The Adventurers' camp was a pocket of defiant order in the chaotic dungeon. A small, magical ward-stone pulsed softly, keeping the ambient mana at bay and deterring lesser creatures.

A contained fire crackled, casting dancing shadows. Three of the four Adventurers slept in bedrolls, while the fourth, Egan the cautious one kept watch, his eyes scanning the darkness beyond the ward's light.

They never sensed the predators already within the light.

Adam's Deep Camouflage, amplified by his Abyssal Seraph nature, didn't just hide, it consumed the light around them. They were voids within the shadow. At his signal, they struck.

Alice was first. She Void Stepped from the shadow at Egan's feet. Her form materialized, and a Void Bolt took the watchman square in the chest before he could even gasp. The silent attack punched through his armor, and he crumpled, the ward-stone flickering out.

Chaos erupted. The other three Adventurers Rolk the warrior, Vael the brash fighter, and the leader, a woman named Kaela exploded from their bedrolls with trained precision.

"What in the hells—?!" Rolk roared, his greatsword already in hand.

"Sensor items aren't reacting!" Kaela yelled, her eyes wide as she took in the scene, a massive, star-lit serpent coiling from the darkness, a Void Panther dripping with shadow, and a Young Solar Drake lighting the cavern with angry light. "It's not one monster—it's a pack!"

Vael, his face pale but set with defiance, drew twin blades. "Then we purge them all!"

They fought with the skilled desperation of seasoned professionals. Rolk charged Adam, his greatsword glowing with a sharpening enchantment. He swung with force that could cleave stone. Adam didn't dodge, he took the blow on his scaled neck. The sword sparked, scoring a shallow line but failing to penetrate the Monarch's Aegis.

Adam's star-lit eyes glinted with cold interest. "Interesting," he rumbled, the sound like grinding continents.

Enraged, Rolk pressed the attack. Kaela began chanting, weaving a spell. Balls of searing fire formed and shot towards Adam, impacting his side in small explosions. The fire washed over him, but his Volcanic Hide and new resistances made it feel like a warm breeze.

"Fire resistance! High-tier!" Kaela shouted, aborting her spell. "Switching to lightning!"

Vael darted in, aiming not for Adam but for Ignis. "Take the little one!" His blades moved in a blur, but Ignis beat her wings and unleashed a Solar Wind. The scalding gale forced Vael back, his armor smoking.

"The other monsters aren't helping the serpent!" Vael cried out in confusion as he dodged. "They're just… watching!"

Kaela's face hardened with grim understanding. "They're not just beasts. They're letting him handle us. They're playing!"

"Playing with ME?!" Rolk bellowed, humiliation fueling his strikes. He channeled mana into his blade, which crackled with blue energy. "Shocking Cleave!" He brought the sword down in an arc of lightning.

This time, Adam moved. He twisted, letting the empowered blade glance off his fortified scales. The lightning crawled over him, causing minor tingles but no real damage. Before Rolk could recover, Adam's tail whipped around, not to strike, but to Constrict. It wrapped around the warrior's torso with irresistible force. Bones creaked. Rolk screamed, dropping his sword.

"ROLK!" Kaela shrieked, her composure breaking. She ripped a scroll from her belt and tore it. A brilliant, holy light erupted—a Lance of Solar Judgment, a high-tier paladin spell stored for emergencies. The beam of concentrated sunlight lanced across the cavern and struck Adam squarely in the chest.

'It hurt.'

Adam felt true pain as the holy energy seared his abyssal scales, bypassing some of his resistances. He roared, his grip on Rolk loosening for a split second.

Seeing her chance, Kaela drew her own slender sword, imbued with frost, and lunged, aiming for Adam's now-smoking injury. "Now, Vael!"

But Adam was already gone. "Phantom Onslaught." He vanished from the constriction, appearing behind Kaela. His maw opened, and a point-blank Ember Shard Shot (Lvl 4) took her in the back, piercing her magical shields and armor with a sickening crunch. She fell forward, silent.

Vael, seeing his leader fall, finally broke. His bravado vanished, replaced by primal terror. He dropped his blades, holding up his hands. "Wait! Please! We surrender! We'll leave! Don't—"

Adam was done. He was bored of their struggle, annoyed by the pain from the holy scroll. With a swift, brutal strike of his head, he silenced Vael. He then turned to the still-gasping Rolk, who was trying to crawl towards his sword.

A final Constrict ended his struggles.

