Smashing through the stone bears wasn't a problem. They were sturdy and I doubt that people below the elite of what Arc had to offer could even scratch them, but I was on a different level, and a single punch was more than enough.
In such a manner I carved my way through, eventually finding a bit denser spot, which was surrounding a cave. Inside, in complete darkness, I found more bears. The deeper I got, the more they changed.
The first ones had crystals growing on them, like some sort of parasite. In the beginning green, but then they got darker, slowly turning more towards the color of amethysts.
Obviously, the change didn't mean anything to me, so there is no need to waste any space diving deeper into those types of basically the same creatures.
Eventually, I arrived in the boss's room. As usual, it was placed behind the door with the symbol of the world tree on it. It was a large cavern, illuminated with green and blue light coming from strange, clearly magical crystals. There were also different types of precious stones there, but those didn't shine like the others. Most of them were clear, shining with a variety of reflected colors. A true rainbow.
It took me a moment to notice the boss. At first, I completely missed him. Ok, I'll admit, I completely missed him. If he wouldn't move the moment I stepped inside the chamber, like a tourist having a time of his life in some country, which he visited for the first time ever, I probably would never register that the cluster of those semitranslucent crystals, shining with a rainbow of reflected lights, was the thing I was gonna destroy.
It was still a bear, but its whole back was those crystals, and they emitted this strange, high-pitched, resonating sound as the creature picked itself up off the ground. The lower part was still stone, but it mixed so well with the rest of the cavern, that when the boss was still laying down, he physically melted with the environment.
Then he roared at me, and a whole chamber shook with the immense over of his voice. The roar was heavy, to the point I could feel it on my skin.
I have to admit, thanks to that I got excited a little bit too much. I jumped forward and slapped him so hard I broke his head off... Yeah, disappointing, I know. I picked the crystal, then left, annoyed with myself because I didn't even learn what that thing could do.
Well, I did later. He actually could puke a laser-like ray from its mouth, which could melt the stone. He was also very sturdy, and the skin was perfect in reflecting various types of damage. Rays of frost didn't do shit to him, and neither did electricity.
The next spot I found was, in big contrast with what I saw so far, a lovely groove. Nice, beautiful green, with streams of shimmering, humming water, and flowers blooming with vibrant colors on every corner.
To not prolong this any further, satyrs were living there, and they used nature-based magic, so I had roots popping from the ground, just to try and kill me. I burned them to the ground, arriving in the very center. On a nice clearing, basking in the light of the local star, among old obelisks with carved mysterious symbols, was living the boos. A bigger, more handsome dude with horns. He was quite annoying with his magic, so... I blasted him with more fire magic, as anyone would do.
Tired, with the local star setting on the horizon, I began my journey back. It was quite fast thanks to shadow walk.
People had to know that I was gonna check the new places because there was quite a bunch of them hanging in the city centers. They set up tables with chairs and were drinking beer under big umbrellas like they were on some kind of vacation.
- Hey, he is back! - Lucas yelled as soon as I showed up.
I noticed Marvin, and John immediately standing up to approach me. Tihana was right behind them.
Seeing this gathering, the former firefighter also decided to join. The rest of the people were not bold enough for such a move.
I was flooded with questions about what I saw.
- Ok, ok! Calm down. Get me a bear, and I'll tell you - I replied when they all stopped repeating the same thing.
- On it, chief - Lucas said, then turned on his heel to get to the device.
Tihana in the meantime was already getting a few people to move a table, a bunch of chairs, and the lovely umbrella, which wasn't necessary since the evening was already in full swing.
Before I knew I was sitting with a trace of nachos with chees dip, and a nice tall glass of pale ale. Cold enough to make the container sweat. John got me the snack, which I have to admit, earned him a few points, but he was still in a very big deficit.
First, I snacked a little bit and took a few sips of the drink, which put me in quite a lovely mood. It also made my audience annoyed, which was a nice bonus.
,m - Are you gonna talk anytime soon, or should we return in the morning? - asked Tihana, rolling her eyes.
I froze, glaring at her, which was like poking a bear. Her mouth opened to add more fuel to the fire, but John reacted by covering her mouth. I got alarmed by what he did but decided to leave this matter for later. We both needed to have a long conversation.
Then I finally spoke, describing everything I saw, which made others who weren't yer surrounding me, decide to get closer to hear. I especially focused on the intel about dangerous places and bosses. I also added what I found about some of my skills working on particular elementals, which got many intrigued.
I had to answer a few additional questions because of that. Eventually, though, the report was submitted, and my glass emptied, just like the tray with nachos, so there was nothing else left, but to approach the device, check the classes, and sell the score.