204 – Stop wasting time, Natasha…

After playing with Sonya and giving her water, I went back into the dungeon.

Thirty minutes later, I crossed the fog gate into the zombie level.

The bodies were strewn around, as broken and unresponsive as when I left.

Naturally, I put the face mask on while looking around. Should I check the trophies from Hell now? I considered since there was nothing trying to kill me and I was pretty deep underground.

An uncomfortable shiver went down my spine.

I shook my head, dismissing the thought.

The trophies—if I could even call them that—weren't something I wanted to deal with right now. Their presence in my storage felt… wrong, like an itch I couldn't scratch when I focused on it. Pulsating masses of flesh weren't exactly comforting souvenirs, and the more I thought about them, the heavier their impression became.

It was like they knew I was considering them.

The idea of pulling out those grotesque whatever they were made my skin crawl. I couldn’t shake the feeling that even touching them would set something in motion. A part of me wanted to leave them buried in the depths of my storage forever, but another part—more curious, more reckless—wanted to know what they really were.

So, just like that time in Riverfield, I abstained from checking them out, listening to my instincts.

Instead, I activated [Third Heavenly Sun's Rightful Place].

Enormous golden wings spread from my back, each five meter long. Their structure was a mix between swan and eagle, but with sharp golden blades instead of fluffy feathers.

I turned to one and gave it a closer look, feeling a bit awestruck by the sheer size and detail.

Each feather-blade was a masterpiece, seamlessly shifting from white-hot gold at the core to a soft, glowing edge.

I stored my right armored gauntlet and leather glove, stretching a tentative hand to one.

The wing moved as well, folding around me in a fluid, flexible motion.

The outer surface of the blades was smooth but impossibly sharp.

I flexed my shoulders, watching the wings move with my thoughts, perfectly synchronized with my body as though they’d always been there... just like my third leg.

Giving them an even closer look, I counted the blades, using my hands to reach around my back for the ones out of my sight.

My eyebrows went up in surprise at feeling an opening in my armor to let the wings through.

One hundred and seventy-two blades per wing was the final count.

I trailed down the inside edge with my fingers, where the blades curved toward my back.

There, the texture softened slightly, still firm but less lethal.

I let out an intrigued hum and pressed my palm against one of the larger blades.

A shiver ran through me as the sensation from the blade transmitted back into my shoulder, faint but distinct.

“AaAyYy!” I let out a weird sound at feeling my hand on my wing.

It was like touching my own skin. I could feel the pressure, the warmth of my hand, and even the hardness of my fingernails. It was as sensitive as the palms of my hands, but instead of the fleshy surface of my hand, the wing felt as hard as metal.

I curled the wing inward, watching as it wrapped protectively around me like a golden shield, then tapped the blade lightly with my knuckle and grinned as the faint vibration echoed back to my spine.

Then, I wore the leather glove, the armored gauntlet, and punched the wing with all my strength.

A low thud echoed in the dungeon.

The impact was negligible in terms of damage and movement, the blades resilient and firm.

I nodded, quite satisfied with the addition.

The thought of soaring through the sky still made my asshole tighten in discomfort, but there was no denying the allure of flight itself.

Maybe Shorvanna isn't as insane as I thought, I considered with a slight frown and produced my new spear, feeling the increase in weight.

From one tonne to one hundred tonnes was quite the improvement, but not something that would slow me down. I had lifted nine hundred and seventy-two tonnes back in Ladania, and I was level 1351 back then, too. Considering Nilenna's words, I should have been able to lift 4860 tonnes back then, and I think the chains were made with Mortal limits in mind.

Then again, Lapia estimated the tree weighed two thousand tonnes at the very least. Maybe she was right and I overprepared, which hurt my back.

Just how strong am I? I wondered, swinging the spear around and getting used to the increase in weight while walking. God of Power sounds a bit too much, but it doesn't at the same time. Still, it's a bit boring that we're that much more powerful than Mortals... and makes Yolin a bit more impressive for tanking a four thousand Strength punch to the gut. I stopped swinging for a second and squinted my eyes. Maybe I just don't understand energy delivery? Was my wish to be the strongest actually counterproductive to having exciting challenges?

Whichever the case, a tiny part of me lost interest in clearing the dungeon. If being a Halve meant I was so incredibly strong, so utterly beyond reach, then why level up in the first place?

Shorvanna told me I'd reach level 2300 total after clearing the dungeon, but... I stopped the line of thought after recalling a crucial detail. Nilenna is level 2865 total and is a bit over two thousand years old. I'm less than one year old and I'll be level 2300 total after this dungeon... what gives? Is there no need to continue leveling up? Maybe there's no fifth Class? I thought of Yulianna, the oldest Halve alive. Would she know? She's turning 6800 years old next year... That's one old bitch, I chuckled and rested my spear on my shoulders, using both arms to keep it in place. Maybe I'll just ask Shorvanna.

Whether my life was amusing to me or not was ultimately irrelevant. My purpose wasn't having fun. It's perpetuating life.

I walked to the closest zombie and flipped it over with a foot, looking for anything interesting to loot.

The left horn had a blue ring around the base. The accessory looked to be in pretty good conditions considering the owner passed away who knows how many centuries ago.

I snapped the horn and took the ring, then appraised it.

Vann'Essari's Stradahl-Inperim Ring of Many Items (High)

Storage Item

Durability B+

50m2

93% full

Self Repair

A hum left me and I checked the contents.

Fifty square meters opened in my mind, full of a wide variety of items. The feeling of touching objects with a stick instead of my hands was the same as that time I checked Elena's storage item, but this one was significantly less intrusive. A few seconds of quickly going over the items, I came across seven plaque-like objects identical in size to a credit card.

They were Identity Documents or something similar.

I sighed and looked around me, eyeing the hundreds of thousands of broken zombies.

The Floor Guardians' death had turned the many bodies into heaps of flesh.

With an even louder sigh, I removed my helmet, my face mask, and sniffed the ring, ignoring the putrid smell of death, decay, and rot, and instead focusing on the enchantments of the Storage Item.

Similar to Lapia's spells, space inside the ring smelled bent, compacted, and E'er-charged.

I tried storing the ring, and, unlike Elena's Storage Item, the thing went into my own Storage without issue.

A box has no problem going inside a room, after all. Elena's Storage Item was especially enchanted to prevent it from being stored, it seemed.

Why? Because she's a cunt.

Thus, I made use of [Third Heavenly Sun's Rightful Place] to move at 4500 meters per second, meaning thirteen times the speed of sound, to look for any Storage Item that belonged to the zombies with my nose. My [Starforged Eternium Plate Pants of Expeditious Engage]'s new enchantment prevented sonic booms from occurring, which was a great help.

Necklaces, rings, earrings, fake teeth, fake eyes, and many more I snatched while following their scent. Fourty minutes later I found all Storage Items. At least those that hadn't broken or decayed over time.

Seven thousand and thirty-five accessories now sat in my storage, and the few I couldn't put inside had their contents moved into my storage.

After clearing the dungeon I'd make a short trip to Sapul and hand the items over to the Watchers, as the city probably has had a good traffic of Chasers being that close to the dungeon. If the Chasers who died in the dungeon stayed the night or rented a room for a while in the settlement, they'd be in the registry. Simple as.

With the little side quest done, I put the face mask and the helmet on and walked along the walls in search of the entrance to the next dungeon floor.

Sure enough, after reaching the other end of the dungeon floor I found a tunnel leading to a wall of fog.

I went in, looking at the walls in case there were more handprints.

[Flarr'Thunn Al'In loves it up the ass]

My eyebrows joined in distaste at reading the crass message etched on the stone.

[Koluum Tyrus was here. My blade remains as sharp as my will!]

[Go to Tylke for upgrades! - El'kuu Lao]

[Tigeas are favorite troublemakers – Aerylla Kossoer]

[Tried mating with a Rotten Monstrosity. Would NOT recommend – Mojillia Yepat]

[When in doubt, just smite it. If it survives, it probably deserves to – Tylankis Arroken]

[Future Protectors: Don't trust the green statue. It’s not what it seems – Orbin Das]

[Found the treasure. Lost my left boot. Worth it? Debatable – Korin Dhongor]

[The Luzo understand the beauty of stillness. They remind me to savor Eternity – Sylra Medotta]

[Brought a Divine weapon into this place. Left with a stick. Sometimes the stick works better – Yienau Oaneu]

[The smell is horrendous – Finestra Palaz]

[Lola Mento, Lover of Elves, was here]

[Mortals prayed for rain, and when we gave it to them, they complained about the mud. Never again – Ulkuanos Vertink]

[One mortal asked me if Shia is edible. She wasn't joking – Nigneka Qunn]

[Mortals have a saying: The Eternals help those who help themselves. I’m pretty sure I never agreed to that – Elre Pim]

[Spent an hour watching Mortals try to unlock a door by shouting at it. I haven’t laughed that hard in centuries – Triantasmeliphex Khu'Utmas]

[Tiny Laples invent for no other reason than why not? Bless their chaotic little hearts – Saban Dija]

A couple messages made me chuckle, and others made me laugh out loud. There were few crass messages, and even fewer helpful ones.

Should I leave one? I wondered, thinking of what to write for others to find. An idea popped into my mind and I used my indestructible fingernail to write:

[Find the illusionary wall! - Natasha Novak]

I chuckled and crossed the fog wall into the next floor.