Chapter 245: Peculiar creatures

As soon as I advanced through the tunnel of blazing sunlight, I realized that this place could not be treated as a simple network of underground caves. There was nothing truly stable about it.

All of these tunnels had been created by the violent geological activity of the Light Mountain of Crystal Peak. In reality, they were little more than cracks, channels, and cavities formed by the mountain itself to allow the blazing sunlight to flow freely through its interior.

I could be walking peacefully through a scorching tunnel when, all of a sudden, a blast of hot air would erupt from a crack in the wall and turn my body into a pile of charred bones.

I could also step onto a seemingly solid spot and realize too late that the ground beneath my feet was nothing more than a thin layer of rock. Then I would fall, continuing downward until I reached some bottomless valley, eventually landing in a lake of blazing sunlight capable of melting my body completely within a few seconds.

In fact, the structure of the mountain wasn’t even the worst part. It was the peculiar creatures that lived here, such as Light Spirits, Solar Hounds, Light Goblins... and dozens of other Light-element creatures that had already been given names.

Over countless years, these creatures had formed their own food chain within this world of blazing sunlight.

And naturally, those at the top of this food chain were the terrifying humanoid Light Spirits. They resembled giants made of light. They possessed extremely high intelligence and wielded terrifying elemental abilities, some of which were powerful enough to rival the techniques of human Mages.

It would be extremely difficult for an ordinary acolyte to even imagine fighting a creature of that level. Fortunately, there was one limitation. These Light Spirits were extremely dependent on the environment in which they lived.

The farther they moved away from the depths of the mountain, the more their strength slowly and steadily declined. Because of this, the humanoid Light Spirits remained in the deepest regions of the Light Mountain of Crystal Peak.

They rarely appeared in the outside world. And considering the abilities of ordinary acolytes, reaching those depths was already an almost impossible task. Therefore, the possibility of encountering a humanoid Light Spirit was extremely low.

At the other end of the food chain were much less impressive creatures: the Light Goblins. They looked similar to the Goblins I was familiar with, but their skin was red.

However, that was merely a superficial appearance. They possessed no flesh. Their bodies were formed from a mixture of Origin Flame spheres and fragments of shattered consciousness.

These Goblins traversed the tunnels of blazing sunlight like pests, searching for regions where Light-elemental particles were particularly dense. Whenever they encountered intruders, they would immediately attack using light arrows.

But the worst part was that as soon as they realized they could not defeat their enemy, they would simply dive into a lake of blazing sunlight or an area filled with extremely hot flames and disappear into another tunnel within seconds.

If a treasure hunter allowed even a single Light Goblin to escape, it would not take long for their surroundings to be flooded by a swarm of them. And after expending an absurd amount of mental energy to eliminate all those Goblins, the only likely result would be a pile of worthless crystallized ashes.

In the outside world, an elemental creature capable of firing light arrows and disappearing instantly could cause enormous problems for an ordinary acolyte.

But in this place... everything possessed extremely high resistance to the Light element. Consequently, the abilities of the Light Goblins were largely ineffective against other creatures of the same element.

That was precisely why they had been reduced to the bottom of the food chain.

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.

.

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Alone, I entered one of the tunnels of blazing sunlight.

I tightened the Light Force Field around my body and began advancing rapidly through the passage leading downward.

There were no straight paths in this place, nor were there any tunnels with regular shapes, so I followed my magical instincts. The deeper I ventured into the mountain, the more active my body became.

The Light-elemental particles in the air were so dense that my body reacted to them instinctively, and the sensation was quite pleasant. Even without using any specific elemental protection, the hazy golden glow lingering over my body caused me no harm.

On the contrary, it benefited me. My Light Body was clearly responding to the environment.

[Environmental analysis in progress...]

[Concentration of Light-elemental particles: Extremely high.]

[Compatibility with host: High.]

[Passive absorption rate: Increasing.]

I mentally observed the results, and a small smile appeared on my face.

This was exactly why I had come here.

For me, this place was practically a spa. Of course, because of appearances, I needed to maintain the Light Force Field. Otherwise, my clothes would be burned by the temperature. After all, I was still human. I had no intention of running naked through an underground mountain like those Light-element creatures.

Now that I stop to think about it... I wonder if there are female light-element creatures here? I wonder how delicious it would be to rape a young light fairy found alone in some remote cave on this mountain.

To see her display a captivating, feminine fragility as she begs for mercy while I rap her with force and boundless lust...

*Cough*~~

What the hell am I thinking?

I shook my head and continued walking. Whenever I reached a fork, I never hesitated. I simply chose the path and continued in the direction where the concentration of Light-elemental particles was the highest.

After some time, I finally arrived in front of a small lake.

Boiling, molten sunlight filled the natural depression.

I stopped for a moment and observed it. This region could not yet be considered one of the deeper parts of the mountain.

It was merely a natural cavity that had formed within the underground system.

