"A monster?" Leon frowned.

It was weird; why it didn't attack Leon? He only saw few creatures that could hide their status and skills, and those he saw were very powerful... even if it was just a monster, it was supposed to have noticed Leon's approach.

"Something is off..."

Leon didn't intend to hesitate to kill any monster, but it wasn't a good idea to attack without knowing what the hell was going on. It was a fire-type monster, so it wasn't surprising that decided to stay on that hellish place, but why it was hiding in the ceiling? Leon was pretty sure that thing could endure the heat of the magma, so there was no reason to hide there.

"I guess I should dig a hole in another place... there must be a reason why it was hiding and probably why it is sleeping. I should ignore it... I don't have that much mana to spend on fighting, anyway."

Leon didn't know if he could defeat that creature even if he could, it wouldn't help him in any way. Such a being couldn't be sealed in a steel weapon, so Leon wouldn't benefit all that much from killing it. It was a pain, but Leon created another hole on the bifurcation he found several hours ago since he didn't know how big was that creature. After a while... Leon received a shock. He found the same creature there.

???? (Fire)

Health: ????/????

Mana: ????/ ????

Stamina: ????/ ????

Active Skills: ????, ????, ????, ????

Passive Skills: ????, ????, ????? ????

"Just what the hell is going on..."

It would be too weird if Leon could find now several creatures that could hide their status and skill when he barely found ten of those in almost nine years. Still, Leon wanted to believe that was the case... if that wasn't...

"Am I inside something? Inside of a monster?"

That was insane, but Leon only saw insanity since the damn shadowy figure teleported him to another place. After several hours on that damn place, Leon finally made a mental note to develop a skill that counters forced teleportation and summonings. If he doesn't learn that, he won't stand a chance against that damn lizard and the shadowy figure.

"I don't have time for this shit..."

Leon grabbed his spear and then attacked the creature... much to his surprise; his attack didn't even scratch the skin of whatever the hell that was. Leon tried again and again, but soon gave up, he wasn't strong enough to do that with his hands. If Leon couldn't use that with his physical strength, he would do it with magic. Leon made his spear spin using Telekinesis until he started to hear a high-pitching sound. Despite that, Leon also decided to make his spear gain force by taking some distance. Once he did that, he fired the spear and made it hit the creature... his attack didn't even scratch the skin, and the steel spear bent until the point where it looked like a boomerang.

Congratulations! The skill Spearmanship has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Telekinesis has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Spearmanship has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

Congratulations! The skill Telekinesis has leveled up.

You obtained 01 status points.

...

"Are you for real? A single attack destroyed my weapon when the creature didn't even try to block it?"

Even when Leon fought on Miebos, his weapons didn't break like that. He knew that weapons tend to lose durability the more they were used, so he always made his weapons particularly sturdy and heavy. Still... that only meant one thing. He was in a place where monsters were far stronger than the ones on Miebos.

"That bastard said that one year in hell would make much stronger than one thousand on Earth... did he send me to another world that is on the fifth stage of assimilation?"

That had to be some kind of joke... it couldn't be real. However, considering everything Leon experienced so far, it was possible. Regardless, Leon would have to use a mithril weapon if he wanted to pierce that skin, and he didn't have time to create anything made of mithril. Considering his current status, he could only produce two grams of mithril every ten minutes... he didn't have any other choice but to keep moving and looking for an exit.

"Shit, shit.. fucking bastards.. I will kill them all."

Leon flew following the right side of the bifurcation. In the end, it looked like the things he could choose in that hellhole were minimal. His options were minimal. Leon had to do the only things he could do to survive or die trying to be stubborn. Leon already knew what he had to do.. chose the worst and most disturbing things possible to grow stronger, but that would very unpleasant. In fact, saying that was unpleasant was an understatement.

In that place, he could grow stronger as the shadowy figure said.. but Leon would have to pay the price. To make himself stronger, Leon would have to endure several things that would, without a doubt, damage his psyche..

"Shit, shit.."

Leon bit his lips until it started to bleed, even though the pain was very annoying, it was bearable in comparison to what Leon would have to do from now on.. in the end, Leon understood that he didn't have many options after flying for three days and finding nothing but three other parasites. He caught all of them, but even though they were rotting and his stomach was grumbling, Leon didn't eat them. It would take a while before he could notice that there was no other 'food' there. However, Leon already understood one thing. He would have to suffer to grow stronger.

Leon stopped flying and approached the river of magma, after staring at it for a few seconds, he put his arms in there.