I nodded. “It’s to keep you from moonwalking through the floors. How long before you can cast that again? And don’t you have a new version you can cast also? The combined version?”
“I killed like eighty of them, and I didn’t even go up a level! This is ridiculous! I can’t cast it again for eight hours!The combined version withBijanbiisn’t a new spell. I can just combine the two and cast them both at the same time. Ow!” Donut suddenly jumped in the air, hitting the ceiling of the truck, spinning around. “What was that?”
“What, what?” I asked.
“I... I think that stupid dog tattoo on my butt just bit me!”
“Uh,” I said.
Splat, splat!
More were coming from the sides, just throwing themselves against the side of the truck. The village itself was up ahead.
“Two or three more, and the shield will go out,” Olga said. “It’ll take a few minutes to recharge.”
“Donut, get your shield ready.”
A particularly large cannibal stood on the road ahead of us, blocking the path. This one was enormously fat, and it didn’t hold a spear but a staff that glowed with enchantment. This one also seemed immune to Donut’s bright light. Its mask wasn’t made of wood but was carved from the skull of what appeared to be some sort of ape. I was reminded of the lemurs from the third floor.
“What should I do?” Olga asked, slowing even more as we approached. Imani and Elle’s truck rumbled up behind us.
The mob pulled the ape mask off and dropped it to the ground, revealing that it was indeed a human. The older man had a balding mop of wild, curly red hair that was held up in a man bun held together with a single bone. His wide pale belly reflected in the light.
The man started chanting.
Soul Suck has been negated by your Mind Balance skill.
Donut scoffed. She would also be immune to this due to her high constitution-and-charisma combo.
“Are you kidding me?” I said upon reading the description.
Great Rusty. Cannibal Ginger Chieftain.
Level 99 neighborhood boss.
This is the leader of the southern cannibal forest settlement.
This is yet another storyline we lifted wholesale from the never-realized seventh floor that I was actually looking forward to because it featured the gingers, aka the perverts of the dungeon.
These humanlike mobs are actually from Earth, and we didn’t change anything about them except we made them cannibals to fit in with the whole jungle theme.
This is a ginger. They hide amongst regular humans. They’re the result of alien interference in the development of your human world, much like how octopuses are also the result of outside meddling after the initial seeding. Nobody really knows when the corruption was introduced, but it’s suspected the Nullians were involved.
The men are said to be sexually deviant to a fault. The women are known to be... let’s just say... extra spicy. Both sides have whacked-out pain tolerance, making them more susceptible to heat and cold, but immune to electrical and acid attacks. It’s one of the reasons why they’re prized targets for dentists and serial killers.
Oh, and they can suck your soul away. Never stare too long into the face of a ginger. If you get lost in their eyes, it’s already too late.
Anyway, there are two ginger cannibal settlements in the forest. The north and south settlements, and they are at war with one another. If you decimate one tribe, it will create a power vacuum that would probably have a cascading, devastating effect on the entire regionif this whole race wasn’t just 20 hours. It’s not like that’s a metaphor or anything about how outsiders crash through cultures, have their fun, and then leave after they’ve vilified the natives and exploited them to the point where they can never possibly recover. And then, generations later, blame them because they still struggle to step up.
“I love how that whole thing is both socially conscious and outrageously racist at the same time,” I muttered.
“This is gingerphobia laid bare,” Donut said. “Disgusting. Ferdinand would be appalled. Though, if we’re being honest here, the pervert part is probably true. I don’t think I’ve ever met an orange cat who shouldn’t be on some sort of registry. I’m assuming the same is true for humans.”
“It’s not. It’s just a stupid thing people do to make fun of others.Noneof it is true! The AI is being a prejudiced dick.”
“Not even the part about the women being spicier?”
“Well...” I paused and then shook my head. “No. It’s just like everything else. It’s a stupid, made-up stereotype. Besides, if the AI thinks redheads are the spiciest, he’s clearly never met a Latina.”