Can a Frankenstein's monster be an adventurer?

Chapter 82 The Thief and the Dog

A few hours before Luo Lan left, at the exit of the first floor of the Rift Ruins.

A ripple spread across the purple light curtain, and a blurry gray figure staggered out from within.

He rolled several times on the gravel-covered ground and plunged headfirst into a thicket of bushes near the exit.

He knelt on the gravel ground, his tattered scarf covered with dark red dried blood scabs, and the left side of his leather vest was torn from his shoulder to his waist, revealing a large patch of red and swollen skin underneath, corroded by the [Corrupted Blood Rain].

Swann, the Shadow Assassin who faked his death and escaped.

As soon as Swan took his first breath of fresh air, a metallic taste rose from deep in his throat.

"Cough, cough cough—"

With his back hunched and his forehead almost touching the ground, Swan coughed five or six times in a row, each cough bringing up a mouthful of bloody froth.

Blood foam fell onto the grayish-white gravel, mixed with some unidentified pieces of flesh.

"Damn it... I'm lucky to be alive."

Swann used the back of his hand, which was covered in a torn glove, to vigorously wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Huff huff..."

He was panting heavily, trying his best to regulate his breathing rhythm.

It felt like there was a broken bellows pulling inside his chest, and every breath pulled at the damaged extraordinary circuit, causing a sharp, needle-like pain.

Swan limped toward the nearest thick old tree and slid down against the trunk.

The rough texture of the tree bark pressed against Swann's injured back, making him wince in pain, but he was too lazy to change his position.

Recalling his experience in that remote, low-level dungeon-type rift, even though he had escaped alive, Swan still felt an overwhelming sense of lingering fear.

Even a well-prepared novice adventurer party can easily defeat the Black Iron Rank Walking Mushrooms and Dire Wolves three to five times.

Even the bronze-level flower fairies on the second floor and the silver-level skeletons on the third floor are nothing to worry about.

For Swann, a Gold-ranked individual, this should have been just a simple exploration to earn some extra money.

But he had the worst luck imaginable and ran right into the experimental subject that [Flesh-Blooming Rotting Nest] had placed there.

Those fleshy slimes crawling all over the ground, although only at the peak of the Bronze tier in Roland's [True Sight] rating, are a nightmare to deal with if you don't have a way to deal with the corresponding elemental damage.

However, Swann, a Gold-rank Shadow Assassin specializing in assassination and stealth, is best known for his Shadow Enchantment and one-hit-kill physical sneak attacks.

However, this method is ineffective against flesh slimes, which are chaotic variants that have physical resistance and can split when provoked.

In the realm of extraordinary powers, elemental advantages and disadvantages are paramount. If the affinity is poor, even a Gold-tier character will struggle against a Bronze-tier one. For example, Swann's [Shadow Enchantment] is extremely ineffective against [Chaos Aberration].

If you're willing to put in the effort and use some tools, Swann can also kill groups of flesh-and-blood slimes.

But in the third level of the Rift Ruins, there are nearly a hundred flesh and blood slimes!

Swan is here to make money, not to recklessly act recklessly. He won't take risks that aren't worth it.

So Swan was originally planning to evacuate.

But they encountered a strange "death knight" who blocked their escape route.

Seeing how easily he could kill those slimes, Swan stopped running away, still hoping to follow him around and make a quick buck.

Who knows, this rift not only contains all sorts of grotesque flesh and blood experimental subjects, but also hides the corruption of the Outer Gods who steal blasphemy!

As the core of the Rift fell into the altar inside the Blood Sacrifice Chamber, it caused the blood to churn.

When the evil slime aggregate, with its upper body in human form and its lower body covered in blood bubbles, was born accompanied by a mournful wail, Swan felt that everything was over.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Swan had predicted.

Swann's despair reached its peak when he was already affected by the Skeleton Priest's curse and then attacked from both sides by two evil thought slimes that had split off from him.

For Swann, dealing with even the most basic flesh and blood slimes was an extremely troublesome task, let alone this slime agglomeration monster formed from the fusion of countless corpses and the evil thoughts of Outer Gods.

To survive, Swan used every trick in the book, even exhausting all the tools and potions he had saved up over the years from taking on shady jobs.

Even so, it failed to inflict any substantial or effective damage on the smaller evil thought slime.

In the end, he couldn't hold on any longer and could only grit his teeth and place his last hope on [Feign Death lv.3].

Like a real corpse, he lay stiffly in the ruins, not daring to utter a sound.

Those few minutes lying in the "Corrupted Blood Rain" pretending to be a corpse were the longest few minutes of Swan's life.

