Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Subspecies Subjugation
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Elia blinked.
Her gaze turned to the center of the heated battle.
'Fast.'
She muttered her brief impression.
It was a monster she'd never seen before in her life.
A being that had shattered the ironclad rule that monsters could never leave the labyrinth.
'So there's a monster like that in the upper levels.'
It was just swinging its elongating arms wildly.
A pattern as simple as could be.
But as if it didn't need any fancy tricks, it overwhelmed its opponent in every way—strength, speed, everything.
Boom!
Every time the tentacles slammed into the ground, the earth cracked.
A roar like space itself tearing apart shook the plaza.
Just grazing it would be enough to turn a human body into a rag.
'Pure physical prowess puts it around high-tier explorer level.'
She figured she could win in perfect condition, but she'd have to brace for some injuries.
Conclusion.
Top-tier among upper-level monsters, but not an insurmountable wall for her, who aimed for the mid-layers.
'But.'
She blinked again.
She couldn't tear her eyes away from the nonstop surprises.
Not because of the monster, but the man facing it.
'What is that guy?'
She could gauge someone's level from their mana.
To her, the man was clearly the underdog.
Barely able to infuse mana into his weapon.
For a mage, it'd be like a total beginner.
The gap with the monster was vast.
In fact, the man's sword hadn't even scratched it once.
Aware of that, he left the attacking to them and focused on defense and evasion.
That much she could understand.
'But how is he dodging all of it?'
The man was handling the monster's attacks flawlessly.
Batting away incoming tentacles, finding gaps in the onslaught to slip through.
His tireless expression brimmed with leisure.
He was toying with it, disrupting its rhythm.
'Could I do that?'
She wasn't confident.
In perfect shape, yes.
She was a mid-tier explorer on the cusp of high-tier.
No matter how strong and threatening its speed, she could handle such brute-force attacks.
But that was only at her current level, gunning for high-tier.
If she were at a lower level, unable to damage the monster like that man?
'Impossible. No way.'
It was the gap between child and adult.
No matter the talent, fundamental limits existed.
No need to even compare long and short.
Yet the man faced the monster head-on.
Even though he surely couldn't see the attacks clearly—just barely catching afterimages.
He toyed with it using movements that seemed to predict the future.
'Does he have some special skill?'
That was the only explanation that came to mind for Elia.
Boom!
"Nice, hit again! Your turn now, sis!"
"..."
"Sis?"
"Oh, sorry. Got lost in thought for a sec."
She'd been so engrossed in the fight, like an audience swept up in a play, that she only now reacted to Leon's words.
"You're still struggling with mana, right? Maybe I should push myself and finish it...!"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me."
As her turn came, Elia prepared her magic.
Though her eyes stayed fixed on the man the whole time.
'Leon, was it?'
She engraved his name in her mind.
'Should exchange contacts later or something.'
The perfect talent matching what she'd been looking for.
Elia planned to scout him as soon as this was over.
...
Rumble!
'That's two.'
Leon's second spell hit the staggering beast.
"Groooar."
The subspecies screamed, scorched by the light flames.
Its tentacle body burned and crumbled, one arm falling away.
Victory was in sight.
One more time.
One more, and I could end it for sure.
'Push through like this.'
The longer it dragged, the worse for us.
This was the best window, while it hadn't adapted to maturity.
No room for counterattacks.
I closed in to exploit the opening in one go.
"Aaaah."
"!"
The subspecies, which had only wailed until now, cleared its throat.
Like a speaker about to begin.
'Already?!'
A bad premonition flashed.
I tried to pull back distance in a hurry.
"It... hurts."
Human words spilled from the monster's mouth.
A grotesquely distorted voice, but unmistakably laced with human emotion.
"Hurts!"
Flames erupted everywhere in an instant.
Lava-hot pillars of fire engulfed the plaza.
'Nothing ever goes easy.'
The subspecies had begun seriously tapping into the mana latent in its body.
Adapting to this environment outside the labyrinth.
Absorbing the gendarme and host's mana and life force, making it fully its own.
I'd thought it'd take longer, but survival instinct awakened it faster than expected.
'Now the real trouble starts.'
Platerria subspecies could use the skills of their human hosts.
That flame just now wasn't Platerria's innate ability—it was stolen from an explorer.
Taken out in the upper levels, so at least mid-tier explorer, with one or two skills.
