The Third Floor

POV: Gael

"Who are you?"

I raised my eyebrow curiously as the giant preying mantis began clacking his mandibles, speaking in broken English, "Ai em eh shep owneer, ash ye cen see."

The creature returned its gaze to his selection of food and moved his green appendage above it as if showing it off. The creature returned his beadlike, innocent gaze to me as if eagerly awaiting my response.

I had met two Floor 3 returnees before, and they could both speak at a level similar to the mantis. It was shocking no matter how many times I looked at the creature.

It seemed that the second floor had altered the size of its inhabitants. Even insects grew to the size of a small bear. The third floor was even more interesting, however. The floor seemed to give them a level of intelligence that was not quite as high as humans but close.

Hazel put her hand on my shoulder, "Let's give him a chance."

I nodded, but a frown quickly appeared on my face, "Sir, we're honestly starving, but we've just arrived here from the second floor. We don't have any currency."

The mantis's compound eyes widened, "Yoa jist gat ere? Yoa ell look se streng thoh."

I looked towards the sand with a slight feeling of shame. The thought of stealing crossed my mind, but there was no way I could morally allow myself to do that to a peaceful creature.

Besides,

I looked up to see the sand pathways of the small village with other creatures walking about. There was a family of massive lizards, a white lion, and a human-sized owl wandering the streets. I couldn't even if I wanted to.

The mantis seemed to frown, "Yoa seem lie goad people thoh."

I looked up with hope-filled eyes, "Maybe, if there's something else we can do?"

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Activating Incite

Proficiency: 19/100

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The mantis's eyes brightened, "Yao noa whet? Fellow meh."

I looked uncertainly at my fellow party members. They seemed hesitant, but Jeremiah nodded, giving me the signal to go ahead.

We followed the mantis as he brought us into a small sandstone house.

As the mantis opened the makeshift wooden door to his home, a creak sounded. He looked back at the group and made a waving motion with his scythe-like arm. "Cem oan en. Mek erself et hoam."

I walked in first and ducked under the short door.

I looked back and gave the group a smile, "Come on guys!"

They all seemed so down recently. However, hard situations just made the greatest people. I felt like, in the end, all of this was a blessing in disguise.

As I walked inside, the scent of rosemary hit my nose. My mouth began to water as the deeper, darker scent of meat came in waves. The sound of sizzling and a light cutting sound were heard from within the home.

I looked up to see a second giant preying mantis cutting an unknown vegetable with her bladed arms. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the mantis that brought us in. "ᚱᛁᚴᛁᚾᛅᛚᛏ, yoa er beck hoam alroady?"

Their dialect was hard to understand, but they seemed genuinely hospitable.

The mantis that guided us in smiled at the other mantis. He walked up to her, wrapped his bladed arms around her gently and rubbed the front part of his head against hers. It looked like when humans rubbed their noses together. It was like a little 'Eskimo kiss'. The mantis whispered something into his lovers ear and her compound eyes sparkled yet again.

I couldn't stop the corners of my lips from rising as a tingly sensation rose in my stomach. It's so cute!

The rest of the group slowly made their way in, ducking under the short door that led inside the humble abode. I could tell that they were also smelling the food as they walked inside by their facial expressions.

"Geasts!?"

The female mantis straightened, "Ah! wher er meh menners?"

The female mantis ran up to meet the survivors. Aria flinched sightly at the sight of the incoming monster. However, her fear quickly disappeared when the mantis bowed deeply.

"Let meh set oap the teble for yoa." the mantis said with happiness clearly showing in her bug-like eyes.

As she began pulling small rocks as seats to a large sandstone mound, I went to help her. She gave me what looked like a smile and I couldn't stop the butterflies from rising in my chest.

This is adorable. Maybe the monsters we've been fighting are just misunderstood creatures.

As the others began to take their seats, I pulled the final small rock to the 'table' and sat down.

