Living in another world as an Oni!

Chapter 88 - 85 - That time we found a kid

Chapter 88: Chapter 85 - That time we found a kid

The dungeon smelled like mold and decay, making me wanna vomit thankfully enough I got used to the cave I used to sleep in back with Kron and the others.

I'd been in worse places, other than the cave sure, but this one felt... personal. The air was thick with mana, unnatural mana, the kind you could feel crawling under your skin. It was uncomfortable.

Walking forward with my clones, I could feel a heavy weight given by this place.

My clones were chattering amongst themselves, excited about the monsters we were encountering.

I really do not know how these guys can still be so easy going about everything right now.

We already came across a handful of them on the way—slimes, mushrooms, and flowers. It was like someone had taken the worst parts of nature and fused them into twisted mockeries of life.

"Ugh, look at this!" Clone #2 grimaced as she kicked a slime with a human arm attached to it. "That's just fucking wrong."

"Yep," I agreed. "Whoever's behind this is seriously messed up in the head." I gave the slime a once-over. Its gooey, translucent form bubbled, its eyes somehow looking both confused and angry.

The arm, a pale human appendage, hung limply from its side. Not the weirdest thing I'd seen, but definitely on the top ten list of them.

"What about this mushroom?" Clone #4 piped up, pointing to a mushroom with a kobold tail and fur. The fur was matted with dirt and what I hoped was just slime, but I wasn't getting any closer to confirm. "Is this like some mutant mushroom?"

"More like mutant mushroom gone wrong," I muttered. Seriously, this Enrai guy is disgusting.

But the flowers were the worst. They weren't the kind you could just ignore. As soon as they bloomed, their petals opened to reveal human eyes staring back at you—unblinking, unnervingly aware. The eyes blinked sometimes, and that was enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I wasn't just imagining it, something was going on in here. And it probably wouldn't be a stretch to assume it was all the doing of Enrai, the so-called genius magician behind this forsaken place. The system's dungeon description was enough to give anyone the chills:

[System Inspection:

Name: Enrai's Laboratory

Type: Dungeon

Rank: C@@@@

Description:

No child belonged in a place like this, no matter what magic was behind her existence.

To my surprise, she rested her left hand on mine without hesitation, her grip surprisingly strong for such a small little thing.

Her emerald eyes locked with mine, and for a moment, time seemed to stop. I wasn't sure why, but I felt... connected to her, like there was something pulling at me from deep within.

"Me's! She's so soft!" Clone #10 squealed, her voice high-pitched as she leaned in to inspect the child, who didn't seem to mind at all.

I scooped her up into my arms, feeling the warmth of her tiny body against mine. She didn't squirm or fight. Instead, she shifted slightly, making herself comfortable, before wrapping her chubby little arms around my neck in a firm hug.

"What should we do with her?" Clone #5 asked, looking concerned.

I glanced at her, then back at the child. "We take her with us. She's not staying here, and if she's connected to this place, we'll find out what's going on."

I could feel the child's breath against my neck as she snuggled closer, her small hands clutching tighter. It was a strange sensation, having someone so vulnerable trust me so completely. But I'm not going to let her down.

"Well, I guess we're done here," I said with a sigh, standing up straight, cradling the child in my arms. "Let's keep moving."

We left the hidden room and continued deeper into Enrai's laboratory. I really wanna get out of this place, but we still haven't found my missing clone yet.

As we made our way through the corridors, I could hear the echoes of something lurking out of sight. If it were before I would be shivering and feeling scared but with the child in my arms...I sort of don't feel scared. Maybe it's because she's warm? They do say that people's warmth can enhance a person's confidence right?

Besides, I could feel it. This was going to be one hell of an adventure.

If so then bring it on.

Little Theater:

Clone #4 *Finds a flower(?) and picks it up for comparison*: "Look! The child's eyes glow prettier than these creepy flowers!"

Clone #10: "You're comparing a child to a nightmare? What's wrong with you?"

Clone #5 *dryly*: "And here I thought we were the weird ones."

Author *looks at them*:... All of you are!

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