Legendary Beast Master: Starting with Contracting SSS Rank Dragon
Chapter 53 - 95%

Chapter 53: 95%

After checking their first chest, which gave them a few potions and metal bars, the duo of Kiona and Kael began to go from one place to another.

Their targets were the Piglins and Flame Elementals wandering around the Nether Fortress. They already had the full map of their locations, and considering the strength of Kael, it was pretty easy for them to dispatch those enemies.

Not to mention they also had the enchantment [Heart of the Sun], which gave them a boost because of the battle location.

But even with that, it took them a full two days to cover the entire Nether Fortress and clear it. After all, there were way too many monsters, and each battle left them exhausted.

Even if they could go on physically, they had to give their minds some rest. It was mostly because of Kiona, though, as she wasn’t used to prolonged battles—unlike Kael, who was accustomed to fights like no other.

The only good thing for them was that they didn’t need food so quickly; otherwise, they would’ve had to retreat, as they had hidden their supplies under Seth’s mane.

For two whole days, their routine became like a chore—going from one location to another to finish off targets and gather Soul Power.

To Kiona’s surprise, even when they had practically finished off every monster in the Nether Fortress, Kael had not ranked up. His Soul Core was like an unfathomable ocean that seemed to absorb everything thrown into it.

Kiona could swear that if she were given so many kills, she would’ve definitely ranked up. But that also made her believe that Kael was very high on the Evolution Tree.

By the time they were finished, the Nether Fortress had turned strangely silent. It was already devoid of much sound, but now there was something different about it.

It had become a very creepy place, one that gave them goosebumps, but it didn’t make them retreat. However, this eerie stillness did signal the need for rest, so they decided to ignore the pressing matters for now and get some downtime.

As they sat in one of the empty rooms, their backs against the rough brick wall, they gave their bodies the rest they needed after fighting constantly for over two days. They had also taken turns sleeping to get proper rest.

Even Kael was feeling the effects of mana consumption, though he still had an unfathomable ocean of mana constantly drawn toward him.

"Why are they late?" Kiona asked casually. In the time they had spent together, she had slowly opened up to him and also realized that the most direct approach worked best on him, so she was frank with her words.

"The spawning probably takes some time," Kael spoke, still with his eyes closed. "Or maybe there are a lot of Threadlings left. They can only destroy the core afterward."

"Makes sense, but that also means we’ll need to fight the Boss alone," Kiona sighed. "How much more do you need, anyway?"

"I don’t know," he shrugged in response. "But if I just go by feeling, I’d say I’m around 95% done. Also, I think the reason my progress has slowed down is because I’ve been killing the same type of monster."

Kiona thought about it and shook her head. "I don’t think that’s how it works in the outside world, at least. I’ve never seen such a case—even when wars happen and many beasts of the same race die, the Soul Power we get is pretty much the same always."

"Then it’s probably something special with the dungeon," Kael said, opening his eyes. "But I’m definitely getting less and less Soul Power after killing so many Piglins. The last one gave so little I barely noticed it."

Kiona looked thoughtful as she said, "That changes things then. We’ll need a variety so our people can get stronger without worrying about saturation."

Kael hummed, not particularly bothered by it. This wasn’t the first time he’d noticed something like this—even back on Earth, absorbing Soul Shards from the same Corrupted Creatures would cause their Soul to saturate with that type of Soul Essence.

"By the way, Master, what kind of Boss are we facing?" Kiona asked.

"A Nether Wolf with a bunch of hounds and other types of monsters as its subordinates. It’ll be a problem on its own, let alone with all its bootlickers. That’s why I wanted to rank up quickly," Kael sighed.

"A Nether Wolf," Kiona muttered, trying to recall if she had heard about this race—and instantly, a flurry of information passed through her mind as she remembered the monster.

Nether Wolves were a dangerous type of wolf, usually with a very high affinity with the Fire element and capable of casting many terrifying skills. They also had strong bodies that allowed them to tank almost all attacks from enemies at or below their rank.

"Whatever. I still have the Flame Elementals to rank up. After I’m used to them too, we can move on to the second floor," Kael said as he stood up. "The moment I reach D-Rank will be the moment we attack the Floor Boss."

Kiona groaned, as she wanted to rest a little more, but still stood up and followed him out. They walked into the silent corridors with nothing but the soft winds caressing their faces and their footsteps echoing endlessly around them.

Soon, they found themselves standing before a room with mismatched black bricks—the room where they had temporarily sealed the Flame Elementals.

"Be alert. In one day, the spawner must have spawned many Flame Elementals," Kael said, his face turning serious. "Even though at some point it should’ve stopped, the number of Flame Elementals is definitely huge. I can sense extreme danger from it."

Kiona took his warning with utmost seriousness and got into her battle stance. She now understood why her master had forcibly made her sleep.

It was so that she could recover her energy—not just physically, but mentally. They would need every bit of strength and clarity in this battle, as even a slight mishap could result in their doom.

After all, they were probably going to face more than fifty Flame Elementals—all at E-Rank.

This was a death battle... right before the Floor Boss fight.