The bloody corpse of the hideous monster fell away in a spray of blood as its head separated from its body.

〚You have killed LV18 Verum Adavaak!〛

〚You have earned 165XP〛

〚You have gained a level!〛

Nice!

I looked around the stretch of the cordoned forest that was now devoid of monsters. With the last of those creatures dead, the island now turned quiet.

I looked at the large corpse of the Adavaak with curiosity.

Its death was rather odd. It had clearly been attacked by the smaller members of its own species, before I arrived, which had reduced its HP, and I wondered why.

I stared up at the tall tree that had nearly collapsed, and immediately spotted the shimmering eyes of Ophelia, staring eagerly.

Why was she so excited? She shouldn't be able to see me!

Typhon on the other hand was shocked and rather than happiness, he was more wary. His reaction was more appropriate than Ophelia's.

That's how you're supposed to look, you silly snake!

I wanted to scold her. Perhaps she was just too happy to be saved, but I could have been a more dangerous predator who would turn to kill them next. There was no way to tell…

Unless, she already recognized me by scent? No, that was just wishful thinking.

The third snake just turned this way and that, with a confused look - which was also an acceptable reaction.

I collected the Adavaak's body, wondering who among them had caused its initial damage. It was impressive they had handled this much on their own. The smaller monsters were quite strong too, just from their skills alone.

--------------

LV8 Ivenium Adavaak

Specie: Ailith Fruore

HP: 0/65 Defence: 34

MP: 0/37 Intellect: 16

SP: 0/75 Magic: 24

Attack: 78 Agility: 77

Skills:

[Poison Claw: LV3] [Acid Blood: LV6]

[Cooperation: LV5] [Blindsight: LV3]

[Venomous Bite: LV5] [Scent: LV8]

[Revenge: LV5] [Persistent: LV6]

[Sprint: LV6] [Anger: LV8]

[Deadly Stinger: LV4]

Title:

[Cast Hunter]

Attributes:

[Water Regeneration]

Resistances:

[Fatigue Resistance: LV6]

[Pain Resistance: LV2]

[Acid Resistance: LV4]

--------------

The position the nestlings had chosen on the tree was also strategic and I applauded their quick thinking. With their strength and skills, the monsters would have been beaten eventually – if they were in any other place.

These creatures which were naturally amphibious and also possessed an attribute that made them near impossible to kill in certain places.

--------------

[Water Regeneration] - Restores 1 point of health for every 5 seconds underwater.

--------------

That means, they could go from near death to full health in just five minutes.

With near inexhaustible regeneration and a water source nearby, they were lucky I arrived when I did. Poisoning them or knocking them off the tree was all well and good but If any that didn't die and went back into water, they could re-emerge much like before.

Unless they were killed thoroughly, their numbers would never reduce, and they would keep returning with endless reinforcements. Which was why I decided to kill them quickly and silently, ensuring to cut off their heads for good measure.

But, of course, my method wasn't completely without fault.

I heard the splash of water behind me and Sylrin came out of the river, dragging with him the writhing bodies of five smaller Adavaaks that he pulled out by their tails.

Regardless of how silently I approached the creatures, some had been spooked when their fellows started dying and had run away. So, before I ventured onto the island I'd instructed Sylrin, who also happened to be amphibious, to wait under the water and catch all of those who tried to get away.

And as he dragged the screeching monsters before me.

I mercilessly attacked them with poison spheres, killing them with one blow and the system dinged with a flurry of alerts as they died.

〚You have killed LV8 Ivenium Adavaak!〛

〚You have killed LV10 Ivenium Adavaak!〛

〚You have killed LV8 Ivenium Adavaak!〛

〚You have earned 126XP〛

And with that done, I added them to my ever increasing creature surplus. Now, the only thing that remained was to rescue the little kittens from the tree.

I deactivated my [Mimic] and Ophelia started swaying left and right with excitement and slipped off the tree. She followed it with a stylish leap, soaring through the air to land before me.

Pfft...what a recovery.

Typhon had a look of relief and the last snake seemed to be glaring at me.

What? Did she not want to be rescued?

Was she a tsundere?

As the remaining two snakes came down, I saw they were all covered in bruises, and one was even injured. So I gave them [Detoxification] and [Healing] potions to restore their health.

Typhon had a burn on his scales that had a lingering scent, so I made him take a dip in the river to wash the scent off before leaving.

Then, the lizard came over and sniffed at the three snakes, familiarizing their scent I suppose...

He seemed oddly fascinated with their tiny sizes and would not stop patting them over the head with his tail, with an arrogant glint in his eyes. This annoyed Typhon, who furiously hissed at him before moving away with a sulking look.

Well, they seemed to be getting along nicely. Right?

On the other hand, Ophelia saw it as a challenge and leapt over the lizards back, curling up between its spikes and boldly proceeded to take a nap, much to Sylrin's dismay.

