Nope. Not happening.
Not a chance.
What even is that?
Of course I teleported out of there.
There was literally no option not to run.
There's no winning that.
Against Kagna, who was already borderline impossible to beat, they bring along a Spatial Movement user with a Speed-type profile that's obvious the second you check its Status. And that's Geere.
It's basically being told to go die.
If they come at you in that kind of formation, even if every Parallel Mind assembled at once, you still couldn't win.
Nope. Not a chance.
The Earth Dragon Geere looked pretty sleek — more like the Alaba in body shape.
It was big, sure, but unlike the stocky Kagna, its form was sharp and clearly built for speed.
And its actual Speed stat exceeded 4,000, so yeah, Speed-type for sure.
Combined with high Perception skills and Evasion skills, you'd get the feeling it has zero intention of taking a hit.
And while people tend to fixate on its speed, Geere's defense is actually pretty terrifying too.
Not on Kagna's level, but it's got high stats, skill-based boosts, a solid collection of resistances, and even High-Speed HP Recovery.
It doesn't get hit, and even if it does, it doesn't hurt.
What are you even supposed to do about that?
And on top of all that, its physical attack power is plenty high too.
Especially those blade-like things attached to both arms.
If those connected, I'm pretty sure you'd get sliced clean in half.
High-speed movement, a well-built frame, and attacks enhanced by those blades.
Of course, it comes standard with breath attacks too.
My attacks don't land, and even if they did, the power would be too low to matter.
What kind of unfair game is this?
Huh?
Wait — this guy's Level is lower than Kagna's, but in a way, isn't it even more troublesome?
For now, I've already placed a Mark on it. I'll wait for those two to separate before I make my move.
Marking is one of the effects of Insight. It lets you place a mark on a target.
As long as that mark is in place, you can pinpoint that target's location anywhere in the world.
Well, if it's somewhere I haven't explored, I can only get a rough idea of the area, but still.
The Lower Layer map isn't filled in yet, but the marks for Kagna and Geere are sitting right on top of each other.
They don't seem like they'll be separating anytime soon.
Incidentally, while a target is marked, you can check their Status at any time.
If I keep an eye on it, I could teleport in for a surprise attack when they're weakened.
Not that I expect either Earth Dragon to get weak, though.
By the way, it's not possible to pre-cast another spell and then unleash it the instant you teleport in front of an opponent.
Even if you prepare the spell in advance, it dissipates the moment you teleport.
This isn't a matter of casting ability — it's just how Teleportation works. Nothing can be done about it.
Anyway, until those two separate, I'll just grind Levels somewhere else.
There should be other Earth Dragons in the Lower Layer, so I could take those ones out first.
Revenge on Alaba, maybe.
Come to think of it, that was the first Earth Dragon that scared me.
Beating it would help me get over that trauma.
I think I'll head back to that vertical shaft with the giant bee swarm.
Oh, now that I have Spatial Movement too, couldn't I just mass-hunt bees to my heart's content?
Yeah. That sounds good.
It'd add to my Experience Points and my food supply.
Since I started mass-hunting Monsters in the Lower Layer, I've actually ended up with a surplus of food.
But once I start leveling up SP-consuming Skills, that surplus gets eaten away pretty quickly.
There were plenty of Skills I wanted to level up that I couldn't in the Middle or Upper Layers — things like Dragon Power and Spatial Movement.
So no matter how much food I have, it's never really too much.
With my current strength, bees shouldn't be a problem. I'll keep that spot in mind as a temporary food store.
And if I'm lucky enough to run into Alaba, I could at least check its Status and place a Mark.
Judging from what I saw with Kagna and Geere, it looks like fighting an Earth Dragon head-on without any preparation is a recipe for disaster.
Besides, Alaba's Level should be higher than Kagna's, if my memory serves.
I need to bring back data, come up with a strategy, and only then engage.
Thinking about it like this, dragons really are strong.
How the hell did I manage to beat the Fire Dragon on my first encounter?
That really was a miracle victory.
That said, the Fire Dragon's Stats and Skills were a much more balanced setup compared to the Earth Dragons.
At best, you'd call it well-rounded.
At worst, a jack-of-all-trades master of none.
It barely had any resistances, and in the Middle Layer, it was probably untouchable.
The Earth Dragons, by contrast, feel like they clawed their way up from nothing.
What is up with those ridiculous resistances?
What kind of tumultuous dragon life would you have to live to end up with resistances like that?
Do you only become a dragon after fighting your way through hell?
The Lower Layer is terrifying.
Maybe that's exactly why their stats are so lopsided.
Push their strengths to the absolute limit and combine that with their natural-born defenses.
Kagna went all-in on defense, and Geere went all-in on speed.
And the nerve of them — they do that kind of extreme specialization and still leave no openings. What a pain.
Someone who specializes like me usually ends up with at least some weakness somewhere. That's how it normally works.
You cheaters.
Anyway, there's no winning against those guys head-on, so I'll keep grinding Levels until I can take them on one at a time.
What if they never separate?
What would I do then?
Dunno.