Chapter 774 - Vegetarian

When Biscuit returns, he floats by the side of the T-rex. He is in his adult form, and in comparison to the dinosaur with a Mana Crown, he looks tiny. Yet the T-rex is very calm. I haven’t met him directly yet, but over the distance, I have observed him fight, and I know the brutality he is capable of.

In a deep growl, the dinosaur greets Tess and looks over the others, having an almost regal bearing. When he notices me, he hesitates. He lowers himself, and a deep growl that vibrates the air comes out again as he stares my way and at the crown floating over my head.

I return that gaze and stay where I stand.

The growl sounds again, and the [Mana Crown] over his head starts spinning as the dino takes a step forward in a threatening manner. Mana rises up around him in a way that I rarely see monsters or animals use. While it isn’t comparable to humans, lumoran specialists, or other sapients, it shows a clear sign of higher intelligence.

But maybe not that much of an intelligence.

Before the T-rex can take another step, another growl sounds, but this one from Biscuit, who floats now behind his back. It causes the enormous monster to lower itself even more and slowly turn to the corgi. I almost expect him to tuck his tail in between his legs.

Even seeing that, Biscuit faces the dinosaur for a while longer as if to confirm the understanding, and only then does the mood shift. The T-rex straightens up again and playfully boops Biscuit with his nose while not even glancing my way again.

All of this doesn’t matter that much to me as I search for that spawn of a devil. For now, there are no signs of the vile ferret. Though it can hide well, I’m able to spot it if I try.

My senses now expand far into the area, and I notice clear signs of higher activity, especially when we head to the spots with lingering mana radiation, like the one nearby where that old demon is.

Members of Group 4 have mostly put the pieces together. This floor, called the Pit, is indeed akin to a trashcan where someone, for some reason, discards the bodies of Champions and likely even Absolutes. They are the kind that remain for hundreds of years, poisoning a huge area with just the remains of the power they once held.

Min-Jae especially did some observations and came up with plenty of theories on how such bodies can even force types of evolution or changes on the organisms around them. He looks at it from an observational perspective and has studied plenty of the changes. Meanwhile, I just think it is cool.

I’m a simple man. The kind of man who always secretly thought it was cool when some main character stayed behind at the canyon to hold back hordes of evil guys just to give his family time to escape.

So how can you not consider this cool too? A body that carried power so great that even years and years after death, some of it remains. Imagine an Absolute dying and, twenty thousand years later, some level 10 human finds the skeleton of its body, unable to even scratch the bone. Or maybe such an Absolute would be perfectly preserved, seeming as if they died just a minute ago.

I want to find such a thing, and it is one of the reasons I was excited to return here for the end of the floor. Materials that could be gathered from such a body. Inspirations to gain. All that fun stuff.

I’m also curious about the reason these bodies are thrown here. Is this planet a trashcan, or is there a bigger reason? I’m sure we will learn more of it in the following days as the difficulty ramps up. The System likes to let people put their guard down before throwing them a curveball.

Focusing my thoughts on the information Mapthaniel was gathering and mapping out an area, I take some notes on it. Then I confirm Redacthaniel is still safe and ready to serve to spread the true name of black mana, which is black mana. Though the chance is tiny, it is possible the old demon might recognize my black mana.

There are also some parts of me that I didn’t name, but they do equally important things. There is the one experimenting with images of Escher’s Cube, the Penrose Triangle, the Klein Bottle, and the Möbius Strip in my mind through which I continue to try to simulate moving mana, no matter how much mental damage I’m taking.

Or the submind doing mental exercises that I call Parallel Mapping, Load Rotation, and Sequence Pinning, which continue to improve my use of subminds.

Lastly, there is also a smaller part I’m still a bit ashamed of. It is a base I plan to use for the Red Heartstone and for the Chestplate. It's something like the base of an Ego item. That part has hints of consciousness and can talk to me a bit.

It is all still me, and it’s just my experimentation, though our plan for an actual Ego is something else. Yet, it feels weird. A Florida man giving himself a mental illness so he can talk to himself. That kind of stuff.

(Will get the ones on the right side,) I say in the group link when I notice a stronger presence there.

(Got it. Maya and Min-Jae left side, twins front with me,) Tess adds just as quickly.

Through [Ley Line], I teleport there and find no visible monster, as it senses my appearance and stops moving. I find it amusing and take a step under the tree while looking around this ancient-feeling rainforest.

When I stop under one of the smaller trees, it bursts into a movement that feels just too wrong for a tree. The branches swing towards me, roots pierce the ground, and wood creaks. Leaves shake as well, sending down a rain of poisonous particles.

Mana spins around in a current that I sharpen and oscillate. It crashes against the trunk, which flashes in a defensive barrier before I break through and cleanly cut it apart. Kinetic energy blows away the particles, and multiple Needle Points stab through the tree where I sense the most mana and the vital parts.

Lastly, all of the branches reaching for me halt before even touching me.

[You have defeated Blightwood - lvl 378]

Glancing at the notification, I absorb some of the momentum of the falling tree and let it hit the ground almost gently before bursting into movement with Wrath Dance.

