Chapter 348: Bloody Storm? Robert (4k)
Vit’s gaze fell upon the stone, gradually drawn to the crimson bl**d radiance seeping from its cracks.
The bl**d radiance seemed to sense his presence, flickering slightly at a certain frequency.
Under the illumination of the bl**d radiance, Vit’s eyes widened, and a tinge of crimson appeared in his eyes.
As the red light shone through his eyes, his expression began to freeze.
It was as if his soul had been attracted, detached from his body…
“Vit?”
Robert tapped Vit on the shoulder. When he received no response, he pushed harder.
“Vit!”
“Here!” Vit suddenly regained his senses, his muscles instantly tensing. The red light deep in his eyes receded.
But the circular stone still emitted an eerie glow from its cracks.
Vit suddenly became aware and his face changed abruptly: “Don’t stare at it! There’s something strange within that bl**d radiance!”
Robert quickly diverted his gaze and said cautiously, “What’s going on?”
“He must have been enchanted.”
Emma looked up at them briefly before turning back to the stone.
She was looking at the stone too, but wasn’t enchanted.
This led her to think that Vit might lack the willpower to resist such enchantments.
And indeed, Vit was known for lacking determination—he couldn’t even maintain the will to study diligently.
So it was understandable that she concluded this.
But Vit didn’t see it that way.
He averted his gaze, feeling wary.
Emma continued observing the stone and summoned her [Magical Beast: Otter], instructing, “Go and check if there’s any danger.”
The otter lifted its nose to sniff, then ran on all fours towards the half-person-high stone.
As it approached the stone, it stopped abruptly and made a few chirping sounds before moving forward two steps, extending its small claws to poke the stone.
Seeing no reaction, it boldly used its paw to hit the stone twice.
The stone remained unresponsive.
So, under Emma’s command, the otter moved to the front of the circular stone and kicked the crack forcefully!
With that kick, the red light from the crack visibly trembled.
“It’s alive!” Emma confirmed.
“There are many types of monsters in the dungeon that disguise themselves as harmless creatures or items to lure people closer, then launch sudden attacks. This stone can emit confusing light. It’s probably one of those types.”
Both Vit and Robert listened intently.
But after hearing her analysis, Vit felt something was off about it.
Yet, due to his limited knowledge, he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.
In the end, he could only say, “If it’s a monster in disguise, why don’t we just blast it apart here? It might be a good hunting target.”
Emma shook her head: “This stone likely came from a hidden space. We should wait for Dark and the others. They probably opened the hidden space.”
“That makes sense,” Vit said regretfully.
But Robert interjected, “What if they don’t come back?”
Emma glanced at him silently.
Vit pondered: “If they don’t return, we’ll attack. After getting the materials, we’ll share them with them… or just give them directly. It’ll be our contribution.”
Robert agreed readily: “Good idea.” Emma thought these two weren’t so bad after all.
“Wait!” Vit suddenly spoke up. “If we just go ahead, wouldn’t it be fine? We can deliver the materials once we’re done?”
Robert’s eyes lit up: “If it’s the type of monster Emma described, its strength shouldn’t be particularly high. Maybe we can handle it?”
Emma: “…”
…
Once the thought arose, it couldn’t be suppressed.
Vit and Robert exchanged glances and immediately prepared themselves.
They had been frustrated during their earlier escape.
Especially Vit, who had been utterly humiliated and swallowed by a tentacle!
Although the mucus on his body had dried, the lingering stench remained.
Had it not been for Emma’s rationality, another girl would have distanced herself from him.
Moreover, Vit didn’t want to owe Dark any more favors.
Given the situation, how could he pass up this chance to show himself?
Emma wasn’t the type to nag.
Once she raised a point and it wasn’t taken seriously, she wouldn’t bring it up again.
“In any case, we have the Dungeon Escape Device, so the worst-case scenario won’t happen.”
Thinking this, Emma tightly gripped her Mana Card, then called back her [Magical Beast: Otter].
The otter returned to her side and sat obediently.
Meanwhile, Vit and Robert were already in action.
Vit’s [Gigant] hadn’t recovered yet, and his [Holy Sword] was still on cooldown. His strongest Mana Spirit was the [Radiant Python].
Robert’s Mana Spirits included only the [bl**d Mother Bat] among the three-star Mana Spirits, which was decent. After a brief exchange, they each summoned their Mana Spirits!
The radiant python, with its graceful white form, descended in a flash of light, hissing at the round ball.
Robert’s [bl**d Mother Bat], summoned with much time and mana, was a massive bat with crimson eyes.
The [bl**d Mother Bat], as its name suggested, was the mother of bl**d bats.
Its ultimate skill was “bl**d Self-Detonation!”
By self-detonating, it could harm enemies while transforming into several bl**d bats afterward.
The number of bl**d bats generated depended on the quality of bl**d absorbed before using the ultimate skill.
Each bl**d bat could be considered a one-star Mana Spirit.
A corresponding number of bl**d bats could be used to sacrifice and summon a Mana Spirit of the same star level.
Vampire Vlad once used this method to summon a five-star Mana Spirit—the [bl**d Beast].
Then, with his own bl**d as a catalyst, he could summon the [Vampire Count] after nightfall!
However, Robert couldn’t—or didn’t have enough mana—to activate the Secret Rite Card now. Thus, he could only summon a five-star Mana Spirit—the [bl**d Beast].
