncoming conflict, I blitzed forward with a quick attack to flick both their heads.

It didn't hurt them, but their heads did jerk back while my fingers almost broke.

"Behave you two, you can play at home. If you want to let off some steam then by all means, hunt some monsters."

"No, I'll wait for you."

"Nya, that's right, it's no fun without you."

I rose an eyebrow at them.

"You sure girls? It could take a few months."

They both shrugged.

"You already have the martial skill of someone at our level, all you need is the experience and Falna to match. Seriously, how you learned so much without a Falna is scary."

"Mn, incredible teacher."

I smiled brightly at that and thought back to my crazy old master.

"Yeah… yeah he was."

I lost myself in the memories for a moment before I felt two hands touch my arms and look down at each girl giving me a smile.

No words were said but the message was clear.

We're here for you.

I chuckled and rubbed their heads much to their delight.

"Well then let's go, if your waiting for me then I should start picking up the pace!"

"Nyaha~ your just a battle junkie aren't you?"

I shrugged at that.

"What can I say, I may use logic but the feeling of the adrenaline pumping combat just gets me going like nothing else. I was trained my whole life without the opportunity to actually use my skills in life or death combat, so it might take a few years for me to calm down."

Ryu tilted her head at that.

"Male amazon?"

"*Pft* Nyahaha! No wonder that Tiona girl was willing to fight for you, I guess your wild side attracted her."

I shrugged at that as we walked.

"Who knows, I haven't seen her in a few days, I wonder how she's doing."

I felt a weight attach itself to my back as Chloe whispered in my ear.

"Oh~ are we not enough for you, Jake~? Nya."

I chuckled and reached a hand up to scratch under her chin much to her delight.

"I've said it before Chloe, and this goes for you to Ryu, I will not play favorites. If you three chose to let things play out, I will abide by that and show you each equal amounts of affection and attention in whatever form you wish for. A relationship goes two ways, I will give as much as I can, just as you three give me loads of affection and attention whenever we are together."

There was a pause as we walked before I felt Chloe chuckling deep in her chest as my hand was taken by Ryu.

"Nyaha! This is why we can't help but fall for you Jake! You say the cheesiest stuff, but you truly mean it don't you?"

I gave Ryu a smile and felt myself blush lightly at her soft but clear eyes before I answered.

"Of course I do."

Chloe purred and rubbed her head against my own affectionately as her tail went town and entwined with my own.

"*Puuurrr* and that's why I can't help but try and jump you nya. Contrary to how I act around you, I have never gone beyond teasing with men before.

I never really had the time or interest what with having to look over my shoulder 24/7 and never being able to trust anyone.

But every time I'm around you your aura and scent fall over me like a warm blanket."

She scooted up so her head could hang down in front of me as I looked up with a soft smile and loving eyes.

"Why do you give us so much Jake?"

I didn't hesitate to answer.

"Because you deserve it. Is it so wrong I want to shower my kittens in affection?"

She bit her lip, and I felt her trembling while her grip tightened, but a light tap from my hand on her thigh had her loosen up again.

"Nya~… oh Jake. Level up already will you?"

She said it with a smile and bent down to kiss me before affectionately licking my nose and moving back. Her tongue was rough in a wet and pleasant way, and she tasted of peaches.

"I'll do my best kitten."

I felt a squeeze on my hand and looked down at Ryu's blank face full of expectation and smiled before bending down to capture her lips in a kiss.

Contrary to Chloe's taste and feel, Ryu's tongue was incredibly soft and lightly wet like a gentle rain, and she tasted of mint.

When it came to affection, Chloe was proactive, and Ryu was reactive, but they were equally as affectionate in spirit.

When I pulled back I gently squeezed her hand back and let out my thoughts even as the dungeon walls shook, and a trio of monsters started falling through.

I let go of Ryu's hand and gently patted Chloe's thigh so she could get down.

"You know, you girls each overcame your own past to get to where you are now, I find myself deeply attracted to that confidence and determination to reach your goals. I can't get enough of your varied personalities. You all bring a light into my life in ways that I didn't know I lived without before.

Like a blind man who didn't know what he was missing.

I was an empty slate, bored with my old life, excited with my new one, but still blind."

I cracked my neck as I walked toward the two Minotaur's and my first Weretiger.

"I just wanted to reach the peak before, but what's the point of getting there if you have no one to share your life with?

Now I'm happy to say I still want to reach that peak, but with my Familia right by my side. And that includes our silly goddess, we are all a family now."

*MOOO!*

*MOOO!*

*RAWWR!*

I bent my knees and faced the three charging monsters.

With a calm mind and a blazing heart, I watched as they approached and then my figure blurred not in speed but in technique.

My fist flashed out as I turned my body slightly to avoid the faster Weretigers claws as my fist smashed into its windpipe to destabilize it before a light kick sent it into a charging minotaur's path where it got impaled on horns and turned to ash.

Before the Minotaur's reached me, I grabbed the spikes of my armor and detached one in each hand, stabbing them deep into the dungeon floor and jumped high as the chain links extended.

'Machop.'

As a level 2, I could absorb two Pokemon at once, and I currently had Raticate and Machop absorbed.

I channeled Machop's move, Bulk Up, and my bodies muscles seemed to puff up slightly and I felt strength surge through me.

Then with a might heave, I pulled the chains taught and spun in a half corkscrew as each of my feet found purchase on the back of a charging Minotaur's head.

*BOOM!*

Two identical indentations appeared on the floor as each monsters head was cracked open and mushed.

'Hm.. I wasn't wrong. Outside the muscled areas, it has a weak constitution. It's a tank for sure unless you have the necessary skill to hit its soft areas.'

*Cough!*

I turned to the side and sweat dropped as Chloe and Ryu held up sign's.

Chloe = 8.7

Ryu = 9.1

At my raised eyebrow, Chloe laughed.

"Nyaha, for the inspirational speech and beautiful demonstration."

"Mn, I never get tired of watching."

I rolled my eyes.

It's not like I can help it I move without wasted movements.

Before I could complain I felt a pair of soft lips land on my own.

Chloe was passionate before she pulled back.

"Jokes aside Jake, I think you already have my heart, stop making me fall for you more, Nya."

I stared into her green eyes and found nothing but warmth and couldn't help but chuckle and rub my forehead against hers.

I can't say me and Chloe have known each other that long, but not a day goes by since the very beginning that I don't feel an emotional attraction to her. Let alone a physical one.

Our views, minds, and hearts simple connect in a way I could only imagine in some sappy romance novel.

"Nya?!"

