V2: Chapter 3: Those Disgusting and Terrifying Monsters

Inside the Seaside Magic Tower.

“Miss Liang Di, look over there! Those things have appeared again!”

A magician stood by the window, pointing towards the sea.

Liang Di, who was organizing shop information, immediately left the table and peered over. She saw a thick fog shrouding the vast sea, and within the fog, something was slowly wriggling towards the shore.

“Looks like there are quite a few of them.” Liang Di hadn’t taken any weapons, not even a magic potion.

“Let’s go, Stacy, Robbins, let’s go down.”

Stacy and Robbins, though older than Liang Di, weren’t much older—both were in their late twenties. However, they were already very experienced in combat. They had been in the Seaside Magic Tower for a year, suffering countless injuries, but surviving every battle. They were considered elites.

In just a few dozen days, Liang Di's body had accumulated numerous scars. Her legs and arms were covered in purplish-blue marks, and countless slash-like cuts followed. She was pushing herself too hard, spending every day wandering the beach, practically begging the monsters to come after her. Her actions weren't about defending against the monsters' invasion; they were about hunting them.

"Be careful, Miss Liang Di, this wave… I feel there are at least four or five." Stacy dripped a magic potion into her eyes, looked again at the thick fog, and gasped. "My God, not just four or five, there are probably seven!"

Robbins immediately raised his staff and used an explosion spell on the sky, alerting everyone inside the magic tower to come out and fight.

“Seven! That's too many. The last time I saw so many was last year, and there were only five. Ten magicians were affected; none died, but six were seriously injured, and three were slightly injured.” Robbins anxiously watched the sea, praying that these monsters were just passing by.

Of course, that was impossible.

Liang Di's tentacles emerged from under her skirt, revealing cute little horns. From her sleeve, she flicked out a small magic wand, handmade by Octaville herself. The wand was small and adorable, only about the length of two palms.

“Prepare for battle!”

Liang Di stood at the forefront.

Stacy grabbed her arm. "No, Miss Liang Di, this situation looks really dangerous. If you're seriously injured, the Tower Master will be very angry."

Liang Di smiled faintly and pushed the other's hand away. "I'm fine. I came here for a trial, and of course, to atone for my sins. If I die here, then so be it. If I don't die, I know how to live from now on. Don't worry about me, Stacy."

Stacy was taken aback, then slowly released her hand.

"Miss Liang Di, please be careful."

Liang Di nodded.

Inside the Magic Tower, the magicians who were resting or researching magic immediately stopped what they were doing upon seeing the signal of the explosion magic. They grabbed their wands, magic staffs, or magic potions, not daring to delay for a moment, and rushed out of the Magic Tower.

"This level of explosion signal probably means a major crisis has occurred," a girl wearing round-framed glasses, carrying many bottles and jars, said to the person beside her as she hurried down the tower.

"Yeah, I wonder how many monsters will come, or are they just that dangerous this time?"

"Alright, we'll find out when we get down there. Be careful."

Thirteen magicians rushed out of the magic tower. Their expressions instantly turned serious the moment they looked at the sea.

"My God..."

"This scene is exactly what those church lunatics call hell."

"Don't talk nonsense. This world doesn't have heaven or hell."

"That's why we call them lunatics..."

Liang Di waved to them, "Stay behind me, and be careful not to get hurt. I don't want to see any of you injured or killed."

Her tone was strangely familiar to Liang Lin. Yes, whenever there was a battle, she would subconsciously imitate Liang Lin, hoping to understand Liang Lin's state of mind.

If it were Sister Liang Lin, would she do this?

Liang Di always thought this.

The sea monster was getting closer and closer; the magicians could probably make out its outline.

"There's a tentacle monster... but why does this tentacle monster look...? Something feels off."

"The eyes."

Robbins adjusted his glasses, flipping through a magic book. "It's covered in eyes, more dangerous than ordinary tentacle monsters, and twice as agile."

Liang Di, standing at the front, saw it clearly. The tentacle monster was covered in countless eyes of varying sizes, black pupils darting about in their sockets, bloodshot and filled with red veins.

"It's really disgusting."

Liang Di felt unlucky, after all, she was also a kind of tentacle monster.

