"I don’t get why I’m a part of the group in the empty tunnel. I’m not exactly a battle junkie like Izzy, but with my Dragon Fire and Black Hole Spells, wouldn’t it make more sense to send me to one of the tunnels filled with Monsters?" I inquired in bewilderment.

I guess I can’t complain too much, I’m not totally against coming out of this without having to fight any Monsters, especially since they’re all fairly weak, meaning it’d be more like an extermination than a battle.

But from a strategic standpoint, it seems weird that I wouldn’t be sent somewhere where wide range attacks would be useful, feels like a waste to send me here.

Since there aren’t any Monsters around, we’re rushing through the tunnel as quickly as possible. The two of them had unleashed their beast forms and were racing along on all fours, while I was flying using Jet Boost and Jet Soles in unison.

"Just take it easy and have faith in the others. I highly doubt they’re going to struggle. Your friend Izzozon should be able to handle the Giant Moles with ease. Your brother is quite powerful as well, he should have no trouble against the Drill Worms. As for the Antitans, Arofri and Tania are more than capable of dealing with them.

And besides, it could be possible that the humanoid figure that your brother sensed is what’s driving the other Monsters towards the Haven, so this might actually be the most dangerous of the four paths," Pointed out Sinia with a wry smile.

I was teamed up with Sinia and Amber, the two Felinians in the group. Izzy was with Iefyr and Conda, Argent was with Oberr and Howll, and Prysm was with Arofri and Tania.

"From what I know about humans based on what my grandmother once told me, shouldn’t you be thrilled by this? Aren’t humans attracted to our ears and tails for some reason?" Chimed in Amber with a smirk.

"Yeah, I’ve heard the same thing from some of the previous Elders. And also that, as a result of that attraction, we Felinians were the most highly enslaved race of Demi-Humans, the females of our species weren’t hunted and killed that much since humans preferred to enslave them instead. What exactly is it about our ears and tail that your kind finds so appealing?" Inquired Sinia curiously.

"Uh, shouldn’t you watch where you’re going, you might crash onto a wall or something. I mean, is this really the right time for this conversation?" I responded in bemusement.

"Don’t worry, Felinians have strong instincts, we’re not that clumsy. And it’s a pretty simple question, it’ll barely take a moment to answer. Not to mention, there are no Monsters around, and you said that you can sense Monsters once they get close, so what’s the problem?" Pointed out Amber with a shrug.

Give me a break...seriously, why now? They couldn’t wait till after this expedition to question me?

"Alright, fine...you’re not wrong, I’d be lying if I said I don’t find it attractive myself. But as for why, I don’t really have a definitive answer to that. If I had to guess though...cats are probably the cutest animal there is, so cat girls are appealing since it’s a double dose of cute. That’s my perspective on it, anyway," I replied wryly.

"Ah, so you think we’re cute, do you?" Smirked Sinia with a raised eyebrow.

"That’s definitely what it sounded like," Nodded Amber in agreement.

"Well, uh...okay, objectively speaking, yes, that’s right."

Come on, where are the Monsters at? Please show up and interrupt this conversation already...

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Izzozon

———————————————————————————

"Ugh, this is so boring, these things can’t even put up a challenge against me," I sighed, as I drew back the flames towards me, swallowing them up.

"Dozens of them, reduced to ashes in seconds...," Muttered the Elf in awe.

"Is there any point to the two of us even being here? There’s nothing for us to do here with you killing the Monsters so easily," Added the Lizardman, as we continued heading through the tunnel.

"Maybe one of the other paths would’ve been more challenging, this is so disappointing...okay, that’s it! I’m just gonna fly on ahead at full speed, I’ll burn any weak Monsters if I come across them. Hopefully, once I reach the end of the tunnel, I’ll finally run into something strong, something that can give me a decent fight," I decided, cracking my knuckles.

"Wait, hold on, I’m not sure that’s the best idea. If you blast ahead at full power, you could end up collapsing the entire area right down onto us, and I’d prefer not to get buried alive in a place like this. Let’s take this slow and steady, there’s no need to rush," The Lizardman tried to reason with me.

But I’m not gonna listen...if there’s really nothing strong enough to challenge me down here, I’m just going to try and get it over with as quickly as possible. Because the longer it takes to get to the end, the more my hopes and expectations will rise.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be careful not to damage the tunnel too much. If there’s nothing worth mentioning at the end, I’ll wait for you to catch up. But if there is something worth my time...then I’ll get to have some fun," I remarked with a smirk, as I spread out my wings.

"Wait, hold on-...!" Began the Elf, right before I unleashed a powerful flap of my wings and shot forward through the air rapidly, flying through the winding tunnel at top speed.

No way, I’m not waiting anymore, not for anyone!

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Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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