Part 1

The Rival followed his fellow Xenos in order to find the one he seeks. In order to do that, he must meet with all the Xenos to get some answers. They told him they're all waiting for him in one of the places called a Hidden Village.

They showed him these places along the way there. They were secret areas hidden behind the same walls that gave birth to him. But the walls of these rooms didn't give life to any monsters. Not only that, they told him only a Xenos would ever find them. The Rival himself quickly found out why.

(Come here my child.)

Whenever they got close to one of these Hidden Villages, inside the Rival 's head he heard the voice of a female calling to him. It was a peaceful and welcoming voice. When he told them all he heard that, they just smiled. That was when he realized that they must all hear the same thing. This must be how only the Xenos find them. Because only they can hear the voice.

Every now and then they stopped at one of them to rest. But the Rival didn't like it since he was impatient to get some answers. To make matters worst, when the Rival wanted to keep eating the stones from the monster they defeated along the way, they stopped him while saying things like-

Lido: "You gotta be careful how many of those you eat! Eating too many of these without waiting is very dangerous!"

The Rival wasn't happy to be told off like that. While he knew of the physical and mental agony they brought from devouring them, he still wanted keep it up. Eating them felt like a fight in it's own right. And this particular fight helped make his vision of the White One more vivid. Although it seemed to also do the same with that vision he had of the the Cadmus Dragon mocking him.

At the same time, the Xenos were collecting the stones. They called them magic stones. According to them,they were the life source of all monsters, even Xenos. They would remain after a monsters body was turned to ash, and eating them would increase the power of another monster. The Rival understood that as he felt like he was getting stronger as he ate them. But wasn't until he was fully healed that he knew that for sure. This made him want to eat them even more. But then Pasiphae said-

Pasiphae:"Like Lido-kun said, eating too many will be dangerous. Besides, the higher we go the weaker the monsters will get. You can only get stronger if you eat magic stones from a monster that's somewhat close to you in power. The monsters around here won't do anything for someone as strong as you. But there are weaker Xenos amongst our friends. Please let them eat these so we may all survive."

Her words did much to help settle the Rival's hunger. Although he wanted to fight and get stronger, he had no desire to kill and feed from foes that had nothing to give in either category. Plus, after being saved from them at their own expense, he felt a need to help them and the other as much as he could. Despite the guilt he felt, he felt strangely happy knowing he's helping them.

Still he many questions. For instance, what was his name? Or did he even have a name? The words of the White One and the Cadmus Dragon continued to haunt him. He can't face his rival again without a name to give. He asked them if the other Xenos would know his name.

Ray: "A name isn't something you just have. A name is something you choose. We can help you think of one, but you'll have to choose what it is."

(Something I have to choose? I see, that's what the White One meant. A name is something that represents who you are. So I have to tell him who I am!)

But as hard as he thought, he couldn't think of one. Although he was fluent in speaking, he only knew enough to hold a conversation to a decent point. He didn't know what all words meant and even ask about them at times. And his lack of experience in words left him lost on what would even begin to describe him. He didn't even know what words were commonly used as names.

Monsters: "Kill the Xenos!"

Xenos: "AH!"

(Poof)

But another thing that was on his mind were just how strong the other 4 Xenos were.

Lido: "AH!"

Lido appeared to be strongest of them as he was racking up the most kills. His strength and speed where beyond that of the Rival's. And considering how hurt he was when they got into a fight before, he was able to use bare body parts to ward off his attacks. So his durability in peak condition must be great.

What stood out even more where the items he held called weapons. He called them swords and had 2 of them, one for each hand. They were both incredibly sharp cut through almost every enemy he swung them at with ease. He would use them to strike, block, and parry as he fought and would even use his long tail get in a hit.

But what stood out the most to the Rival was his ability to breath the same hot blood as the Cadmus Dragon. When asked what it was, Lido told him it was called fire. And it burned every enemy in it's path. Seeing it do so made his heart race with excitement.

Ray: "AH!"

(Explosion)

Ray was a powerful one, too. Her strength and durability was definitely the lowest in the group, even when including the Rival. But her fluff arms that she called wings allowed to do what called flight and move through the air. This ability not only allowed her to stay out of reach, but it far exceeded foot speed and made her the fastest in the group. Able to rise and come crashing down to lop off the heads of her foes with the sharp feet she called talons.

But what really made her dangerous was her voice. While sounded like the sweetest of them, when she screamed she let out a shock wave capable of tearing through enemies and even making explosions. These shock waves were known as sound waves, and she not only used them for attacking. She stated that she can send out smaller ones that for an ability called echo location, which allowed her to locate any near by enemies. With all this, she was able to attack from an unreachable distance, and move to that distance before an enemy even arrived.

Gros: "AH!"

As Gros's appearance suggested, he was far from weak himself. His strikes he didn't have as much strength behind them as Lido's, and his wings weren't as fast as Ray's. But he wasn't far behind them in either category. What he did have that was all his own was that stone body. It made him easily the toughest in the group. Not to mention it only made his huge jaw and claws on both his hands and feet even greater weapons then just their size alone meant. The way he tears through his enemies from the front with them, while beating the ones behind senseless with his tail and wings. His body may be more dangerous than Lido's swords.

Pasiphae: "AH!"

But the one that caught his attention the most was of course his look alike. As the Rival thought, Pasiphae was incredibly strong and tough. She's also a lot faster than she looks. She was definitely the slowest with the exception of the Rival. But her strikes were packing the most power by far. He's yet to see a single enemy not die in just one of her strikes. Punch, kick, horn, non survived long enough for a second blow. And speaking of blows, she didn't even bother to dodge a single attack. While her hide wasn't as hard as Gros's, it's pretty close toughness. She'd either take the hit head on or block it with her weapon.

Speaking of her weapon, it was something to see. She wields what she calls a labrys. It's way bigger than a sword. Although less of it has a razor edge than a sword, it hits with far more power. It was so big in fact, when she turned it to the flat side it was easily able to act defend against any attack. Sometimes she even used the flat side to beat on her foe.

Pasiphae: "HOWL!"

But what caught not only the Rival's eye, but his ears was her Howl. While it didn't destroy like Ray's sound waves, almost every monster that heard it was paralyzed with fear. Some for a moment, others could move even as death was facing them. They would just stand there shivering as if begging to be spared.