Chloe got yanked back and thrown into a wall before I looked down at a serious faced Ryu.

"Not only Chloe."

If I was used to Chloe jumping me for kiss's, I didn't expect Ryu to be proactive and jump me.

Her lips melded into my own as our tongues intertwined pleasantly.

When she pulled back, her sky blue eyes were staring soulfully into mine.

"You grasped my hand; I'm not letting go."

My eyes softened at that.

Chloe and Ryu were incredibly similar at the core even if they came off in different ways.

If Chloe was fire, Ryu was the wind.

Tiona would actually be a mix of water and earth.

They all had their own dark past, Chloe embraced the assassin life as it was all she knew but she hated it, Ryu became trapped in her avenger mindset and didn't care what happened to her as long as killed everyone she saw as her enemy at all costs, and Tiona escaped the violent and bloodthirsty environment of the amazon village where her sisters master tried to make them hate and kill each other by coming to Orario.

Tiona made mentions of it in a lighthearted way during the few times we spent time with each other.

They have all done things that would haunt them, but I didn't really care what they had to do to get to where they are now.

The past is the past, and I was chaotic neutral if anything.

I could enjoy the peace of nature or watch a world burn if I felt it was for a good reason.

Tiona popped into my life first during the monsterphilia and her light brown eyes captured my own gaze.

It was a weird feeling I only really understood later on. A wild and primitive feeling passed between us that naturally made us attracted to one another. It was like two wolves meeting in a pack of foxes.

Nothing needed to be said between us, I just felt a kindred spirit in our wish for freedom, action, and wildness.

Chloe appeared in my life next, literally falling into it. I forced her to open up her mind and what I found enticed me. My growing wild side and the cold logical part of my mind felt itself bond with her.

I wanted to protect her, shower he in affection and keep making her laugh from the heart. Her playful and affectionate side makes me itch with the need to give her everything she could ever want in life.

And Ryu I literally stumbled on. I didn't know what to do with her until I saw those eyes.

Eyes that wanted to give up, that wanted to just rest and forget it all.

It sparked something in me, I wanted to show her the world, I wanted to give her something to bring life back to those eyes.

I didn't even realize I was holding her hand as I shouted for her not to give up.

I don't know how the young woman fell for someone like me, but it's like the more time I spend around her, the more I just want to hold her and keep her safe from the world.

Tiona I want to run with, Chloe I want to pet into bliss, and Ryu I want to keep in my embrace and show her the world.

They each bring something out of me I didn't know I had, well, aside from my love for felines. I knew I had that.

I don't know when it started, probably when I decided to flow with things after the girls met each other, but I truly wanted to give everything I could to cherish each moment with them.

Even with my goddess, I might not feel the romantic affection I do for the other three, but I want to shower her with affection and take away that pit of pain and loneliness she has in her.

No one deserves what she had experienced, the feeling of just being forgotten and discarded for so many decades.

I might not try to help everyone or go searching for them, but the ones I stumble on I try to help.

"Nya! That was mean you elf!"

Chloe flashed in and pulled Ryu off me as they started bickering.

I felt myself smile from the heart at the sight as my thoughts went over things and before I knew it, they stopped bickering as they looked at me and blushed.

"Nya? Jake?"

"Mn... cheating."

I broke out of my thoughts and laughed before throwing my arms around them and carrying each under an arm.

"Come on you two, let's go make another monster train and then we can go have a soak in the hot springs under the house before dinner."

"Yeah!"

"Mn."

I got two different volumed but same level of joy cheers as I walked deeper into the dungeon.

The camera started zooming out as the scene came to a close before I felt my eyebrow twitch and the camera froze.

"Chloe…"

Chloe froze from where she was trying to unzip my zipper.

"Nya… yes?"

"*Sigh* never change Chloe."

"Nya! Of course I won't, now let's get little Jake out of there."

"Ryu."

"Mn."

*Bang*

"Ow!"

"Bad kitty."

I chuckled as my kittens wrestled with their arms while being carried under my arms and walked deeper into the dungeon.

*Line Break*

While sitting beneath a tree in the garden meditating with Mew sleeping peacefully curled up in a ball on my lap, I went over recent events.

A few days passed with Chloe and Ryu using their enhanced speed to aggro monster trains toward me to fight hordes and my stats advanced like popcorn heated with lightning.

Ok, maybe not that fast.

But it only took a week since I stepped onto floor 13 for me to spend most of my time on floor 17 and for my stats to reach this state.

[Falna:

Name: Jake

Title: Enigma (Effect: Increased reward from bonus rooms)

Level: 2

Familia crest: Methe

Strength: F380 +200

Endurance: D500

Dexterity: E410

Agility: F395 + 400

Magic: N/A]

Quite the jump there right?

Well that can be explained in three simple reasons.

One, there are only five monsters in total from floor 13 to 17 and each one is a powerhouse in only one area.

Hellhounds main stat is magic. They have weak strength and endurance, average dexterity and agility, but very powerful magic fireball attacks.

Almiraj's main stat is agility. They are all around weak but move at such high speeds in straight lines to often injure level 2's. As long as you can sense them incoming and dodge or counter, there are easy to deal with.

Dungeon worms, they only appear on floor 13 so I shall ignore explaining them.

Weretigers main areas are dexterity. They have no magic, weak endurance, average strength and agility, but very high dexterity. And when you combine that with their incredibly sharp claws, fangs, and their intimidating growls and appearance, they become deadly foes.

Thankfully, I am half weretiger and if anything, I take incredible offense to their existence. Each one learns who is the alpha before they die.

And finally the minotaur, the fabled newbie killer.

It truly is a powerful beast, but I believe it's presence is meant to show newbies that you cannot simple power your way through, hacking or stabbing without skill.

Minotaur's main stat is strength. They have no magic and weak dexterity, but their straight line agility and the force behind them is deadly even for me.

What I noticed however is that its endurance is focused on area's where it has large muscles. But around the joints and less muscles areas are easily exploitable spots for anyone with enough skill to hit them.

Minotaur's have a total of eight weak points in my eyes, and it's almost pitifully easy to dispatch them with my skillset.

The Weretigers offer more of a challenge to me.

These five monster types are only a true challenge to me when they are all together.

The second reason for my rapid stat growth is that I have not been using my Pokemon much.

The challenge in the dungeon is small as it is, so I only let them out to play when I'm exhausted.

The third reason is my low stats, being an early level 2 I am growing like bamboo because of the strong nourishment of the mana from the new monsters.

I have already done the math to see my stats start slowing down after my Falna grew enough from killing the same five types so many times.

And the final reason is my method of hunting.

