While Drake was still hanging from the wall, an unchecked notification popped up in his mind.
DING
CONGRATULATIONS USER FOR KILLING 3 LVL 19 FROG SHOOTERS — REWARD: 30,000 EXPUSER CREATED A NEW SKILL: TORPEDO DRILL, WHICH HAS BEEN SAVED IN THE SKILL LIST
"Hmm, the skill got saved. Okay, nice. Hey, my little buddies, come help me!"
Both birds quickly flew over and dragged Drake free from the wall.
"Oh, thanks, guys. Let's keep grinding."
As they moved forward, Drake honed his new fighting style, getting better at controlling his speed and bouncing. Meanwhile, his Pokémon duo grew more coordinated. Pidgey even learned a new move—HURRICANE.
Spotting six Dungeon Lizards nearby, Drake grinned.
"Pidgey, use Hurricane on those lizards! Starly, hit that Hurricane with your Razor Wind!"
Pidgey shot forward, flapping his wings at incredible speed, whipping up a massive hurricane swirling around the now-alert, growling lizards.
Starly dove in next, sending razor-sharp wind blades slicing through the hurricane, transforming it into a giant shredder. The blades spun with the hurricane's power, crashing down on the confused lizards and tearing them apart in seconds.
All six were reduced to bloody messes that turned into dust, leaving behind glittering crystals.
"Very good job, you two! You make an incredible team," Drake praised, as both Pokémon returned to his side, feathers ruffled and looking smug, trying to act cool.
"Okay, stop showing off. Let's move on."
As they advanced, Drake noticed a staircase leading down and tensed.
"Let's see what surprise awaits me here."
Suddenly, the ground rumbled. A huge hole opened, and a massive frog-like creature was pushed out.
It stood over four meters tall, with brownish, earth-like skin and a giant red eye sizing up the three small figures before it. Then it let out a deafening croak that shook the area.
[FROG SHOOTER VARIANT KRAGE LVL 23]
The monster opened its mouth and shot three tongues at them at blinding speed.
Both birds took flight while Drake jumped aside. Turning back, he noticed three perfectly round holes smashed into the ground where they had just stood.
"Oh, sh*t. Pidgey, fly around and use Steel Wing on its side! Starly, hit it with Razor Wind!"
Both birds launched their attacks, drawing the huge frog's attention. It furiously lashed out with its tongues, smashing everything like hell unleashed.
Drake seized his chance, accelerating beneath the monster and ramming his horn into its underbelly.
The frog screamed in pain, thrashing wildly with its tongues.
Suddenly, an idea hit Drake.
"Pidgey, Starly, grab me and lift me above it! I trust you can dodge its attacks."
Both nodded, dodging the furious swings as they swooped in and lifted him overhead.
"Okay, now let me go. Let's do this!"
Released, Drake dove straight for the monster's eye, spinning wildly.
"System, activate TORNADO DRILL!"
A white, fluffy spinning bunny drilled into the creature's eye, burrowing through it and bursting out under the monster, drenched in gore and guts.
"Ahh, this feels so gross."
The giant frog let out its final, anguished howl before turning to dust, leaving behind a huge crystal.
Both birds flew beside Drake, watching their owner with awe.
"Okay, buddies, let's rest on the stairway. You must be hungry."
At the stairs, Drake checked his battle rewards:
CONGRATULATIONS USER FOR KILLING LVL 23 FROG SHOOTER VARIANT — REWARD: 540,000 EXPCONGRATULATIONS USER FOR CLEARING 5TH FLOOR — REWARD: 30,000 EXP
"Nice! I'm not far from the next level."
The trio settled down to relax. Drake withdrew the Frog Variant and Lizard Variant crystals, handing them to Starly and Pidgey, who eagerly chipped at them bit by bit.
As Drake munched on crystals from normal monsters, a DING sounded in his mind. At the same time, Starly was enveloped in bright light and began to evolve.
"He's evolving! Haha, lucky me," Drake laughed.