When most of the molten sunlight had returned to the depths of the mountain during the rest period, a small amount had remained trapped in that hollow.

Over time, it had transformed into a small lake.

But I wasn’t alone. There were creatures here.

A group of Light Goblins had gathered around the lake.

And among them was a creature that immediately caught my attention.

A Solar Hound.

They swam and floated within the blazing sunlight, happily absorbing its energy.

It was obvious that the Solar Hound possessed a higher status. It occupied nearly half of the small lake by itself.

The remaining Goblins were squeezed into the other half.

None of them dared to get too close.

Then I appeared.

As soon as I emerged from the tunnel, the Solar Hound turned its head.

Its eyes locked onto me. The creature possessed a strong territorial instinct.

There was no hesitation. It leaped out of the lake and positioned itself directly in my path.

It lowered its body. Its legs bent. Its enormous mouth opened.

Inside it, an extremely hot flame danced violently.

A blue light flashed within my dark eyes as I carefully observed the creature.

Was this the famous Solar Hound?

I remained motionless as the Biochip began analyzing its structure.

The creature was approximately the size of a bull I knew from Earth, in my previous life. Most of its body was composed of partially molten sunlight.

This meant that the blazing sunlight stored inside its body possessed a greater intensity than that found naturally in the surrounding environment.

"Biochip, show me this creature’s status."

[Biological analysis complete.]

[Solar Hound.]

[A unique half-elemental creature of the Light Mountain of Crystal Peak.]

[STATUS]

[Name: Solar Hound.]

[Level: Level 2 Acolyte.]

[PHYSICAL STATUS]

[Strength: 9.]

[Agility: 13.]

[Vitality: 10.]

[Mana: 8.]

I silently observed the numbers.

On paper, the creature possessed an overall strength equivalent to that of a Level 2 Acolyte.

But the numbers did not tell the whole story. In this environment, its actual combat ability was much greater. An ordinary Level 3 Acolyte would probably have great difficulty defeating it.

Unfortunately, my silence seemed to irritate the creature.

The Solar Hound lowered its body even further.

Its powerful hind leg struck the ground.

BOOM!

Its enormous body was launched forward.

It leaped directly toward me.

I didn’t even need to move.

A barrier appeared in front of me.

The Solar Hound slammed violently into it.

A muffled boom echoed through the cave.

However, instead of retreating, the creature simply twisted its heavy body in midair.

Its agility was astonishing. It passed by my side, landed, and immediately turned around. Then it leaped again.

I simply let the creature continue.

The Light Force Field absorbed impact after impact.

...

After nearly ten rounds of attacks, I finally saw the barrier’s energy drop to a critical level.

[Light Force Field integrity: Low.]

[Status: On the verge of collapse.]

Through those attacks, I had gained a better understanding of the creature’s speed, strength, and movement patterns.

I pulled a Golem Core from my waist.

"Let’s finish this."

I threw the core onto the ground.

The next instant, energy surged forth.

The earth trembled, and a gigantic structure of black rock violently emerged from the ground.

The head of a Black Rock Basilisk emerged first.

Then the rest of its body appeared.

Its massive size occupied nearly half of the cave.

The Solar Hound did not retreat. Even in the face of this new enemy, it leaped forward without showing the slightest concern for its own safety.

It was territorial until the very end.

Unfortunately for it... it had chosen the wrong opponent.

The Black Rock Basilisk possessed an overwhelming advantage in size and durability. Its fangs and claws struck the Solar Hound’s rocky body, tearing away several fragments of stone.

But that was all.

Then the Basilisk’s head moved.

Its enormous jaws closed around the Solar Hound’s body.

CRACK!

The sound was dry and sharp.

The elemental creature’s body immediately began to disintegrate.

The structure of blazing sunlight lost its form, and within moments, the Solar Hound had completely disappeared.

I approached the remains scattered across the ground. Among the rocks of blazing sunlight, I found something that was still shining intensely.

A Light Stone.

I picked it up. It was still burning violently, and I observed the object for several seconds.

It was the only valuable thing I had managed to find in the Solar Hound’s body.

I stored the Light Stone.

Meanwhile, the Black Rock Basilisk had already chosen its next target.

The Light Goblins.

As soon as they realized what was happening, the small monsters began firing their Light Arrows. A rain of luminous projectiles fell upon the Basilisk’s head.

At least a dozen arrows struck its body directly.

For a body made entirely of hardened black rock, that level of damage was practically equivalent to a tickle.

Then its massive body crushed everything in its path, and the Goblins began disappearing one after another.

It was an absolute difference in strength.

The survivors finally realized that they had no chance of winning.

And, true to the cowardly and pragmatic nature of the Light Goblins, they did not hesitate.

They dove directly into the blazing light dancing across the lake of boiling sunlight.

In the blink of an eye, they disappeared without leaving a trace.

....

1904 Words

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