Meeting of the Svetloids

"Look, it's not that big of a threat. I'll simply order everyone to stay inside the settlement. And if any supplies go missing, I'll send a squad of commanders to retrieve them—I doubt they'll be defeated," Aran said.

As he spoke, his eyes began to glow red. "YOU'RE SAYING IT'S NOT THAT BIG OF A THREAT?!!! HE DARED TO KILL YOUR SOLDIERS, INCLUDING A COMMANDER, AND YOU DON'T WANT REVENGE?!! BUT OF COURSE, IT DOESN'T MATTER TO YOU, SINCE YOUR LIZARDS ARE BORN TWICE AS FAST AS MINE!" Zehren roared in fury.

Then he stood up from his chair and slammed the doors open. "WHEN I GET HIM, I'LL MOCK YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE FOR FAILING TO TAKE REVENGE!!" he shouted at him before he and his Lizards left the green settlement, heading back home.

One of the green commanders approached Aran, his face smeared with saliva. "My Svetloid, will there be war?" he asked.

"No," Aran replied.

----

When Flain checked his stats, he noticed he had reached level 11, so he quickly purchased it before going to Itai.

[Level 10 -> Level 11]

[Strength increased by 1, agility increased by 1, vitality increased by 1]

[You have gained 1 bonus point]

Flain decided to put the bonus point into agility since it still felt too low compared to his other stats.

[Agility increased by 1]

Then Flain left the cave.

"Flain, kill those skeletons so I can revive them again," Itai mumbled sleepily.

Flain chopped off their heads.

"Alright, I'm going out to hunt. Give me a waterskin," Flain said, and Itai handed him one.

Flain then set out into the valley to hunt. He searched for two hours on both the black Lizards' and the green Lizards' territories, but no one was there. He only managed to kill one hammer-headed snake, which earned him 200 EXP and an evolution dusk. Other than that, nothing—he didn't encounter a single Lizard. Flain gave up on the hunt and returned to Itai.

He had no idea how lucky he had been—had he set out just two minutes earlier, he would have run straight into a massive black Lizard army led by their Svetloid.

Back in the cave, Flain decided to hunt inside instead. The crystal monster should be manageable. First, he carried the snake's corpse to the pile of other bodies, then he set off on his hunt.

As he walked through the cave, he came across four skeletons, which he killed effortlessly, earning 480 EXP and an evolution dusk.

He continued deeper and encountered a new monster. It hovered in the air with wings, its body was green, and a green liquid dripped from it onto the ground. It had two insect-like eyes and was quite large. As soon as it spotted Flain, it charged at him.

Flain watched the flying monster as it rapidly lunged at him. Its wings beat furiously, stirring up dust, and the air filled with the foul stench of the rotting liquid dripping onto the ground. Flain leaped backward, but the creature was unbelievably fast.

Before he could react, the monster lunged at him and struck his chest with a powerful blow.

[-60 HP]

Flain rolled across the ground and quickly got back on his feet. He had no way to fight from a distance—he had to get closer. The monster hovered above him and dived at him again. At the last moment, Flain dodged, but this time, a drop of green liquid hit him.

[-40 HP]

A plate of his armor was slightly corroded, but it still held together. Flain always hated when someone damaged his armor—he couldn't afford to get hit too many times. This creature was far stronger than he had expected.

As the monster prepared for another attack, Flain decided to change his strategy. He dropped one of his swords to the ground so he could use his free hand to grab the creature when it attacked.

The monster dived down again, and Flain tensed his bones. When it was just inches away, he suddenly leaped to the side and grabbed one of its membranous limbs.

The creature panicked and thrashed wildly in the air, trying to shake Flain off. Its body was slick with the rotting liquid, but Flain held on with all his strength. It slammed him against the cave wall. Luckily, the liquid was only toxic outside the monster's body, which was good—it wouldn't ruin his gloves.

[-50 HP]

Flain's grip started to slip, but he managed to pull out his sword with his other hand and drive it deep into the monster. The creature let out a piercing screech and thrashed even more violently.

Flain made one final push—he braced his feet against the wall and drove the sword straight through its body with both hands. The monster let out one last shriek before its lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

[+370 EXP]

Flain lifted the creature's corpse into the air.

"Hmh, pathetic insect," he muttered before tossing it aside. He doubted that insects had bones, so he had no use for it.

If he fought that monster again, he was sure he would lose far less HP since it had caught him off guard this time. He had 60 HP left, but he kept going. However, if he encountered anything other than a skeleton, he would retreat.

Flain walked for another hour—by then, all his HP had regenerated. He also killed three skeletons, earning 360 EXP.

He decided that he wouldn't be hunting in the valley anytime soon. He was strong enough against normal enemies, but he was nowhere near ready to face multiple commanders. Flain assumed that the black and green Lizards had discovered him and formed an alliance against him. If they had found the massacre by the lake—which they definitely had—then they must have realized that someone else was killing them, not just each other. That's why Flain believed the black Lizard army wasn't marching to war but merely heading to a meeting.

Flain continued for another ten minutes before encountering a crystal monster. This time, he only lost 55 HP from being hit by a crystal once. In the end, he killed it and gained 360 EXP.

Flain then decided to return to Itai with a sack full of skeleton bones and the valuable crystal monster…