I woke up in the cave with a lot of sleeping nestlings sprawled around me as usual. But I was distracted by something else. The air had a heavier feel to it and the cave that was dry, had taken on the scent of wet mud.

Odd.

Lastly, there was a distinctive pitter-patter sound from outside that made me blink with disbelief.

No way…was that rain?

I rose from my bed of leaves and climbed out of the cave, careful not to touch any of the sleeping nestlings on my way out. Passing the curtain of leaves that concealed the cave entrance, I was met with the usual sombre forest, but wet.

Blackened tree trunks dripped water, creating plinking puddles on the ground as the rain water became heavier. The top of trees were thick with white mist that moved like clouds, and except for the loud cries of airborne creatures amidst the murmur of rain – the forest floor was silent.

Whatever creatures there had scattered for cover as the water thundering turned the ground into mud.

Just how?

It served to say rain was the last thing I expected to see. Was rain even possible in an underground labyrinth?

I stared up at the sky of mist and was hit by a fat water droplet that made my eyes sting. Fortunately for us, the cave entrance was at an elevated point above the ground so whatever puddles formed did not seep inside but flowed downwards in a steady stream.

But as I looked around, I noticed the trees no longer sizzled with flames and the raging fire that was once present had been snuffed out. The coincidence was almost suspicious, which made me think.

Was it really rain?

If the fire had continued to burn, it would have razed whole sections of forest to the ground. What if the Labyrinth simply responded by putting it out? Like a body's immune system reacting to a disease.

It was likely the Labyrinth's response to prevent a major ecological issue, but it was almost like it was alive.

But just how much was too much destruction? If I felled a section of trees, would more grow back to replace them in less than a day? It was interesting to imagine the Labyrinth as a living organism, but I didn't really have proof unless I actually saw it happening.

I wished the rain would stop as quickly as possible, it was messing up my senses and I wasn't a fan of these kinds of wet surprises.

Just breathing in the rain made me feel cold, my visibility went down and when I tried to use [Mana Sense] everything around me lit up obnoxiously in cyan like a luminol crime scene – even the mud.

I felt like I was going blind just looking at it, so I switched back to normal vision – just in time to spot a large centipede that was almost the same size as me approaching.

I activated [Shadow Shroud] a moment too late but the creature skittered past without stopping, its multiple legs sloshing muddy water everywhere.

I thought it was strange how it didn't try to attack me, but the ground was getting quite sloppy, so maybe it just wanted to get out of the rain. As I watched how its many legs threw up water, I had an epiphany that brought a grin to my face.

There was a creature that was usually well concealed on dry ground. This rain would be its worst nightmare as it would make it harder to hide its footsteps as it moved. There was no time to waste! With so much water on the ground it would be the perfect time to hunt it!

I hurried along down to the forest floor, cloaking myself properly this time. While the nestlings were asleep, I had maybe an hour or two before they realised I was gone.

Unfortunately, I missed the ominous eyes of a creature that caught sight of my transformation, as it descended to the ground with a swish of a long tail.

----------------

I sped along the forest floor, bypassing parts of muddy ground with [Leap].

I could hear the sounds of large creatures in the trees. In the rain, their calls were distant and muted, but I made sure to pay attention to unexpected sounds.

The charred trees here were familiar and I soon came across the first poisonous mushroom outcrop that had somehow survived being burnt to crisp. I wasn't searching for big prey so when I heard a twig snap from the weight of a creature I turned around instantly.

I activated [Heat Sense] and I didn't pick up any heat traces but there was definitely a presence in the trees. I heard a rustle and the leaves parted, revealing a lone dark figure.

In [Heat Sense] the cold quickly dispersed revealing a centre of heat in the creature chest that glowed an intense white and as the creature roared, a ball of purple slime, covered in black smoke shot past the tree line.

I leapt out of the way and the slime ball struck a tree, melting a smoking hole into its bark.

The creature let out another roar and I glimpsed a purple maw rimmed with sharp fangs with red leathery skin fanned out on the sides of its head, making it appear twice its size.

I appraised the intimidating creature and was surprised to see a familiar name.

