A Dragon's Curiosity

Nisha felt a new density of energy in the air once she passed the first five levels of the Dungeon.

Although it was just the difference of one level, the jump in density of the surrounding energy was similar to the gap between a third and fourth rank practitioner - resembling the first great divide.

Inhaling deeply, the circulation of the dragon’s blood sped up and the recovery of her expended blood essence hastened.

No adventurer group camped at the bottom of the stairs, most parties had a destination in mind when they made it beyond the boss room on the fifth floor.

Rather than lingering around the exit, they hurried towards their goal to make the trip worth it.

Picking a random tunnel, the elf quickly paced forward and inspected her arm again.

After the golden strands dispersed into her blood and flesh, their energy rapidly depleted to repair them.

Only white skin remained, no signs of a wound could be spotted at all, the only evidence left of the injury was the torn sleeve of her dress.

No matter how strong her regeneration was, the girl was incapable of healing her dress with flesh and blood.

Her contemplation was cut short as the path ended and opened into a big stone room.

Similar to the boss room, water dripped from the ground and gathered in big puddles all around.

At least half of the room was submerged in pools, hiding unknown creatures.

Fortunately, the dragon had her [Spirit Sight] to spot the monsters unseen to the naked eye.

Buried in the mud, a swarm of rotund fishes with elongated, spiral shaped beaks lurked around.

While they did not move yet, hardly any vitality was leaked from their forms, aiding their camouflage.

Nisha, who had originally been eager to get into a fight and test the limits of her physical strength, deflated like a punctured balloon.

Rather than a powerful opponent worthy of being defeated, she encountered a group of [Bait Waste], a rather peculiar kind of fish swarm.

Most species enhanced themselves and sought ways to smoothen their path towards even greater heights, yet this fish swarm nearly went the opposite way.

Feasting on all kinds of meat, they converted their mass into a large sac of acid in the middle of its body.

When they encountered a predator, the swarm would throw itself at the opponent with wild abandon and inject their acid into the target’s body.

Nevertheless, this kind of resistance was not particularly strong and often the weak [Bait Waste] died before they achieved much.

Unexpectedly, once the fish died, the acid sac within the body would burst and release all the corrosive liquid at once.

The more the prey struggled, the more acid got released and drenched it, eventually killing it off.

With a large source of nourishment, the number of [Bait Waste] would go up after an enemy encounter rather than go down.

And after the first great divide in cultivation, it was no longer possible to go fishing with a regular net.

Most aquatic creatures were smart enough to avoid the net or tear it apart when encountering it, so fishermen above that rank mostly relied on carefully crafted fishing rods and enticing bait to bring back high level sea food.

They hated this kind of monster almost as much as adventurers, because their body broke down and turned into a puddle of acid once they died, rendering them unusable for both professions.

Only damaged gear and broken fishing lines were left behind after an encounter with these fish, hence their name turned into [Bait Waste] over the course of time.

Carefully restraining her own aura, Nisha avoided the puddles of mud and water on the ground and slinked through the room without agitating the hidden monsters.

Having a burning fighting spirit but no place to vent it was a particularly bitter feeling, but there was nothing the elf could do.

Even if she fought the fish monster, their bodies would only break down into acid, leaving nothing behind.

Monsters that were slain in the Dungeon generally yielded some materials, no matter how poor their quality was.

One or two portions of their bodies could be harvested before the quality of the remaining body worsened so much that it was not worth it anymore compared to monsters hunted outside of the Dungeon.

Parties of adventurers made their living from the materials they brought back from the depths of the Dungeon, but none of them wished to encounter disasters like [Bait Waste], fighting them was purely a loss from their point of view.

Nisha successfully circumvented the lurking monsters and advanced to the second room, where her quest for a strong adversary was finally fulfilled.

Rather than another swarm of individually weaker monsters, a big furry animal sat in the centre of the chamber, waiting for a foe.

Just as the elf entered the room, the monster beat its fists on its chest and bellowed with fury, kicking up a big disturbance.

Nisha experienced a surge of fighting spirit, albeit she did not imitate the monster to drum her chest.

Putting away the [Taurith Short Sword] into her [Inner World], the dragon crouched down a bit and raised her hands to get into a close ranged brawl.

Her opponent screeched in anger when it saw that the intruder burned with fighting spirit and responded to its provocation, raising a set of dark claws.

Due to her frequent visits to the general section of the Grand Library, the elf also recognized this monster.

In fact, she had seen a close relative of it near the Royal Hunting Grounds before, although she did not know at the time that it was a water elemental monster.

