When the mermaid boss saw that her plan to unleash a tidal wave to sweep her kind into the heart of the enemy' s forces, as she had done with the soldiers outside the city, had failed, she intensified her efforts. Even when she wildly sprayed her attacks, they still collided with an invisible wall.
No matter how long she tried, the invisible wall refused to vanish. Frustrated, she ceased her tidal wave assault and switched to attacking with pearls instead.
Before the mermaid could conjure new pearls, Volkan hurriedly cast a giant meteor spell, hurling it straight at the mermaid boss' s head.
The mermaid boss countered by leaping off her shell, grabbing the pearl oyster she had been seated on with both hands, spinning it around to build momentum, and then hurling it upward to clash with the meteor mid-air.
BOOM!
The collision between the meteor and the mermaid boss' s pearl oyster sent sparks flying, blindingly bright. The explosion roared across the battlefield, deafeningly loud, shattering the eardrums of some monsters, killing them instantly.
On the human side, those at the front lines, far from the blast, only experienced ringing in their ears if they were low-ranking.
The terrifying outcome of this clash was that the meteor and pearl oyster shattered into tiny fragments, which rained down randomly on the monsters at the rear, causing severe injuries and giving the humans a strategic advantage.
Other monsters sustained injuries of varying degrees.
The mermaid, however, remained unscathed, as her naga minions intercepted every piece of debris falling toward her, even grains as small as sand.
Without her pearl oyster, the mermaid could no longer create pearls to attack. Enraged, she let out a piercing scream.
Her scream inflicted a fear status on enemies who heard it, making them want to flee and abandon their weapons. But for her allied monsters, it fueled their rage, making their attacks faster and more ferocious than before.
She then slithered into the battlefield herself, accompanied by over a hundred naga guards.
The mermaid boss' s naga minions on the 20th floor came in two types:
1.The naga soldiers, who rode the sea waves to attack outside the wall and in the slums.
2.The naga guards, who carried the pearl oyster she resided in and stayed by her side. These were ten times stronger than the laborer nagas.
The naga guards always stuck close to her, ready to sacrifice their lives for their queen.
*****
Jaigia, Rank A Adventurer, nicknamed "Bloodthirsty Beast," Leader of the [Radiant Fang] Guild
Events Before the Mermaid Boss' s Attack
While I was still reeling from the sudden appearance of the carrier slime, I was thinking of beheading this brat as proof for Calika that she' s truly dead, then tossing her body to the carrier slime to devour.
But when the carrier slime cleared the mist, I caught sight of a creature so beautiful I couldn' t tear my eyes away.
I grinned widely, overjoyed, as if I' d found my favorite toy.
I want it… I need to possess it.
Her face was so captivatingly beautiful, her body perfect even with its fish-like lower half. Those sharp, gleaming fangs were so stunning they were worth collecting. I' d tame her first, then order Roja to extract them.
Everyone always raved about how breathtaking mermaids were, beautiful enough to die for, rivaling even the elves. I thought they were exaggerating, spouting nonsense.
But seeing her with my own eyes, I realized their praise didn' t do her justice—it was an understatement.
A pet this magnificent could surely withstand the full force of my true self.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
I burst into uncontrollable laughter, unable to contain my excitement. I could hardly wait to chain her up and have my fun.
But when I glanced at the kid in my hand, my joy evaporated.
What an eyesore. This trash is supposed to be Calika' s sister?
Calika must have been kind enough to take her in as a sister.
This garbage doesn' t deserve to exist. Her presence only dulls Calika' s beauty.
I flung the trash toward another beast devouring corpses nearby and turned back to fixate on my mermaid, unable to look away.
It occurred to me too late that I should' ve kept the kid' s head as proof, but whatever. I' d find a similar body to pass off as hers later.
Right now, nothing mattered except Calika and this mermaid.
Come to me. I' ll be waiting right here.
A good pet should wag its tail and come to its master.
*****
Fish-Human Beast
After my first evolution, I found a hiding spot in the heart of the battlefield to avoid arrows from the wall and observe my prey.
While watching, I scavenged cold food from the ruins of houses.
These were weak prey who thought hiding would save them.
After eating over ten of them, I evolved again.
My appearance didn' t change, but my scales hardened, my strength increased, and my senses became sharper and more far-reaching.
After my former allies were picked off by arrows for a while, a large group of prey gathered in the center. I retreated toward the wall, near the corpses of my fallen comrades.