The Howl made the Rival shiver, too. But not with fear, with excitement. The feeling he got from it surged through his body. It felt very similar to the feeling he got from eating magic stones. The pleasure of fighting just be himself was unquestionable.

(As much as I miss eating magic stones, Pasiphae-san's Howl helps a lot. But what made it special was it feels like someone I know is calling me when she does it. Have I met Pasiphae-san before? She doesn't appear to know me, so I guess not. But her labrys looks very familiar, too.)

He simply watches in awe as she plows through monster after monster. Standing her ground against every attack. No matter how hard they tried, she was unmovable. While the Rival had many questions, one thing he knew for sure was that he wanted fight just like her.

Rival: "HOWL!"

The Rival tried letting out his voice the same way as Pasiphae to see if he could make them stop with fear, too. It seemed to work, they stopped and started shivering. But this was only for a moment. He couldn't paralyze them like she did.

(Her power really is far beyond what I can do myself. How many magic stones did she have to eat to become this strong? Although Lido is the one racking up the most kills, that might because he's faster. I wonder who would in a fight between them.)

He wonders this as he continues to fight and them both. Especially Pasiphae as she swings her labrys slicing and crushing her foes. Seeing said weapon in her hands, he looks at his own. He keeps looking back and forth between them and starts to feel unhappy. He was feeling jealous.

Pasiphae while fighting looked back at him every now and then to make sure the Rival was okay. She seemed to notice what was wrong with him. So she walked over to him and held out her labrys to him.

Rival: "Huh?"

Pasiphae: "You wanna give it a try?"

The Rival's heart began to race with excitement when asked that question.

Rival: "Can I?"

Pasiphae: "Of course. As you can see, I don't really need it when fighting on these floors. Besides, it would be good for you to practice using a weapon for future reference. I imagine using this kind of weapon will come naturally to you just as does me."

After making sure, the Rival quickly snatched the labrys from her and ran to attack every monsters in sight.

He did his best to use the labrys the same way he saw Pasiphae use until now. He'd swing it, block with it, and hammer it's flat side into the monsters. The rest of the Xenos could tell he was seriously lacking finesse like she was. Although the Rival himself couldn't really tell the difference. He could only tell that he was weaker than her. Which is why he did his best to fight like her. Even deliberately taking hits head on like she did.

Lido: "Well, he at least has the instincts needed for battles like this. But he still needs some training. Despite knowing where to strike and when to block, he clearly doesn't know how to handle a weapon."

Pasiphae: "That's true. As strong as he is physically, he's still a new born that doesn't know how to fight except by brawling. But for he powered through the 51st floor for as long as he did shows just much potential he has."

The Xenos begin to chat about their new companion while he's to busy fighting on the front lines to notice. Although it doesn't really help that he might be taking one too many blows to head as he fight.

Gros: "I think what we need to be concerned about is him trying to imitate your fighting style, Pasiphae-san. He's going to get himself killed if he keeps fighting like that."

Pasiphae: "It's fine. There are no monsters that use piecing attacks around these floors. If he was bale to survive floor 51 empty handed as he was, he should be able to handle the ones down here with my labrys in hand. If he pushes himself to far, we should be able to jump in and save him when he needs it."

Ray: "Are you sure we should wait that long, Pasiphae-san?"

Pasiphae: "The boy felt both lost and small because he couldn't defeat the Cadmus Dragon himself. The reason he attack all of you was to try prove himself one way if not another. So let's let him run loose a little bit at the very least."

Lido: "I can understand that feeling. I've never been one to like being shown up myself. I guess letting him get roughed up a bit would be better than making him feel babied."

They all continued to talk as they fought and watched the Rival from behind.

They were currently on the 44th floor and where making their way to the 27th floor. It was there that they planned to meet up with Gryuu and the other Xenos.

Monster: "Roar!"

More monsters came one after another. The next ones to appear were monsters made of rock like Gros. Only they were much bigger. Bigger than even the 2 bulls present. Not to mention they all had a single big on their head and a big in their chests that gave off the same light and heat as fire. No, it was even hotter than that.

Rival: "HOWL!"

The Rival charged for them the same as the other monsters. Having want to over the flame was something he had to do over come the White One. So he aimed his weapon right for the burning chest.

Gros: "WAIT?!"

(Smash)

It was too late by the time Gros called out. The Rival had struck full force.

(Gush) (Burn)

Rival: "AH!"

From its body came the source of the light and heat. It wasn't fire, but melted rock.

These were called Flame Rocks. Stat wise they were they were strong level 4's, with their rock hard hides take strength amongst the highest of said level to beat with brute force.

But they were considered monsters only level 5's and beyond should take on in a one on one fight. Not just because their high defence, but because their bodies were filled with magma. Crack them open and the stuff would come spewing out and burn their attackers to nothing.

Rival: "AH!"

Although the Rival killed the Flame Rock, he was now covered in lava. But as much as it burned, it wasn't enough to stop the Rival from pushing onward. He's experienced death by burning before, and more than once through his dreams. He absolutely wouldn't let a foe of this calibre do the same.

When another one came along, he reached out with his bare left hand into the chest of the monster. He then ignoring the burning ripped it's magic stone out.

(Crunch) (Burn)

Rival: "Heavy breathing!"

Blinded by his own ambition, he quickly threw the magic stone in his mouth. He even threw the lava that was all over his hand into his mouth. He wanted to feel the stones power so much he didn't bother to pluck it from the lava. In fact, he took it as an opportunity to see if he could handle his insides burning this time.

(Smack)

Rival: "Muffled (Ah!)"

(Spat)

Upon being smacked on the back of the head, he spat out most of the lava.

Rival: "Cough, cough, cough!"

Gros: "Are you crazy?! You're gonna kill yourself trying to eat that!"

Rival: "Cough! Don't get in my...Cough! ...Way...Cough!"

Despite Gros's warning, the Rival only cared about the fight at hand. And the fight he's searching for. Thus he moved on to face the foes ahead while the others followed.

Part 2

(Water Flowing)

Rival: "Cough, cough, cough!"

Ray: "Please stay still. You're going to choke if we don't get those rocks out of your throat."

The rocks she was referring to weren't the magic stones, the cooled down bits of lava stuck in his throat.

