Clang!

A loud sound resounded as the head of the Monster Gecko shuddered as it clamped on the thick tablet. The force from its clamp shattered its teeth as Krune double-tapped the tablet using his free little finger, allowing him to retract it as he slashed forth using his dagger, cutting its neck.

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From the start, the Monster Geckos have been camouflaging on the cliff as rocks. They had been so still while their skins looked no different to the moss-covered rocks. This was why Krune had not been able to distinguish them.

And now that Krune had positioned himself before a Monster Gecko that was mimicking a piece of rock, it had tried to clamp down on his head and kill him. Thankfully, Krune realized it before seeing how the two Monster Geckos were moving through the cliff walls.

Using the tablet as defense, Krune cut the neck of the Monster Gecko, cursing in alarm when some of its blood splashed on him. The blood was extremely cold. It was as if he had covered his hand in ice.

Not long after, a hook flew through the air, intending to gorge into his eyes as Krune evaded, shielding himself with one dagger. He unsheathed one of his knives and threw it into the opened mouth of a Monster Gecko, causing it to choke while vomiting blood.

The other two Monster Geckos that were slithering through the cliff walls heard the commotion and swiftly arrived at the scene of battle, brandishing their fishing rods at the very moment they spotted Krune. One of the hooks lodged into his arm, tugging into his flesh.

Krune reflexively used the dagger on his other free arm and severed the thread, grunting in pain as he slashed out with it, parrying a fishing rod. Though, after realizing his opponent was intending to use the thread to constrict him, he haphazardly slashed out with the dagger, cutting the threads.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to hack at the opponent's legs, it leaped out of the way and landed on the wall, looking at him from a higher vantage point. He had only left two Monster Geckos in near-death states while three were still alive and kicking.

Unwilling to drag it out for too long, Krune looked around while breathing quickly through his mouth. The sounds of his breathing reflected on the walls, allowing him to perceive the movements of his opponents while at the same time giving him a visual of his surroundings.

At the moment the Monster Gecko on the walls jumped towards him, lashing out its fishing rod, the part of his body it was focusing on suddenly emitted blinding light, causing its eyes to bleed.

For a moment, its senses were disoriented. Though, before it could recover, its fishing rod was parried while its neck was severed. Despite the tough scales protecting its entire body, the dagger Krune wielded was sharper.

After slashing at its neck, Krune reflexively changed the way he held the dagger, reversing his hold on it as he plunged the dagger into its head. The blood that splashed onto numbed his limbs as Krune charged towards the remaining two Monster Geckos, stopping when they jumped from the walls, falling a height of 10 meters before they latched themselves onto the walls again.

A single leap was all it took for them to position themselves out of his reach. Krune couldn't walk on the walls like them. On top of that, they were way beyond his reach. So, he couldn't try to attack them.

Surprisingly, the two Monster Geckos stared at him for a couple of seconds before bolting away from the place. They had swiftly escaped, leaving behind a frowning Krune. Unwilling to waste any time, Krune arrived at the Monster Gecko that was bleeding from its mouth and pulled out the knife he threw into its mouth.

He gave the final blow to all three Monster Geckos he had injured, searching their corpses to see if they contained anything valuable. All they had on them was a chain of sorts hanging around their necks. In place of where a locket would normally be found were three claw nails.

It seemed to be from a different monster species, judging by its shape and size. They didn't have anything else on them. After glancing at their fishing rods, Krune picked up all three of them and bolted through the path, intending to first leave the place and find a safe zone. The cave he had spawned from was too far away.

He had to climb over the steep, sharp rocks to reach there. It was bound to wound him again and drain him of all his energy. So, Krune decided to find a better place. He coiled the threads onto the fishing rods, carrying them as a single bundle. He then sheathed his two Whale Tooth Daggers, strapped the Whale Tooth Sword onto his back before beginning to move through the path.

He made sharp noises from his mouth, keeping the Sonic Radar active. This way, he was able to sense any change in the path or terrain well in advance. Moreover, now that he had learned his lesson, Krune was cautious against all rock protrusions.

