Earth Dragon (D-Rank)

"Did it discover us?"

Lucien mumbled, slowly backing away, ready to bolt if need be.

Although he had used 100 points of his Agility to awaken a skill, his speed was still more than enough. He could easily outrun these Glimmergnaws.

Like someone once said, if you're being chased by a tiger, you don't need to outrun the tiger, just your companion.

"Squeak, squeak…"

Just when Lucien was wondering what to do, he suddenly spotted the Glimmergnaw he had sent to scout earlier.

Only, contrary to his expectations, the rodent wasn't scared or running for its life.

Instead, it looked extremely excited.

And Lucien didn't even have to ask why, as evident from the glistening red ore shining in its tiny paw, which it was desperately trying to gnaw through.

"Infernium?"

As soon as Lucien saw the glistening red ore on the Glimmergnaw's hand, he immediately recognized what it was.

Infernium, a low-rank fire-type elemental ore, often used to craft basic fire-attribute weapons or power beginner-level fire spells.

He knew about it because it was also used in alchemy to concoct potions.

"So, the monster inside is an Earth Dragon?"

Lucien had some knowledge he inherited from Alchemist Devan. So, he still knew a few things about what kind of monsters dwelled in places with crystalline minerals like Infernium.

Only, he felt that if it was really the Earth Dragon, then he might need to change his plan.

"Squeak, squeak…"

The Glimmergnaw he sent had already arrived near him and was now dragging his lower pant and pointing at the ore. It seemed it was unable to chew the intact ore and wanted help.

'They don't even care about the roar just now?'

Lucien looked at the crowd of rodents with hungry eyes fixed on the shining red ore.

Even though they showed alertness when the roar appeared, it disappeared just as they saw the ore.

They were just too greedy. Only the little guy on his shoulder was a little normal and wasn't showing naked greed.

"Well then, it is still helpful to me."

Seeing their reaction, Lucien suddenly smiled and grabbed the Infernium in his hand.

Then, in the hopeful eyes of the Glimmergnaw, he suddenly stuffed the ore directly into his mana ring.

"Squeak?"

"Heh, little guy, do you want it? Why don't you help me with something?"

Lucien smirked just like before, as if ready to take another gamble. However, unlike before, he had multiple helpers this time to back him up.

'Hope this time I won't get injured.'

He thought for a moment and eagerly began to share his plan, or rather, order the Glimmergnaws around him.

He knew that although the roar just now was strong, the Earth Dragon had no intention of coming out.

From his knowledge, that only happened when it found a new vein of Infernium and didn't want to leave it alone. So, it was just a warning to the intruders.

If that was the case, there were plenty of ways to play around it.

***

"Why is this guy in a place like this? Doesn't he want to awaken a class?"

At the entrance of the tunnel Lucien had entered earlier, stood a tall, lean guy draped in a completely dark robe.

Only his glimmering eyes, filled with confusion, could be seen from beneath the hood.

"Why do I feel like this guy suddenly changed? He even managed to survive my soul poison."

Glen mumbled while slowly walking inside the tunnel, his movements so silent that not even a single footstep echoed in the darkness.

"Moreover, after meeting him today, I suddenly felt lethargic, and he was also hesitating to grab the pouch earlier that was laced with poison. What happened?"

He was an assassin, after all. Although his perception had decreased after Lucien's extraction, he still managed to notice the difference in Lucien.

"Forget it… It is good that he is now inside such a place. Isn't this the perfect place for your burial?"

Glen's eyes suddenly turned cold while his lips showed a faint smirk.

This kind of dark tunnel with winding paths was the perfect place for an assassin to kill.

"With the Container in my hand, even the dungeon's mechanisms couldn't save you."

Glen thought while caressing a colorful cube at his waist, marked with seven grooves, while his other hand held a compass pointing in a certain direction.

"Let's just kill this guy first before I extract the seed at the center. I need to be fast."

He mumbled, then suddenly rushed toward the dim tunnel, his figure blurring into shadows, disappearing right after.

***

"Roarrrrrr!"

"Damn, run… run… Idiot, why are you still trying to grab it?"

Lucien cursed as he bolted out of the entrance of the cavern, which was lit in red all over.

"Boom!"

However, he was a little too late, as the ground suddenly vibrated and a crushing wave of dense, gravitational energy burst forth.

Then hot air rippled through the cavern as the Earth Dragon's area-of-effect attack slammed toward him, almost knocking him to the floor.

Fortunately, he was near the entrance and was only guiding the group of E-rank rodents inside, and the attack wasn't aimed at him.

So, he was somewhat uninjured.

However, the Glimmergnaws that were still inside slammed into the ground, injuring themselves all over. A few were almost turned into paste.

"Roarrrrr!"

The roar of the Earth Dragon was deafening, filled with rage as it was finally fed up with being teased.

It had been resting peacefully inside the newly discovered vein, but these... rats kept coming again and again to provoke it.

It wasn't just twice, or three times, or even four. This was already the fifth time they had snuck in, trying to steal its ore.

They would scurry inside, loot anything their eyes could find, and flee for their lives the moment it reacted.

Wasn't this mocking it?

"Boom!"

As the Glimmergnaws received Lucien's order, they reluctantly began to flee outside, taking whatever ore their tiny hands could carry.

Although the Earth Dragon's area-of-effect attack, Gravity Pulse, was strong, the number of Glimmergnaws was too great, and they had already scattered in all directions.

Of course, many were still caught.

"Roarrrrr!"