Mark and his Underling stepped into the tunnel on the right.
'The Mutated Fire Ants didn't come back to us, which means they were defeated... Guessed as much, after seeing that huge swarm of spiders and the Mutated Spider Queen. There's no way Fire Ants would be able to deal with similar enemies...'
After walking deeper into the tunnel, an uneasy feeling started settling in.
'Weird. It's as if...'
Growl-
For no apparent reason at all, Mark tilted his head to the side.
Slash-
A drop of blood went down his cheek.
Mark's pupils dilated.
All his senses immediately awakened, focused on finding where the attack had come from.
Light's growling got louder.
The next instant, Mark's side was scratched.
'There!'
While the attack did hit him, Mark's "Advanced Kinetic Vision" Passive Skill allowed him to locate where the attacks were coming from.
Mark launched himself forward with all the strength he had.
A third attack.
But this time, it was dodged cleanly.
'So you're the one attacking, huh?'
In an instant, Mark had traveled about 20 meters to find the enemy.
On the ceiling, a giant scorpion was standing.
Its tail dangled in the air.
'So that's what-'
Mark's thoughts were interrupted as the scorpion's pointy tail approached him with insane speed.
Once again, it was only thanks to his "Advanced Kinetic Vision" Skill that Mark could see the incoming attack.
Unable to move his body fast enough to dodge, he had to rely on another Skill to deflect the attack.
Sonic Tail Flick[B+].
Mark's tail collided with the scorpion's, knocking it off its trajectory.
A shockwave followed the collision.
The scorpion, confused and frightened, turned around.
A crack had appeared on its tail.
The Monster started running away.
After all, its trump card which was its stretchable, swift, and sharp tail, had proven ineffective against the enemy.
'Already?'
Even though the Monster was running away, Mark stood still.
He stared.
'Its running speed isn't anything special. Its Agility Stat must be pretty low. Only its tail is fast. Very fast. Which means it's probably some kind of Passive Skill, right?'
Growl-
Shadow Betrayal.
The Monster's leg was slashed by its own shadow.
Knocked off balance, it fell off the ceiling.
Five seconds later, Mark's arm went through the scorpion's shell.
[You have defeated an Assassin Scorpion. 8'000 Gold Coins and 16'000 Experience Points earned.]
[You have leveled up!]
'Alright. Let's assimilate this one. Its Skill will be useful. Especially combined with my Sonic Tail Flick...' Mark thought as he swallowed the red sphere of energy in his hand.
The next second, the tip of his tail became pointy and sharp.
[You have developed the Passive Skill "Tail Lengthening[D+]".]
'Mm. Not the one that made its tail incredibly fast, huh? Still, any new Skill is welcomed, I guess. System, any Skills or something I can buy?'
[None.]
'Still? Why the hell not??'
No answer came.
'Guess I'll have to rely on my "Assimilation" Skill for now...'
[Correct.]
'Tsk.'
Light walked to his Master's side.
'Good thing you noticed him. Your Sense Stat is still higher than mine, huh?' Mark complimented as he pet the furry Underling.
But the Shadow Wolf stood still.
Impassive.
Uncaring.
Mark shook his head sideways before walking deeper into the cave.
It was still unclear whether the Underlings or Revived Monsters were moving puppets brought from the dead, or something more.
After walking for a bit, Mark found a dead Monster.
'Huh.'
It was a Mutated Fire Ant.
The Monster was lying on its back.
Curled up and unmoving.
As he got closer, Mark noticed a dark purple spot on its body.
'Poison? Was it stung by that scorpion?'
The more Mark advanced forward, the more Mutated Fire Ant corpses he found.
'No. It must be something else...'
Most of the ants weren't wounded.
Still, they were dead.
'Even though the difference in strength between Mutated Fire Ants and the other Monsters is obvious, defeating more than a hundred of them would be no easy feat...'
Mark stared at the deeper part of the tunnel.
That's when a bright and shiny particle, seemingly, appeared out of nowhere.
