Chapter 312: Abyss Tree (6)

[Rumble rumble rumble…]

Cerberus began to emit a threatening aura.

“It’s been a while.”

Vikir couldn’t help but recall his past encounter with Cerberus in the Red and Black Mountains.

His first monthly evaluation at the age of 8. Childhood days spent in the wilderness of Red and Black Mountains.

Back then, he had trapped the guy in a pit that he had meticulously crafted over several days after defeating the triplets, and he had used a trick with Bloody Mamba venom rescued from the crib.

“Can you smell it? It’s your kin’s scent.”

Vikir revealed the hood of the Picaresque Mask he had wrapped around his neck, pulling it out from under his coat.

The hood was made from Cerberus’ leather.

Despite countless tannings, the unmistakable stench of the dog still lingered.

Cerberus’s face twisted even more terrifyingly upon catching the scent of its kin.

[Growl!]

Vikir dodged Cerberus’s teeth and claws as it lunged towards him.

Crunch! Phew!

A sticky liquid aura-coated Beelzebub struck Cerberus in the flank.

“I have a feeling.”

He didn’t pierce the thick skin, but he succeeded in driving the shock deep inside.

Perhaps it reached the bone.

However.

…Phew!

As Cerberus’s flank bent, its tail swung, lashing Vikir’s body.

When people think of Cerberus, they often picture its three heads, but in reality, its true weapon is its tail.

The sharp spear at the end of the tail and the venom it carries make it capable of instantly killing large monsters of Grade B or higher with just one stab.

Vikir, too, was poisoned by the venom at the tip of the tail.

With a hiss-

Baby Madam suddenly appeared by his side and was sucking the venom from his wound.

Tsutsutsutsu…

Basilisk’s regenerative ability swiftly healed his wound.

Bang! Crash! Clang-

Cerberus’ tail clashed fiercely with Vikir’s sword.

Amidst the friction, a spark flew and ignited the bangs of the unconscious Granola.

“Argh! Hot! What’s this!? Ahh!”

As he opened his eyes, Granola saw Vikir and Cerberus locked in a fierce battle.

Splat-

A long streak of blood appeared on Vikir’s cheek.

Granola exclaimed upon seeing it.

“L-look at that! How can he fight a Cerberous! With a body weakened a hundredfold…!”

But before those words could finish,

Phew-

Vikir kicked one of Cerberus’ head with his knee.

Cerberus’s middle head rattled with its lower jaw missing.

“…woah”

Granola muttered with a dazed expression.

Can professors fight as well as him? Even with their bodies weakened a hundredfold?

“How can a Level 1 fight like that? What’s his identity?”

Just to be sure, Granola lightly punched the wall with his fist, feeling the pain in his hand.

Granola began to tremble, thinking about how powerful Vikir’s original combat power was before being trapped in the tower.

Meanwhile, Vikir was gradually retreating.

Cerberus, brimming with venom, proved to be a much tougher opponent than expected.

Moreover, the creature before him was an individual brought directly from the depths of the astral realm by the fairy, much larger and fiercer than the one he encountered in the past at the Red and Black mountain.

Even if he managed to win somehow, they were still only on the second underground floor. It was evident that he would only deplete his resources at this rate.

“This is my chance.”

Vikir leaped once again towards Cerberus.

Whoosh-

Cerberus’s front paw flew towards him.

It had already gauged Vikir’s strength through several skirmishes, as if they were familiar with his movements.

However.

“Now!”

Just before colliding with Cerberus, Vikir reached into his pocket and pulled out the strange candies contained within.

Crackle-

He felt small, firm, round, sticky sensations in his hand.

Red candy for strength, green for agility, blue for stamina.

Vikir popped them all into his mouth and chewed.

Crunch- Swish- Grit!

A bitter, sour taste reached his taste buds.

‘I heard many people couldn’t eat them, even though they gave immense power, the taste is like vomit mixed with lemon.’

Even Vikir, with his strong stomach, couldn’t help but feel the urge to vomit at the worst taste ever.

At the same time, his status window began to change.

[Vikir]

-LV: 1 (%)

-Title: ‘Rat Hunter’

-Stats

↳Strength: 178 (+52) = 230

↳Agility: 203 (+16) = 219

↳Stamina: 207 (+37) = 244

↳?: (Locked)

↳?: (Locked)

↳?: (Locked)

His stats had increased dramatically.

