Chapter 16

A massive creature soared above the forest canopy, its wide, blade-like wings slicing through the air with every beat. It resembled a manta ray, but grotesquely larger, its black carapace shimmering with streaks of violet. Suspended by a thick black chain attached to its underbelly, a lone human girl dangled in midair, Kaede.

Buffeted by the roaring wind, Kaede narrowed her eyes against the rush. Despite the speed, her mind was calmly weighing her options.

'So I have two choices,' she thought. 'Option one, use Cover Move and return to the others. We kill all the humanoids, current threat neutralized. Downside? I’ll never know where this thing was taking me.'

She tilted her head up slightly, eyes locking on the rider perched atop the creature. He looked like the other humanoid monsters they’d encountered, lithe, inhuman, but clothed in armor and wearing a full-face helmet. He hadn’t tried to harm her. Not once. Just grabbed her and took off.

‘Which brings me to option two.’

‘Let him take me. Maybe I’ll end up face to face with the dungeon boss. I could learn something, numbers, strengths, and the location. Then when I know enough, I use Cover Move to teleport back with intel. Two birds, one Kaede.’ She nodded proudly to herself.

Then her expression soured. “But what if the others can’t hold out until I get back?”

Cinnamon was strong, she knew that. But she didn’t know just how strong, not yet. And she didn’t know how many of those humanoid enemies were lurking in the trees.

Her thoughts were cut short.

---

You have leveled up ×2

---

Kaede blinked. “Well... I guess that answers that question.”

---

On the forest floor, panic was settling in.

“What are we gonna do?” Korra shouted, shielding her eyes as Kaede’s shrinking figure was pulled higher into the sky.

“That thing just yeeted her into the clouds!” Nagi cried out.

“Where did it even come from?” Akari growled, adjusting the grip on her bardiche.

A guttural growl silenced them. Cinnamon crouched low, muscles taut, lips peeled back to bare jagged fangs. His eyes scanned the surroundings, the dense mushroom forest no longer felt empty.

Kanae and Kenzo stepped up beside him. Kenzo's fists clenched with focus, while Kanae drew her katana, aura flaring.

“She’ll be fine,” Kanae said, voice steely. “I doubt there’s anything in this dungeon that can actually hurt her.”

Kenzo nodded grimly. “We, on the other hand...”

“Have company,” he finished, gaze sweeping the terrain.

All around them, the mushrooms each now harbored hidden enemies, dozens of humanoid figures stepped into view, emerging from between stalks and shadows. The group was surrounded.

Korra exhaled slowly and lit her palms with fire, the flames casting flickering shadows on the damp earth. She turned slightly to reposition, then froze.

SSSSS!!

Her foot had grazed the edge of the shimmering, toxin-laced lake that Kaede had left behind. It still bubbled with venom, the corpses of dozens of monster lions floating half-sunk in the deadly liquid.

“Great,” she muttered. “Everyone, watch your step! That poison lake’s still... uhm poisonous.”

Their backs to the edge, enemies on all sides, and no sign of Kaede.

Kenzo moved first.

“Yaaaargh!” He let out a battle cry as his form blurred, dashing toward a cluster of the humanoid monsters. His bronze aura flared, coating his body like a living flame. With a twist of his torso, he drove his fist forward, a powerful punch aimed straight at the nearest enemy.

The blow missed its mark, but not entirely. The impact exploded into the mushroom stalk behind them, reducing it to splinters as the monsters leapt out of range.

“Urck!” Kenzo flinched as a sharp pain lanced through his side. An arrow had embedded itself in his waist, the shaft quivering with force. His eyes narrowed, tracking the ripple in the air left in the arrow’s wake. He caught sight of a bow-wielding humanoid perched atop a fungus-covered rock.

A mistake.

Whoosh!

A spear sliced through the air toward his throat.

Kenzo twisted back instinctively, the blade grazing his forehead with a stinging hiss. “Gah!” he gasped, only to be met by a solid kick to the gut. The force launched him off his feet and sent him crashing back into their formation.

He rolled to a stop, gritting his teeth. His hand flew up to his brow, wiping away the stinging liquid trickling into his eye, blood, not sweat.

Pushing to his feet, he raised his head.

Standing a few paces ahead was a humanoid monster, leg still outstretched from the kick. Its posture was calm, almost casual. Kenzo’s eyes widened in recognition, it was the same one that had hurled the spear at them when they’d first entered this cursed dungeon.

“You bastard...” he hissed, fists tightening.

“Don’t go getting yourself killed.” Kanae’s voice came from beside him, sharp but composed. She stepped in closer, her eyes locked on the enemy ahead. “Stick to formation. We’ve still got Cinnamon.”

Kenzo blinked, her words dragging his awareness back to the battlefield.

He turned, and finally saw it.

The battle had already erupted all around him.

Their Hunters were fully engaged, blades clashing and spells flying. But it was chaos. The humanoid monsters weren’t just holding their own, they were overwhelming the Hunters. Each one fought with brutal precision and strength on par with S-Rank threats. The A-Rank Hunters were being shredded in seconds, their movements growing more desperate as injuries mounted.

Kenzo’s breath hitched.

They were losing.

The only reason any of them were still standing was because of Cinnamon, the massive lion-like beast Kaede had somehow tamed. He moved like a living battering ram, tearing through enemies with tooth and claw, covering the wounded and intercepting killing blows. His roar echoed like a war horn, a defiant force of nature amidst the slaughter.

Without him, they’d already be dead.

Kenzo grit his teeth, planting his feet.