The Xenos were now taking a break in another 1 of the hidden villages on the 44th floor. And the Rival was laying in a spring with only his head sticking out. He was in there in order to cool down the burns he got earlier. Although Pasiphae offered to give him more potion, he refused as he was still sore about needing it at the other expense last time.

Ray: "Now lay back and open your mouth wide."

Laying his head back on the ground while opening his mouth he formed a clear way for the air to get in. He did his best to make sure he didn't cough again.

(Echo)

It was then that Ray started letting small sound waves into his windpipe. They weren't strong enough to hurt him, but they were able to pulverize all the rocks that were stuck in there. Not to mention her echo location allowed her to tell when she was done in there.

Rival: "Cough, cough, cough, cough!"

At this point he just sat up and was getting a lot of dust out of his throat.

(Smack)

Rival: "Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!"

After taking another smack to the back he started coughing more.

Lido: "Geez, I knew you were a bit crazy, there was no denying that. But I didn't think you would start eating lava. What made you think that was a good idea."

Rival: "Cough! I'll never win the fight if I can't take the heat like before. If he could do it, so could I."

Ray: "He? Do you mean the Cadmus Dragon?"

Rival: "No! The White One!"

The other Xenos had no idea who he was referring to. As far as they knew, there was no white monster that use heat in any way. Lido was about to ask why-

Pasiphae: "We'll talk about that with Gryuu-san when we meet up with the others."

But Pasiphae who realized he wanted to ask intervened before he could.

Lido: (I guess Pasiphae-san is saying we shouldn't ask yet. The White One he's talking about is probably someone from his dreams of the past. Talking about that can be a sensitive matter. Best to let Gryuu handle that, especially after what happened earlier.)

The Lizardman scratched his head as he realized further just how inadequate he was in handling the new Xenos.

Rival: "How long will it take for us to get to this Gryuu and the other Xenos?"

Pasiphae: "It should only take a few days to get there."

Rival: "Days?"

Pasiphae: "It's a measurement of how much time has passed. For instances...1, 2, 3, 4, 5. That's how long a second is, and the more time passes the more seconds it is. When you reach 60 seconds, that's when a minute of time has passed. 60 minutes is what you call an hour. And 24 hours is what you call a day."

The Rival didn't know how to count all the way to 60, but he understood what she meant. And he also understood that it all meant he would be waiting for a long time to reach the other Xenos.

(Splash)

Realizing this, he rose from the water with a fury.

Rival: "If that's the case, why are we taking our time?! If we keep fighting non-stop, we'll get there much faster, right?!"

Lido: "Hey! Calm down, newbie. Even us monsters have limits. We need to rest every now and then. We'll get there when we get there."

Rival: "Then let's get there sooner!"

Ray: "Please calm down. You're still hurt."

Rival: "I don't care! If it was the White One, he'd have done much worst than all those we fought so far! I can't just sit around and sleep while he's-"

(Bonk)

Rival: "UH?!"

All of a sudden the Rival took a blow to the back of his head.

(Impact)

Afterwards, he quickly fell to the ground out cold.

Gros: "I'm sorry, Pasiphae-san. I know you wanted us to stray from violence in order to teach him. But this idiot's gonna get himself killed if he keeps going on like this. Especially with the Loki Familia on there way down here. His shouting could get us all killed."

While the other Xenos didn't want to admit it, they all agreed that Gros's actions were probably the correct ones here. Even Pasiphae couldn't deny it.

Pasiphae: "I supposed some tough love is needed every now and then. You brats certainly had your moments, too."

As Pasiphae rests the Rival's head on her lap, the other Xenos all shiver in response to those words. They all had flash backs to when they got in trouble themselves.

Lido: "Still, I'm surprised by how strong this guy is. When we first saw him I wondered how a Minotaur even got so close to the uncharted Floors. But he's a level 5 like the rest of us from what I saw, and felt."

The Lizardman says this while holding his arms as he remembered how hard it was to pin him before. Injured or not, his level was clear at that moment and only became clearer as they fought to get here.

Pasiphae: "Well that's just it, Lido-kun. This boy here isn't a Minotaur."

The other Xenos all looked at Pasiphae with surprised looks when she said that.

Ray: "What are you talking about, Pasiphae-san? He not only looks like a Minotaur, but he has a howl just like you do. You even handed your labrys to him expecting it to come naturally to him."

Pasiphae: "Yes, he's definitely very close to that of a Minotaur. Even I started to forget he wasn't every now and then. But just look at him. Not only is the color of his hide different, but he has no fur like me and his feet aren't the same by a long shot."

Ray: "...I see what you mean. Not to mention with how recently he was born, there's no way he could have gotten 34 floors up. I guess Sirens like me and Harpies are very similar in appearance. Perhaps he's a similar case."

Lido: "But we've never heard of any bull monsters in the Dungeon except for that of a Minotaur and a Power Bull. He's definitely not strong enough to be from the uncharted floors, let alone make his way up 8 or more floors by himself."

Ray: "Well we've heard rumors of rare monsters and have met some of them before. Maybe he's one from that part of the Dungeon?"

Pasiphae: "With how thorough the Zeus and Hera Familias were, even that's hard to believe.

The 3 Xenos all put their brains to work trying to think of how the Rival came to be. But none of them were really sure what he is.

Gros: "...Perhaps."

Then they all look to the 4th as he start giving his opinion.

Gros: "What if our mother isn't responsible for him in the first place."

Lido: "What are you talking about."

Gros: "We know full well that that we the Xenos aren't the only intelligent monsters down here."

As soon as he said that, the others all broke a sweat as they knew what he meant.

Lido: "Gros! You're not trying to suggest he's related to the Creature's, are you?!"

Gros: "Fels told us that the Red haired tamer named Revis and her allies were forcibly giving life to unnatural monsters on the 24th floor. Who's to say he's not one of them?"

Ray: "That's a horrible thing to think, Gros. Not to mention absurd. Fels mentioned that this Revis and her group seek the destruction of the city above. Even if we assume the ability to create intelligent monsters is resent, surely we would've noticed something different amongst those we've fought so far.

Gros: "I'm not saying it was on purpose. What if he's one of them but by chance was born a Xenos?"

When he mentioned that, they all started thinking about it. None of them knew why their mother the Dungeon gave them this gift. Nor did they know if one must be born from the walls to obtain said gift.

Pasiphae: "If we assume that's the case, what would your concerns be on the matter. I can tell just by looking that you have some."

