Screech!

  In a distant, dark part of the tunnel network, where only a very small number of faintly glowing roots existed, an E-Rank burrowing squirrel was gnawing on a thin, nearly extinguished root, eating it with happiness mixed with caution. This mana-rich meal was far better than anything it usually consumed.

  Far behind it, deep within the darkness, sinister red eyes flashed. They slowly and silently moved closer. When they reached the faint light, their owner was revealed—a black wolf with dense fur and a ferocious appearance. It bared its sharp fangs and lunged without warning.

  The poor squirrel couldn’t do anything. Before it could even fully understand what was happening, its throat was already caught between the wolf’s jaws. Blood splattered over the root, and helplessly, the light faded from its eyes as it collapsed into a lifeless corpse.

  [+4XP]

  Arthur released the squirrel’s throat, then lowered his head and ate some of its fatty meat. However, he suddenly stopped. He slowly raised his head, a hesitant expression appearing on his face. Resisting the frenzy, his rational side took control, and he thought anxiously:

  'No… I can’t stay here any longer. I need to get out of this place immediately.'

  Nearly an hour had passed since he heard that thunderous roar—one that made every part of his body tremble in fear.

  Worse still, it agitated the sealed fungal core inside him, forcing him to endure a difficult struggle as the fungus almost began growing inside his body again.

  Even though he had fled several miles away from the source of the sound, it wasn’t enough.

  Especially since his wild side kept making him stop whenever he found traces of potential prey—and he truly hated that.

  He clenched his teeth and, with great difficulty, suppressed his gluttony. He stored the corpse inside "Dimensional Storage", then forced his body to move according to his will and entered one of the dark tunnels where no glowing roots existed.

  He walked slowly and with extreme caution, carefully scanning his surroundings while relying on all his senses. However, his vigilance didn’t last long. His feral nature soon surged back to the surface, turning his movements reckless and erratic.

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  He increased his speed and ran straight ahead without any awareness of his destination. Whenever he caught a scent or sensed something unusual, he changed direction and pushed deeper into the dense, narrow labyrinth of tunnels. At times, he would reach a dead end and be forced to turn back, choosing another path.

  And so, the night passed slowly. Arthur covered a great distance through the unknown, encountering many strange abyssal beasts—some weaker than him, others stronger. He was injured, fled, hunted, and did many things.

  As dawn approached, he reached a place where he felt a faint, cold breeze brushing against his fur. Rationality returned to his eyes, and he stopped, carefully sensing the direction of the airflow, trying to locate its source.

  He couldn’t see anything around him due to the darkness, so he relied entirely on his other senses, which allowed him to partially distinguish his surroundings, much like a nocturnal bat.

  After a short moment of stillness, he identified the path he needed to take. Without any hesitation, he changed direction and passed through several narrow tunnels that sloped upward. Little by little, the breeze grew stronger, and he realized he was getting closer to the exit.

  Even so, he didn’t feel relieved. He continued resisting the effects of the frenzy, keeping his mind clear so he wouldn’t drag himself into any more unwanted trouble and ruin everything again—as he usually did.

  Or at least, that was what he tried to do.

  His feral side overwhelmed him once again, making him lose control of himself. A savage look appeared on his face as he forcefully sniffed the air. At that moment, he picked up a very faint, extremely strange scent—terrifying at the same time. It drew all of his attention.

  'No, damn it, not now. There’s only a little left…'

  Arthur screamed in despair inside his mind, using all his strength and willpower to control his body and continue toward the potential exit. But due to the clash between his feral instincts and rational mind, he took one step to the right, then back to the left—right, then left—over and over again.

  The longer it dragged on, the weaker his resolve became. In the end, he gave up and helplessly watched himself follow the strange scent, which led him far away into a massive cavern.

  Its walls were filled with dazzling stones—or rather, transparent crystals of various colors, glowing with a very faint light.

  That wasn’t all.

  At the center of the vividly illuminated cavern stood a gigantic milky-white skeleton with an extremely strange shape. It had a long, serrated tail that ended in a massive bone club, a broad head with two horns on its forehead and a single horn above its nose.

  The ribcage was the strangest part—it was curved at the top and wide at the bottom, and attached to it were two wings, or more precisely, the remains of two enormous wings. Inside the corpse rested a large black glass-like sphere, riddled with cracks.

  'What is all this?'

  Arthur stopped at the entrance with a stunned expression. All the regret he felt about being dragged to this place vanished. The breathtaking scene alone was worth a bit of risk.

  Arthur swept his gaze across the cavern, studying the shimmering crystals with a hint of greed. His human mindset urged him to seize this treasure—one that could have sparked wars between nations in his previous world.

  Naturally, he knew these gems weren’t that simple. The moment he stood near them, he felt refreshed, his feral impulses weakening. He even regained partial control over his body.

  'These aren’t ordinary stones. They’re saturated with some kind of energy… could it be mana? Maybe. Unfortunately, I can’t tell for sure…'

  Suddenly, he remembered something important he had overlooked. The System was back—and with it, the "Evaluation" skill. He activated it immediately and examined everything before him.

  [ Mana Stone Ore – Mid-Rank ]

  [ ???????? ]

  [ Skeleton – Mid-Rank ]

  [ Primal Core – Damaged ]

  His eyes widened further, now certain he had stumbled upon a genuine treasure. Especially since this was the first time he had seen a non-living object with a Rank. Even the skeleton itself was Mid-Rank, which meant it was extremely valuable as well.

  As for the many question marks scattered throughout the cavern, he had no idea what they meant. The "Evaluation" skill had its limits—perhaps there were some high-rank Mana Stone Ores here, but he couldn’t be sure.