The last snake was the most injured, and was not amused by his actions at all and kept him away with just her menacing glare and her fangs out, ready to attack.

I did not want them to start fighting so I instructed Sylrin to leave her be and left the island after collecting the rest of the creatures.

--------------

Back at Sylrin's cave, I made all the nestlings rest as they had gone through quite an ordeal, but because of the potion I'd given them, my two guards were already back to full health.

As opposed to being tired, Ophelia seemed almost hyper energized and was trying to tame the lizard and make him her mount, while Typhon looked on with disapproval.

As for me, I stared down the corpse of the large Adavaak, wondering if I should eat it or not.

It looked quite hideous and was one the ugliest creatures I ate so far.

Those horrid teeth and that terrible breath…

If I ate it, I wouldn't gain an attribute that would give me needle-like teeth or become some revenge driven monster right?

Hmm… It was a risk but I can reject the attribute if I find it suspicious so I began to eat and the system dinged after a while.

〚Devour has reached maximum satiation for specimen『Verum Adavaak』

Evolution tree of 『Ailith Fruore』has been unlocked. 〛

〚Would you like to acquire the attribute『Acid Blood』(Accept | Reject)〛

Oh...phew, no hideous teeth. Yes, Accept!

Wait, wouldn't that hurt like hell?

Ah! Ouch!

OWWW!

It was too late.

I could already feel the scalding sensation and heat coursing through my veins as the quality and composition of my blood began to undergo change.

My body trembled with pain as if a hot poker had been burning my insides, and once again I found myself outside in the cooling rain, with the three snakes and the lizard staring blankly at me, like I had gone crazy.

Droplets of rain sizzled as they touched my skin and when the burning sensation finally stopped, I felt like I'd been molded under fire.

Why did it have to be so annoying and damn painful every time?

The system dinged once again, with some good news.

〚You have consumed medium grade core〛

〚Status: Complete〛

〚Attack: +38〛

〚Agility: +38〛

I quickly regained my composure and remembered why I'd come back here, instead of going back to the cave.

The hunting party!

With the nestlings safely recovered, I could finally go down and see just what they were up to! I looked past the treeline to where I spotted them earlier. Their campfire was out, and the people all seemed to have retired to their tents.

I immediately activated [Mimic].

Now was the perfect time to go stealing – no, scouting!

As I reached the campsite, I stayed back at a distance to observe them first. I could pick out thirteen heat traces of individuals that consisted of both humans and elves.

There were all in prone positions, breathing steadily and seemed to be asleep. There were two human guards in light armour manning the campsite and one elf that was crouched up in the trees.

I knew it wasn't going to be easy! But I crept in silently.

One of them had to be the archer so I stuck closely to the shadows to avoid detection.

Before moving further, I scanned the area with [Mana Sense] for any concealed traps of a magical nature, and almost immediately, the entire camp lit up in cyan, forming a bright dome of swirling magic.

HA! That was very close!

Good thing I checked beforehand. What if I'd crossed it and it alerted everyone, or worse, it triggered hidden traps! I imagined ropes springing from the ground to tie me up like a trussed up chicken…

Hm…maybe not that. But still, I had no idea what that magical trap was.

«It's an illusion barrier.» Sensei offered an explanation.

«Any creature that comes close will see nothing but normal forest, and if they happen to pass through, they will experience extreme discomfort and disorientation until they turn around. It seems there is a skilled mage in this party.»

Ah! Now it made sense why they had so few guards. How smart.

I likely wasn't affected because of my [Obsidian Horn], but in such a place teeming with monsters, you couldn't be too careful. I stuck to the shadows until I passed the guards, and successfully arrived inside the campsite.

And instantly, my eyes turned to the bags of supplies containing cooked meat and fruits, along with some blankets and weapons. I shamelessly 'collected' them all and looked around for more goodies.

These were mostly from the human side. The elves I saw, didn't seem to carry any items at all and instead they all bore storage rings.

I was too excited and almost bumped into a gruff looking older huntsman covered in furs beside a tree. He was sitting upright, but fast asleep, sporting a well kept beard and long dark eyelashes.

What a handsome older gentleman! His face and muscles were exactly my type!

My eyes must have lingered a little too long because Sensei scolded me in an annoyed tone.

«Do you want to get caught? Have you forgotten you're surrounded by enemies?»

I quickly snapped out of it and saw the pile of monster corpses of various types that he'd hunted laying besides him.

My eyes shone with greed. There must definitely be some good cores among the bunch!

It was almost too good to be true and I didn't delay grabbing them all before exiting the campsite to return to the cave.

I took one last look at the campsite and bowed. 'Thank you for your generosity and kindness. I hope you stay well and get out of the labyrinth alive.'

And then I went back with a big grin. It looks like we'll have a feast later!