A lithe figure in red and black was moving back and forth with a shadow. The shadow was moving far faster than the lithe figure. Still, the end result was blood coating the floor, everywhere the shadow moved. Coating the ground red, a slight hissing and a thin veil of smoke could be seen floating above for a moment after the ground and blood made contact.
Soon, the shadow lethargically charged one last time. Collapsing with a whine, the lithe figure threw the blade out as it stuck behind the now visible blue wolves’ neck. Jessica could be seen breathing a bit roughly. Cursing out loud, she quickly collapsed as she grabbed chunks of dirt as she closed her eyes and rubbed it on her face.
As a figure appeared beside her, Leo watched with a bit of wonder. Only once a mud monster appeared before him did she stop. Her breathing stabilized as she comfortably relaxed as she laid on the ground. In only a matter of a few seconds, she sat up before looking at the dissolving corpse as she let out a turbulent breath of air. Seeing the strange looks she was received, she couldn’t help but need to vent.
With a loud voice, “The blood is a bit acidic in nature. Snow wolves can slow and cause frostbite, while forest wolves attacks cause a slight paralytic. Snow wolves are not as useful, only forest wolf blood is useful, regardless of the grade. This is because, once diluted, it can be processed into an anesthetic. Without dilution or processing, the raw substance can cause painful stinging like laying on a bed of nails and needles.”
Leo said nothing, he had an uncomfortable face as he imagined the feeling she just described. Jessica was refreshed. The difference between different levels was one might try to describe, yet, only by feeling it can one truly understand the difference. Against creatures that had superior physical attributes, she was able to deal with them in a considerable amount of time.
If she had to go over her fight, the biggest issue was the risk she took. Ideally, she needed to be able to battle without so much risk. While being calculated and within expectation of her abilities. Any risk was a gamble, if something went wrong, a gamble left her open to a furious counterattack. With a single mistake, it could ruin everything.
One of the largest tribulation of progressing to the next stage was just making it to the last room. There wasn’t just a single battle between an individual and the leader of a dungeon. One needed to gain experience and fight to the last room. This required patience and practice. Fighting while using the least amount of effort.
It would be a lie if she said it wasn’t also expensive. She was no exception. Too did she buy and bring with her expensive potions and medic supplies. All her money was gone, for the most expensive portion was mana stones.
For the time being she held off, she used more physical energy than mana. Being at the last threshold she had an abundance of mana, her mana was also thicker than before. If it took a certain amount before, now that mana would cost much less to do the same thing. She could also recover more mana faster. As for physical energy, the most effective method was to meditate to regain.
Mana stones could recover mana at an unfathomable rate. For this reason, they were extremely expensive. While there was a corresponding potion that could regenerate physical energy, it wasn’t similar to mana stones. Mana stones, worked by containing unrefined mana into a physical container. The mana wouldn’t leak, therefore the only way for the mana to escape was to be pulled out.
The physical energy potion used components that were consumed and would chemically produce compounds that gave you physical energy. For this very reason, they were highly addictive. For those with lower level talent, this was a massive business that could enable a person to reach Grade E in a more stable manner. Because of this reason, there was a massive problem with addiction.
Therefore, she had to not only use as little mana as possible, she needed to not get injured. Not just because it would take time to heal, it would require more time to reach a meditative state. The more time she wasted, the more rushed she would be. This would in turn produce mistakes that would push her closer and closer to damnation. This vicious cycle was something she needed to deal with, the alternative was a different cycle that would eat away at her, physically and just as mentally. While also being financially ruining.
There wasn’t all bad news. She had one very good thing going for her. Jessica was physically talented. In a single day, she moved through the entire first floor. There was a bit of a forced encounter at the end. Reaching around ten hours, she didn’t have much time or energy. In between each room, she was required to enter the next room within an hour and a half after clearing the room. If she was unlucky and a timer was early, she would get stuck in the same room. Thus, to avoid needing to fight in the same room twice, she kept herself to this timer.
Only once she reached the last two rooms did she slow down ever so slightly. Meditation couldn’t replace sleep. She had to eat and drink. For the first three rooms, she could hold off by spending thirty to forty-five minutes in meditation. Using around half an hour to relax before opening the door and readying herself for the next fight. In the second and third room were three wolves. The fights continued to push her to the limits. The fourth room, she was granted luck in only seeing another two. Finally coming to the last room, her eyes trembled by what she saw inside.
“I don’t understand, I thought you said there were two to five wolves in each room?” Leo couldn’t help but question her.
Inside the last room, there wasn’t two to five wolves. Instead, there was only a single wolf. Making matters worse, it didn’t appear abnormal in any manner. This, was not a good sign. “An abomination.” Seeing the questionable look, she had no choice, Jessica explained, “Dungeons have a chance to produce a mutated creature. Even if they’re artificially created monsters, they’re still alive, therefore mutations are possible. It is unknown why, but any mutation in dungeons are said to absorb the life force of any other creature in the same room.”
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Looking at her with a bit of worry, he had no choice but to ask, “Is this going to be a problem?”
There was an uncertainty in her eyes, “You feel anything from it?”
“No. It is very difficult to feel anything, usually there is just a tiny bit of mana in magic wolves. This doesn’t give off that type of feeling. Instead, this wolf is similar to the normal wolves. Nothing seems different other than that eerie feeling it is giving off.”
Rubbing the upper parts of her arm. She had a cold expression. There had been two normal wolves. One in the second, and the current room she was in. While normal, this meant they had a stronger body. They moved faster, and had a stronger bite. They were more difficult to deal with than magic wolves. Much of the openings she found in magic wolves could be covered for by the physical prowess of a normal wolf. Even when she found openings, many times she wasn’t in a position to use these openings before its quicker tempo would interrupt any opportunity she had.
