CHAPTER 113: DID SHE ABSORB THE CORE SUCCESSFULLY?

"Hah...I...can’t take any more." Eva pleaded in a ragged voice, sweat dripping from her body to the ground, her limbs visibly trembling under Grace’s calm gaze.

"Dear, I’m doing this for your own good. The suits will soon be ready, and you’ll be going to the surface in a month," Grace muttered softly as she channelled energy into Eva’s exhausted body.

"Alright. Now sit. It’s time for you to absorb the monster core," Grace said firmly, refusing to take no for an answer.

Eva sighed, wondering when the pampered daughter script had changed to a getting-stronger script.

She wasn’t cut out for this; she wanted her easy life of eating and sleeping back.

Although she complained, she sat up straight and picked up a pearl-sized monster core, slipping it into her mouth.

As soon as it touched her saliva, it melted and flowed smoothly down her throat.

A few minutes went by, and her body started to burn up.

The liquid moved straight to her power crystal, as if it had a mind of its own. As it came in contact with Eva’s green crystal, a wave of dizziness flooded her mind.

The liquid shifted to a red, blood-like hue and wrapped around the crystal as if trying to corrupt it.

Grace’s attention was fixed on Eva’s condition, and when she sensed a wave of bloodlust trying to overwhelm her, she began drawing the energy away from Eva.

"Absorb that energy into you. Don’t worry, I’m here." Grace’s reassuring voice calmed her, and Eva began absorbing the energy, confident Grace would pull her back if anything went wrong.

Eva’s crystal lit up and slowly drew in the red hue. A wave of pain tore through her body, making her grit her teeth as her fingers clenched into fists while she tried to endure it.

"Scream if you want, there’s no need to hold it in," Grace advised softly, knowing first-hand that the pain would only get worse.

And as time went on, the servants and scientists could hear Eva’s pained scream through the walls.

Time passed, and her screams gradually subsided. In the training room, Eva lay on her back, her body soaked and crimson as if she had been roasted under the hot sun.

Well done. After two unranked monster cores, you can progress to the rank of a beginner Dungeon conqueror. Now you are level 6 of intermediate Dungeon explorer. Grace nodded in approval, pleased that Eva had advanced six levels to reach the intermediate stage.

"Yay..." Eva’s voice was barely above a whisper, her expression showing no joy whatsoever—only the pretence of happiness because it was the normal reaction to an improvement in strength.

Damn, but the cores are like a cheat. Maybe that was the reason the author added excruciating pain or powerful people who were as cheap as stones.

The author of the novel divided the stages into beginner, intermediate, and last, with each having 10 sub-levels.

And just one unranked monster core had teleported her to the next stage entirely, but the pain is not for the weak (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠).

Aaron deceived her by dismissively discussing the pain; if she had been weak-minded, she would have taken her own life rather than endure it.

Grace noticed Eva was still trembling from the aftershocks of the pain her body had endured, and she sighed.

She wished she could stop her daughter from taking any more cores or from training.

Grace knew she would be doing more harm than good—it was better for Eva to become strong than to depend on someone.

"I’ll ask the servant to prepare a warm bath for you and dinner filled with meat dishes," Grace muttered as she squatted to carry Eva to her room.

"Mom! Don’t worry, I can get myself back to my room. Please leave me some face. (⁠●⁠´⁠⌓⁠`⁠●⁠)" Eva suddenly felt a burst of strength and jumped out of Grace’s hold.

She couldn’t imagine her petite mother carrying her and walking openly in front of the mansion’s servants or worse, Ethan and Julian.

Grace laughed softly, watching Eva dash out of the room as if her pants were on fire.

⸙⸙⸙⸙

Oasis City buzzed with life, though not as lively as before, but much better after the chaos.

In just five days, the hidden family had sent their people to clear out the corpses and stop the meaningless killings.

But the ruined buildings and the loss of loved ones still lingered in the air, leaving the atmosphere gloomy and quiet.

The bolder residents began leaving their homes to explore the current situation, giving the silent streets a faint glimpse of life.

"Make sure you send this to other cities. They are to evacuate and head to Oasis City. The deadline is one month, or the breath forge will be cut off, whether people remain or not." A middle-aged man instructed a group of speedsters to relay the message to other cities surviours.

"Yes, sir!" they shouted in unison before vanishing, leaving the man behind.

In a different part of the city, a group of people gathered to restart the dungeon pillar test.

Dungeon explorers who hadn’t gotten their beast were given the chance to enter—the suits are almost ready, and more people are needed for the surface project.

Meanwhile, Ethan, Julian, and Aaron went hunting in the dungeon, taking the chance to train in the hope of increasing their levels.

"Let’s split up and meet here in an hour," Julian proposed, retrieving his sword from his ring.

Ethan hummed in response and strode towards the left corridor. Aaron said nothing and turned to the right, leaving Julian at the centre.

Time passed, and the sounds of battle echoed through the dungeon walls, while the light flickered with shrill screams of monsters.

Ethan dodged the lizard-like monster and waved his hands in the air. Countless ice arrows materialised, piercing into the beast until it bristled like a hedgehog.

He hadn’t aimed to kill. Instead, he climbed onto the monster—shifting his hands into claws, he dug into its flesh and ripped out the core.

The monster died, disappearing, and another monster crept up from the ground.

Ethan settled into a routine of harvesting S-rank cores and killing without rest. The room was covered in ice and bloodstains.

In another room, Julian sliced the monster in half, blood splashing onto the ground and staining the other one held captive by his time powers.

A hazy clock, its hands frozen in place, was wrapped around the creature, locking it in stillness.

Julian turned to it and drove his sword into its chest, digging out its core.

Aaron pressed his hand to the ground, seizing control of the monster’s shadow.

With a few precise movements of his fingers, the creature’s body twisted like a puppet on strings.

It let out pained screams as Aaron forced it to dig out its own core.

As the monster died, three others crept out from the ground. Solidifying the shadows around him into a sharp dagger, he struck, piercing through them.

Time passed, and with each of them carrying back a satisfying haul, they returned to the mansion.

Grace noticed them from the corner of her eye and set her cup down.

"You’re back. Next time you train, take Eva along and use your beasts," Grace said as soon as they sat down to rest.

"I will."

"Okay."

"Did she absorb the core successfully?" Ethan asked, concerned. Julian and Aaron gazed at Grace, waiting for her answer.

"She did well. But increasing only in level without fighting skills will be useless," Grace added, saying that Eva should train with real monsters rather than learn how to fight from them.

Eva happened to hear this at the doorway and made a beeline for the kitchen, wearing a nothing-to-live-for expression.