----------------------

Name: Sylrin [LV10 Ivenium Stilio]

Specie: Ailith Drake

HP: 142/142 Defence: 129

MP: 110/120 Intellect: 45

SP: 109/110 Magic: 72

Attack: 125 Agility: 125

Skills:

[Claws: LV9] [Scent: LV8] [Fortune: LV2]

[Silence: LV8] [Stealth: LV7] [Grip: LV8]

[Smouldering Breath: LV2] [Solidity: LV3]

[Impact Enhancement: LV7] [Leap: LV2]

[Strength: LV6] [Enhanced Agility: LV2]

[Night Vision: LV2] [Toxic Roar: LV8]

[Sturdy: LV8] [Column Spike: LV6]

[Tail Swing: LV10] [Wisdom: LV1]

[Bite: LV10] [Poison Slime: LV9]

[Sprint: LV9] [Perception: LV2]

[Slash: LV6] [Tail Spike: LV9]

[Fiery Mane: LV7]

Title:

[Larvae Host] [Pit Member] [Saviour]

Attributes:

[Regeneration]

[Status Inspection]

Resistances:

[Cutting Resistance: LV5]

[Pain Resistance: LV8]

[Heat Nullification: LV4]

[Faint Resistance: LV6]

[Piercing Resistance: LV2]

[Paralysis Resistance: LV6]

[Acid Resistance: LV2]

----------------------

Whoa! Wasn't it the dumb lizard, Sylrin?!

Was he trying to ambush me? How cute.

I rushed forward and leapt on him, ignoring his fierce stance to wrap him up in a smothering hug between my coils. The lizard twisted around, trying to claw his way out but I squeezed even tighter.

His stats had improved tremendously! What exactly did he do all this time?

And what was that attack?

I examined him from all sides. He hadn't evolved yet, but he was slightly larger than before, and the spikes across his back and tail were taller and much more prominent, he'd even gained some muscle since I'd seen him, along with a rougher skin.

How had he improved so much? Was he hunting spiders all this time?

The lizard whined pitifully after trying and failing to escape my embrace, but I didn't want to let him go just yet, he could only endure the crushing hug.

Finally when I had enough, I released him, and he dropped to the ground where he tried to recover his dignity.

I slithered around him to examine his scales properly. His claws were sharper, his [Stealth] was also a lot better than before. That smoky slime ball had to be his [Toxic Roar] but what about the red leathery skin? It had since been tucked away discreetly below his neck.

I was impressed!

Sylrin looked even more arrogant as he stood on his hind legs, baring his chest proudly like he didn't care, yet the long tail smacking the ground excitedly told a different story. I couldn't figure out how, but he had improved! I had even mistaken him for a predator!

And since he obviously wanted to follow me, I brought him along to the forest where I last saw the mimic and we both took shelter under the foliage. Hunting these invisible lizards required a smart strategy and patience so I pretended to take a nap.

We ended up waiting in the shrubs until the rain stopped, and then, I heard some movement in the trees.

I wondered if Sylrin would have a problem hunting his scaly brethren since they were both technically lizards. But aside from checking out his impressive spikes, he didn't bother with anything else.

The mimic lizards started to creep ever so closely and with the wet ground, I soon heard the splashes of their invisible little feet. Sylrin heard them too and he started paying attention, but he became confused when he didn't see anything.

However, I already had my target locked.

Anticipating where the next footstep would land, I shot out a compressed sphere of poison at the mimics and I heard shrill squeaks followed by a spray of blood.

〚You have defeated LV2 Novus Milia Pellis〛

〚You have defeated LV4 Novus Milia Pellis〛

〚You have defeated LV5 Novus Milia Pellis〛

〚You have earned 33XP〛

No!

My single attack had sliced three in half. That wasn't my intention at all!

I'd forgotten just how weak these things were. And how strong I'd gotten since the last time I fought them.

Sylrin wasn't having much luck either. He had taken too long to find a target and now the mimics were lathering his body with shots of [Sticky Slime].

With his back to the sneaky creatures, and more leaping on him to attack in numbers, he soon got freaked out by the invisible creatures.

I sighed and helped him out by spraying the bodies of the mimics with [Pain Toxin] to get them off him without killing them. But the lizard had had enough. He roared at them, unfurling his red mane to look extra threatening. And at the sight of him, the mimics all got scared and ran away.

Damn!

I chased after the fleeing lizards, following their frantic footsteps through pools of water, until I arrived at a small stream that had turned into rushing rapids after bursting its banks.

Across it was the field of tall grass where the mimics had vanished, disappearing from sight. The lizard followed behind, although not quite matching my speed.

The mimics had escaped, and I was disappointed to waste such a good chance to catch them.

However, knowing their flighty nature I'd made sure to get my poison on them so I could trace them easily with [Mark]. So, now no matter which way they fled, they cannot escape from me this time.

Hehehe...

We crossed the rushing water, following the mimic lizards deep into the tall grass, where at last we came across the entrance to a deep underground tunnel that glowed from inside with shards of white crystal.

Aha! I'd finally found the mimic lizard's elusive cave.