After Ruminas felled the massive monster, the remaining one recoiled, signaling the smaller creatures to swarm her.
Ruminas noticed its fear but stood motionless, silent. No killing intent emanated from her. No unnecessary movements.
She simply stared straight at it.
And that was the most terrifying thing.
Monsters, too, had instincts. Its instincts screamed that the prey had transformed, capable of turning the hunter into the hunted.
The air grew heavy, stagnant.
Ruminas resumed fighting the smaller monsters, ignoring the giant for now. Its fear would keep it at bay temporarily, but she needed to escape before the horde overwhelmed her.
"Don't shift your eyes!" The Parasol Lady warned.
Instinctively, Ruminas nearly glanced around to assess the terrain but snapped her gaze forward.
"If you want to escape, charge straight ahead," The Parasol Lady instructed.
Ruminas switched to a long spear with a slowing effect per strike. Each approaching monster was repelled. She avoided finishing them all to conserve energy, yet the experience she'd gained so far was substantial.
[Received: 860 EXP, …]
"Almost there. Time to make a break for it," she thought.
Ruminas pressed forward. The monsters were troublesome, but with her spear and teleportation, she faced little resistance. Still, her body was accumulating wounds.
"I can't use up all my mana…"
Her mana was down to less than half. She needed to reserve some for emergencies requiring teleportation, so full healing was out of the question.
"Stay calm. You're in a great rhythm. If you refine it further, you can slip through the monsters' senses entirely," The Parasol Lady said.
Ruminas dodged attacks while maintaining the state The Parasol Lady described. She felt something shifting within her. Despite the relentless combat and chaos, her mind remained strikingly serene.
Combined with her aura, this clarity let her perceive the battlefield vividly. Without glancing, she could sense hidden positions in her blind spots.
"This is…"
"You feel it, don't you? 'Stillness' not only erases your presence but grants a new perspective. I call it the 'God's Eye View,' encompassing everything," The Parasol Lady explained.
"It's still hazy…"
Ruminas vaguely grasped what The Parasol Lady meant, but she couldn't sustain it consistently.
"If you achieve 'Stillness' after this mission, that'd be the best outcome."
Guided by that faint sensation, Ruminas fought through the sea of monsters. She held her ground steadily, but then she saw Achlys's technique ahead collapse, the horde surging forward.
"Time to retreat for real."
Ruminas narrowed her eyes, sensing the flow of aura around her before accelerating, slipping through gaps in the swarm of smaller monsters.
Boom!
The remaining giant stayed put, but the smaller ones charged at its command. Ruminas had no intention of lingering. She leaned to dodge a side attack, spinning her spear to sweep a wide arc, knocking back the surrounding creatures.
Without hesitation, she teleported.
Reappearing beside the giant, her spear poised—
It pierced straight through its knee.
A deafening roar echoed through the cavern. The monster staggered back, its massive arm swinging reflexively with terrifying force.
Whoosh!
Ruminas ducked low, yanking the spear from its knee and using the monster's momentum to vault upward, stepping onto its arm like a staircase. She glided past its shoulder cleanly, then leaped powerfully toward her escape route.
But just as she thought she'd succeeded—
BOOM!
The wall ahead cracked open.
A colossal hand burst through, slamming the ground with cataclysmic force, triggering a violent shockwave. Debris and massive rocks rained from the ceiling, crushing the smaller monsters below.
"What!?"
Instinct screamed for Ruminas to teleport away.
But it was too late.
The hand wasn't just a single strike—it swept sideways with speed beyond expectation, dragging a collapsing wall with it.
"This is bad!"
BOOM!
A tremendous impact swept through her body.
Ruminas felt herself caught in the chaos, her balance obliterated. Her vision blurred with swirling dust and debris.
And then—
The ground vanished.
Nothing to grasp.
Nothing to stand on.
Only endless darkness below.
"Huh?" Confusion flickered across Ruminas's face.
Yet, in that moment, her mind remained eerily calm. Her eyes stayed fixed upward, but she sensed the surrounding rocks and monsters plummeting alongside her.
The monsters' screeches, the clatter of debris, and her own descent filled the air. Suddenly, Achlys appeared in her vision, desperately reaching for her.
"Hold on!" he shouted.
Ruminas stretched for his hand, missing several times as she fell deeper.
"To the dungeon, wait for me," she managed to say before Achlys's figure vanished.
And so—
Ruminas plunged into the abyss.
She didn't let herself fall indefinitely. Scanning her surroundings, she used teleportation to inch toward the nearest wall, using falling monsters as stepping stones. She was gradually succeeding.
But—
Another twist struck.
Countless tendrils erupted from the wall, shoving Ruminas away.
"What now!?"
Checking her mana, Ruminas saw it was nearly depleted. With the wall now too far, she decided to conserve her remaining mana for escaping once she hit the bottom.
After over a minute of freefall, Ruminas crashed into the ground, the impact cratering the earth. Thanks to her sturdy defenses and aura shield, the damage wasn't severe, but a dull pain throbbed across her body.
"Just my luck."
Staggering to her feet, a monster lunged. Ruminas reacted swiftly, dodging and retaliating with a slash that finished it instantly.
Surveying the area, she saw many monsters had fallen with her. Some were injured, others missing limbs. Only a few larger, resilient ones remained intact.
"Might as well clear them out."
While the monsters were disoriented, Ruminas struck. A powerful blow dispatched another, but the larger, intact ones regained their senses and counterattacked.
"Let's make this quick!"
Ruminas wielded her black aura, controlling her axe and spear from either side while gripping her dagger, charging head-on.
Another battle erupted in the depths, where light was scarce, and visibility relied on the faint glow of crystals above.
Monsters with poor vision or disadvantages fell quickly. The tougher ones lasted longer but ultimately succumbed, becoming Ruminas's experience points.
After the fight, Ruminas sat amid blood and monster corpses. Save for her self-repairing outfit, she was covered in wounds and blood. Her mana was completely drained, preventing her from using her bracelet's healing.
[Received: 1210 EXP, 37 Crystals]
[Sufficient EXP to level up]
[Level-up Reward: 5 Free Stat Points]
"Five points to Strength," she chose.
[Notification: You are eligible for evolution. Please evolve promptly.]
"Exhausted, but finally ready to evolve…" Ruminas sighed in relief.
"You should heal those wounds quickly," The Parasol Lady said.
"I know, but with my mana gone, what can I do?" Ruminas replied, flippantly raising her arm, only to wince as a wound tore open, bleeding profusely.
"Ah…"
"Utterly foolish," The Parasol Lady remarked, detaching from Ruminas's body. A small orb of light appeared in her hand, beginning to heal Ruminas's wounds.
"Thanks, but since I didn't ask, you can't raise the price," Ruminas teased.
"I know. Stop moving, or your wounds will worsen."
Ruminas sat obediently as The Parasol Lady healed her. After a while, her most severe injuries were mended.
"The wound has healed, now it's time to figure out what to do next…" She said to herself and looked at the only path ahead, sighing inwardly.