Night One

Several figures crept inside of the cave once it had become dark, many cocoons remained motionless and Inis was laying nearby.

The soft sounds of her steady breathes were carried through the cave while some footsteps grew closer to her body.

A hand reached out towards the bone dagger within the pile of tools which had been kept by Inis followed by several others being taken.

Several of her own race had a look of jealousy in their eyes as they looked towards her laying comfortably in a deep sleep.

They walked closer and raised the weapons over her body but then Inis turned over suddenly without warning.

In a single movement, she avoided being killed by them and then flung the pieces which covered her body towards her opponents.

Their vision was blocked for a moment and within the dark cave, it became even worse for them to keep track of her as she appeared by one of them.

A bone dagger entered the throat of the first one and was quickly removed.

The average combat power of a Gremlin, Goblin and Imp were very low compared to humans but each had their own advantages.

Imps were much smaller but they had an affinity for fire type abilities and were quick on their feet, goblins had quite a balanced build but could learn how to wield all kinds of weapons while Gremlins were not as powerful or as quick but they did possess their own talents which made them scary opponents to deal with.

Gremlins also had longer arms which allowed their reach to be longer and they could carry heavier things which made up for their shorter legs and slower speed.

In fact, their long arms allowed for more power to be pit into throwing things and helped to reach places that were above their height so their body shape was not completely flawed compared to the goblins balanced body shape.

The biggest problems that they had caused once they emerged in the world was recorded to be the destruction and blowing up of a power plant which killed many people.

It was all because of a small number of Gremlins which had gotten into the power plant and had caused enough destruction to cause the meltdown.

In a cave, a dungeon or even in human society, there were many places for them to hide and cause a lot of damage to people, equipment or even a country.

The Gremlins which Inis was facing were ordinary ones which could only be considered as new borns or infants within the group.

Their combat experience was limited and they had yet to become a lower rank one monster which was equivalent to an elementary realm aether master.

Inis had become a variant or overlord type monster after accepting her ability so she already had an advantage over many nee borns and those which were unfit to leave the home grounds of the Gremlins.

After accepting the cleansing of her body and cultivating a small part of it into her own power, Inis had already stepped into the ranks of aether masters or ranked monsters.

Ranked monsters, demons, beasts and many others have one thing in common and that would be that their bodies would be strengthened beyond their natural abilities while their innate talents may show some improvements upon reaching new heights.

Humanoid aether masters would receive similar benefits but they had more flexibility with their direction of growth and how they would develop their power and abilities.

An example of that would be the Gremlin's ability to eat just about anything and survive, in a normal world it would work as it should but in the dungeon or aether era, it was very different since there were many large gaps in power and the materials around the world.

Some poisons or medicines would be far too powerful for a low grade Gremlin to consume which would render their innate talent useless unless they grew to a suitable rank where it would be safe to consume it without suffering side effects or injury.

Inis continued to move around in the darkness quietly and used the confusion within the cave which had been created by her to catch them by surprise.

A second one had a bone dagger stabbed into the side of its neck, it shrieked then fell down into a pool of its own blood.

One of them started running towards the opening in the cage to escape but a bone dagger was thrown out by Inis.

One more was remaining and it was the striped Gremlin which she had already encountered.

It was shivering and cowering in fear after its companions were killed so quickly.

The bone dagger was raised up to its throat as Inis looked down coldly, her magenta eyes shone brightly within the cave and looked very cold and murderous. "No more chance."

She had already given a couple of them mercy by sparing them after they provoked her earlier but Inis could not overlook an attempt on her life.

There were some which could possibly be tamed or brought under her control but those were not the ones which would be receiving her favour but would set an example for others.

Becoming a monster was a strange experience considering that Inis had been fighting as a human against monsters and all kinds of other races and species so it was not so easy to adapt right away.

It was too normal to kill monsters and she had to adapt to her change so that she could live with those that were the same as herself.

Her own talent was suitable for leading others so it was best used as a pack or tribe leader of her own species so she wished to reign in a couple with potential and form her own group within those that had remained near the cave.

Unfortunately her first attempt had ended in failure so she was a little disappointed but Inis did not waste too long dwelling on her failures. 'These bodies will prove useful. Gremlin teeth and claws are very hard and sharp but the bones will also be useful for making weapons.'

Her experiences in the dungeon had allowed her to pick up all kinds of combat techniques and natural instincts or habits which could help her survive.

Among them was being a very light sleeper which could wake up at any time when others were nearby.

Some could spend a very long time in a larger dungeon so resting was important if they wanted to survive.

After clearing her thoughts, Inis started to move the bodies and started to dismantle them.

A little later when she was almost done, Inis lifted her head and looked towards a part of the cage which was showing signs of movement. 'If I cannot choose among the older ones then the new borns may be a better choice.'

Two new born Gremlins emerged from the cocoons and slowly got adjusted to their surroundings.

Inis waled towards them and motioned them to come over. "Come."

After a little demonstration and urging, Inis started to show them how to dismantle the bodies which they quickly adapted to.

A small pile of bones, tendons, skin and other parts were neatly piled up and organised while the two Gremlin were rewarded with a set of bone knives and some raw meat.

As Inis was going back to sleep, she caught the sight of the two of them chewing on the eye balls which she felt was very unpleasant. 'Disgusting.'

The other two Gremlins started to mimic her shortly after and fell into a deep sleep which allowed the night to pass by quickly as a new day came quickly for them.