The [Aqua Monkey] often appeared near deep bodies of water and contrary to the fish from before, they tended to be rather particular about their own territory.

Together, the primates formed a loose community and only gathered to repel invaders or take care of the group’s food source.

Whenever they found something good, the entire tribe took up the responsibility to rear the goods.

Hence, adventurers were quite excited when they spotted an [Aqua Monkey] in the wild, as that signified that there should be a hoard of cultivation resources nearby in the territory of the monkeys.

After attaining the fourth rank, this monster was no longer the same as them and evolved into an [Ocean Monkey], though much of their communal behaviour remained the same.

Claiming an underwater mountain range for their group, these aquatic animals could breathe on land and under the sea, gathering fruit trees capable of growing near their home, medicinal herbs and strange treasures.

Meeting the enemy claws with her dainty hands, Nisha resisted force with force and stopped the monkey dead in its tracks.

The contrast between a small elf and a jacked ape would have been quite comical, if it wasn’t for the bulging muscles all over the primate squirming and twisting, yet achieving nothing in the end.

Nisha had to spend some effort to keep up in the contest of strength, yet it was not to the point where she was in immediate danger of losing.

If she exerted herself, it was not impossible to throw the monkey away and break this stalemate.

Nevertheless, the dragon wanted to judge her strength more comprehensively and evaluate herself more thoroughly, hence the girl only tripped the monster and let it slide behind her as she stepped out of the way.

Ignoring the unfavorable outcome of the first confrontation, the monkey screeched in pain and anger, whereas all of its fur stood up like needles.

Bursting with rage, the [Ocean Monkey] slapped the ground and flipped its body upright.

Spitting out some bloody phlegm, the monster went down on all fours and charged at the frail girl once again.

Brown, dirty strands of fur scattered everywhere as the monster threw itself at the dragon again, eager to rip her to shreds and feast on her flesh.

Nisha snorted at the monster but did not hold the violence against it.

Most monsters only knew a few fragments of the monster language, and even then they only respected whoever had the bigger fist, no matter what the other party said.

Arguing with an incensed monkey was bound to be a waste of time and she still had to bring its body back to get a good meal.

Lowering her stance and bringing her undamaged arm in front, the girl braced for impact.

The newly regenerated arm still lacked some of the golden threads, albeit the elf was not able to see them with some kind of inner vision as she had been able to during the breakthrough.

Only a faint sensation of accumulation occurred every time her heart pumped blood through her veins, returning the gathered strands of energy back to their place before they could generate another drop of blood essence inside the hidden space inside the Dragon Heart.

It made the limb marginally weaker than the undamaged one, but it was bound to return to normal in no time at all.

Twisting their clasped grips to the side, Nisha leveraged her strength to fling the monster sideways, where it skidded roughly over the stone floor, ripping open a few wounds.

Usually, it was the adventurers that got tossed around in front of great strength from a monster’s physique, but this time the roles were exchanged.

Tossing and throwing the sea monkey around, the elf worked out her body quite thoroughly and revelled in the pure enjoyment of physical confrontation.

Every time the monkey rose again to retaliate, it lost some fur and dignity.

When it was lying on the ground and lacked the strength to get up again, the elf no longer had the intent to bully it further.

Looking at the spent monster, Nisha quickly twisted its neck and ended its life, unwilling to shame a fallen warrior.

She collected the body into her [Inner World] and took out a light leather armor suitable for an adventurer at the same time.

Her dress was more or less reduced to a rag, whereas her scarf remained in perfect shape since its base material was way above the current combatants.

Galan had always been emphasizing the need for a lady to be dressed at all times, at public or at home.

Since her current outfit was no longer presentable, the girl changed her clothes and picked another path to advance.

Her current physical strength was enough to overpower an early fourth rank monster and keep up easily with a mid fourth one too.

With suitable equipment and a favorable matchup, perhaps a late fourth rank monster would fall under her sword as well, giving the dragon great satisfaction to own such potent combat prowess.

During the melee with the [Ocean Monkey], the elf’s mana had mostly recovered and her aura was not too depleted as she had mostly relied on the sturdy physique and lithe muscles to wear the monster down.

Before she entered the next room, the dragon wanted to test the effects from the other principle she had understood during the breakthrough.

Nisha had learned from her mistake to use a move for the first time in real combat and she was not about to mutilate another arm in an accident.

Sitting down cross legged in the passage, she regulated her energy and calmed her breathing.

Drawing out a moderate amount of mana and energy, the girl circulated them between her palms and added the principle behind [Midnight] to them.

Slowly but surely, darkness invaded the place.