I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

Lian looked ahead. The first treasure was there.

A mass of transparent red material had formed between two roots.

Its appearance resembled thick sap that had turned into glass mid-flow.

Small lights moved inside it, and every time Lian got closer, gentle heat emanated from its surface.

A panel appeared.

[Emberglass Resin]

[Rank: B]

[Description: A rare material formed from the fusion of Glassthorn memory sap and Emberroot heart-heat.]

[Primary Uses: Fire-resistant equipment, mental-resistance reinforcement, and advanced alchemy.]

He placed his hand on the material. The heat passed through his skin but was not harmful.

The amount of Emberglass Resin was more than he had expected, enough to make at least one full armor or a few small tools.

Lian placed the entire mass into his storage space. There was no reason to leave any part of it behind.

The crack became darker after the material disappeared.

Lian returned along the path, and when he reached the group, Seraphina asked.

”Was there anything?”

”The path seems stable.”

He hadn’t told a direct lie. The path was indeed stable. It wasn’t that he wanted to hide something from them, but explaining how he found treasures would be troublesome.

Under no circumstances did he want to talk about the Celestial Book of Treasure. The truth about that book was a red line.

He trusted the girls, but if they accidentally said something somewhere, it could lead to disaster.

Instead, if he found anything useful for them, he would definitely give it to them.

Lian mounted One and the journey continued. The deeper they went into the passage, the narrower and hotter it became.

In some sections, only a natural bridge of black glass continued the path over a deep gap.

Below the bridge, molten roots moved.

Red and orange materials flowed among them, sending waves of heat upward.

One slowed its steps, carefully placing all six feet on the thick parts of the bridge.

”Hmm?” Lian suddenly felt an unpleasant sensation at the back of his neck.

[Predator’s Instincts]

Danger was from above. He raised his head.

Reflections could be seen on the ceiling, images of winged creatures moving among the black glass.

But Predator’s Instincts warned that the real bodies were not at the reflections’ location.

”Be careful!”

The heat waves had hidden their shape.

”Above!” He suddenly shouted.

At that same moment, the creatures detached from the ceiling. Winged reptiles with transparent, elongated bodies.

Their skin was like glass, but molten veins moved inside it. Their thin wings resembled blades, and when diving, their bodies almost merged with the heat wave.

[Ashglass Ripper]

[Level: 20]

[Rank: Normal]

More than ten creatures dove toward One from several directions. Lian disappeared before the first Ripper arrived.

[Thunder Step]

Lightning exploded in mid-air, and he appeared in front of the creature. Glacial Reaper Claw formed on his hand.

The ice claw hit the Ripper’s glass wing. The cold spread over the wing’s surface instantly.

The molten veins inside it were still hot. The sudden temperature difference caused the entire wing to explode with a sharp sound.

Glass fragments scattered in the air, and the Ripper lost its balance and fell toward the gap below the bridge.

Lian returned to One’s back with a second Thunder Step.

At the same time, Seris jumped off the ant’s armor. Three Ashglass Rippers were approaching from the left.

[King’s Edge]

Compressed pressure formed on her sword.

This was not the first time Lian had seen King’s Edge, but after the Mirror Vault, the Skill’s execution had undergone a subtle change.

Previously, Seris’s Sword Intent would reach the enemy like an aggressive blade before the strike.

This time, there was no leakage. All intent, Mana, and pressure were locked within the blade’s edge. Its movement was harder to detect, but the final cut was more precise.

Seris sent only one strike. A silver line passed through all three Rippers.

For a moment, their bodies remained intact, but then they split in half from the middle.

The bodies fell toward the molten roots below and began to burn before reaching the surface.

A few more Rippers came out from under the bridge. They had been hidden in the dark shadow of the bridge’s surface.

Liana raised her hand.

”Shadow Wolf.”

The black wolf appeared next to One. The moment its claws touched the bridge’s surface, its entire body sank into the shadow.

Lian followed the Mana flow.

Before the Mirror Vault, Shadow Wolf had to temporarily break down its body structure to pass through shadows and reform at another point. Although this process was fast, it created a very brief interruption in the bond.

Now that interruption had almost disappeared. Liana’s bond acted like a spiritual container, keeping the wolf’s structure stable even during movement.