Now usually, an adventurer will spend half of their time in the dungeon just on travel.

For me, not only do I have Kadabra to teleport from start to end of any floor I already conquered, but I also run trains.

I run for an hour rounding up dozens of monsters before facing them all at once instead of fighting them one by one and moving on.

And above that, with the girls helping, I can just remain in the same spot as they bring train after train to me so I can keep fighting to my heart's content.

There is nothing better than just fighting endless waves of foes until you can't feel your legs anymore.

Ok, maybe I'm a slight masochist after all.

What I need is not training in skill, but experience and Falna.

Thanks to that, I can zoom my way through the floors at unheard of speeds.

'Unfortunately, I think it's time to move on.'

My stat growth from fighting the same monsters has fallen from a few points each monster to single digits.

I have no need to pull what I did on the earlier floors and fight for each and every point.

Level 2 adventures don't stop at floor 17, it stops at floor 24, or 27 if you are with a bigger group.

Floor 18 is the safe spot of Riveria, the dungeon town.

Floor 19 to 24 is the Large Tree Labyrinth.

And Floors 25 to 27 are known as The Water City.

The Goliath at the end of floor 17 is not actually a level 2 monster, but a level 3 one.

(AN: According to wiki, the Goliath is a level 4 monster, but I refuse to believe anything other than pure bullshit and plot armor was the reason for Bell to defeat it at level 2.

In this fic, I'm making it a level 3 so that a SS stat level 2 with SS level 1 stats could fight it one on one as the final challenge for level 2.)

I have no idea how that makes sense in the dungeon's layout, or how the first adventurer team defeated it, but that specific monster requires a strong level 3, or I assume a maxed stat level 2.

There are records from what I've read of maxed out level 2's defeating it and being able to level up.

But anyway, my point is that I'll be moving forward to floors 19 – 24 in the coming days, before that I had to find the bonus room.

Me and Kadabra tested each floor before floor 17 with just us and didn't stumble on anything so we were sure it would be on the next one.

In two days I would challenge the bonus room since it would be a Monday and the girls will be manning the shop.

I'm not exactly hiding the bonus rooms from them, but I didn't want to say anything for fear of losing the chance to find them.

The plaque did say to not speak of it after all.

Speaking of my girls, my nose was picking up a scent that entered the garden and the more I focused on it the more I was able to sense the presence.

Even in deep meditation, I was trained to keep my senses active to alert my body.

Considering Mew was still sleeping comfortably, it wasn't an unwelcome visitor.

A deep earthly scent filled my nose as a pair of soft but strong arms wrapped around my neck and a pair of hands covered my eyes.

"Guess who~."

I chuckled and spoke without turning.

"Hmmm, it couldn't be my favorite amazoness could it?"

I could almost feel the smile growing behind my head.

"Maybe it is~, maybe it isn't~."

"Well if it isn't I would be quite sad, I really wanted to see my favorite amazoness."

"Aww, did you miss me that much?"

I leaned back and felt myself lean into a warm embrace.

"Of course I did."

I heard laughter and the hands were removed to show a brightly smiling face looking down at me.

"Hi Tiona."

"Hi Jake."

"You're looking stunning as usual today."

"Oh you flatterer, your looking handsome yourself."

We stared into each other's eyes for a moment before we both laughed.

"Haha it's good to see you Tiona, I didn't hear from you for a bit."

She wiped a tear from her eye from laughter.

"Hehe yeah, sorry about that. I had to go help out at the Familia camp in Riveria, I didn't get the chance to send a message."

I raised a hand to stroke her cheek and she leaned into it with a smile.

"Did everything turn out alright?"

"Mn, nothing can stand before this amazoness."

She puffed out her chest in pride and I poked her cheek to make her deflate and play bite my finger.

"Heh, the mighty level 4 Tiona. I'm glad your back, I was thinking about you the other day."

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me.

"Oh? What were you thinking about."

I chuckled and sat up while ignoring her pout.

It went away as I leaned against the tree and patted the thigh Mew wasn't sleeping on.

Tiona was quick to hop on and snuggle into me.

"I could tell you but then I might die when you lose control of your instincts."

Her eyes shined.

"And now I just want to know even more!"

"Hehe you can ask Chloe or Ryu later if you want."

"Oh yeah, where are they? Your goddess let me in at the door, but I didn't see them."

I thought on that.

'I think they are in the underground area having a spar.'

My eyes unconsciously trailed to the kitchen where the trap door was, but I turned back to Tiona before she noticed.

"Who knows, they are probably messing with each other upstairs or something."

Tiona laughed at that.

"Haha I can see that. Good, let them stay busy."

I chuckled and ran a hand down her back making her shiver slightly.

"Oh~? Do you want me all to yourself today?"

She smiled up at me and nodded without any shame.

"Yup!"

I laughed at that and gave her a small squeeze.

"Haha fine, fine. How about we go for a walk?"

Her eyes sparkled.

"Oh! You mean a date?!"

I shrugged and stood up while cradling Mew.

"Sure, it's a date."

She shot up in excitement, but unfortunately she woke up Mew with all her noise, and Mew doesn't enjoy having her naps messed with.

"Mew."

Her tail lashed out and poked Tiona and she squeaked as she disappeared only to reappear outside the gate, a few dozen feet off the ground.

*Bang*

I gave a wry smile down at Mew. It's not like falling from a few thousand feet would hurt a level 4, let alone a few dozen.

"Was that really necessary?"

Mew nodded and went back to sleep.

"Mew."

I chuckled and carried her to the couch and got her comfortable before I went out to meet a pouting Tiona.

"Jake, did I just get kicked out by a pink cat?"

I nodded.

"Yes, yes you did."

"I see."

I held out a hand and she took it with a smile before hopping back up.

"So where are we going?!"

I just shrugged.

"You know the city better than me, your call."

"Ok!"

She didn't let go of my hand and ran off with me getting dragged along for the ride.

I waved politely to the people we passed who just smiled and waved back.

In an adventurer city, it would be weird if you weren't used to strange shit popping up on a daily basis.

Tiona was a ball of excitement throughout the day.

We walked and talked, went browsing through some stores and tried on some clothes, got some food, bought some ice cream, and all around just explored the various streets of this massive city.

It's almost as if in honor of the title 'Labyrinth City' they decided to build everything outside the main streets in complex patterns just to annoy people.

But we didn't really care, Tiona was having fun and I was having fun seeing her have fun.

She really is a special girl.

While Chloe is mischievous and flirty, and Ryuu is stoic and affectionate, Tiona is hyper, optimistic, and clingy, a very fun combination.

