Chapter 146: Chapter 144 - Raising Monsters

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I left the desert behind...

But my thoughts remained trapped on the new developments inside the cave.

The Accumulation Venom Scorpion...

And the eggs.

It hadn’t even been that long since I placed her inside that environment...

And yet...

She had already begun reproducing.

"Was the artificial environment really that perfect?"

I whispered.

That seemed like the most logical explanation.

I let out a soft sigh.

Then raised my gaze toward the long corridor stretching between the white doors.

"Well then..."

I murmured.

"Time to visit the next beast."

I was genuinely excited.

I opened the third door.

And the moment I stepped inside...

My eyes widened slightly.

The space was completely different from the previous ones.

No mountains...

No desert.

Instead...

A world of lakes.

Massive lakes stretched endlessly across the land...

Sometimes connected to one another, sometimes separated.

The water was astonishingly clear...

Reflecting the blue sky above like mirrors.

The air was cold and humid...

And the gentle sound of waves filled the area with a strangely calming atmosphere.

Each lake...

Was large enough to house a giant whale.

I leapt upward.

Small wind blades formed beneath my feet...

And I began gliding quietly above the waters.

The Greater Catastrophe Beast...

"Vibrational Dolphin."

Back then...

While training against it...

I had been forced to place it inside a space containing only a single lake.

And that lake wasn’t even very large.

Even so...

The creature spent most of its time diving and disappearing for long periods.

But now...

With this enormous number of lakes...

"How am I even supposed to find it?"

I muttered.

Then I surged forward.

Minutes passed...

One after another.

I moved from lake to lake...

Sometimes descending close to the surface.

Sometimes rising high into the air trying to detect any movement.

But...

Nothing.

No strange ripples.

No aura.

Not even the irritating vibration sounds it used during battle.

"That bastard hides well."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

I used detection.

Expanded my aura.

Focused harder.

But...

Nothing.

After a long while...

Boredom began creeping in.

"Looks like I won’t find it today."

I whispered.

Then turned to leave.

But...

Suddenly.

My eyes froze upon one of the distant lakes.

The surface of the water...

Looked strange.

I slowly approached.

My eyes narrowed.

"What is this?"

I whispered.

The water wasn’t clear like the other lakes.

Instead...

There was a thick layer floating on the surface.

Something closer to an oil spill...

Or liquid fat.

But its color...

Was dark yellow.

And it floated across the lake in massive quantities.

I descended quickly.

Moved closer.

There was no sign of the dolphin.

But the substance itself...

Was real.

And extremely dense.

Suddenly...

The Predictor notification lit up inside my mind.

{ Vibrational Dolphin Belly Fat }

{ Rare material extracted from the Greater Catastrophe Beast — Vibrational Dolphin }

{ Contributes to the crafting of unique armors }

{ 4500 Accumulation Points }

"Haaah..."

I whispered in shock.

"This..."

A smile slowly formed on my face.

"This is incredible."

It seemed today truly was my lucky day.

I extended my hand toward the fatty substance.

Even from touch alone...

I could feel it was different.

Dense...

And strangely warm.

Nothing like ordinary fat.

"Unique armors?"

I whispered.

So this beast didn’t merely possess those annoying vibration attacks...

It also produced rare crafting materials.

I laughed softly.

"Damn..."

I muttered mockingly.

"Was that dolphin swimming over a treasure this whole time?"

I immediately began collecting it.

I pulled out containers one after another.

Carefully storing the material.

The amount was absurdly huge.

At first...

I thought it was just a thin layer.

But the more I collected...

The more I realized the entire lake was filled with it.

Minutes passed...

Then hours.

Finally...

I stood beside the shore.

Closed the last container.

Then sighed.

"460 kilograms..."

I whispered.

An enormous amount.

Far greater than I expected.

I looked toward the filled containers.

Then back toward the lake.

"I wonder..."

I murmured.

"How much the hell would this sell for?"

I stayed silent for a moment.

Then my smile slowly widened.

"And what kind of armor could be made from it?"

Only one thought...

Repeated endlessly inside my mind.

Defense.

I needed defense.

Desperately.

If this material truly could craft unique armor...

Then maybe...

Just maybe...

I had finally found something...

Capable of keeping me alive against the monsters in that tournament.

I quickly entered the System Shop...

Then the Merchant Store.

I searched extensively.

Moved through categories...

Rare materials...

Armors...

Crafting components...

But...

There wasn’t a single trace of the material.

No name.

No description.

Not even something remotely similar.

I slowly closed the interface.

Then sighed.

"As expected."

I whispered.

I quickly realized it belonged to those kinds of things...

That simply could not appear inside the stores at all.

Like flowers...

And Ancient Weapons.

Items too rare...

Or tied to special circumstances the system couldn’t normally trade.

I smiled faintly.

"That means its real value..."

I closed the system screen.

"May be far higher than I imagined."

Afterward...

I moved toward the next door.

Opened it.

And the moment I stepped inside—

A thick cloud of smoke rushed toward me violently.

