Chapter 187: Chapter 187 - The Haven(Part 16)

"That’s great, so we’re going to get the chance to fight for real!" Grinned Izzy excitedly. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Well, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, it’s possible that the Elders might decide against it. Either way, it shouldn’t affect us too much," I replied with a shrug.

"We shouldn’t underestimate the potential danger this might hold, there’s no telling what we’ll find if we tunnel through the area the Monsters have been coming from," Pointed out Argent.

"Yeah, but it we leave it be, it could get way out of hand further down the line," Chimed in Prysm.

It was later in the day, and I was currently with the others, relaxing in a clearing in the forest, and I just finished telling them about the Monster problem that the Haven has been facing.

There was a nice breeze blowing through, and we were enjoying it by smoking some weed.

The Elders are busy holding a meeting at the moment, discussing the matter regarding the Monsters. If they decide to go ahead with a preemptive strike before more Monsters show up here, I’ll definitely get involved, so long as they aren’t against it.

Izzy is definitely going to insist that she be allowed to go too...though if she’s going, she could probably deal with the problem on her own. Argent is likely to volunteer if she’s going. And Prysm wouldn’t want to be the only one of us sitting out, especially after that was often the case whenever we were in any of the towns.

"This place is quite pleasant, I like it...but I don’t want to go too long without a good fight. I hope there’s a really strong Monster in there," Sighed Izzy hopefully.

"I hope not. It’d be better if it’s just a bunch of Disastrous Grades wreaking havoc," Responded Prysm wryly.

"Where’s the fun in that? I don’t want to fight a bunch of weak Monsters. I can’t even call that a fight. I’m not going to get stronger if I don’t face strong opponents," Frowned Izzy apprehensively.

"Aren’t you plenty strong already?" Inquired Prysm with a raised eyebrow.

"No...I’m still too weak. I need to get stronger," She shook her head with an unusually serious look in her eyes.

"You’d be hard-pressed to find an opponent that can genuinely challenge you in a real fight though. Dragon Kings and Demons are the strongest beings in existence, but no one’s seen a Dragon King in decades, and all the remaining Demons are sealed away. There are the Demonic Grades at the bottom of the Labyrinths, you could challenge them," I suggested in response.

"No, they’re not strong enough. Oh, but there are the Elder Vampires! I fought one over two hundred years ago, before the other Demons were sealed. That Vampire was stronger than me, I might have been killed if my big sister Lucy hadn’t been there," She recalled thoughtfully.

"Right, Elder Vampires are considered the strongest Monsters after Demons and Dragon Kings, they’re pretty close to their level. But they haven’t been seen for even longer than the Dragon Kings. On another note, I can’t believe that you were in the Kaygee Town Labyrinth for two centuries and never bothered to challenge the Demonic Grade Monster at the bottom of the Labyrinth?" I inquired incredulously.

"Yeah, I was numb to everything while I was down there, I spent my time listlessly, only attacking creatures that attacked me first...that’s why I didn’t grow any stronger while I was down there," She replied sheepishly.

"And what about for the last few years?" I responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh...it just didn’t occur to me, I kinda forgot that the Monster at the bottom of the Labyrinth is supposed to be more powerful than most," She shrugged with a wry smile.

"Well, with both the True Dragons and Elder Vampires in hiding right now, the fiftieth floors of the Labyrinths may be your only option in finding opponents who can challenge you," Remarked Argent thoughtfully.

"Maybe that’s for the best. We really don’t want to be running into True Dragons or Elder Vampires," I replied warily.

True Dragons have immense destructive power, and Elder Vampires are extremely dangerous too. Their regenerative abilities are on par with Demons, and their power is said to be no joke as well.

They can turn humans into Vampires, which are considered Catastrophic Grade Monsters, and are the only Monsters that were originally human. From what I’ve read, when Vampires are created, the original personality is erased and replaced by a new one.

Elder Vampires can only create a Vampire once every decade or so, and both Elder Vampires and Vampires are capable as disguising themselves as humans and blending in, using hypnosis and mind control to avoid detection. Vampires are the only Monsters below Demonic Grade with real intelligent as well.

Vampires can in turn create Lesser Vampires, turning humans into mindless, vicious creatures. They’re more like Zombies, based on what I’ve read about them, except for the whole turning people by biting them thing. And unlike Elder Vampires, regular Vampires can turn people into Lesser Vampires once a day.

Lesser Vampires may be mindless and lack intelligence, but they’re pretty powerful and destructive, considered Disastrous Grade Monsters.

However, it’s not like just anyone can be turned into a Vampire. Only those who possess Mana can be turned, and only those who have expanded less than half their maximum Mana capacity.

In other words, since I can use well over half my maximum capacity now, I can’t be turned into a Vampire. It’s theorized that, when an Elder Vampire turns a human, they flood their Mana circuits with Negative Energy.

Think of a person’s Mana capacity as a container that gradually expands with training, if a person’s capacity has been expanded by less than half its maximum limit, the Elder Vampire can forcibly expand it fully, and then fill it with Negative Energy, turning the person into a Vampire.

The Negative Energy of a Vampire is less refined and powerful than an Elder Vampires’, that’s why their victims turn into Lesser Vampires. But that said, just because I’m immune doesn’t mean I’m particularly eager to encounter a Vampire.

I doubt I’ll have to worry about that though, there haven’t been any Vampire sightings of any kind in almost a century, they’ve been living in hiding for all that time. I’m happy to let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak.

"Okay, then once we leave this place, we’ll head back to the Labyrinth and go down to the deepest floor! Or, then again, why wait? Hey, teleport me there right now," Izzy shook Prysm’s shoulder with an eager look in her eyes.

"Uh, I don’t know about th-...," Began Prysm in alarm.

"Oh, there you all are. I was looking for you," Suddenly came Oberr’s voice, Prysm letting out a quiet sigh of relief as Izzy got distracted.

"Hey, man. What’s up? The meeting over already?" I greeted him.

"Yes, and we have come to a unanimous consensus. In five days time, we shall tunnel our way through and locate the Monsters. And then, we shall eliminate them with prejudice. I’d like to request your assistance in this endeavor," He remarked, getting straight to the point.

"Count me in! Even if you told me to stay out of it, I would’ve forced my way into the action anyway," Grinned Izzy without hesitation.

"Yeah, I’ll help too," I nodded in response.

"I don’t see any reason to refuse," Added Argent with a thumbs up.

"I’m in too," Said Prysm affirmatively.

Yup, just as I’d predicted...we’re all joining in.

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