And it can be proven by the amazoness sitting on my shoulder while slumping forward with her arms on my head with a sigh of contentment.

"Haha did you enjoy yourself Tiona?"

"Yeah! We don't get to spend much time together these days."

"I told you your welcome to come by my Familia home when you want to."

"I know but things just keep popping up. It's the downside to being part of the lead group for the top Familia."

She huffed while playing with my ears.

"I'm sure things should even out when you guys level up again. After all, how often does your group go deep dungeon diving?"

She hummed in thought for a moment.

"Not often, it takes a few months to prepare each time."

"See, so things should work out. For now we can just enjoy the small moments we get."

"Mn. Your really comfy you know that?"

"Heh I'm glad you think so, you have a very relaxing scent."

"Oh? What do I smell like?"

"Hm.. it's an earthly scent like after a summer rain mixed with lavender."

Tiona smiled brightly at that while hugging my head a little too hard, but a light tap on her thigh had her loosen up to a gentle hold.

"Boo~ you need to level up some more!"

I chuckled at that.

"I'm doing my best."

She pouted and rested her head on mine.

"I know I know."

I rubbed a hand soothingly on her leg as I tilted my head up to look at her slightly.

"Will you wait for me?"

The smile she gave me was wide and full of so much positivity it was blinding.

"Mn. No matter how long it takes."

I couldn't help it, there was only so much adorableness my heart could take.

My body zoomed into a side alley I already saw a minute before as we were walking, and I spun around to pin her against the wall as my mouth met hers.

She squeaked in surprise before her limbs wrapped tightly around my frame and her mouth met mine with even more vigor that I was giving.

Our tongues met in a fierce match of dominance and our bodies were pulled together as if to mesh both frames into one.

We kissed and gave no other thought other than to the kiss.

It was needy, possessive, hungry, and full of desire and emotion.

It took a few minutes before I had to pull back for air seeing how she could have kept going and the throaty moan that left her throat as I gulped some needed air set my body aflame like no other and I dove right back in.

"Mnn… Jake~."

She tasted of vanilla just like the ice cream she was eating before.

The moment came on so suddenly, and yet it felt like the entire day together was one big rope that lead up until this moment.

I shared occasional kiss's with Ryu, and went up till 3rd base with Chloe, but I never shared a kiss with Tiona before now despite meeting her first.

I don't spend as much time around Tiona as the other two, but there was another reason for it.

From the first time I met her, there was a deep attraction there between us.

With Chloe it was a deep mental connection and with Ryu it was an emotional one.

But with Tiona, it feels almost…primal in a way.

Like two wild animals circling one another, getting a feel for the other without aggression but curiosity and attraction.

I pulled back for air and leaned my forehead against her own.

We stared into each other eyes and it was like our minds were connected into one.

Almost simultaneously, we both started chuckling which evolved into laughter.

Our heads slipped with hers landing on my shoulder and mine stopping on the, now thoroughly cracked, brick wall that I pinned her against.

There was nothing said, nothing else done, and yet we couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahaha…. ah…."

I slipped a hand from her waist to reach up and tuck some loose hair behind her ear as she smiled like she wanted to break her lips.

""Wow.""

Our eyes met again, and our laughter started all over again.

It took us a few minutes to calm down.

I never let go of her the entire time and she clung to my front like a koala as her legs wrapped around my waist and her arms around my neck.

"I really needed that."

"Ha! Your telling me. My instincts have never been so satisfied. And with just a kiss!"

I smirked at that and gave her a peck that she eagerly returned.

"We can find out the rest another time, for now I think I'm happy to learn more about you."

She returned my smirk and nodded.

"Mn, even if I want to jump ahead, I know it's better in the long run to take it slow."

And here her smirk showed some teeth.

"It should give you enough time to level up before I accidentally break you."

I laughed loudly at that for a minute.

"Hahaha you better watch out love, I don't really know what I would do if I gave in to my instincts when I didn't have to worry about holding either of us holding back."

She gently tugged me back in, so her mouth was inches away from my own.

"I think I could give you an idea or two."

Our lips met again in a gentler embrace.

Here in some random alleyway of some random part of the labyrinth city that we would never rediscover again, Tiona and I took another step forward in our relationship.

One we would come to cherish and love looking back on.

For it's where a silent promise was made.

*Line Break*

Floor 17.

It was time for the bonus room fight. I had nothing more to gain from these floors.

"You ready to go buddy?"

"Kad."

"Good, let it rip."

One moment the two of us were standing by the stairs, and in the next we were pulled forward by the familiar feeling of teleportation only to hit that familiar barrier and get flung into a new space.

This time however, I wasn't deliberated and landed on my feet with only a slight dizzy feeling.

I blinked out the spots before looking at Kadabra by my side doing the same.

"Huh, looks like your evolution improved the effect of the teleportation."

"Kad."

He nodded his head and looked around warily.

We we're in a cavernous area like usual, but this time there were hundreds of statues of monsters in rows like terracotta warriors.

The usual plaque was on the wall by the door.

"To those who find this room, congratulations, you are worthy of the dungeon's true purpose.

This room is meant for the development of young adventurers to break their limits, a final test before the next level of the dungeon.

If you had crossed the staircase to the next floor, this room would have been forever lost to you.

Tell no one of this secret, as they must locate this room for themselves to be worthy of the test, or the door will not appear.

Go forth brave mortal and make your own destiny."

It was because of that plaque that I never told anyone about these rooms.

I don't know if the dungeon has a way of mind reading or something similar, so I kept my thoughts to myself.

Focusing my mind on my surroundings, I took in a few more details.

For one, the room was rectangular.

Second, the walls were smooth stone without any holes or cracks along the sides.

Third the ground was made of clean cut square shaped stone tiles. It looked almost like the floor was built for an arena.

And fourth, the ceiling was oval shaped with the center being the highest point.

All in all, it looked like this would be an army style fight.

I was on one side by the door, and to the far other side was the rows of stone statues.

I narrowed my eyes as it seemed life the statues went on for a while into the backdrop of the room. I couldn't get an accurate number from where I was standing.

'Twenty valis says the statues are the actual monsters.'

Red light shot out of my body and took form around me.

"Char!"

"Meta."

"Dig!"

"Mach!"

My four teammates appeared with their own cries and looked around.

"Ok guys, new challenge.

Diglett, I want you to set up trenches between us and them, make pit falls and set them to the patterns we use in training.

After your done come back and I'll switch you out for nidoran.

Metapod, I want you on the ceiling. I know you maneuverability is going to be rough in your new form, so focus on defense and support.

Rain down the string shots and follow whatever pattern you think is best."