Gros: "Another one of the Creature's named Olivas Act appeared to be nothing but a puppet despite his human origin. Who's to say a newly born Xenos born from their work would be any different?"

Once again they all realized what he was saying. And just like before, this made Lido and Ray angry.

Lido: "You've had a lot of mistrusting moments since I've met you, Gros. But now you're suggesting one of our own is a born enemy without proof?!"

Gros: "I didn't say that! ...I'm just saying it's a possibility. We know for a fact he's not natural, and the violent attitude he showed us before says a lot about that."

Ray: "That was due to his pride being wounded! We all have things that are important to us and will show anger in certain situations because of it!"

Gros began to get into an argument with the 2 of them. This was nothing new. While not an everyday thing they ever so often didn't see eye to eye.

Pasiphae: "That's enough you 3. We have someone sleeping here, so keep it down."

But despite their difference in opinion, they all agreed to not dare keep going when Pasiphae said that. She was a very caring woman, to the point where if you made it hard for her to care for another she would not be so forgiving.

Pasiphae: "I get what you're saying, Gros. You're afraid that this is all an act and he's going to turn on us once he knows what we know, right?"

Gros: "Y-Yes. Nobody, not even the Creature's know of our hiding places. If they were to find out..."

Pasiphae: "And I understand your worries. But the only way to know for sure that he's one of them would be to see the color of his magic stone. Are you suggesting we cut his chest open to have a look?"

Gros: "No! I would never suggest we go that far! Even so, what will we do if my theory is true?"

Pasiphae: "What reason is there to think it's true? As I recall, you all found him just before he was killed by a Cadmus Dragon, correct?"

Upon hearing that they all understood what she meant. If this was a ploy to fish out the Hidden Villages, they wouldn't have let him just wander off and hope he'd be alive when they found him.

The Cadmus Dragon they defeated definitely wasn't a tamed pawn in this either. They've seen tamed monsters before, and it definitely didn't qualify. Not to mention they could recognize that hate for Xenos without question.

Pasiphae: "Maybe he's a rare monster, maybe he's a man made one. But we don't know any of that for sure. All I can say is that I trust him regardless of the answer. And I ask that all of you do the same. Things get tough down here enough as it is. We don't want to add can we trust each other to the stress."

The 3 of them couldn't deny her words in the least.

Pasiphae: "Let's just get some rest and deal with this when we meet up with the other."

Thus they all put their heads down and began to fall asleep.

Part 3

Rival: "HOWL!"

The 5 Xenos continued their way upwards through the Dungeon. Slaying monster after monster.

They told the Rival that the meeting point was very close now. This made him all the more desperate to get their after waiting for several days.

(Poof)

Although his desire to fight all who challenge was as strong as it's been from the start. Although he felt some pride in seeing monsters becoming completely paralyzed by his howling, it quickly faded as he realized they were just getting weaker.

The other Xenos told him that the further up you go, the weaker the monsters power and numbers becomes. This made him want to back track to lower floors from whence he came.

But he needed answers. Answers to questions that were asked more and more as his dreams of the White One continued to haunt him.

Pasiphae: "Well, we're here."

The words the Rival have been wanting to hear for some time have finally been spoken.

There were huge light stones sticking out of the ground. They moves one of them and there was a hole underneath it. They made sure there were no monsters near by as they went in and then closed it. Climbing down the tunnel they found themselves in one of the hidden villages again.

Many Voices: "WELCOME, COMRADE!"

Rival: "UH!"

The Rival was shocked by the many different noises he heard upon entering. He readied his weapon on instinct in response. But there was no attacking, only what sounded like joy filled voices.

He looked around, and he saw many different types of monsters. But they didn't have that same hateful aura as most he's met thus far did. In fact, they were all smiling at him as if happy to see him.

The Rival realized almost immediately who these monsters were.

Rival: "The Xenos."

Despite all the different faces he saw, he knew that they were the ones that were supposed to be his own kind. Of sorts at least.

After shouting out in joy they began to approach him the same smiles on their faces. But they all came so fast that he couldn't help but brace his body for battle.

Pasiphae: "Hey! I've been over this with all of you how many times now? Don't crowd the new ones on the spot like this. You'll make them nerves."

Pasiphae stood in there way and held them back from approaching the Rival. After that, the all bowed their heads and apologized to her and him. Although it seemed most of them weren't able to speak the same way as him and to be understood the same way as normal monsters.

(So not all Xenos can talk the same as these 4. That must've been what they meant when they said I was a speaker.)

It was then that all the Xenos started to move to the side. They formed a path for a particular Xenos to make his way over to the Rival.

He was another Dragon. He was about as large as the Cadmus Dragon he fought, being about 10 meters tall if he stood up. But he was green and the over all shape of his body was clearly different. He didn't have spikes around his face, but he did have 2 horns on top his head. As well as well as a horn atop his nose like the beasts the Rival first encountered.

Despite his massive size, he appeared weak. Not weak as in powerless, but as in he's hurt. Every movement he made looked like it was a struggle.

He slowly approached the Rival step by step. All the while have a similar look on his face to that of Pasiphae. It gives the Rival the impression that he understands and wants to help just the same, maybe more so.

Green Dragon: "Grunt."

He wasn't a speaker and could only make monsters noises. But like the monsters he's fought thus far, words appeared in his head from them.

Green Dragon: "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Gryuu."

(So this is the Gryuu the other kept mentioning. The oldest of all the Xenos.)

Rival: "It's...a pleasure to meet you, too?"

Xenos: "?!"

The Xenos all looked at him in shock the moment he spoke.

Unknown Female Voice: "So you're a speaker, too. We haven't gotten one of those in 5 years."

The Rival looked over to where that voice came from. It came from a Xenos that looked similar to Ray. Only her feathers were red and she appeared to have hair atop her head instead. Even the cloth on her chest was different.

(Another one of the speakers.)

Unknown Male Voice: "Always happy to meet a new brother. Especially one that speaks the same way as me."

He turns to see another speaker. This one was very small. He long pointy ears and green skin. His body was almost entirely covered in clothing as well.

(Flapping)

The Rival suddenly heard the sound of wings from above him. He looked up saw some kind of winged beast flying just above his head. It's face right up against his.

Winged Monster: "Squawk!" Translation: (Boo!)

