Chapter 116 Thanks. But No Thanks

'Can I really trust him... A Monster who looks like that? Who can use Corruption Magic..?'

Elisa stood in the middle of the room at the top of the Final Floor's tower.

"Never thought I would ever come back here..." She whispered.

Elisa stared at the mirror on the wall and started undressing.

"Not a trace of it left..."

There were multiple other spots on her sides, stomach, and lower back.

Some on her thighs too.

The next second, noise entered the room.

'Are Beasts starting to approach now that the Veil is down?'

Something was climbing towards the window.

Elisa quickly grabbed one of the Timeworn Elven Daggers she had placed below her clothes, and waited.

The next second, multiple dark pupils stared at her.

"Oh. You're his, right?"

Fiery nodded. The Underling's head barely went through the window.

"Did he have a message for me or something?"

The Underling didn't move, and Elisa took it as no.

Fiery was about to step down when,

"Wait..."

She stared at the half-naked Elisa.

"You're the one who... Made all those Insect Monsters, right?"

Fiery didn't move.

"You must be, right?" Elisa stepped closer.

The Underling stared without moving.

"You won't bite if I put my hand out, will you?"

The Underling didn't move, and Elisa slowly put her hand over Fiery's head.

"Sending your own Offspring for his sake..."

Fiery stepped down, and Elisa moved her hand off.

"What a kind Monster you are."

...

Huff-

Huff-

Mark breathed heavily as he jumped away from the horde of Monsters.

'It's... Too difficult... The mental drain and headache... That comes with short bursts... Of the Skill... I can't get used to it... And it seems worse every time...'

It couldn't be too surprising.

After all, the Skill increased Strength, Agility, and Endurance.

Switching it on and off in a short amount of time meant that the user's body went through great changes without at any point having the time to adapt if even temporarily.

'And if I try the focused approach... I can't take the time to look around... And if I can't look around... Then I can't order Krista and Grey properly...'

Three Underlings were currently by his side.

Fiery stayed on the Final Floor.

She had been ordered to remain next to Elisa's tower and produce as many Insect Monsters as possible. The Underling was left at that spot because Mark counted on Elisa protecting Fiery, was something to go wrong. He hadn't discussed this with Elisa, but he assumed that she would do it.

Levi had dropped off the first shipment of Third Floor Monsters capable of using Water-Type Magic Skills.

They were left behind the door that separated the Fifth and Fourth Floor. Exactly where Mark was headed.

He was glad to find a pile of about twenty Monsters.

But such an impressive shipment had to come with a drawback.

Mark grabbed one of the Monsters.

'Slimy...'

He didn't let his mind fixate on it and started devouring the Monsters right away.

'For me to use the Berserker for an extended period of time, I need to focus on my own movements and nothing else. It's strange... Krista and Grey were having so much trouble not getting in my way. Light, on the other hand, didn't just refrain from getting in the way, he always moved how I wanted him to. How I needed him to. It's like he understood my every move, the purpose behind every movement, and then determined the perfect course of action accordingly...'

Mark had already devoured four Monsters from the pile.

Seventeen were left.

'This difference between Underlings... I couldn't notice it on the Lower Floors...'

Mark grabbed a fifth.

'Was I just not as aware of my and their movements? Or maybe I was coming up with ways to fight on the go. In a way, I've sort of been developing my own fighting style. And the Berserker Skill forces me to focus on the style I want to pursue... Kind of? So I can easily tell when there's a disturbance...'

Before carrying on with his meal, he decided to enter the Fifth Floor for a moment.

In and out. Didn't take more than ten seconds.

Hanging from his hand, a struggling Werewolf grabbed from its head.

Mark's hand covered the Monster's eyes, and his grip made its movements only get more erratic.

'Surprised how weak these are now...'

He could easily hold it, despite the Monster trying its best to escape.

'Now that I think about it, I cleared this Floor before taking this Form... Before the Unique Evolution.'

Mark nodded to himself.

'Makes sense you'd be this weak.'

He thought about activating a certain Skill.

[You have Marked the Chosen Monster.]

'Marked, haha.' He chuckled. ' Let's make you Mark's property now.'

The Monster clenched its fist, and the Velvet Werewolf's ceased.

Its head had been crushed.

A drop of blood flew all the way to the side of Mark's mouth.

Lick-

'Mm. Doesn't taste as good as it used to.'

[Your Title "Devourer" is glad to see that your tastes are getting better.]

[Your Title "Devourer" is glad to see that your tastes are Evolving.]

[Your Title "Evolving Monster" chuckles.]

And so did Mark.

[You have defeated the Marked Monster.]

'Marked. Mark, Mark, Mark..' He let go of the unmoving Velvet Werewolf, and scratched his shoulder. 'I wonder why I was given that name...'

[Your Magic Skill "Purgatory's Undead Troup[A+]" cannot Revive the Chosen Monster.]

'What were those new Conditions again?'

[Your Title "Gaavah's Follower" is waking up from its slumber.]

Mark clicked his tongue at the message.

'We've already talked about this.'

[Whatever do you mean?]

'I get it, okay? Haha. Very funny. Power over the dead. Impressive. No matter how limited it is. If you've come to do that then-'

[I must admit, the reason why I came, at this precise moment, was for that.]

'Alright. Glad we got that out of the way. Anything else, or?'

[It's time for us to have a talk.]

'What about?'

[About the World that awaits you beyond these walls.]

Mark's eyes widened.

He grabbed a Monster's unmoving body and sank his teeth in.

After taking his time chewing, he swallowed and...

'No, but thanks.'

A short silence allowed Mark to eat in peace.

[I'm sorry, what?]

[Did you hear me correctly?]

[I'm offering you...]

He didn't bother reading the rest.

'I heard you. Thanks, but no thanks.'

Mark took another bite.

[Did you lose your mind?]

[The "Berserker" Skill or that Corruption you consumed?]

[Which one was it that fried your last brain cell?]