The skill acquisition was completely unexpected.
For a moment, he wondered if his ears had played a trick on him. Still, Rei parried a slashing attack from a Gamelion’s ear, then swung his Death Scythe in a wide arc.
The Gamelion was sliced horizontally through its torso. Its internal organs showered the surroundings as its body split in two, its momentum carrying the remains past Rei.
Watching the beast fall, Rei called up the Death Scythe’s skills in his mind to confirm his suspicions. There, the Terrain Manipulation Level had indeed changed from one to two.
In other words, the weapon had truly gained a skill by cleaving the Dungeon Core.
(How is this happening? Beast Magic Skill Acquisition is supposed to be limited to one skill per monster species. In fact, my own Beast Magic Knowledge says as much, and I’ve never been able to learn a skill from the same monster twice before.)
Though bewildered, Rei gathered his thoughts and cast a sharp gaze at the remaining Gamelions. They winced instinctively under his stare. Gamelions possessed a naturally ferocious temperament, but when they were being hunted so unilaterally, it was only natural for terror to outweigh their ferocity.
And yet, the beasts showed no sign of fleeing. They likely understood that escape from this Hall was impossible. All they could do was refrain from attacking recklessly and watch for a gap in Rei's defense, hoping for a single blow to turn the tables.
(Are Magic Stones and Dungeon Cores different? Well, they are fundamentally different things, so it stands to reason. Does that mean I can acquire skills from every Dungeon Core? So far, the only ones I’ve destroyed with the Death Scythe are the one from the Magic Fever incident and this one. Considering I learned a skill from both, the theory doesn't seem wrong. Besides, unlike last time, this Dungeon Core hasn't disappeared...)
While glaring at the beasts, he shifted his gaze toward the pedestal in the Center of the Hall. There lay the Dungeon Core, sliced cleanly in half at an angle. The lower half of the Dungeon Core remained atop the pedestal, but the upper portion Rei had severed had been blown away by the impact. He had no idea where it had landed.
Furthermore, unlike the core from the Magic Fever case, this one remained physically present. He wasn't sure if the difference was because the previous location hadn't fully transformed into a Dungeon, but he couldn't help but be surprised that the core remained.
(Tch, I’ll probably need to bring it back as proof of the Dungeon’s conquest... but searching for it is a pain. For that matter, is this place going to collapse? Since it’s a newly created dungeon, I’d like to think it’s still safe for now, but I’d better wrap this up quickly.)
He scanned the group... and in that instant, one of the Gamelions that met his eyes lunged forward.
"Gaaaaaaaah!"
It attacked with its fangs bared. Against such a strike, an ordinary Adventurer—even a seasoned Warrior—would have to either evade or block with a heavy shield. However, for Rei clad in the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, receiving it with one hand... no, even with a single finger, was not difficult.
The fangs, intended to tear out his throat, were easily caught by Rei's palm.
"This is nowhere near Noise's Strike. Well, I suppose that’s just the difference in rank."
With those words, he swung his arm. The sound of something hard snapping echoed through the air, and the Gamelion was hurled away, crashing into its kin and blowing them all back.
When Rei pulled his hand back, he was gripping a Gamelion Fang. It had snapped off at the base, broken by the sheer impact of Rei's throw.
"Brittle. I doubt this will sell."
The fang was broken in the middle. Even if he tried to sell it to the Guild, a damaged specimen would likely be bought for a pittance during appraisal. Thinking it was better than nothing, Rei stored it in the Misty Ring. He observed that the number of Gamelions was dwindling and thrust the Death Scythe's Butt End into the ground.
"Terrain Manipulation."
He activated the skill while visualizing the ground rising. In the next instant, the entire Hall—excluding the area immediately around Rei—rose by About 50cm. Faced with the sudden upheaval of the earth, even the frenzied Gamelions froze and looked around in confusion.
Watching them, Rei spoke with a hint of surprise.
"Heh. It’s been strengthened quite a bit. The range is considerably wider, and the height of the terrain I can manipulate is About 50cm. In that case... Terrain Manipulation."
He kept the Death Scythe's Butt End thrust into the ground and activated the skill again. This time, the ground sank by About 50cm compared to its original state. Between the rise and the sink, the total height difference amounted to one meter.
Considering that the Range in which terrain can be manipulated had also become much larger, it was a skill with effects sufficient to become a powerful weapon.
"Gaaaaaaah!?" "Gaaaah!" "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"
The surviving Gamelions let out confused cries, having no understanding of what was happening.
"I see. Then... Terrain Manipulation."
He used the skill once more to return the floor to its original state. The strange thing was that even after shifting the earth so drastically, there was no discernible difference once it reverted. The fact that it returned perfectly to its prior state was proof that this skill was clearly different from the others the Death Scythe had acquired.
