The Cute Little One

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Hehe."

For some reason, Linsey suddenly felt like laughing.

But this was just a silent laugh, because there was no sign of his lips turning up in the corners.

Consider your current situation.

He remembered the Magma Fire Monster that he had defeated before he fell unconscious.

The advantages and disadvantages of this Elemental Lifeform are equally prominent.

Just like the Meteor Fire Sprite that can easily kill ordinary people and even many awakened ones find troublesome, it can be extinguished directly by water.

To be fair, Linsey's raw strength is no match for Magma Fire Monster.

However, by taking advantage of various favorable conditions and exploiting the opponent's weaknesses, it is also possible to achieve victory against the odds.

But what about now?

This eye is estimated to be about two meters in diameter.

A vague description might not do justice to the scale of this thing.

If we take giant creatures as a reference, then a 40-meter-tall Ultraman would have eyes with a diameter of about 0.5 meters.

In other words, as long as the owner of this eye is not a creature with unusual body proportions like an eye demon.

Its size is at least 100 meters or more! Linsey's strongest equipment, the [Glorious Bullet], can instantly kill enemies below Seventh Stage.

But what about the one in front of you?

And so, Linsey stared at the enormous eyes opposite her.

He saw more details; the eye seemed to be made of rock, and the torchlight had very little light penetrating it.

After staring at each other for several seconds, the other party did not react at all.

There was no attack, no shifting of attention, and no negotiation.

"Statue?"

The torchlight couldn't illuminate the entire other person.

Linsey did not dare to make any rash moves.

He mobilized the Essence and opened his own map.

The rock-like eyes are not those of a statue.

A yellow marker almost overlapped with Linsey's location, indicating the attitude of the person who owned the eye, while the surrounding terrain also told Linsey about his situation.

This is the space beneath the mountains.

Linsey had already carved a large hole inside the mountain. After the destruction of the battle and the explosion of the Magma Fire Monster's core, the tracking structure collapsed, causing him to fall into the underground cavity he had previously seen on the map.

"..."

"How come I didn't die from the fall?"

Another question popped into Linsey's mind.

However, as the status quo remained stable and unchanged, the initial sense of crisis began to subside, and Linsey became aware of more information.

First, the owner of this Eye of the Rock either has no ill intentions towards him or is in a state of inability to act.

Because of the analysis of physical condition and surrounding environment.

Linsey could tell that she had been in the fall for some time.

In such a long period of time, the other party could have done whatever they wanted with him, but the result was that he lay on the ground unharmed.

Even be bolder.

Perhaps Linsey didn't die from the fall.

It's also closely related to the owner of this eye! "A neutral Yellow Marker... In any case, let's not disturb it."

Linsey analyzed the current situation in a low voice.

Since the other party showed no response, we can assume that it is in some kind of dormant state.

So the first thing Linsey did was to put the torch back in her bag.

While darkness can be unsettling, a persistent torchlight could alert the other party and even lead to disastrous consequences.

Compared to this outcome, Linsey would rather grope her way forward in the darkness on her own.

Although this method is more complicated, with the help of a map, it's not entirely impossible to leave.

"The mysterious underground world..."

"I was originally planning to come back and explore again when I had the chance, but now I have to plan ahead."

As Linsey murmured softly, the area to be explored on the map expanded.

Just as he had guessed, the Great Hollow beneath the mountain was not an isolated space; there were underground tunnels connecting it to other unknown areas in the west and south.

"The crevice by the river mentioned in the Expedition Team's records should be in this direction."

Based on her recollection, Linsey chose to head south first.

At the same time, he rummaged through his bag and ate a perfectly grilled fish, which could slightly increase his recovery ability.

The synthesis on the Workbench is also taking place at this moment.

[1 Flame Mark + 1 Blazing Flame Crystal = Magma Crest]

[Emblem/Material: Magma Crest]

[After equipping, it enhances the user's heat resistance; activating its active effect grants the wearer immunity to flames below 2500℃, and allows breathing in lava and fire environments; it can also be used as a material to craft other items.]

[High-grade Fire Emblem, a special item with high value.]

Like the [Flame Mark], the [Magma Crest] is also a rune-enhanced equipment.

Linsey stuck it on the back of her hand to try and activate the effect.

Activating the abilities granted by higher-level emblems indeed consumes significantly more resources.

"With my amount of Essence, even if I keep it on, I'm afraid I can only last for about ten seconds."

"But if we had obtained this earlier, dealing with the Fifth Stage Magma Fire Monster would have been much easier."

Linsey thought for a moment.

3 Flame Crystal = Flame Mark

It's that simple; he synthesized another low-level [Flame Mark].

To deal with battles of varying intensities, simply choose equipment of different levels. Equipment selection isn't a one-off decision; one can adapt flexibly.

Then I placed the [Magma Crest] on the Workbench.

[1 Magma Crest + 1 Eternal Flame Essence = Flame Dominator's Mark]

[1 Magma Crest + 1 Mountains Crest + 1 Ocean Current Crest + 1 Storm Crest = Nature Conqueror's Mark]

"It's the same as before."

"One focuses on enhancing the fire element, and the other is the unified synthesis of the four elements."

For subsequent crafting of [Magma Crest].

Linsey has a fairly clear self-awareness and has no illusions about getting it right now.

At this moment, he had already walked more than a hundred meters into the dark underground space.

At this point, he finally opened the Hunting Notes and claimed the kill achievements he had previously unlocked.

The number of Magma Fire Monster killed is 1/3.

Linsey's achievement this time is a reward for his first victory over Fifth Stage creature.

[Hunting Achievement: First Fifth-Stage Prey]

[Investigation speed is increased when tracking prey in Fifth Stage.]

Linsey was quite satisfied that it sped up the investigation, since he had defeated the Magma Fire Monster thanks to the Hunting Module's investigation capabilities.

Rumble—

Just as Linsey finished tallying his haul and was about to leave, the ground beneath his feet began to shake, making it difficult for him to stand.

The pitch-black underground space seemed to harbor some enormous creature.

Linsey immediately stopped what she was doing.

Even though his Hearing Impairment, a deafening sound still rang out clearly.

Ordinary people might find this sound somewhat puzzling.

It sounded like the friction of rocks or the roar of a wild beast.

But Linsey, who had learned Beast Language and had now mastered it, immediately understood the meaning in the voice. "Little one with the cute flower wreath, are you leaving?"