14 The Boss of the Bat Caverns

As I continued deeper into the cavern, I encountered less and less bats. It was most likely because I was nearing the Boss Monster. In Dungeons, regular Monsters either avoided the Boss Monster or they stayed closer to it. In this case, the bats stayed away from the Boss.

Although I probably wasn't going to use the Skill for them, I still collected a hair from each of the bats that I killed. I'd definitely use my Skill on the Boss Monster, but if I did only that, then my growth would slow down by a lot.

I sighed. Maybe Envy of a Glutton was just a high risk, high reward type of Skill. If I got lucky then, I'd be able to take a larger portion of the target's Stats, but either way, it would affect my Sanity or Humanity by the same amount. At least, that's what I assume.

That means that if I don't want my Sanity and Humanity to drop to 0%, I should stop using it after it gets to a certain point. That means that the Skill has a limited amount of uses. If I have to, then I'm resolved to keep using the Skill, but I'd rather not if it isn't necessary.

At this point, there weren't any bats attacking me. I was left alone with the sound of dripping water echoing through the cave.

I was a little nervous about facing a Blue Dungeon Boss Monster on my own. They should be about mid range C-Rank, but sometimes, they could be on the brink of reaching B-Rank.

Ranks were decided based on the total sum of all of a person's Stats. My current total value is 100. The total value for an E-Rank goes up to 40 and the range of a C-Rank is from 90 to 170. Currently, I could be classified as a low ranking C-Rank, though officially, I'm still an E-Rank.

I kept walking until, eventually, I reached a large opening in the cavern. The room looked to be about 50 meters in diameter.

"This must be where the Boss Monster is," I murmured to myself.

Before entering the room, I dropped all of my bags. They'd only weigh me down, which would be disadvantageous if the Boss Monster is a bat type Monster which is known for its Speed Stat.

I only had my helmet and my sword along with its sheath on me.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the large room.

It was completely dark, the only source of light in the room coming from my helmet. There weren't even any magic stones on the walls or ground to light up the room.

I scanned the room.

There was no Boss Monster in sight. I stood still with my sword held out in front of me, my tension only growing. All the while, I continued to hear the rhythmic dripping of water.

Then, I spotted the source of the dripping water. In front of me was a puddle of what looked like water with water droplets dripping from the ceiling.

Looking up, I saw that my helmet's light didn't reach all the way to the top of the room. I listened to the water droplets, squinting my eyes to try and see where it was coming from. Then, I noticed something.

I spotted a faint glow in the darkness, a color that matches the light that comes from magic stones. The glow got stronger and stronger, and the water also began to fall more frequently.

My eyes were locked onto the light. Then, my eyes widened as I heard something else: the sound of breathing.

Quickly holding my sword up, I jumped backwards, away from the puddle. I glared at the Monster before me.

Landing right where I had just been standing was the Boss Monster, a bat, but not an ordinary bat Monster.

Unlike the bats that I've faced up until this point, this bat Monster was larger than me. It had huge wings and a muscular body. Not only that, but there was also what looked like magic stones littering its body.

"A Crystal Bat…," I muttered, "Damn…"

That explains the lack of magic stones around the Dungeon then. Sometimes Monsters are able to consume magic stones. It's a rare ability, but when a monster is able to do it, it results in mutations. Usually, this mutation could result in an increase in Magic as well as Vitality and possibly Strength. For a bat Monster which specializes in Speed, this fight could be a hard one.

The Monster in front of me had magic stones growing where its eyes should be. It had large ears and a crystal jaw. Drool leaked from its mouth. I assumed that that was the cause of the dripping sounds.

The bat's arms and fingers were completely crystal, reinforcing the area around the wings. It had crystal claws on its feet and, strangely, a crystal tail that looked somewhat like a reptile's tail.

Crystal Bats aren't as rare as other mutated Monsters because bat Monsters usually reside in cave type Dungeons which are more likely to have more magic stones. If it's in a Blue Dungeon, then Crystal Bats will almost always be upper C-Rank with a Stat total ranging from about 150 to 170.

In other words, this Boss Monster is stronger than me by at least 50 Stat points.

I knew a lot about Monsters. Not only because of my experience, but due to my inability to grow, I made sure to thoroughly research the Monsters that I might face.

Though there was a powerful Monster in front of me, I wasn't scared. I'd long resolved myself to face stronger opponents. Armed with my new powers, knowledge, and determination, I'll make sure that I make it out of this fight alive.