Luckily, she wasn't that disgusting, otherwise Liang Lin would probably look down on her.

Hmph, Sister Liang Lin wouldn't look down me; she was the kindest person in the world.

Then, the second monster was revealed to everyone.

It wasn't large, had two wings, and flew in the sky. A pair of red eyes bulged from their sockets, resembling a rat, with sharp teeth reaching all the way to its chest. After looking at it for a while, it even looked a little comical.

“This one is relatively easier to deal with; one magician should be enough,” Robbins visibly relaxed.

Hearing this, the magicians behind him also breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, the third and fourth approached.

The third and fourth were both tall, thin monsters with a thin membrane on their faces. They weren't large, only half a head taller than a human, but their terrifying appearances exuded a powerful aura of horror.

The fifth one looked disgusting; Liang Di felt nauseous after just one glance.

This blob of something was dark brown, covered in brown slime that gurgled down. It had no eyes; a mouth covered its entire body, emitting huge whimpers like a giant infant. It dragged its body forward, wriggling like a snail stripped of its shell.

"This thing is truly disgusting."

Behind them, a magician voiced Liang Di's thoughts.

Liang Di nodded in agreement.

It really was disgusting; she felt nauseous.

The sixth one surfaced.

"Hiss~"

Everyone gasped.

It was too ugly.

Yes.

Absolutely too ugly.

Three grotesque, human-like heads grew from the monster's belly. The monster had no head, only a severed-looking neck with a ring of rotting flesh, resembling intestines, hanging from it, dragging in the sea. It moved slowly, its body hunched over, like a frail old man.

"Wait, that's…!"

The crowd wasn't surprised by the ugly monster itself, but by the seventh, the final monster. Because, behind the ugly one, the seventh monster radiated a holy light that illuminated the entire sea.

The monster had hands and feet, its hands clasped together as if in prayer to the sky. Behind it were eighteen wings with pure white feathers.

At first glance, one might mistake it for an angel descended to earth. However, when everyone's gaze fell upon its face, they instantly felt a sense of impending doom.

The monster's face was composed of countless tiny red holes, which moved as if breathing. Its face slumped and then bulged again; anyone with trypophobia would likely faint.

"Fuck!"

Robbins shouted, his voice trembling.

"This thing, this thing is actually an SSS-level monster!"

The highest-ranking monster among the others, the tall, thin one, was only A-level. The strength of an SSS-level monster was unimaginable.

Speaking of SSS-level, Liang Di recalled her second day at the Magic Tower, when she encountered an S-level monster.

At that time, she had come out alone, without any magicians accompanying her. The monster's location was also quite far from the magic tower. Even if magicians came to her aid immediately, it would take at least a minute for them to quickly draw a teleportation array, which was rather complex.

The monster's tongue dragged on the ground, and it emitted a strong stench. Its eyes were sewn shut. It was about three stories tall, resembling the tall, thin A-rank monsters, but its agility and resistance to magic were a level higher.

Liang Di had seen this kind of monster in her magic book and knew its level. Not daring to be careless, she drew her magic wand from her sleeve, raised it in mid-air, and took several steps back, unleashing all her tentacles in an attack stance.

The monster also saw Liang Di at that moment. Perhaps because half of Liang Di's bloodline came from the monster faction, it was curious about her and reached out a claw, trying to grab her head and hold it up to examine it.

With those sharp, pointed fingers, if he were to grab Liang Di's head, it would definitely be a headshot, probably spitting out her brains. Liang Di was startled and leaped up, quickly dodging his claw.

"..."

She raised her magic wand, chanting incantations.

Bang!!!

A violent explosion rang out, blasting a hole in the monster's body, from which foul-smelling black blood flowed. The monster was instantly enraged, letting out a piercing roar that echoed across half the sky.

Good, now the magician inside the magic tower will definitely notice this immediately.

If she can stall for even a minute, someone will come to her aid. However…

Liang Di landed steadily on the ground, her tentacles shooting out, aiming straight for the monster's face.

"Rather than waiting for reinforcements, I'd rather experience the thrill of a one-on-one kill!" Liang Di extended her left hand, fingers spread, her right hand holding a magic wand. "Explode!"

Bang!

Bang Bang!

