"Hah?" Naruto was confused by the combination of words but he understood the second one.
[Vessel] If he didn't fit in the meaning of that word, who else could?
So, he quickly asked the Dwarf to continue his explanation.
"Djinn? Vessel? What's a Djinn?"
"In my world, Djinn are a special life-form who is mostly composed of energy. There are many of them but because they are very different from each other it's difficult to tell what exactly they are."
The Dwarf tried to explain, but he wasn't sure if the thing Naruto had inside of him was the same or a different type of creature.
"Your situation is special from what I remember. The vessels I know were people who are already grown adults, not a kid like you. Only an adult body can resist the erosion of the energy, but not every adult can do that."
Trying to see deeper in the kid's body, the Dwarf used his senses.
The flesh slowly disappeared and threads began to appear.
Naruto didn't know what was happening, but his body began to feel cold, becoming completely vulnerable.
The Dwarf didn't pay attention and continued going deeper.
And then he could see it.
The kid had a virtual space in his core and inside of it, a mass of energy was trapped with chains.
Looking away from it, he noticed a cage.
It was covered by seals , but from what he could perceive, these seals couldn't explain the situation to retain such mass of energy.
Strands of energy filtered every second and went throughout Naruto's body.
The only explanation is the kid, something of him that's different from others.
This is strange. Is he a type of experiment or something like that? Of course with this thing he can't be human, what a mess.
Looking up, he could see a smaller space but this one was different. It just had mist in it, but it seemed even more solid than the other.
And what is this? Is his world this advanced?
The Dwarf continued thinking but he couldn't understand the rules of a world he hadn't seen.
Feeling that the cold on his body slowly disappeared, Naruto let out a cold sigh and rubbed himself. Once he was better, he noticed that the Dwarf was in silence for a while.
"Sir?" Naruto was looking at him with doubt, he was explaining and then he fell silent and didn't say anything for a while.
The kid's voice took the Dwarf out of his mind.
He began to look the child up and down.
Just a normal kid, except from the scars that covered his body.
"Ah. What a strange thing you are, kid. I don't understand what's inside, but I can tell you that you don't have to be worried about that. Once you are stronger, you can see it and use it." The Dwarf's eyes were filled with curiosity.
It wasn't the first time he saw a kid with something like that, but every time they have failed and it couldn't be as stable as Naruto is.
"Thing? Mm, It feels weird to be called like that, but it's fine. Thank you, sir! Can you tell me more? I didn't know there were other people like me" Naruto was also filled with curiosity.
How could it not be? Even though he couldn't meet them, at least it will work to learn more to deal with his situation, right?
"As I told you, they were adults. You aren't a Vessel at this point and that's the strange part."
"And? They also had something like not being human?"
"In fact, they were not only humans..."The Dwarf had a serious expression.
"No?!" Naruto's relaxed nerves tensed up once again.
"No, they were also Dwarfs and other races."
"... Don't make fun of me." Naruto got angry, he thought it was something bad.
The Dwarf burst out laughing. "Hahaha! That's because you don't hear when others talk to you. They told you that nothing can harm you there."
Petting Naruto's head, he assured again that nothing bad would happen to him.
"Anyway, you just need to know that you are safe here. External things can't harm you in this place, fine? It isn't necessarily bad, just wait and tell me the next time you notice a change."
"Ugh, fineee. Thanks for helping me, but you didn't tell me about the others." Naruto resigned himself and continued asking.
"That's all I can tell you right now, there are rules and I don't want to violate them." The Dwarf shook his head and denied his question.
"Rules?" Naruto wanted to ask again, but after seeing him with that look he stopped.
The place fell silent, but Naruto felt better. Knowing that it wasn't harmful relaxed him, at least for now.
Once he noticed the kid was feeling better, the Dwarf went back to his stash and fell asleep again.
Filled with motivation, Naruto was ready to start the search.
"Fuh... Just wait, huh? I can do that. Let's kill this dog." Letting out a sigh, Naruto's eyes shined with determination.
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Days continued passing, and Naruto didn't get a single clue of where the boss could be. He avoided the major halls where most dogs were reunited after he noticed that they were just resting in that place.
Walking in the passages, Naruto continued thinking about where it could be hidden. He didn't bother anymore for the faint light in this place since he got used to the darkness and most important, for the progress of his skill [Augmented senses].
