Chapter 35 Sour

Mark's neck was covered by Aura.

He barely had the time to activate his "Impenetrable Barrier[C]" Magic Skill.

The Guardian swung its blade-like arm.

Crack-

The barrier broke.

Mark's Aura was pierced through.

But just as the sharp arm was about to make contact with Mark's body, the Guardian hurriedly jumped back.

A confused expression on its face.

Down Mark's neck, a lone drop of blood.

His breathing was quick and shallow.

'Holy shit. That was close...'

Mark turned to face the Guardian.

It was staring at its stomach, puzzled.

'Shouldn't take too long...'

The next instant, the "child" coughed up blood.

On the Guardian's pale stomach, three dark purple spots stood out.

'That butterfly sure had some good Skills. The purple poisonous particles are impossible to detect...'

Indeed, Mark used the two Skills he had inherited from that opponent.

Poisonous Wings[D] and Poison Regulation[B].

He quickly jumped away while staring at the Guardian.

'The poison will be enough to kill it. It's small and fragile after all. Too bad it's poison... I could finish it easily if it was venom instead.'

As Mark had learned on the Tenth Floor, Venom inhibited the opponent's movements and drained its Health Points.

Poison, on the other hand, only lowered the opponent's Health Points.

As the Guardian coughed up more blood, it directed its gaze towards Mark.

Bloodshot shot eyes.

Mark felt a shift in the atmosphere.

Thick veins appeared all over the Guardian's body, painting its pale skin blue.

A piercing screech echoed.

The child's face was covered by those veins.

Blood started dripping down its nose and eyes.

A blue Aura started oozing out of the Guardian's body.

'The final stand, huh?' Mark thought as he raised his arms, ready to fight.

The ground below the Guardian turned to rubble, as it launched itself towards Mark.

Thanks to his Advanced Kinetic Vision, he could see the attack.

But dodging was another question.

Mark clearly saw the sharp arm traveling towards his neck.

He lowered his body as fast as he could.

His last remaining horn spun in the air, while Mark jumped to his right.

At this point, he was running low on Mana Points.

Bleurgh-

The Guardian bent its body.

Heaps of blood were being thrown up.

The Guardian's blue Aura started migrating towards its back.

The child's butterfly wings suddenly turned to dust.

The skin on its back started twitching.

Replacing the lost wings, two sharp spikes appeared on each side of the Guardian's spine.

Mark stared at the four sharp and gigantic spider legs the "child" had just grown.

His interest and curiosity were piqued.

So much so that he forgot that he was in the middle of battle.

'Did it just evolve? In the middle of combat? No... That can't be right-'

His thoughts were interrupted by the change in the Guardian's facial expression.

It showed a smile.

A tyrannical smile.

A demonic smile.

Sharp fangs shone through the Guardian's curled lips.

The once charming and innocent child had disappeared.

What was left, was a Monster.

A pitiful sight that, somehow, made Mark feel sorrowful.

Nonetheless, his monstrous face could not reflect such sentiments.

It was as if the Guardian's transformation reminded him of something.

Something unpleasant.

'Let's finish this quickly.' Mark thought as he took a step towards the Guardian.

The Monster spread its four spider legs, as if they were still wings.

It ran with heavy steps, while screeching loudly.

Mark felt somewhat repulsed, almost disgusted.

It wasn't clear whether it was the attempt's desperate nature or the transformation that had brought forth that disgust.

Nevertheless, Mark stood still.

He knew that, in front of the Guardian, he was outclassed Agility-wise.

But this wasn't his first encounter with a Monster whose movements were faster than his.

The only body part that moved, apart from his dilated pupils, was his tail.

The Boss Monster approached rapidly.

And as soon as it deemed its target close enough, the Guardian extended its four spider legs, aiming to pierce its foe's stomach.

Crack-

But not one of those sharp legs reached its target.

Four consecutive tail flicks had destroyed each one of the Guardian's spider legs.

Still, it, desperately, kept running forward.

With each step, the floor below cracked.

Mark stared at the Guardian for a bit.

Its movements were, now, slower, heavier, and rougher.

While the Guardian had gained in strength, it had lost things that might have been more important.

It had lost its grace.

Its elegance.

And more than anything,

'It's not... Smiling anymore...'

That was when, using the "Tail Lengthening[D+]" Passive Skill gained from assimilating the Assassin Scorpion,

Pierce-

Mark quickly retracted his tail, leaving a large hole in the Boss Monster's tainted stomach.

The Guardian, with a hole in its stomach, was left stumbling.

It swayed from one side to the other.

The light in its eyes started fading.

Mark walked towards it.

The Guardian, enraged, let out a terrible screech as it gathered the remainder of its strength.

It swung its sickle-like arm with all the strength it had left.

Mark easily dodged.

He passed the stumbling Guardian, and walked away.

Seconds later, the Boss Monster fell to the ground.

[You have defeated The Sixth Floor's Guardian. 50,000 gold Coins and 100'000 Experience Points earned.]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have defeated a Guardian.]

[You have been awarded 3 Skill Points.]

[You can now access the Dungeon's Fifth Floor.]

Mark sighed deeply, as he arrived in front of the Arachne's unmoving body.

[Congratulations!]

[You have cleared the Challenge!]

[You have been awarded 2 Evolution Pills.]

[You have been awarded 1 Elven Necklace.]

'Oh, that... Yeah, I guess I did.'

Seconds later, both corpses had been turned into green spheres of energy.

[You have gained 40.000 Evolution Points.]

[You have devoured a Floor's Guardian.]

[Calculating appropriate reward....]

Mark's mood turned sour as he swallowed those spheres.

'I really thought these would taste good...'

He shook his head and sat next to the doors that separated him from the next Floor.

'Light, Fiery, come in. Oh. I bet you've produced plenty of Monsters by now, Fiery. Have them enter the next Floor and kill everything they find.'

The next second, a swarm of insects entered the Boss Room.

Trampling over each other, the Insect Monsters broke the doors that separated the Floors down before disappearing.

Light and Fiery entered the Boss Room.

They stood in front of Mark, before folding their legs and sitting down.

Mark stared at his Underlings' wide eyes for a bit, before raising his gaze towards the ceiling.

'I wonder when I'll get to see the sky...'

A bittersweet victory.