"So, uh...do you feel stronger at all?" Inquired Rosary curiously.

"No, not really...but to be fair, my brother was down here for about two years, and in the deeper floors, at that. He was eating a lot of Catastrophic Grade Monsters on top of the Disastrous Grades, so this won’t be an overnight process. I think we’ll be staying here in Kaygee Town for quite a while," I replied with a wry smile.

"How did that Slime taste?" Prysm asked me with a look of intrigue.

"Well, it didn’t actually have much of a taste...but the texture was the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my mouth, it was so disgustingly slimy and sticky," I responded with a slight shudder.

"And, um, you really don’t feel sick or anything after eating it? You consumed more than half of one of those Slimes, and they’re pretty huge," Chimed in Ilex, a bemused look on his face.

"Yeah, it’s weird, considering the amount of it I consumed, I don’t feel particularly full. Maybe it digests super quickly or something?" I mused uncertainly.

We were down to the twenty-fourth floor now, and hadn’t encountered any more Disastrous Grades since those Giant Poison Slimes. But it shouldn’t be much further now...it’s usually from the twenty-sixth floor onwards that Disastrous Grades start to appear regularly in.

"Isn’t that bad, though? Like, if it digests way faster than normal food, won’t you have to go to the bathroom really soon?" Pointed out Prysm with a frown.

"Huh, good point...oh, well, worst case scenario, I’ll make use of my Pocket Dimension. I can create an unlimited number of separate spaces within it, so yeah," I shrugged in response.

"Pretty sure that’s not what that Skill was meant to be used for...," Replied Rosary with a laugh.

"Well, it’d be pretty bad if I went in a spot somewhere in the Labyrinth and then a Monster suddenly showed up while I was in the middle of it...so, yeah, if it comes down to it, I’ll make use of my Pocket Dimension," I grinned sheepishly.

"There’s a lot of ponds and streams in this area...Monsters could spring out from the water and attack us at any given moment," Frowned Ilex as he looked around warily.

"Don’t worry, I can sense them coming if that happens, and I’m not sensing any in the bodies of water we’re passing by. So there’s no need to-...hm? Ah, guess I spoke too soon...I can sense two Monsters underwater a hundred meters or so up ahead. They’re a species I haven’t encountered before, but it feels like they’re probably Disastrous Grades," I surmised, as I focused on what I was sensing through my Thought Communication Skill.

"If they’re aquatic Monsters, then we should avoid getting too close to the water...but then it’s likely that they won’t attack us, assuming that they’re not as formidable on land," Mused Rosary thoughtfully.

"I can provoke them into attacking if that turns out to be the case," I remarked as we began heading forward, before adding, "And besides, these Monsters feel like they’re just barely in the Disastrous Grade Threat Level...they’re definitely stronger than Intermediate Grade, but also a lot weaker than, for instance, that Basilisk we fought."

"From what you’ve told me about that, how come Basilisks aren’t Catastrophic Grades instead?" Inquired Prysm curiously.

"Basilisks are just about the most powerful Monster species that are given a Threat Level of Disastrous Grade, and the main two reasons why they aren’t Catastrophic Grade are that their hides, while quite tough, are not as durable compared to the majority of Monsters ranked as Catastrophic Grade, and the second reason is their speed. They are fast, but not overwhelmingly so.

There’s one other factor...the more powerful Death Basilisks, which are Catastrophic Grades. Regular Basilisks paralyze you with their gaze, but Death Basilisks inflict instant death if their lock you with their sights. They’re larger, faster and have tougher bodies than regular Basilisks," Explained Rosary, as we began to close in on the body of water in which I’d sensed the Monsters.

"Let’s back away and spread out a bit, just to be safe," I suggested, before using Thought Communication to provoke the Monsters once we were all in position.

Bubbles and ripples then began appearing on the water’s surface, before a loud splash echoed out as the two Monsters I’d sensed burst out from the water, letting out vicious snarls.

