The Martial Unity

"That being said," Rui remarked stoically. "We can discard the species that failed to reach the Senior Realm."

"Why's that?" Kane furrowed his eyebrows.

Rui coldly glanced at the corpses before him. "Because if any species were not able to evolve into Senior-level producing species, then there's no chance that they produced the Master-level being guarding the dungeon core."

"I don't get it," Kane remarked. "If all the creatures underwent one-forty thousand years of evolution, then shouldn't they all have received the same evolutionary boost?"

"Time is hardly the only factor that would affect the end power granted by extensive evolution," Rui replied quietly with a detached tone. "Some species, for better or for worse, are simply superior. They possess greater evolutionary potential than other species. It is most likely that the Master-level creature guarding the dungeon core is that of an apex predator species."

Based on the species outside of the Mellow, Rui could make a pretty remarkable estimate of the kind of creature that guarded the dungeon core.

Unfortunately, none of them were optimistic about their probability of escape or survival.

He did not want to face a Master-level version of tigers or leopards. He could only hope that it was a herbivorous species but did not possess the propensity to hunt for them.

In such a small, limited environment, there was simply nowhere to run. Perhaps that was the reason that the Divine Doctor didn't get to immediately exploring this place.

While he could try his gold tried and tested tactics of using fear and trance-induction substances, just like the dungeon did, he would be doomed if he ran into anything stronger than Senior-level beasts or monsters.

If he was as smart as Rui knew he was, then he would have undoubtedly deduced the same things that Rui had. That, in turn, would explain why he stayed away from the center of the dungeon as much as possible.

Suddenly, a wave of peril washed over them.

RUMBLE!

The two of them leaped away, turning in the direction of the source with a grave expression.

Yet, they were hit with a wave of sound louder than almost any other.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAWWRRRGHRGRHW!!!!"

BOOOM!!!

Kane simply evaded it by putting as much distance between himself and the source as possible while Rui calmly withstood it.

A cold smile appeared on his face.

Recognition flashed in his eyes.

"To think I would see you here of all places, roaring dragon."

It had sharp green scales across the entirety of its long body that stretched out like a serpent. It was closer to what would be considered an eastern dragon back on Earth. Rui recognized it instantly because he had studied it when looking for which potion he ought to consume.

He had chosen the Roaring Dragon Blood Potion. A potion that was created from the blood of the dragon that he was looking at at the very moment. One that had significantly improved his breathing capacity and had elevated his power greatly.

Yet, it was different from the one he studied, having grown longer, stronger, and more ferocious.

Yet, the Tree of Life allowed Rui to recognize the species that he was looking at was an evolutionary derivative of the same species that had led to the creation of the potion he consumed.

Unfortunately, the creature didn't seem to care to reminisce.

Rui hadn't failed to note the trance that it was in, just like every other creature that they had run into in the Mellow Dungeon.

It inhaled deeply, causing an enormous vacuum that shook the very world around them, before exhal—

'Breathing Crucifix.' Rui coldly cast a powerful hypnotic shackle on its breathing.

BOOM!!

The resulting attack was so weak that it was hard to believe that it was from the same creature!

"Rrrfff?" It huffed nervously as fear entered its eyes.

Yet, Rui was far from done.

His eyes grew malevolent as he inhaled deeply, expanding his lungs more than he ever had before. He activated the Metabody System, using the Hypertrophic Surge to gain an enormous surge of raw power.

Then, he roared.

Six Mighty Roar Flash Blasts of unprecedented power shot one after another rapidly as he used Transverse Resonance tier six. The six sonic projectiles swiftly merged into a single projectile as they underwent simultaneous constructive superposition, becoming a singular attack.

It was the most powerful attack that Rui had ever unleashed in his entire life.

BOOOOOM!!!

The resulting impact was so large that a crater large enough to swallow mountains erupted on the spot.

RUMBLE!

The very lands shook beneath their feet as immense tsunamis of seismic radiation circled in and around the Mellow Manifold.

The evolved roaring dragon was nowhere to be seen.

"That was ruthless," Kane remarked, half wary and half amazed. "Your raw power has grown since the last time you did that."

"Natural growth," Rui replied. "I have yet to reach my physical prime, so I will grow stronger unless I let myself go."

Although it was not too substantial, he had indeed grown stronger physically. The time that they had spent in the Beast Domain had subjected their body to greater stress on average.

Their bodies had slowly adapted to the pressures, growing stronger than they would have had they lived in the comforts of the Kandrian Empire in the past three years.

"Let's head back," Rui remarked.

"…Uh, why?"

"We have exhausted some of our Martial Heart," he stoically replied, turning as he headed back to the coasts of the Mellow islands. "Remember. Time is on our side. I don't want to risk anything, so we will always stay away from the dangerous margins that we were forced to suffer in the Beast Domain. Here, we can afford to do things extremely carefully."

His dark eyes swam around as he began processing all the information that he had gathered in the meantime.

It wouldn't be too long before he had a concrete direction for his plan to get out of this prison.

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