From my observations, if our numbers were low, the prey on the wall wouldn' t shoot arrows, allowing other prey to come clean up.
So, I boldly showed myself to lure them in.
Even though this group of ten prey came together, their worn equipment, nervous demeanor, and the stench of fear wafting off them told me they were low-tier prey.
I pretended to retreat, letting them feel bold enough to chase me deeper into the battlefield, where no mid- or high-tier prey could save them in time.
Once they were deep enough, I stopped and turned to face them.
The prey looked surprised, some even stepping back.
Their low-tier leader quickly tried to rally them.
"Why' re you scared of that thing? It' s so scrawny a breeze could knock it over!"
The others scrutinized me, then laughed awkwardly.
They drew their weapons and surrounded me.
"Yeah… we… don' t… have to… be scared…"
The prey froze, stunned.
"The monster can talk!?"
"Is it a rare one? Should we capture it alive and sell it?"
"Haha, we' re gonna be rich!"
"Let' s show it off!"
"Or send it to the slave auction!"
But one of them suddenly realized something.
"No! It' s not a monster!"
That one began trembling and stepping back.
The delicious scent pouring off it was too much. I couldn' t resist—I lunged and sank my teeth into its neck, tearing out a chunk of flesh to chew before washing it down with its blood.
"Hey!"
"You! You monster!"
"What do we do?!"
"Don' t be scared! There' s more of us!"
"I-I' ve got something to do! I gotta go!"
I dropped the prey in my hand and snapped the necks of the two closest ones.
The leader regained his composure first and swung his sword at my back.
I deliberately let him strike to test my scales' durability.
His sword broke instantly.
"Damn it!"
I grabbed the broken blade before it hit the ground, spun, and drove it under his chin, piercing through to his brain.
So even my hands were strong enough to grip a blade.
The remaining prey were easy to dispatch—just a twist of their heads or ripping out their hearts.
It barely took any effort; they went limp without resisting, ready for me to eat.
The last one got away, running far. I casually picked up a sword, calculated its trajectory, and threw it, piercing through the back of its head to its forehead.
It collapsed, twitched briefly, then went still.
That' s when I felt eyes on me. I looked back and locked gazes with a mid-tier prey.
It stared at me seriously.
I licked the blood from my lips to look presentable and beckoned it to come talk in the dungeon.
Don' t worry—I' m not strong enough to take on a mid-tier prey like you alone yet.
At that moment, the mid-tier prey sent a large group of prey for me to eat.
With so much food, eating in the open would be too conspicuous, so I retreated into the dungeon to feast inside.
But the mid-tier prey stopped them, robbing me of my big meal.
I went back to eating low-tier prey, but some on the wall started shooting arrows at me.
They must see me as a threat now.
I dragged my food to a spot beyond their arrows' range and began evolving again.
My scrawny body became more balanced, my scales hardened further, and my strength and speed were beyond compare.
This time, I didn' t need to hunt—the prey came to me, caught in the starfish traps on the wall.
After they retreated, I had an abundance of mangled food.
I ate until I evolved again, but this time something was different.
The voice in my head, which had only ever said "eat," told me I could now choose from four evolution paths:
1.Urgent
Requires less food and reaches its peak the fastest but lacks diversity. It' s a straightforward shortcut, though its peak is lower than other paths.
2.Safe
Greatly reduces hunger after evolving, requiring a normal amount of food. Offers diverse survival options post-evolution, like thicker armor, faster healing, or blending into the environment. It evolves the slowest, with its peak depending on the chosen path.
3.Mutant
Food requirements vary by evolved species. This path allows for any form of evolution, with potential leaps or skips in stages. There' s no peak—evolution is limitless.
4.Ravenous
Constantly requires food, never sated, but can feed on any species. Evolution is uncontrollable, adapting to defeat stronger enemies. The more it evolves, the less sentient and rational it becomes, focusing solely on destruction and killing until nothing remains. Its peak is the top of the food chain.
*****
Though the Mutant path can surpass the Ravenous path, if it fails to defeat or eliminate a Ravenous entity, the Ravenous will instantly adapt to become stronger.
At that point, the Mutant is forced to evolve for survival, making the Ravenous path superior to all others.
*****
I don' t understand. I don' t understand any of this. I just want to eat, become stronger, and be safe as quickly as possible.
Then the voice in my head spoke again:
Evolving into the Mutant path.