Whoosh— Whoosh—
The gale was like countless hands, frantically tearing at Caesar's body.
He and Cecilia, along with tons of rock, plummeted together into the bottomless darkness.
The sensation of weightlessness made his stomach churn.
The surrounding rock walls turned into a blur of light in his vision; the environmental temperature began to undergo bizarre changes, feeling like being roasted over a fire one moment and thrown into an ice cave the next, the alternating heat and cold torturing his nerves.
The material of the rock walls also changed.
It was no longer the rough gray granite from before, but gradually took on a semi-transparent crystalline structure, with a faint dark red light flowing deep within, as if they were the dried-up blood vessels of the earth.
"Aaaaah— We're going to crash! We're going to crash!"
The gale rushed into her throat as Cecilia let out a discordant wail, her limbs flailing wildly in the air, completely forgetting she had a pair of Elemental Wings.
As for Caesar, he felt completely different.
Invigorating!
So intense!
Unlike the panicked Little Silver Dragon, he was busy testing his brand-new body.
The wind was no longer resistance, but a medium that could be harnessed.
He could clearly feel a faint lifting force generated as the airflow passed over the large fin-blades on the outside of his arms and his dorsal fin.
The layer of originally smooth scales on his body had now become extremely dense, possessing a rough texture. When he slightly adjusted his posture, the friction between his skin and the air actually made a 'hissing' sound.
The [Rough Skin] ability—so it had this kind of effect?
Caesar had a thought and tried turning his body sideways, using his dorsal fin and arm blades to slice through the air... Sure enough, the speed of the fall slowed slightly.
Although he was still far from being able to fly, this sense of control over the airflow was something completely unimaginable during his time as a Gible.
The reason Gabite can fly at the speed of sound is by no means just due to brute force; this aerodynamically perfect structure is the key—
(*Wrong, it's actually just because of pokémon settings.)
A pity that he was still only a Gabite; if he evolved into a Garchomp, he could fly supersonically in the sky using these 'turbojet engines'.
When that time came, the first thing he would do was fly over to that idiot Red Dragon's face and take a dump!
The fall continued—
In the air, a surge of energy so dense it was almost tangible rushed toward him, making the Dragon Bloodline within Caesar's body begin to stir with excitement...!
What a great place!
This is definitely a blessed land!
Just as Caesar was assessing the resource richness of the new map, a massive area emitting a faint fluorescence finally appeared in the endless darkness below.
"We're—we're hitting the bottom!" Cecilia also noticed the light, her voice carrying a sob.
Caesar narrowed his eyes and, without hesitation, used Cecilia in his claws as a cushion beneath him!
Professional meat shield, reliable.
"You—!"
Cecilia only had time to let out an angry protest before the two of them slammed down hard the next second.
"Squish—!"
An indescribable sound, like stepping on a giant juicy fruit, rang out.
The expected bone-shattering pain didn't come; instead, it was replaced by an extremely soft and elastic sensation.
They had landed on a massive, incredibly thick fungal carpet.
The fungal carpet instantly ruptured under the violent impact, and countless viscous fluorescent spore fluids erupted like a fountain, coating Caesar and Cecilia!
The massive cushioning force absorbed most of the impact, but Caesar still felt a jolt through his whole body.
[HP: 65/65→49/65]
On the System panel, his health bar instantly dropped a chunk.
To make matters worse, after the fungal carpet ruptured, countless sticky vines sprang out from within, one of which accurately coiled around Caesar's neck, hanging the entire dragon upside down in mid-air.
Caesar: "..."
Shit.
What is this? A welcoming ceremony for the new map?
On the other side, Cecilia's luck was much better.
Having been used as a meat shield by Caesar, she hit the fungal carpet first, and the immense elasticity bounced her right back up, causing her to tumble twice in the air.
At the last moment before hitting the Ground, she finally remembered she could fly and hurriedly unfurled her Elemental Wings, landing safely in a wobbly manner.
Shaking her dizzy head, Cecilia stood up, feeling that although her dragon scales hurt a bit, she was largely unharmed.
She warily looked around, and as soon as she looked up, she saw the somewhat disheveled blue figure hanging upside down in mid-air.
"Little Earth Dragon...?"
Cecilia looked at the guy who had changed drastically in form yet remained familiar, her mood inexplicably complex.
This guy actually used the great Lady Cecilia as a meat shield!
Simply despicable! Shameless! Low-life!
She walked with elegant steps to stand before Caesar, raising her head high and looking at his darting golden vertical pupils.
A surge of unprecedented satisfaction welled up in her heart.
You've finally met your match!
"You, do you have anything to say?" Cecilia asked coldly, mimicking the tone of the judges in her Legacy memories.
"I have nothing more to say, do it quickly!"
Caesar was hanging and swinging back and forth, his tone full of impatience.
He was being choked a bit and couldn't breathe properly; he shook his body, but the vine only tightened.
He could easily burn it with [Dragon Breath], but in such an unknown environment, revealing his location and abilities at will was a major taboo for players.
