I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

This time, One brought its head close to Lian’s shoulder, but it did not try to lick him again.

Lian touched the shell on top of its head, and a few fresh scratches could be seen on it.

Also, the corpses of a few creatures were lying around the clearing.

Two Glassvine Hunters were crushed under One’s massive legs, and a cat-like monster lay a little further away next to a root.

Apparently, One had not only waited; it had also protected the entrance.

”Good work.”

A calm satisfaction was transmitted through the link.

”It’s gotten very dark.” Seraphina looked around.

Lian raised his head. Moving through Glassthorn Forest at night was more dangerous than during the day.

The reflections increased, distances were harder to judge, and some monsters were exactly more active in the darkness.

Besides, all four of them were mentally exhausted.

The Mirror Vault might not have wounded their bodies, but a few hours of intense experience, distorted memories, and the battle with The Nameless Fifth was not something that could be easily ignored.

At least for Seraphina and Liana, that was the case.

”We’re staying here tonight.”

Seris looked at the dungeon’s extinguished door.

”The Vault’s remaining pressure will keep most monsters away.”

”And One has also cleared the area, so this is a good place to rest.”

”So the hero tonight is him.” Liana placed her hand on the ant’s head.

One moved its antennae toward her.

They prepared the area for camping.

Lian and Seris moved in opposite directions to make sure no monster was hiding nearby.

The World Memory Map proved useful for the first time in a practical way.

With the map open, Lian and Seris’s positions moved apart on its surface. The terrain’s unevenness and surrounding roots also became clearer with their movement.

Lian circled the camp area.

The map recorded every observed section and compared it with the old information at the same time.

A narrow crack that was not on the map was added to the image.

A root that had blocked the northern path also turned gray. No large monster was in the area.

After returning, Lian and Seris moved a few corpses further away so the smell of blood wouldn’t attract more creatures.

Then they lit a small fire between a few stones. The orange flame reflected on the surrounding glass trunks.

Instead of one fire, dozens of its images could be seen among the trees. Some reflections were larger. Some moved with a few seconds’ delay, and some even burned in a different direction.

Lian looked at the numerous flames for a moment.

After the Mirror Vault, seeing reflections that did not completely follow the original no longer seemed like just a beautiful feature of the forest.

Each member of the group sat a little further from the others. Everyone needed some time alone with what they had gained.

Seraphina placed her sword on her knee.

She put the tip of her finger on the blade’s flat part and infused a very small amount of Mana into it.

For a moment, the sword’s edge was covered with prismatic light, and colors shifted on the metal’s surface.

Red.

Blue.

White.

But before the Skill could fully form, Seraphina cut the Mana flow.

The light went out. She put the sword back in its sheath without explanation.

Lian had seen the scene from a short distance. The Mana structure was different from Seraphina’s previous Arcane Edge.

In the past, Mana had been placed on the blade like a separate layer. The sword would deliver the strike, and the Spell would be released almost simultaneously, but still as a second part.

This time, Mana had entered the blade’s very structure. There was no clear boundary between the sword and the magic.

The Skill was not complete, but even this change was enough for Lian to understand what path Aurelia’s inheritance had opened for Seraphina.

The two Classes no longer had to act in turns. They could become one unified movement.

Liana was sitting next to Shadow Wolf, her hand on the shadowy wolf’s head, silent for a while.

This silence was unusual for her, but the bond between them had clearly changed.

Before the Mirror Vault, Liana’s spiritual power had entered Shadow Wolf in the form of a commanding thread.

Their relationship was deep, but still, the energy path flowed more from the summoner to the Summon.

Now the movement had become more two-way.

When Liana placed her hand on the wolf’s head, the shadows of its body changed with her breathing rhythm.

Lian did not know the name or details of her reward, but it was clear that the Mirror Vault had strengthened their spiritual bond.

Seris was sitting at another distance. She had taken her sword out of its sheath and was holding it in front of herself.

Several times she moved her finger along the blade’s edge.

She did not activate any Skill, but a very subtle and invisible pressure formed around the weapon.

Lian already knew her Sword Intent. In fact, he had seen her use it in the dungeon. He didn’t know if she had it before and had been hiding it, or if she had obtained it in the dungeon.

Sword Intent is an advanced form of swordsmanship, a skill that professional swordsmen can acquire through practice and experience.

Sword Intent greatly strengthens the power and precision of attacks and is divided into three ranks: Basic, Professional, and Great.

Even the best swordsmen rarely achieve Sword Intent before their first evolution, but Seris had been able to attain it.

And this showed her terrifying talent.

Previously, the few times Lian had seen it in the dungeon, even under full control, her Sword Intent had been slightly fueled by anger and a desire to dominate. Now that layer had almost disappeared.

Only the decision to cut remained.

Lian took his gaze off them and opened the World Memory Map in front of himself.

But his mind did not stay fixed on tomorrow’s path. The images of the Mirror Vault were still moving in his mind.

Where had The Black Silence come from?

The memories had shown that the contamination had entered the world through a crack in the roots’ depths.

But where did that crack connect? Was it a door to another world?

A damaged part of the Special Area itself?

Another question related to the Forgotten Tree.

If The Black Silence was not completely destroyed, when might it awaken again? And could it spread to their world too?

If that happened, their world would face a disaster that could end them, and that was something he did not want under any circumstances.

Lian folded the map. He did not have enough information to conclude. Building hypotheses without more data would only fill his mind with useless possibilities.

His gaze fell on Seraphina. That girl was now the heir of the Mirror Vault.

He had no unpleasant feelings about the dungeon’s choice. The inheritance Seraphina had received was not a simple, cost-free reward.

Thousands of memories were inside her soul. The duty of preserving the truth of a dead civilization was also on her shoulders.

Besides, according to Lian’s reasoning and Aurelia’s final words, there might be a great secret that they were unaware of.

’In her final words, she mentioned that the Black Silence disaster was allowed into this world and that there was a betrayal by someone. What did she mean? Does that mean someone is responsible for that disaster?’

’But who?’ According to what they understood, one person had survived the final battle.

But who was that one person?

’If I had to bet, it probably has to do with the remaining civilization in Emberroot.’ He had a feeling that the answers to the rest of the questions should be in that forest.

In any case, this was not a responsibility Lian was interested in carrying.

On the other hand, Seraphina truly deserved it... and in the end, her becoming stronger was directly beneficial for Lian.

They were members of one group.

The stronger his companions became, the higher the chances of survival, overcoming dangers, and reaching their goal.

Having an ally with an evolved Dual Class was more valuable than another Skill that would only be added to his own complex set of abilities.

Lian had enough Skills. What he needed more were people he didn’t have to constantly protect on the battlefield.

After a while, the three girls also finished their initial examination of their rewards and came closer to the fire.

One sat a little further away, crushing a large piece of stored meat between its jaws.

Lian opened the World Memory Map again. The map showed their location as bright points.

”Is this the same map from before?” Liana came a little closer.

”It has been upgraded.”

”Can it show everything live?” She looked at the map with more interest.

”Only the environment, not monsters, not treasures, and not things it has no information about.”

”Tomorrow’s path?” Seris looked at the map.

Lian placed his finger on the border crossing.

The border between Glassthorn and Emberroot was marked with a curved line. There was only one passable path near them.

”From here to the border is less than half a day’s journey.” He placed his finger on a name next to the narrow gap.

”Then we enter the Cindervein Passage. That’s the passage between the two forests.”

Seraphina repeated the name under her breath.

”Cindervein Passage... Is it natural or built?”

”I don’t know.”

Unlike the Giants’ Graveyard, they had no information about this passage.