When the light faded, standing before him was Staravia — a grayish-brown avian with black and white markings. Its head and upper body were black, with an "M"-shaped pattern over its white chest. A grayish-brown spot marked its forehead.
Staravia was huge now — making both Drake and Pidgey look small beside him.
"Good job, buddy. How are you feeling?"
Staravia nodded, spread his large new wings, and enveloped both Drake and Pidgey in a powerful hug that nearly knocked the air out of them.
"Urgh, be careful, big guy! You still need to learn to control your strength."
Pidgey scowled at his big brother enviously — he wanted to grow big too.
After Staravia released them, they finished their lunch and started moving down.
On the next floor, Drake spotted three familiar figures.
[WAR SHADOW LVL 18]
"Damn, looking at them, I miss my old body. Okay Staravia, let's test your strength. Use Razor Wind!"
Staravia launched into the air, crossing the distance at blinding speed. Two massive wind blades smashed the first War Shadow into pieces.
Drake and Pidgey stared at Staravia's power, dumbfounded.
Snapping out of it, Drake bounced from wall to wall, slamming his horn into the faces of the remaining shadows.
Meanwhile, Pidgey dodged claws and smashed one shadow with Steel Wing against the wall. As it struggled to get up, two razor wind blades cut it into pieces.
Pidgey turned to Staravia and nodded.
CONGRATULATIONS USER FOR KILLING 3 WAR SHADOWS — REWARD: 150,000 EXP
Drake stored their crystals and the trio moved forward.
Suddenly, Drake heard a familiar voice around the corner.
LILY: "Please help! Save Bell-sama! There's a powerful Minotaur after him!"
TIONA: "Okay, don't worry! We'll check it out."
??? (gruff voice): "Hah, why should we risk ourselves to save some twerp we don't even know?"
Drake's ears perked up.
"Hmm, that's the girl I saved. And did she just say 'Bell-sama'?"
As he considered this, he heard many footsteps ahead and decided to follow.
"Pidgey, Staravia, return."
Drake turned the corner, hopping forward quietly. There, lying in the arms of a green-haired woman with pointed ears, was a familiar small figure.
"An elf? What's going on here?"
The woman looked up and locked eyes with Drake.
Drake froze, dazed. How beautiful...
??? (Riveria): "How is it possible that I can hear a monster's thoughts? Think something else, little rabbit."
"Huh? You can hear me? How?"
Riveria: "I don't know myself. I'm wondering the same, little rabbit. Do you have a name?"
"Ah, yes. My name is Drake. Can this little monster find out yours, lady? And how's Lily?"
Riveria: "How do you know that girl's name? She's alright — just stressed and tired. I healed her wounds. My name's Riveria. It's nice to meet you, Drake, though it does feel strange talking to a monster."
"Ha, it feels weird for me too — that a human can hear my thoughts. By the way, Lily mentioned someone called Bell-sama. Do you know who she meant?"
Riveria: "Yes. A new adventurer with white hair who's been gaining popularity above ground."
"Oh crap. It's my friend! It was nice talking to you. I have to go see him. Finally got to talk to a human. Bye, Riveria!"
With that, Drake planted all his strength into his back legs and shot forward like a bullet.
The closer he got, the more he heard clashing swords and explosions.
He saw a crowd of humans watching something. Carefully, Drake circled to stay unnoticed.
What he saw was his first friend locked in fierce combat with a red-furred Minotaur wielding a massive sword.
[MINOTAUR OF FREYA LVL 75]
Drake watched as his friend stole the Minotaur's sword, smashed a dagger into its chest, and unleashed a fireball that blew it up.
"He's gotten a lot stronger. Nice to see... Now I better hide. I know these people will take care of him."
Drake started moving away slowly, but suddenly his fur stood on end.
Instincts flared. He turned and locked eyes with a brown-skinned girl — Tiona — who noticed him.
Without hesitation, Drake pushed off with all his strength and shot away like a bullet, trying to evade death.
As she watched the needle rabbit disappear, Tiona thought, "How strange — a Needle Rabbit on this floor. What's he doing here? Oh well, not my business."