"Dig!"

"Meta!"

Seeing them nod, I turned to the next two.

Charmeleon was giving me a look full of fighting intent as fire was literally leaking from his mouth in his excitement.

"Charmeleon, I want you on the right flank, fight as you wish but do your best to spread as much fire as you can to their side. I want them confused and angry, got it?"

"Char!"

"Good, Machop, I know it's your first time in a bonus room, but just do as we practiced and cover the left flank. When nidoran comes in I'll have him support you."

"Mach!"

He gave a serious nod and thumbs up. I felt reassured but somehow his image got overlapped by a similar green spandex covered figure that made me shiver lightly.

I turned to Kadabra.

"Kadabra, I know you usually stayed out of the way in these fights before but now you can participate. Are you ok with fighting?"

He gave me a strong nod.

"Kad."

"Good, I want you behind me in the center flank. Use your attacks where you see fit and cover the center if I rush into the enemy lines. Aside from that, same as usual, move the corpses to the side or to make obstacles to help up."

"Kad."

I nodded and did a quick stretch.

"Ok guys, you ready?"

A quick round of cries and I smirked as I let my momentum build.

"Then let's get this party started."

I crossed the line and the room immediately started shaking.

"Dig!"

"Meta!"

Diglett shot off into the earth without a second delay as Metapod shot a string shot to the ceiling and stuck himself in place like a turret at the ready.

Charmeleon rushed to one side as Machop rushed to the other and Kadabra positioned himself behind and slightly above me.

*Rumble!*

All at once, the stone statues of monsters started vibrating as if something was coming to life and cracks started forming before they shattered a few at a time.

"Awooo!"

"Rooaarr!"

"Hiiiss!"

Monsters broke free and charged like cracked up ravers on cocaine and red bull.

My eyes trailed to each one and I saw one main difference between their normal forms and these elite forms.

Aside from a slight size and power increase, they each had stone armor or weapons from where they broke out.

The hellhounds and minotaur's had stone armor covering their frames to protect their vital areas.

The Lygerfang's and Almiraj's had gleaming stone blades on their claws and horn, respectively.

And above all that, they each gave off a certain dreadful aura I assume is meant to intimidate a challenger and cause mental effects.

Not that I would let myself be intimidated.

Immediately as they charged, a few of them began falling into various pit falls as lines were dug in the earth to create trenches and stop straight line charges.

On the right side, charmeleon took a deep breath before pouring out a torrent of flames like a true flamethrower that washed over dozens of monsters whether they be in stone or not.

His side of the chamber was set alight in bright orange flames that burned anything that entered.

Machop met his side with calm focus as his hands moved with beautiful dexterity and form to defend, attack, and counter attack any monster that approached.

As for myself, I was moving like a well oiled machine.

Whereas Machop was an immovable mountain, I was dancing between monsters with inches to spare as my hands were all but a blur and hit with tremendous force.

Even with the stone armor, I could channel most of the force into doing internal damage. The stone armor might lower the damage output, but with such a difference it wasn't to much of a hindrance.

If anything, I just couldn't one shot them like I would if they didn't have the armor. Each one took a few hits, especially the minotaur's.

With the combination of my team and the fact that the monsters didn't break away all at once, I was meeting each individual monsters charge.

They might only be a few steps apart, but that was enough time for me to approach the first and incapacitate it before my limbs flashed out on the second one.

With each step I took, I left a monster corpse to the side that Kadabra would pull backward into a large pile.

A few times a Lygerfang would be fast enough to get behind me, but it's eyes would glaze over in confusion before I turned and dealt with them.

Kadabra was making heavy use of teleport and confusion to cover each of the three sides.

And above us Metapod had secured himself in place before launching strategic string shots into the array.

He would focus on the statues that hadn't woken up yet and cover them in string to slow them down.

The ones in charmeleon flame area were set alight before they even woke up.

"Dig!"

I did a backflip and used a split kick on two charging Almiraj's before landing next to Diglett.

"Everything set up?"

"Dig!"

He gave me an affirmative nod and I smiled and lightly tapped his smooth head.

"Good job buddy, head back and rest."

"Dig."

I pulled him back and mentally called on Nidoran before I paused and looked at Machop's side.

"Machop! You need help or you still good for now?!"

He used a low kick to topple a charging minotaur and dropped a heavy fist onto it's skull to shatter it before turning to give me a thumbs up.

"Mach!"

I smirked at the sight.

'What a reliable partner.'

Instead of summoning Nidoran, I absorbed him.

With each level up, I can absorb one more Pokemon rather than summon it, up to the max of 6 when I hit level 6.

As I absorbed him, I felt my muscles swell slightly with the strength bonus and my skin gained a purplish hue as the ability of poison point came into effect.

'At the rate these monsters are coming, this should be useful.'

With a bloodthirsty smirk, I dove back into combat.

Each strike that met skin left a purple welt behind that spread poison into each foe.

As time ticked by, more and more monsters were breaking free to create a swarm that rushed forward like mad.

There was no rumbling of the room, no indicator of the rounds, nothing unique about this bonus room.

It was just a massive wave of endless monsters.

When the statues ran out, the monsters would end.

'At least I hope that's the case.'

With the monsters swarming, I reduced the number of hits I made on each monster to avoid taking as many hits as I could.

A single hit from these guys might not be much to me, but when it stacks it can be dangerous.

But each time I hit skin or skin hit my own, a purple welt would be left behind that would weaken each monster.

If five welts were stacked, it would be paralyzed and die shortly after without any extra effort on my part.

I bent backward like the matrix to avoid a stone battle axe a minotaur swung and felt the wind that came off it as it flew inches from my face.

My hands shot down to dig into the stone ground as my feet shot up in a handstand to snap the beast's neck.

As its massive frame fell, I flipped and grabbed the handle of the axe and using my momentum, I flung it forward to down two charging Lygerfang's.

"Char!"

At the call and mental urging, I rolled to the side and avoided two fireballs that impacted a group of three Almiraj's.

Turning my head, I saw the two hellhounds who shot it and my hand shot to one of the spikes on my shoulder as I violently spun my body while pulling it out and swung the length of the chain to smash into them before they could dodge.

As the chain retracted into my armor, I ignored them as a torrent of flames consumed them and shot a grin at charmeleon who matched it and spun to use steel like claws on an opposing Lygerfang.

The battle raged on.

Five minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes, an hour, two hours, the wave just never ended.

The line of stone statues I saw at the beginning was much longer than I thought.

Machop couldn't last as long as the rest of us who were evolved/leveled up, so I swapped him out for Nidoran and Gastly at even intervals.