(I thought the Dungeon Core would be my only harvest, but I’ve gained a lot of interesting things. Being able to get another skill from a core was a pleasant surprise. Terrain Manipulation isn't conspicuously powerful yet, but if it keeps growing like this, it could be incredible.)
Rei envisioned using the skill to lead an enemy army to collapse in an instant. If the ground beneath their feet became a Pitfall Trap tens of meters deep, no military force could withstand it. Most would die on impact, but for those who survived the fall, he could simply pour Flame Magic into the hole to his heart's content, annihilating them without worrying about Spreading Fire.
Rei smiled at the convenience of the skill, but he was immediately pulled back to reality by a Gamelion's Growl.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
The remaining Gamelions charged toward Rei all at once. They had experienced the bizarre shifting of the ground and had sensed, almost instinctively, that Rei was responsible. They had to kill him, or they would be killed. Driven into a Panic State, they ignored their own safety and rushed forward.
Rei waited for them with a smile, Death Scythe in hand. He readied his blade to cut down the first monster that lunged at him.
"Well, I guess that’s that."
Muttering to himself, Rei looked around at the innumerable Gamelion corpses scattered across the floor. In the middle of the Hall stood the pedestal holding the broken core. Rei was now the only living thing left.
Surveying the area, he deactivated the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor. The deep red Magic Power, concentrated enough to be visible, vanished into thin air. He let out a short breath.
"All things considered, that was pretty exhausting. The armor didn't actually use that much Magic Power, though."
Leaning against the pedestal, he took a bottle of Cold Fruit Water from the Misty Ring. It was winter outside, but strangely, the temperature inside the Dungeon hadn't dropped much. While some locations—like the Dungeons in Exil—had desert levels, this one seemed to keep its internal temperature constant. It was quite comfortable.
Though his Dragon Robe could regulate his temperature, Rei drained the sweet and sour Fruit Water in one gulp. Killing More than 50 Gamelions was tiring work.
After resting for a moment, his next task was not Material Stripping, but simply to Store the Gamelion corpses in his Misty Ring. If he tried to strip the materials by himself, it would take weeks. It would be much faster to recruit personnel at the Guild to handle it.
Besides, this was a year where Gamelions were scarce. Bringing in this many would surely attract a flood of buyers. Furthermore, now that he had destroyed the core, he didn't know when the place might collapse.
He touched the corpses one by one, sending them into the Misty Ring. After About ten minutes, when half of the bodies were gone, something caught his eye. It was a stone-like object, round yet cleanly severed.
He compared it to the pedestal. The cut surface of the object matched the lower half of the Dungeon Core perfectly.
"Finally found the Dungeon Core. I found it, but... sigh. I’m happy the level went up, but Seto will probably be sad."
Even when separated, Rei and Seto shared an awareness of Beast Magic Skill Acquisition. There was no doubt Seto already knew the Terrain Manipulation Level had increased. Rei remembered the promise he had made to his partner before entering, and he could vividly imagine Seto's disappointed expression.
While his heart ached for his friend, he reached out toward the lower half of the Dungeon Core fixed to the pedestal. It came off easily, whether because it was broken or because it was designed to be removable once conquered.
"No use dwelling on it. I hope it’ll cheer up with some Gamelion Meat."
He stored the core and went back to picking up the remaining bodies. Because he had swung the Death Scythe freely in the middle of a Pack of C-Rank Monsters, many of the corpses were missing limbs, heads, or tails. Some had their internal organs spilling out, and others had their fur scorched by the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
"I should have been more careful with how I killed them. But with that many, it couldn't be helped."
He wished he had shown more foresight, but he continued storing the bodies nonetheless. Once everything was packed away, he let out a long breath.
"Now then, I’ve finished everything here. I never expected so many Gamelions to be gathered here, but it saved me the trouble of hunting them on the surface. Since the Dungeon Core was the reason they were missing, they should start appearing outside again now that this place is conquered. Still... is there a need to release all of these into the market?"
Rei tilted his head. He felt he should release at least some, given the current shortage in Gilm.
"Well, I'll decide once I'm back. I have to report the conquest, anyway."
Muttering, he took one last look at the Hall.
"I think a Silver Lion was guarding the Dungeon Core at the Altar of Inheritance... but in this Dungeon, was the Pack of C-Rank Monsters the Boss? A matter of quantity over quality, I guess."
Ferocious C-Rank monsters were exceptional for a Newly created dungeon, especially when the other inhabitants were just Goblins, Kobolds, or small Ogres. The only reason the conquest had been so easy was that Rei himself was an Outlier.
Without realizing that, Rei left the Hall before the Dungeon could collapse.