Chapter 55: Grinding!
Silence settled over the dungeon once again. The storm of fire and frost had passed, leaving only faint steam and scattered ice along the cracked ground.
From the fading bodies of the serpents, glittering remnants floated gently to the floor.
Soft blue light pulsed from the 4 round cores, each the size of a clenched fist, their surfaces lined with frozen crystal veins. And Two Skill books, engraved glowing arcane symbols, landed beside them with a thud that echoed faintly in the cavern.
Ryu stepped forward and inspected the loot.
[ Beast Cores: Crystalline Ice Serpent (E) x4 ]
[ Skill Books: Crystalline Ice Armour (E), Poison Fangs (E) ]
He gave a satisfied nod. "Not bad. Hard mode really pays off well. At this pace, it won’t be long before I stop caring about coins."
Smiling to himself, Ryu stored the loot into his Fusion Lab with a flick of thought. Then, without wasting time, he pushed deeper into the frosted caverns, continuing his hunt.
The enemies came steadily. More Glacier Wolves, their fangs sharper and movements faster. More Ice Serpents slithered between jagged ice formations, striking from blind angles. Their levels ranged between 9 and 13, most hovering above the double digits. That alone told him what he needed to know.
"This difficulty isn’t meant for F-Rank Hunters at all," Ryu muttered while slicing through another lunging wolf. Blood splattered across the snow as the beast collapsed into light.
In truth, a regular F-Rank hunter wouldn’t last long here. Most would probably get overwhelmed within the first five minutes, their bones crushed or blood frozen beneath the weight of these monsters. This difficulty mode was designed for E-Rankers and above.