As Alex sees the six large, comical-looking lizards walking almost like humans despite their obvious animal nature, he slowly steps forward, positioning himself in front of Benezia and Tereza. Even with the massive river of lava beside them and flames leaking out of the surrounding stones, the area remains dimly lit, leaving behind an eerie atmosphere.
Princess Jewel wants to eat fried lizard! She will capture this tasty-looking ingredient to be prepared by her Royal Head Chef.
... I guess I'll have to be the Vanguard once again! I'm getting a bad flashback from my time in Mass Effect.
No longer hesitating, Alex rushes forward and approaches the closest lizard.
I need to conserve my strength. I can't fight by blindly using my skills for every little problem. Aura, MP, and even my stamina. I need to preserve it all.
The lizard stares at Alex in confusion and hunger as it steps forward, stretching out its claws while drool runs down its chin, dripping onto its chest before splattering against the ground.
Alex draws his [Executioner's Blade R2] and readies himself, taking on a defensive stance, activating Ren.
The lizard, not understanding what's happening, casually slashes at Alex, its mouth almost overflowing with saliva.
Creepy fuck!
Alex uses his blade to parry the claw, his STR letting him withstand the half-hearted attack with ease.
You have received no damage
The lizard, thrown off by Alex's defense, stumbles forward and loses its footing.
Alex, seizing the opportunity, steps in and slashes across its upper body, cutting deeply into it. The lizard screams in pain as it collapses, abandoning its silly two-legged posture and instinctively dropping onto all fours.
You have dealt 101 damage to Giant Lizard
Alex presses his advantage, spins around, and, after leaping into the air, slashes down again, this time aiming for its lowered head, aiming to decapitate his enemy.
You have dealt 105 x 3 = 315 damage to Giant Lizard
You have killed Giant Lizard
The other lizards screech in rage as their companion is beheaded right before them and rush forward.
They quickly surround Alex, slashing at him with their claws, while one spins and whips its tail at him.
Alex calmly dodges the tail and weaves around the claws, blocking from time to time with his mighty sword if he can't dodge.
As the lizards grow more desperate, he counters with a quick slash of his own, focusing on speed and refusing to overextend, to avoid leaving himself vulnerable.
You have dealt 70 damage to Giant Lizard
With all their attention on Alex, Benezia appears from behind. Her sword, glowing faintly with biotic power, pierces into one lizard's neck. She pulls it free and instantly blinks to another, slashing across its throat and making it gurgle grotesquely as its throat has been slit.
Meanwhile, Jewel has climbed onto another one of the lizards and sinks her ruby teeth deep into its neck, creating a savage injury, as blood sprays out with every pump of its heart.
Jewel has dealt 112 x 3 = 336 damage to Giant Lizard
Jewel has caused bleeding (neck)
That one's done for.
With only two lizards left, a half-transformed Tereza appears, swooping down onto the one Alex had already injured. He vaguely sees her biting into its neck, the creature's desperate scream echoing through the cavern.
Trusting her to finish the job, Alex rushes toward the last lizard and slashes at it. The beast desperately raises its claws to block, but Alex's massive blow still cuts through its defense, making it reel in pain.
You have dealt 55 damage to Giant Lizard
Not letting up, Alex follows with slash after slash, this time prioritizing speed over raw power. He refuses to expose himself with big, telegraphed swings, keeping the lizard completely on the defensive.
You have dealt 67 damage to Giant Lizard
You have dealt 61 damage to Giant Lizard
You have dealt 81 damage to Giant Lizard
Finally, as the lizard collapses to its knees, Alex doesn't hesitate, stabbing his sword deep into its neck, finishing it off.
You have dealt 71 x 3 = 213 damage to Giant Lizard
You have killed Giant Lizard
"Good riddance!" Alex growls. "These lizards disgust me!"
Tereza steps forward and spits out a mouthful of blood. "They also taste disgusting!"
Princess Jewel thinks these lizards taste a little like her beloved chickens. She rather enjoys the unique flavour.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Alex sighs and shifts his attention towards the corpses in front of him.
