--Chapter 73--

The chamber they entered was the largest spot they had been in since they began exploring the cavern-like flux zone.

Bones, rotten and dead flesh of the different creatures in the habitat filled the chamber, forming a growing pile at the epicenter.

Leona immediately moved to the chamber with better lighting driving most of the shadows to the side but never fully eradicating them.

This was the first time since the night bleater back at the draft that Dean felt this weight in his chest.

The weight that something was watching, adjusting and waiting for either of them to slip up.

But unlike the first time, Dean was more experienced now. He immediately concentrated to take a deeper scan of the area with Hermit’s eyes.

Pushing the eyes to what seemed like their present limits, he finally caught movements.

It was subtle, soundless and almost seemed like it was nothing at first.

Several shadows peel from the wall, detaching like strips, one after the other.

These shadows bubbled for a moment before swelling up to form what looked like.

’Cats?’..

Ding!

The familiar chime rang in his head as the interface appeared this time.

[Threat Detected]

[Species- Umbra-Cats]

[Description: Umbra-cats are fast feline shadow creatures that move in complete silence to hunt down their prey. They are usually in packs.]

[Species rank- Low-Epic] 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

[Threat level - Mid]

Dean looked at the notification from the corner of his eye and it all made sense.

Just as the system noted, the creatures, five in total, were moving around, circling both him and Leona as if they were sizing them up.

But the most disturbing thing was that, even though these creatures were stepping on the bones on the floor, there was absolutely no sound whatsoever.

"They’re coordinated," Dean said without taking his eyes away from the cats.

"Yes they are," Leona paused, her expression hardened. "It’s more than that. Something is driving them."

Dean raised an eyebrow but he didn’t have time to ask Leona further questions because the Umbra cats all pounced straight at him together.

With the creatures being completely soundless, Dean would have missed their choice to pounce all at him.

All five at once. But even in their silence. Their muscles betrayed them.

With Hermit’s eyes still active, Dean noticed the small shifts in their posture, head turns and guessed their choices.

He was the easier prey. In truth, he was the only prey. So of course the cats doubled down to come for him first.

Shzzzzt!

The Rebound armor flared up as Dean felt a blast of energy circle through every inch of his body.

Moving instinctually, he ducked and rolled forward as the cat that aimed directly for him flew over him.

But before it completely moved past. Dean caught its extended tail from behind, pulled it back and slammed it into the ground with incredible force.

Dean didn’t show any mercy even as the cat hissed in pain. Still holding on its tail, he moved in and slammed his fist like a jack hammer into its skull.

Crushing its head and the ground as it crumbled completely.

Whilst this was happening, the other cats had spun and came from spots that would have been fatal for a normal human, but with Hermit’s eyes and resonance with the Wind Sprite. Dean had no blind spots.

The Wind sprite which was whistling in the air like a miniature tornado. Released a powerful horizontal arc of slashing wind that beheaded one of the cats with the other reacting just in time to dodge.

The surviving cats twisted mid-air to evade the Wind Scythe.

But thin streaks of white light flashed past them.

And for a second, nothing happened. Then their bodies split apart.

Their heads, limbs, torsos. All crashing separately onto the bone-covered floor.

Leona stood behind them, her hand clenching hard on a piece of serrated bone that was as large as a human thigh. The makeshift sword had finished off the last of the cats.

Or so they thought...

Dean’s head tilted to the side as more shadows peeled from under the bones but before he or Leona entered battle stance.

The Umbra cats fled instantly, bouncing off the walls and running out of the tunnel.

Ding!

[You have defeated two Umbra-cats with low-difficulty]

[Rewards: 3000EXP]

[You have shown good battle coordination with Familiar 1]

[Rewards: 2000EXP]

[Bond with Familiar 1- Wind sprite has improved with 1%]

[Rewards: 1500EXP]

[Familiar- Wind Sprite has advanced. Common low → Common High]

’Okay that’s fucking amazing,’ Dean thought.

He looked at the interface with a smile on his face. Even though he was slowly getting tired.

Who would have thought, him being a stubborn ass and insisting to enter this zone would be this profitable.

He wasn’t just gaining experience points and learning from Leona firsthand.

His summon was also improving at a decent pace and it even unlocked a new skill.

’If only Ash was available, he would have copied some new skills or maybe even improved their unique bond.’

"You’re doing it again," Leona said.

Snapping Dean back. It wasn’t like he had forgotten she was there. But he couldn’t help his excited grin.

"What?" Dean’s smile thinned.

"Staring at space like an idiot," she said while pushing aside some fresh corpses.

’I would rather stare at those perfect boobies though,’ Dean thought as he glanced at her chest for a second.

Even in what others would say was a tough situation, where their summons were unavailable.

This woman still moved with incredible certainty as if this was a situation of–Being there, Done that.

"About those cats," Dean said. Knowing flirting could wait.

"Umbra-cats," Leona replied.

"Um–Umbra–" Dean nodded. "Do you know everything, in here?"

"So...Far. Yes." Leona finally pushed off a large carcass revealing a hole as if something had burrowed into the ground through it.

She gestured for Dean to come closer. Dean looked into the hole and it was oozing thick black streams of smoke.

"What’s that?" Dean crouched slightly.

"It’s a sign we are going in the right direction," Leona answered simply.

She continued. "You should know one thing before we proceed. Shadow creatures don’t run. They only re-group until you kill them."

Dean nodded in understanding as he stood back up. Rubbing the top of the wind sprite’s improved form.

"So what’s next."

"We close it," Leona said, with cold bloody red eyes and her grip tightening on the make-shift sword.

And together, they descended into unknown depths.