[Chapter 240. Scorched Stone]

The second armadillo-like beast smashed into the barrier. The impact echoed through the confined space, the sound of metal against the energy field creating a discordant shriek. It landed hard, its spiked shell scraping against the stone floor as it unrolled.

With surprising agility for such a heavily armored creature, it rose on its hind legs, its small head towering at nearly his height. It brought its curved front claws down against the shimmering barrier in a series of rapid slashes, leaving trails of energy where it made contact. The barrier rippled with each strike, waves of blue light spreading outward like water disturbed by a stone. Despite the ferocity of the assault, the protective field maintained its integrity.

The creature's beady eyes burned with frustrated rage. Before it could drop back to all fours, two crimson beams from his assault drones shot through the air, penetrating its soft, unprotected abdomen. The beams cauterized as they passed through, leaving smoking holes in its flesh. It let out a choked gasp, its claws raking harmlessly against the barrier one last time before it went limp.

With a heavy thud, it fell lifeless to the floor, its spiked shell clattering against the hard-packed earth. The other beast continued its mindless assault, ramming into the barrier again and again. Each impact caused the energy field to shimmer and distort.

His two offensive drones fired from above, their violet beams smashing through the thick head plate with explosive force. The creature's head erupted in a spray of blood and shattered bone. Its momentum carried its headless body forward one final time before collapsing in a heap at the base of the barrier.

Searanox stood over the two dead beasts, a frown forming as he surveyed the carnage. He felt a pang of irritation—the fight had ended after just a few moments, barely testing his strategies or his drones' capabilities. He had anticipated a more challenging engagement, given that these creatures were a higher level than him. With a mental command, he brought up the System window displaying their information. The translucent blue screen materialized in his field of vision as he prepared to analyze what he could learn from these seemingly unremarkable opponents.

`There is no way that thing was level twenty-nine.`

He thought as he looked upon the two dead beasts slowly dissolving into blue motes of light. The particles drifted upward like tiny, restless spirits, their glow fading into the darkness of the tunnel. A metallic scent lingered in the air where his energy beams had struck, mixing with the damp smell permeating the mine shaft.

A cold knot of irritation tightened in his stomach. Such creatures should have posed more of a threat, should have required more strategy to defeat. The System's assessment felt like a lie, another variable in this twisted world that refused to follow logical progression.

He turned away from the dead beasts and made his way further down, but only managed a few steps before stopping. Something drew his eye to where the beasts had originally stood. On the ground lay a broken arrow—a light brown, slightly yellow shaft with a metallic, three-bladed head. The blades gleamed in the light of the barrier. Along their edges were two wicked-looking barbs. Searanox knew a wound from this arrow would bleed heavily. The craftsmanship was brutal yet efficient—designed not just to penetrate, but to tear flesh upon removal. The metallic tip gleamed with a dark sheen despite the minimal light, suggesting it had been coated with something sinister in the past.

`That's one nasty arrow.`

Just then, he noticed the tracks and bent down. One of them was cut perfectly. Not just the rail, but the support bracket beneath it bore a deep gouge. The stone beneath it was cracked and shattered, as if struck by incredible force. The edges of the cut metal were unnaturally smooth, with no jagged tears to indicate a rough impact. It was as if something had passed through the solid steel and stone without resistance, leaving behind a wound that defied physical explanation.

He looked around but could not see any other damage. A bad feeling settled over him, though he could not put his finger on why. The silence of the tunnel seemed deeper, more deliberate. The phosphorescent moss cast shadows that played tricks on his eyes, making the darkness seem to shift just beyond his field of vision. His drones remained silent, their sensors detecting nothing unusual. Yet, his instincts screamed that something was wrong.

Further down the tunnel was another pack of the armadillo-like beasts. This time, there were six of them, and one was larger by about half a meter. The smaller ones huddled together, their armored forms creating a collective bulk that filled the tunnel from wall to wall. The larger one stood apart, its presence dominating the space. Its spiked shell reflected the phosphorescent glow with a menacing luster. It was clearly a Greater variant.

