Chapter 15
Caleb stood in the open space behind the end of the passage, his two sheathed swords at his waist.
He arrived here after five minutes of travel. In front of him was a large cave with considerable height and width. Unlike the previous [Vicious Petal] hall he'd visited, this one was well-lit. Several crystal stones protrude from the wall, emitting a significant amount of light in the surrounding area.
Dark vines and roots were also mixed in the wall and ceiling, linking together as if they were fated to be bound in each other in the first place.
The ground was sloped downward, leading further and deeper to a specific location. Monsters can be seen roaming around the area, just like in the other dungeon.
He can see monsters of various sizes and colors, but they all share the same characteristics. They are spherical and have no legs or arms. They hop from place to place, as if they were a bouncing ball. Each of their bodies has been covered in some kind of leaves that shine in small light from time to time, rather than fur.
The name of these fluffy creatures was [Vicious Ovoid].
Due to their cute appearance, one can say they were not dangerous but these monsters were labeled as level 3.
——
[Vicious Ovoid] (Normal Monster)
Level: 3
HP: 170/170
——
Two of the monsters near Caleb noticed him as they leaped together using the internal force of their bodies. Their small mouths open, revealing a sinister laugh with 'kakaka!' while the leaves on their bodies begin to glow. The previous mellow and gentle leaves had hardened and turned into a thorn pointing at Caleb.
Their cute faces from before had vanished, and they had transformed into bloodthirsty monsters!
Kakakaka!
Their speed was commendable, but not fast enough in Caleb's perception. He can see their path as he took a slight sidestep to avoid the first monster. After it has passed through him, he grips his right sword, unsheathes it quickly, and swings at the second monster that follows.
In an instant, he cleaved half of its life. Then, before it could hit the ground again, he quickly raised his sword and slashed downward. It shrieked in a low voice as it vanished into the light.
A single stone with the color blue dropped from it. It was a [Mana Stone].
He shifted his gaze to the ball that had passed him after finishing the second monster. It landed on the ground and sprang back up to him.
He holds his sword horizontally and makes a strong lunge at it. As his sword passes through his body until the tip of it can be seen from behind, the [Vicious Ovoid] transforms into a skewer.
Critical damage of 89 floated in its head as Caleb continued to move and retracted his sword before slicing it twice in a row.
Its entire life point was depleted to zero, and it exploded into light. Another [Mana Stone] had fallen from it. Caleb gathered it as well as the previous one before proceeding.
Several [Vicious Ovoid] who noticed him sprang up to him as he walked. Their innocent faces quickly turn sinister and twisted before revealing their body's proud thorn leaves.
Caleb, on the other hand, saw these monsters as nothing more than a nuisance. After all, they were easy to dispatch. They lack both weapons and arms and legs. Their steps were monotonous and predictable. They simply leap to their prey. So, if you can see their trajectory and where they're going to land, killing this thing will be far too simple.
Cut, lunge, and slash.
Caleb repeated these actions as he moved deeper into the area. He also took some drops from them.
He got ten drops and three of these were Uncommon items. A silver round shield with a +15 physical defense effect, and a red bow with +8 attack power. The third and final item was leather armor with +5 Vitality. He put on the armor right away because the previous armor he got from the Fishman Cretos only had +2 Vitality and low water magic resistance effect.
Though it has a resistance effect, equipping the armor with high vitality was more appropriate for him.
The only items left were common equipment and a weapon. Because these items have no special effects and low attributes, he will place them in the junk inventory.
He spent most of his time clearing the area. He didn't rush as he was farming Ovoids at his leisure. He only came here just to acquire [Mana Stone], thus he didn't need to go any further till there were no more monsters in the place.
An hour had passed, and a big shadow suddenly came up behind Caleb. Because of the bad lighting, this shadow was not properly produced, but he can still see its spherical outline.
He instantly escaped by sprinting ahead. When he turned back, he noticed the big thing approaching from behind. It is light green and has the same properties as the Ovoids. The other difference was their size, which was larger than the other Ovoids he had encountered thus far.
Its leaves were two times larger, and it had extra body components, such as limbs, that the other Ovoids lacked.
——
Vicious Ovoid Pioo (Elite Monster)
Level: 3
HP: 480/480
——
"An elite, huh? I hope you drop some decent items." Caleb muttered seemingly unperturbed by the size after inspecting the new monsters that arrived.
He was confident he could solo this elite monster because it was only level 3. Their level difference was three, and while it was elite, it was still inferior to him in combat.
'It was still the same as small Ovoids, the only difference was the size,' he thought as he finished the other monsters in his rear.
The big Pioo, on the other hand, did not wait for him, launching its entire massive body at Caleb. It left a little crater in the prior location where it stood, indicating the force it caused.
Its enemy, Caleb, however, had foreseen this strike and had promptly swayed to his right flank. He quickly swung his sword after evading, delivering a [Moon Slice] skill.
Bluish energy trailed his foe and exploded in its massive body. In its head, a 50-point damage emerged.
Pioo's defense ignored nearly half of the damage he was supposed to inflict.
"As expected, its defense was strong," Caleb said, but he didn't seem to think it was a big deal to him.
Pioo simply responded with a sinister laugh before launching his body again. This time, like the previous small Ovoid, its leaves rose and turned into thorns.
Because Pioo's leaves were longer than the previous smaller ones, they covered quite a distance and arrived at Caleb in no time.
Anyone would be terrified by this move, but Caleb remained steadfast and raised both of his swords to directly block the incoming monster.
crash!
A loud crash resounded in the room as if a big boulder had collided with something.
Caleb's feet move away from their previous location, leaving drag traces on the ground. He completely stopped Pioo's advance, but every pointed leaf on its front body was piercing his both shoulder and legs.
A total damage of 165 appeared on his head. Only 6% remaining in his life points!
He, however, remained calm as he grasped the timing when his opponent's momentum was lost, then pushed it forward forcefully.
At that moment, his eyes glinted as both of his swords turned into a streak of black and red light, slashing Pioo's body multiple times.
By blocking his opponent, he created an opportunity to use [Frontal Speed]. It was impossible for others, but Caleb was able to grasp the timing and precisely position his body so that the thorns did not cause critical damage to him in a short amount of time.
It was a skill and confidence that he could pull this strategy off, lowering its failure rate. By doing so, he can launch a proper counterattack and inflict more damage by triggering his three passive skills. If he makes a consecutive attack combo, he will gain the [Swift Blade], [Heavy Blade], and finally the critical passive of [Swordsmanship].
Caleb considered all of these factors and concluded that it was sufficient to kill this elite monster.
He never stops attacking, leaving Pioo with no breath until it cried out in agony for the last time and burst into light particles.
"Oh, it dropped a coin, and it was a silver coin!" he exclaimed when he noticed a gleam in the drops.
The drop rate in copper coins was low enough; how much more so if it's a silver coin!
He quickly examined the two items that remained on the ground. One was the [Mana Stone], which was larger than any stone he had previously collected, and the other was a yellow book.
——
[Book of Vitality] (Rare)
Effect(s): Add 2 Vitality attribute
Class Limitation: None
——
It was an attribute book!
Even if it only adds two points to Vitality, it could still make a difference. He was elated by this and consumed it quickly.
After that, he looked around and discovered several [Vicious Ovoid] that had begun to loiter again.
He accumulated 96 [Mana Stone] in an hour of farming in this area. It was still 1/5 of what he needed, so he decided to keep going after his life points were back to full. For the time being, he will simply find a safe place to rest and crunch his bread.