Since it surpassed the 50% mark, he could see everything with clarity. It's not the same as being outside, but now he doesn't need to carry torches every time he goes to explore.
"I'm not in danger but where is this stupid dog hiding?" Naruto continued complaining but he didn't have any idea of where it could be.
The only answer is to find it by luck or waiting until his skill progresses again.
Or...
Kill every dog in his way.
At some point it will have to appear.
Nodding with satisfaction, Naruto started to collect the dogs' heads. He didn't hesitate at all, after being chased in this place the last months, he didn't have any compassion for these monsters.
Covering his body with chakra, he charged against the pack of dogs and started the slaughter.
It was easy, no one resisted more than a few hits.
It continued like that for 2 weeks because some of them were hard to find.
Now there was only a small burrow with a few dogs left. After killing them, there will be no more dogs in this place.
Safe zone.
On the morning of a new day, Naruto was eating his breakfast with a smile on his face. Finally he can leave this place.
"Did you find them? Get in a hurry, I'm bored of being trapped in this place." The Dwarf was also eating and asking him.
"Mm! It was well hidden but I'm better. If he doesn't appear I will run through the whole floor until I find him. I refuse to believe he can avoid me forever."Naruto's eyes were resentful. How is it possible that it was easier to find the secret room than the boss?
"Haha, but it isn't as hard as the first floor, right?" The Dwarf always found fun in how the kid complained.
"Now you said that, yes. Why is it like that? Isn't it supposed to be harder on every floor?" Naruto didn't react at first, but then he realized.
"From now on, yes, but the first floor is special. You enter in your most vulnerable state and you need to survive no matter what. If you can't do that, there is no reason to allow you to go further."
"That's unfair... but, even a kid like me can survive, then why couldn't they?" Naruto wanted to complain more, but isn't he a living proof that it's possible? Thinking like that, his expression became disdainful.
Dwarf's mouth twisted looking at the kid. It was obvious what he was thinking.
If every kid was like him, then the entire universe would be in chaos.
"Let's end this conversation, go kill it and go to the next floor." The Dwarf didn't want to continue, even himself had troubles the first time he arrived at this place.
His old heart couldn't resist the kid's disdain.
"You're right, let me finish eating and I'll go!" Without stopping in the matter, Naruto ate quickly and brushed his teeth.
He didn't want to lose the habit, it's one of the few things that reminded him of that place.
"Go away, I'll be waiting here." The Dwarf also finished his meal and went back to sleep.
Without giving a second look, Naruto left the place and ran to the last burrow.
Feeling the air caressing his face, he felt better than ever since he got here.
He was curious about the animal he had to fight on the next floor, a cat? wolves? cows? horses? or... bugs? Even the rats were enormous in this place, so it would not be a surprise if he had to fight a giant beetle or something like that.
He expects everything.
Humming a tune, he arrived at his destination after a few minutes.
The burrow was hidden behind a wall. They were intelligent enough to cover it with grass or maybe it was luck?
If Naruto hadn't noticed that the rancid smell was stronger in that place, he wouldn't have found it.
Stopping a few meters before the wall, he waited until he was sure nothing was moving inside of it.
Carefully approaching it, Naruto entered the burrow and before going on a rampage to kill them, he took out of his inventory a bunch of wooden planks. Killing all the dogs gave him a considerable amount of gold and he was generous enough to spend it buying some sticks to this operation.
The Dwarf has everything he needs and more, if you can pay the price.
After blocking the entrance, Naruto stopped hiding his presence and started to kill them all.
The dogs didn't expect to be ambushed when they were sleeping. This hidden place gave them the security to not need a guard and for their arrogance, they are going to die.
Groans and barks could be heard in the passage for a few minutes.
Naruto didn't have any problem killing these animals, the only problem was the amount but it was quickly decreasing.
After breaking the last dog's head, Naruto raised his fist in victory. But the happiness didn't last long, now he's sure about it. The dog knows where he is and is avoiding him.
It makes sense, it's a dog after all. His nose only would be stronger than his normal version.
"You can run, but I will find you."
With the floor cleared, now it's time to kill the last dog.
It wouldn't take long, Naruto is confident in his endurance.
The dog might get tired, but he would never tire before the dog did.
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Thanks for reading.
Have a nice day.