Chapter 109: Chapter 109 - Labyrinth(Part 5)

"That one looks pretty tough," Whispered Prysm, as we hid behind a pillar and watched.

"Sure does," I nodded in agreement.

We were down to the fifteenth floor, just minutes away from teleporting back outside, when I suddenly sensed a strong, unfamiliar Monster through my Thought Communication.

I decided to check it out and quietly headed that way with Prysm...and as it came into sight, well, quite a sigh it was. The Monster I’d sensed was eating a Troll, which I didn’t sense because it was dead.

Trolls are Intermediate Grade Monsters, they’re about the same size as Hobgoblins and Ogres, but they have four arms so are a bit more dangerous. We encountered a few on the previous floors, and they were pretty easy to take down.

We encountered a few other species of Intermediate Grade Monsters as well, and plenty more Common Grades. But this Monster that I’d just sensed, it’s no weakling. This is a Disastrous Grade Monster...a Hypnosaur.

It’s a large reptilian Monster that’s about fifteen meters tall and resembles a carnivorous dinosaur, with an agile body and long limbs. Its eyes have a hypnotic power, if you stare into them, it’ll hypnotize you.

Apparently, the hypnosis is extremely difficult to break free from, and that’s not all it can do. Its fangs and claws secrete a toxin that works as both a hallucinogen and tranquilizer, so one scratch and you’re done.

Well, that goes for most people, anyway. I should be safe from those effects thanks to my Universal Resistance, considering that the Basilisk, one of the most dangerous Disastrous Grade Monsters, had no effect on me with its paralyzing gaze.

"Don’t we have, like, ten more floors to go before Disastrous Grades even start appearing?" Frowned Prysm, as the Hypnosaur tore into the Troll’s flesh with its jaws.

"Yeah, but sometimes stronger Monsters will wander up into the upper floors, it’s not like there’s anything to stop them from leaving the floors they’re usually found in," I shrugged in response.

"Hm, I guess that’s true. But then, why don’t Monsters that live in the Labyrinth ever leave and go outside?" She inquired curiously.

"Well, there’s no solid explanation for that, but a lot of Monsters tend to be territorial and don’t like to stray too far away from their habitats.

For instance, Basilisks will stay in the same body of water their entire lives if nothing changes to drive them away, kanine Monsters like Firefoxes and Death Hounds live in packs that stay in the same areas, and so on.

Of course, there are exceptions. Goblins, for instance, if they’re left unchecked, they’ll multiply rapidly and start pouring out of the Labyrinth. Naturally, that goes for Hobgoblins as well, though they’re slower to multiply than regular Goblins," I explained, as I watched the Hypnosaur rip apart the Troll’s guts in fascination.

Most Monsters really are just wild animals with powers and a bit more aggression, aren’t they? And it’s not like there aren’t any normal animals in the Labyrinth...though it’s mostly just in the first five or so floors.

Creatures like bats, rats, snakes, and other small animals you’d expect to find in caves. I’ve also run into beasts like wolves and bears outside, though they usually run away if I shoot out some Magic at the ground or a tree.

"I see, so that’s how it works. By the way, uh...what exactly are we waiting for?" She asked me.

"Isn’t it obvious? I’m gonna fight that thing...but it is having what’s most likely going to be its last meal, so I’ll let it eat its fill first," I replied with a smirk.

It’d be rude to interrupt someone in the middle if a meal to try and kill them...if I’m gonna kill them, there’s no harm in waiting till they’re done eating. Okay, nah, I don’t really care about that...it’s just a whim, also I’m kinda enjoying watching this, it’s so feral and brutal.

I mean, if I was about to kill a Noble and they were in the middle of a meal, I’d definitely kill them right away if I had an opening. Heh, actually, seeing them faceplant into their food and then bleed all over it could be pretty amusing. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Uh, are you joking? That doesn’t seem like you, you love sneak attacks and playing dirty," She responded in surprise.

