After going into the sea, I met the witch.

The intense spiritual sound waves caused the unicorn dragon to tremble violently, its mind going blank. Although its body continued to rush forward due to inertia, it had lost control of its master.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ryan suddenly exerted force with both legs, leaping several meters into the air, and brought down the greatsword he had been holding for a long time.

With both spirituality and physical fitness reaching the required standards, "second-stage power accumulation" is no longer a challenge for Ryan.

The greatsword, having achieved "second-stage charging," is imbued with unparalleled power by the rapidly flowing, shimmering white spiritual energy flowing across its blade.

Ryan's body began to fall under the influence of gravity. Just then, the front half of the unicorn dragon had already passed by, and the unicorn dragon's tail was near where he landed.

Having experienced the benefits of "tail removal," Ryan is now keen on dismembering the monsters he hunts.

With the special skill [Destroyer Lv.1], this action will be twice as effective.

The greatsword crashed down like a meteor, accompanied by a blend of ice blue and crimson.

"clang--!"

With a deafening roar, the powerful recoil forced Ryan to stagger backward, especially his right hand, which was holding the greatsword, which was now almost numb.

Ryan's pupils dilated involuntarily as he looked at the spot on the unicorn's tail where it had been struck by the Greatsword - Ferocious Ice.

There was only a shallow white mark there, and the thick armor on it hadn't even been cut open.

In layman's terms, this situation means "unbreakable defense".

The Greatsword Ferocious Ice, which accompanied Ryan in his conquest of the Ancient Forest and the slaying of the Rathalos leader, is now unable to even break through the defenses of a High-Rank Unicorn Dragon.

"Damn it, how are we supposed to fight like this?"

Ryan felt a chill run down his spine.

If you lack strength, you can avoid a head-on collision with the unicorn dragon; if you lack speed, you can use skills to interrupt the unicorn dragon's charge.

But the fact that the greatsword couldn't break through the defense really made one feel helpless.

The unique species are enormous, each one possessing an incredible level of vitality.

Unable to break through their defenses, do you want to defeat them with gua sha (scraping therapy)?

Maybe I could try it in my dreams.

Seeing the unicorn dragon crash into the sand, shaking its head, Ryan didn't hesitate any longer. He sheathed his greatsword and ran away.

This thing is not something he can attack right now.

Fortunately, Ryan was not too far from the "second petal" to begin with, and with his all-out sprint, the distance between him and the "second petal" became shorter and shorter.

At this point, the unicorn dragon also recovered from its "stunned state".

The physique of the [superior] unicorn dragon allowed it to recover quickly even when it was in a "fainting state".

Seeing Ryan getting further and further away, the unicorn dragon let out a deafening roar and then gave chase.

Chapter 102 The Reclusive Dragon Man: Dragon in the Mud

Rocky wasteland, second petal area.

Ryan, covered in dust and dirt, hid in the shade under a rock, watching the unicorn dragon thrashing its tail furiously dozens of meters away.

A few minutes later, the unicorn, having failed to find its prey, smashed a boulder several meters high with its tail in a fit of rage. Only then did it turn around unwillingly and return to the first petal area through the gap it had created in the cliff face.

Only then did Ryan breathe a sigh of relief.

He glanced at the surrounding rock formations, a look of relief flashing in his eyes.

The ecology of the second petal area is different from that of the first petal area. There are a large number of giant rock formations, and these rock formations seem to be connected to deeper underground cavern spaces, because Ryan can feel a distinct dampness in the breeze blowing from the cracks under the rock formations.

Thanks to this, he was able to hide quickly by taking advantage of the cover of the giant rock.

In such an environment, even a unicorn dragon could not possibly smash through giant rocks one by one to find his trace.

And so he escaped with his life.

"My luck is a bit bad..."

"That damned unicorn dragon, I'll remember this grudge!"

Ryan sighed.

As can be seen from the description of the [High Rank] Unicorn Dragon on the panel, this monster is one of the powerful overlords even in the inner area, that is, the "Stone Wasteland".

After all, although the monsters inhabiting the Stone Wasteland are stronger, it's impossible for just any special species to easily defeat the Rathalos leader and reach the [High Rank] level.

"The first lobe area should be the territory of the [high-ranking] unicorn dragon, and it chose to retreat not long after entering the second lobe area, most likely because the second lobe area also has its own overlord leader."

Ryan wondered to himself.

In nature, the more powerful a creature is, the less likely it is to invade the territory of another powerful creature, as this can easily lead to conflict.

Without further thought, Ryan stepped out from under the giant rock and began to explore the surrounding area.

Before long, he stood in front of a dark passage.

The second section is filled with giant rocks, but the green vegetation is pitifully scarce; as far as the eye can see, it is just a vast expanse of yellow sand.

In this situation, there was little point in exploring on the ground, so Ryan turned his attention to the caves that might exist beneath the rock strata.