Cinnamon lunged forward, his claws glowing with power as he sliced cleanly through one of the lightning-infused humanoids, splitting it into four twitching pieces. Without pause, he barrelled into three more, his massive frame a blur of motion as he crushed them before they could even raise their weapons against Kaede’s allies.

It wasn’t hard for Cinnamon. These enemies, dangerous as they were, were nothing compared to what he had faced before.

Once, he had been the King of the Blue-Furred Lions, an apex predator feared throughout the Mushroom Forest. He hadn’t claimed the forest by chance or inherited it by lineage.

No, he had earned it.

He had clawed his way to dominance by defeating every rival, every monster that dared challenge his reign, including the previous rulers of the forest, the Scale Crabs.

They were thick-shelled, merciless creatures who had ruled the region with their brutal strength. But Cinnamon had torn through their ranks and slain their king in a battle that had reshaped the balance of the forest.

He had claimed victory. He had built a pack.

But one crab survived.

And it returned, with a master.

The lightning people.

Their leader, a being cloaked in arcs of thunder, sat on a throne mounted atop the surviving Scale Crab’s back. With a wave of his hand, he led his tribe of lightning warriors against Cinnamon’s pride.

The war that followed was fierce, brutal, and bloody. It ended in a draw, no clear victor, but the enemy had retreated, wounded and scattered.

Since then, the lightning people had launched raid after raid against Cinnamon’s pack.

And Cinnamon had let them.

He saw it as opportunity. A chance for his pride to grow strong. To evolve. To adapt.

Over time, they had grown resistant to lightning, learned to move faster, strike quicker. The raids had forged them into steel.

Which was why...

ROOOOAAAAAR!!!

Cinnamon’s roar shook the air, a deep, thunderous sound that echoed across the battlefield. A radiant purple aura exploded from his body, cascading like a wave.

Silence fell.

Then...

Splash!

The poison lake rippled.

From its shimmering, toxic depths, once the graveyard of Cinnamon’s fallen kin, lions rose.

Reborn.

Blazing purple light burned in their eyes. Dozens, then hundreds, charged out of the lake, their manes crackling with the same ominous energy that flowed from Cinnamon himself. Their paws thundered against the earth as they surged into the fray, snarling and pouncing with deadly precision.

Kenzo’s eyes widened, a grin spreading across his face.

Kanae watched them pour into the battle, then turned her gaze to Cinnamon. She knew his true size, knew he could have crushed these enemies on his own. But doing so would have put the Hunters in danger, caught in the shockwaves of his sheer might.

This method was better. Smarter.

“A clever kitty,” she murmured with a faint smirk. Then she raised her voice. “Form teams! One group of lions per Hunter!”

The A-Ranks, still recovering from their initial panic at the sudden arrival of the purple-eyed beasts, quickly caught on. With renewed vigor, they regrouped, each one now accompanied by a dozen roaring, poison-wreathed lions as they charged their enemies.

The tide of battle was shifting.

And Cinnamon’s pride had returned.

---

Kaede hummed absently as she was dragged through the sky, soaring above drifting clouds and towering mountain peaks. The wind whipped past her, tugging at her clothes and hair, but she barely noticed.

Only a few minutes had passed, yet the endless sky and shifting scenery had already become boring.

With a sigh, she pulled open her system interface and began scrolling through it.

"Wow, I have so many materials in my inventory," she muttered. "I’m definitely going to have to organize all of this eventually..."

---

You have leveled up ×4

You have acquired: Lightning Rune ×2

---

Kaede blinked, then grinned. "Whoa, I still get rewards even when my minions do the killing?" She pumped her fist. "Nice! I mean, I still get EXP when they defeat enemies, so it tracks... although only six levels for that many monsters? Guess the EXP drops when I’m too far away."

She flicked through her items with renewed interest. "So now I’ve got three runes. One Frost Rune, and two Lightning Runes..."

Before she could examine them further, the manta-ray creature suddenly dove toward a gaping crevice nestled between two jagged peaks. The wind howled louder as they descended into the dark, cavernous opening carved into the mountain’s heart.

As soon as they entered, the creature released her.

Kaede’s eyes widened as she plummeted.

"We’re here already?" she muttered, glancing down. The floor was far below, and several Humanoid figures were waiting, watching.

"Alright, Equip, Leorio."

Blue-furred boots shimmered into existence on her feet before turning invisible. Her descent didn’t slow, but just before impact...

Thud!

Kaede landed squarely on her feet, her knees bending slightly to absorb the shock. A faint shockwave rippled outward, disturbing dust and pebbles.

She blinked. "That felt... weird. The boots just rotated my body mid-air so I’d land feet first." She looked down, then grinned. "Neat."

Her attention was pulled upward as a deep, thunderous voice echoed across the mountain chamber.

"SO THIS IS THE GIRL THAT DEFEATED THE COLOSSUS."

Kaede looked up.

There, seated atop a jagged throne carved into the mountain itself, was a massive figure. His body crackled with energy, arcs of lightning dancing across his broad frame. Glowing eyes peered at her from beneath a horned helmet, and the sheer pressure of his presence made the air feel heavy.

Kaede straightened, eyes narrowing slightly. Her curiosity was piqued.

"So," she murmured, "this must be the boss."

---

NAME: Maple | Lv: 57

HP: 12700 / 12700. MP: 1340 / 1340.

STATUS

STR: 171

VIT: 21517

AGI: 213

DEX: 129

INT: 131

PER: 111

SP: 154

Physical Damage Resistance: 1700%