"Beg me~" Cecilia thought smugly, "Beg the great Lady Cecilia, and I'll show some mercy and let you go."
She planned to circle Caesar a few times to properly admire his humiliated appearance and then humiliate him thoroughly with words.
However, before she could even speak, she was glared at by Caesar's cold eyes!
Cecilia instantly retracted her neck.
That look... so scary.
Even though his form had changed, that same scummy and fierce aura was exactly the same.
Forget it, forget it, what if he holds a grudge and doesn't give her poison milk to drink later... The Little Silver Dragon had a second of internal conflict before finally giving in. She reluctantly leaned forward, bit the tough vine, and pulled hard.
"Snap."
The vine snapped, and Caesar fell heavily to the Ground.
He stood up, shook off the spore liquid, and cracked his neck.
After evolving into a Gabite, he had completely become bipedal, reaching a height of 1.4 meters, already a head taller than the four-legged Cecilia.
Looking down at the Little Silver Dragon, the sense of pressure was immense.
"..."
Cecilia guiltily took half a step back.
This little thing really needs a lesson every day... Caesar made a mental note against this tsundere dragon.
He had no time to deal with her and immediately began checking his new body.
The benefits were obvious: strength, defense, and speed had all skyrocketed.
Especially those jet-engine-like protrusions on both sides of his head; they weren't just decorations. Caesar concentrated, and a peculiar sound wave emitted from the protrusions, spreading in all directions.
"Buzz—"
A moment later, countless bits of information through the sound wave feedback constructed a 3D black-and-white map in his mind.
The contours of the cave, the structure of the rocks, certain things moving in the distance... everything was crystal clear.
"Built-in sonar, a true Divine Artifact for exploring new maps." Caesar clicked his tongue in wonder.
Consider it a benefit of the lore settings!
But the bad news was that with evolution, his originally somewhat flexible three-toed claws had completely regressed into menacing white single claws.
These claws were definitely great for tearing enemies apart, but using them to pick things up or make tools became extremely difficult.
A typical combat specialization, sacrificing utility.
"Now I really can't use spoon and fork anymore," Caesar thought regretfully.
He looked up, scanning the surroundings with his new'sonar', while the System panel provided an appraisal of the location.
[Area: Dragon Spine Mountain Range - Leyline Core Zone]
The surroundings were no longer ordinary rock caves; everywhere were semi-transparent crystallized rock layers, and deep within the layers, a dark red light flowed slowly like breathing.
The air was permeated with low concentrations of Earth elemental energy, and even a single breath felt like HP was slowly recovering; unfortunately, he didn't absorb any 'Earth' attribute factors.
However... the Leyline Core Zone...? It sounded like a high-level grinding area plus a source of rare Materials.
Caesar's player soul began to burn.
Just then, in the darkness, countless pairs of compound eyes flashing with red light lit up.
"Click... click..."
Accompanied by the sound of carapaces scraping against the Ground, a swarm of giant ants, each the size of a hound, surrounded them from all directions.
They seemed to have been attracted by the commotion of the two little dragons' fall.
[Crystal Rock Giant Ant (LV.10)]
[Attribute: Bug/Rock]
[Ability: Exoskeleton (Reduces physical damage taken by a fixed 10 points)]
"Insignificant ants!"
Lady Cecilia snorted disdainfully, arching her dragon body, eager to try.
She had just lost face in front of the Little Earth Dragon and wanted to redeem herself by taking it out on these seemingly fragile bugs.
But Caesar held her back.
"Don't move."
"...?"
Cecilia looked back in confusion; were these ants dangerous?
Of course they weren't dangerous.
Caesar just glanced at his attack stat of 65 at such a young age and was looking for a punching bag.
He moved.
Without using any skills, he simply lowered his body and then lunged forward!
The Gabite's figure turned into a deep blue afterimage, instantly crashing into the ant swarm!
"Bang!!"
A Crystal Rock Giant Ant was hit head-on; its thick carapace, strong enough to withstand swords, was like paper before Caesar, instantly caving in and shattering!
Immediately after, the [Rough Skin] ability activated, and the sharp scales made a piercing scraping sound against the giant ant's Exoskeleton, sparks flying everywhere!
"Rip—!"
Caesar didn't even pause; with a swing of his sharp claws, he tore the giant ant in two.
[Killed LV.10 Crystal Rock Giant Ant, gained 25 experience points.]
A one-hit kill!
But on Caesar's dragon face, there wasn't the slightest hint of joy.
He looked down at the pile of mangled meat at his feet, his brow furrowed.
Something's not right.
Inside these shredded tissues, it wasn't normal flesh and blood, but rather clusters of tangled white mycelium!
This wasn't a living thing at all!
"Holy crap, Parasect?"
A classic pokémon image instantly flashed through Caesar's mind.
At the same time, new words appeared on the System panel over the giant ant's corpse.
[Mushroom Spore (Deep Infection)]
It really is like a Parasect!
