Boom! Boom! Boom......
Continuous explosions echoed through the forest.
It was only after a large stretch of trees had been flattened that the blasts finally ceased.
“......This is really strange. What’s wrong with this Caiman Thunder Rhino?”
Alicia stared confusedly at the massive body lying on the ground.
Hulim looked up at the top of the cliff.
“We’ll find out if we go up there.”
“Up there? That makes sense......”
The three then flew directly up to the cliff.
“So that’s what it is.”
Seeing the traces above, Hulim imdiately deduced the cause.
“This Caiman Thunder Rhino wasn’t attacking us.”
“It was running away—and we just happened to get in its way.”
“Running away?”
Alicia frowned.
“This is a B-rank Caiman Thunder Rhino. What could make it flee like this......”
In the Monster Great Forest, C-rank creatures were common, but B-rank apex beings were rare.
Essentially, each one ruled a vast territory, and conflicts between them were rare unless special circumstances arose.
For this Caiman Thunder Rhino to flee, it ant another, more powerful being had invaded its territory.
Unable to stand against it, the rhino had no choice but to run.
“......In any case, let’s go check it out first. There should be plenty of Magic Crystals near the Caiman Thunder Rhino’s nest.”
The intruder was likely near the nest by now.
If it was from a neighboring territory, they might even find another high-rank creature’s lair.
That would probably give them enough Magic Crystals.
If not, they could just “borrow” so from others tomorrow......
Afterward, Hulim and the others followed the trail left by the Caiman Thunder Rhino.
After searching for a while,
the three arrived at a mist-shrouded valley.
“......A swamp? So the Caiman Thunder Rhino’s nest is here.”
Chirp, chirp!
Hulim summoned several Wind ssage Birds.
“Let’s wait a mont. Let’s see where the intruder is.”
The Wind ssage Birds then scattered toward the swamp ahead.
Hulim, Miko, and Alicia waited patiently where they stood.
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One minute, three minutes, five minutes......
Ten minutes passed.
The Wind ssage Birds found nothing.
Not only was there no sign of the unknown high-rank creature—there weren’t even any smaller creatures around!
The entire swamp was deathly silent.
It was as if so terrifying presence had driven all its inhabitants into hiding.
However, deep in the swamp, they did find what appeared to be the Caiman Thunder Rhino’s nest.
Nearby, nurous glimring Magic Crystals were scattered about.
“We found the nest...... Hmm? What’s this——”
One of the Wind ssage Birds suddenly made another discovery......
After so ti,
“......A listone cave?”
The three arrived at the cave entrance the bird had found.
“This is really well-hidden.”
A large tree grew above the cave mouth, its branches hanging down to almost completely block the view of the entrance.
From a distance, no one would ever suspect a cave was here.
Miko leaned in to peek inside.
“Could the intruder be down there?”
“Very likely. There’s no trace of it anywhere else, and here——”
Alicia examined the traces at the entrance carefully,
“Look—there are clear marks from a large creature scraping against the rocks as it passed through!”
Miko turned to look where Alicia was pointing.
Sure enough, there were nurous scratch marks, as if made by sothing hard.
And it wasn’t just the rocks on either side—similar marks could be seen on the ceiling of the entrance too.
“This thing is really big.”
“What do we do now? Go down and look for it directly?”
“No.”
Hulim shook her head.
“Let’s collect the crystals near the nest first. We don’t know where this cave leads. Once we go in, we might not co out this way again.”
The three temporarily left the cave entrance,
turning toward the Caiman Thunder Rhino’s nest deep in the swamp.
After taking so ti to gather all the Magic Crystals,
they returned to the cave entrance once more.
“Let’s go. Down we go.”
Hulim took the lead and stepped into the cave.
Miko and Alicia followed closely behind.
Their figures gradually vanished into the underground darkness.
...
Tap, tap, tap......
Several sets of footsteps echoed through the underground passage.
Once inside the cave, the three realized it was completely different from the entrance above.
It was enormous!
And the paths were incredibly complex.
Add in the cave plants growing everywhere, and the occasional cave creature scurrying by——
It was truly a natural labyrinth.
“This is amazing! I never knew there was such a place underground here!”
Miko stared around in wonder, casually breaking off a glowing stalactite from the side of the path.
She twirled it in her hands for a few monts.
Then the stalactite’s glow slowly faded.
“Huh? Why did it stop shining?”
Hulim glanced back at her and explained:
“That’s Fluorescent Blue Micro-Moss, which clings to damp stalactites. It survives on minerals and moisture from the rock—very delicate and fragile. A light touch will crush it.”
“Oh, that’s why it stopped shining after I touched it a few tis.”
“But there are so many weird and wonderful things in this world—I could never rember them all.”
“You don’t need to make a point of rembering. After all, species are disappearing from Himmler every mont, and new ones are being born.”
“Since the beginning of recorded civilization, all the known and nad creatures in Himmler add up to less than one-tenth of the species that exist in the world today.”
“No way! Are there really that many unknown creatures in the world?!”
Hulim’s words left Miko stunned.
“Hmm...... I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s a conclusion reached by so sages in the past.”
“Wait a second——!”
Hulim suddenly stopped walking,
her gaze fixed on the ground ahead.
Miko and Alicia followed her line of sight—and saw the traces left on the ground.
“......Are these the thing’s footprints?”
Perhaps because the ground here was no longer entirely rock but had so sand and soil, several clear footprints were left behind.
Staring at the massive footprints, nearly a ter wide, Alicia thought carefully.
“......They look a bit like the tracks left by a bear-type creature.”
She turned to Hulim.
“What do you think it is, Hulim?”
“......”
Hulim did not answer, continuing to stare at the footprints on the ground.
“Hulim?”
“......It’s nothing. Let’s keep moving.”
“?”
Alicia stared confusedly at Hulim’s retreating back.
“Don’t worry,”
Hulim’s voice ca from ahead.
“I already know what it is. I’ll take care of it......”
After so more ti,
“Do you feel like we’re going deeper and deeper underground? Could that thing be so kind of underground-dwelling monster?”
Miko couldn’t help but say as she looked at the increasingly dim surroundings.
“No, it’s not.”
Hulim replied casually,
“We should see it soon.”
Before long, the three arrived at an underground lake.
Hulim stopped at the shore, her gaze fixed on the water’s surface ahead.
Miko looked around, but saw nothing,
and couldn’t help but ask in confusion:
“There’s nothing here?”
But at that mont, Hulim gripped her Seven Luminaries wand horizontally.
“Miko, Alicia—fall back to the passage we ca from.”
“Huh?”
“It’s coming out——”
...
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