Even if I could have them fight till they died, I wouldn't intentionally do that to them.

Besides, as they are absorbed into me, they are resting while I tire so when I summon them back out, they had time to recover.

It's not the physical drain but the mental one that's an issue for them.

My main partners, Charmeleon, Metapod, and Kadabra have been with me from the start and have grown with me to be used to this amount of fighting.

The others have various levels of mental growth.

With Nidoran, I utilized his poison point ability. And when I needed the boost, I utilized a perfect combo between Poison Point, and the ability of Raticate 'Guts'.

Guts increases my strength if I have a status condition. And with Abnormal Resistance, poison would be weakened and or negated with time depending on the strength of the poison and the grade of my developmental ability.

So I could just poison myself, get a power boost while feeling slightly dizzy, and then my body would cure the poison without any after effect and I would go back to normal.

A powerful combo.

With Machop absorbed, I made use of 'Bulk Up', a move toincrease my attack and defense for a portion of time.

It's a very draining move but it gives me a good power boost when I need the extra juice.

Thankfully, I have Kadabra holding a bag with stamina pills to recover my energy.

I had never been so thankful to have my nutrition focused job as I could create as many status recovery items as I needed without costing myself a fortune.

And finally with Gastly absorbed, my body became lighter under the effects of 'Levitate' and I could move much faster.

Further, using Gastly move's such as confuse ray and hypnosis were interesting experiences, but they drain my mental energy if I overuse it.

'I think I need more distance fighters.'

I had to many front line damage dealers and Kadabra and Metapod lack the offensive might at the moment.

As we passed the two hour mark, there was finally a lull in the monster horde.

I dropped to a knee and laughed heartily while ignoring the various bruises, cuts, and flesh wounds on my frame.

"*Huff* hahaha! *Huff* Haha! *Huff* What a rush!"

Charmeleon was giving his own laugh on his side that looked like the epicenter of a nuke from all the craters and molten and black covered ground.

Except his laugh was a bit sinister sounding.

I sweat dropped a bit at the comical sight before shaking my head and enjoying the moment.

My blood was rushing and pumping like crazy as my wild adrenaline junky side was basking in incredible pleasure.

On the other side, Machop was down on a knee alongside Nidoran who was on his side taking deep breathes.

Attached to the highest point of the ceiling, Metapod never dropped his guard as he kept his guard up and kept shooting more string down to reinforce our side.

Behind me Kadabra was sitting cross legged in the air and using Synesis to power up some more while a mountain of corpses were stacked behind him in four neat piles depending on the monster type.

My eyes went over each one to scan for injuries and while I saw plenty of wounds, they were simple flesh wounds like my own.

Nothing some time and rest wouldn't heal, and it would impact fighting capacity.

My eyes shot over to the other side of the room where I wearily saw the last few rows of statues begin to vibrate.

Whereas the ones we were fighting until were generally similar in size to the usual monsters, albeit slightly stronger and with stone armor/weapons, these were different.

The same four monsters, but bigger.

The last two rows of stone statues were only visible now with the dozens of rows ahead removed.

The Minotaur's were almost double the usual size while the other three were almost triple it's usual size.

The Hellhounds had six legs instead of four.

The Lygerfang's were still streamlined to look like an agility and dexterity focused monster, but they were holding much more muscle mass.

And the Almiraj's looked like giant rabid mutant unicorn bunnies. Scary stuff.

"Nidoran, return."

He turned into a beam of light and retracted into me as I immediately called on diglett again.

"Dig!"

"Same deal buddy, work as fast as you can."

He saluted and took off as the rest of us recovered.

'I don't know how much time we have, but the more pitfalls and trenches he can set up the better.'

At the same time, I didn't even have to say anything to Metapod, the little guy knew me as good as charmeleon.

Waves of string shot launched at the statues to wrap them like cocoons.

There must have been around fifty of the giant bastards all told, and it was looking like some kind of giant spider horror movie at the moment with them trapped in stone.

Two minutes later, the room began to shake slightly, and I took that as a clear sign.

"Diglett, return."

A red light shot from the earth back into me and my mind circled the options and called on Chansey.

"Chan!"

"Chansey, one healing please, and a round of refresh for everyone."

She took one look at me with displeased eyes but still obeyed and I felt a wave of warmth rush over me as my wounds closed up and strength returned to my body under the effects of refresh.

Each member of my team sighed in relief at the return of some energy.

"Thank you chansey."

She looked away with a humph and I chuckled before recalling her and resummoning Nidoran who went to join by Machop's side.

*Cr-Crack!*

And just then, we all heard the loud and crisp cracking sounds coming from the statues.

Pieces began falling off as vitality filled skin shown through the cracks.

"Charmeleon."

He didn't look at me, but he understood the order.

With a deep breath while pulling back like a bow, he released his string in a massive torrent of flames that impacted the center of the two rows and ignited the string on all of them.

The string not directly hit was quickly lit by the rest trailing after it.

*ROAR!*

*RAWR!*

*AWWWOOOO!*

The monsters roared in agony and wrath before with a massive explosive sound like shotguns firing by your ear, the statues exploded all at once into stone fragments as each monster broke free.

And each one was on fire and taking damage.

One unlucky giant Almiraj was too close to the center of the attack and had it's entire body set ablaze as it screamed and fell without getting to do anything.

The others turned bloodshot eyes on us and roared loud enough to shake the entire room as they charged like the Persian army assaulting the 300 Spartans.

And just like the Spartans, what met the monsters charge was not a flimsy defense but a planned one.

*ROAR!*

Minotaur's screamed in agony as they into pitfalls with sharp spikes.

*AWoo!* *RAWR!*

The fast Hellhounds and Lygerfang's found themselves stuck to the ground as they ran over the ground covered in layers of concealed string shot.

And as they were stuck, dozens of corpses of their fallen monsters were dropped from the highest point to land on their living brethren.

I smirked at the mix of Kadabra and Metapod's teamwork.

The Spartans used a wall of their foes corpses to defeat waves of Persians.

We used the heavy, sharp, and armored corpses of the fallen smaller monsters to kill their stronger and fewer elites.

And if that wasn't enough, Charmeleon set the entire array of string alight, and the room was awash in towering flames.

Without ever reaching us, every last Lygerfang and Hellhound was killed just like that.

And the Minotaur's were reduced to a pitiful two with the rest having fallen to the pitfalls.

Only the giant rabbit Almiraj's remained unharmed aside from the first one.

They were a dozen strong and staring at us while kicking the ground.

I smirked at the sight.

"It's rabbit season."