Suddenly, Cerberus, startled by Vikir’s skyrocketing strength and speed, attempted to retreat, but it was already too late.

Phew!

Vikir’s blade pierced through one of Cerberus’s heads, bypassing its tough skin to puncture its eyeball and penetrate into the brain inside.

“But this won’t kill it completely.”

Monsters of Grade A+ or higher possess an astonishing vitality. Especially creatures like Cerberus, they are even more resilient.

Squelch- Splat!

Vikir twisted the blade inserted through the skull’s gap, once to the left and once to the right.

Finally, the strange sensation felt through his palm completely subsided.

He had utterly crushed the inner muscle fibers, nerves, and brain into mush.

[Splurt- Grrrrrr…]

As one of the three heads slumped down, the remaining two heads began to thrash about wildly.

As Vikir stepped back, he grabbed Granola by the collar, who was lying on the ground.

‘I guess he still has some use.’

Vikir thought briefly about the startled and trembling Granola.

“That’s enough for now. Let’s get out of here.”

“Huh? W-What?”

“Bring the bag of Savik.”

Vikir kicked Granola’s buttocks and dashed forward.

“W-Wait! Aaaah! Why are you pissed off?”

Granola with tears streaming down his face, still clutched the bag containing the berries as Vikir instructed.

Soon, Vikir burst into a ruined shop.

Cerberus followed, exhaling sulfur flames from its entire body, ready to raze the devastated city to the ground.

“Spread them.”

At Vikir’s command, Granola closed his eyes and tossed the bag aside.

Thud-thud-thud-

The pungent smell of Savik fruit berries filled the air as they scattered across the shop floor.

However, unlike the hellhound, Cerberus only wrinkled its nose and furrowed its brow, it did not vomit or collapse to the ground.

“I guess being a superior beast has its perks.”

As Vikir marveled, Cerberus lunged with its teeth and claws, aiming for him.

And the sharp blade at the tip of its tail was also targeting Vikir.

Granola panicked and shouted,

“W-Why? It’s not working! What do we do now?”

The stench emanating from the Savik berries was indeed strong, but it seemed tolerable enough for Cerberus. However…

“I wonder if it can withstand this too. Let’s give it a shot.”

Withheld breath, Vikir swung his blade. His target wasn’t Cerberus but the dusty shelves piled high.

The swift strike pierced through the walls, shelves, and clutter in the shop.

Crash! Clang! Clatter!

The sound of glass bottles shattering echoed loudly throughout the space.

Eventually, Granola looked down with a dazed expression at the shattered glass fragments and the red, blue, and transparent liquids scattered across the floor.

Various liquids dispersed into the air

Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk…

The scent brushed against his nose, along with the words inscribed on the broken glass bottles, Granola tentatively read aloud.

“Beatrice… Perfumes?”

They were indeed various types of fragrances.

Simultaneously,

“Ugh, eeeugh!”

Granola ended up retching, tears streaming down his face, expelling everything from his stomach.

What a horrendous smell! What on earth was this odor?!

“My, my nose feels like it’s rotting! It’s as if my brain is melting!”

Once, someone had entered the classroom after stepping on a Savik Fruit.

The scent of the fruit clinging to the sole of his shoes mixed with the perfumes others had sprayed, turned the classroom into what seemed like a gas chamber. Even the strict Professor Banshee had to cancel his class.

And now, the stench was not just a hundred times worse than back then but a whopping 100 times more intense.

Even for Granola, a member of the poisonous Reviadon Clan, this was a level of ferocious odor he had never experienced before.

Every perfume is fragrant when used sparingly, but when combined with so many concentrated liquids and Savik fruit, it’s a headache-inducing stench.

To make matters worse, as if adding insult to injury…

Thud-thud-thud-

Rain showers began outside.

“Ugh, eeeugh!”

The prey started showing signs of distress.

Cerberus, being a top-tier monster among beasts and creatures, possesses a highly sensitive sense of smell, making it even more susceptible to this array of odors.

“Grrrrrr! Eeek! Ugh!”

Unable to vomit out what was in its stomach and experiencing headaches, the creature shook its remaining two heads vigorously from side to side.

And then…

“Now, let’s see what that hideous fairy has in store.”

In front of Cerberus stood Vikir, stoically, with cotton pads stuffed into each nostril.

Fully prepared to carve it’s jaws apart.