'I can't... Let go of her anytime soon.'????????????????????????????????.????????????
Mark absent-mindedly brought a hand to his mouth.
'A Commander... I've Devoured. No matter how I think about it, I wouldn't have been able to beat him alone. But even though I couldn't have beat him alone, I Devoured him...' He tapped his cheek repeatedly with his index finger. 'I wanted to get them to the Elven Forest as fast as possible so that I could focus on... Fighting and Devouring but...' He turned around.
"Here, here." A crouched Elisa played around with a tall piece of grass she had cut and a Moonlit Feline tried its best to catch the extremity with its fangs.
'Having her with me, I managed to Devour a Commander. The Commander's strongest... No.' He brought a hand to his right eye. 'I Devoured what made him a Commander.'
The white-scaled Monster cratched its forehead for a bit.
'But that's not what I wanted, is it? I wanted to defeat them... By myself...' Its eyes narrowed. 'Then why do I not feel frustrated by needing and getting her help? Because I couldn't win alone? Because he was just that strong? Yeah, maybe. But also...' The Monster thought back to the encounter with the Commander. 'I fought well back there, I think. The fact that he could stop and notice most of my moves. Fighting someone capable of that...' The Monster felt a shiver travel through its body. 'Was so damn fun!'
The shivering continued for a couple of seconds as Mark thought about his time since leaving the Dungeon.
'No, it started even before that... When was the last time I had this much fun fighting? Purely from fighting, not from trying out newly obtained Skills or... Yeah. It had been a while.'
The white-scaled Monster turned to face Elisa.
'I hate fighting the weak. I hate farming. I want to fight stronger and stronger enemies. And with her by my side...'
Elisa suddenly felt a shiver down her spine.
'I can fight stronger ones than I could alone.'
"Don't look at me like that."
"Like how?"
"Nevermind. Let's get going."
"Let's." The Monster nodded, a smile on its face.
After calling out and studying the map for a bit, they adjusted their route and entered the tropical forest.
Elisa walked in the front while,
'Mm. On the way to the Elven Forest, we'll be fighting a lot more. I can't let you go before I develop the strength to-'
Shiver-
Elisa turned around suddenly.
"Was that you?"
"What was me?"
"Mmm..." Elisa looked around the tropical forest. "I've spent so much time with you that I've developed a Sixth Sense for the creepy."
"You're welcome."
"It's not a good thing."
Mark opened his right eye and looked around.
In the distance,
"Goblins again."
"Ugh... Can you deal with them-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Mark had already launched himself forward.
"Destroy my enemies, Guard Dog." Elisa muttered as she extended an arm in his direction and chuckled.
Peek-
"Oh, come on. Just a joke."
The Moonlit Feline looked away.
'Even weaklings might have some Skill to take but...' The white-scaled Monster's tail beheaded an unsuspecting Goblin. 'This is a bit too easy for it to feel good. Still, I'm not doing it for me.' It thought as it ran towards the next Goblin. 'I'll need to balance this carefully. Protecting Krista and Elisa... But also having her help me fight stronger enemies.' His claws slashed a Goblin's throat. 'She doesn't really need me protecting her but... She did against Yarnha. Then it depends on the enemy. Yarnha... And the Final Guardian?' It asked itself upon arriving in front of another green Monster. 'I wonder if the two of us could have beaten Zephyr... Definitely not. That Armor was just too...'
"Should we wait for him?" Elisa asked the Lioness at her side.
The latter continued looking away.
"I have the right to be lazy sometimes, you know? He took a nap. I didn't."
The Lioness rolled her eyes.
'If there are more Commanders with special abilities like that one instead of those like Zephyr... Bfahaha!' The white-scaled Monster chuckled as its leg kick crushed a Goblin's skull. 'An Eye from that one, an arm from the next, another Eye maybe after that?'
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" awakens from its slumber.]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" nods at your words.]
'Wouldn't it be fun, right?'
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" nods enthusiastically.]
'Haha!'
[Your Title "Devourer" says that it doesn't care as long as more Devouring gets done.]
The Monster's fangs approached a Goblin's nape.
'You won't have to worry about that.'
