Before doing anything, Jules had noticed a stronger creature deeper into the cavern, and for a C-rank Beyond that respawned creatures, it wasn't common.
For a C-rank Beyond of the disappearing type, it wasn't common for beasts above the beyond's rank to respawn.
Heh, the world wants to give Finn a strong beast to fight? Hmm… I guess I'll watch them for now. They seem to counter the Mucus very well.
Jules was talking about Ryan and Finn, who were facing C-ranked Mucuses at the moment.
One was already dead, leaving three alive.
Resting against the tunnel wall, Jules carefully observed Ryan and Finn's fighting styles, his presence suppressed by the ring Freya had given him.
Ryan and Finn were working together to take down the three.
Ryan, using his new skill called Veiled Step along with his Soundwaves control and his agile movements, appeared and disappeared around the three scale-armoured Mucus.
He dealt clean cuts to various parts of their body while disorientating them, bringing them down slowly.
Before the Mucuses shifted their attention to Ryan, though, Finn, wielding a longsword coated with subtle fire, pressured them.
Fire was their main weakness, and they clearly felt threatened by it.
Finn was also someone who had pushed his raw strength to its limit which added more pressure on them.
But against three Mucus, he couldn't bring them down alone.
At one moment, when a Mucus was on the verge of death, it rushed at Finn.
Ryan, who seemed to have blended with the world, appeared behind it and stabbed his two straight swords into its neck.
After that, due to the desire to conserve energy, Ryan faced one of the remaining Mucus head on, but he could only go on the defensive.
He just needed to last a few seconds.
Now facing one, Finn moved with brutal force, wielding a flaming sword and focusing solely on offense, forcing the Mucus to defend itself with its slime-coated partially scaly hands.
Alas, Finn was its direct counter; a physically strong guy with a burning sword.
It died.
Now, two versus one, the third Mucus was also taken down.
Despite being C-ranked creatures, their assailants' preparation for acids and poison, and body capabilities has led to their end.
Seeing Ryan retreat a few distance from Finn as the last corpse fell, who was also standing cautiously, Jules decided to move into the cavern.
He clapped his hands as he said, "Weldone, gentlemen."
Ryan, with a masked face, shot a glance at him. "Heh, I assumed you died facing multiple enemies."
"I've actually experienced fighting against beings on A-rank level."
"Huh? What?"
Jules was referring to the memories of the War General he experienced, but without explanation, Ryan was shocked by his shameless bluff.
Looking at Finn, Jules said, "You look awfully weak. Is the poison getting to you? Hah, your cloak is even burnt."
Another feature of this Beyond was that the deeper one went, the more poison was in the air; some corners even had acidic liquids.
Jules and Ryan's mask and attire protected them from this.
Finn's face was covered too, but the poison could also spread through skin contact, albeit slowly.
"I will be fine," Finn replied.
"I can't have that." Jules put his hand into his cloak and pulled out two bottles of recovery drink. "This helps. One for now and one for when we're done. I need you at full strength."
Catching the thrown drink, Finn scrutinized it for an instant, then drank one and put the other under his cloak.
Jules pondered inwardly as he saw him.
Finn's fighting style is different… He's supposed to be using magic at this point, but instead he's on the verge of perfecting Weapon Aura and is still walking the same path as his past…
These inconsistencies with the novel's plot made Jules come up with a conclusion.
Finn didn't have a being in his system!
"The Beyond seems to have a B-rank Mucus." Jules asked, "What'd you say, Cloak? Wanna hunt it?"
Ryan was quite interested in attempting this, so didn't go against Jules. He wanted to practice his skills more!
Finn pondered for an instant as if weighing his options.
This only made Jules more certain.
He's meant to be needing a B-rank core which plays a large part in the system's being's recovery right now!
Of course, Jules didn't forget that it was possible that Finn already obtained a sufficient core. He planned to hire Green to dig deeper into Finn's recent acts.
Damn. This guy's trait is seriously annoying! Jules's change of fate had completely disrupted this guy's fateful events.
Jules could only complain inwardly as he waited for Finn's answer.
"Let's hunt," Finn replied.
A positive response that didn't reduce Jules's suspicion, so he gave a simple nod as he thought to himself.
The novel's Finn was eager to obtain a B-rank core because of the gains, he even did it alone in the novel–although it was forced by world. But right now, he had to consider.
I also noticed that he's yet to cross into the Yellow stage… which the being assisted him with…
Jules could only sigh as he decided to think this through when he was more free.
"You guys recover. I'll go retrieve the corpses."
Finn, as wary as ever, said he'll follow so he won't be robbed.
Jules found it amusing and agreed. Ryan also didn't want to miss out on the fun.
Twenty minutes later—halfway through their one-hour raid—they made their conclusion.
They had avoided other tunnels to not call the attention of more Mucuses. Their last target was the B-rank.
As they prepared to seek their target, Ryan muttered, "I could use that money for…" Ultimately, he sighed as he damned Jules, who underpaid him.
Jules noticed the glares and felt amused. This guy also has a quiet side. Truly a faceless!
After trekking deep into a mana-rich cavern — one filled with glowing rocks, acidic pools, and poisonous air that tore through Jules's protective gear faster than he could brace for — they finally spotted their target.
It was another bipedal creature, but far larger than anything they had faced so far, towering at a massive eight feet.
Unlike the previous C-rank monsters that merely matched Jules's height, this thing was a miniature giant—with a thick, bear-like build that made it seem even more daunting.
Its body was coated in dark green scales, slick with poisonous slime that shimmered under the cavern's eerie light. A heavy, drooping tongue, lined with spikes, lolled from its wide frog-like mouth.
Even its hands had changed—now more like clawed weapons, the scaled palms glinting dangerously as they flexed.
The creature's bulbous, amphibian eyes locked onto them with a predatory hunger, causing all three to instinctively snap into battle stance.
Standing behind the others, Jules dryly swallowed his nerves and muttered,"Damn. You guys like roasted frog? 'Cause there's gonna be a lot on the menu tonight…"