endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 82

After resting for two hours and completely recovering his energy, Vahn made his way into the 17th floor. He was excited to see how much progress he had made, as he originally expected to spend more than a week trying to reach the 18th floor. Vahn was even prepared to turn back if he had difficulties, but his training with Tsubaki and the time he spent adapting to his skills and mobility had greatly enhanced his capabilities. Even though his stats hadn't increased much during that time, he was able to progress much further than most people at his level.

The 17th floor introduced a new monster to Vahn, but one he had seen in the compendium and intended to hunt for a while, the Lygerfang. They seemed to be somewhat territorial because Vahn only ever encountered individuals within a room. To make up for their low numbers, they were much more powerful than other monsters and possessed both power and agility.

Vahn enjoyed fighting them, as they actually had very similar combat styles to his own. They would charge forward quickly and then use the walls to rebound and continue the assault with their powerful claws. Though they weren't nearly as powerful as something like Minotaur, Vahn actually felt like they were a greater threat if not for the fact they fought alone.

During the fight, Vahn had been studying the moves of the Lygerfang and even picked up a new technique he hadn't considered before. In one instance, where Vahn had managed to get to the Lygerfang's exposed flank, it performed a rapid turn and smacked Vahn with its tail. Vahn was caught off guard as the whip-like strike hit his ribs like hard iron.

The Lygerfang tried to take advantage of the opening and nearly managed to sink its fangs into Vahn. But, the moment it leaped forward, Vahn rolled back and kicked the underside of the Lygerfang and launched it over him. The monster managed to spin in the air and land on its feet, but Vahn had enough time to recover. Though his ribs hurt, there wasn't anything broken as his body had relatively high endurance.

Vahn was feeling a bit vengeful, so when the Lygerfang created an opening after missing its lunge, Vahn returned the favor and smashed his tail into the exposed left eye of the monster. Seeing it flinch, Vahn couldn't help but let out a laugh as he saw the 'offended' look on the Lygerfang's face. The two exchanged blows for another couple of seconds before Vahn snapped the flexible back of the monster with a heel drop.

After collecting the core, he noticed they were actually worth more than a Minotaur, as the only had awarded 157OP. Vahn felt like the reputation of the Minotaur wasn't as well-deserved as it seemed. If Lygerfangs fought in packs, they would probably be much more difficult to deal with than a humanoid monster.

Vahn continued further into the 17th floor and slew a variety of creatures while noticing the structure of the dungeon was slowly changing. Instead of the wide open and cavernous spaces, the layout of the dungeon became more compact and there were several obstacles that barred easy passage. Large rocks were strewn about on the floor, and there were several places that Vahn even had to crawl through to continue forward.

In some of these spots, monsters like Almiraj would try to ambush him, but even though they were very agile, Vahn was always able to react since he had long noticed their presence. By using his [Stealth] in conjunction with [Will of the Emeperor], he was able to detect things within a 71m radius while remaining undetected himself. Unless the monster has very high perception and could sense the change in the atmosphere, Vahn could easily move through the dungeon while always having the advantage against sneak attacks.

The lighting of the dungeon continued to decrease and it started becoming hard to see more than a few feet in the corridors. Rooms were a bit easier to deal with since they still had luminescent stones embedded within the rocks, but it didn't help much. Luckily, as Vahn found out while wandering in the dark, he seemed to have great night-vision capabilities with his Baihu transformation. Though Vahn already knew he had enhanced sight, smell, and hearing, he didn't know it actually allowed him to see in the dark as well. From an outsiders perspective, his eyes would have seemed to glean in darkness with a green glow when reflecting light. (A/N: Tigers are nocturnal hunters~! Makes sense why there would be tiger monsters on the 17th floor in low lighting~! Smart original Author.)