I kept on looking for where the roaches had gone to. An easy task, as all the tunnel paths they had taken, was left bare due to them. How much can they stuff into those small bodies of theirs?
As I searched the tunnels for the pests, I discovered that the inhabitants of this floor were either the usual Glavras spiders, a type of frogs double as big as the roaches, which was called Pond Frogs, and several mouse species.
I didn't care so much about them, except for the rats. I must be able to defeat those at least? They had the same stats as the other pests, but they didn't have any secret weapons like the roaches' swarm strategy.
The rats are called Greycave Rats, due to them often being seen in caves, and because they can eat rocks and dirt to replace real food. They act as the bottom-feeder of the bottom-feeders, according to the Kigal-Note. Tough luck for them.
After some more searching, I found the roaches. And boy, this was more than I expected! A whole cave the size of a baseball stadium, filled with wall-to-wall roaches. Layers of them even! And in the center of the cave was a whole different roach, the size of a small car. It had some golden-colored horns on it, so maybe a king roach? Wait, it's a queen. It just gave birth to some new roach eggs. Urk...
But yeah, my flames of revenge just died out. I mean, it's way too many of them down there! It's like a pest exterminator's worst nightmare!
It's only because the tunnel I peek out of is around 50 meters in the air that I can spy on them without being noticed. But the moment I try to attack, the swarm will climb up the wall and drag me down, or just eat me here.
Thinking about it, the spiders from before looked like they were patrolling with determination before. Was it because of the roach infestation? The only possible way looked like to take care of the groups that patrolled the tunnels with patrols of your own. The Dungeon's heavyweights were all busy with the Sahuagin invasion after all.
While pondering the Dungeon's local governing, I went out of the tunnel and out to the crossroad. Let's see, I came from the path that leads downwards from here, but there's another one leading upwards. I had only taken the path I was in right now because I heard the noises of the roaches, but couldn't this road upwards lead to the next floor?
With that idea in mind, I kept on going upwards... only to have my idea popped with a needle. The tunnel ended in a T-junction, with the lower end being the path I'm currently in, and the other two having flattened and not going any further upwards.
Oh well. I've gotten quite higher up now, so I should have come closer to the next exit... what's that sound? A muffled, but still powerful sound came from somewhere. I went into the junction, careful for anything around the corners, and tried to listen after the source of the sound.
It comes... it comes from the wall? I leaned my... body... towards the wall, and... it's water. Tons of water is flowing just behind this wall.
Then... that water coaster from before... did all the water come from this floor? Or, is the fourth floor a simple pipeline system that gives water to the water coaster on the fifth? This... I can make use of this.
---
A patrol of Glavras Aquarects, spider monsters of the Water attribute, kept their many eyes open after the pesky vermins that had occupied this floor of the majestic Dungeon.
This was a futile effort, as the vermin had a Queen that could reproduce the pests in less than a week. Still, as loyal guardians of Glavras, the Aquarects could not let the vermin roam loose.
The Aquarects decided to move closer to the area where the Queen had laid lair. They were not foolish enough to attack the swarm as a whole, but shaving off some of the vermin the moment they left the safety of their lair is an idea they could live with.
Just then, one of the Aquarects noticed something strange on the floor. A single stripe of white, with two more stripes creating an arrow at certain intervals, pointing up the tunnels.
The Aquarects was dumbfounded by the strange sight. They tried to touch the white stripe, but it was stuck on the ground. It looked like it was leading somewhere. While the Aquarects were not stupid, as they figured out the possibility of a trap, but the novelty of the strange substance had awakened their curiosity. Also, the Aquarects were the guardians of the Dungeon. Why should they not investigate a strange occurrence like this?
The Aquarects kept on following the stripe of white, only to find it leading to a wall. There was a deformed-looking picture of one of the vermin drawn on the wall. The vermin was laughing as it pointed towards the viewers, meaning the Aquarects.
Blood instantly went to the Aquarects' heads. Without caring about the probability of it being a trap or not, the five Aquarects blasted the painting of the wretched vermin with their [Water Cannon] skill... only for the wall that the picture had been drawn on to collapse.
The Aquarects couldn't believe their eyes. The walls of the Dungeon could withstand anything! That was what their common sense told them, so the shock of it being crushed before their eyes delayed their reactions so much that they could not do anything before they were swept away by the raging torrent.
---
Score! Jackpot! Banzai!
Those stupid spiders did just as I wanted! It was worth weakening the wall with [Aura of Darkness] all this time. I wasn't sure if they would get the roach I had drawn on the Dungeon wall, but they reacted just as I hoped!
I was in one of the other paths in the T-junction, watching over the water leaking from the "pipeline" flushing down the tunnel. Most of it was going to flow down the path I had originally taken there, but some of it was going to the roach cave!
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Your level has increased. Reached Lv.6
You have earned 0.1 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.1 Skill Points were earned.
A level up even! That's a nice bonus... but shouldn't I get more? It was five of those big-ass spiders. Or maybe I only got a small chunk 'cause I only lead them to take their own life with their stupidity? Eh, whatever. I got some EXP from this without having to risk my life, so I'm happy.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Acquired title: [Vermin Bane]
You have earned 1.0 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 1.0 Skill Points were earned.
And this is... the water must have reached the roach cave. It doesn't look like I'm getting EXP for that, but Skill Points works as well.
Now that my mood's been lifted, let's go to the next floor. I found the exit just past this tunnel here, so there's no need to stay in this roach hotel. That, and the water gushing outta the hole in the "pipe" is more than I expected. I'm not gonna stay here only to be flushed away when more of it breaks due to the water pressure!