Blood rain, melting flesh, fell on my body, each drop seeping in, the burning sensation seeping from the skin all the way to the bone.

Swan could only endure it all, feeling that his "Feign Death" skill was about to break down due to the intense pain.

Just when Swan was about to give up, the earth began to tremble.

Through the cracks of his apparent death, Swann desperately opened his eyes a crack and witnessed a shocking scene—

A skeleton giant over twenty meters tall.

The ghostly blue soul flames danced on every vertebra and rib of the skeletal giant, who held a massive bone blade wider than the entire corridor in his hand. He slashed down at the mountain of evil thoughts amidst the corrupting blood rain.

As for the final battle, the outcome of the giant monsters fighting each other, Swann had no idea.

All he knew was that he had seized this only chance to escape.

Activating the damaged extraordinary path, he alternated between using [Instant Step] and [Shadow Escape], running upwards with all his might.

After passing through the still-burning flower sea fire on the second floor, and through the scattered demon wolves and walking mushrooms on the first floor, I plunged headfirst into the purple light curtain.

Until now.

"Ronan? I wonder if that's his real name."

Swan leaned against the tree trunk to catch his breath and muttered something to himself.

"I'll ask around when we get back to the Brotherhood base... This kind of ruthless character who can shred a skeletal giant with his bare hands must be close to Diamond rank in terms of combat strength, right? He can't be some nobody."

Thinking of the Brotherhood, Swann subconsciously reached out and touched the multi-functional composite belt around his waist, which had previously been covered with hidden weapons and gadgets.

But my fingertips only touched an empty hook.

"N-That's all?"

He frantically searched through his belt with all ten fingers, unbuttoning every hidden pocket and feeling every hidden seam.

Left belt loop: Empty. Right spare pocket: Empty. Lower back emergency compartment: Empty.

"Where's my Blood-Removing Bone Dagger?!"

Swann let out an incredulous gasp.

He didn't care about losing all his savings to save his life; as long as he was alive, he could always earn money back.

But this [Blood-Removing Bone Dagger] is different.

That's a limited-edition guide token issued annually by the Grey Legacy Brotherhood to its official members, engraved with special runes that can sense the location of strongholds.

Note that this is a "limited release." Within the [Gray Remnant Brotherhood], which specializes in shady businesses, there's an unwritten rule—

Each person can only obtain a token once in their lifetime by passing the membership test. If you lose the token, that's your own problem.

Conversely, if you use some "tricks" to obtain the token from other fraternity members, you can skip the assessment and join the fraternity directly.

In other words, if this thing is lost, Swan will find it difficult to find Brotherhood outposts with hidden barriers, which is tantamount to cutting off his future source of income.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Swan slammed his fist into the tree trunk behind him. Fallen leaves rained down on him.

"Damn it, ouch—"

The shock aggravated the wound on his back, causing him to gasp in pain.

Swan's legs went weak, and he slumped to the ground, staring blankly up at the purple light curtain at the exit of the rift.

"Oh no... this is really the end..."

Swan muttered to himself, his consciousness beginning to drift due to exhaustion and blood loss.

[Should we go back to pick it up?]

[Are you kidding me?]

It's unknown whether that evil entity inside is still there. Even if it's dead, Swann's current half-crippled body doesn't have the strength to make another trip to the third level of the Rift Ruins.

"rustle……"

A slight rustling sound came from the bushes on the right.

Even when resting with a heart as cold as ashes, the hearing of a gold-tier thief remains sharp.

His muscles tensed instantly, and he gripped the knife in his hand.

Following the direction of the sound, he crouched down, lowered his center of gravity, and forcibly activated the damaged extraordinary circuits within his body, his figure becoming blurred in the shadows.

Swann's [Low Presence] skill allowed him to suppress his presence to the lowest possible level. He silently trod through the fallen leaves and pebbles, making his way to the side of the bushes.

Parting the branches and leaves, Swan was greeted by a scene he hadn't expected.

[How come there's a short-tailed dire wolf here??]

It had gray fur and was a size larger than an ordinary dire wolf. Its tail was only half intact, and the break was covered with scar tissue.

It lay on the ground, limbs outstretched, its ribs rising and falling with its heavy breathing.

His mouth was half-open, his tongue was dangling in the mud, his eyes were cloudy, and his body was weak, but he was still conscious.

Swann frowned as he stared intently at the beast.

This is outside the Rift Ruins. Although it is during the Demon Tide period, there is some dissipated chaotic energy around us. During the Demon Tide period, the Rift Ruins will dissipate chaotic energy, which is why the chaotic mist is formed.

