I've Turned Into A Fox Girl?



Chapter 299 - Dead Silent

Continuing my strut down the hall, it progressively got darker and darker. Thankfully, since I was a half-fox, I had natural night vision, but it wasn't perfect. I struggled to see anything that was at least 10 metres ahead of me clearly, but it was enough. 

Nonetheless, after walking through this pitch-black hallway, I finally reached the other end. I was still met with darkness, but now there was what I assumed was this dungeon's fake moon providing a slight amount of light. 

In the distance was the silhouette of a gothic-styled cathedral that expanded as far as the eye could see. There were many long, thin towers scattered along the edge of my vision, giving the impression of a city made out of towers. They were all connected by bridges and  seemed to surround one main building but it was too dark to be certain. 

'What am I doing, I have flames.' I was a walking torch yet I wasn't taking advantage of that fact. 

'Don't! If you start a fire then the inhabitants will find you.' Alice shouted in my head just as I was about to conjure up some fire. 

'Tsk.' I wanted to argue, but it would be best to trust Alice if I wanted to get to her safely. It also made sense since a random light in the middle of nowhere would garner attention. 

'Once you find me, you can do whatever you like. However, for now, unless you want to become food, listen to all my instructions.' Alice's playful tone shifted to being more stern and serious. I never realised it until now, but there was a certain power to her voice that made it hard to go against her. 

It made me wonder if that was a by-product of her being a vampire since they are notorious for their ability to affect minds. 

'So where are you?' I needed to know what I was looking for and I hoped Alice trusted me enough to not hide anything. Although I could definitely see her withholding information just for entertainment. 

'Take a couple steps to your right and look down.' 

It was an odd answer, why would I have to look down? I still followed her directions and quickly realised why. 

'The hell is this place?'  It was now apparent that I wasn't on some kind of cobblestone pathway but rather a bridge. I got on my knees and looked over the ledge, only to meet an abyss. 

'You asked where I was? Well I am in that abyss.' Alice elaborated further, but how the hell am I meant to get down there?!

'I will never understand how these dungeons came to be.' I knew there was some weird dimension portal that connected our worlds, but for this to exist in the first place was bizarre. 

'Don't sweat the details so much. You need to get moving and get to the end of this bridge.' Alice didn't want me to linger for too long, which was fair. I didn't want to get caught before we even started.

'Alright.' I got up from the floor and started to lightly jog along the bridge. The buildings in front of me were somehow not getting closer, making me wonder just how big they were. For me to not see any change, they must be massive structures.

'Correct, they are massive constructs, but you will see soon how we will get there.' Alice read my thoughts, confirming that they were that big and that I wasn't falling into some kind of magic trap. 

*

<a few minutes later> 

Just as I thought there was no end to this bridge and was about to complain to Alice, suddenly the path changed. I slowed down, fearing I would run right off as my vision was still limited. Thanks to the moon the lighting wasn't too bad, but I still wanted to be safe. 

'You're close, you will soon reach a wider platform with a transport circle in the middle. Once you take it, you will be much safer.' I was relieved to hear there was a fast travel point. Even after minutes of running, there was no indication I was getting closer to any of the buildings. 

'How can they even tell I'm here?' Considering the buildings were so far away, it seemed implausible that the monsters would notice a flame from such a distance. 

'You should know this, dungeon monsters become much smarter the higher the tier of a dungeon is, and so they actually monitor the entrance. If I wasn't here, you would be swarmed by thousands of vampires in bat form. And yes, we actually turn into bats. Yes I know it's a cliche stereotype, just let it go.' Alice knew my thoughts before I even had them, not even giving me the chance to express my curiosity. 

'I'm not used to dungeons like this. It's the first time I'm experiencing such intelligent beings, so cut me some slack.' I didn't know the tier of this dungeon, but it was definitely tier 8 or above. The tier 7 dungeon I faced certainly had smart monsters, but there was still a barbaric nature to them. 

It stood in stark contrast to this calmer, more methodical dungeon, where they were on guard for intruders. 

'This is one of many, so get used to it. You can also stop walking now.' Alice suddenly wanted me to stop, but I saw nothing on the ground that resembled a magic circle. 

'Give it a few seconds princess.' Right after Alice finished speaking, the moon reached its apex in the sky and its light was concentrated directly on me. The magic circle I couldn't see up till now lit up and I was suddenly transported. 

'Urghh so much teleporting lately.' Appearing in a new location, I felt a wave of dizziness, making it impossible to tell where I was. I assumed I made it to the distant buildings, which would explain why I felt so disoriented. It was said that one of the main reasons why teleportation isn't widely used on the continent is because of the sickness caused by teleporting either too much or too far. 

'Catch your bearings quick, you need to hide.' Alice's voice was filled with urgency and so I tried my best to get a hold of myself. 

'When you can, run towards your right.' My vision began to come back and the buildings that were so far away were now in front of me. The size was unimaginable, but I didn't have time to waste gawking at it. 

Rushing down the bridge Alice guided me towards, I entered one of the many massive towers. 

'Hide behind the door and look through the small grate, I want you to see who you will be fighting.' 

Slipping inside the tower, despite it being massive I found that it was not designed for giant vampires. The door I used for example was for regular-sized people. Anyway, shutting the door, I looked through the metal mesh and stared at where I was teleported to. 

My vision was poor, but that no longer mattered when a swarm of bats converged on where I was. A burst of light then covered the area and all the bats dispersed, revealing a lone figure who I assumed to be a vampire.

Their clothes were mostly black with red accents and some white underclothing. They had piercing red eyes and long silver hair that glistened in the slight moonlight. It couldn't get more cut and dry, these were the typical vampires you would hear about in old folklore. 

"Who just used the moon circle!" His voice was deafening and echoed through the entire dungeon. It was followed by the noise of rustling bats, but no one came forth. 

'Be careful not to make any eye contact, Elysia. You are fine now, but if you ever encounter him one-on-one treat him as some kind of medusa. He has control over others beyond even what I'm capable of.' Alice gave a brief description of who this vampire was and it sounded like the dungeon boss. 

'Am I going to be fighting them?' I was doubtful I could match up to someone who even outclassed Alice, whom I assumed was at least tier 10.

'I truly hope not, he is the master of this place… not even your grandfather has beaten this dungeon. 

'Hang on what tier is this dungeon.' I finally decided to ask as surely this wasn't a tier 10 dungeon. 

'...' I was met with silence, which in itself answered my question. However, I had other ways to check. This vampire piqued my curiosity anyway so I tried to use the system to analyse them. 

[System error]

[Unable to inspect monster due to the difference in power! Please proceed with caution] 

'Fucking hell I can't even see their stats… Alice this is a tier 10 dungeon isn't it?' I felt my heart rate increase, as there was no way I could survive this. It was far beyond my skill level. The fact I was thrown into this at a measly tier 7 is insane!

"Who's there?!" Without realising it, somehow the vampire caught onto my presence and looked directly at me.