Digging into a pocket, she pulled out an exploration clock, glancing at the time, she furrowed her brows before putting the clock back. Buttoning the pocket, she had no choice but to pull out her weapons for a quick once over. Reattaching the tie to the wrist guards, she took a step into the room. The second she stepped into the room the wolf came to life.
Unlike the usual wolves, it didn’t growl or snarl at her. Instead, quietly, it watched silently. It wasn’t for the tingling she was feeling down her back and the slight goosebumps traveling up her arm. There wasn’t very much allowing her to identify the wolf as alive. Its breathing was shallow and very light, in short bursts. With its current stance, it was impossible to see any signs of it. Eyes larger than other wolves made it impossible to know if it was following her or if its vision was extended due to the largeness they displayed.
Even when she moved around it as she slowly circled it, the wolf stood still. She could feel it waiting for her to attack. Once she made it to its side, she could finally see very light movement from its chest to accompany the almost silent sound produced by its breathing. The longer she waited, the more trouble she was going to be in. With only a bit of deliberation, she reached for her belt before taking out a balloon from an open pocket.
Similar in nature to the one she had in Aruna, this balloon was filled with water. Dissimilar to the one from Aruna, this balloon was made with a far thicker material. The flexibility of this material made it nearly unbreakable without using something sharp like a blade. Alternatively, she could also use mana. She didn’t have any hopes of completing the spell. This didn’t stop her from starting a chant, as a fuzzy looking magic circle was also being produced.
Possibly unwilling to take the spell head on, the wolf finally turned around slowly. From the impressions made by its steps, it was possible to see that the weight of the wolf was far superior to the others of the same size. With only a slight pause, the wolf looked her in the eyes before mana gathered in the surroundings before it went from standing still to turning into a blur.
Using no time, the wolf was able to reach her in the time it took her to release the balloon and cut it down the middle with her other hand. The spell was fake from the beginning. She completed a portion to freeze the water inside the balloon, as for turning it into an ice spike, there was never any intentions.
Back peddling, the wolf brushed the prickly ice aside without doing a single thing. Similar to a rubber ball, the ice simply made contact with its fur before being shoved aside as it flung to the sides by its momentum. The speed was without question fast, this didn’t mean she couldn’t react, there was just a bit of difficulty dealing with the suddenness of the attack unprepared. With barely any time, she rolled to the side.
Having no choice but to dodge haphazardly, she scrambled to her feet as the wolf circled and closed in for a second attack. This continued off and on for a few attempts as she did her best to take large strides to the side. Her greatest advantage was the ability to twist and turn. Without much effort the wolf could turn, only the effort it needed to keep her on her toes was causing it to be on the losing end of this strategy.
Without any results, the wolf had no choice but to stop. Not giving the wolf any time, Jessica rushed towards it this time. With little choice, the two finally met as there was blood once again dripping from between her hand and the grip on the dagger. No matter how close she moved, the impact of the blows was vastly greater than she could have ever imagined. Not even she had expected the wolf to be able to use its weight so effectively in such proximity, without needing much build up.
As the clashes continued, she was pushed further and further from the center of the room. Having been pushed back over and over the amount of ground given to the wolf increased, its aggressive nature and confidence grew in response. The damage done was only a few small cuts. This didn’t bother the wolf by any means. While she heroically had an overwhelming advantage, as the wolf had yet to land a single attack. The one seemingly to be losing, was not the wolf but her.
Her breathing was completely out of sync, causing the wolf to eye her closely as it circled around her as her back was against the wall. Once, it moved from the front to her back. As the two both moved in a similar fashion, it charged. Taking a large influx of air, there was no worry in Jessica’s eyes. Nearing the last moment, she jumped, The distance between the two didn’t increase by much. Raising its head, the wolf snapped as she gained a slight gain in altitude kicking off the wall. This also caused her trajectory to completely changed.
Being completely unprepared, a dagger raked the side of the neck of the wolf. After finally penetrating the skin, Jessica released the dagger as she hit the ground hard. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, she was jolted to the side as she failed to release the fiber connecting the dagger to her wrist guard. The wolf fell to the floor after moving some distance away.
In terms of mutation, the wolf had two special properties. Neither of which added to its constitution. Because of this, the stab in the neck was lethal. Standing up with a wobble, she barely stood on her feet as there was blood leaking from her mouth. The shirt she was wearing was torn around the belly button. Underneath the shirt was dark leather armor.
Moving as fast as she possibly could. Using her only good arm, she took out the bag she received from the old man. Unable to control her shaking hand, she poured a good portion of the dungeon powder on the corpse. Hoping she made it in time, the body started to light up. Soon the light started to fade as it finally showed a less glossy, blueish gray furred wolf. Seeing this, she couldn’t help but smile as she collapsed on the floor.
The first mutation she noticed was its ability to use a short burst of mana. This could be used to physically reinforce the creature in certain ways. For the wolf, it used it once at the beginning of the battle. The mana allowed it to accelerate from a stand still position at an ungodly sudden speed. Judging from the lack of any mana on the body, it was likely this could only be done once. As for the real issue, it had a retribution mutation. This was a common but hateful mutation.
Less about the ability of the creature, and more effecting the opponent. When mana was used, and the two made contact, this mutation caused her mana to grow unstable, causing damage to herself every time she used mana in their confrontations. Essentially, any time she damaged the wolf, she was damaged in near equal amount. Her insides felt like they were stabbed into and stirred.