The sudden noise he made startled the Rival and made him fall over. He then quickly grabbed his labrys and swung thinking it was a surprise attack. But the winged Monster quickly dodged it and simply said-

Winged Monster: "Hey! Careful there. I was just playing around, so there's no need to get violent."

(Stick)

All of a sudden white hit both his wings and they stopped flapping.

Winged Monster: "Ah!"

(Impact)

After that he fell to the ground.

Winged Monster: "Ouch! What was that for, Ranye?"

The Rival looked over to where the winged creature was looking as he spoke.

The one that came out from the crowd was an 8 legged monster. Although her legs seemed to have no feet, just sharp ends. But what really stood out about her was that while her lower body was huge and intimidating, her upper half's size and shape were very similar to Ray's. Only her skin and hair color was completely white. And her eyes were red, thus once again reminding the Rival of the White One.

She also had something covering her upper body beneath her shoulders that was had both bright and dark colours. (Pink and Purple) The last thing she had on was something rapped around her neck.

(Her face is about as unfriendly as Gros's.)

Ranye: "What do you think, you idiot? Hasn't even been a minute since Pasiphae said not to make him feel nerves, and you pull a stunt like that?"

(So she's a speaker, too.)

Pasiphae: "Glad somebody was listening to me. Cliff, I know you like to play around and cause what most would consider harmless pranks. But please try to take a hint when faced with a situation like this. In fact, you're lucky the young one here is hurt. He's a level 5 and would've killed you there if in peak condition."

Once Pasiphae said that, all the other Xenos except Gryuu looked at the Rival in even greater shock than before. They all thought to themselves how could a Minotaur possibly be that strong. At least if he's a newly born.

Pasiphae: "If you don't believe me, you can have go with him once he's fully healed."

Cliff: "...No, no, no! That won't be necessary, Pasiphae-san! I'm sorry about that startling you, new friend. I just wanted to play around a bit."

(So he didn't mean to hurt me? He just wanted make fun of me. I can't say I like that any better.)

The Rival hated to be mocked far more then he did being hurt. He could at least pride in that.

(Everyone Laughing)

The other Xenos found Cliff's situation funny. But the Rival mistook it as them laughing at him. That certainly didn't help.

Gryuu: "That's enough, everyone. You're troubling our new friend here. For now, why don't you all introduce yourselves. But please take turns as you do. We'll start from oldest to youngest."

Luckily Gryuu stopped the noise that was bothering him so. So as the Rival got to his feet, the Xenos formed a line and began introducing themselves one after the other.

Author Note: Most of the Xenos haven't had their age and level confirmed. So a lot of these will be estimates. I'll give my reason along the way.

The first was the little green one from before.

Green One: "My name is Let. I'm currently 18 years old. It's nice to meet you."

Let extended his hand to the Rival, but there was nothing in it. He looked at it in confusion as he wondered what he was doing.

Let: "...Oh, I see. This is was you call a handshake. We grab each others hands not to hard and we move them up and down a bit while doing so."

Rival: "Why?"

Let: "It's a way of greeting we learned from the above world. You do it when you wish to say hello."

The Rival didn't quite understand, but he went along with it and simply shook his hand. But as he did, his instincts kicked in and he could tell he touching someone strong. Not as strong as him, but strong.

Rival: "You...What are you and what level are you?"

Let: "Me? I'm a level 4 Goblin. Not as impressive as a level 5 like you. But my kind are born as level 1's, so I've really had to work hard to get this far."

He holds the back of his head while smiling as his cheeks turn red.

(That's right. The higher you go, the weaker the monsters are in both numbers and single man power. That must mean a lot of them were born far weaker than me.)

After realizing this, they stopped shaking hands and the Rival moved onto meeting the next Xenos.

This one stood on all 4 and was completely covered in black fur. Her eyes were yellow, her fangs clear, and she wore something around her neck. It was red and some other bright color. (Pink) She sits before the Rival while her tail swings back and forth.

4 Legged Monster: "Bark, bark, bark." Translation: "I'm Helga. I'm also 18 and it's nice to meet you."

Rival: "What are you and what is your level?"

Helga: "I'm a level 4 Hellhound."

Author Note: Helga's combat potential has never actually been shown. But Lido sent her to meet up with Asterius at a rondayview point somewhere past the 37th floor while she had Arles with her. To pull this off she'd have to be level 4-5. Hellhounds are born on floors 13-17, meaning they must range from high level 1 to low level 2. So either levels possible.

Rival: "Why is your tail shaking like that? Are you afraid of me?"

Helga: "No. Quite the opposite. I'm very happy to meet a new friend. My tail wags like this to show I'm happy."

(Shaking means happiness? That's not something I've seen before.)

As the Rival found himself confused by this, Helga got closer to him and started rubbing her body against his leg.

Rival: "What are you doing?"

Helga: "This what I do to show affection. In fact, if you don't mind, could you try petting me? It's when you when you rub your hand on my head and back."

The Rival didn't understand this either. But he did as she asked and started petting her. This of course made her smile as her tail wagged even faster.

Gryuu: "Alright, that's enough, Helga. We have others who wish to introduce themselves, too."

Helga: "Aw."

While this left her a bit sad, she did as she was told and made way for the next Xenos.

Ranye: "As you heard before, my name is Ranye. I'm a level 4 of age 16."

Rival: "What was that stuff you threw at the one named Cliff before."

Ranye: "I didn't throw it, I shot it."

(Spit)

She then shot from her mouth the same white stuff as before. As it was there on the ground, the Rival reached down to feel it.

(Stick)

Only to have it get stuck to his fingers. He had really pull to get his hand free.

Ranye: "I'm what you call a Arachne. The stuff I spit from my mouth is called webbing. It sticks to whatever it touches. Allowing me to restrain enemies like you saw before. I can even form a line of it to pull the things I stick it to towards me."

(Spit)

She shot another in form of a line to the ground a few dozen feet away. Then she started pulling.

(Break)

Said ground broke and a huge chunk of it came flying back to her hand.

Rival: "That's amazing! That means no enemy can keep their distance from you, because you can just pull them in!"

Being the fighting idiot he is, the Rival's eyes sparkled as he thought about what he could do with that.

Ranye: "...Normally when ever I show this to someone, they just think it's disgusting."

Rival: "I don't even know what that means. But if it means it's bad, they're wrong!"

