Chapter 34: Not so Ordinary!

"Let's begin exploring Mega-Monstah, shall we?"

"Yeah!"

Eryn, Azusa, and the three monstergirls would soon begin their little exploration through the grand mall of Mega-Monstah. However, none of them knew where to even begin, given how vast the mall was.

Luckily, they had someone familiar with the layout of the mall: Yvonne the soldier beetle. Eryn asked her if she could give them a tour since it was their first time at the mall; she was more than willing to lend them a hand.

"Mega-Monstah has several levels to it." Yvonne drew her hand above, drawing attention to the various floors above them. "Generally speaking, facilities of similar purposes are grouped together on the same floor."

"I see." Eryn folded his arms. The group stood on the ground floor—the first level of the mall. Looking around, he wondered what facilities this level was providing. Clothing stores, electronics, and food stalls caught his attention.

"The first level of this mall is… interesting, to say the least." Yvonne turned to him. "You may be wondering what all the facilities here have in common."

"Yes… this level seems pretty diverse."

"That's because the first floor highlights all the kind of facilities you can find here." Yvonne raised a finger. "Popular, trending, and new facilities can be found on the first floor, and it changes every week."

"Oh, wow." Eryn's eyes widened in awe. So it's like a general preview of the entire mall. An all-in-one.

"For example…" Yvonne looked around and her eyes stopped at a promotional poster. "New furniture was recently released, and you can simply check that store out. If you're looking for more options with furniture, then you can head to one of the higher levels dedicated to them."

"New furniture, huh…?" Eryn stroked his chin. That does pique my interest.

"Say, Eryn… aren't you in need of a couch?" Azusa patted his shoulder. "Maybe you can find a new one right here, don't you think?"

"Huh… I didn't think about that, actually." Eryn blinked. Now that she mentions it, I could see if they have a couch I like!

"In other words, the first level is a mix of all the other floors above us, right?" Azusa asked.

"Correct. You can put it that way." Yvonne nodded. "If you're interested, would you like to explore what this level has to offer? Or would you prefer to head to the next level?"

"Well…" Eryn scratched the back of his head, appearing in deep thought. I am not so sure… either option is fine. His attention diverted to the monstergirls. "What do you all think?"

"I'm fine with whatever Eryn wants," Iris replied with a smile.

"Humhum." Lofie bobbed her head in agreement.

"We'll follow wherever Eryn goes!" Melty pumped her fists up.

"Well…" Eryn chuckled. As adorable as their answers were, the decision was still left up to him. "Since we already have an idea of what this floor is about, why don't we head up?"

"Okay!" The three monstergirls replied in unison.

"Mhmm…" Yvonne stared at the three monstergirls. The monstergirls look up to him, do they not? It was an adorable sight. "The next level it is, then. Please follow me."

With the soldier beetle leading, the group followed in her insect footsteps. They traversed through the first level; many sights and stores of interest lined every corner. What still surprises Eryn is the diverse amount of monstergirls currently minding their businesses.

There are a lot of monstergirl children too! He thought as he observed the hustling surroundings; a curious thought popped into his head. I wonder… are there other monstergirl children with human owners here? So far, he's gotten the impression that a human raising a monstergirl was a rare sight. And even rarer was raising three monstergirls!

"What'cha thinking there, Eryn?" Azusa drew her hands behind her back, tilting her head towards him. "Anything catching your eye?"

"I'm just wondering… how many kinds of monstergirls are there?" He turned to her. "I assumed there were many, but I didn't know there were this many."

"I think that's an appropriate question for your dear sister to answer." Azusa winked and playfully raised a finger. "I imagine it's an astounding number, in my opinion."

My sister would know, wouldn't she? Eryn hummed to himself. Considering her line of work, she must be exposed to hundreds of monstergirls by this point.

"Please stand still." Yvonne stopped moving and turned around in place. "We'll be moving to the next level."

"Huh…?" Eryn stopped in front of her. Moving to the next level…? He looked up, seeing the next level. How… are we getting there from here? There was no escalator nor elevator nearby, he realized. Was there a different method of getting up there?

VRMMM!

"A-Ah…?" The ground beneath him trembled, sending vibrations up his spine, prompting him to look at his feet. What the…? Was the ground shaking?

"W-Woah!" Melty latched her arms around his leg. "The ground is shaking!"

"Eeeep!" Iris tightly grabbed onto his hand, almost losing her balance.

"W-Wah!" Lofie wrapped her little hands around his head.

"Y-Yvonne?" His head snapped to the soldier beetle, still having her stoic outlook as always. "What's happen—…:

FWIIIIISH!

A soft blue light began glowing around the edges of the square tile they were standing on. Blue sparks of energy swirled upwards around them. Inch by inch, the tile below them started lifting and…

FWOOOOOM!

The tile flew up in a straight vertical motion, carrying them high up off the ground.

"W-What the?!" Eryn instinctively held Iris and Melty close to him. Are we flying up?!

"Woooh!" Azusa let out an energetic cry, unfazed by this current event. In fact, she was excited to be part of this!

"Please relax. We are not in any immediate danger." Yvonne said in her usual dry manner and pointed upwards. "We are simply moving onto the next level."

"You didn't tell us anything about magical moving platforms!" Eryn peeked over the edge, seeing the far ground. W-Woah, we're really flying up!

