Droplets of water, the accumulation of the moist from the ceiling fell to the ground, their echoes streching out into the distance dark corner of the cave.
Art, his hands on the rough walls of the cave to navigate paused for a moment, his glowing spahhire eyes piercing through the dark cloaks ahead.
"Something is ahead."
As he muttered, he crouched to grab a fragment of the wall that had fallen of long ago.
Crashing it within his palms, he took the smallest fragments he could find and infused it with aura as he aimed at the dark streched ahead.
The growls were getting closer and his heart was pounding but he didn't make any move to throw the rock not until..
"Now!"
A blurry figure darted out the dark stretch, it's form coated in lightning as it aimed it's ferocious claws at him but Art was prepared, launching the stone foward with all his might, the peddle light stone whistle through the air, golden aura lingering behind it's trail as it penetrated the lion's right eye cauisng it to let out pained shriek as it's legs twisting in accordance to the pain, caused it's balance to break and it's body trampling on the ground and rolling at him like a barrel.
Cutting it in two before it could reach his body, Art felt the wet sticky insides of the creature drench his shoulder as he leaped back just in time to avoid the claws of another lion beast.
This one more fierce than the previous one, opened it's maws, it's vicious teeths cracking with red lightning which was unleashed on Art.
Having long crouched behind the firm of the lion he had killed, the stench of burnt meat filled his nostril as one of the divided half of the corpse took the attack for him.
Peaking up and noticing the lion was charging another round of magic,he took out the mana core nested in his pocket and toss it at the creature whom stop it's charged and stepped back.
As it did, Art leaped over the carcass, his back bent and his knees full of power as he leaped into the air, the ground underneath him craving in.
Having launched himself up, he came down on the retreating lion with stab, that dug deep into its head, breaking it's skull and ripping through it's brain.
"Pant..."
With an exhaust sigh, he pulled out his blade leaking with blood and brain matter as the lion collapsed to the ground with a wet thump, it's head gushing with blood.
Turning back to pick up the core, he had tossed, he continued his journey through the dark caves, soon coming across another duo of lions, theses one's much slimer and smaller in shape.
They both growled streaks of red lightning snaking across their feet as the ranning at him.
Even though they wielded lightning, they weren't lightning fast like the principal so he could react in time as golden aura wrapped around the edges of his blade.
"Aura Slash!"
Screaming with all his might to conjure an imagine, a crescent arc shoot out his blade, whipping through the air and severing one of the lions in two.
"Another Slash!"
The other one whom ignoring the death of it's comrade leaped at him causing him to panic as he swung his blade diagonally, followed by a brilliant flash that caused him to over his eyes.
One's it was opened, the firm of the lion inch's away from ripping his head of, parted, it's divided body dropping to the ground with a squishy sound.
Feeling his leg almost give in for such a close call, he stabbed his longsword into the ground to maintain his balance.
"Ha....fuck...maybe I should turn back."
Sweat and blood drenched his body whole, the sheer discomfort making him want to rip of his shirt. The gore didn't help either and each passing second he couldn't help but want to vomit.
"Shit...I really hate this so much."
Killing those things was really taken a toll on him. He wasn't physically exhausted nor had his aura dimished much but his mind was worn out.
"It's just killing pest... don't overthink."
Steeling his mind, he dwelled deeper into the cave and soon came across a slope leading below.
At the ends of the slope was a circular area were a pride of thunder lion laid at rest.
At the center and surrounded by dozens was the king of the den. It's majesty firm adorned in crismon hair as it stood tall on it's two back legs bent inwards.
It had evolved to take on a humaniod structure as it opened it's jaws and lavished in the pieces of raw meat, it's tossed into it's mouth using it's massive hands.
"A rank!"
After the awakening of his intent, parts of his memories began to open up as he began to remiscant about this dungeon.
It wasn't particularly important to the plot since by the time the main cast had came across it, they were far too strong to struggle with it.
Everything here was merely a throwaway Saturday morning type of mob. It could be replaced but still it has an A class mana beast.
In the future it shouldn't have been a problem for the main cast but as someone unfamiliar with combat it definitely was.
"Wipe away the weeds first."
Allowing his aura to sip into his sword one's more, he pushed his legs foward, sliding down the slope while gathering an enormous quantity of aura for a fatal attack.
Art's intent that being the true essence of his aura was Power.
It increased the output the raw state of his aura could unleash.
Aura went in tune with a techquie to dish out damage but with Art as long as he could pull out aura from his core,all his attack will hit hard.
So as he reached the ends of the slope, he leaped into the air, his sword glowing with a brillant golden glow banished fowards as the light one's the length of his sword expanded soon growing to reach the cieling up top as he swung it down.
"Aura burst!"
An energetic roar accompanied his attack as the lion catching wind of the attack looked up only to be completely incinerated by it.