While the smell was not as bad as previous underground ruins the group had been to, it still had the same musty smell like a basement mixed with too much mold growth. That and the odd sour scent that must come with whatever prey the monster dragged in to feast on from time to time. However, there were many places missing the telltale signs that monsters had been there.

Normally there would be cuts on the ruin walls or ceiling. It was a way to ensure that they would not have unwanted intruders. Since that was the case, it meant that the monsters here were deterred from doing that over the years or that they had no worries about the other monsters around trying to enter their specific territory.

If it was deterrence, then most likely it came to be because of the residual mana throughout the rune formations in the walls of the ruin. If it was the way the monsters lived, then they could have a natural balance due to their unique methods of survival within the ruins. Larger and stronger monsters might have once hunted them outside of the inner ruined floating city, causing there to be a reason for them to survive together.

The idea of mana being the cause was interesting. Since the rune formations were a huge part of what made the floating city function, the mana at first could have been a major deterrent to any monster. It would seem dangerous and off-putting since the mana did not naturally flow as they should, making the monsters in the area not come near the ruins.

Over time, that would change as the rune failed and some formations would have lesser mana moving through them. The weaker mana was still off-putting for monsters but they would come there and understand instinctively that their predators may not follow them there. Making the place safer if only a bit uncomfortable for them.

It would then fade more and more until thai point where the monsters had many nests through with different species of monsters living within the ruined city. It would also be the reason that they did not damage everything as much. They had generational instincts of not hammering this place to a certain degree. Not that it would remain forever, eventually this would keep breaking down in to just a bunch of stone caves and much less ruins able to be discovered and researched.

Not that it would reach that point, the Genesis forces were here to help reclaim the fallen city.

"Looks like they actually brought some prey back. They are supposed to be ticks but they hunt smaller prey too. It sounds like they would be more of a hindrance to nature's flow than a help." This insight was not unique, Su had said something said before when hunters took down larger prey and found dragon ticks on their bodies leeching away their strength.

"They are technically prey monsters mostly. They hunt what they can because they are influenced by dragon blood, but they are also not the top of any food chain. They are eaten a lot and I believe the scaled wolves gang up on them whenever they are out in the open." This was something Walker had heard from a few guards who patrolled the perimeter of the ruins. They were able to see what happened to some of the monsters left outside of the ruins since they all made the perimeter.

"Since some of the monsters nesting here couldn't leave with gourds outside, those already outside were left to the wilderness and the monsters around capitalized on it. We enabled a few extra meals for the native monsters here." Walker could have felt bad about it, but he also understood that the monsters within the ruined floating city should have been out in nature in the first place. They would not go extinct because of the actions here today but they would be relocated at the very least.

It was better to imagine that they were just cleaning the house though. This was meant to be a city for the angel race to live safely during their time of strife and war. When giant monsters roamed the world and other races fought for resources on a daily basis. Not fall to the ground and be forgotten in time.

"Two ahead." With Midnight's sharper senses she caught the slight movement of two dragon ticks sitting on the ceiling waiting to drop on top of them.

'Dragon tick

This monster has an extremely weak remnant dragon bloodline. It is nearly bred out of their species leaving them to become a giant tick species of monster. However, that requires several more generations…

They have a numbing poison in their bite so that they can remain attached to their prey. They will latch their six legs in to their prey to remain attached and even allow their bodies to become more attached as skin grows over them if possible. They will only detach when they have enough nutrients to create offspring or their prey had died and been entirely consumed.

They will prefer to consume blood but will eat the flesh if they are in dire need of nutrients. This is why they will drag smaller prey back to their nest where they can share it with the smallest dragon ticks and allow them to grow larger to easily attach to the larger monsters.

They have a natural hatred for fire due to the fact that they did not receive enough dragon blood in their lineage…'

The small group understood that having a weakness to fire was a good thing for them due to the fact that all of them had resistances to fire. Not to mention both Midnight and Su could cover their bodies in flames without taking any damage. They would actually increase the damage that they did. Walker was an outlier since he would simply control the fire and even make a temporary golem to fight for him. Regardless, they had all grown enough that using fire in such an enclosed space was not a true danger to themselves and others.

The two dragon ticks dropped down trying to land on Midnight and Su, however, Midnight opened her mouth and spit out a small ball of fire. She had done this before in dragon form but found herself unhappy with how small the flames were. But the potency was there causing the entire dragon tick to be engulfed and burning on the ground instantly.

Su hadn't done anything so magnificent. She had dropped one shield and grabbed the dragon tick slamming it on the ground before using her other hand with a shield to smash it flat. Then Midnight helped her by also burning it to ashes too. Their flawless teamwork proved that they were prepared beyond a doubt for the entire mission they were on.

"If we are seeing some smaller ticks here, then I assume…" Walker focused and noticed that there was water dripping from the ceiling. That wasn't normal since there shouldn't be any water falling from anywhere in the ruins. If this was the case, then there might be an issue with rainwater trapped within parts of the ruins. A dangerous risk for some of those who might cause a collapse and drowning.

"I am going to try and seal the cracks in the ceiling. Above us might be a flooded passage. We need water images to clear out slowly over the next few days. But we should know there is not a monster that is able to live in those passageways easily. The same for the runes adobe us, the water might have ruined any mana flow left." it would be a hard spot to research.

Before he could try and leave a message for the following forces that would keep cleaning and researching, Walker heard a skittering of hard legs on stone. It was the nest of the dragon ticks ahead. The sound of two of their fellow monsters being killed had stirred them up. A few would be coming to investigate while the larger dragon ticks who could actually fight and attach themselves to larger monsters would be looking for prey.

"We need a little warm up before we go exploring." Su stretched her back a little and grinned. She had liked fighting more and more as she accepted her state as a half dragon. However, she also was mirroring the excitement that Midnight had. Midnight was very interested in testing her ability in her dragonkin form here. She felt stressed by the smaller space making her feel it was a good chance to learn and adapt.

While Walker didn't say anything, he too felt excited to see how the pair could work. Su was Midnight's guardian after all. They would be seamless in battle regardless of their time training together.

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