"Those are Kappas...," Frowned Ilex warily, as he chanted to bring out his Soul Weapon.

Kappas, an amphibious Monster species...they’re about as tall as the average human, standing on two legs. They have long, bony limbs with webbed hands and feet, with dark green, shriveled skin.

They have turtle-like shells around their torsos, which are supposed to be extremely durable...they’re apparently absolutely rapid underwater, but they’re also said to be pretty fast on land too.

Their fingers and toes have razor sharp claws on them, and they have curved, sharp beaks with rows of sharp teeth in them. Alright, then, let’s test out how formidable these things are, shall we?

I swiftly cracked my whip across towards the two Monsters while rapidly extending it out, but they immediately dropped down low to evade my swing, before springing away as I flicked my wrist down to bring the whip crashing down towards them.

Ilex swiftly took aim at one of them and fired out Mana bullets at it, but it managed to evade them all, leaping across the area like a frog. Rosary shot towards the other one, driving her claws towards it in an attempt to paralyze it.

The Monster ducked to dodge her attack before swinging its claws up at her, as she quickly tilted her body back to avoid it, slight scratches appearing on her right cheek.

"You should stand back, Prysm, you’re not ready to take these Monsters on yet," I instructed her, before she nodded and stepped back, manifested her Soul Weapon and assuming a defensive position.

"These things are so fast!" Exclaimed Rosary with a grimace, fighting a somewhat even battle with the Kappa she was taking on...its attacks are relentless, it’s not giving her a chance to use any Magic.

She’s managed to scratch its shell a bit, but she’s not able to land a solid hit, at least not one deep enough to break through the shell. As she swung her claws at its right arm, it suddenly withdrew its arm into its shell in the blink of an eye, before slashing at her with its other hand, which she just barely managed to deflect with her own claws.

"Come on, damn it, die already!" Snapped Ilex, letting out a bit of his inner psycho and startling the girls.

He was firing at it relentlessly, but it was springing around too quickly...there aren’t a lot of shadows in this area, so he can’t use Shadow Bind on it yet. He’s trying to shepherd it towards a pillar and get it to step onto the shadow cast by it, but it’s too fast for him to fully control its movements with his shooting.

"Keep them occupied just a bit longer!" I called out to the two of them, before sinking into the shadows.

Heretic Spell: Shadow Phase.

As I entered the shadows, I made my way towards the shadow of the Kappa fighting Rosary...Ilex is managing to keep the one he’s fighting at a distance away from him, he should be fine for a bit longer.

Hm, what should I call this floaty, dark place I find myself in whenever I sink into the shadows? Shadow Dimension? Oh, or what about Shadow Realm? It’s a bit of a ripoff, but hey, it’s not like anyone in this world would know.

Anyway, as I floated across until I was under the shadow of the Kappa, I took aim and rapidly extended my whip out from behind it, piercing through the back of its head and killing it without it ever even reacting.

One down, one more to go. As it collapsed onto the ground, I swiftly made my way towards the other one, firing out my whip as I got within its shadow...but it reacted, its head suddenly shrinking back into its shell as it slightly turned its gaze back this way.

Oh, wow, it must have figured out my attack after seeing how I killed the other one. Not bad at all...but not good enough. I smirked as swiftly swung my arm down, slashing my whip downwards and slicing the Monster in half, shell and all.

I then sprang out of its shadow as it began to collapse, stepping aside to avoid getting splattered by its blood.

"That’s the first time I’ve faced a Kappa...they’re stronger than I expected," Frowned Ilex warily.

"Yeah, how was that ’barely in the Disastrous Grade Threat Level’?" Added Rosary with a sigh.

Sensing how powerful a Monster is through Thought Communication isn’t exactly perfectly accurate, it’s more like I get a vague sense of how powerful it is. And sometimes, that means my estimate through what I sense might be a bit off.

"Uh...my bad?" I grinned sheepishly in response.

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