This was his greatest asset.
But there was no need to summon the [bl**d Beast] right now.
…
[Radiant Python] and [bl**d Mother Bat].
The two Mana Spirits of light and darkness charged simultaneously toward the round stone in the open area.
Their instincts separated them due to attribute repulsion, but their masters’ commands brought them together.
The radiant python’s crawling speed was fast, but the [bl**d Mother Bat] flew faster.
In mere breaths, the hideous [bl**d Mother Bat] flew to the front of the round stone under Robert’s command and rammed into the middle crack.
“Boom!”
An explosion rang out.
The stone rolled without resistance!
This was unexpected.
Vit’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wrap around it, Radiant Python!”
The radiant python, having crawled close, accelerated and turned into a white lightning bolt, catching up with the rolling stone and wrapping around it.
Instinctively, the radiant python constricted its body to try to crush the stone.
However, the stone was extremely hard, resisting the constriction without breaking.
“Keep attacking its crack, bl**d Mother Bat!”
Robert stepped out of the tunnel, somewhat excitedly shouting.
Until now, he had always played a supporting role to Vit, whether in activities, competitions, or events.
This time, he truly participated, commanding the Mana Spirits in battle.
Unfortunately, the round stone never resisted, making it less thrilling.
The radiant python’s body parted slightly, giving the [bl**d Mother Bat] room to attack.
The [bl**d Mother Bat] repeatedly attacked the glowing crack.
Under its collision, wing strikes, and claw attacks, the red light in the crack flickered frequently, showing some reaction.
But after two minutes.
The round stone remained unscathed.
The radiant python’s constriction felt like a massage.
The [bl**d Mother Bat]’s attacks were useless.
Vit and Robert exchanged awkward glances.
Emma worriedly said, “Three-star Mana Spirits can’t break its defense…”
“Summon a five-star Mana Spirit!” Robert’s eyes flashed, suddenly saying.
Emma closed her mouth.
Vit was suddenly stunned and silently put down his Mana Card.
Only now did he realize that Robert’s deck was stronger than his.
Without a second-tier Mana Spirit Card, he was being left behind.
Originally, he hoped the free exploration of the dungeon would help him find materials to craft a second-tier Mana Spirit.
He knew his crafted Mana Spirits mostly belonged to the dungeon monster series, which should work well with his affinity.
But until now, he hadn’t found any decent materials.
His gaze fell on the round stone.
Perhaps he could scrape some core material from it after a successful hunt?
…
Just as Vit hesitated, Robert shouted loudly, “Vit, recall your Radiant Python.”
Vit: “Ah? Oh.”
He did as instructed.
When the radiant python released its hold and crawled back, Robert recalled the [bl**d Mother Bat] and extended his finger, closing his eyes.
The [bl**d Mother Bat] immediately bit his finger, drawing a little bl**d.
“Enough, enough!” Robert hurriedly said.
The [bl**d Mother Bat] reluctantly lifted its head and immediately flew toward the round stone.
Thankfully, the round stone didn’t move; otherwise, they might have given up.
“Ultimate Skill? bl**d Self-Detonation!”
The [bl**d Mother Bat] collided with the stone’s crack and self-detonated.
“BOOM!”
The explosion of a three-star Mana Spirit was undoubtedly powerful.
The ground trembled slightly underfoot.
The intense bloodlight from the [bl**d Mother Bat] illuminated the entire tunnel.
However, amidst the red light, the round stone’s crack silently opened—like an eye opening!
It stared directly at the self-detonation of the [bl**d Mother Bat], absorbing the released bl**d energy into itself, its red light intensifying.
When the explosion ended, it abruptly closed its eyes.
This time, it fully closed, leaving no gap.
Robert, who was closely watching, suddenly exclaimed excitedly, “Closed! Its crack is closed! It must not have been able to withstand the damage from the self-detonation! Once I summon the [bl**d Beast] through sacrificial summoning, I’ll definitely break its shell!”
Hardly had the words left his mouth when Robert quickly composed himself and earnestly began performing the “Sacrificial Summoning Spell.”
He had only experimented once before and was still unsure if his sacrificial summoning would succeed.
After the [bl**d Mother Bat] self-detonated, it produced five bl**d bats.
Just enough for him to summon the [bl**d Beast].
But his casting of the “Sacrificial Summoning Spell” was incredibly slow.
It took him half a minute to successfully complete the spell.
Half a minute was a full round.
In a duel match, the opportunity would have long passed!
Even in the dungeon, it would be hard to find another monster that would allow him to cast a sacrificial summoning spell like this.
…
As the sacrificial summoning array appeared, a ferocious-looking [bl**d Beast] slowly emerged.
This [bl**d Beast] was over two meters tall, its body red like flowing bl**d, resembling a tiger or leopard. It had two tentacles with mouths on either side of its shoulders and a tail like a half-meter-long snake, lashing the ground.
Compared to the [bl**d Beast] summoned by Vlad, Robert’s was less savage but equally fierce.
“Sss!”
The [Radiant Python] reacted instantly when the [bl**d Beast] appeared, even more repelled than the [bl**d Mother Bat].
Vit hurriedly tried to soothe it, while Robert excitedly commanded the [bl**d Beast] to attack the round stone.
But when the [bl**d Beast] lunged forward, the round stone, hidden by its shadow, suddenly opened its front crack, revealing a pair of glaring crimson eyes filled with intense bloodlight!