Ranye: "...You're a weird one."

he says this as she walks away. And while her face wasn't that friendly looking, the Rival was sure he noticed her crack a smile for a brief moment as she walked away. Even her cheeks turned red for a moment.

Unknown Female Voice: "Ha! I saw that, Ranye! Happy you finally left a good first impression?"

Following her walking away came the voice of another speaker. The Rival turned his head to see who and it was a light blue woman this time. She had long ears like Let, as well as long green hair, yellow eyes claws, fangs, and dark blue spots all over her upper body. Her chest was also the biggest he'd seen yet, while wearing something similar to Ray and the red bird upon it.

Like Ranye, her upper body was very different from her lower body. But unlike her, she didn't have any legs at all. It looked pretty much like the monster called a Worm Well he and the other ran into on the way up from the 37th floor. Only she was much smaller, to the point where she would stand about eye to eye with Ray.

Ranye: "Ever the smart mouth, Laura.

Laura: "Well you did smile just then. Considering how rarely smile, let alone blush, you can hardly blame me for pointing it out. That being said, he must've really made you happy."

Ranye: "He said it's not bad, it's nothing special."

Laura: "If you say so. Just don't start flirting with him."

(Everyone Laughing)

They all started laughing again as Ranye's face grew redder from embarrassment. She even scowled at all of them as she walked away.

Laura: "Jokes aside, my name is Laura. I'm 15 and am a level 3 Lamia."

She says this as she makes her way over to the Rival.

Rival: "You look similar to a Worm Well. Does that mean you dig through the ground, too?"

Laura: "No, this tail of mine is just a strong family resemblance."

Rival: "Then what do you do to fight?"

The moment he asked that, Laura was suddenly on the move. She quickly wrapped herself around his body. She didn't try to hurt him, just show him what she can do.

Laura: "This is how I fight. Once I'm wrapped around them I have my foe restrained as I crush them. And I still have my claws free."

After explaining this she got off him. She then started moving around it a weird way.

Laura: "And one of the better parts of not having legs is that it's much easier to in all directions while making my moves unpredictable."

Once again, the Rival's eyes sparkled with excitement as he saw how amazing she was. Although her level meant he couldn't get a real fight out of her at full strength, he couldn't deny her potential.

Everyone: "..."

The rest of the Xenos all noticed his excitement at her ability to fight. While they found it weird, they decided to take advantage of that in order to make friends with him.

Red Bird Woman: "My name is Fear. Like Laura I'm a 15 and level 3. Only I'm Harpy."

Rival: "You use sound waves like Ray?"

Fear: "Nope. This is what I do."

(Shoot) (Pierce)

With a wave of her wings, 3 feathers shot from them at incredible speed. And they all pierced the ground leaving cracks much bigger than said feathers. This like the others lead to the Rival's strange but innocent excitement. And this excitement continued as Xenos after Xenos introduced themselves.

Part 4

The Rival talked with every single one of them. His excitement to know more about them grew with each passing Xenos. They even gave him tasty food and drinks he's never seen before and loved a lot. One of them offered him a particular kind of drink that Pasiphae refused to let him try.

Pasiphae: "This drink is something you want to avoid at all cost. It makes those who drink it do weird and even random things. With your kind of personality, there could be dire consequences if you drink it."

While the subject of the drink peaked his interest, he didn't want to put any of his new friends at risk. So he decided not to try it.

(What is this feeling I'm getting being around them? I'm not fighting, but I'm happy being around them.)

From the moment he left the wall, no, even before that, the Rival had sought nothing but combat. Fighting the White One was a must above all else, but he still found pleasure in every other fight he had.

But despite getting what should be more than his fill, he still hungered for more. So for all excitement he gained through out the fight, the end left a hole in his heart. A hole that just refused to get smaller.

That wasn't the case as he spent time with all his fellow Xenos. Even though he still yearned for combat, he enjoyed being around them. It was a taste pleasure without a bitter aftertaste.

Male Voice: "Grunt?" Translation: "Happy to be here?"

Female Voice: "Squeak, squeak, squeak!" Translation: "Of course he is! Times like these are the best!"

The 2 talking to him were youngest after him. Four and Aruru.

Author Note: Like I did with Lido's name, I'll be typing Aruru instead of Arles.

Four was a 5 year old Fomoire. His kind spawned on the 49th floor, making him a born level 5 just like the Rival. But due to being so young, his combat skills aren't up to that of Pasiphae, Lido, Ray, and Gros as of yet. Although his physical abilities are certainly enough put up a fight against theirs.

Author Note 1: Fujino Ōmori has gone on record to say Four was powerful enough to fight Lyd, Ray, and Gros.

Author Note 2: While the level of Fomoires has never been stated, they're on the same floor as the floor boss Balor who must be level 7. The other floor bosses prior to it all seemed to be on a floor filled with monsters 2 levels below them.

Although his personality is very different from that of the Rival. He approached other with zero lust for battle. He had nothing but a desire to make friends. He even pulled him in for a hug, much to the Rival's confusion.

Aruru is a 3 year old Almiraj. Hers are from floors 13-14, meaning she was born as one of the stronger level 1's. As she is now, she's between weak and decent on the level 2 scale. This makes her the weakest Xenos of all in addition to being the youngest after the Rival.

Although her appearance is another one that reminds the Rival of the White One, she's far from his stander. But even so, he made friends with her all the just him, she's loved amongst the Xenos all the same. She seems to be best friends with Helga who's getting close to the Rival in order to get pet.

But as much as he enjoyed being around them, one question still needed to be asked.

Rival: "Why do I keep having the same dream? Or is it even a dream? It feels so real."

The rest of the Xenos all looked at each other giving the same look to one another. They all knew what it was.

Gryuu: "What you see is indeed dream. But it's a dream of something has really happened. Something that happened before your birth."

The Rival looked on towards the green Dragon with an ever confused look.

Gryuu: "You've seen how a monster is born, correct?"

The Rival nods yes.

Gryuu: "Then tell me, what happens after death?"

Rival: "?!"

He had no answer for that question. While he's thought about death plenty of times up until now, he never once thought about what it means to die.

Gryuu: "In the above world outside the Dungeon exists races know as humans. They're creatures with faces like Ray, but their bodies match said face from head to toe. Unlike us they do not come the walls. They were given life by beings calls Gods. These Gods come from a place that is much different from ours and the humans alike. It's a place that exists so far above us it's impossible for anyone born down below them to ever reach it."

