Although the humans won, they did so at a price. Four dead and even more injured, all to take down just two monsters.

Although they were boss monsters, they were outnumbered eight to one, and yet they still killed so many. Marilyn contemplated on this while the dead were mourned.

"These two bosses, and monsters in this... Nest are stronger than any I have previously encountered. If they had the strength of the usual boss monster, we would have crushed them overwhelmingly..."

Leopold who was standing near her spoke out as well, a rare event.

"They were intelligent. Maybe even sapient."

"What do you mean?"

"The one I fought clearly learned along the battle. It didn't repeat the same mistakes. Didn't fall for the same tricks."

Marilyn furrowed her brows in turn. Sapient monsters? As if they didn't have enough on their plate already. Not only was such a thing unheard of, but it sounded ridiculous as well.

There were some rumors about people having giant pet cats who understood them, but that was just that, rumors. To see such a thing before one's own eyes though, a beast capable of learning and trickery...

She shuddered at the memory.

"Fortunately we killed them before they became a threat."

She then looked at the crystal sitting in her palm that was quietly emitting light like a certain pre-Awakening device that is rarely found nowadays.

Marilyn felt a certain feeling emanating from the crystal, a certain warmth, a feeling of resonance. She thought her senses were playing tricks on her, as her skin certainly felt the cold surface of the crystal, devoid of any heat.

No, instead it was as if the warmth reached out to her being as if it was spreading under her skin and through her body, like when you come out after a warm bath, that feeling which made you comfortable all over.

Suddenly the white crystal emitted light, snapping her out of the weird sensation, and she threw it away in case it exploded or something else.

The crystal then harmlessly bounced on the ground, rolling over a couple of times and dimming once again.

Marilyn cautiously observed the mysterious chunk of rock, earning her a couple of weird glances from her partymates. A little embarrassed, she came close to it, and seeing that nothing happened, picked it up again.

At first, nothing happened, but when she focused, she could feel that pleasant warmth again. Soon the crystal began to shine again, but this time Marilyn kept it in her grip, observing it through squinted eyes.

All of a sudden the glow dimmed, and the cracks began spreading throughout. A few seconds later it crumbled, turning to dust and scattering on her palm.

Marilyn looked at it incredulously, at the same time feeling that warmth that gave off a feeling of comfort spread and settle in her body. It reminded her of something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Still, she enjoyed the feeling, putting the mystery to the back of her mind.

"What was that, Marilyn?"

She was slightly startled by the abrupt voice, but she then remembered Leo who stood right next to her, looking at her hand where the crystal was.

"I... Don't know. I just felt something, and then *poof*, and the crystal was gone. It felt good though..."

The rogue snorted.

"Don't go getting high on these... Crystals."

He looked at the one in his own grip. It seemed to radiate darkness, the complete opposite of the white one.

Although not many things caught Leo's eye, this was something that caught it. This crystal was something interesting to him, and it was a trophy from a worthy opponent.

"A feeling, huh."

Concentration was one of the many things Rangers excelled at. Soon enough, he felt a resonant feeling with the black crystal. It was like a mirror.

He was silent, and it gave out a feeling of silence.

He stalked the shadows, and it radiated shadows

They were so... Compatible.

The black crystal's 'glow' then intensified, before being absorbed into Leo's skin. It felt cold, like the night's breeze. Leo enjoyed the feeling.

This continued for around five seconds before the crystal dimmed, only a transparent shell being left in his hand. It was, however, intact.

Shrugging, he tossed the crystal to his partymate, who caught it with a raised brow. After a gesture from Leo, his leader, he put it into the bag. It would be given to the Tower Master to research. She liked such things.

Gradually the remaining ten people gathered together, though two of them, including Anna, were unconscious due to injuries. They had buried the dead in the ground, Marilyn supervising the process.

She then assumed the role of the group leader, giving out the course of action.

"We have lost four of our friends in this battle, but this expedition is not yet over. We must descend deeper and find out the mysteries and threats of this place. But we are in no state to fight, and many are injured."

She then looked over the small crowd, people were looking exhausted.

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"Break camp here! We will rest and then explore!"

Although there were no cheers at the end of her speech, people gave her a look of appreciation.

Soon a campfire was made, a watch arranged, and the hunted animals were being roasted.

----------------------------------------------------

Lan's POV

Lan was currently observing the humans who had just won the battle against Tag and Nacht, killing them both in succession.

They did win the fight, but they lost four of their comrades in battle, three being killed by Tag and one Ranger falling to Nacht.

They also lost another member to the earthworm Beasts who ambushed them.

And a human dying in his domain was different to Lan in two ways. First of all, although he viewed these humans negatively, as they barged into his home and killed its residents, they were his former race, although he didn't feel much sympathy, surprising himself.

But the other side, the side of mental mana was arguably more important. Obviously enough, the humans possessed more mental mana than any animal, even more than his bosses who possessed human-like intelligence.

Lan didn't yet know the reason for this, but still, the emission of mental mana when humans were fighting was enormous, benefitting his growth greatly. Before the humans, he was 5.5 meters in Core Size. But all that battle still stimulated his growth despite the increasing need for mental mana.

And when a human died to an earthworm, a 'soul' like no other surged toward Lan's Core. It was not just bigger than animal 'souls' but also more... Condensed, complex. It orbited his Core like other unabsorbed souls, slowly being assimilated.

Lan was feeling rather impatient, however, so he wanted to see how much such a soul would benefit him, so he started to absorb it directly, consciously pulling it into his Core.

But, something that he didn't expect happened. The moment the 'soul' disappeared into his Core, hundreds of scenes flashed through Lan's mind.