The passage under this low, giant rock is not large; a person can barely squeeze through it.

Without much hesitation, Ryan put the greatsword into his spatial ring, then lay down and crawled into the passage.

The dimly lit passage was very quiet, except for the creaking sound of Ryan crawling and the faint sound of water flowing from the depths.

After climbing down for about half a minute, Ryan felt the passage gradually widen. Towards the end, even when he stood up, it didn't feel crowded.

The humid air and the increasingly clear sound of flowing water all confirmed his suspicions—that there was another ecosystem underground in the second petal area.

Not only that, the brightness of the environment gradually increased. It was some kind of fluorescent algae growing on the rock wall.

After traveling a while longer, a babbling brook appeared before Ryan's eyes.

Upon seeing this, his eyes lit up.

The presence of a river suggests that life likely exists in the vicinity. If he can find a unique species with a weakness and defeat it, he will be able to complete the awakening of the [Azure Medal].

Ryan refused to believe it; the vast, rocky wasteland was full of [high-rank] monsters.

Following the stream downstream, a huge cavern soon appeared before him.

The stalactites hanging upside down reflected a faint white light. Ryan's arrival startled a dozen or so cute creatures that looked like deer drinking water by the river. They scattered in fright and disappeared in the blink of an eye. A few of them, however, were more curious and stopped and turned around after running for a while, looking at this "bipedal creature" they had never seen before. When Ryan continued to walk, they ran away faster in fear. One of them was so frightened that something fell off its body.

Ryan stepped forward and picked it up.

[Spirit Deer Antlers: Spirit deer are small, gentle, timid creatures that cannot resist their curiosity. They are rare and incredibly fast runners. Their antlers contain abundant life force, making them an excellent ingredient for restorative potions. When pursued by enemies, they will voluntarily break off a section of their antlers to save their lives. Manifesting this to your physical form requires 3000 Spirit Points.]

"Good stuff!"

Ryan was overjoyed; he hadn't expected such an unexpected gain.

The amount of spiritual energy required to materialize into its true form shows that the vitality contained within the [Spirit Deer Antlers] is absolutely not to be underestimated.

Perhaps this will be of some help to Miss Cecilia's situation?

Ryan thought so.

Unfortunately, these spirit deer were incredibly fast at escaping, and catching them at his current speed would be impossible.

If one of the spirit deer hadn't been so timid that it broke off a piece of its antler, Ryan would have gotten nothing.

"Wouldn't this be considered a case of surviving a great calamity and being destined for good fortune?"

Ryan joked self-deprecatingly.

After carefully collecting this section of "Spirit Deer Antlers," Ryan continued forward.

The appearance of the spirit deer suggests that the size of this underground cavern and the number of creatures inhabiting it may exceed his initial expectations.

After a bend in the road, Ryan came to a fork in the river, where it split into two branches.

Ryan stroked his chin and decided to go to the left.

There are more deer footprints in the left passage than in the right passage.

Turn left and go forward. The light in the passage became noticeably brighter. When Ryan reached the end of the passage, the scene that came into view stunned him.

It was an old tree with only one branch remaining, most of its trunk embedded deep in the rock. Several spirit deer were kneeling beside the old tree. Although there was some panic in their eyes at Ryan's arrival, they did not run away as they had before, as if staying here was enough to make them feel safe.

Just as Ryan was about to approach, a dull thud of a wooden stick striking the ground reached his ears.

He looked up and followed the sound.

A figure wearing a conical hat woven from dark leaves and vines stood quietly on a protruding platform on the rock wall beside them.

Is it a person?!

A look of intense astonishment appeared in Ryan's eyes.

My travel clone is on this mysterious, isolated island, and this is the first time I've ever seen a living person.

"&*……%&……"

A hoarse voice, neither too loud nor too soft, came from the figure in the straw hat. It was a language he had never heard before, but Ryan could barely understand its meaning.

"...Hunting...the dragon in the mud...proving...qualification...in exchange with me..."

Ryan stared wide-eyed as a gray notification appeared before his eyes.

[Reclusive Dragonkin: Dragonkin are the original inhabitants of this mysterious island. They are few in number and possess extensive knowledge of this enigmatic land. You can try to communicate with them to make a deal or obtain information.]

"A dragonman? And he knows a lot about this mysterious island?"

Ryan blinked, a storm raging in his heart.

His knowledge of this isolated island had always come entirely from the notes of the hunting party's vice leader.

However, even the vice-leader of the hunting party was an outsider like him; the only difference was that he had arrived earlier.

Now, an island native has appeared before him, and is even willing to make a deal with him.

Although this transaction requires proof of "qualification," it is already extremely valuable.

"I agreed."

He nodded vigorously at the "hermit dragonman" standing on the rock wall: "However, where is the 'dragon in the mud'? Could you give me a hint?"

The dragon-man seems to possess a special language ability; it can understand what it says, and it can also understand the language that Ryan speaks.