Gryuu says this as he points his finger upwards. The Rival's eyes follow and he starts to imagine all kinds of things.

Gryuu: "Unlike the humans and us monsters, these Gods never die. They simply look down on the world to see what their Human children who live in an entirely different way will do with there lives. And when one of those lives end, their soul returns to the home of the Gods."

Rival: "Soul?"

Gryuu: "Yes, soul. It is said that all living beings aren't the very bodies they use to move around. Rather their bodies are something they wear much like Lido-kun and others you see here wear upon their bodies. The soul is what a being truly is."

The Rival looked at himself after hearing this. Looking as he moves them around.

(It feels like this is me, but I'm just wearing it?)

The thought baffled him.

Rival: "Why do we wear these bodies?"

Gryuu: "Nobody knows. All we know is that the body is the soul's way of interacting with the world. But when someone dies, the body can no longer be used. When this happens to a Human, their souls disappear from this place, and finds itself in the home of the Gods. Can you guess what happens to them there?"

He nods his head no to said question.

Gryuu: "The Gods create a new body for them. When a new Human is born, it's actually a Human that died before being given new life."

The Rival was ever so shocked to hear that. He never thought about anything coming after death, but there was new life to lived right after.

Gryuu: "Now if that's what the Gods do when a Human dies, what do you think the Dungeon does when we die?"

The moment he was asked that, he immediately realized what he meant.

Rival: "In my dream, I died. Are you saying that was the life before this one?"

Gryuu nods yes to his question. In fact, all the Xenos present do the same.

(I knew it had to be real! No matter how much it felt like I was dreaming, I could feel it was real even more so!)

The Rival was more excited then ever before hearing this. But another question came to mind at the same time.

Rival: "Wait, if that's true, doesn't that mean all the monsters we killed will just come back"

Lido: "Yes it does."

The Rival turned around to look at Lido who suddenly spoke.

Lido: "Xenos or not, we Monsters live again every time we die. That's one thing we definitely have in common with the Humans. Another is that we lose our memories when we are reborn."

Rival: "Memories?"

Pasiphae: "Memories are how you remember something that's happened before. Like when you're thinking about all the things we talked about earlier, each and every one of those thing is a memory."

Let: "When you're reborn, you lose all these memories and start over as you did before."

Rival: "But I remember how I died."

Ray: "That's because it's what you yearned for more than anything."

The Rival turns his head again to meet Ray.

Ray: "The dream you have before you die. Something in that dream is important to you. It's a powerful yearning."

Rival: "Yearning?"

Lido: "It's what you desire. Something in your dream you wanted so badly that our mother the Dungeon couldn't fully erase from your memories. When a monster manages to hold onto such a memory, they are reborn as a Xenos."

The more he listened, the more the Rival started to understand.

(The White One. The one who called me his rival. The one who defeated me as he filled me with fire and a lust for battle. He's what I desire!)

Now he understood why this dream meant so much to him. It was the only memory from his before life that mattered to him.

Rival: "So does that mean you all have a yearning, too?"

Lido: "Yes. Like you I have a dream. A dream where I look up and I see something red. It's not a ceiling like we see here, it's something else all together. And whatever it is, it gets redder as this giant glowing red ball falls from it. It eventually sinks behind these huge rocks and what I see above me turns black. After that, nothing. Nothing but darkness."

At first Lido looked up as he seemed to reach for something. But much like the ball in his dream, both his eyes and hand fall to floor as he speak about that last part.

Not just him, all the Xenos understand the word "darkness" all too well. the Rival included. It made him shiver some what.

Ray: "I to have a similar dream. But what lies above me is blue as the glowing ball floats high in the distance. I fly in it's direction, ever enjoying the heat of the light and air blowing in my face. When I finally set my feet on the ground, there's someone there. I don't who he or she is, but I love that person. That person embarrasses me in their arms."

As Ray speaks of these wonderful memories, a single tear of happiness falls from her eye.

Rival: "What happened after that?"

Ray: "The person hugging me suddenly disappears and I found myself underwater. But I can only tell by the feeling, it's too dark to see."

She suddenly raps her wings around herself as she shivers from the thought.

Gryuu: "You'll find that just about every Xenos has a dream that starts and ends in a similar way. For me, I find myself atop a giant rock. There I nest with a treasure of sort by my side. The image isn't too clear, but I believe it was a weapon. Time and time again the ball of light rises and falls. But the last time it fell, these small bulky Humans attack me, make me bleed, then all I see besides the blood is the darkness."

Gryuu began to show the same longing as Lido and Ray as he speaks about his before life. And it wasn't just him. As the Rival looked around, he could tell all the Xenos were lost in thought about the same thing, but for them. It's at said moment he started to think about his own.

Rival: "...In my dream...there is no ball of light."

As he finally starts to talk about his past, the other Xenos all look at him with interest in there eyes.

Rival: "In my dream I'm fighting a small being. I call him the White One, because he looks a lot like Aruru. White with red eyes, but he's much bigger. A bit bigger than Fear, but a bit smaller than Ray. The 2 of us are fighting to the death to the point where our blood keeps pouring. ...But we don't hate each other. We fight...for the fun of it."

The other Xenos couldn't believe what they just heard.

Gros: "You're fighting to the death...for fun?"

Rival: "Yes! Even as our weapons and bodies both begin to break, we don't stop!"

Pasiphae: "And you say there's no light?"

Rival: "No ball of light. But I did see something red like the others. It was fire. Fire that wiggled."

Helga: "Wiggled? You mean like my tail?"

Rival: "No, it wiggles in a weird shape. I don't know how to describe it."

Fear: "Then why don't you draw it."

Rival: "Draw it?"

(Scratch)

The moment he asked, Fear started digging her talons into the ground. And from those talon marks she was forming a shape. She made a face that smiles in the ground.

Fear: "It's something the humans do. If you can't describe it with words, you make a picture of it. In fact, they say a picture is worth a thousand words."

The Rival didn't know understand what she meant by that, but he got the picture so to speak. Thus he began pushing his finger into the ground to try and make a picture of what he saw. When he was done they all realized what it was.

Pasiphae: "That's lightning. What you saw is lightning."

Rival: "Lightning?"