Moreover, just in case he had to defend against any possible attacks, Krune kept his left hand on his glabella at all times. The tablet was a meter in height. So, it was big enough to defend him. And since it could be summoned and retracted easily, he planned to use it in times of necessity to defend himself.

Just as he had suspected, a couple more Monster Geckos were camouflaging as rocks. The moment he came near them, they attacked him. Unfortunately for them, they only managed to clamp onto the tablet, causing their teeth to break in the process.

Swiftly, his dagger flashed as Krune cut their necks, causing them to bleed profusely. He then stabbed them in the neck once, killing them. But by now, his hands were numb from the cold generated through their blood.

Every time their blood splashed on him, he would lose some of his body heat, failing to maintain enough heat to run actively. He paused, judging that it was risky to proceed in such a fashion. He would just be inviting death onto himself.

So, Krune looked around, first determining his safety in the place before looking at the corpses of the two Monster Geckos he had slain. Inching forth with his index finger, he touched a part of their blood flowing on the path, noticing that it was still cold.

"I don't have any means to start a fire," Krune frowned as he muttered, thinking of something as he focused on the fingertip of his index finger, making it unleash his Neon Radiance in full power. Not long after, he sighed in disappointment, noticing how his Neon Radiance didn't generate any heat. It only generated purely light.

Krune then began to skin the two Monster Geckos, cutting pieces of its flesh that he judged were edible. He then wrapped them in the skin and squeezed them, dripping out all its cold blood. With that, he touched the bare meat, realizing that it was no longer like a block of ice. It still had a bit of coldness in it, but Krune judged that when he drained out all the blood from it, it would become a normal piece of meat.

He then packed a couple of large pieces in the skin, tied their ends on his hip, and began to scale down the path. He no longer ran, instead deciding to walk so that he wouldn't tire out soon enough.

Eventually, he dragged himself to the final stretch of the path, noticing the sea of fog positioned right beneath him. He sported wounds all over his body that bled blood. But they weren't serious enough that he wished to waste a Water Essence.

After all, as long as he arrived at a safe place, he would be able to treat himself. Besides, he had secured some meat to last him for a couple of days. Thinking as such, he carefully took a step forward on the moss-covered path, flinching when the fog was cold.

As he was bare-skinned, the chillness of the fog caused him to tremble. Krune had only taken a couple of steps forward when everything below his knees had turned numb. Immediately, he walked back, panting as he rubbed his legs, intending to warm them up as he cursed, "Why the hell is everything here so cold?"

Even though the atmosphere itself was warm, thanks to the blood and the fog, Krune was shivering. Through his Sonic Radar, Krune let out mild grunts and used the sound to sense the area within the fog.

He could sense a massive forest situated in a swampy area. By varying the volume of the sounds he emitted, he managed to judge the layer of the fog. It only spanned a person's height. For a moment, Krune just emitted his Neon Radiance onto the fog, sighing when he was unable to see through it.

Then, gritting his teeth, he rubbed over his body continuously, generating enough heat so that he wouldn't freeze up completely. Moreover, through the Sonic Radar, he determined the path he had to traverse upon.

After all, the cunning creatures had dug out a large section of the path, making it resemble an 'S' in shape. So, in the case intruders walked through it, while their senses would be numbed by the cold, they would walk out of the path by mistake and fall to their doom.

Krune aligned himself accordingly, taking in a deep breath as he sprinted forward, jumping through the fog as he kept track of the path, stumbling along the path as he barely managed to pass through, mentally heaving a sigh of relief when he noticed the place below the fog was warmer than above.

Though, Krune frowned when he noticed the entire place was dark, as if it was already nighttime. He soon heard a cacophony of noises that echoed throughout the area, causing him to flinch involuntarily.

He quickly reached the end of the path and landed on the ground, noticing that it was still a rocky layer. There didn't seem to be any soil in the area. Then, he frowned as he smelled a bloody tang in place, unleashing a mild light as he looked at the nearest tree, only to be left aghast as he found out that…

It wasn't even a tree.