His drones pushed forward, blocking off the tunnel with their barrier just as before. The hexagonal energy field hummed to life, its blue light casting eerie shadows that danced across the beasts armored hides. His other drones began shooting the moment they were in position. Violet and crimson beams sliced through the darkness, their impact points marking the lesser beasts with sizzling scars. The smaller ones recoiled. Their cries of pain echoed in the confined space, their movements turning frantic as they struggled under the relentless assault.

The larger one was the first to react as the smaller ones took fire. It charged, its massive claws digging into the stone floor and sending up sparks with each powerful stride. It closed the distance with more speed than the lesser ones. Its impact against the barrier was heavy, and the longer spikes on its shell broke through the first layer on its second attempt. The barrier flickered, its blue light dimming at the point of impact. The sound of metal against energy was deafening, a cacophony of violence that reverberated through the tunnel. The beast's beady eyes burned with primal fury, its jaws snapping in frustration as it continued its assault.

By then, its lesser kin were already dead or dying, bringing the entire focus of his drones onto it. The lesser beasts lay scattered, their bodies began to dissolve into blue motes of light, their brief existence ending in a blaze of energy. The larger beast stood alone, a solitary figure of defiance. It roared, a sound that seemed to shake the foundations of the mine shaft. The drones adjusted their aim, locking onto the Greater Obarro. Their energy beams converged on its armored hide.

After a few salvos of beams burned into its tough shell, the creature pushed its carapace up. The shell expanded slightly before collapsing back to its former size. The transformation was grotesque, the beast's body convulsing as it prepared a desperate attack. From one second to the next, it was as if a frag grenade had gone off inside the tunnel. The long spikes on its shell shot out in all directions, impacting every surface.

The spikes embedded themselves in the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. The impacts created a symphony of destruction. Spikes struck the drones barrier with loud shattering sounds, leaving multiple ripples across the hexagonal shield. The barrier held, but it was clearly under immense strain. Its energy field fluctuated wildly as it struggled to withstand the onslaught.

His drones fired one more salvo before the beast rose on its hind legs, mimicking the lesser ones claw strikes. It reached a height of nearly three meters. Its massive form cast a long, menacing shadow that seemed to consume the light. It slashed down with massive claws, their sharp edges gleaming in the dim light. The barrier shattered, its energy field collapsing under the force of the final assault. The sound of the barrier breaking was a sharp crack like a whip, followed by a sudden silence more terrifying than the previous cacophony.

The beast stood triumphant, its chest heaving, its eyes burning with primal satisfaction. But its victory was short-lived. The drones unleashed a final, concentrated volley of energy beams that struck the creature with unrelenting force. The beast roared one last time, its body convulsing as the energy tore through its flesh. It fell, its massive form crashing to the ground, the armored shell cracking under its own weight.

`Alright, dangerous in numbers, and the bigger ones explode... noted.`

The lesson carved itself into his mind just as the beast's claws had carved through his drones barrier. He walked past the dissolving remains. The blue motes of light cast a ghostly glow on the tunnel walls. His boots crunched over the debris, the sound unnaturally loud in the sudden silence following the violent confrontation.

He noticed a few more broken arrows scattered near where the beasts had been. Their splintered shafts and mangled heads told a story of previous battles fought in these suffocating confines. Deep cuts in the stone caught his attention—precise and unnaturally smooth. Then he saw them: dark spots on the stone, irregular patches.

He knelt, the joints of his magitech armor groaning with the movement. With deliberate care, he ran his gauntleted fingers over one of the dark patches. He felt the slightly raised texture, noting how it seemed powdery yet fused into the stone itself. When he pulled his hand back, a fine black dust coated the metal of his gauntlet, smelling faintly burnt.

`I knew it. I've been burned too many times to be mistaken. It's scorched.`

Searanox pushed himself to his feet, his magitech-enhanced coat shifting around his frame as he surveyed the tunnel once more. The damage was localized to this area—no scorch marks beyond what he'd identified, no evidence of the widespread destruction that should accompany weapons capable of carving through steel and stone like soft clay.

He dismissed the holes in the walls and wooden beams where the greater variant had shot its spikes, categorizing those as expected battlefield damage. What unsettled him was the precision of the other cuts. The clean slices through metal and stone spoke of weapons far beyond what this dungeon's inhabitants should possess. His instincts screamed a warning, but his analytical mind found no pattern, no explanation for the anomalous evidence before him.