It flew towards him.
The particle's movements resembled those of a leaf that, freely and lightly, floats in whatever direction the wind takes it.
'What is that?'
Mark could not sense any life force or Mana emanating from the flying particle.
It was hanging in the air.
Floating in whatever direction it fancied.
'Light. Walk beside me. Alert me if you sense anything.'
Mark dodged the particle out of caution.
He and his Underling walked passed it.
The particle, having no scent or life force was practically impossible to detect, except by sight.
Which is why, neither Mark nor Light, had noticed it landing on the former's tail.
Right away, a dark purple spot appeared on that tail.
It only took about 10 seconds, for dizziness to overtake Mark.
Light immediately started looking around for the enemy.
'What the-'
Suddenly, Mark started coughing up his own blood.
'Was I poisoned? When...??' He thought as he wiped the blood off his face.
Mark felt sick, and a series of messages appeared in front of him.
[You have been strongly poisoned!]
[You are losing 100 Health Points every second.]
[HP: 8500/9000.]
Only then, did Mark notice the huge purple spot on his tail.
'Poison? Was it that floating thing? When did it land on my-'
The next second, a swarm of purple particles appeared deep inside the tunnel.
Mark quickly raised his arms up.
Two Great Fire Balls were shot.
Just like he had hoped, the Great Fire Balls acted just like Fiery's "Fire Barrier".
The poisonous particles evaporated.
'This... For real?'
Mark's body started feeling heavier.
His breathing became unstable.
Still, Mark launched himself forward, in search of the attacker.
After traveling about 200 meters,
'The tunnel ends here. Did I pass him or-'
A purple mist suddenly appeared above Mark, clouding his vision.
Mark's upper body had been caught in it, but at the same time, it'd allowed him to find the enemy.
Through the mist, appeared a moth as big as a dog.
Its presence was extremely hard to notice.
It seemed like sight was the only sense that could even register its existence.
All over the moth's body, magnificent purple and yellow patterns were drawn.
But Mark did not have the time to admire the beauty of the creature in front of him.
Actually, he didn't even take a look at it.
Mark's body moved as soon as his gaze fell on the enemy.
As the poison made his arm muscles tense up, Mark bit the Monster's head off in one motion.
The rest of its body hit the ground.
A drop of blood went down Mark's nose as he chewed and swallowed the Monster's head.
'Fuck-'
Mark's vision became blurry.
Strength was leaving his body.
'The poison is still in effect? Even though it's dead-'
Mark's left leg gave out.
The way he saw the world around him changed.
The light in Mark's left eye faded.
'FUCK!'
Mark's palms hit the ground, as heaps of blood exited his mouth.
'Don't fucking tell me... This is... How it ends...'
As the light in Mark's right eye started fading,
Grr-
About to pass out, Mark raised his gaze ever so slightly.
A couple of inches away, stood his Underling.
From Light's mouth, hung the moth's unmoving body.
'If I can... Devour it...' Mark thought as he struggle to extend an arm.
Swush-
Missing the Monster's body by a few centimeters, Mark's hand hit the ground.
And so did his chest.
'Fuck... Fuck...!'
Mark's whole body refused to obey his commands.
More blood flowed out of his nose.
Mark lay on the ground, unmoving.
His eyes slowly closed.
The Shadow Wolf took a step forward.
Light extended his body until it was centimeters away from Mark's.
Inside his Master's open mouth, Light lay the moth's body.
It immediately turned into a red orb.
With the last of his strength, Mark swallowed it.
[You have developed the Magic Skill "Poisonous Wings[D]".]
[You have developed the Passive Skill "Poison Regulation[B]".]
[You have developed the Passive Skill "Poison Resistance[E]".]
[Your "Poison Resistence[E]" is combating the Poison that entered your body.]
The Shadow Wolf took a step back.
It lowered its behind and sat down.
Light's tail waved from side to side.
With its ears standing tall, the Underling guarded its Master's body.