"Raaargh!"
The subspecies roared.
The human mana now fully under its control responded.
Whoosh!
Flames burst from the ground, cloaking the monster entirely.
Like armor to keep others at bay.
But its plant-like tentacles remained oddly unscathed.
That's when I figured out the stolen skill.
Skill Resonance.
The ability to take no damage from its own activated magic.
It would never burn in its own flames.
'Guess we settle it here.'
Dragging it out would only make it worse.
I kicked off the ground and charged.
Whoosh!
Flame-wreathed tentacles lunged at me.
Enveloped in fire, they were far faster and fiercer than before.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fiery trails filled my vision as they sliced the air.
Unable to dodge completely, I shifted to minimize damage.
Ting!
A tentacle tip grazed my shoulder.
Hot flames licked my skin, sizzling as it burned.
Whoosh, crackle!
The relentless barrage grew faster with each hit.
Skill Acceleration.
Speed stacking with each consecutive attack—it was getting hard to even evade.
'Still manageable.'
At least, it had lost an arm on the second hit.
Its attacks were getting stronger and faster, but still within expectations.
And not just it.
I was growing stronger too.
Thwack!
Flame-laced wind battered my skin.
A hammer-heavy tentacle grazed my cheek, blood flowing.
Scraaape!
Right after, my strength and speed ramped up to match, growing faster too.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Berserker's Fury All stats increase. Combat frenzy surges.
Rage, a thirst for battle, coursed through my veins.
My battered body heated up, urging my limbs onward.
'Here goes.'
I squeezed out my last strength to close in.
Flames and tentacles flew from all sides, but Berserker's Fury-boosted speed and my grasp of its patterns broke through.
Right in its face again.
I swung my sword immediately.
Whoosh!
Aiming for its lower body.
Intending to topple its balance.
Clang!
Its legs were solid as a massive tree rooted to the earth.
"I... win!"
The subspecies declared victory in clumsy human speech.
A thin tentacle pierced my throat.
Stab!
"Absorb."
It tried to devour me like the gendarmes.
'Yes, that's it.'
A monster that devoured all life for growth.
Craving the strong all the more—I knew its nature.
That's why I'd made it focus on me.
Even knowing my attacks wouldn't land, I'd poured everything out.
To create this opening.
Splat!
Darkness pierced the flames.
Inky mana shaped like an arrow impaled its head.
"Eh?"
The monster's gaze shifted past me to the arrow's origin.
Elia stood there.
Black mana dispersed like smoke from her fingertip—the aftermath of the headshot.
"Eee."
The subspecies's body slowly crumbled.
Flame-wrapped tentacles wilted like dying petals, scattering to the ground one by one.
Until it vanished as ash.
...
"Good work."
"Thank you."
Leon reached out her hand.
I grabbed it and pulled my exhausted body up.
"Treat those wounds first."
"I'm fine. I'll get a priest later."
"Tch, hold still."
Leon opened a sub-space portal and pulled out a potion.
"Drink this."
"A healing potion. If you had this, why not heal your own wounds first?"
"The Dawn Bud you gave me works way better than this, so I saved it."
"So, basically calling it trash... Gulp!"
"No backtalk—drink!"
Leon force-fed me the potion.
With a hole in my throat, some leaked out, but I felt recovery kick in fast.
"The throat hole's small, and the burns aren't as bad as they look. You came through that mess pretty well."
"Must be 'cause I'm that good."
"Yeah, yeah, you're the best."
Leon patted my back in praise.
Her words said one thing, but she didn't seem inclined to deny it.
In truth, it wasn't exaggeration—I'd prevented what could've been a major disaster.
"Anyway, about that promise with me."
"Of course. I'd never spill, even with a knife to my throat."
The two requests from the labyrinth.
First: Hand over all the roots removed from Elia to me.
Second: Keep quiet about meeting me at all.
"I'll head out then."
"Your wounds aren't fully healed—rest a bit more."
"Too many eyes for that luxury."
"Is it over now?"
"Thought we were goners."
With the monster gone and crisis passed, hidden citizens emerged one by one.
Sticking around would draw all their attention.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Yeah, we'll handle the rest."
"Take care of your health too, Elia."
"So thoughtful—I'm touched."
As long as we stayed in Labyrinth City, we'd meet again someday, so we left it at that.
With a quick goodbye, I slipped away from the scene.