"Hey man, I'm really tight on funds, can I borrow some..."

"...yeah, burn baby, burn!"

"...This damned worm, I can't breathe..."

Scenes, words, sounds, and knowledge integrated with Lan, being vivid as if he had seen them. It took him a moment to figure out what happened.

'...Memories. Memories of the one whose soul I absorbed.'

He gained knowledge and memories of the slain Warrior, being able to remember fragments of various knowledge. Although most of the memories were of various scenes filled with random actions, they did grant Lan some knowledge of the German language, in which he wasn't previously proficient.

Now, however, he could easily recall and recognize the meaning of the words that were spoken in the absorbed memories. Though it wasn't of much use for now, Lan believed it would become a very useful thing when more humans came.

Another thing that Lan gained knowledge of was the name and location of a place, which was apparently a day's journey to the West.

Cypress town. An eerily familiar name, a name of his former home. A town where Lan used to live before he died.

Although Lan dismissed a certain thought because names could repeat themselves, a certain 'what if' remained in the back of his mind...

Still, he continued with other gains and understanding that he obtained when absorbing the human soul.

Lan didn't expect in the least that absorbing mental mana could grant him more than growth, transferring the memories and knowledge of the victim to Lan. He also wondered why that never happened before, as he absorbed many souls of various Beasts.

But he had a couple of answers in mind by the time he finished the question. It would seem that his mental ability improved along with his size.

'Perhaps the Beasts were simply... Not intelligent enough. I already noted that a human soul was more complex than a Beast's one...'

'Although I didn't absorb Tag and Nacht's souls, I did see them, and although they were big, they weren't that complex... Let me check them out again.'

Currently, Tag and Nacht, the wolf couple, were dead, and their souls were near his Core. When he saw them he was rather surprised.

'Is it just me or...'

It could be his imagination playing tricks on him, but Lan could swear that their souls were different than before, more... Complex, just like a human's, but to a lesser extent.

Lan checked his memories when he last saw Nacht's soul, and yes, the souls did get more complex than before, confirming his feelings.

As for seeking a reason for such a transformation, Lan had a conjecture by looking at Nacht's soul which was slightly bigger than Tag's.

'Is it... Experience?'

Nacht had fought (and died) twice as much as Tag, and her soul was bigger as well.

'A coincidence? I think not!'

All this formed a hypothesis on the structure of the soul, which Lan interpreted slowly.

'So in conclusion, the size and complexity of the soul depends on intelligence and experiences. Or maybe memories as well, as an intelligent being can remember and learn, thus gaining experience... So, in theory, an old man's soul would be much more complex than a child's, no need to compare to a Beast.'

This also once again gave new ideas to Lan, which could be crucial for his further development.

'For me to gain even more mental mana I need intelligent beings capable of learning to live down here. They would gain knowledge and experience, thus improving their mental mana output, giving many benefits even when they are alive...'

Lan's imagination ran wild for a bit, imagining various intelligent races emerging in his underground domain, forming communities, building settlements, and developing their culture, all in the vast world of his own making...

'...Damn, I need to stop dreaming before I develop a god complex.'

Lan then snapped out of his reverie, turning his attention to present matters, and things he could do. Previously he was distracted by the humans who were fighting in his domain, which, to be honest, was pretty interesting to watch as well.

Suddenly an interesting thing caught his attention in the form of a woman holding Tag's Heart Core which she obtained by killing him.

Lan watched, and his interest turned into surprise which then turned into shock.

He watched as a sort of resonance formed between mana flowing in the veins of the woman and integrating within.

But the absorption wasn't perfect, only a part of mana remained and circulated in her circuits, around half of it, the remaining mana dispersing into the environment.

The mana that remained, however, circulated inside of her body, strengthening it, and being infused into the muscle and bone. It manatize the flesh, but instead strengthened it.

The Mana Crystal then crumbled, as the chaotic transfer of energy was too taxing for its durability.

'Did that woman just... Absorb the mana?'

Lan was confused, as the Beasts usually absorbed the mana gradually, and not with such efficiency even when devouring a crystal. This woman though, absorbed half of the mana contained within that Heart Core nearly flawlessly.

But to be fair, Lan made some calculations within his Core and found out that the amount of strength gained compared to an average Beast was much lesser, mana instead being diffused into the mana circuits, instead of gathered for evolution.

'Well, nature is fair I suppose... Still, does that mean that humans can strengthen themselves via absorbing purified mana from Heart Cores?'

Lan wasn't just left to ponder though, as another human, this time a man covered in leathers and cloth, absorbed Nacht's Heart Core.

This absorption was different from the woman's, as all the mana responded in the resonance, all of it being absorbed into his Circuits. Shadow mana filled them, tainting the neutral mana into a darker color.

The Heart Core then lost its luster but didn't break due to a flawless transmission of mana.

The mana then suffused his body, strengthening his tendons and joints more than his muscles. Lan didn't miss this difference.

'Could it be that the human's direction of evolution, their 'Class', influences their further growth? That woman must have been a Warrior then. But why did she absorb only half, but this man absorbed all of the mana?'

Lan then continued observing the humans who were resting. Feeling mischievous, he tried something.

He tried respawning Tag and Nacht while the humans were still here.

But Lan failed, mental mana being disrupted by all the mental mana emitted by the humans. Although Lan kind of expected this, he was a little disappointed.

'Welp, guess no spawning bosses when they are in the boss room.'

So he just continued observing the humans who were resting, at the same time reminiscing about the times when he was still human.

--------------------------

After four hours passed, the human woman gave the signal for the group to gather.