Chapter 151: The New SS-Rank Dungeon [1]

Liam finally managed to reach the small slime ball.

"Lydia..."

As soon as he was a few meters away from her, the gelatinous mass began to tremble.

Suddenly, a current of air shot out from her body.

[Gust]

"Whoa!"

Liam raised his arms to protect himself.

A powerful gust pushed him backward, forcing him to slide several meters across the grass before regaining his balance.

"Lydia! It’s me!"

The little slime trembled again.

Another current of air began to form around her.

Liam covered his face with his arms.

"Wait! What’s wrong?"

The answer appeared before his eyes.

[Lydia: I’m sorry...]

[Lydia: I’m trying to return to my human form, but I can’t.]

Liam slowly lowered his arms.

’Again...’

First, she had accidentally consumed the camera her parents had given her.

Then she had activated [Mosquito’s Horde] without even meaning to.

And now she couldn’t control [Gust].

This definitely wasn’t normal.

’What’s happening to you, Lydia?’

Liam slowly began approaching her.

The current of air continued swirling around the slime.

[Lydia: I’m sorry, honey.]

[Lydia: I can’t deactivate [Gust].]

"Don’t worry."

Liam took another step, and the gust struck his body.

Then another.

"Relax."

Another step.

"Lydia, look at me."

The little slime continued trembling.

[Lydia: I don’t want to hurt you.]

"You’re not hurting me."

Liam continued moving forward.

The current of air made his clothes whip violently, but he didn’t stop.

"I just need to get closer to you."

Finally, he was close enough.

Liam bent his legs and jumped.

He launched himself directly onto the little green ball, wrapping both arms around her.

"I’ve got you."

Lydia trembled.

For several seconds, the gust continued raging around them.

But Liam didn’t let go.

"Relax."

Lydia remained still.

"It’s okay."

Little by little, the current began to weaken.

"Just calm down."

The gust disappeared.

Liam felt Lydia’s gelatinous body stop trembling.

She had managed to deactivate her ability.

[Lydia: I’m sorry...]

Liam smiled.

"I already told you, it’s okay."

Lydia tried to regain her human form again.

This time, her body began to change.

The green mass expanded and then began taking shape.

A few seconds later, Lydia appeared in front of him in her human form.

Her hair was slightly disheveled, and she was breathing heavily.

Liam raised a hand and gently stroked her head.

"Relax, honey. I’ve got you."

"But I don’t know what’s happening to me."

"Neither do I."

Liam continued stroking her hair.

"But whatever is happening to you, it doesn’t seem to be your fault."

Lydia lowered her gaze.

"If you can’t control your abilities, then we’ll just have to figure out why."

She slowly nodded, and her eyes began to regain their calm.

After a few seconds, Lydia looked around.

"Did we get out of the dungeon?"

Liam shook his head.

"No."

Lydia’s eyes widened.

"Then..."

"The dungeon evolved."

Liam looked at the enormous meadow stretching out before them.

"We’re now inside an SS-rank dungeon."

Lydia fell silent.

"SS-rank?"

"Yes."

Liam sighed.

"Pix warned us this was going to happen."

Lydia looked around again.

Then she pointed toward a group of figures.

"And them?"

Liam followed her gaze.

The gray creatures were scattered across the meadow.

They no longer looked like the muscular and terrifying beings they had been fighting just minutes ago.

Their bodies looked extremely thin.

Some looked like children.

Others could barely stand.

Several were trying to help one another get back on their feet.

Liam narrowed his eyes.

"They’re the beings we were fighting."

"I don’t understand what happened to them."

"Neither do I."

One of the gray humanoids fell to its knees.

Another approached to help it.

They looked confused, even frightened.

Liam couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

These beings seemed completely different from the monsters that had been attacking them.

◇◆◇

"Ugh..."

A voice made Liam turn around.

Chuck began to move.

The hunter brought both hands to his head as he tried to sit up.

"My head..."

Emily also regained consciousness.

"What... happened?"

The woman slowly sat up.

"Where are we?"

Chuck looked around.

"What the hell is this place?"

Shortly afterward, Jordan began to move. He struggled to sit up and looked at the sky.

"Where are we?"

Carol opened her eyes.

Lena also began to regain consciousness.

Then...

"This is your fault."

Everyone froze.

The voice had appeared inside their heads.

Liam immediately recognized the sensation.

It was the same voice he had been hearing before.

"They are the monsters."

The voice echoed again.

In the middle of the meadow, one of the gray humanoids stood up.

It was the tallest of them all.

Although its body no longer had the musculature it had possessed before, it was still considerably larger than the others.

The humanoid stared at the group.

Its face showed clear irritation.

It raised an arm and pointed directly at them.

But Liam noticed something else.

Fear.

There was fear in its eyes.

’So it was them...’

The creatures were the ones who had been communicating with them through that strange form of telepathy.

Chuck didn’t waste any time.

"So you were the ones talking inside our heads."

He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out one of his knives.

"Chuck!"

The hunter held it between his fingers.

"If you want a fight..."

He raised his arm.

"...then you’ll get one."

Liam immediately reacted.

"Wait!"

Chuck stopped.

The knife remained suspended in the air.

"What?"

"Don’t attack."

Chuck turned his head.

"Why not?"

He looked at the humanoids.

"They’re the same monsters that tried to kill us."

The voice echoed in their heads again.

"You are the monsters."

Everyone fell silent.

Chuck frowned.

"What?"

Jordan slowly stood up.

"Boss, I don’t know what’s going on, but..."

He pointed toward the humanoids.

"We have an opportunity."

Liam looked at him.

"An opportunity?"

"They’re weakened."

Jordan clenched his fists.

"We can finish them off now."

Carol stood up.

"Jordan is right."

Liam looked at both of them.

"No."

Jordan frowned.

"Why?"

"I don’t know."

Liam looked at the creatures again.

"But something tells me we shouldn’t fight them."

Chuck lowered his knife slightly.

"Something tells you that?"

"Yes."

Liam didn’t take his eyes off the humanoids.

"And I think we should listen to it."

The smaller ones began backing away.

One of them stumbled.

Another tried to help it.

One of the smaller ones began to cry.

Lydia stared at the scene.

"They’re scared..."

At that moment, a message appeared before their eyes.

[Danger]

Liam’s eyes widened.

"What?"

The ground began to tremble, and the flowers began to sway. The trees in the distance started shaking.

Lena managed to get back on her feet.

"What’s happening?"

Lydia looked at the ground.

"I don’t know..."

The trembling grew even stronger.

The gray humanoids began to panic.

Some ran toward the smaller ones.

Others desperately looked toward the horizon.

Liam watched their faces.

Those beings didn’t seem to be preparing to attack.

They were terrified.

Lydia approached Liam.

"I think there’s something else in this dungeon."

Liam gritted his teeth and looked at his companions.

Then he looked at the creatures.

And finally, he raised his gaze toward the horizon.

He couldn’t explain why.

He had no proof.

But something inside him told him that those creatures weren’t the true enemy.

That fighting them now would be a mistake.

And, for some reason, he felt that they needed to work together.

Because something far worse was about to arrive.

’Whatever it is...’

Liam gripped his pistol tightly.

’I hope we can survive it.’