Elisa and Krista, who had been following Mark as he made his way through the tropical forest, stopped abruptly.
"Think he even noticed there?" Elisa asked as she pointed at the wooden shacks to her left.
The Moonlit Feline let out a sigh.
"Right? Of course, he wouldn't. Want to stop here for the night? Might be nice not to sleep on the ground for once."
Krista stared ahead.
"Gotta ask him, huh?"
Dozens of steps away from them,
Sting-
'Huh... That one is different.' Mark thought to himself while keeping his right eye half closed.
The space opened up into an area devoid of trees.I think you should take a look at
'This is...' One mass of Mana stood while a dozen Links spread from it. 'Pretty cool.'
Mark stopped for a bit and observed.
Upon taking a step forward,
[You have entered the Dungeon "Goblin Encampment[F]".]
'An [F] Rank Dungeon?' Mark studied the area more carefully. 'This?'
There were fewer than thirty individuals, and the shacks were much smaller than those he had seen inside the Dungeon.
At the middle of the encampment seemed to be a throne made of wood logs piled up one on the other.
Seated on it, seemed to be...
'A Hobgoblin? That sure brings me back... So the Evolved Version is the Dungeon's Boss Monster, huh?'
At the Hobgoblin's feet lay a wooden staff.
'Just like the one Kalès had...'
Mark scratched his head.
'Well then...' He extended his arms in front of him.
And just when his hands were coming together,
"Stop, dumbass." Elisa tapped his shoulder.
"Why?" Mark asked as he lowered his arms. "Poor Goblins?"
"Of course not. Let's keep the shacks intact."
The white-scaled Monster pressed its lips together.
"I guess we can do that. The sun is starting to set."
The two stood for a couple of seconds.
"Well? What are you waiting for?"
Mark shrugged.
"More Experience Points for me." He launched himself forward.
"Doubt you'll get any from those." Elisa muttered.
[Dungeon Clear Requirement: Destroy the Goblin Encampment.]
[Reward: The Items in the Goblins' possession.]
'That's it, huh? Well, I don't need much anyways.'
...
"Do you even not feel hungry?" Elisa asked as she walked towards the center of the encampment.
Mark brought the green sphere made from the Boss Monster's body to his mouth.
"Nope."
Gulp-
"I'm guessing [F] Rank Dungeons don't give out special Rewards."
"That's right. You get what you find. Goblins are disgusting thieves anyways, so we might still find some things."
Mark lowered his body and reached for the wooden staff that the Hobgoblin had dropped.
'Huh. Looks like the wood is...'
[Burning Wooden Staff: [F+] Ranked Weapon.
Wielding the Weapon while casting an Elemental Magic Skill decreases the Magic Skill's Mana Consumption by 5%. A Burning Insignia has been set on the Woodden Staff which will make its wood burn continually. Fire Magic Affinity while wielding the Weapon increases by 5%.]
'That's pretty low but... I guess it could be used. Or should I just devour it?'
[Your Title "Devourer" reminds you that it doesn't like the taste of wood, especially not burnt wood.]
'Remind me? Oh, I guess I did taste wood that one time.' The white-scaled Monster chuckled.
"I'll go check the shacks." Elisa said as she walked towards the closest one.
Mark turned around.
He pointed.
"That one is mine."
It was the biggest shack of the bunch and used to be the Boss Monster's. The Hobgoblin's shack.
"Huh?"
"I'm sleeping in that one."
"Sure, whatever."
...
The white-scaled Monster bent its body and entered the largest shack in the encampment.
'A bed made of leaves? Didn't even think Goblins could make shacks. Or did they find this and move in?' Mark asked himself as he looked around.
It was cramped, and the difference in height between the Hobgoblin or Goblins and himself did not make it comfortable.
Still,
'When was the last time that I...' He lay his back on the bed of leaves. 'Oh. Feels comfortable.'
The sun was setting, and Mark closed his eyes.
He remained on the bed of leaves for a while, thinking.
As no Monsters except the Goblins had been found, feeling at ease wasn't a challenge.
The white-scaled Monster was starting to fall asleep when, someone entered the shack.
