With a flash of red light, a man spawned in the rocky world that was Floor 22.
Josh quickly observed his surroundings, only to come face to face with a hideous creature. Right in front of him, there was a human-sized cockroach that was standing on its hind legs.
0_0
It was brown, had six spiky legs, a dark sturdy-looking carapace, two long antennas, and two mandibles that could crack a skull open with ease. The weird thing was that it was just staring at him! It didn't seem aggressive in the least!
It was so steady that he could even see his own reflection in the creature's black soulless shiny eyes. Josh tentatively moved closer, wondering what was up with it. That's when it opened its mandibles wide. Was it trying to devour him?!
A second later, he could hear this:
"HeLlO FeLlOw tRaVeLeR." It said.
Oh boy, there it was! The "fellow" was making another appearance with a slight variation this time. The cockroach even waved at him with one of its legs, welcoming.
"Hey there, fellow traveler," Josh replied in kind.
He then stood there for a few seconds. What was up with these NPCs? Also, what was up with the system? Where was his mission? Josh felt at a loss as to what he should be doing. It most definitely had something to do with this cockroach.
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"Can you understand me?" He tentatively asked but didn't receive an answer. That's when he figured out that he may as well try everything at his disposal. He began gesturing to the best of his abilities.
Josh was relentlessly moving his arms all over the place, trying to get his point across. He was doing it with such intensity that he would have put to shame a French mime…or any Italian. Yet, the NPC only fluttered its antennas in confusion.
[Mission: Escort your fellow traveler toward its destination safely!]
"It took you so long to come only to say this?!" Josh could already feel a headache incoming. The lack of available communication methods would probably be a massive issue for this quest.
[Update: Significantly improved the sturdiness of rocky terrain!]
"Are you shitting me?! Hey system, are you targeting me with this one?!" Had he exaggerated a bit too much with the previous Floor? He still believed that such smart use of the environment should be fair game!
[Update: Significantly improved possible interactions with the generated monsters!]
"Okay, never mind." This could potentially open new clear options. Josh couldn't help but feel extremely excited about this one.
It seemed like the Tower was just updating itself entirely, not targeting him at all. Was this why it had been slightly late to announce his mission?
[Update: Significantly enhanced the appearance of diverse Floors!]
"…." Why was this beginning to feel like a patch-note?
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Was the Tower trying to prove that it wasn't slacking since Josh had criticized its late coming? Also, was this update list for internal purposes, or did the Tower Protocol have to submit reports to gods?
"Anything else?" Josh asked with expectation, only for the system to give him the silent treatment. He could only sigh as he turned toward his new NPC companion. "Oh well, now it's just you and me, buddy. Do you know where we are supposed to go?"
"HeLlO FeLlOw tRaVeLeR."
"….Truly helpful. Never have I heard such eloquent and brilliant speech! I am in complete awe at how confident you are saying it, and I bow to your greatness!" Josh sarcastically replied the cockroach.
"HeLlO FeL—"
"I got it! Shut up now!" Josh brandished the tip of a spear toward it, and it seemed to get his point across. He then chose a random direction and began walking, with his companion silently following. At some point, he was bound to find a clue, right?
It didn't take long for their party to encounter something. Slightly in front, there were a dozen cockroaches that seemed to be scurrying around, looking for something. The difference was that those were black instead of brown.
<Big Black Cockroach Lv 22>
As soon as they came near, the NPC began moving its antennas wildly from side to side as it froze. Then it seemed to realize their presence as it began shaking in fright while hurriedly hiding behind Josh's back. Other heroes defended princesses, and he defended cockroaches…
Josh charged at them while he looked for a weak spot. As he saw it, he had a few options. To break their natural armor, he could use blunt force to crush their insides, but he figured out he was better off trying to pierce their heads with a spear: precision over raw power.
The creatures began throwing themselves at him, trying to devour him. But, their movements were highly telegraphic. The weird part was that they would generally move erratically but would only charge in a straight line. Whoever had trained them had failed its job!
They would relentlessly screech over and over too, which was highly unpleasant. Why couldn't they be silent and remain in hiding like their smaller brethren? Then again, ambushes everywhere could be even more of a pain.
As he kept thrusting and piercing their heads, the monsters fell one after the other. Their blue blood would splatter all over, and yet it didn't dampen their spirit in the least. It was as if they were too primitive to grasp the concept of death properly.
Soon enough, they were all dead. As Josh stood upon their body, he couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. First, the fight had been way too easy. Second, the corpses weren't disappearing. Was this because of the update?
He began digging a body, happily grabbing the meat inside. It was relatively odorless as he tentatively brought it to his mouth, biting a chunk of it. He felt a pleasant heat spread from his stomach, sighing in satisfaction.
This single point easily offset the nerf to his pickaxe as this would give him incredible sustain on any life-based Floor. This would include the animal ones, the bug ones, and any of the humanoid ones!
As for how easy the monsters had been to kill, he already had an inkling of the reason. They were common enemies. This meant that he would most likely encounter a shitload of them here shortly. (Similarly to that one rat Floor)
Josh couldn't help but wonder if perhaps it was time to train an AoE ability. On the one hand, it would probably work wonders on such Floors. On the other hand, it would likely consume a lot of mana.
The more they progressed and the stronger this thought became. Those cockroaches were getting hella numerous! He would have to show them that he wouldn't cower no matter their numbers...