"Paras" is a Bug/Grass-type pokémon with two small mushrooms parasitizing its back. After evolving into "Parasect", the mushroom grows enormously, covering most of the insect's body, and the insect's eyes become pure white, losing its pupils.
Players speculate that the Parasect's insect body might already be dead, controlled solely by the mushroom. This is the urban legend known as "Zombie Parasect".
And now, appearing before the two dragons... were a swarm of "Zombie Ants" parasitized by mushroom spores, turned into the walking dead!
"Rustle rustle rustle rustle—"
More and more zombie ants surged from the darkness; they had no sense of pain or fear, mechanically executing orders from the parasitic fungus, surrounding the intruders.
"Hey! What are you dazing off for! These bugs are coming!"
Cecilia also realized the severity of the situation and urged him anxiously.
"Run!"
Caesar growled, grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and turned to sprint toward the bare rock area outside the fungal carpet.
Something is very wrong!
This place is very wrong!
The words "Mushroom Spore" gave Caesar a sense of déjà vu. Who knows what effects the spores carried by these parasitized monsters had. As a qualified player, he must not be reckless before figuring out the mechanics of a new map!
Just as the two dragons rushed out of the fungal carpet's range, a dense 'rustling' sound suddenly came from the crystal walls on the cave ceiling.
A large swarm of "Fluorescent Bats" hanging upside down was startled.
[Fluorescent Bat (LV.12)]
[Attribute: Poison/Flying]
They opened their mouths, letting out silent shrieks.
The protrusions on Caesar's head jolted; he "heard" it.
It was ultrasound!
A tooth-aching vibration traveled along his bones, as if someone were hammering at his marrow.
The sound waves of these bats could directly cause bone resonance, resulting in internal damage!
"Cecilia, I'm giving you a chance to make up for your mistakes!"
"Huh?"
Before Cecilia could react, she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck by Caesar.
The next second, she felt herself flying!
Caesar actually used her as a "dragon-body megaphone" and threw her toward the bat swarm with all his might!
"Waaaaaaaah—!!!!"
Cecilia was scared out of her wits in mid-air and instinctively let out a piercing scream.
The high-decibel dragon roar, mixed with the innate pressure of the True Dragon Bloodline, acted like an invisible shockwave, instantly colliding with the bat swarm's ultrasound!
"Screech—!"
The bat swarm was instantly thrown into chaos!
Their fragile sonar organs simply couldn't withstand the impact of the dragon roar, and they fell from the crystal walls one by one like kites with broken strings, screaming as they went.
"Nicely done!"
Caesar praised loudly, and taking this opportunity, stomped on the Ground!
"[Sand Tomb]!"
The hard crystallized rock layers groaned under the influence of his skill, instantly disintegrating and shattering into a violent flow of debris, completely burying the fallen and disoriented bat swarm alive!
[Ding! Killed Fluorescent Bat LV.18, gained experience points...]
[Ding!...]
A series of System notification sounds rang out.
While the zombie ants were still crawling slowly and hadn't surrounded them yet, Caesar hurried over, dug through the debris with his claws, and examined the corpse of a bat.
Sure enough.
[Mushroom Spore (Deep Infection)]
The inside of the corpse was likewise filled with disgusting white mycelium.
"Could the entire ecosystem be infected..."
Caesar's heart sank.
He was now certain that the massive fungal carpet was the source of the infection.
Behind them, the endless zombie ants had reached the edge of the fungal carpet and were continuously surging toward them.
Caesar took a deep breath, preparing to activate [Bulldoze] to create terrain obstacles and clear the wave of mobs before considering his next move.
However, just then, something unexpected happened—
The temperature of the surrounding air plummeted.
A cold, deathly aura appeared out of nowhere.
Immediately after, semi-transparent shadows emitting a faint light actually drifted out from the hard rock walls!
[Wraith LV.14]
[Earthbound Spirit LV.15]
It was the undead!
Caesar instantly became alert, shielding Cecilia in front of him.
(Cecilia: "???")
These ghosts and Wraiths took various forms, but they paid no attention to the two dragons, instead launching attacks directly at the zombie ant swarm attempting to step outside the fungal carpet!
Wherever the cold Nether Qi passed, the movements of the zombie ants instantly became sluggish, and a layer of white frost condensed on their bodies!
A battle no one could have imagined broke out right before Caesar's eyes.
The world within the fungal carpet also seemed to be enraged, as more "zombie" monsters emerged from its depths with stiff steps, their bodies more or less entangled with mycelium and white patches.
For a moment, the entire underground space was in complete chaos—
In the air, various undead shadows drifted about, using their cold aura of death to contend with the zombies.
On the Ground, an army of monsters infected by the fungus charged fearlessly.
Two completely different "undead" factions were engaged in a tragic slaughter to fight over the boundary of that fungal carpet.
Caesar and Cecilia stood at the edge of the battlefield, completely stunned.
"Undead... vs... Zombies?"
Caesar's dragon maw hung wide open.
What's the situation? An undead version of Plants vs. Zombies?
Isn't the style of this new map a bit off?!