Chương 60: Chapter Fifty Nine

The streets were empty. Bob's anxiety over potentially encountering some sort of elite crab-guard further inside the city proving unfounded. Each hollowed-out building he passed standing silent and alone. That didn't mean things were going well for him however. Attempting to move even a single one of the 'thousand' feet lining his undercarriage felt like a test of both his willpower and perseverance. Every sliver of himself screaming that he needed to turn around and run.

To escape the city and the nameless death living within it while he still could. He could see his target not far ahead of him. A looming structure ringed by columns and constructed with massive blocks of polished stone. Bob feeling certain now that the building had previously operated in some sort of governmental capacity. One which required a large number of people to be coming and going, if the multiple entrances and wide public walkways were any indication.

It also seemed likely to be one of the most untouched locations he'd yet encountered. Actual glass still glimmering and intact in its many windows, and what doors he could see from his current vantage looking to be sealed shut and unmarked by age. Bob starting to worry about the difficulties of getting into the building once he reached it. Or rather, if he reached it. This far in, the monster's aura was almost physically tangible.

It feeling as though the waters surrounding him had been thickened by hunger and malice, each step forward being a laborious endeavor. Any previous regret over not choosing the 'bank' location long since cast away; now feeling certain it would have been impossible for him to complete the journey. The only reason he'd even made it as far as he had was due to the power of distraction.

Him staying in near-constant conversation with his monstrous companion in an attempt to draw his attention away from the mindless horror biting at his brain. The aura's effects not impacting his eight-legged friend due to its other-dimensional location. Though, sadly, these conversations often left much to be desired.

'Wall.' The octopus said firmly. Authoritatively. Not a nanometer of wiggle room for dissent or difference of opinion in either its attitude or tone.

'Buddy…please…' Bob almost cried, the strain of the monstrous aura truly beginning to break his resolve; and this conversation certainly not helping matters.

'That's not how 'I-spy' works. You can't just keep saying the same thing over and over after I tell you your answer is wrong. The answer is not'wall', okay?'

'Wall.' The monster repeated. Its stance apparently unmoved.

'You can't just… Actually, you know what? Fine. The answer was wall. It was always wall. I was talking about a big orange wall that doesn't exist. You were right. Since we're getting closer to the building though, how about you switch over to guard duty. Keep an eye on things while I'm distracted and let me know if something's trying to sneak up on me.' He felt the slightest bit of relief hit him as he sensed the octopus's immediate and victorious agreement.

Though it disappeared not long after the creature's presence removed itself from his mind. Bob quickly reminded why he'd put up with the aggravating back-and-forth in the first place as the last flimsy barrier between him and the menacing presence was lifted. He was forced to grit his teeth and bear it, however. Not lying when he'd told the creature that they were getting close.

The large archway signaling the start of the public promenade surrounding the structure only fifty or so feet away; with the actual entrance being only a couple hundred more past that. Given the situation, Bob needed to start focusing less on distracting himself, and more on what his 'Detection' abilities were telling him. Especially considering they were telling him quite a lot. Most of it actually being good news. He could sense no enemies in the surrounding area.

Though that wasn't really a shock, considering that even if they existed, the presence of the raid boss lurking at the city's heart likely would have obfuscated any signals they put out. More interesting though was what he could sense. Now that the building was nearing the edges of his range, he was starting to pick up the faintest sensations of sunlight peeking through the dark clouds of the monster's aura. Sunlight which indicated treasure. Large quantities of treasure, to be more exact.

What with him managing to sense it from both beyond the effective range of his Class Skill and through the fog of baleful hunger cloaking the city. Bob's mind latched onto the sensation. Allowing the mimic part of his brain to luxuriate in the feeling as he used the near drug-like effect to push away at the gnawing malice surrounding him; the warm glow only strengthening as he moved ever closer. Him becoming more and more certain the building was its source as he felt the sensation start to angle slightly 'upward'.

The 'sunlight' obviously beckoning to him from one of the structure's higher floors.

'Treasure Sense' finally breached the building itself just as he passed through the arch. His mind immediately lighting up with dozens of 'blips' indicating low-level treasure, with more following after with every step he took. Bob ignored all of them though, as well as the occasional 'moderate' or 'high' level signal that appeared. Mind utterly focused on the bonfire lingering just past all those many candles.

When the item finally came within his range, he almost had to physically hold the 'mimic' part of himself in place. It felt like walking out of an air-conditioned house on a scorching summer's day. The light almost blinding in its radiance, easily overwhelming all other signals in the general area. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Even while straining to stay under control though, Bob found himself almost unconsciously increasing his pace.

Pushing through the aura's debilitating effects now seeming almost shockingly easy. His lust for what must be a disgustingly large amount of gold quickly eclipsing his fear of oversized shellfish. As he approached the building's nearest entrance however, he felt his wooden face contort itself into a slight frown. The massive slabs of immortal wood blocking his way were far more intricately carved than the manor doors he'd seen previously.