I immediately used focus energy as they shot at us like giant moving cannonballs.

My eyes trailed over their monstrous forms for area's to focus on and they landed on it's horn.

'There.'

I slammed the ground and used Quick Attack to close the distance and I saw things move in slow motion.

The giant Almiraj was inching closer to me as I closed in on it.

My foot was coming around in an attack to land on the base of its horn, and my eyes trailed it's path.

With a satisfying crunch, the horn was shattered at the base and time sped back up.

The entire exchange occurred within three seconds of time and ended with a screaming giant rabbit.

I grabbed the horn by the base and pointed it at the bunny.

"Open wide!"

*Squelch*

I stabbed the horn through it's open mouth and pierced it's brain, before pulling out before the titanic creature fell on it's side dead.

Machop followed my example by using a combo of Bulk Up, Low Kick, and finally Knock Off to remove the horn and impale the giant rabbit.

I blinked at the effects of Knock Off.

'Apparently the horns are a held item, who knew?'

Charmeleon went hunting like his predator instincts were telling him it was meal time, after all, no matter how vicious they look and feel, they are still giant rabbits.

Metapod couldn't do much against them with his string, so he aimed for blinding and hitting them in the mouth.

Kadabra made use of confusion and focused on a single one to turn it on it's allies. If the Almiraj being impaled from behind by it's ally was any indication.

'Sorry if you don't swing that way giant rabbit buddy.'

And Nidoran sped around like a fly and kept stinging each enemy he could to stack more and more poison damage.

Between Machop and I's new weapons, Kadabra's confusion, Metapod's blinding attacks, Nidoran's poison, and Charmeleon going full predator, the dozen giant Almiraj's went down in the blink of an eye.

The two remaining giant Minotaur's put up more of a fight but between our combined attacks, they went down in showers of blood.

"*huff* Woo! That's what I'm talking about!"

"Char!"

"Mach!"

"Nido!"

I got three cheers along with me while Kadabra and Metapod gave a more sedate but proud cheer.

And then the room shook once more, and my eyes widened.

"What?! But there's no more statues!"

I was pretty drained at the moment, not dead drained but still damn tired after endless fighting with the elite versions of four tough monsters covered in stone armor or with stone weapons.

My eyes zeroed in on the far wall and I looked closely.

'Wait a minute.'

Without all the giant statues in the way, I started making out something on the wall.

An outline of some shape was half hidden in the shadow of the room and have visible.

It didn't fit the image of the previous four types.

'What the fuck is that?'

Cracks grew along the wall and the entire room started shaking as fragments fell and two red gleaming eyes became prominent.

My eyes widened slightly as only one monster had eyes like that.

'Oh hell no.'

*BOOM!*

(AN: Play song "ULTRAnumb by Blue Stahli" OR "Courtesy Call - (SUPER REMIX) - MUSICAL DIAMOND". I can't decide which is better for this.)

An explosion shook the room, and a dust cloud covered our vision.

"Charmeleon! Dragon Breath now! Make it widespread!"

"Char!"

A cannon of air was shot from Chameleon's mouth to clear the dust and we all got an eyeful of our next challenge.

"Oi, oi, isn't this unfair?"

Coiled up like a massive serpent that reached toward the highest point of the room, was one disgusting squirming coil of flesh.

A dungeon worm, a massive titanic dungeon worm, was staring down at us with gleaming red orbs and thousands of twirling serrated teeth visible in it's wide open mouth.

It's body was covered in patches of stone slabs like some kind of armor even if it was just pockets rather than a full body armor.

And the teeth were buzzing like a chainsaw.

"Now that's just unscientific."

*ROOOAARRR!*

I don't think it like my answer.

It struck like a viper without warning and my eyes widened before slamming the ground and shooting toward the ceiling where a string shot came at me for me to grab and swing out of the way.

I gave Metapod a thankful nod and he nodded back.

Back on the ground, Nidoran became the first victim of the day and got caught in it's strike.

I red light shot into my body as he vanished, but he didn't go out without getting in a last hit.

A string of poison shots were shot inside the worms mouth and a purple hue was rapidly spreading along it's form.

I gave some silent appreciation for him before I absorbed Gastly into me to gain the extra lightness and cling to the ceiling.

'Thanks buddy.'

My eyes sharpened on the titanic worm as it coiled up and tried to fight against Charmeleon who was breathing fire and slashing at the beast to keep it's attention.

'Where do I strike this thing?'

I knew from prior experience that dungeon worms have more than one heart like normal worms, but it only had a single brain, so that's where I usually struck when they came up.

Otherwise I would have to destroy all five of it's hearts.

I scanned it's head and swore as it was covered in stone slabs.

'It's skin and armor is to thick for me to do internal damage.'

I swore as I focused on the rest of it's body.

There were five main slabs on it's body, each covering a heart, but much thinner than the one on it's head.

'Fine, we can do this the hard way.'

I changed my line up and swapped Gastly for Diglett for absorption.

My eyes turned to Metapod who was dutifully awaiting orders.

"Meta, your our eyes and legs here, keep us moving and don't let us get hit, that worm can't change directions after it charges so get us out of the way."

"Meta!"

I smiled at him.

"Good, how about a lift?"

If he had a mouth on his shell, I swear he would have been giving me a savage smile.

"Meta."

A string shot smacked into my palm, and I smiled and launched off the wall while leaving spiderweb cracks behind.

As I swung through the air I yelled out.

"Charmeleon! Smokescreen!

Machop, Knock Off on the stone plate towards the tail!"

They responded without missing a beat and a cloud of smoke and ash covered the beast as Machop charged like a missile toward the location and slammed both hands into the stone slab.

He winced in pain from the recoil, but the stone slab vibrated on the hit and slid off the worms body to expose tender flesh.

And before the worm could react, I finished my swing and came down directly on the spot with a massive stomp.

'MAGNITUDE!'

Diglett's move channeled through my body and sent quake like reverberations through the worms body.

*ROOOOAARR!*

A deep pained roar shook the chamber as I all but saw that the heart beneath was turned into pulp.

'Felt like a 6.'

"Machop! Again, next slab!"

"Mach!"

The worms body turned to coil up and try to aim in our direction, but a torrent of flames slammed into it's face and Charmeleon successfully got it's attention once more.

String shots rained down to assist him in moving around while one came at me so I could swing and build momentum again.

I needed the extra force to direct the magnitude into it's body.

Machop once again slammed into the next slab, and I saw him wince in pain again as it looked like one of his arms fell limb by his side.

'Hang in there buddy.'

I completed my swing and slammed down with another magnitude.

