"It's definitely rats." Germain raised the flamethrower nozzle and pressed the button. The flames hissed and grew more intense.
"A large group of fat, smelly rats."
The first dozen rats that lunged at Germain were quickly engulfed by the flames, as if they had willingly jumped into the fire. Their squeals of pain were sharp, and the smell of smoke filled the air.
The remaining rats either got crushed by those behind them and fell to the dry cave floor, fleeing in panic, or turned around and retreated back into the oval-shaped black hole, disappearing.
Germain aimed the flamethrower nozzle at the black hole and sprayed a burst of flames. Once he saw it shrinking, he turned the nozzle and burned the rats scurrying around his feet.
Soon, the ground was littered with over thirty charred rats, still smoldering. The rest had fled, and the black hole had shrunk and vanished.
"It seems these rats teleported the three of us to different parts of the cave. When they're together, they can create a 'teleport cave,' but a single rat isn't much of a threat."
"Pressure +6"
Germain felt the increasing pressure from the darkness but kept his pace steady. Rushing wouldn't get him out of the cave faster; being cautious was safer and might save time.
Ahead, he faced two more attacks from rats hiding in the walls.
He dealt with them the same way, not letting the disgusting little creatures bite him.
"Pressure +6"
Germain noted the intervals between the pressure increases, finding them inconsistent. Maybe it was because of the flashlight and flamethrower light sources. Overall, in the dark, the pressure increased about every five minutes.
As he walked, he saw a slope ahead, illuminated by his flashlight and the flamethrower's flames. The bottom was piled with rubble.
"Do I need to go up a level?"
Germain stepped onto the rubble and climbed up cautiously. Suddenly, he heard a rumbling sound and felt vibrations from above, as if something was hitting and scraping against the stone wall.
He lowered his body and climbed more carefully until he reached the top of the slope and saw a cave entrance.
The trembling sound didn't stop and wasn't too far away.
Germain entered a new tunnel, using his flashlight to find his way and observing the surroundings.
"Pressure +6"
Compared to the lower-level cave tunnel, this place was clearly more spacious, enough for a tank to pass through, and the air was fresher, not as stale as below.
If the lower level smelled strongly of rotten feces, this place smelled more like beasts.
Germain looked down and saw huge drag marks, as if a car had driven by with an iron pole.
He looked at the wall and saw fresh scratches, contrasting with the moss-covered soil around them.
"That means something just passed by here. Judging by the marks, it moved from left to right and is very large. Should I check it out?"
Germain wasn't sure if Bisky and Shizuku, who were still missing, were on the next level, this level, or somewhere else.
Suddenly, the shaking strong enough to shake the cave stopped.
After a moment, it started again, even more violently, causing gravel and dust to fall on Germain's head.
"After that strange pause, there was a violent reaction," Germain said, shaking off the gravel and dust from his black hunter's hat and putting it back on. "They must have encountered something unexpected."
"It's very likely it's either Bisky or Shizuku, or maybe both of them. If I'm right, I need to go support them now."
Germain was 70% sure of his guess. Carrying a flashlight and a flamethrower, he quickly ran to the right.
As he ran, Germain noticed new caves appearing on both sides, with new tunnels inside.
"It's a completely different structure from the one-way tunnels below. These tunnels are interconnected, probably in a grid shape. This must be to facilitate the movement of that large creature."
As Germain moved closer to the source of the noise, the earthquake-like rumbling grew louder. The dust in the air was so thick that it blocked the beam of his flashlight and the flame from his flamethrower.
"Pressure +6."
"Using a flashlight in this dust is useless. It takes up one of my hands. I'll have to rely on my 'En' (aura sensing technique)."
He pulled up his black robe mask to cover his mouth and nose, adjusted his tricorn hat, turned off the flashlight, put it back in his backpack, and walked into the darkness.
The vibrations continued, and Germain's 'En' soon detected a large object moving up and down and side to side nearby, roughly cone-shaped.
"It must be the tail."
Germain swapped his flamethrower for Cleaver. In the pitch darkness and swirling dust, his 'En' guided him to the right moment.
"Now."
He adjusted the Cleaver with a click, stepped forward, and struck the massive, swinging tail. Sparks flew as the Cleaver clanged against something hard.
"Scales? They're so tough I couldn't cut through them at all... If I were a Enhancer or had a 'critical hit' ability, maybe I could break through these scales."
The creature sensed an enemy behind it but couldn't turn around in the tunnel, so it thrashed its tail wildly, trying to hit the unseen foe.
Germain had already moved out of the tail's range.
The tail struck the stone wall, causing large stones to fall and block one-third of the tunnel.
"Pressure +6."
"If these really are scales, there might be a way."
After considering his options, Germain quickly moved forward again, crossed the stone barrier, skillfully dodged the tail, and thrust the Cleaver between the scales in an instant.
He suddenly applied force, prying open the scales at an angle. His left hand conjured a leech's hidden blade, which he wore on his palm and wrist. With a swift thrust, he drove the short blade between the scales.
In a flash, Germain retreated again, this time hiding in a cave nearby.
Where the leech's hidden blade pierced, blood gushed out with a "hiss," like an unstoppable faucet.
This is the power of the leech's hidden blade. As long as the creature has blood, the wound will bleed profusely and rapidly.
If the bleeding isn't stopped quickly, a single stab could kill a human through blood loss.
But for a cave beast of this size, it would take a long time to bleed out completely.
However, the leech's hidden blade still affected the beast.
Its tail's thrashing against the stone wall became more intense. With a strange hiss, the beast seemed to crawl forward, its tail also moving forward.
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