Unaware of the fact that Scaly had already flown off to hunt down the different monsters she had previously been unable to target while having to worry about a dwarf on her back deep in meditation, Verdell silently glanced back towards the towering trees behind him and the now fully hidden hill he had been on top of only a short time earlier. Silently wondering if Scaly had quietly settled down to wait out the development on the dungeon core up there while he made his way through the tall grass separating the forest from the dungeon core in the distance.
A thought that lasted for exactly five seconds before he remembered what kind of dragon Scaly was.
Without a doubt, he had a feeling she wouldn’t just be waiting around on that hill while silently waiting around for the development of the ninth floor of the dungeon to finish up. If anything, part of him had a feeling she might use this opportunity to hunt down some of the nearby monsters to kill time. Allowing her to continue growing stronger even while waiting.
Even if he didn’t think she would directly turn around and head back towards those monster strongholds they had specifically avoided on their way to the core of the ninth floor of the dungeon, he did at least understand how she thought to some extent and knew she wouldn’t be one to just aimlessly wait around in one place after he had set out towards the dungeon core.
If anything, part of him even wondered if she might find some way to circle around the dungeon core and find another easier path to it that didn’t involve her having to go through the tall grass that would do little to hide her rather sizable and distinct frame.
Of course, the easier path in question wasn’t one above ground. After all, there was only tall grass and the different monsters lurking within said tall grass surrounding the dungeon core with only a few smaller hills breaking up the monotone field of green every now and then. Providing him with potential resting spots along the way if he could reach the edge of the dungeon core in a single journey.
Problem with this being that he hadn’t spotted any such underground tunnels or paths that a dragon like Scaly might be able to make use of to get closer to the dungeon core. If he had, he would have preferred bringing Scaly along with him during the journey to the dungeon core, as the monsters hidden within the tall grass were far from simple to deal with.
Weak as these monsters hidden within the tall grass might be compared to those roaming the forests and other unique environments surrounding the dungeon core. Reaching a level comparable to a normal A Rank Monster. Dealing with them was far from simple for a fire mage like himself.
After all, he couldn’t exactly make use of his fire magic in the current situation, as lighting the tall grass on fire was bound to draw the attention of the dungeon core. In a worst-case scenario, he might not even draw the attention of the dungeon core before he ended up being consumed by the sea of fire created by lighting the tall grass on fire. The reason for this being the tall grass itself wasn’t normal grass, but a magical kind of grass that would give birth to a powerful magical fire if lit on fire.
One that would grow increasingly powerful with more magical grass being burnt... And with the sheer size of the magical grass field surrounding the dungeon core, Verdell had a feeling that even someone surpassing the SS Rank would perish within seconds inside the magical fire created by such a large field of magical grass. In a way, this tall grass could be seen as a safety barrier created by the dungeon core itself. Allowing it to easily deal with any powerful enemies that targeted it after it had finished constructing the ninth floor of the dungeon...
The only reason he had even recognized this unique magical grass in the first place was thanks to his previous friendship with the same dungeon researcher who had similarly given him the idea that approaching a dungeon core and observing its mana manipulation up close would be beneficial. Even then, he had only recognized the unique magical grass after moving through it for a few minutes.
For anyone who didn’t have a friend who also happened to be a dungeon researcher... It would be difficult to discern the uniqueness of the tall grass that on the surface looked like one of the most common kinds of mana rich grass found within dungeons. Not to mention, the large empty field itself on the surface looked like a special environment created by the dungeon core to try and catch any intruders that dared to approach while it was still in the process of developing the ninth floor of the dungeon.
Never in their wildest dreams would they realize that the tall grass itself was a trap that had been created by the dungeon core in preparation for what was to come after the completion of the ninth floor of the dungeon.
This kind of insidious design made Verdell realize the dungeon core was far more intelligent than he had originally anticipated. Not the kind of mindless dungeon core he was used to dealing with and had learnt about through his trainee time as an adventurer that mostly operated on instinct.
Then again, intelligent dungeon cores wasn’t something new that had never been seen or heard about before, it was just that most dungeon cores tended to only develop a certain level of intelligence after the tenth floor and even then, it wasn’t at the level that the swirling sands dungeon had been displaying so far.
Rustle~
"Hm?" Hearing a faint rustling sound from his left as his thoughts wandered, Verdell instinctively shifted to the side as a pair of sharp fangs just barely missed him as a rabbit the size of a normal dog had jumped out of the tall grass beside him and attempted to bite off his head in a single swift jump forward-
Swish-!
Ptsh!
An ambush that was bound to end in failure now that it had missed its target, as Verdell quickly spun around with a dagger already in one hand and firmly stabbed into the neck of the large rabbit that had come jumping at him. Killing the monster rabbit in a single swift motion that showed the skill of his earlier years as an adventurer focused on the path of someone proficient in wielding a pair of daggers before he ended up becoming a mage.
Although his skill with a dagger was inferior compared to someone who had reached the S Rank wielding a pair of daggers and had mastered the appropriate skills and abilities for the level, he could at least rely on his high dexterity and still present skills from back then to archive a level comparable to that of a top A Rank Adventurer.
Though that level of strength mainly relied on his high dexterity stat and the simple fact that the dragon flame mage class was a rather unique one that also provided him with far more stats compared to a normal S Rank Class.
Still... The easy kill might also have to do with the fact that the large rabbit monster in question wasn’t exactly powerful and could just barely be considered a C Rank Monster. Not exactly something he should be struggling with as an S Rank Adventurer even if he couldn’t use his magic.
Heck... Given the difference in strength between the two of them, he might even have been able to pummel it to death with his low strength...
"Haaa... No use thinking about that. Better to get out of here before the smell of blood ends up attracting stronger monsters..." Shaking his head as he muttered this to himself, Verdell glanced down towards the now dead rabbit on the ground a short distance from where he was standing before cleaning the blood off his dagger. Wasting no time after that as he quickly slipped away from the bloody scene.
The general strength of the monsters hidden within the tall grass might not exceed the A Rank from what he had been able to gather from observing the grass field, but one could never say for certain whether an S Rank Monster or two might be lurking somewhere within the sea of green which he had only managed to get a small glimpse of from the top of the hill outside.
Not to mention, even without having to worry about some mysterious S Rank Monster, he still had to worry about being ganged up on by a group of A Rank Monsters, as he didn’t exactly feel confident in taking on more than one or two such monsters in his current state without having to rely on his fire magic.