Chapter 102 Fishing In Troubled Waters
After he entered the dungeon, Lucas also discovered that this was just a low-grade dungeon.
His mind was disoriented for a short period of time, but it was not enough to make him puke his guts out like the first time.
Knowing that Asher and the beast could enter the dungeon at any moment, Lucas did not linger in the safe area any longer as he moved forward to contemplate his next course of action.
He knew that he would not be able to contend with Asher and especially that beast without Spot. At this moment, his Spiritual Energy was also running low. He could only summon Spot once while the Mirage Worm was approaching its limit.
His mind worked like a machine as countless plans formed inside his mind. Being inside the dungeon offered him a lot of leeways, and he does not plan on ignoring them all.
He could stay inside for twenty-four hours and be sent out of the dungeon to avoid them. However, he knew that it was impossible given the fact that they would surely come inside to hunt him down.
As he moved toward the forest, Lucas looked at the boundless Boundary Fog and gritted his teeth.
He had previously assumed that it was the Boundary Fog that had caused him to be sent out of the dungeon earlier than expected. Although the thought terrified him, and being sent out to an unknown area was even more terrifying, Lucas had no plans on ignoring this valuable knowledge that he has gained.
He was willing to try and take some risk, as long as he could avoid the two persistent enemies.
However, he would only do this as a last resort as well.
Deep inside him, Lucas was still harboring some hope.
That perhaps, Asher would be killed by that beast, and that beast, not intelligent enough, would not enter the dungeon.
No, even if Asher could enter the dungeon with grave injuries, Lucas thought that he might be able to switch the situation around.
He refused to believe that Asher was that much of a cockroach. After battling with the beast and having his beasts killed, Lucas guessed that Asher might also be at the end of his ropes.
A glimmer of hope ignited inside his heart, praying that all his assumptions would come true.
Perhaps he would not need to get close to the Boundary Fog to escape the predicament at all.
Moving around and searching for a spot to recuperate, Lucas could not help but notice something different inside this dungeon.
He had already traveled for a few minutes, but he still had not encountered any beasts. Even when he went deeper, there was still no beast in sight, making him feel as if something was wrong.
Looking back, the safe area and the entrance gate were no longer in sight. He did not know if Asher and the beast had already entered the dungeon at this moment.
Not willing to find out, Lucas quickly found a spot to meditate and at least recover some Spiritual Energy to sustain what would come ahead.
However, before he could do so, a terrifying shriek suddenly shook his mind.
Standing up in alertness, Lucas looked around with a pale face.
On his shoulder, the Mirage Worm was trembling in fright, ready to unleash the Unhindered Stealth once an unfavorable situation occurred.
The next moment, a terrifying presence descended before the two of them.
Without much of a thought, the timid and fat Mirage Worm hurriedly activated the Unhindered Stealth and made their presence and entire being disappear in the world.
At the next moment, Lucas and the beast saw a massive bird beast land on the ground not far away from them.
The bird was extremely huge, at least twice the height of Lucas. Its body was even twice as massive as Spot in his Hellhound Manifestation form. The color of its feathers was a mix between green, blue, and red, making it look special and pleasing to the eye. If not for the fact that its beak was full of razor-sharp protruding teeth, it would have made for a good house pet.
With one glance, Lucas could tell that it was the boss of the dungeon.
It was only at this moment that Lucas realized that his previous assumption regarding the level of this dungeon was actually wrong.
Very wrong, in fact.
Instead of being a low-grade, this was actually a special high-grade dungeon that only has a boss beast living inside it.
Normal dungeons have low-grade beasts scattered around, while the boss would usually stay at the center and wait for the dungeon diver's arrival.
However, in a special dungeon like this, the boss could go anywhere it wanted.
Being the first to enter the dungeon, Lucas had naturally attracted the interest of this beast first.
Fortunately, the Mirage Worm was still with him, so they were able to get out of its sight almost instantaneously.
At this moment, the colorful bird beast looked around with interest. The prey it had targeted actually disappeared in front of its eyes.
For it was very unforgivable.
Its eyes shone brightly as it used a skill, scanning the surroundings thoroughly.
The bird flapped its wings and shrieked loudly to the sky after discovering nothing.
Its prey had truly escaped.
Meanwhile, a few meters away, Lucas and the Mirage Worm trembled in fright upon hearing the caw of the bird beast.