The fight was over. Four skilled Adventurers, dead in minutes. Adam looked at the last surviving member—Egan, the watchman Alice had first struck. He was alive, but barely, groaning in pain from the void energy corroding his chest.

Adam's star-lit gaze fell upon him, devoid of mercy. He shared a look with Lilith, who had observed the entire battle from the high ceiling, her crimson eyes glowing like malevolent stars in the dark.

"Lilith," Adam's voice was flat, a command. "He's yours. I want to know everything. About their orders, their outpost, their kingdom's plans for this dungeon. Everything."

The Pale Widow Queen descended gracefully, her movements silent and elegant. She approached the terrified, wounded man. Her voice, when she spoke directly into his mind, was as gentle and soothing as a lullaby, a stark contrast to the horror in her crimson eyes.

«Do not struggle,» she whispered psychically. «The pain will cease shortly. You have information. We have need of it. Let us… share.»

Schlik.

The sound of her leg piercing his temple was crisp and wet. Lilith's eyes glazed over as she began to sift through the surface of his thoughts—fear, pain, memories of the Kingdom, maps of dungeon sectors...

Suddenly, Egan's eyes, wide with terror, flashed with a desperate, final resolve. With a surge of will, he clenched his jaw shut with horrific force. There was a sickening crunch and a gurgle as he bit through his own tongue, severing it. A rush of blood filled his mouth, and his body convulsed once before falling still, his mind extinguishing itself before Lilith could delve deeper.

Lilith smoothly retracted her leg, a faint flicker of surprise in her otherwise serene expression. «He… terminated the connection. Permanently. A surprisingly decisive act for one so afraid. He preferred death to betrayal. I'm sorry Adam»

Adam stared at the corpse, a slow, thoughtful rumble echoing in his chest. «Huh. I didn't expect that. A human with that kind of resolve… To value his people's secrets over his own life.» There was no admiration, only a cold analysis of a new variable. «Don't apologize, Lilith. We simply underestimated their capacity for loyalty. Good work. The attempt was worth it.»

He turned his attention to the spoils. The Adventurers had been well-equipped. Alice was already nosing through their packs.

«They were wealthy,» she noted, a hint of greedy satisfaction in her tone. «Very different from that first human we found long ago.» She began piling up coins—a substantial amount of gold and silver, along with several gemstones likely used for magic.

Ignis proudly held up several rolled parchments in her jaws, her tail wagging. «Look! Shiny paper! This one feels tingly!» She dropped them. Adam inspected them quickly, scrolls of Fireball, Chain Lightning, and Stone Wall. The powerful holy scroll had been a one-use item, already consumed.

«Useful,» Adam stated. «Store them carefully, Alice.»

They also collected eight high-quality Health Potions, twelve Mana Potions, the enchanted but slightly damaged armor and weapons (Rolk's greatsword, Kaela's frost-blade, Vael's twin daggers), and various utility items like the now-inert ward-stone and climbing gear. Everything went into Alice's Void Locker.

Finally, Adam checked the notifications he had ignored during the fight.

[ Adventurer (Egan) Defeated! +95 EXP | +125 EP ]

[ Adventurer (Rolk) Defeated! +120 EXP | +155 EP ]

[ Adventurer (Vael) Defeated! +105 EXP | +135 EP ]

[ Adventurer (Kaela) Defeated! +135 EXP | +170 EP ]

[ Total Gained: +455 EXP | +585 EP ]

[ Ding! Level Up! ]

[ You are now Level 45! ]

[ Ding! Level Up! ]

[ You are now Level 46! ]

[ Ding! Level Up! ]

[ You are now Level 47! ]

[ Next Level: 38/230 ]

[ Skill Points: +3 ]

[ Evolution Points: 949 -> 1534/3500 ]

Three levels. A significant jump in power. The Adventurers, while individually weaker, had provided a rich bounty of EXP and EP—a testament to the system's design, perhaps, encouraging conflict between beings of higher intelligence.

'It seems I really am destined to cull humanity,' Adam mused, the thought carrying no malice, only a stark acceptance of his role in this world's brutal ecosystem.

They were prey that fought back with cunning and tools, but prey nonetheless.

He allocated his three new Skill Points without hesitation, two into Intelligence (26 -> 27) and one into Mana Core (Lvl 2 -> Lvl 3). His mind sharpened further, and his magical reserves deepened.

"Alright, we have everything we need."

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