[110] Monster

Seeing Leinas's worsening state, Adam swiftly produced a Regeneration Potion and poured it onto her cheek.

Hiss!

The writhing, decayed flesh met the potion, sizzling and eliciting a pained grunt from Leinas.

The potion temporarily halted the curse's spread across her face.

"Thank you." Leinas said, her face pale and bloodless. She gripped her spear tightly, forcing herself to stand.

She refused to let anyone see her weak.

"This isn't the time for pleasantries." Adam said, waving a hand dismissively, his gaze sweeping the seemingly unremarkable area.

Leinas exhaled, warning, "We might've found the right place."

"Manticore aren't particularly strong. I've killed them before, and this never happened."

Until now, she'd believed her curse came from the strange magical beast. But clearly, that wasn't the case.

This man had guessed correctly, the odd cursed power originated here.

"Your condition isn't good. The Regeneration Potion can only suppress the curse's spread." Adam said, eyeing her weakened state. The spreading decay was merely a symptom; her internal cursed power was likely spiraling out of control.

He didn't suffer the same because his Player abilities let him master the power instantly, bypassing the need for practice.

Glancing at the Manticore corpses, he noted that beyond the usual experience points, his cursed power had grown faintly, barely noticeable but undeniable.

This could only mean one thing: the Manticore carried traces of the curse.

"It's just pain." Leinas said, lifting her pale neck, forcing a smile. "This started because of me. How could I let you, an alchemist, face this alone?"

Suddenly, both Adam and Leinas snapped their heads toward a spot thirty meters to the left-front.

A sparse patch of low, uneven shrubs stood there, so thin you could see through it, no creatures in sight.

Yet both their gazes locked onto a half-human-height stump of withered wood, long dead.

Adam wasn't sure if the stump had been there before, but he could sense cursed power emanating from it.

"That stump's off!" Leinas said first, swiftly drawing a dagger from her magic pouch and hurling it at the wood.

Whoosh!

The dagger sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.

Just as it was about to strike,

Crack!

The stump shuddered, leaping aside to dodge the dagger.

Its form twisted, morphing into a creature with bark-like gray-brown skin, etched with black patterns. Gray-brown fur obscured its face, revealing only a large nose covered in fragmented black scales, unsettling to behold.

A corrupt, eerie aura radiated from it.

The humanoid monster was small, barely 60 cm tall, not even reaching a human's waist.

"That's it!" Leinas's pale face flared with anger at the sight, though uncertainty crept in. "It's slightly different, but it's close!"

Adam studied the creature, racking his memory. Neither the Overlord anime nor novels mentioned anything like it.

"Die…"

"Die, all, die…"

The humanoid monster swayed, muttering in an indescribable, eerie cadence. "Banish…"

"It speaks?" Adam's eyes narrowed.

The creature let out a piercing screech: "Harrgh!"

Buzz!

A wave of magical energy pulsed from it.

"Human Charm!"

An invisible psionic wave surged toward them.

"Undead Spirit!" Adam chanted, waving his arm to direct the two Archangel Flames toward the monster.

Leinas froze, her eyes glazing over, clearly affected by Human Race Charm.

"Blood Boil!" The creature's body emitted a faint red glow.

Instantly, Adam felt his blood surge, a rush of exhilaration flooding him, as if his energy was boundless.

This wasn't a psionic spell but a buff altering blood flow, which Undead Spirit couldn't counter.

But Adam doubted the creature would cast buffs on enemies. He immediately stepped back, rushing toward the charmed Leinas.

A talking, spell-casting monster, was it truly a magical beast, or some unique demi-human?

As the thought flashed through his mind, the creature cast again: "Rapid Bleed!"

Adam's face flushed red, but prepared, he only coughed a trickle of blood.

"Pfft!"

Leinas, still charmed, had no resistance. Blood sprayed from her mouth, her decayed cheek, already a wound, gushing red, soaking her body.

The injury snapped her out of the charm. Regaining awareness, she doubled over, coughing blood uncontrollably.

Whoosh!

Adam reached her side, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. He poured another Regeneration Potion into her mouth.

"Cough, thanks." Leinas rasped, blood and blue potion mixing in her mouth, her voice weak, a hint of despair in her eyes.

Since arriving, she'd thought she could protect Adam, a magic caster unsuited for close combat. Instead, she'd been a burden.

After retreating to a safe distance, Adam turned to the humanoid monster.

The Archangel Flames had reached it, swinging their flaming swords, but the creature dodged every strike with uncanny agility.

Its movements were unlike any caster's.

You're sure you defeated this thing before? Adam wanted to ask the weakened Leinas.

Taking the brief respite, he pulled up his status panel.

[Discovered 2nd-Tier Spell: Blood Boil. Requires Psionic Caster Level (8–14). Conditions unmet…]

[Discovered 2nd-Tier Spell: Rapid Bleed. Requires Psionic Caster Level (8–14). Conditions unmet…]

[ Genius Class Activated. Conversion Successful. Learning Conditions Met. Consume 1 Skill Point to Learn?]

…

A psionic magic caster?

Adam stared at the panel, surprised, eyeing the creature nimbly evading the Archangel Flames' onslaught.

To his knowledge, only Fluder in the Baharuth Empire wielded psionic magic. Yet this humanoid monster did too.

It wasn't a magical beast, it was an unknown demi-human, though its state seemed unstable.

Buzz,

The panel updated.

[Discovered Class Skill: Wild Shape. Requires Class Forest Priest. Conditions Met.]

[Learning Conditions Met. Consume 1 Skill Point to Learn?]

Roar!

A beastly bellow erupted from the petite creature's mouth.

In an instant, its body swelled at an unnatural speed. Within two or three breaths, the 60 cm creature transformed into a ten-meter-long, emerald-scaled lizard with eight legs.

Boom! Boom!

The green lizard raised its scale-armored legs, smashing at the Archangel Flames before they could react.

With one blow, both archangels dissolved into motes of light.

"Run!" Leinas shouted, forcing her weakened body to raise her spear, stepping in front of Adam. "It's a Basilisk!"

A difficulty 83 monster, requiring an Adamantite-rank adventurer team to defeat.

"Hiss!!"

The Basilisk dispatched the archangels, its eight legs propelling it forward with speed belying its size.

Too fast!

Despair flickered in Leinas's eyes.

Facing the rancid stench of the oncoming beast, she instinctively moved to close her eyes.

At that moment, a brilliant white light flashed above, forming a three-meter-tall angel.

A silver warhammer appeared in its right hand, swinging down with force.

Holy Strike.

Boom!

The Basilisk's head was smashed into the ground, a thunderous crash kicking up clouds of dust.

Leinas stared, bathed in the warm glow, and looked at Adam, now standing before her. "Who are you, really?" She asked instinctively.

"Didn't I tell you?" Adam's voice was calm and warm. "Copper-rank adventurer, Adam of Free Will."

***

Every 5 reviews and 200 power stones, a bonus chapter will be dropped. 

(5,10,15, 200, 400, 600, and so on then two bonus chapters will be dropped, 1 for 5 reviews and 1 for 200 power stones, so that's 2 bonus chapters!) 

And if you want to read more than 50 chapters early, feel free to visit pat re on. com / Xelenea (remove space).