'The more I fight... The more I move... The better I get... From the beginning, I was always copying how other Monsters moved and fought. That's why fighting that Berserker was so fun. It was like... The culmination of everything I had learned against a stronger opponent. That's why I didn't want to use Magic Skills. I wanted to test myself... Test what I've learned.'
Mark felt a shiver go down his spine.
'Even when Monsters had different Skills or morphologies, I could still learn from them. It was the same against the Fire Spirit. An easy victory brings me something to Devour but... That's not enough. I want...'
[Your Title "Devourer" is looking at you.]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" is looking at you.]
'To Devour more than their bodies. More than their Skills. Their fighting style, their experience, their techniques...' The white-scaled Monster's eyes brimmed. 'I want to Devour all of it. I want...'
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" wants you to delve further into your Greed!]
Mark's shining eyes went back to Elisa who was fighting below.
His lips slowly curled upwards.
'To learn more.'
***
Whoo-
Raven whistled as he watched Mark's Underlings fight.
'They're doing better than I expected.'
In front of the group of Underlings stood a handful of enemies.
They looked just like the Skeletons on the Dungeon's Seventh Floor, but taller, tougher, and faster.
Their bodies or rather bones were covered by Armour on which golden patterns were drawn.
The same patterns that were over the Skeletons' Shields and Spears.
'The crystal guy is standing at the front. He's got the most Strength and blunt force, so that makes sense. The Nameless Spirit continually appears in the middle of the enemies, confusing them. Not bad...' Raven thought as he moved his gaze to the back of the group. 'They're focusing on buying time for the Insect to produce enough Offspring. The Wolves aren't bad either. Their claws and fangs won't work against that kind of Armor, but they didn't even try using them. Guess they must have guessed as much after seeing Zephyr. They weren't in the fight, but they were watching, huh? Focusing on bothering the enemies and using the full weight of their bodies to collide with their legs, making them lose their balance. It's not bad but...'
Raven slowly pushed himself off the ground.
'Incredibly boring.'
The Vampire Lord brought a hand to his chin.
'How do I make it more interesting without making it my fault if one dies?'
***
"Do you get it now?"
Mark stared for a bit before looking away.
"I think I do." He answered. "Fixing might be harder though."
"Really? I'm surprised you could even tell." Elisa admitted.
"Why do you say that?"
"Mmm... I don't know." Elisa took a seat on a fallen tree trunk opposite him. It's tough to find what's wrong with one's own movements. Since you can't see yourself moving."
"Huh." Mark suddenly brought his center of gravity forward. "Since I can't see myself moving..." He muttered.
"Yes..." Elisa was slightly surprised by the reaction. "That's usually how it works. Especially when coordination is involved. You think your limbs move in sync, but they actually don't. I can tell you about it, but it's..."
"It's not an easy fix. If my right leg is the problem and I start focusing on it, it might lead to other problems. Might not even solve the issue at hand in the first place."
"Yes, something like that."
The sound of a thin branch breaking made Elisa's pointy ears twitch.
She stood up and stared in that direction.
"Krista, wanna come with me?"
The Moonlit Feline immediately took Elisa up on her offer and followed.
'I can't see my movements, but they can't be much different from those of the Monsters I fought. The Berserker, the Royal Minotaurs, and Levi... Their bodies resemble mine the most. What's wrong with their movements... What did I learn that was wrong... What can I fix...?'
The white-scaled Monster wondered for a while.
***
"Oh. Already?" The Vampire Lord clicked his tongue.
The handful of enemies fell, and the sound of their bones hitting the ground resonated.
"That wasn't so hard." The Fire Spirit noted proudly.
"Those were just Soldiers. The Knights will be found a bit deeper into the Graveyard." Raven muttered as he walked through the group of Underlings with his hands resting in his pockets. "I'll let you handle the next ones too."
'While I think of something-'
"We're not going yet." Levi declared, with the Wolves at his sides.n0velusb.c0m
"Aha. So you want to let the Insects do the work? Out of the question. Let's go."
"I'm not asking-"
"Let's go." Raven repeated as he turned around.
It was definitely a threat.
The Underlings could tell. They could all feel it.
And so, they followed the Vampire Lord.
This time, a dozen Undead Holy Soldiers appeared in front of the ground.
Behind that dozen, three Undead Holy Knights.
'They're definitely dying here.' Raven sighed as the Underlings positioned themselves in front of him.
Lightning permeated through Levi's arms as the crystals covering part of his body lit up.
Reddish Fire Balls spun and hovered above the Fire Spirit's palms.
The Wolves bared their fangs as they growled.
Fiery curled her body up, preparing to shoot her spiderwebs to entrap the group of enemies.
"You're Master is an all-rounded, isn't he?"
"Huh?"
"Moving from the front to the back, from attacking to defending, from assisting to being assisted..." The Vampire Lord took off his dark cloak. "Usually each has a clear duty and role. But sometimes, you get selfish guys who want to do everything." Raven said as he threw the cloak behind him. "I'll get you used to that kind of thing better."
He, of course, was part of those selfish guys.
"I'll do whatever I feel like doing."
Raven positioned himself in front of the Underlings.
"You guys react to that. That's how it is with him, isn't it?"