"I thought it would be better if you gained first-hand experience with this magical contraption." Yvonne placed a hand on her cheek. "Besides, I do not think you would believe me if I told you we would be flying up."

"Why do you think I wouldn't believe you?" Eryn cocked his head to the side, dropping his brows. "I've seen Melty create flames with her bare hands. I've seen Lofie instantly grow a seed into a flower. There's this butler in a cafe full of maids. Azusa broke into my house. And you're… standing in front of me."

"Hey, was that remark necessary?!" Azusa puffed her cheeks out. "And I didn't break into your house!"

"… That is a fair point, Eryn." Yvonne stroked her chin, looking off to the side. "By having these three monstergirls with you, you must have been exposed to the extraordinary often, I take it?"

My life has been anything except ordinary since then. Eryn sighed. Not to say that his past life was necessarily better than his life now. But I think I could believe a flying device at this point!

"Are we flying up because of this… floor?" Iris asked, curious.

"Indeed. This tile we're standing on has been infused with magical energy that allows it to fly." Yvonne replied. "These tiles can be identified by their glowing edges."

"I see… so if we want to head to a different floor, we can just stand on these tiles?" Eryn asked.

"Correct." Yvonne nodded. "It is pretty convenient, wouldn't you say?"

"It is neat, actually!" Eryn hummed. Compared to the standard elevators and escalators, this moving tile was rather refreshing!

After a short moment, the tile came down to a halt as it stopped on the next level, merging with the other tiles and blending into the floor.

"We can safely get off now." Yvonne took a few steps forward, with the group following behind.

"Wow!" Melty exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with delight. "That was kinda fun!"

"Was this your first time getting on one of these things, Melty?" Eryn wondered.

"Yeah!" Melty bobbed her head. "I've never seen anything like it before!"

"I thought only monstergirls could fly." Lofie drew a finger to her chin. "I didn't know other things could fly."

"There must be many cool things out there!" Iris grinned, her tail waving from side to side.

"Heh…" Eryn cracked a smile. It would seem many new experiences await not just him, but also his three monstergirls. They may enjoy this mall visit, after all!

After they all stepped off the tile, the blue glow of its edges slowly shifted to a gentle red hue.

"Oh…!" Iris's ears twitched. "It changed colors!"

"Astute observation." Yvonne crossed her arms. "This tile now can be used to fly downwards now if you'd like to return to the previous level."

"I see!" Eryn placed a fist on his palm. So these tiles are color-coordinated! Blue meant it carried you to a level above, while red meant it carried you to a level below. It's like a video game!

"Now that we are on this level…" Yvonne turned around. A digital screen board stood next to them, showcasing the details of all levels, as well as the facilities and items that could be found on the current level.

"Now, this I recognize…" Eryn walked next to the soldier beetle. Monstergirls aren't shy of technology, it seems! His eyes scanned the screen, curious about what this floor entailed. "Fashion & Apparel…"

"So this must be all about the clothing!" Azusa nodded to herself. "Are you in need of new clothes, Eryn?"

"I think I'm good with clothes for now." Eryn kept his eyes on the screen. I might as well check what the other levels are about. The left side of the screen listed details regarding all the other floors.

Hots and Highlights was the name for the floor they started in. That's a fitting description.

Home Decor & Appliances. That was the floor above them. If he wanted to get a new couch, that might be the right place to check.

Food Court. A mall wouldn't be complete without one. That's the level to go if you're hungry! I wonder if there are special monstergirl meals…

Fun Times & Entertainment. Was this where games and arcades would be? That could be fun for the monstergirls!

School of Knowledge. An interesting name for a level. Maybe I could find school supplies here for the monstergirls… wait.

"School of Knowledge…?" His eyes hovered over the name. What did this level entail?

Yvonne stared at Eryn, followed his eyesight, then stared back at him. "That level pertains to education. You can find many school supplies there such as stationery, bags, books…" she explained as if she were reading the question on his mind.

"There's an entire level here dedicated to school?" Eryn blinked a few times.

"Yes." Yvonne nodded. Dryly. "It is one of the recent additions to the mall."

"… Hold on, there was a store for school supplies all this time?" Eryn stepped back and took a deep breath, bringing his hands close to his lips. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this! He swiftly turned to the girl with glasses. "You knew about this from the beginning, didn't you?"

"… I did say it was a mega-structure housing every single facility and utility you could ever think of for monstergirls." Azusa looked off to the side and whistled nonchalantly. "That wasn't a lie."

"You could have told me that from the start!" Eryn sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping. "I was thinking you only had ulterior motives for bringing the monstergirls here to have a fun time."

"Me? Ulterior motives?" Azusa placed a hand on her chest and shook her head in a dramatic manner. "Psssh, don't even have that in my dictionary, but now that we're here…"

She seriously took a roundabout way of helping me. Eryn raised a brow, then his lips broke into a smile. But that was very much like her.

"What are we going to explore first, Eryn?" Iris tugged at his pinky finger, looking up at him with expectant, upturned eyes.

"Yeah!" Melty grinned. "I think I know what Eryn's going to say!"

"Me too, me too." Lofie nodded, nuzzling her chin into his hair.

"Well I'm sure you already know, Iris…" His eyes drifted up to one of the higher floors. It's pretty obvious where I want to go now, isn't it?

"Let's head to the School of Knowledge!"