Although the Primal Core that Arthur had always wondered about was damaged, he didn’t care. He wasn’t greedy to that extent, or rather, he wasn’t in a position to be, as this was the first time he felt truly lucky.

  Or so he thought at first. Due to his many bad experiences in the past, a sudden realization struck him.

  A shiver ran down his spine involuntarily, and he considered the possibility that what he was seeing was just an illusion, or more likely, a trap.

  Previously, when he had been drawn here, he noticed that the scent lingering in the air was strange… and frightening in some ways.

  He regained his composure, and all his excitement and happiness vanished. He examined the vast cave once more, noticing many scattered bones, some of them fresh.

  An expression of frustration appeared on his face, and he let out a disappointed sigh.

  ‘just as I thought… why do treasures always have a monster or something strong guarding them? And the problem is, I don’t even know where that damn enemy is. All I see here are rocks.'

  His inability to locate the enemy meant only two things: either it wasn’t present right now—which was highly unlikely—or it was probably hiding somewhere, waiting for him to enter and move away from the exit.

  Arthur didn’t dwell on it much, nor did he try to convince himself that he was safe. Being optimistic wouldn’t change the real danger of the situation. It was clear that the enemy was lurking, yet even so, he couldn’t bring himself to leave empty-handed.

  He furrowed his brow in anger, looking at the brilliant Mana stone ore. Although he didn't know how to use this item or what its primary purpose was, he felt that leaving it buried here to gather dust was simply wasteful and cowardly.

  At the very least, he had to take some samples with him.

  He took a deep breath, cast aside his hesitation, and muttered sarcastically:

  'As they say, no pain, no gain. And I’m used to pain.'

  Keeping the "Evaluation" skill active, he quickly ran inside and headed straight for the skeleton. He touched it with his paw, feeling a strange, stinging cold.

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  Without paying it any mind, he immediately placed it inside "Dimensional Storage," and then stored the damaged "Primal Core" as well, as he wanted to study it.

  Given the mechanics of the "Dimensional Storage" skill, it was necessary to touch the object he wished to store.

  Naturally, there was another way that allowed him to store any object within a two-meter range just by staring at it and directing his full focus toward storing it.

  However, that method was impractical at the moment because remote storage consumed a massive amount of mental energy, causing him to nearly collapse after storing just one small item.

  At that moment, the senses of the "Primal Predator" skill triggered, and he felt an imminent danger nearby. Driven entirely by instinct, he leaped aside.

  The spot where he had been standing was struck by something; the ground exploded, sending shards flying everywhere and leaving a small crater.

  His eyes widened in shock as he scanned his surroundings in a panic. Once again, he found nothing, making him doubt his own sanity. However, he soon noticed something strange—something he had ignored and dismissed due to his own ignorance.

  [ ???????? ]

  The numerous question marks, which he had assumed all along were just High-Grade ore, shifted from their positions and drew closer to him. One of them was now directly in front of him, only seven meters away.

  He still didn't understand what was happening; all he saw was a wall filled with brilliant ore. Or so it seemed.

  Suddenly, his senses screamed again, warning him of imminent danger. Right before him, out of thin air, a jagged rock projectile formed and shot toward him like a bullet.

  To call the situation shocking would be an understatement. Despite the difficulty of processing what he was seeing, he moved at his maximum speed, dodging the rock which grazed his cheek.

  When he put enough distance between them and found a chance to gather his thoughts, he finally realized the type of enemy he was facing.

  'Damn it, it's an invisible monster. Even worse, it's not alone—the cavern is full of them, and I'm unable to see their Rank or their forms.'

  He gritted his teeth, his mind racing as he tried to find a way out of the trap he had led himself into. He didn't feel regret; he had known the danger existed, so he accepted the reality and took responsibility for his choice.

  Fortunately, he wasn't completely blind. The "Evaluation" skill allowed him to at least pinpoint his enemy's location, and that alone was enough.

  His eyes swept across the ceiling and walls, seeing the other question marks slowly closing in on him before they unleashed a barrage of rock projectiles.

  It was impossible to dodge this attack entirely, so he did everything in his power to minimize the damage. He leaped left and right, avoiding only the attacks directed at his vital organs while letting the rest hit him.

  His body was soon covered in scratches and superficial wounds, surrounded by the rubble left behind by the onslaught.

  His blood dripped onto the ground. Without panicking, he funneled all his focus toward the exit and counted the enemies in his path.

  'There are four in total. It seems these monsters move slowly for some reason. All I have to do is avoid the attacks, and maybe I’ll get out in one piece. Maybe?'

  He let out a short sigh, then touched some rocks filled with Mana stone ore and stored them inside "Dimensional Storage." Without hesitation, he sprinted forward. Attacks flew toward him intensely, and he dodged everything he could.

  He bypassed the first question mark easily, then the second. As he drew near the exit, he felt the air in front of him ripple.

  His senses screamed; although he saw nothing, he immediately realized something was heading toward him—and it was incredibly fast.

  Before he could do anything, something sharp and thick pierced through his upper arm and came out the other side, coated in his blood and shards of flesh and bone. Just a little more, and it would have severed his leg completely.

  At the same time, three rock projectiles stabbed into various parts of his body: two in his hind legs and one in his abdomen.

  — — — — — — — —

  Author’s Note:

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