The Third Area wasn’t much better. It consisted almost entirely of a volcanic labyrinth, and while its stone was extremely hard, mining it required far too much effort to justify the cost.
For a while, Isaac had even felt slightly disappointed. Despite owning a Great Dungeon, there hadn’t been many Areas that could reliably provide harvestable resources.
The Fourth Area completely changed that impression. For someone with Isaac’s Talent and Class, this forest was practically overflowing with opportunities.
"Transporting workers won’t be difficult. I can use the Soulbind Pendant to bring them here, then leave clones and summons behind to protect everyone while they work," Isaac said after thinking through the logistics.
Catherine understood the idea immediately. "That solves the transportation problem. But we still don’t have enough Awakeners capable of cutting trees this durable. We’ll either have to hire outside workers or wait until our City’s overall strength improves."
Isaac nodded thoughtfully as he considered the problem. She was right. He needed to find a way to deal with this issue.
Satisfied with his inspection, Isaac disappeared from where he stood. Before the rabbit could react, he appeared directly in front of it and ended the battle with a single slash.
The System notifications appeared almost immediately.
Bramble Hare defeated.
Isaac ignored that message completely because it wasn’t what interested him.
More notifications quickly followed behind it.
Rapid Sprout Gene harvested.
Fertility Gene harvested.
Quality Improvement Gene (★) harvested.
A broad grin slowly spread across Isaac’s face.
"It actually worked," he muttered quietly. His Talent truly recognized plant-type hybrid monsters as valid sources of plant genes.
Without wasting another second, Isaac created several clones. They scattered throughout the forest in different directions while sharing everything they saw through their vision.
The more Isaac observed through his clones, the happier he became. Almost every monster they encountered possessed obvious plant features, making this entire Area an incredible treasure for someone with his Talent.
Just as he prepared to eliminate every nearby monster, another thought suddenly crossed his mind. He frowned slightly while looking at the latest notification floating before his eyes.
"I received another Quality Improvement Gene. I always thought those only came from crops," Isaac said thoughtfully.
The answer wasn’t difficult to guess. Since these creatures were plant-type hybrids, it made sense that they could produce plant-related genes as well. The real question was how those genes were supposed to be used.
"Normally, I would fuse these into seeds. But these are monsters, so maybe I need to fuse the gene into an egg after it’s fertilized," Isaac said while thinking aloud.
He couldn’t verify that theory immediately. Even so, nothing prevented him from experimenting once they returned home.
Isaac quickly made up his mind. Instead of killing every plant monster, he would capture several alive and place them inside the Soulbind Pendant. If his theory proved correct, he might eventually breed stronger generations of monsters.
Even if nothing happened, there was very little to lose. His previous experience suggested that Quality Improvement Genes affected future generations rather than existing creatures, so the experiment was worth attempting.
Strengthening monsters was useless, but Isaac still wanted to try and see if someone else might happen too. He wasn’t worried anything dangerous would happen due to his experimentation.
With that decision made, Isaac moved through the forest like a grim reaper. Every monster that crossed his path fell almost instantly, while System notifications continued appearing one after another before his eyes.
Soil Enrichment Gene harvested.
Fragrant Blossom Gene harvested.
Mineral Absorption Gene harvested.
Deep Root Gene harvested.
Sugar-Rich Sap Gene...
Living Vine....
Compost...
The notifications continued appearing one after another as Isaac moved through the forest. Every new Gene he discovered filled him with more excitement.
Gene Reaping skill has leveled up. Level 5 → Level 6
Instead of rushing straight toward the Mini Bosses, Isaac instructed his clones to spread throughout the Fourth Area. They hunted every different species of plant-type hybrid monster they could find, collecting as many unique Genes as possible along the way. Every unfamiliar creature represented another possibility for his Talent.
As they traveled through the forest, a thought suddenly crossed Isaac’s mind. He glanced toward Catherine while casually cutting down another monster that wandered too close.
"I was wondering about something. Can we populate the Great Dungeon?" Isaac asked.
Catherine thought for a moment before answering. "No, ordinary people can’t live inside a dungeon permanently. If someone stays inside for too long without progressing, the System eventually sends increasingly powerful monsters after them."
She continued walking while explaining the reason behind the rule. "If that restriction didn’t exist, people would simply build cities inside dungeons instead of clearing them. The System clearly doesn’t want that to happen."
"I didn’t mean it like that. What I’m asking is whether we can build Monster Cities inside the dungeon instead," he replied.
Catherine slowed her steps as she considered the question. At first it sounded impossible, but after thinking about it for several moments, she realized Isaac wasn’t asking something unreasonable.
Ordinary monsters couldn’t enter dungeons. Tamed monsters could, but they were still considered part of an Awakener’s forces, so the System applied the same restrictions to them.
Wild monsters were different. Theoretically, they shouldn’t be subjected to those rules because they were monsters themselves rather than challengers—Players. The only reason nobody had ever tested this idea was because bringing monsters into a dungeon was considered impossible.
Isaac, however, wasn’t limited by that problem. Through the Soulbind Pendant, he could freely transport monsters between different locations. That single ability completely changed what was possible.
"It should work, theoretically. The System technically shouldn’t impose those restrictions on naturally living monsters. We’d still have to verify it, but if the idea succeeds, we’d gain an enormous workforce inside the Great Dungeon," Catherine said after thinking everything through.
Isaac smiled with satisfaction after hearing her conclusion. It wasn’t an elaborate strategy, just a loophole that nobody had ever considered because everyone accepted one basic assumption without questioning it.