Kopii was descending to the 8th floor. Yesterday evening, he spent the whole time thinking about ways to gain control over himself during the thirst, but he couldn't come up with anything practical except to rely on herbs.
Pulling a small packet out of his pocket, he thought, "I hope this works." After carefully examining the contents, he placed the packet under his lip. He hoped that if he lost control, he would automatically swallow it - it was a strong sedative. Kopii remembered how he fought back against the slavers. Then the old man shot him, and he momentarily lost control, which allowed him to return to normal, but not for long. This was possibly due to the poison or drug they had smeared on the arrows.
He didn't have to run for long when he heard the sound of approaching monsters… or maybe adventurers. He darted towards the sound of footsteps. "Killer Ants," he smiled. It was perfect. They saw him too and rapidly began to close the distance.
Kopii shot the closest ant. Kopii had another guess: kills with a bow are different from kills with a sword. After all, he always killed with a bow when hunting, which caused that fleeting thirst. It was stupid, but why not try?
Killing the ant with a precise shot to the head, Kopii hoped that this silly guess would work. But his hope crumbled. Hatred and thirst completely consumed his body and mind. "No, I must, I must… I must…"
But it was already useless. He threw himself at the remaining ants, drawing his sword. Slicing the first one, Kopii crushed and smashed, his sword cutting through the chitinous shells as if they were cardboard. After killing every single one, he didn't stop; he headed even lower.
"More, more. It's not enough. More…" Kopii's mind was filled only with thirst. Killing the monsters that came his way, his body became more and more covered in wounds.
Ninth, or is he still on the eighth, maybe even already on the tenth floor? Kopii understood nothing, sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of hatred and thirst.
He regained control of his body. Every part of his body was simply unbearably sore and aching, demanding rest. There was only ringing in his ears. Kopii couldn't lift his eyelids. "Maybe I'm dead…?"
But the pain said otherwise. Kopii could no longer endure this pain; his consciousness began to rapidly abandon him. "No, I must… I'm in the dungeon now, if I…" But his thoughts were interrupted; his consciousness demanded retreat due to the pain and fatigue.
"What shall we do with him? He attacked us. Let's hand him over to the guild."
"No-no, why? Look how handsome he is." Wiping Kopii's face from blood, she lifted him by the chin. "Why don't we make him our toy?"
"Yes, he's very handsome."
"Yes, indeed. Then I'll be the first."
"And why you?"
"I'm the one who knocked him out. So I'll be the first."
"And he attacked me!"
"Well, I knocked him out."
"So what?!" But they were interrupted.
"Are you three going to start a pointless argument again? It's obvious that he will be mine. So calm down."
"And why is that?"
"Yes, why?"
"Because I'm stronger than you. That's why."
"If you're one level higher, it doesn't mean anything."
"Oh, it doesn't? Or did you want to test it?"
"Let's."
"Why not? Whoever wins gets the boy."
"Enough, all three of you!" All three looked at the speaker. "Look at his condition. We'll take him to our house… and then decide who will be the first." Continuing to look at her, they couldn't disagree with her.
"Okay." Licking her lips in anticipation. "Let's hurry then." Lifting Kopii and putting him on her shoulder. "How lucky I am."
"What? Why you? Maybe he'll be mine."
"Enough, you're arguing again." She said, looking at Kopii. "We need to give him a restoration potion so that he's as healthy as a bull when he wakes up." After her words, everyone laughed, anticipating a fun night.
"Aah…" he abruptly opened his eyes, but he had to close them immediately because of the light. But after a while, he got used to it. "Where am I?" Looking around the room, he remembered clearly that he had lost consciousness in the dungeon. Was this really in the dungeon? Maybe someone saved him - that was the only explanation.
Kopii got up from the couch and looked around the room. Quite spacious. "How expensive. Compared to my room, this is a hundred times better, or, more accurately, richer."
"I was saved by some high-class family. Doesn't hurt at all," Kopii noticed, stretching his body, approaching the door, but stopped halfway. "Someone's coming?" Continuing to listen, he realized: a crowd. This was the last thing Kopii thought of before the doors burst open.
"Amazons," he realized, continuing to watch them enter the room one after another. Before Kopii could come to his senses, he was surrounded by them. Kopii noticed that they had predatory smiles on their faces. Under their gaze, Kopii felt like a piece of meat.
"You're really so handsome."
"And cute," said another amazon.
"I wonder what he has…"
"Yes-yes, really, what?" he heard their whispers, and it made him uncomfortable, it made Kopii even more stupefied.
"Oh, you're finally awake. I'm tired of waiting," said one amazon, shortening the distance between them. He felt the amazon's hot breath tickling his skin. "It smells so nice," Kopii noticed. From this whole situation, Kopii turned as red as a crab, taking a step back. He was uncomfortable with this situation.
"Hey-hey, where are you going? Don't worry, I'll take care of you," pulling him closer. Kopii's whole face was deeply red. He didn't understand what was happening. It was the first time he was in such a situation.
"Hey, I'll be the first," said another, snatching Kopii out of her arms and hugging him. "You agree, right?" he couldn't look up, he was so ashamed of this situation. "Why are you silent?"
"Let him go, we agreed on who would be the first."
"So what? I didn't know he was so handsome and cute at the same time," squeezing Kopii tighter. After these words…
"What's the difference already? You already agreed that I would be the first, because I brought him," approaching them and snatching Kopii away. Kopii didn't understand what situation he was in, but he decided to act. Breaking free from the amazons' fight.
"What's going on here?" Kopii's face was still red. This fact only amused the amazons. "What's so funny?"
"He's so cute when he blushes."
"Yes-yes."
"Really?"
He turned even redder from what he heard; he began to understand more and more what they wanted from him.
"Don't worry, boy, I'll take care of you."
"And why you? I can take care of him too."
"He will be mine."
"What? Aisha, we didn't agree on that! What are you? I should be the first, we discussed this from the very beginning!"
"What's all the noise?"
Before he could come to his senses, he was distracted by someone. He didn't manage to see who had entered the room, but he decided to act while everyone was distracted from him.
"What do you want, Toad?" Toad, a thought flashed, as if he had heard it somewhere before, but that wasn't so important.
"What are you hiding there?"
"It's none of your business. Just go where…" Bang. Everyone looked at the broken window. "He escaped!"
"Whoever catches him gets the boy!"
"How high… Maybe this was a bad idea," Kopii thought before landing. He managed to do a somersault. "I have to run!" Kopii looked around; he didn't recognize where he was. But the sound from above interrupted him. Looking where he jumped from, he noticed that some amazons wanted to jump too. His eyes widened, and he ran in a random direction. He ran, not caring where he was going.
"Hey, boy, don't you want to spend the night? I charge cheaply."
Kopii continued to run, turning into an alley. He needed to catch his breath. Not finding a better idea, he decided to hide in a trash can and wait out the hunt for him there.
"How it stinks… How cramped… Why am I so unlucky? Or maybe, on the contrary, I'm lucky? They probably saved me in the dungeon. If it weren't for them, he might have died within the walls of the dungeon. Probably."