Several more explosions followed, and three large holes appeared in the monster's shoulders and legs.

Although the monster was enormous and strangely strong, its movements were slow. Liang Di's tentacles pierced directly through its skull. Pulling it out again, the tentacles were stained with the monster's dark brown blood, a pungent, putrid stench spreading around.

Liang Di frowned in disgust.

Even so, the monster didn't fall. Completely enraged, it swung its twin arms, slamming them down at Liang Di. Liang Di nimbly dodged again. The monster's attacks came wave after wave, giving her no chance to breathe. Liang Di ran and leaped swiftly along the beach, dodging the monster's attacks.

Damn it, now it's not giving me a chance to fight back!

While dodging, Liang Di tried to seize an opportunity to attack the monster again. Unfortunately, this time the monster had learned its lesson. When Liang Di raised her magic wand, it blocked it with its large hand.

Bang!

The explosive magic seemed unable to cause any real damage to its palm. The monster lowered its hand, letting out a strange, long howl, as if laughing triumphantly. The laughter was shrill and unpleasant, causing Liang Di to unconsciously frown and want to cover her ears.

More than half a minute had passed.

The people on the Magic Tower were also anxious. Stacy urged Robbins, "Hurry up! What if Miss Liang Di gets hurt if we're any later? How will we explain to the Tower Master? Oh dear, really..."

Teleportation arrays cannot be drawn by two people at the same time; only one person can complete them. Therefore, it was naturally Robbins, who was the fastest at drawing magic arrays inside, who was tasked with drawing them. Robbins was also sweating profusely at this moment. He didn't bother to wipe the sweat from his forehead and quickened his pace of drawing.

"I know, I know, I'm worried too... If the Tower Master finds out her daughter was hurt on her very first day here, I can't bear the responsibility."

"Seriously, why send such a young, inexperienced girl here for no reason?" A woman with a bun hairstyle and dressed provocatively muttered softly from the side.

"Clara, you can't be so rude!" Stacy scolded her. "You know what happened to Miss Liang Di. She has monster blood and is very strong. Although we don't know exactly what happened, she's probably here at the Magic Tower to train. She can help us a lot. Now that things are like this, you shouldn't be complaining."

Clara was still dissatisfied, but she obediently shut her mouth. "I know, I know, Captain, you're really carefree..."

"Hey! Look!"

The bespectacled girl who had been standing by the window pointed in Liang Di's direction and exclaimed excitedly, "Look! That monster just wobbled! It almost fell into the sea!"

"What?! Ivy, are you serious?" Clara immediately rushed to the bedside, pushed Ivy aside, and leaned out to look.

She saw huge sparks erupt from the monster's body. It staggered back several steps, lost its balance, and almost fell into the sea.

“My goodness…” Clara’s initially disdainful gaze instantly filled with admiration, and she spoke with a respectful tone, “Those two moves she just made were so cool! But… she’s still a long way from killing a monster.”

“Is she hurt?” Stacy asked.

Clara shook her head vigorously, continuing to peer out the window. "No, she's perfectly fine. She's dodged all the monster's attacks and is even fighting back fiercely. I feel... well, I feel like she's just a little bit short. If she could get close enough, she could cut the sutures in the monster's eyes."

Clara paused. "Oh dear! Could it be that she doesn't know how to deal with this kind of monster?"

"Hiss~" Ivy gasped, rubbing her chin. "Hmm... that's quite possible."

Just then, Robbins finished his work. He stood up, finally having a chance to wipe the sweat from his brow, and let out a long sigh. "Phew~ The magic circle is finished. Let's go."

Stacy said, "Robbins, Ivy, and I can go. Clara, you stay in the magic tower and observe the situation on the beach. With the three of us working together, we can kill that monster."

"Oh..." Clara said reluctantly, "I haven't gone out to kill monsters for half a month."

“There will always be another chance. Next time there's a monster, we'll send you. This time, we can handle it.”

Stacy finished speaking, grabbed Robbins' arm, and said, “Let's hurry up and go help Miss Liang Di.”

A dazzling white light emanated from the teleportation circle.

In the blink of an eye, they had arrived at the place where the monster had appeared.

Liang Di noticed them and then gestured for them to stay away.