However, as a low-level dungeon-type rift, even during the demonic tide period, the amount of chaotic energy dissipating into the outside air is still very low.

The lower the level of the chaotic monster in the Rift, the more dependent it is on the high concentration of chaotic energy inside the Rift.

Once removed from an environment with a high concentration of chaotic energy, they will quickly wither away, like fish that have been drained of water.

For example, the stitched corpse body that Luo Lan once used, after leaving the Rift Ruins for a period of time, was not only not weak, but even exhausted to the point of dying.

At best, a demon wolf is just a low-level Rift monster of the Black Iron rank.

Logically speaking, outside the Rift Ruins, Black Iron-rank Rift Ruins monsters should have already fainted and died due to the sudden change in environment.

[But... this dire wolf seems to have been outside for quite some time; it's just weak, but hasn't fainted...]

The demonic wolf before Swann had completely dried the layer of fungal carpet mud clinging to its fur—indicating that it had been outside for quite some time.

But it was still awake.

Weak, but awake—that's a rare find.

"Yo-ho! Lady Luck is on my side, my luck is turning around..."

Swan stared at the unusual wolf and couldn't help but whistle excitedly.

The next second, Swann became like a gray ghost.

He darted from the side of the bushes to just above the wolf's nape, moving as fast as a gray gust of wind.

The dark iron scimitar flipped, its back facing forward, and landed precisely on the back of the short-tailed demon wolf's neck.

"Bang."

With a dull thud, the weakened wolf didn't even have time to struggle before its limbs went limp and it fainted.

Swan crouched down, tore off the tattered gray scarf from his neck, and quickly tied the wolf's hind legs together.

It was tied in the Brotherhood's standard deadlock knot, so even if the beast woke up, it wouldn't be able to break free without its sharp teeth reaching the knot.

Holding the unconscious wolf by the scruff of its neck, Swann grinned, a blood-stained smile spreading across his face.

"Hey, short-tailed puppy, all my medical bills and equipment damage from this trip are up to you."

It's no wonder that Swann was able to pull himself back from his despondency so quickly.

Not all demons in this world can live without the aura of chaos.

For example, goblins, cave spiders, ghouls, ogres, etc., do not need the Chaos Aura to survive normally.

Only the original chaotic demons in the Rift Ruins, perhaps because they were born and lived in the Rift Ruins and spent their entire lives immersed in an environment with a high concentration of chaotic energy, have become inseparable from the chaotic energy.

Even worse, some monsters undergo malignant chaotic mutations due to the chaotic aura, becoming even more dependent on it.

However, the exact reason why monsters require different living conditions remains undetermined in Akquad.

The scholars of Akquad, especially the new researchers of the Rift and Life branches of the [Secret Academy], have written countless graduation theses based on this "innovative argument".

Thanks to these scholars' tireless and meticulous hydrological research.

The monsters in Akquad are broadly divided into two categories: natural monsters that do not rely on the aura of chaos, and rift monsters that rely on the aura of chaos.

Natural monsters are born in nature, and their habits have been largely studied. They may have existed on this earth for as long as civilization itself.

Rift Monsters are born in the Rifts and are mostly novel species. In recent years, as the number of Rifts has increased, the Rift Monsters have become increasingly bizarre and varied.

For example, the Demon Wolf is a typical monster from the Rift.

This "short-tailed" creature, a Black Iron-tier demonic wolf, is a mutated individual of the Rift Demon that can survive in an environment with scarce chaotic energy. In the underground black market, it has a special name—"Outer World Species".

Each "Outer Boundary Species" is a precious monster specimen that is in high demand and short supply.

Whether it's given to the Rift Beast Tamers of [Scorched Earth] who spend their days researching how to strengthen their mounts, or thrown to the researchers of the Life School of [Secret Academy] who are obsessed with mutation research, or even sold directly to the symbiotic enslavers of [Paradise Without Sin]...

With just its ability to adapt to the outside world, this short-tailed wolf can easily rake in dozens of gold coins.

The few dozen gold coins earned were a drop in the ocean compared to the ancient treasure, the Rift Core, which Swan had initially resolved to seize and was worth hundreds of gold coins.

But for Swan, who has now survived the ordeal, this money is enough to make up for the expenses he incurred with all the personal items and potions he used up in this damned, unlucky rift.

[This place is not safe to stay for long...]

Swan gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and deftly grabbed the knot, throwing the wolf, which was taller than a person, directly behind him.

The [Low Presence] perk was activated again, covering both itself and the Dire Wolf, and it gradually faded into the distance...