Chapter 102: The Dungeon’s New Changes

The sound of the roar that had resounded in the dungeon had died down. Tanaka and Sora stood in the thick of the passage. Sora gazed into the distance. "That was bigger than the previous one."

Tanaka bobbed. "It probably is." Tanaka began bouncing. Sora followed. The deeper they went, the more the environment had changed.

The dungeon had transformed from a simple stone passage with monsters infesting it. There were spots of luminescent crystal, roots that oozed from the cracks, and the mana in the air had become dense enough for Sora to feel it on his skin. "This certainly wasn’t like this before." Tanaka kept on walking. "Malachiel must have done something." They arrived at the next chamber. Numerous small creatures scattered as soon as they entered. These were pale furred, four legged beasts with elongated ears and tail. One of them stopped at the far end of the chamber and looked back.

Sora crouched. "They’re observing us." Tanaka observed them for a bit. "They’re not attacking." One of the creatures suddenly dashed across the room. Something fell from the ceiling and a winged monster that had black feathers dive-bombed it. The smaller creature turned a corner. Its pursuer adjusted its flight path.

Sora stood. "It followed the turn." The creature made another sudden move. Its prey hid behind a large rock. The winged monster pulled up just in time and collided with the rock.

Sora laughed. "It missed." The small creature came out the other side of the rock and vanished into a tunnel. Its predator was right on its tail. Tanaka watched the two predators. "It learned the turn." Sora turned to face him. "Is that unusual?" "Many monsters hunt on instinct." Tanaka faced the tunnel. "That one adapted while pursuing." Sora nodded. "So the difference isn’t necessarily power." Tanaka began walking. "No."

He stopped. "It’s what they can comprehend." They entered the next room. There were a number of scaled creatures surrounding a pile of glowing stones.

One of them was holding a crystal and moving it towards a crack in the wall.

Another stood at the mouth of the tunnel. The moment Tanaka and Sora walked in, the creature let loose a warning hiss. The others immediately ceased their activity. Sora blinked. "They were working." "Seems that way." One of the smaller ones picked up a crystal and began dragging it away.

The guard moved closer to the rest of its group. It was defending them. Tanaka looked at the crystals. "They are picking resources." Sora smiled. "The dungeon has a mining operation." "They probably don’t think of it that way." The creatures vanished into the cracks the moment Tanaka let a bit of his aura loose. They didn’t have a chance to fight him.

They knew it.

Sora looked at the various tunnels. "There are more creatures co-habiting than I remember." "The increased mana probably affected their behavior."

Tanaka replied. They continued to the next passage. A growling sound echoed through the tunnel. Sora chuckled. "This one is eager to fight." A wolf-like creature exited the tunnel and stood before them. It was larger than the average wolf and had portions of its body covered in pale crystal growths. Sora stepped forward. "I’ll take this one." Tanaka moved out of the way. The wolf pounced at him. Sora instinctively raised his hands to block.

The first thing that struck him was how different it was than fighting with his previous body. His feet pushed against the ground. His knees bent. His waist twisted.

His shoulders moved with his body. By watching the humans and Tanaka in human form, he had learned to walk, lift objects and talk while holding the transformation. But he had never engaged in a fight like this before. The wolf slashed at him with its claws. Sora moved back. The claws passed in front of his face. His eyes widened. "I dodged that!" The wolf turned. Sora’s grin widened. "I actually dodged that!"

The beast lunged at him again. This time Sora moved forward and planted his foot.

He twisted his hip and sent a punch flying.

His fist collided with the wolf’s chest and sent it hurtling backwards. It crashed against the opposite wall. Sora stared at his hand. "My hand hurts." Tanaka looked at him. "You punched a monster with it."

"Oh."

The wolf pushed itself off the ground and charged again. Sora raised his palm. "Skill Theft." A blue glow surrounded the wolf.

A second later, the ability returned to Sora. His expression changed. "I got something."

"What is it?" Tanaka asked. "Claw Reinforcement." The wolf rushed at him. Sora smiled. "Let’s see how that works."

Sora gathered mana at his fingertips and lengthened his nails. He slashed at the wolf and sent its attack flying. Sora followed up with another strike and sent the creature rolling across the floor. The wolf tried to get up. Sora stood next to it and pressed his hand against its chest.

"Skill Theft."

A second later, the wolf’s body went limp. Sora stood. "I got another one."Tanaka looked at him. "What?" Sora closed his eyes. A second later, he opened them again. "I can smell mana." Tanaka paused. "That could be useful." "I know." Sora inhaled deeply. "The entire dungeon smells different." He turned his head towards the lower tunnel. "There is corrupted mana ahead." Tanaka smiled. "So you already found something." They walked towards the new tunnel. The air had become warmer.