They did not dare create too big of a movement, afraid of attracting the attention of the beast even in Unhindered Stealth mode.
When the beast cawed, Lucas and the Mirage Worm even unconsciously halted their steps, freezing in place.
At the next moment, Lucas noticed some movements at the corner of his eyes.
He turned to take a better look and was delighted to see that it was actually Asher.
'Nice timing!'
He never imagined that he would be delighted about Asher's arrival.
The beast was truly terrifying. Although he could feel that it was weaker compared to the abomination from before, it was still not something that he could face head-on even with Spot.
With Asher arriving in time, though, he now found the perfect person to hold off the beast while escaping.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Even if Asher did not like it, he doesn't have any choice but to fight the beast.
Looking at Asher, Lucas could tell that his situation was even more dire than before.
The previous thought reappeared inside his mind.
This time, perhaps, he could fish in troubled waters?
As the thought crossed his mind, Lucas instinctively turned toward the safe area where the entrance gate was located.
'That abomination did not enter?'
Before he could ponder anything, the bird beast had already launched an attack toward Asher.
At this moment, the Unhindered Stealth had also worn off, his figure visible to the world once more.
However, having engaged in their own battle, Asher and the bird beast who had noticed him no longer had the time to pay him attention as they focused on what was in front.
Lucas observed for a bit and was delighted after determining that the two were on par with each other, with the bird beast having some advantage due to the injuries of Asher and the vine beast.
That vine beast was indeed terrifying; even after being injured, it was still able to fend off and contend with the attacks of the bird beast.
Seeing them evenly match, Lucas' previous plan has solidified. Seeing the opportunity, Lucas did not want to be on the receiving end anymore.
The only problem left was the beast that he was still unsure if had entered the dungeon or not. To confirm, Lucas decided to withdraw from the current battle and observe the situation first.
Seeing him retreat, Asher grew anxious.
'This lucky brat!'
At this time, he truly did not know if the brat was lucky or if he was the one unlucky.
Seeing him about to escape, Asher thought for a moment before he shouted while commanding his Verdant Bloom Vine to attack.
"Kid, help me deal with this beast, and I'll forget our previous grievances."
However, Lucas did not even pause and continued to move away without even looking back.
"Damn it!" Asher cursed out loud as he leapt to the side with the help of his Verdant Bloom Vine to dodge an attack from the bird beast.
As for Lucas, he continued with his previous plan and lied in wait. As for Asher's offer, he did not think too much about it, knowing that it held little to no truth.
Verbal agreements like this could not be trusted at all. And with how many times Asher had tried to kill him even at the cost of his own life, would Lucas even dare trust his words?
In his mind, Asher was a lunatic that he should not get close to at all. He was even afraid that even speaking to him would result in him becoming a lunatic as well, hence he did not respond.
Anyway, he made sure that the Unhindered Stealth could be used again before he moved toward the safe area.
Knowing that the beast might appear at any moment, he did not dare go too close, just waiting hundreds of meters away.
What he was afraid of was being the mantis that stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
With the sound of battle from Asher and that bird beast, that abomination would surely be attracted and move toward them to join the battle.
However, after waiting for a few moments, the beast was still nowhere in sight.
If it had entered the dungeon, given how small this dungeon was, it would have already arrived to battle with Asher and the bird beast.
However, the safe area remained unresponsive and calm. The sound of battle behind him also remained constant, and no beast had passed by him as well.
Lucas immediately guessed that the beast had not entered and might even be just waiting for them outside the dungeon.
His eyes lit up, knowing that this was the perfect opportunity to initiate his plans.
His eyes glared toward the sound of battle; the hidden animosity showed itself as he planned the demise of Asher.
At this moment, the sound of battle drew near.
It did not take a genius to realize that Asher was employing the same tricks to pursue him.
Lucas did not mind, though.
He ignored the sound of battle and stared at the Boundary Fog dozens of meters away from him.
Gritting his teeth, Lucas ran toward it and entered its periphery with a palpitating heart.
The Mirage Worm jumped off his shoulder, unwilling to enter the Boundless Fog with him.
Lucas did not mind, though, telling it to cast its Silk Mirage to conceal the area.
Entering and allowing the Boundary Fog was just his contingency plan in case he was not able to finish Asher off or if an accident occurred.
A few moments later, Asher and the bird beast appeared, and at that moment, Lucas emerged from the Boundary Fog, destroying the Silk Mirage in the process.