The movement brings me further away to where a leopard lurks, its skin matching the color of the leaves. It has been observing the fight the entire time. The leopard notices my appearance, and its yellow eyes snap onto me, its claws slide out as it attacks in a leap.

My projectile pierces the body, flying through the air, but it passes through as if the creature is made of smoke. From my left, another leopard jumps, but I ignore it and concentrate more on my senses. While a smoke-like illusion almost crashes against me, I form a barrier to block it, noticing it seems poisonous, and locate the main body.

Another burst of movement puts me up close just as the leopard starts running away. My projectiles stab into the tree branch below as it dodges in a way that feels like living water. [Redistribution] fails to grasp it, so I increase the number of projectiles, forcing the leopard to dodge.

Waiting for the right moment, I move and appear right in front of it, holding a long spear made of dark blue mana with an oscillating tip. The weapon skewers the monster. It thrashes on the blade, pulling itself closer to bite at me before I send a burst of kinetic energy through the weapon and let it explode inside the monster’s body.

[You have defeated Mirage Leopard - lvl 384]

Tilting the spear toward the ground, I watch the body slide down and fall.

In just a few seconds, many insect monsters, each as big as a small dog, appear and start biting into the carcass, attracted by the blood.

After returning to the group, I get a question from Tess. (What was out there?)

(The tree and one of those creepy leopards who will stalk you for days, trying to poison you and attack you while you sleep or poop.)

(We got one of those trees, but also a teleporting spider. They didn't used to appear this close. However, we expected that. We will be splitting into multiple groups now, as far as we know, Skippy is in the area, and he is attracted to bigger groups,) she says.

No one disagrees with that, and soon enough, we are split. Tess moves with the twins, Biscuit, and the T-rex. Sophie goes with Izzy, Lily, and Min-Jae, and I’m left with Maya.

For the most part, Maya deals with the monsters. I only jump in if the fight would be too draining on her mana reserves. Otherwise, I keep my guard up and keep scanning the area.

I don't need to level up that much, and my plan remains to kill the Champion on the 5th floor and only then push for level 400 to get my trait. This way, the "achievement" will be included in the calculations, coming together with Absolute Candidate, body upgrade stuff, other traits, and all that other stuff.

It is possible that killing the Champion will push me over 400 and get me the trait right away, which would probably be one of the best results.

Not that long ago, I asked around and found out that level 400 is rare for an attendee, even in Beyond. Even some S-ranks never reach such a level before ending their tutorial, so it will be yet another advantage for me. With a year and a half or so still remaining in the tutorial after that, I will be in a really good position.

My chosen method of combat, reducing the entire area to rubble and calling it strategy, continues to be embarrassingly effective when it comes to levelling up.

To keep up my humble facade, I turn my attention back to Maya and watch as she continues to use her claymore made of tri-colored mana to face a group of three leopards that love to use illusions. Her movements jerk in sudden bursts of speed as she uses [Boost], her armor only materializing when she needs it. Her weapon switches forms faster than I remember: sharp and dangerous.

She is also someone dangerous to face in a long fight, as her [Compounding] continues to stack up the damage on her opponent. The only weaknesses I can think of are a slight lack of long-range senses, her mana reserves could be higher, and she doesn't like to attack at long range. But at close to medium range, she is quite good, be it against human-sized opponents or ones as big as a building when she forms her [Armament] into big armor.

I am just starting to relax when the familiar pressure brushes against my senses. I register the approaching presence before Maya does and almost groan. I had hoped something ate it.

In front of that presence, another one is bulldozing through the trees. Soon, a boar with red fur and massive tusks comes charging through the forest, as if fleeing the devil himself. It notices Maya and me, but instead of attacking, it heads straight for us, its eyes wide with what seems like sheer terror. It is as if it wants its hunter to shift focus from it to us.

Another tree falls as the boar bulldozes through it. Then it stumbles and falls as a flash of golden fur streaks through the air. The boar, as massive as a truck used to haul ore in the largest mines, twists desperately, trying to move. It squeals loudly, fountains of blood spraying from its severed front leg. The forest around it explodes and twists, and golden fur flashes a few more times, tearing off more limbs and wounding the boar.

All of it takes much longer than it should. A single accurate attack would be enough to end the boar, but its hunter enjoys seeing the suffering.

My [Empyrean Lance] pierces the head of the boar, and the body finally stops twitching and moving.

The cause of these twitches reveals itself as the source of golden fur appears again. The red fur of the boar bulges on the belly and moves as if there is something burrowed below it before it bursts open, and a ferret with golden fur and black eyes. It is just as big as an otter, tiny in comparison to the boar.

Of course, this spawn of Satan knows about us, but it decided to torture its prey instead. Now it squeaks happily while blood soaks its golden fur and flows down.

This fucking thing. This spawn of Satan. This vile little nightmare with its filthy paws. This tiny golden demon from hell itself. Sniveling, squeaking bastard of fur and malice.

After a greeting, it then moves and burrows again into the dead body, which starts moving and twitching, where the ferret passes under and burrows holes. The next time it pokes out, it is through the skull of the dead boar, bloodied even more than before, as these cute tiny eyes look towards us as if inviting us to join.

The ferret didn’t take a single bite. I’ve actually never seen it eat anything other than grass, fruit, or seeds.

The damned thing is a vegetarian.