Each over twelve feet tall and set seamlessly into the surrounding monolithic blocks of stone. Not a crack or crevice wide enough to stick a fingernail in across its entire polished surface. Which Bob couldn't help but feel was going to be an issue, given that the doors also both lacked any sort of handle. Attempting to give either a push accomplished nothing, it feeling little different from attempting to do the same to the stone walls framing them.

Bob spending a few moments afterwards looking around for any potential 'button' to press or 'switch' to flip, but finding no sign of either. Eventually, he stepped away from the double doorway entirely. Staring upwards at the windows for a moment before his frown suddenly grew more pronounced. Him noticing what his lust over the building's contents had previously caused him to ignore.

That every pane within view didn't seem to 'look' into anything; instead appearing to be covered top-to-bottom in some off-brown, near black substance. It didn't appear to be the right color or consistency to be sand; something which allowed Bob to cling to some hope as he began to circle the building. Though that hope slowly began to fade as he found both the second, and then the third entrances similarly sealed.

His pace slowly beginning to slack as the possibility that all his effort might be for nothing began to set in. As he rounded the building's last corner however, he found himself shocked to discover that fate had thrown him a bone. The black shadow of an open doorway visible even from his current distance. Bob feeling his mind refocus and his speed easily double as the chance to actually possess the item inside started to feel real.

Which was probably why it took him so long to react to Buddy's increasingly frantic messages.

'FRIEND!' The monster's shout finally managed to break through Bob's tunnel vision. Him stumbling to a halt just a dozen or so feet away from the building's entrance as he realized exactly how much of an effect the treasure above was having on him. For a moment wondering if he had once again slipped under some form of mind-control, before realizing that the sensation was no different than what he felt for every other bit of gold in his hoard. Simply magnified to an obscene degree.

'What's going on? Do you see something?' He replied back to octopus as soon as he could. Mind darting around the expanse covered by 'Treasure Sense' trying to find evidence of a threat.

'Enemies inside.' The creature said, its tone sounding relieved at him finally paying attention. At its words, Bob found himself instantly on guard. Stepping further back from the building's entrance and beginning to desperately scan the structure in front of him, searching for whatever enemy had been spotted by his companion. And coming up with absolutely nothing.

'Where are the enemies at?' He eventually asked, unable to spot anything that registered as a threat.

'What floor are they on?' The response, when it came, was equal parts horrifying and ridiculous.

'Enemies ALL inside.' For a moment, Bob didn't understand. His mind trying to untangle the octopus's statement while it ran additional scans of the building, searching for an enemy presence standing out amongst its surroundings. Then he felt the octopus's mind ever so gently grab onto his own and pull his perspective further back. Looking now at the building as a whole, backlit by the rest of the city. And then he saw it.

Had he lungs, the air would have been taken out of them by seeing the entire building pulsate under the view of his Class Skill. The massive ebb of a seven-story tall minor threat being near-entirely lost amongst the horrifying aura of the valley's overlord. He found himself almost unconsciously stepping to the side. Circling around so that he could peek through the open doorway without getting too close. Realizing fairly quickly that the darkness within the building was too glossy and deep to simply be shadow.

Instead, his jeweled eye slowly began to make out unknown thousands of black, spear-tip shaped shells clinging to every available surface within the structure; each about the size of a pair of hands held in prayer. With a thought, he delved deeper into one of them through 'Treasure Sense'. His mind briefly stunned when the action actually worked. Confirming the presence of perhaps millions of individual monsters lurking within a single building.

Lesser Blood-Drinker Mussel (F) Level: 2 Threat Ranking: Insignificant He simply stared at the message for a moment, before finally canceling it out and beginning to slowly move towards the doorway in front of him. Each step careful and cautious, waiting for the inevitable trap to activate or ability to fire; 'Sudden Step' fully prepared to teleport him out of harm's way. But they never came. Nor did any of the creatures filling up the doorway react to his presence.

No cries ringing through his head or, really, any noticeable movement whatsoever. Each just… clinging to the walls and, he assumed, filtering massive amounts of water. Coming to a stop only a few feet away, Bob for a moment pondered what he should do. The things were clinging to literally every surface; walls, floors and ceiling. It would be impossible for him to sneak his way around them, and he was worried that any physical interaction would have them sounding the alarm.

Something he really didn't want to happen this close to Crabzilla. He also had nowhere near enough mana to blast his way through with spells; his Dimensional Path Skills likely to drain him dry before he finished the first floor. That said, a fairly sizable percentage of him simply refused to leave without whatever was located within that building. Especially considering the creatures guarding it likely wouldn't have been able to put up a fight even if they weren't glued down.

He was beginning to consider the possibility of another round of spell creation – one which would likely require him exiting the city first – when he suddenly realized that there was actually a much simpler solution. And one he currently happened to have readily available.

'Hey Buddy?' He called out inside him, noticing the octopus had become distracted playing around with some of the trinkets in his 'vault'.

'Friend?' The creature replied, setting down the two silver vases it had been attempting to fit together.

'You hungry?'