"I have to say...that was an impressive performance, you literally made several Adventurers tear up, some were even sobbing," Remarked Rosary in bemusement, as we headed out of the town and made our way towards the Labyrinth.

"You were really convincing last time as well...if I didn’t know what actually happened, I would have believed your story too," Added Ilex in agreement.

Yeah, I gave an impassioned speech about how I’d make full use of the life that that trio had saved and ensure that I carry on their will, I was just making it up as I went along. And based on the reaction I got, I fucking nailed it!

"Aw, you guys are flattering me, really appreciate it," I grinned in response, as I looked around the area and added, "Hm, there’s no one else around here...I don’t hear anyone close by, let’s get Prysm out and teleport inside the Labyrinth, it’ll save us a good twenty minutes or so of walking."

"Good idea, we’re a fair distance away from town now, it should be safe enough," Nodded Rosary, after looking around.

I then opened a portal into the area in my Pocket Dimension where I’d hidden Prysm. She poked her head out as I did and then stepped out of the portal with a sigh of relief.

"That wasn’t as long as usual, glad I’m out so soon," She remarked wryly.

"Take us down to the twentieth floor, we’ll work our way down from there and see how far we can go," I instructed her.

"Okay, got it...link up, everyone, we’ll all need to be in direct physical contact to teleport," She responded, holding out her hands.

Rosary took hold of her right hand while I took her left, before taking hold of Ilex’s hand and giving Prysm a nod.

"Alright, we’re linked up."

"Here I go...Initiate Skill: Teleportation," She chanted, before we found ourselves in the Labyrinth.

"Man, it feels good to be able to use your Teleportation again, going down from the start completely on foot was such a pain," I sighed wistfully.

"More importantly, do you sense any Monsters around nearby?" Inquired Rosary warily.

Initiate Skill: Monster/Magical Beast Thought Communication.

"Yeah, there are a few about eighty meters up ahead. A flock of six Cockatrices," I informed them, before manifesting my Soul Weapon.

"Actually, mind if the two of us take them on? We’ve been out of action for a few days longer than you were, after all," Pointed out Rosary, as she patted Prysm’s shoulder.

"Yeah, it’ll be a good warm-up for us," Added Prysm in agreement.

"Sure, go ahead," I replied with a shrug.

The two of them then stepped forward and led the way, stopping as I warned them that the Cockatrices were right up overhead. Right on cue, several threatening, clucking screeches rang out above us, as the Monsters swooped down with their talons poised to strike.

"Manifest Soul Weapon: Venom Claws," Rosary manifested her Soul Weapon, before leaping up towards the side of a pillar and springing off of it the instant her feet touched it, shooting right towards one of the Monsters.

She slashed at it with her claws, leaving deep scratch marks across the side of its neck and paralyzing it. As it plummeted down and hit the ground with a thud, she dropped down towards it and pierced her claws through the top of its head, killing it.

"Elemental Ice: Triple Icicle!" Chanted Prysm, firing out three rapid ice projectiles at the Monsters swooping down towards her, piercing through their bodies before they could react and killing them.

I raised my whip as one of the remaining two flew towards me with a sharp screech, before Rosary sprang up and grabbed it by the tail feathers, swinging it down towards with immense force and slamming it against the ground.

She then swiftly swung it up and slammed it down in the opposite direction, blood splattering out with a loud crunch as its head struck an uneven spot on the ground and its skull got crushed, its body going limp and slumping down.

As the last one swooped down towards her, she deflected its talons with her claws before grabbing its leg, digging her claws into it and paralyzing it. She then grabbed its head as it went limp and snapped its neck, letting it drop.

"Tear off their beaks, it’ll be adequate proof that we killed them," I instructed them, as I walked over to one of the dead Monsters and twisted its beak off, tossing it into my Pocket Dimension, as the others followed my lead.

The quest we’d taken was a simple Monster extermination assignment, with fixed rates for each type of Monster we kill. Intermediate Grades like these Cockatrices won’t get us a lot in terms of reward, but we’re only a few floors away before we start regularly encountering Disastrous Grades.

"Don’t they have any body parts that we can sell?" Prysm asked me.

"No, they’re basically just overgrown, vicious chickens, they don’t have any useful body parts. We’ll just leave them here for some other Monsters to eat-...," I began, before trailing off as I remembered what Argent said.