Gryuu: "You remember the red above we mentioned before? It's place called the sky, and every now and then something falls from it. Sometimes drops of water that are called rain. Frozen white balls of water called snow. And another thing that falls is lightning. This one is the most dangerous of them all. It always hits something with incredible speed, and then it enters what it hit to burn from the inside out."

The moment he mentioned that, more memories came rushing back to the Rival.

Rival: "That's what happened to me! The White One stabs me with his blade, and the lightning through it into me. It burns me on the inside until I explode."

Lido: "But you said it was fire. Lightning isn't supposed to look like fire."

Rival: "The one that killed me did. It even felt like the fire I got hit with before."

Laura: "Lightning shaped fire? I've seen anything like that before. Have any of you?"

Ranye: "The humans have an untold number of ways to kill us. That would hardly count as a surprise."

Ranye seemed to be a mood when she was saying that. Some seemed to agree with her, while others like Laura gave her a "seriously?" look.

Gros: "Now that we've established how you died, there's something I want to ask you."

The Xenos all look at Gros when he said this.

Gros: "Just what are you?"

Rival: "What am I? Aren't I a Xenos like you?"

Gros: "Not that, what kind of Monster are you? We found you on the 51st floor, but there's no record of a Monster like you being born on that floor. So how many floors up did you go to get there?"

(Smack)

Gros: "AH!"

Pasiphae decided to smack Gros off side the head for being so insensitive. Nevertheless, the Rival decided to answer.

Rival: "I was born on the 51st floor."

The Xenos now turn to him in interest of what he said.

Rival: "But now that you said it, the Monsters around me all looked different. They smelled like they were my own, and they all looked alike. But I was the only different one."

The Xenos all give him a sad look when they heard that. While just about all of them have suffered the fate of being hated and hunted by there own, actually looking different can make you feel like that's the reason. While that's rare amongst the Xenos, some of them knew the feeling and found it the hardest to make friends amongst the Xenos.

Gryuu: "The Monster that were born alongside you. Did they by chance have 2 horns like you, but had them on the nose?"

Rival: "Yeah, and they had bodies that were shaped differently then mine."

Gryuu: "As I thought. You're not Minotaur, you're a Black Rhino."

While most of the Xenos didn't know what that was, all who were above level 4 did.

Gryuu: "Even though you're shaped differently, I could tell that by the hide and feet. It seems you're an Irregular amongst them."

Ray: "That can't be. Black Rhino's don't have Howl abilities. And he has one just like a Minotaur."

Gryuu: "You forget, almost all the Xenos were Monsters born outside the Dungeon in their past life. In the centuries in which a monsters bloodline kept going, some have gone through all sorts of mutations that altered the way they looked from those who came before. Some Monsters can even breed with other kinds and make hybrids of the 2."

Fear: "That's right. All Monsters outside the Dungeon are decedents of those that escaped in the past. Even all female type Monster like me, Ray, Laura, and Ranye are no different."

Laura: "That's right. We're like the Amazoness of Monsters. We breed with other Monsters to make babies."

Fear and Laura all blush with excited looks on their faces as they talked about all this. Ray also blushed, but she seemed to be panicking rather then being excited. Ranye also blushed while looking away as if frustrated. Pasiphae just chuckled as if finding their reactions amusing. All while the Rival didn't have a clue as to what was going on.

Pasiphae: "So you're thinking that in his past life, he was a Minotaur/Black Rhino hybrid? Can those 2 types of Monsters even breed with each other?"

Gryuu: "Not sure. While I've learned of these things, It's not like I know everything. But seeing as how he has both a Minotaur's appearance and Howl ability, I can see no other explanation for how he was born a Black Rhino."

(I was both a Minotaur and Black Rhino in my before life? So that would mean I'm one of those who were born with me and what Pasiphae-san is at the same time?)

While the Rival had lots of question, like what is breed, learning this made him happy. He knew he had a connection with her, and he wanted to be like her the more time he spent with her. Now he understood why.

Gros: "..."

Ranye: "Something the matter, Gros?"

Gros: "It's nothing. We can talk about it another time."

(Splash)

All of sudden something was heard over by the water. When they looked they all saw another human faced monster.

Water Xenos: "High everybody! Marie sorry she sleep so long. Where's the new friend."

This Xenos was a speaker, too. But she didn't seem very good at it.

Lido: "Heh, heh, heh! A sleepy head as always, huh, Marie? Well this is our new ally."

He pointed to the Rival, but then Xenos named Marie's excited face turned to scared one.

(Is she scared of me?)

Marie: "You're hurt bad-bad! You come over here! Marie make you feel better.

Even after getting down here, the Rival refused to except anymore healing potions from the other Xenos. He was still sore about them using up what they had before to save him.

He was still reluctant to go to her since he thought she'd waste more on him. She even started crying as she waved her hands in a way that said "come here". After he didn't go to her when she did that, he suddenly found himself getting pushed to her.

Pasiphae: "Come on now, go to her. A man shouldn't make a girl cry."

Like always, the Rival didn't understand what he was being told. But he did understand that her crying must mean he made her sad. So he went to her and sat down.

(Bite)

All of a sudden Marie bite her finger and started to bleed.

Rival: "What are you doing?"

The Rival didn't care for how much pain he was in, but he still showed concern for others in that regard. The Xenos who saw this found it noble and or cute.

Marie: "Lick this and feel better."

She was just smiling away as if nothing happened. He couldn't even guess what she was up to asking him to lick it. When he looked back at the other Xenos, they just gave signs that he should do it.

(Lick)

So he did just that.

Marie: "You feel better here now!"

Rival: "Just what are you talking...about?"

It was just then that he started to notice the pain he had been feeling up until now started to fade. As he looked at himself, the wounds, bruises, and burns all began to disappear somewhat. Even his stamina was coming back.

Aruru: "Surprised? Marie here is a Mermaid. When you drink their blood your wounds heal, your stamina replenishes, and even poison disappears."

Rival: "Drinking blood can do that?"

Marie: "Marie's blood good."

(Everyone Laughing)

The Rival didn't understand what was so funny. But he noticed that the bite mark she gave herself also disappeared. So he didn't have to worry about taking more to heal.

After all this happened everybody decided to rest here and move out tomorrow. The Rival for once was okay with that.

(The White One is out there somewhere. He's one of these Humans. Just you wait! I'll keep my promise and come find you once I'm stronger.)

And to do this he would learn what he could from the Xenos.

(To be continued)