Right. Let's head to the Middle Layer.
Nothing like acting on impulse, I always say.
At my current speed, I should be able to outrun most enemies. Besides, I've been wandering around with near-fatal injuries before, so what's there to worry about now?
You can't do anything if you're too scared of getting hurt.
Recovery is for the easygoing.
Crystal clear.
I should probably grind a little more before moving on, but something tells me I need to get out of here fast.
Like… I'm restless. Antsy. I can't sit still.
So as of today, I'm vacating my fourth home base.
Farewell, fourth home base.
You've served me well.
Stay safe.
The next moment, the fourth home base exploded into fragments.
The shockwave sent me flying.
I tumbled end over end and came to a stop somewhere in the middle of a slope.
Checking my Status — my HP had dropped slightly.
And that was being outside. If I'd been inside when that hit, I'd be paste.
I looked at the thing responsible for this devastation.
『Earth Dragon Kaguna — LV 26 HP: 4198/4198 (Green) MP: 3339/3654 (Blue) SP: 2798/2788 (Yellow) ???: 2995/3112 (Red) Appraisal of Status failed』
It was a dragon.
Compared to the Earth Dragon Arava I'd seen before, this one looked stockier and bulkier.
It made up for it in raw power, though. It looked seriously strong.
No wings.
It was charging.
At full speed, straight up the slope.
I sprinted up the hill, crested the top, and kept running.
My yellow Stamina gauge bottomed out, but I didn't stop.
My legs screamed past their limit.
It hurt.
But I didn't stop.
I dodged the magma and sprinted across the narrow strip of land.
『Proficiency has reached a threshold. Skill "SP Cost Reduction LV2" has evolved into "SP Cost Reduction LV3"』
『Proficiency has reached a threshold. Skill "Fear Resistance LV6" has evolved into "Fear Resistance LV7"』
『Proficiency has reached a threshold. Skill "Burst LV7" has evolved into "Burst LV8"』
『Proficiency has reached a threshold. Skill "Endurance LV7" has evolved into "Endurance LV8"』
I don't know how far I ran, but eventually my body gave out and my legs stopped.
Every fiber of my being wanted to just collapse right there, but I forced myself to look back.
The Earth Dragon wasn't chasing me.
I'm saved!
I checked the area for Monsters, and only then did I finally collapse to the ground.
Ahhhh…
No way…
A sudden, unannounced Earth Dragon attack out of nowhere? Seriously, no way.
I thought I was dead.
Actually, if I'd even hesitated for a second before bolting, I would've been.
So that creepy feeling I had earlier — that's what it was?
But seriously, what was that?
Is there some kind of rule that Earth Dragons have to blast fire the moment they see a spiderweb?
Terrifying.
What if the Lower Layer had been an Earth Dragon nest this whole time and I just never noticed?
Terrifying.
No, no, no.
There's no way that many of them were just hanging out down there.
I retraced the Status info from the part of the Appraisal that succeeded.
Every stat was four digits.
That's insane.
There's absolutely no way I could win that fight.
And the kicker — even after firing off that devastating attack that destroyed my home base, its MP and SP still had plenty of room to spare.
Which meant that attack wasn't a one-off. It could spam those things.
Nope. No chance. Absolutely not.
What even is that thing?
Earth Dragons are terrifying.
Also, that Earth Dragon was a completely different species from the Earth Dragon Arava.
Its Level was lower than Arava's, but I couldn't Appraise Arava's stats, so I had no way to compare who was actually stronger.
Either way, neither of them was something I could fight and win.
Both Arava and Kaguna are called Earth Dragons — does that mean they're related somehow?
Maybe they started as the same species and branched off through Evolution?
Yeah, that's totally plausible.
Dragons are basically the poster child of high-ranking species. It'd be weirder if there weren't multiple Evolution paths.
Or maybe there's only one of each Earth Dragon species in existence?
That's also possible.
Since they're high-ranking, there aren't many, but each individual one is absurdly powerful.
Well — those stats were absolutely "absurdly powerful." No question.
If that's the case, the odds of running into another one are low, so that's nice…
Wait. Hold on.
If that's true, then I've been attacked twice by something that should have an astronomically low encounter rate.
Doesn't that mean I'm insanely unlucky?
N-N-No way, that can't be, surely…
I mean, I've been in near-death situations plenty of times, but I've always made it out alive in the end, so my luck is good. It has to be.
…Right?
But wait — wouldn't a lucky person not run into near-death situations over and over again?
Hmm?
…No good.
I can't keep thinking about this.
That was way too close for comfort.
Good thing I didn't get greedy and decide to keep leveling first.
My luck still has some life in it yet.
That's what I'm going to believe.
Someone please agree with me.
『Proficiency has reached a threshold. Skill "Prediction LV8" has evolved into "Prediction LV9"』
Nobody asked you, Voice of Heaven!!
What is that impossibly perfect timing?!
Were you waiting for my punchline!?
Voice of Heaven (alleged), have you considered a career in comedy!?!
Phew.
I got a little too worked up over something stupid.
Anyway.
That was about as bad a start as you could possibly get, but I'm already out here, so I might as well start clearing the Middle Layer.
Besides, I want to put as much distance between me and that Earth Dragon as humanly possible.