Salamander

Drip... drip!

"Hyah!"

Boom... crash!

A light landing echoed through the silent sewer, stirring up ripples in the water.

Moss shook the droplets from her body and glanced back at the scene below.

The Black Rats had appeared again, gnawing at the corpses of their dead companions and feasting on them.

The struggle over the food continued, causing more Black Rats to die and become food for the others.

"Hiss...!! Those Black Rats really are all out of their minds. Is this viciousness caused by the influence of Mana Essence?"

Moss looked at the Black Rats that had begun slaughtering one another, inhaled sharply, and shook her head.

After watching for a while, Moss seemed to lose interest and looked away.

"Forget it. I'm not going to bother with them! They're not monsters anyway, so there's no value in studying them."

Splash, splash...

Moss observed her surroundings, then continued toward her old home.

The sewer here was actually exactly the same as the one she had lived in before!

A three-meter-wide waterway ran through the middle, with paths nearly two meters wide on both sides.

If there was any difference, there was only one.

It was extremely warm here—so warm that Moss even felt a little hot.

Even though it was already winter, she felt as if the temperature here was close to thirty degrees.

"Ah... I was freezing to death before, and now it's gotten hot again. I'm sensitive to heat too..."

Moss looked at the Heat Resistance talent that had appeared on her panel and spoke helplessly.

She couldn't help wondering what kind of place the sewer above was connected to.

While sighing inwardly, Moss didn't stop walking. She activated Stealth and headed toward her destination.

Half an hour later...

"I should be almost there, right?"

Moss hid in a corner and looked at the T-shaped intersection in the distance, speaking in a low voice.

Dozens of Black Rat corpses still littered the T-shaped intersection!

Some looked as if they had been torn apart, with only half their bodies remaining.

Moss had also discovered many Black Rat corpses on the way here, but they hadn't had bite marks like these.

So the monster that had killed the Black Rats was likely nearby!

At the thought, Moss huddled more tightly into the corner and began muttering under her breath.

"Counting these Black Rats, there are already more than six hundred in total..."

That number had already surpassed the number of deaths she had previously estimated!

This also meant that the suddenly appearing monster was even stronger than she had imagined!

"Perhaps... I'll be able to see it after crossing this intersection."

Moss carefully examined the ground, avoiding places that might make a sound, and walked along the edge toward the intersection.

A faint reddish glow was a color rarely seen in the sewer.

It was an extremely conspicuous color, so Moss was drawn to it as she approached the bend.

But Moss didn't stand there dumbfounded. She quickly hid in a corner and observed.

Only after confirming that she wouldn't be discovered in one corner of the T-shaped intersection did Moss have time to examine it carefully.

The red-glowing object finally came clearly into view, causing her to let out a startled gasp.

"What is that? A Salamander?"

It was a creature radiating red light from head to toe. It looked as if it had just crawled out of the water, steam rising from its entire body.

The creature was lying beside the waterway, enjoying the warm environment that was incomparably comfortable for it.

Its appearance shocked Moss as well, because it looked remarkably similar to the creature known in the legends of her previous life as a "Salamander"!

Salamanders were legendary spirits of fire, spirits who presided over flames.

They were strange, lizard-like creatures that lived amid the flames of volcanoes and lava.

Salamanders possessed extremely powerful combat strength and explosive tempers, and were hailed as wingless dragons!

The creature before Moss looked like a miniature Salamander!

She estimated that it was only about a meter long, including its tail.

With that body size, it probably wasn't a Salamander. Besides, the environment here didn't fit a Salamander's habitat.

She guessed that it most likely only possessed a trace of Salamander bloodline and could, at most, be called a Fire Lizard.

At this thought, Moss calmed down. Looking at the creature in the distance, she thought to herself:

There's only one? Could my previous guess have been wrong?!

Then was this fellow the one that killed so many Black Rats?

If driving away the swarm of Black Rats had been the work of this single monster, then the Fire Lizard's strength was several times greater than Moss had previously expected, and perhaps even more!

It looks so strong. I wonder if Detection can reveal its strength...

After thinking it over, Moss decided to use the Detection talent on the Fire Lizard!

A flash of multicolored light flickered in her eyes, and the Fire Lizard's panel appeared in her mind!

Name: ???

Level: Silver Rank 3

Constitution: 35

Spirit: 10

Magic Power: 100

Mana Essence: 450

Skills: Flame Manipulation, Explosive Flame, Scorching Fire Poison, Hardened Scales, Mana Resistance, Heat Resistance, Claws...

Hiss—!!!

Moss couldn't help taking a deep breath. The Fire Lizard's panel had shocked her speechless.

Its Constitution was a staggering 35 points—more than seventeen times her current 2 points of Constitution!

It also had a full 100 points of Magic Power, five times hers, and its skills looked incredibly powerful as well!

"Silver Rank..."

Moss looked at the monster in the distance, disbelief filling her heart, along with a feeling that it somehow made perfect sense.

If it was a Silver Rank monster, then it was absolutely possible for it to eliminate that many Black Rats alone!

The difference between ranks was an insurmountable chasm that ordinary creatures could never cross!

Without strength and talents powerful enough to overcome rank suppression, a creature of a lower rank could never defeat one of a higher rank.

The Black Rats were clearly in that situation. They were far too weak compared with the Fire Lizard; no matter how many came, it wouldn't matter.

Even Moss, as she was now, could easily deal with the simultaneous attacks of ten Black Rats!

For this Silver Rank Fire Lizard, dealing with those Black Rats was even easier!

Hiss, hiss...

Moss was still sighing inwardly when several faint cries suddenly sounded behind the Fire Lizard.

"What's going on?"

Moss froze, then looked toward the passage behind the Fire Lizard.

She saw several slightly smaller Fire Lizards running over from the distance, approaching the large Fire Lizard.

"I didn't expect there to be more..."

Moss's expression changed. She hadn't expected her guess to come true!

A Monster Tribe had truly appeared, and their strength far exceeded her estimate!

There's absolutely no way so many monsters of this strength—and with a fire affinity—could appear in the sewer!

Moss guaranteed this based on her five months of research and exploration. Monsters with this strength and affinity absolutely could not have appeared here!

There's only one explanation. These fellows came from above...

Moss furrowed her brow, turned around, and prepared to leave this place and find another suitable habitat.

She didn't want to run into this group of Fire Lizards. Once discovered, she would have no choice but to flee!

Her chances of winning a battle were practically nonexistent!

Besides, if things really were as she thought and the Fire Lizards had fled down from the city above—

Then humans should soon come down and clear them out!

As she thought, Moss retreated, preparing to return the way she had come and stay beneath the waterfall for a few days.

But before she had gone far, Moss's body suddenly stiffened.

Because she heard a sound—a human voice!

There were footsteps and voices speaking, and they were drawing closer!

"...It stinks so badly. How much longer until we get there?"

Human voices suddenly rang out through the pitch-black sewer!

It was... Mandarin!