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The Giant Armored Snake was a Rank 3 monster, so the Experience Points given were not as generous. Veronica needed to slay greater and stronger prey to rank up again, and she was feeling like she was hitting a wall of progress already. She had grown quite fast since she was born these last days. ​​

Although Veronica had a different time perception than living beings due to being sleepless, more than a week has passed since she was born in this dungeon.

She decided to quickly absorb the armor of the Giant Armored Snake and assimilate it into something, she had decided it to be her shield.

[Giant Armored Snake Flexible Silver Scales] Material Successfully Absorbed; Health Points Restored]

[Please choose equipment to discard or synthesize into]

[The material [Giant Armored Snake Flexible Silver Scales] and the [Medium-Sized Iron-Silver Crab Soldier Exoskeleton Shield] equipment have been synthesized into the [Medium-Sized Flexible Iron-Silver Snake Exoskeleton Shield] equipment!]

"Flexible Shield?"

As Veronica fixed her almost crushed leg by manipulating her armor as if it were a semi-liquid form, similar to Metal Slimes, she inspected her new shield, it had changed slightly, as it was now covered in the thin green-colored silverly scales of the Giant Armored Snake.

Then as she moved it, the shield moved as well, in a similar fashion to a snake…

"Hm?!"

Veronica willed and the shield went back to its original form… and as Veronica played around with it, she discovered that it could be extended around two meters long. She could even use it to attack enemies by launching it against things… and if she used Shield Techniques, the attack would become stronger due to the durability of the shield increasing.

"That could prove to be quite useful," said Shade.

"Indeed… Armory is really a crazy Skill… and if it's a Unique Skill… I am most likely the only one wielding such an ability" muttered Veronica.

"Guubo!" said Aqua.

"Hmm… Anyways, let us continue. I can feel the breeze getting stronger from here… the exit of this damned dungeon is near…" said Veronica, in high spirits.

"The outside world… We'll see it together, Veronica, Aqua," said Shade, a bit emotional.

"Sure thing," said Veronica.

"Bloob!" said Aqua.

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It was obvious that the strongest in the dungeon would also be one born from it.

Since it was born, it crawled and hunted. It devoured its prey and gained strength.

And as it did so, it also saw several of its kin be easily preyed upon by stronger monsters. Since then, it learned that this world, the dungeon, was a harsh place, the strong devoured the weak.

She thought that because she ate smaller monsters, she had some advantage. But it was wrong, she needed more than just trap and eat others to grow stronger…

It needed to think. And to train its powers.

It learned about the system by itself, about skills, about levels, about ranks.

It used its threads to trap bigger prey, of higher ranks than her. Some traps failed, netting her no results and no food. However, as she thought more carefully, she slowly developed greater intelligence, and greater traps came to be.

She devised strategies and put them into work, some worked and others not. But through trial and error, she improved.

She learned and improved, and as she finally captured a bigger and meatier prey, she did not let it go away, she bared her fangs and inserted her venom into it. She made sure that it was tightly wrapped into it.

It died, and as it did, she gained Experience Points, leveled up, and ranked up.

New skills, new abilities, new possibilities.

She was fascinated by this harsh and crude world.

They devoured and trapped bigger prey, day after day.

Devising new strategies, developing her skills and her mastery over them.

As she trapped, poisoned, and devoured them, she ranked up and evolved even further beyond.

Before she could realize, she had become too big to walk stealthily through the thin corridors of the dungeon, she decided to find herself a lair to call home and device strategies in the commodity of a safe place.

And as she did, she discovered abilities that she did not know she had.

She gave birth to her children.

She ordered them to find food for her, and as her little children hunted, some dying and others surviving and bringing her food, she also gained Experience Points.

She, the one that crawled and fought, the one that plotted and schemed, found an easier way to become stronger, leaving the hard tasks to her weak children, they hunted for her and brought her food.

She rested and produced more children, while slowly becoming stronger and developing others of her skills.

She became a matriarch, and a large group, made out of hundreds of the same monsters as she came to be.

She quickly became the ruler of the dungeon, and often walked around when she felt bored, laying eggs of her children everywhere, so they could spread further and further through the depths of the abyss. To bring her better and tastier offerings.

One day, as she walked through her domain, where every monster feared her existence and ran away… she came across the odd presence of another monster.

This one was… dim. But it was strange as well.

Something inside of it, something on its nucleus, the soul. It made it different from anything it had ever fought before.

For a moment, the self-proclaimed ruler of the dungeon felt a slight fear… she decided to not confront it, and only laid a dozen eggs to test its strength.

Her children were annihilated and devoured.

This creature was stronger than she had expected. The self-proclaimed ruler of the dungeon decided to not confront it unless they were to cross paths.

As more news about its achievements came, she became a bit baffled… someone similar to her, who grew abnormally fast by fighting monsters stronger than she had appeared.

It may be someone worthy of a challenge… but did she want a challenge?

She considered the pros and cons of defeating it… killing it would bring a large number of Experience Points, so it could finally Rank Up and become a greater being, the thing that any monster desired the most.

No matter of thought she was, she could not escape the temptation of becoming stronger.

She desired more power…

She had tried to explore the outside world, already having traveled through her entire domain, where she ruled, it was natural for her to glance at greater goals…

But the outside world was too much for her, so many presences from all sides, creatures lurking, some at the same strength as her.

She was never an upfront fighter, she liked to scheme and to bite her enemy when it was trapped, tightly wrapped in her threads, and weakened.

Even fighting against someone of her same strength was a 'no' for her.

Though… if she grew enough to overpower such monsters… perhaps?

This is why she desired to fight this new… 'irregular'. To kill it and to rank up through its granted Experience Points.

It still was not as strong as her… so it could be possible, but she needed to lay several traps and to do it right.

She spied on her with her children, and although some were detected and killed, she obtained some information at the very least in those undetected.

It seems that her target was desiring to escape her domain.

But how could it be?

Was it a fool?

If she were not capable of escaping the dungeon, why would this weakling try to do the same?

A reckless ignorant.

It seems that the ruler of the dungeon had put much hope into this 'irregular', who ended becoming someone not as impressive as she thought… although, it seemed to have some allies.

A strange and dark presence, which lived inside of its body. And a blue slime, which was stronger than other blue slimes.

She had never seen a blue slime so strong before.

And it seemed that the three worked as if they were a single entity. A strange creature, but it seemed too foolish to try and explore the outside.

If it wanted to go outside so bad, she will wait for her at the entrance. With her dozens of children and traps everywhere.

'Let us see who is the strongest in the dungeon' it thought.

The loser dies and it's devoured, the winner takes it all and becomes stronger.

Such were the laws of the dungeon… and the world of Kritias.

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