"Kh—!"

I nearly choked.

The smoke was hot...

Rough...

Almost burning my lungs.

I immediately stepped back.

Then launched upward using wind.

I took a deep breath.

And quickly regained composure.

After rising several meters above the ground...

My vision gradually cleared.

And then...

My eyes widened.

"This place?"

I cursed in shock.

"It used to be a forest... what happened here?"

I looked into the distance.

Then toward another direction.

Then a third.

Fire...

Was everywhere.

The entire forest was burning.

Gigantic trees collapsed amidst the flames.

Smoke covered the sky.

And the heat...

Was enough to distort the air itself.

Far away...

Some regions had already become black ash.

The ground was charred.

The trees had completely vanished.

Suddenly...

That familiar sound reached my ears.

A heavy sound...

Like iron slamming against the earth.

BOOOOM...

BOOOOM...

BOOOOM...

My eyes narrowed immediately.

"It has to be him."

I whispered.

Then surged toward the source of the sound.

I passed rapidly above the burning trees.

Until...

I stopped high in the sky.

And looked downward.

There...

Amidst the sea of flames...

Stood the Greater Catastrophe Beast.

"Flame Unicorn."

Its size easily exceeded ten meters.

A gigantic muscular body...

Covered in dark black hide resembling volcanic rock.

Its hooves...

Were sharp like steel.

And constantly surrounded by burning flames.

As for its horn...

It was nearly two meters long.

Completely black.

Sharp...

Like a murderous spear forged from darkness itself.

"What is happening here?"

I whispered.

I silently observed it.

Then suddenly—

The beast charged wildly.

BOOOOOOOOM!!

The ground shook beneath its hooves.

It rushed toward a part of the forest...

Where the flames had barely begun spreading.

In the next moment—

Scorching flames exploded from its hooves.

The trees were swallowed instantly.

The entire area ignited at terrifying speed.

The beast stopped.

Raised its head.

Then began looking left and right.

As though searching.

And when it found another untouched area—

It charged once again.

Like a mad creature.

And set it ablaze too.

I stood there silently watching.

Back then...

This place had been one of the most beautiful regions inside the cave.

A vast forest...

Expanding endlessly.

Its trees were gigantic...

And life there felt strangely peaceful.

And when I first discovered the Flame Unicorn there...

I had been filled with confusion.

"Why did the cave place it here in the first place?"

That question had lingered inside me since the beginning.

The natural habitat of this beast...

Was raging fire.

Destruction.

Heat.

Not a green forest overflowing with life.

But now...

I finally understood.

I watched the trees collapse within the blazing inferno.

Then slowly smiled.

"The true home of the Flame Unicorn..."

I whispered.

"Must be built by its own hooves."

I quickly retreated away from the sea of fire.

The heat...

Was enough to make the air itself painful.

I flew high upward...

Then glanced behind me one final time.

The Flame Unicorn...

Was still charging wildly between the burning trees.

Igniting...

Destroying...

As though it had finally found its true homeland.

I closed my eyes briefly.

Then began thinking.

So far...

Two beasts had already begun producing things.

The Accumulation Venom Scorpion...

Had laid over a hundred eggs.

And the Vibrational Dolphin...

Had left behind that rare fat.

As for the other two beasts...

Their reactions had been different.

The Flame Unicorn...

Hadn’t directly produced anything.

But...

It was constructing an entire habitat.

A burning forest...

And land saturated with fire and smoke.

"Perhaps..."

I whispered.

"It’ll produce something later."

As for the Mountain Boulder Beast...

It was the strangest of them all.

That creature...

Didn’t attack me.

Instead, it almost seemed slightly accustomed to my presence.

It had even lowered its body toward me briefly.

Before suddenly fleeing.

I sighed softly.

"I still don’t fully understand monsters."

I whispered.

Then exited the dimension.

I returned to the long white corridor.

Afterward...

I moved toward the remaining doors.

I ventured into the other monster territories.

Forests...

Swamps...

Rocky plains...

Completely different environments.

But...

There was nothing new.

Some monsters attacked me the instant they saw me.

Others ignored me.

But no production.

No obvious development.

After a long time...

I finally exited the last dimension.

Closed the door behind me.

Then sighed.

"Looks like I was just lucky."

I whispered.

Only then...

Did I feel hungry.

I pulled out the system clock.

My eyes widened slightly.

"More than three hours?"

I clicked my tongue.

The matches had already begun.

But I had become completely absorbed in this place.

Well...

It didn’t matter.

I’d make the Ice Lord explain what happened later.

That man...

Seemed to enjoy analysis more than fighting sometimes.

I smiled faintly.

Then slowly walked through the cave.

Now...

It was time for the real task.

The reason I had come here in the first place.

I stopped in front of the training dimension door.

A faint white glow...

Leaked from its edges.

It seemed the dimension had finally completed its setup.

I raised my hand toward the door.

My eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Time for the experiment."

I whispered.

"Let’s see..."

I slowly pushed the door open.

"Can wind truly become a shield?"