A group of black scaled monsters passed by them. One of them stopped and turned to face the others. It made a clicking sound and the rest turned around and headed towards a side passage. Sora watched them.

"They’re communicating."

The group disappeared into the tunnel. Tanaka watched their retreating forms. "They know where the dangerous zones are." Sora nodded. "They’re smarter than the ones on the upper floors." They continued the descent. A jet of flame shot past them. It hit Tanaka. The fire engulfed him but was smothered out by his slime body. Sora looked at him. "Was that supposed to hurt?" "No." Tanaka sucked the remaining heat out of himself. A black scaled monster stood at the far end of the room. Its throat glowed red. Sora stepped forward. "My turn please." The creature let loose another blast of corrupted fire. Sora raised his hand. The fireball collided with his palm. He remained standing. The heat of the flames singed his jacket but left his skin unharmed.

Sora stared at his arm. "That feels warm."

Tanaka laughed. Sora raised his other hand.

"Skill Theft."

A blue glow surrounded the monster. The ability was transferred to him and he immediately felt the change.

"Corrupted Flame Resistance." Tanaka looked at him. "Try it." Sora pointed at the creature provocatively. "Sure." The monster let out another blast of corrupted fire. Sora walked through the flames. He emerged on the other side completely unscathed. The creature looked at him in disbelief. Sora delivered a single punch and the monster fell to the floor. Tanaka consumed the creature. The energy coursed through him and changed his corruption flame resistance. The ability had evolved. The strange mana no longer felt alien to him and he could sense the flow of corrupted and normal mana.

He could distinguish between the two. Tanaka fell silent. Sora looked at him. "What happened?" "My resistance changed." "Really?" Sora beamed. "It evolved." Tanaka looked around. "Corrupted Flame Adaptation." He closed his eyes. The corrupted energy became clearer. He could sense it in the walls, in the bodies of certain monsters, and in pockets of dense mana.

Some of the creatures had adapted to the change better than others. Sora looked at him. "So Malachiel didn’t just strengthen everything." "No." Tanaka moved further into the tunnel. "He changed the environment." Eventually, they came across a large chamber. A number of monsters were gathered around a raised section of stone. Sora halted. No one attacked them.

The creatures simply lowered their heads.

A huge monster was standing on the dais.

It had a black scaled body, four powerful arms, and a red crystal circlet on its forehead.

Sora looked at the gathered creatures. "They’re obeying that one." Tanaka observed the massive beast. "It rules this territory." One of the smaller creatures walked up to the dais and handed the monster a meal. Another stood guard at the entrance. A third was tending to the injured.

No one spoke to one another. They simply moved when prompted by the bigger creature. Sora crossed his arms. "So this is a Monster Lord?" "Probably."

Tanaka replied. "And you are a Monster King?" Tanaka looked the creature over. "A Lord can command a territory." The great beast slowly opened its eyes. The lesser monsters moved. Sora watched them. "But a King?" Tanaka smiled. "A King has something worth calling a kingdom." Sora looked around the chamber. The monster turned its gaze towards the lower passage. All the creatures followed its lead.

Tanaka realized there were larger territories beneath them. Perhaps entire groups that had already established something of their own. But they weren’t a threat. Tanaka looked at Sora. "We’ve seen enough." Sora looked disappointed. "Already?" "We came to test Malachiel’s changes not conquer the dungeon." Sora sighed. "Fine." They turned to leave.

Halfway up the tunnel, Sora came to a stop.

Tanaka turned to look at him. "What?" Sora smiled. "I think I’m beginning to understand this body." He raised his hand and flexed his fingers. "I like having hands." Tanaka continued moving. "You’ve said that several times." "I actually mean it this time." Tanaka laughed. By the time they reached the entrance, the dungeon had already answered most of their questions.

The monsters were stronger. The mana was denser. New territories had appeared.

Some of the creatures had changed, either in behavior or appearance. And Sora had learned how to fight with a human body.

Then a Mana Bird landed in front of them and went rigid. Tanaka stopped. "What is it?" The bird chirped. "We have visitors." Sora’s expression changed. "Visitors?" Tanaka listened carefully. "From which alliance nation?" He asked. The bird shook its head.

Tanaka’s smile vanished. "None?" The creature chirped again. Sora looked towards the eastern gate. "What kind of banner?"

The bird gave another confused squawk.

"It doesn’t know?" Tanaka began walking.

"Then let’s go find out." Sora followed.

For the first time since the alliance had been formed, someone had come to Eldoris without announcing themselves. And they had specifically requested Tanaka.