Chapter 110 The Ninth Floor [Pt 1]
'Ah… I see. So that's how it is…'
Rey smiled as he stared at his opponent.
Even though his eyes were on the BigFoot-like creature, his senses had spread to the ceiling where it fell from.
'More of them are crawling above…'
Rey couldn't see them even if they tried. There was a reason he hadn't detected any until this one landed to confront him.
'A Camouflage Skill, maybe? Interesting…'
These creatures knew how to blend in well with their environment, so unless one really paid attention, it would be impossible to detect them.
'Even now, I can only properly sense their movements thanks to the sound they make and the slight distortions in space.
He couldn't properly see them.
'I already have [Stealth], which is more like turning me invisible. But I guess this isn't too bad…'
Once Rey raised his head and observed enough of the Skill, he reckoned that would be more than enough for it to be registered by [Doppel].
He sighed a little and turned his attention back to the BigFoot in front of him and gave a small smile to it.
The Monster appeared a little stunned, and Rey knew why.
"You guys were probably planning on getting the drop on me, right? You would act as the decoy while they would descend and make short work of me while I focused all my attention on you…"
"G-GRUUUU…?!"
From the flustered reaction of the Monster, Rey couldn't tell if it could actually understand him or if it was just upset to see him so calm.
Either way, it didn't really matter to him.
Not at this point.
"Sorry. As much as I'd like to play with you, I'm in a bit of a hurry now. There's someone I want to catch up to, so…" He raised his hand upward.
"… I can't afford to mess around."
There was no need to dawdle any longer while Adonis was advancing like a madman every day.
"[Greater Explosion]"
~BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!~
A burst of bright crimson energy erupted from Rey's hand, sending a blast so destructive that the pressure alone completely shattered the numerous icicles in the ceiling, before the heat melted everything into oblivion.
The camouflaged beasts were not saved from this.
"GRUUUUAAAAAAHHH!!"
Their horrified screams filled the air as the flames of explosion burned them alive.
Fortunately, their suffering didn't last long.
Within a few seconds, they were already dead.
"G-Guuuu…!!"
Rey already noticed the fright on the face of the BigFoot in front of him.
No longer did the creature have its fierce predatory expression, or any semblance of violence whatsoever.
It was simply frightened.
~WHOOSH~
In a gust of wind that the Monster didn't see coming, Rey appeared before it with a wide smile on his face.
"Die." Rey touched the Monster's chest.
A swift use of [Transmute] caused the creature to expand like a balloon, instantly bursting the next second.
Its blood and innards splattered across the room, staining the pure white and blue sparkles that filled the room.
As Its Monster Core appeared, a rain of dozens of Monster Cores descended from above.
'Ahh… this again.'
Rey currently didn't have much use for Monster Cores, but he considered it a waste for him to not harvest them or have them just lying around.
'At least, with Skills like [Explosion], I can just destroy their bodies and get the Cores straight away.'
There was no need for anything more.
'Their Skins of parts of their body could probably be used for Items. I might make a lot of money selling them too…'
But Rey knew this wasn't the time to be distracted by money.
Not only were the Monsters too large for him to fit into his sacks and throw into Subspace, but it was going to get in his way of dispatching the Monsters if he had to worry about their quality when killing them.
He didn't need that kind of hassle.
'Let's just focus on Leveling Up and taking the Monster Cores as my reward.'
There was no need for anything more.
********
As Rey advanced through the Icy lair of the BigFoot Monsters, he knew he had to be extra careful.
His senses were extremely sharp, and he could detect slight changes in the environment, even if he couldn't see the cause, but that didn't mean his detection abilities were perfect.
If they were, they would be in the SSS-Tier.
'There could be variants that possess other abilities that I'm not certain of. I can't be too careful.'
He would have activated [Safe Haven] to keep his defenses consistently up, but he didn't have the Mana to waste on that.
'Even though I'm Level 22 now, and I've been pouring all my Stat Points into Mana, it's still not enough…'
Rey doubted he could use any S-Tier Skill for more than a minute before fully draining himself of Mana.
He could probably activate SS-Tier Skill, but maintaining it for a few seconds would be tricky.
'Welp… I guess I really need to get those items as soon as possible!'
Rey shrugged off his current thoughts and focused on the situation at hand.
He could already detect slight changes in his environment.
'These monsters, based on their physique, and the fact that they're in a Lower Floor, are probably stronger than the Monkey Monsters…'
They also probably had resistance to a lot of attacks—perhaps physical and magical.
However, due to their Floor's climate, Rey was certain that they had to have a vulnerability to fire-based attacks.
As a result, he used abilities with that attribute in order to get a guaranteed hit.
"[Grand Fire Magic]"
Once activated, Rey summoned a massive wave of flames and launched it in multiple directions.
Like a flood of untold power, it rushed through the ice-based room, melting everything in its way.
"GRUAAAAAAHHH!!!"
"UGHAAAAHHHH!!!"
"GURRROOOOAAHHH!!"
Rey heard multiple screams, but he simply kept moving forward.
The most efficient way to clear a Floor was to simply not be distracted by the enemies one encountered.
"I'll kill them as quickly as I can and reach the Boss."
Using his [Perception] and [Farsight] allowed him to detect the fallen Monster Cores, so he swiftly proceeded to pick them up and advance forward.
'This is a drag…'
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
How do you think Rey will combat his 'Monster Core' problem? Any theories?