It totally slipped my mind, eating Monsters works as a power boosting method...so, uh, should I eat these? No, I think I’ll wait till we come across a Disastrous Grade...Argent said he’d been eating Catastrophic Grades, which were the most effective in giving him power boosts.

With that in mind, Common and Intermediate Grades probably won’t have too much of an effect in that regard.

"Is something wrong? Did you sense more Monsters?" Inquired Rosary warily.

"Huh? Oh, uh...no, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it. Come on, let’s keep going," I replied after shaking my head.

I still haven’t decided on whether I should tell them about this...but they’ll probably think I’m going crazy if I suddenly start eating a Monster with no explanation.

Fine, if and when it comes to it, I’ll tell them. I suppose it’s not too big a deal...even if they also decide to use this method of getting stronger, it’s not like they can benefit from it as much as I can.

For starters, they can’t eat any poisonous or venomous Monsters, while I can since I’ve got Universal Resistance. And when it comes to Monsters that possess Elemental powers, they can only benefit from the types that correlate with the Elemental Magic of their respective Attributes.

Anyway, we then continued moving forward, encountering Intermediate Grade Monsters at fairly regular intervals as we made our way through the Labyrinth.

We were using a rotating formation, taking on each group of Monsters we ran into in different pairs each time, while the other two would stand back and prepare to lend support if necessary.

But with only Intermediate Grade Monsters showing up, none of us were having any trouble. Also, Ilex is pretty good at adapting to teaming up with someone whose abilities he’s unfamiliar with.

He uses his Shadow Bind Skill to paralyze the Monsters and then finishes them off with his Soul Weapon. Barring those with the Shadow Walk Skill, I might be the only one with a real counter against his Shadow Bind once caught in it.

Flying is a pretty effective way to avoid it too, but still, it’s a really powerful Skill. It’s probably only in open spaces like a barren wasteland with no rocks or anything to cast shadows around that he can’t make use of it.

But he’s basically unstoppable against most opponents in the Labyrinth, it’s just powerful flying Monsters that he’ll struggle against, like the Dragonoid we faced.

We were down to the twenty-second floor now, about halfway through...it’ll probably still be a few more floors before we start encountering Disastrous Grade Monsters, but-...hm?

Well, then...never mind, here we go! I can sense them, a group of Disastrous Grades...and it’s perfect, three Giant Poison Slimes!

"There’s a few Giant Poison Slimes up ahead, leave them to me!" I instructed the others, as I took the lead with a rising sense of anticipation.

"By yourself? Are you sure?" Frowned Rosary uncertainly.

"Don’t worry, Slimes are actually a great match up for him," Prysm informed her.

I smirked as the Slimes came into sight, taking notice of us and turning this way. Alright, before they can shoot out their poison mist at us...I swiftly manifested my whip, before stiffening and extending it rapidly, shooting it forward like a long needle and piercing through one of the Slimes and striking its core.

As the core shattered, the blob collapsed into a large, gelatinous puddle, before I wasted no time in doing the same to the other two, finishing them off. There we go, now to test it out. I’ll explain what I’m doing to the others, so that they don’t think I’ve lost my mind or something.

"My brother revealed something pretty interesting to me...apparently, eating strong Monsters will make you stronger. There’s a limit to it, but that said, it’s a pretty significant boost, according to him," I remarked, as I reached into my Pocket Dimension and took out a mug, walking towards the piles of goo.

"Uh, wait, what are you...?" Trailed off Rosary in bemusement.

"A-are you really going to-...?" Began Ilex in disbelief, before I scooped up some of the Slime with the mug and swiftly chugged it down, almost gagging in the process.

H-holy...! Wow, this is disgusting! I heaved slightly as I reached down for another scoop, a bit hesitant as my body inadvertently shuddered...think of the worst food texture you’ve ever felt. Now double it...and then double it again. And then multiply it by a hundred...yeah, that sounds about right.

This is seriously terrible...but I don’t feel any adverse effects on my body, at the very least. I don’t feel stronger either...but then, I didn’t expect it to work instantly.

Argent spent about two years in the Labyrinth, eating Monsters multiple times every single day during that time...so I’ve probably got to chomp down on a whole lot of these things before I start to feel the effects. I just hope that not all the Monsters are as disgusting as this...

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