Monarch of Solitude: Daily Quest System

The living cave looked exactly how Rino remembered it to be. The living crystals pulsed disturbingly with various colours, and Rino decided to collect more of them this time.

Mutt remained hidden in his master's shadow but kept vigilant. Ever since the last ambush attack by the boss of this living cave, he did not want a repeat. Rino was powerful and would not die even if he was decapitated. However, that did not mean he was able to fight back effectively without an attached skull.

Carefully, they explored deeper, and Rino noticed how different the creatures in the cave behaved. The lower levelled monsters did not appear within Rino's path even if he knew they were there. Most of them chose to hide and observe instead of handling the intruder. Previously, they ignored Rino and continued what they were doing. None of them bothered getting out of his way before.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The water droplets dripping from the cave ceiling into puddles on the ground gave a very deceptive vibe of calmness. Rino walked slowly as he demolished crystals that he liked, occasionally mining odd minerals in the walls of the cave he never saw before. The miners and smiths could investigate the rare crystals and ores when they had time.

The middle level of the cave was a little more confusing than what Rino remembered. He saw the same stream from the first time he fell through that huge hole above. Coming from a different entrance confused the order of his memory about this place, but slowly, it was coming back.

The middle part of this living cave was an ever-changing one. Mutt and Rino barely escaped the fat blind cleaner worm monster the previous time as it took them by surprise. Seeing how much wider certain tunnels were now, Rino knew that other dungeon worms must be working twice as hard to make up for the murdered worm's workload.

The tracks were fresh, but the air was still. The worms were either off the clock or busy with other duties. Hence, it was a good time for RIno to travel using the widened paths instead of walking through the narrow twisting passages made by other cave dwellers. If he wasn't trying to pick a fight with the boss of this dungeon, Rino would stick to the narrower paths because it was safer.

Travelling quickly downwards the wide tunnel to reach the lower levels, Rino remembered this place too well. That stench of carcasses and the red glowing crystal in the distance was a landmark that RIno could not forget even if he wanted to.

Making a turn, Rino tried to look for the cross trails in the tunnel that signified a bigger monster passing through. The worms weren't the only ones using the wide tunnel. There should be a forked path that the womanticore would travel to and from her feeding ground.

It took Rino a while to locate those tracks, even with Mutt's help. When he found the right direction, Rino took off without looking back. The womanticore must be asleep now because there weren't any movements from this direction. Yet, he remained on guard. This time, he would not be dazzled by the gems in her lair and minerals. Whatever this living cave had would belong to him after he slew the boss. Besides, no other precious stone here could compare to the beast core that he wanted from her.

The search for the womanticore did not take long. Mutt warned Rino about the breathing sounds he heard coming from the dungeon's core, and Rino used stealth magic to conceal the sound of his footsteps.

The monster boss was asleep on top of a bed of bones. She was exactly how Rino remembered her to be. Even in sleep, she was terrifying.

The ghostly humanoid face looked like a peaceful maiden as she slept, even if the decaying breath with each snore made Rino wish he was somewhere else. Somehow, her lioness body looked thinner than before, and there were signs of her ribs through her skin expanding with each breath as she slept. Was she starving? Despite the number of servants and carcasses in the cave, the womanticore appear thinner than Rino remembered her to be.

Wah! Wah!

From a new side cave that Rino did not notice earlier, the sounds of young monsters crying echoed.

Quickly hiding, the lich observed as the womanticore tiredly cracked an eye open before dragging herself to check on the cubs.

Watching the womanticore feed her cubs torn shreds of fresh meat, Rino wondered if it would be alright to kill the tired mother. The father was nowhere in sight, but Rino had a feeling womanticores did not need males to create offspring. The monster could be a lion or a scorpion, but Rino knew both animals gave birth instead of laying eggs. The womanticore must have given birth to her cubs not too long ago because those cubs were as high as Rino's knee. If they stood up, they might become as tall as Rino's torso.

Surely these monster children could fend for themselves even without the help of their mother.

Watching the womanticore feed her children tiredly, Rino decided to hold off the sneak attack in her sleep. It wasn't polite to do so. He also did not feel like murdering the mother in front of her children. However, if he passed this chance to take her down while she was weak, Rino might not be able to get the beast core as easily again.

It sucked to make decisions like this, but Rino steeled his heart. This was about survival. If anything, these children would ensure that the living cave's ecosystem remained intact even after the womanticore's death. That much he could guarantee.

Hence, Rino waited until the womanticore finished feeding her cubs and putting them to sleep. The tired monster was about to return to her bed of corpses piled in her lair when she sensed an intruder.

Almost at once, all signs of fatigue vanished, and she growled fiercely. A mother's protective instinct should not be underestimated, and Rino was glad he did not hold back on the runes or talisman traps.

The moment she set her paw into the main chamber full of gems, Rino triggered the first set of traps, including a flash bomb and some barriers to prevent her from retreating to her lair. In a way, Rino wished to secure the safety of the womanticore cubs as they battled.

In this rematch, Rino had the upper hand. The womanticore was caught by surprise when she was immobilised by ice crystals trapping all four paws. However, she was not going to let Rino attack her while she tried to break free.

Just when Rino thought he had her where he wanted enough to launch a stealthy shadow cutter spell aimed at her neck, The womanticore roared and unleashed a huge mana shockwave, blasting everything in the area around her away with its tremendous force.

Thrown back by the force but cushioned by Mutt, who jumped out of his master's shadow just in time, Rino quickly dodged that scorpion tail aimed for his head. The wall behind him corroded with a sizzle as poison splashed on it. Mutt howled and lunged at the womanticore with his claws extended, snarling.

Rino took the opportunity that Mutt created for him and quickly summoned earth walls to trap the monster in. The earth spikes that followed the nimble womanticore never landed any hits, but that was alright. Rino needed her to dodge them with her instincts and fall into the next trap he prepared.

No, he did not prepare any explosives. However, Rino might have borrowed the theory of gravitational manipulation from the magical furnace to end the unsuspecting monster.

The womanticore was far more powerful than a mere sabre tooth wolf. Even weakened, Mutt was quickly outmatched when she slammed him into a wall with a swipe of her paw. The barbed scorpion tail nailed Mutt right in the chest before he could escape. Despite the pain, Mutt did not beg for help. Instead, he held onto the womanticore with his jaws, not letting her break free of him.

Rino thanked Mutt for the sacrifice as the loyal hound struggled to regenerate physically. The shadows and purple flames danced around the horrible looking wound, but the womanticore was retrained.

Aiming the tracing spell at the womanticore, Rino activated his next trap and unsummoned Mutt back into his shadow. The lich quickly hid behind a rock pillar and held onto it tightly while he watched the gravity sphere drag everything nearby into its centre like a black hole.

The womanticore screeched and struggled fiercely. Even with all her powerful muscles, Rino's magic won out eventually. Exhausted but unwilling to give up, the boss of this living cave called for reinforcements with a yowl.

Unfortunately for her, the last attempt to save herself was met with unusual silence. Even as the womanticore fell into Rino's gravity spell, she could not understand why nobody obeyed her calling.

Rino cancelled the spell quickly and waited for the womanticore to perish in his shadow realm while checking on Mutt's injuries. The sound cancelling barrier was removed, and Rino collapsed to the ground, too shaken from the rematch.

The victory felt empty, but there was not much he could do. In the game of life, someone had to win, and someone had to lose.

"Come on," he told Mutt.. "Let's go home."