"Follow me."
After calling out, Bell stepped into the space that had just been opened.
The Vouivre looked a bit unsure but quickly followed.
They emerged in a relatively quiet place, but as soon as they arrived, the Vouivre immediately covered her nose.
"It stinks!"
Her sharp sense of smell picked up the nauseating stench everywhere, mixed with the acrid scent of certain plants. The moment she instinctively took a sniff, she almost passed out.
Unable to control the sensitivity of her nose, the Vouivre had no choice but to cover it to avoid breathing in the stench.
Bell had already set up a barrier, so the smell didn't bother him at all.
Looking closely, the azure-colored ground was covered in a thick layer of moss, which was giving off a sharp, irritating odor.
But the real issue wasn't the moss itself—it was what lay beneath it.
A sudden burst of fiery wind swept through, blowing away the blue moss and revealing the grisly "spectacle" hidden underneath.
Bones.
Not just one or two, but dozens.
Many of the remains had long since rotted away, and with the thick moss covering them, it was as if the moss had thrived by feeding on the corpses—absorbing the stench and sealing it in.
"These are... humans?"
Still holding her nose, the Vouivre stared in a daze at the bones scattered across the ground. Even with just a glance, it was obvious these were the remains of adventurers—of humans.
Nearby were scattered weapons made of metal, some not yet fully corroded.
"This is a real piece of work. No wonder the 26th and 27th floors have felt so off. So this is why."
"Enhanced Species. Hunting monsters to strengthen themselves, stealing their Magic Stones. No wonder there've been so few monsters along the way."
Enhanced Species—monsters that choose to prey on their own kind to grow stronger.
These types of monsters follow the law of the jungle. Compared to others of the same species, their potential is much higher. Running into one in the Dungeon is considered an 'abnormal situation.'
And one that can conceal itself, stay hidden when people are around, and even go so far as to hide the adventurers it kills—it means this Enhanced Species has intelligence, and it acts with great caution.
Bell had known about the monster's existence for a while.
He just hadn't expected it to be so cautious, going completely dormant when Loki Familia arrived.
"Pretty cowardly—but I guess that's to be expected when it's up against Loki Familia."
Knowing when to avoid danger is a skill in itself.
What sets Enhanced Species apart from the mindless monsters that just charge ahead is precisely this.
Bell's lips curled slightly as he glanced back at the Vouivre.
"Don't step outside the barrier I've set up."
Before the Vouivre could ask why, an invisible wall had already formed around her, cutting her off completely from the surroundings.
"Thud thud thud!!!"
Suddenly, from the darkness, a barrage of stone shards shot out like rain.
A wall of rock rose up instantly, shielding Bell.
He was usually the one launching sneak attacks, but today, he was the one being ambushed.
The rock wall held firm, blocking every shard.
As his vision was obscured, a dark shadow darted in—rather than crashing into the wall, it veered around, heading straight for Bell.
Moving with astonishing speed, the shadow bypassed the barrier and lunged at Bell.
But Bell, standing behind the wall, had already locked eyes with it.
"Hmph~"
A stone pillar shot up from the ground.
"Boom!"
It struck the shadow dead-on, launching it into the air.
Bell fixed his gaze on the airborne monster, then stepped onto the stone pillar and shot forward.
Wind gathered beneath his feet, propelling him with even greater speed—he appeared behind the monster in the sky like a breeze.
Clenching his fists together like a double-headed axe, he drove them into the monster's back, sending a shockwave through the air and slamming it down into the ground.
Bell landed swiftly.
"Thwack!"
At the moment of landing, a root-like spike burst up from the ground, piercing clean through his body.
Saplings quickly sprouted from the wound, growing at an alarming pace.
They clearly intended to eliminate Bell as quickly as possible.
"Crack!"
Pierced through and parasitized by some strange flora, Bell's body suddenly cracked. From the site of the wound, his form split cleanly in two and collapsed.
The monster hesitated, caught off guard—then turned to flee.
A light breeze swept through, slicing its limbs clean off.
The monster howled. The severed parts began regenerating almost instantly. It wasn't a creature with a true physical form—its current shape was a temporary construct.
But the wind still howled around it, slicing through its freshly regrown limbs again.
"Nicely done."
Wrapped in a blue breeze, a figure slowly emerged, standing atop the crater where the monster had fallen, looking down from above.
"As expected of an Enhanced Species. You adapted to my fighting style fast—and even twisted my sneak attack into your own tactic."
"And with that regenerative ability, it's no wonder you managed to kill so many adventurers."
"But in the end, your core is still a Magic Stone. Once that's destroyed, no matter how strong your regeneration is, it's meaningless."
Bell watched the monster as it struggled to regrow its limbs and flee, his expression completely calm.
With the element of surprise and proper preparation, even a monster of this level could be suppressed and taken out with ease.
"Whoosh..."
The light breeze from earlier swelled into a fierce gale. A powerful green wind engulfed the monster.
"ROAR!"
From within the raging wind came the monster's anguished howl. The wind barrier gradually shrank, growing smaller and smaller until it was barely the size of a fist.
Bell lifted a hand, and the tiny storm ball floated into his palm.
With a light squeeze, the compressed wind orb shrank further, collapsing inward to its limit.
"Now... that's one foreign threat completely wiped out."
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake