How did I turn my victim into a phoenix-like hero?

"Chi chi chi chi!"

Captain Kangaroo Head threw another punch, his arm stretching rapidly like a rubber band, hurtling towards Cass's shoulder like a bullet.

Friction

The activation of Cass's Mind Talent.

"...Chirp chirp!!"

That's it again.

Captain Kangaroo Head was clearly agitated; his fist made no impact, but instead made strange contact with Cass's shoulder before sliding to the side.

The missed punch left Captain Kangaroo Head wide open, but Cass was too far from the enemy, and his attack couldn't cut off the enemy's outstretched hand.

After all, the Kangaroo Head Captain is Lv9, and while he has thick skin and flesh, his thick fur also provides a certain level of defense.

Cass rushed forward.

"Cass! Don't be impulsive!"

That shout came from Bridgman, who, sensing the danger, drew her beloved sword.

Cass rushed toward the enemy, who was 5 meters away, and swung his straight sword horizontally, the blade gleaming menacingly.

The skill "Sonic Slash" is activated.

Upon reaching the attack range, a blue light enveloped the sword, which flew straight toward the kangaroo-headed captain's long neck.

Captain Kangaroo Head suddenly grinned.

"!"

It felt like a cold hand brushed against his back, his sixth sense issuing a warning. Just before the blade touched the enemy's neck, Cass stopped his skill, raising his sword to assume a defensive stance.

Captain Kangaroo Head unleashed a powerful flying kick!

"Well!!"

Cass flew high into the air, and even though he was holding his sword to defend himself, he still felt that several of his ribs might be broken.

Captain Kangaroo Head's right arm has been retracted, ready to fire the catapult cannon again.

boom!

A series of cracking sounds rang out, and Brid charged forward like a dump truck, kicking up a cloud of dust, as her bullet-like rapier pierced through the head of the kangaroo-headed captain.

The kangaroo-headed captain, with a wild imagination, spurted blood and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Goo!"

Unable to stop, Bridgman simply tucked her legs in, flew out and crashed into two large trees, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a stop.

"You two! You're in too much danger!"

Colesie first went to Cass's side, where she was closest, and used the "Small Healing" skill. A small spherical green light shone from the center of her palm, and the gentle light approached Cass's injured area.

"Thank you, Corsi."

After feeling a comfortable warmth, Cass felt the pain disappear completely as his bones set.

Colesie didn't reply, her expression serious: "Next is Brid..."

"I'm fine, I'll just take some medicine."

Brid emerged from the smoke and dust, sheathed her rapier at her waist, took a sip of a healing potion from her watch, winced at the bitter taste, and brushed the dust off her body, even her proud orange ponytail was covered with twigs and leaves.

"Luckily you acted in time, otherwise I would be the one with a hole in my head."

If Brid hadn't killed Captain Kangaroo Head beforehand, Cass, who was full of openings in mid-air, would have been severely injured or killed if he had taken a set of Iron Spike Fist punches.

"It's all because you insisted on a one-on-one duel with Captain Kangaroo Head. I told you to take it one step at a time, and not to get carried away when fighting dungeon monsters, but you just wouldn't listen."

"...Sorry. I meant to imagine this kangaroo-headed captain as Cliff and use him as a training subject to give it a try."

“Cass, we’re a team, there’s really no need to fight the monster one-on-one, besides, won’t we be fighting together as a trio?”

"Yes. You're right, I was really a bit...too hasty. I won't do that next time."

"...You've been in a rush all day. Is something wrong?"

"No...maybe I'm just too eager to prove myself."

Cass smiled, but Brid did not.

"Ah~ By the way, Brid, don't you really need me to treat you?"

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Corsi quickly interjected, "You're not very good at controlling your talent [Speed ​​Stacking], are you? But luckily you're fast, which is why you saved Cass."

In contrast, without learning any support skills, I'm completely useless in combat.

Brid sighed and went along with Corcy's idea:

"No, thanks to you, we didn't have to travel injured. Besides, my [Speed ​​Stack] is prone to damage. It's supposed to be an AGI (Agility) related skill, but it actually increases END (Durability) the most. Thank you for healing me every time."

Cass echoed, "That's right, it's thanks to Corcy that we've been able to fight continuously."

“Is that so…”

Corsi shifted her body somewhat shyly.

"yes..."

Cole didn't notice that Brid was staring at her two peaches with a somewhat resentful look.

"By the way, let's hurry up and get the crystal cores, it would be troublesome if someone stole them."

Cass and Brid glanced at the monster's corpses lying haphazardly on the ground.

It's like leaving money on the ground without picking it up.

The three of them quickly got to work.

Brid used her dagger to remove the crystal core and asked, "Corcy, speaking of which, are you going to help out at the coffee shop at home later?"

"Yeah. I told my family I had to be home before 6 pm, so I can't stay up too late with you guys... Whew!"

The ground suddenly shook violently.

Brid took a quick step to protect Corcy, pulled her into her arms, and lay down on her stomach.

"W-wh-what happened? An earthquake!? Didn't the book say that dungeons never have earthquakes?"

"Calm down, I'm here! Damn it, I don't remember it being this windy on the first floor!"

The sounds of monsters running and roaring filled the air, mixed with the screams of explorers. The ground undulated like a raging sea, making it impossible to stand firmly.

"there!"

Cass planted his sword in the ground to steady it and pointed in a direction.

"What is this?" Brid asked in confusion, while Corsi beside her looked apprehensive.

A dark energy ray shot down from the horizon, creating a hole in the first floor, causing a strong wind to howl, whipping up sand, stones, and vegetation, while simultaneously encroaching on the ground like a digging machine.

23. An Unfamiliar Ceiling

Section D, Level 1.

Four young people surrounded a monster—the "Dead Tree Spirit".

It looked like a dead tree, with a pale yellow trunk about 20 centimeters in diameter and about three meters tall, much smaller than the ancient trees around it. But on the upper part of the trunk, there were two tree holes side by side, emitting a purplish-white phosphorescence, which were its two eyes. The branches that stretched out to the left and right swayed like slender hooks.

The third tree hole beneath the two side-by-side tree holes opened its mouth and roared, "Ughhhhhh!" Its eyes swept over the people in front of it, unsure of where to direct its hatred.

While the tree spirit's lock on was still uncertain, and while they hesitated...

"Boss!"

"Everyone, get out of the way."

Cliff waited for the moment the dead tree spirit opened its mouth, then swung his iron fist, the size of a sandbag, at the dead tree spirit's weak point—its mouth.

Even without using skills, at Lv10, I could easily defeat a Lv7 withered tree spirit with my stats alone.

Next, the monster will be pierced through by itself and turned into experience points for nurturing and leveling up.

As I was thinking this, the ground shook violently.

"!?"

Cliff lost his footing and fell flat on his face, slid and groaned all the way to the withered tree spirit.

“…”

Cliff looked up at the withered tree spirit.

A hint of doubt flashed in the phosphorescent eyes of the withered tree spirit, and it quickly opened its mouth—

puff.

It bit Cliff's head.

"Boss! Everyone come quick, the boss has been bitten!"

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