"...you’re not wrong, but you didn’t have to put it like that, you little brat. Fine, then...I’ll kill it right away," I sighed in exasperation, before stepping out from behind the pillar and out into the open.

The Monster stopped eating and glanced up as the sound of my footsteps echoed out, narrowing its eyes at me with a growl, blood trickling down its jaws. It then suddenly widened its eyes, which began spinning in a spiral pattern as it met my gaze...ah, that must how its hypnosis works.

But just as I expected, I’m not feeling anything, my Universal Resistance is keeping me unaffected. The Hypnosaur then took a wary step back as it snarled at me, growling louder and more threateningly as I casually strolled towards it.

Let’s see if I can’t agitate it a bit more...Elemental Flame: Double Mega Fire Spear!

Magic Circles appeared by either side of the Monster, it quickly sprang back in alarm as my Spell fired out, the powerful spears of flame rapidly converging in.

But thanks to its quick reaction, it avoided a direct hit, as both projectiles instead scorched across the front of its chest, severely burning its skin and eliciting a hiss of pain from the creature.

It then whipped its tail forward, hitting what was left of the Troll corpse and sending it flying towards me. I swiftly formed my whip and cracked it forward with a rapid flick of my wrist, slicing the incoming hunk of meat in half, the two halves harmlessly flying past me on either side, before I noticed the Hypnosaur starting to close in on me.

It must have shot forward as soon as it hit the Troll corpse towards me...not too bad, this thing’s pretty smart.

As it slashed its claws down at me, I jumped up to evade it, before springing off its forearm straight towards its chest, swinging my whip up at its neck, aiming to decapitate it.

It quickly tilted back its head in alarm, my whip slicing off the front of its lower jaw and its snout, blood gushing out as it roared in agony stumbling back before leaping away as I swung my whip straight at its chest.

The tip of my whip grazed its left shoulder, drawing out a trickle of blood. But I bet it hardly even felt that, given that it’s lost about twenty percent of its face.

Disastrous Grade Monsters like this creature and Basilisks, they’re a lot less of a threat to me than most others. That’s largely thanks to my Universal Resistance, of course...I mean, I can’t imagine how I’d go about defeating this thing if I had to worry about being hypnotized by its eyes or tranquilized by anything more than a tiny scratch of its claws.

But without those factors to worry about, this thing’s basically just an overgrown lizard to me. To me, Monsters with ranged attacks that inflict physical damage are far more dangerous than those with attacks that inflict what would be considered negative ’status effects’ in video games.

Now, then, I think it’s about time I wrapped this up. As I shot towards the Hypnosaur, it swung its claws at a pillar, breaking off a few chunks of stone and sending them flying out towards me.

I swiftly spun my whip around in front of myself, the incoming projectiles getting deflected away as they struck it. I then shot myself forward with Jet Boost, closing in on the Monster before it could react.

It reactively slashed at me with its claws, before I swiftly sliced off its wrist and hand with the dagger end of my handle, and as it opened its jaws to try and take a bite of my head...Elemental Metal: Create Spear!

I formed a metal spear which shot in through its open mouth and burst out the back of its head, before I flew back a bit to avoid it falling onto me as I began to collapse.

I landed as the Hypnosaur hit the ground with a loud thud, its body limp and lifeless as blood poured out of it.

It showed a decent level of intelligence, and it was pretty light on its feet and quick to react as well. Definitely stronger than any Intermediate Grade Monsters I’ve faced...but in the end, not a real threat to me.

Yeah, I have absolutely no regrets about picking Universal Resistance as one of my Skills. And I gotta say, defeating a Disastrous Grade Monster on my own so easily, it’s a great boost to my confidence. I think this is a pretty good note to end on...

"Alright, Prysm, we’re done here," I remarked as she walked over, adding as I glanced back at her, "Teleport us back outside, let’s head into town now."

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