Unaware of what was going on with her dear Assassin, Lillian sat within her Mana Realm, waiting for her body to wake up from its sudden unconscious state.
"Did I get too tired or something...?"
Although there were times in the past she would pass out from being too tired, this was a first for her in life... If she recalled correctly, of course.
"I should be fine, though... The Captain and the Beetle are there, and since I’m inside my Mana Realm... I’m not dead."
After going through the possibilities, Lillian decided to ignore what was going on outside and focus on what was currently in front of her.
==
[Monster Name: Jungle Lord]
[Titles: Guardian of the Jungle God’s Temple, 4th Generation Jungle Lord]
[Monster Rank: Dire (?)]
[Stage of Evolution: Gore (?)]
[Monster Description: ...]
[Traits: Generational Accumulation, Highspeed, Blessing of Jungle God]
==
Lillian read through the Jungle Lord’s status, settling her gaze on the question mark beside the ’Gore’ and ’Dire’.
She sighed and rubbed the back of her head, clearly remembering the Jungle Lord devouring the Mana Core without her command.
’Oh, well... I guess I can focus on this stage in the game, I guess...’
With a blink and a tap of her finger, she pressed both of them at the same time, deciding to look at what it had to say.
==
[Current Monster Rank: Dire]
[Description: Since birth, the Jungle Lord’s ability to increase the quality of its Mana Core was limited due to its duty to remain in its place and the lack of strong prey besides other Lords.
The lack of Exposure on the island greatly contributed to its stunted growth due to the Divine aura around the three Temples. Thus, due to its circumstances, the number of abilities it could hold within its Mana Core was limited.
However, despite these limitations, it didn’t let such a disadvantage cause it to remain rusty in its skill, for in moments of solitude and weakness, you could only try to mitigate such a disadvantage with hard work and skill.]
{Requirements: Battle an enemy that has a Stage 4 or higher Mana Core to the death and come out alive from the exchange.}
==
[Current Stage of Evolution: Gore]
[Description: Over the course of several years, it had done nothing but devour entities that wished to usurp its title as Jungle Lord. All that had come had inevitably fallen and devoured in its swarm of vines.
Unlike other monsters, which would rather grow in size with each evolution, the Jungle Lord was different—it instead evolved its body for the purpose of speed and power, neglecting defences and size.
However... During its transition from Husk to Gore, it felt as though it had made a major miscalculation in its evolution that caused it to be much weaker than a usual Gore would...]
{Requirements: Devour Stage 4 Mana Cores [0/5], Devour Stage 3 Mana Cores [1/10]}
==
Lillian’s face expressed displeasure at what she was reading. What on Earth were these requirements?! Weren’t these a bit too extreme and expensive!?
"F-five Stage 4 Mana Cores and t-ten Stage 3 Mana Cores...? You also need to battle someone with a Stage 4 or higher Mana Core!?"
Closing out of the screens, Lillian turned towards the Jungle Lord she had summoned with bulging eyes and a baffled look on her face.
The Jungle Lord could only tilt his head before shrugging at her, as though he felt the requirements were fair for what he was worth.
Lillian sighed loudly before summoning the Beetle’s status.
==
[Monster Name: Carapace Hunter]
[Monster Rank: Savage(?)]
[Stage of Evolution: Maw(?)]
[Monster Description: A fearsome hunter with a carapace far exceeding the defences of its prey in its environment. It has a sadistic tendency to group up its prey before hunting them.]
[Traits: Senser, Tough]
==
[Current Monster Rank: Savage]
[Description: In the dark Catacombs where this fearsome hunter lurked, resided a terrifying Corruption Zone known as True Darkness. Despite living and hunting so close to it, the Carapace Hunter never managed to progress through its rankings, for its target has always been a certain tree...]
{Requirements: Engage in a battle with a living tree alone, which has either a Stage 3 or higher Mana Core, and devour it.}
==
[Current Stage of Evolution: Maw]
[Description: Feeding on the life within the Catacombs, besides a certain tree and others of the same kind, it hadn’t found any others that could match its strength, nor its defences. Until it one day stumbled upon a particular Rabbit that caused it some minor issues, which ultimately led to its downfall...]
{Requirements: Devour Stage 3 Mana Core (0/5)}
==
Lillian blinked at the second description before chuckling, assuming that the Rabbit the Jester was referring to was her. It seems she had done something to get its attention.
’The Requirements for the Beetle aren’t that bad either... Not sure what to think about the first requirement, though...’
Deciding to ignore it and allow her future self to take care of it, Lillian stood up from the surface of the ocean she was sitting on and looked towards the Jungle Lord.
Since she didn’t feel her body prepared to wake up yet, she might as well spar with the Jungle Lord.
Maybe it could help her improve her swordsmanship!
Summoning her shortsword, which shot out from the sea inside a bubble, she rushed towards the Jungle Lord and swung.
SWISH.
***
"Why on Earth did you not do as we asked!?" Viesta yelled, scolding Lillian, who sat beside her on one of the logs around the campfire.
It was the morning.
Lillian gave a wry and guilty smile as she scratched the back of her head, watching as Viesta glared at her for her sneaky escape last night.
"I, uhm..." Lillian struggled to find an excuse, figuring something like she couldn’t sleep wasn’t that much of a good one, so she said:
"Sorry about that... I just wanted to make some more time today, that’s all."
"Time...?" Viesta asked in a confused manner.
She then watched as Lillian slowly pointed back with her thumb towards a tall, bearded man.
"I’m planning on asking him to train me."