Blaire nodded as I sat down next to her. I poked her on her shoulder playfully, but she remained emotionless.

I sighed and poked Lani as well. She stared daggers at me, "Don't touch me, you fucking weeb."

I recoiled back. What's up with her?

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Gael

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Species: Homo Sapien

Race: Taino / Spanish (AN: Puerto Rican)

Class: Weeb (Rank F)

Stats: | Affinity:

Strength: 15 | Rare

Agility: 15 | Rare

Stamina: 14 | Rare

Ability Control: 16 | Rare

Pressure: ?? | Epic

Skills:

Incite: (Rank E)

Proficiency: 19/100

Slash (Rank F)

Proficiency: 18/100

Plot Armor (Unique Rank D)

Proficiency: 22/100

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Lani shook in rage, "You always talk about these weird books, you're just annoying!"

My eyes widened. "You haven't even read "The time I died in the real world by getting hit by a truck and got transported to another world as the world's strongest sage to marry my 12 year old stepsister! Life in another world without the laws of consent!""

"How can you know if it's good or not!?" Gael asked with determination.

Lani squealed, "I don't need to read it! The name alone makes me uncomfortable!"

Fine.

I held her hand and whispered to her, "Lani, what's going on? This isn't like you."

She exhaled sharply and whispered, "No matter what I do, Ezra keeps ignoring me. It's like he's always in his own little world."

I glanced over to see Ezra holding his arm and looking down at the 'table'.

Lani grabbed my shirt, "See!"

I sighed and looked at her, "I don't get why other people are so do- wait! why are you so worried about Ezra?"

Lani bit her lip, "h-he's a valuable member of the party."

I smirked and grabbed her cheek. "You have a crush on him don't you?"

Lani began flailing around trying to move my hand with a blushed face, "k-k-keep your voice down!"

I let go and smiled, "As you wish!"

She grunted and looked away from me.

I glanced at Jeremiah and saw him deep in a conversation with the male mantis. They seemed to be talking about more important things.

Mainly, repayment.

The female mantis brought over a gargantuan platter of meat that covered the entire 'table'.

WHAT!?

Even the normally steadfast Jeremiah stopped talking and let his jaw drop as the food was brought out.

I looked at our hostess, "Mam, I don't know if we can accept this. This is too much."

She smiled, "Ez elrite. Oar fillege dez noat haf salt. Et wel roat ef we doa noat eat."

I smiled humbly, "Thank you, truly. this means a lot."

The mantis smiled as she sat down by her lover.

I didn't even know where to begin!

I had no idea what the medium-rare meat in front of me was, but the monstrous portion in front of me was enough to make me pass out. It was a meal with an artistic creator. There were leafy greens and various herbs garnished around the individual portions of meat in a unique way. It looked like it was portraying a bunch of tiny flowers hugging the Earth.

As I took the first portion and sunk my teeth in, an aromatic richness that I had never experienced flooded through my mouth. It melted into my mouth and broke apart softly.

Aria squealed my thoughts aloud, "So good!"

It wasn't even the hunger! It was genuinely like nothing I had ever had before. The herbs lifted the dark flavor of the meat up with a fresh and zesty flavor. This was only enhanced by the rich, soft texture. There was something else though. It was like a mixture between sweet, sour, and spicy. It felt like a new part of my tongue was being used. It was a new sense of taste that I hadn't experienced before.

Hazel covered her mouth respectfully but couldn't stop the corners of her lips from rising. "It's amazing."

I tried to eat slowly so that I wouldn't get sick, but I found it hard to control myself.

Everyone was enjoying themselves to the fullest. It finally like we had a chance! Life began to return to everyone's eyes as they nommed away at the food they were so kindly given.

At some point, the male mantis at the table spoke up, "Ai hef a rekwezt. Plez, iz meh son."

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Current Mission

Difficulty: E

Objective: Rescue the mantis lovers' son

Rewards: Food rations (10 days). Floor 1 Access key

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