"Gray Quality bodies?" Alex mutters as he inspects one lizard. "No loot either."
He recalls the equally disappointing [Red Stone] Tereza had picked up earlier.
I don't see much potential here....
"I see a lot of potential," Benezia states flatly, her sword still in hand.
"You gotta explain that one to me," Alex says. "Their bodies are worthless... even Menchi couldn't turn this kind of meat into anything useful. White Quality dishes are nearly impossible with shitty meat like that, and Gray Quality dishes are a joke—only desperate low-level players or Realm workers would bother. She could maybe sell them to the workers for a pittance. What, one or two thousand FC at most? And that's with a lot of effort. It's barely worth picking it up."
His face grows serious as he continues, "The stones Tereza found are the same—cheap, common crafting junk. We can maybe sell them for a few hundred FC. This place looks promising at first glance, but it could just be an empty area created by the system. There's no guarantee anything worthwhile is hidden here. Opportunities outside canon are almost always worse than those tied to the actual story. This seems like a generic buffer area."
Princess Jewel agrees, but she also believes in her LUK. She thinks Essences might be found here—maybe related to Fire, Earth, or Lava. This generic peasant place would be the perfect location for generic items to appear.
"Hmmm... she kinda sold me there," Tereza admits, staring at Jewel. "As we talked about, sometimes this spider is smart! She just acts silly to annoy us."
It's just her personality... she's a child after all. That has nothing to do with intelligence, but character.
"Even setting that aside—which is fine enough as a goal—I'm more interested in the lizards," Benezia says, still calm. "They're absurdly strong. Despite their worthless bodies, there must be a reason the system put them here. An average player would never survive fighting six of them. Overcoming this wall should count for something."
"A normal player would have problems even getting inside in the first place..." Alex interjects. "This reeks of one of those generic areas placed by the system that exist just to waste time. Still... I'm willing to be proven wrong. Let's keep going then."
The group presses deeper, continuing their exploration of the underground world hidden beneath Little Garden.
They stumble across more lizards, which are mercilessly dispatched by them, Alex always acting as the vanguard. His AGI, combined with Basic Footwork and Alexandrian Royal Swordsmanship, makes it nearly impossible for him to get hit, as he can easily dodge or parry any incoming attack.
Despite the easy enemies, many large boulders block their way. The single lava river has also split into multiple smaller ones, forming a maze and forcing the group to either find spots where they can jump across, or rely on Tereza carrying them over.
Even so, they make steady progress, quickly cutting down any enemy that crosses their path.
I hate this place. It's also getting warmer and warmer... how?
Jewel celebrates every victory by hopping onto the corpses of the lizards and dancing a little, seemingly having the time of her life, thoroughly enjoying their little adventure.
Tasty chicken ❤️
They also pick up more of the low-level crafting material Tereza discovered, [Red Stone].
Beautiful red stones ❤️
"... This is all trash," Alex comments, not sharing Jewel's enthusiasm at all. "We're wasting time. We've been here for hours. According to my [Destiny Watch (Orbment) R2], it's already past 4 AM. Still, I'm a little curious... I noticed we're moving away from our initial position, since the volcanoes were lined up in a line. So why is the heat rising if we're moving further away from them?"
"I noticed that as well," Benezia replies approvingly, slightly smiling at Alex. "This underground is a rather strange place. It wouldn't surprise me to find another volcano here, one that doesn't extend to the surface and is kept underground. In fact..." The group rounds another large boulder and finally sees a small lake of lava in the distance. In the middle of it lies another medium-sized volcano, fresh lava spilling down its sides and feeding into the lake. "That looks like the source."
Tereza wipes away her sweat as she speaks. "This is insane..."
Princess Jewel likes it warm, but this is a little too hot even for her.
Alex briefly activates Gyo and scans the volcano in the distance with interest before shifting his focus onto the small lake.
He spots rocks scattered through the lake, positioned fairly close together.
"I see rocks... we should be able to cross over if we jump from one stone to another.... So it's possible to reach the underground volcano. I guess we have our destination now," Alex mutters.
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