But the odds were against me this time.

'Shit! It was only a 3! The heart wasn't destroyed!'

Magnitude is a tricky move that sometimes hits high and others low without any set odds.

The worms body beneath me squirmed and tried to get away but I grabbed my chained spike and slammed it into the flesh before kicking off and using the chain to reel me back in.

At the same time I swapped Raticate for Chansey.

'POUND!'

Using Chansey's brute force move along with my momentum, I slammed my full force strike into the same spot I hit it with magnitude.

My developmental ability, Fist Fighter, came into effect and increased the power of my strike and I felt the flesh beneath me reverberate with the strike before something popped.

*ROOOAARRRRRR!*

'There we go.'

But just then, the worms body slammed upward without warning and launched me off.

'FUCK!'

A string shot came down and latched onto my shoulder to swing me around the room instead of slamming into the wall and I shot out a thumbs up to my buddy as I bled off the momentum in the swing.

Machop didn't even need the command this time and had taken the chance to aim for the third stone slab.

"MACHOP!"

His good arm came down with his entire weight behind it and the slab slide off the worms body.

But at the same time, his good arm fell limb by his side as he fell to the ground in pain.

I swung past him like a cannonball using the momentum to slam into the spot.

'MAGNITUDE!'

This time a massive burst of energy came from my leg that shook the entire worms body so hard I could hear it's teeth clanging in the vibrations.

'10!'

*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!*

I felt it's entire frame shake and the subsequent stone slab on it's fourth heart cracked and fell off from the aftershocks.

I gave a bloody smile at the sight as a trail of blood went down my chin from the damage taken on the previous hit.

'Two for the price of one.'

Unfortunately, this time not even Chameleons attacks could keep it's attention and it turned to me with literal burning eyes.

'Huh, look's like Charmeleon blinded the bastard, good.'

A string shot came down to get me out of there and avoid the tail that came down and slammed into it's own body.

At the same time, I shot a look at Machop who was down for the count, and we shared a smile of victory before I recalled him.

And since I recalled him instead of him getting killed, I could switch him out for Chansey and absorb him.

I felt his strength boost come over me as his moves snapped into my mind.

'We started this together buddy, let's finish it.'

The titanic worm seemed to have other senses because it honed in on me like a heat seeking missile.

"Metapod! More string!"

"Meta!"

As if he was insulted with the challenge, he rained down dozens that I used to avoid the chainsaw jaws of the beast.

It took ten minutes of wild dodging in midair like some kind of acrobat mixed with Tarzan before I saw my chance and dove straight in to slam both my fists down on the fifth stone slab.

"Knock Off you fucker!"

Things paused for a moment as I felt vibrations leave my arms, enter the slab, and travel back into me causing me to bite down on my tongue to stop from screaming out loud.

'Machop dealt with this three times! I'll push through one!'

The stone slab slid off and time restarted as it made a massive clang as it hit the ground.

But considering this was the closest heart to it's head, it turned it's massive skull and I got a face full of stone armor from the side of it's face and got launched backwards.

Not even Metapod's strings could catch me on this one as I shot toward the far wall.

"Kad!"

But the hit never completed as a form blurred behind me and Kadabra caught my frame with open arms and rapidly teleported around the room to bleed off the force.

I smiled in joy at my comrades.

'Heh, we really are growing.'

I turned my head slightly to give him a meaningful look and he understood without words being said.

Charmeleon swung through the air on a string and stabbed his claws into the exposed flesh where the last heart was and slid down it's body while opening it up with his sharp claws.

*ROOOARRR!*

Blood poured like a waterfall as a beating pulse of flesh was exposed underneath.

It's head swung to Charmeleon who smirked as he flew through the air from the hit and met my eyes across the room.

Twin bloodthirsty smiles adorned our face.

"Now Kadabra!"

He teleported right to where the open wound was as it prepared to charge and swallow Charmeleon and threw me with all his weight while spinning.

Time seemed to slow as I closed in on the open wound and pointed my leg forward while feeling a moment of inspiration.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY! MAGNITUDE!"

I shouted with glee as I slammed INTO the worm and connected my foot with the beating heart in a destructive stomp full of quake energy.

The heart was instantly pulped as it's body shook.

'Only a 7 but good enough.'

*RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!*

The room shook from it's death throes before it fell with a massive boom as it slammed into the ground and raised a dust cloud.

There was silence for a moment after that until I climbed out of the open flesh.

"*Cough* *Cough* Damn, what a rush."

I didn't even care that I was covered in blood, that was one epic final hit.

A burst of air cleared the dust as my companions appeared before me.

Charmeleon had a bruise on his face and him, Kadabra, and myself were caked in dust.

Only Metapod who dropped from the ceiling was clean of injury or dirt.

I smirked at them and held out a fist.

Charmeleon matched my expression and slapped a talon on my fist.

Kadabra rolled his eyes but still placed a hand on top.

Metapod rocked back in forth in annoyance before shooting a string to our hands that made us all laugh.

"Hahahaha good jobs guys, another step in our path to the top."

I saw them perk up in pride before the weariness kicked in and we all slumped against the giant worms side to rest.

"*Phew* let's take five before dealing with the cleanup. Kadabra, water please?"

He shook his head with a fond smile and passed around water and protein bars. Well Metapod got water and a pill.

The bars were made the same as my other mana rich products and recovered energy, physical and mental, for it's takers.

The fight was over, and the room glowed in a golden hue from a new light source from the ceiling as if to congratulate us.

We smiled and rested in our accomplishment.

I got the fight I desired and all that was left was to collect the loot.

It was a good day.

Chapter end.

Author Note: . To those reviewing on Phoenix, thanks for the votes! You guys and gals and others are awesome.

Response to reviewers:

A big thanks to everyone who reviewed.

nicklaren, TheRealSloth, mermizle, Winter Metor, frankiebayer2002, japs.p9, RagingSaging, RandomCoolGuy, albertocervantes569, Dragenki, reaperblaze, markbale11.

Your all awesome.

Bobdoleusa – Methe with a jigglypuff is a funny idea.

Johnwhen – A moment of silence for our fallen brother.

JproV8n – Thank you for your kind review! And always feel free to share your views! Never let others tell you right from wrong, decide for yourself and follow you choice with no regrets. Free will is a part of what makes us human.

FriggleBerry – Negative reviewers are a dime a dozen to pal. You don't like it, move on and don't bother everyone else who does like it.

Kaleopsis00001 – You are correct on the killer ants. I apologize for that mistake but since it's fanfiction, let's just say I planned it out and changed things. *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge* *Load shotgun* *nudge*