Shadow Wolf came out from the shadow beneath the first Ripper.

Its dark claws sank into the creature’s glass abdomen. The molten veins tore, and the wolf grabbed the Ripper’s body and pulled it down.

Seraphina also drew her sword.

One of the creatures had passed from an angle that Seris could not attack without harming One.

[Arcane Slash]

Seraphina’s blade moved.

Lian immediately noticed the difference. In the past, the sword’s cut would go forward, and the Arcane wave would form slightly after it.

This time, the magical wave was born from the exact point where the blade touched the air.

The sword and Spell were not two attacks, but one unified structure. A white and blue line hit the Ripper.

The front part of its body was split, and the remaining Arcane wave pushed it off One’s path. The creature hit the wall and got stuck among the glass cracks.

One opened its jaws and caught another Ashglass Ripper that had gotten too close between them.

The sound of shattering glass echoed in the passage.

In less than half a minute, the attack was over.

The last Ripper tried to return to the ceiling, and Seris did not throw her sword at it.

Lian activated Thunder Step, appeared at a higher altitude, and slammed the creature’s body into the wall with an Iron Fortress Charge strike.

The Ripper’s glass shell shattered, then fell along with the broken pieces.

Silence returned to the passage, only the sound of the molten roots flowing beneath the bridge could be heard.

Liana summoned Shadow Wolf onto the bridge.

”These creatures really attack from every direction.”

Lian looked at the ceiling.

”They were using the reflections to hide their real path.”

Seraphina put her sword back in its sheath.

”And the heat disrupts Mana vision too.”

Lian nodded. The Cindervein Passage was exactly what they had predicted.

A combination of both forests’ features: Glassthorn’s reflections and Emberroot’s heat and life.

This was a bit troublesome, but because of the monsters’ low levels, they were not a threat to them, and they could easily deal with them.

After crossing the bridge, the path widened for a while.

The second treasure mark slowly approached. The World Memory Map showed that the main path ahead was blocked by a massive root.

The only passable route went beside that same root.

Lian commanded One to stop. The root covered almost the entire width of the passage.

A hole could be seen in its middle section.

”There’s a side path inside. I’ll check it.”

”Should I come with you?” This time Seris asked.

Lian looked at the hole’s opening. The treasure mark was only a few dozen meters inside it.

”No, the entrance is narrow. If something wakes up, keep One ready.”

Seris held her gaze on him for a few moments, then nodded.

Lian entered the hole. The air inside the root was much hotter. The walls pulsed every few seconds.

Not like living tissue, but because of the Mana waves passing through from Emberroot’s depths.

He passed a few bends. At the end of the hole was a small space.

A fruit was hanging in its center from root strands. Its surface was red and gold, and every time the light inside it rose, the entire fruit pulsed like a heart.

A panel appeared.

[Cinderheart Fruit]

[Rank: B+]

[Effects: Permanently increases heat resistance and improves internal Mana circulation.]

Lian approached the fruit. Its heat could be felt on his skin even without touching it.

Its effect was permanent, although the increase was probably not very large, but any permanent reward had high value.

Especially for entering Emberroot.

Lian grabbed the fruit’s stem and separated it with one movement. At that same moment, the entire root trembled, and dust and glass pieces fell from the ceiling.

There were a few other fruits around. He took them too. He could give them to his group members one by one.

The pulse that had been regular until then suddenly stopped, and then a deep sound rose from beneath Lian’s feet.

The book of treasure had shown the treasure, not its guardian.

Lian immediately placed the Cinderheart Fruit into his storage space.

The hole’s floor split open.

Black glass plates came out from beneath the root. A worm-like creature pulled its body up through the root’s structure.

Its head alone was almost the size of One.

Its body was covered with thick black plates, and from the cracks in its armor, red molten veins could be seen.

Several rows of teeth moved inside its massive circular mouth.

[Cindervein Devourer]

[Level: 24]

[Rank: Normal]

”Damn it.”

The creature opened its mouth. A wave of heat gathered inside the hole.

Predator’s Instincts reacted so strongly that all of Lian’s muscles contracted.

He activated Thunder Step.

A moment later, an explosion of fire and molten glass filled the entire hole. Blue lightning appeared at the root’s opening, and Lian emerged.

”Move!”