Huh?

Stacy still took a step forward.

“Don’t come any closer!” Liang Di shouted.

The three magicians stood there helplessly, unsure whether to go or not.

“I want to deal with it by myself. Give me two more minutes. If I can’t manage, you all can go in together,” Liang Di continued to shout.

So she wanted to try to defeat the monster alone?

Stacy pulled Robbins and Ivy back two steps, maintaining a safe distance from the monster.

Many beginners have this idea, but they are all ultimately discouraged.

"We'll just stand here. If Miss Liang Di shows signs of fatigue or falls behind, we'll rush in immediately, understand?" Stacy instructed.

Robbins and Ivy nodded simultaneously.

Under another attack from the monster, Liang Di used her tentacles to leap into the air, tracing a graceful arc. At the same time, she raised the hand holding her magic wand and gently tapped it towards the monster's head.

"Wind."

...Thud!

Thud thud thud!

The crisp sounds of swords piercing flesh reached everyone's ears.

"Wow~ She can even do such difficult magic. No wonder she's the Tower Master's daughter." Ivy stared blankly, adjusting her glasses.

For the monster, it was all futile. Only by cutting the sutures in its eyes would it truly die. These wounds were merely minor to it.

"Miss Liang Di, the sutures!" Ivy megaphoned her hand, pointing towards the monster, and shouted to Liang Di, "Cut the sutures from its eyes! It'll die!"

Liang Di gave an "OK" sign.

Ivy was right. Liang Di hadn't looked at these kinds of magic books for quite some time, and had forgotten some of the content. She could only remember most of the monsters' levels, characteristics, and weaknesses. But she had conveniently forgotten this particular monster's weakness.

The monster was now in a rage. Its reddish-brown tongue, like a living vine, lunged at Liang Di. After Liang Di dodged, the tongue actually curved, preparing to wrap around her waist.

This time, Liang Di seemed truly unable to dodge. She could only use her tentacles to block. The monster's tongue coiled around two of Liang Di's tentacles. The tentacles were soft, and they broke without a sound. So, the two tentacles limply fell to the ground. Liang Di remained expressionless. Unless it was the wound inflicted by Liang Lin's sword, the pain wasn't excruciating.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Liang Di used the strength of her tentacles to leap to the monster's side. The monster raised its hand, and Liang Di's magic wand touched its palm precisely.

"Explode—"

The once indestructible hand suddenly snapped in two.

The monster's mournful cries pierced Liang Di's ears, which were standing beside it. Another hand followed immediately, and this time, Liang Di couldn't dodge in time, suffering cuts to her arm and thigh.

Blood flowed from Liang Di's body, and Stacy couldn't hold back any longer.

"Robbins! Ivy! Let's go!"

Robbins and Stacy drew their massive staffs and charged forward, while Ivy drew a magic potion, following closely behind.

Liang Di caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of her eye.

"Sorry, your guys turn were not needed yl anymore!"

In an instant, countless tentacles wrapped around the monster's head. Liang Di charged towards the monster, flicking a magic-enchanted dagger from her sleeve.

Sizzle!

This time, it was hot, bright red blood that gushed out.

The monster let out a mournful cry, its body rapidly drying out before the naked eye, finally crashing heavily into the sea, creating a massive splash.

Liang Di fell from the sky, landing steadily on the ground.

"Alright, the battle is over." She smiled at Stacy and the other two. "You don't need to lift a finger. My mission for today is complete. Okay, let's go back."

Stacy, Robbins, and Ivy were stunned.

Liang Di's speed in defeating a monster was more than twice that of the three of them combined.

So, this is what it means for talent to outweigh effort?

Back inside the Magic Tower.

"Miss Liang Di, you are truly... amazing!"

Clara had become Liang Di's devoted fangirl, her sharp-tongued, mature image completely gone, buzzing around Liang Di like a persistent mosquito.

"I'm only good because I have monster blood. As for magic and such, I still need your guidance."

Liang Di and Liang Lin were completely opposite in their appreciation of praise.

Liang Di was modest, but if Liang Lin was praised, she would raise her head high, like a proud swan, and say, "Yes, that's right, I'm a genius. You all still have a lot to learn from me."

Back to the present, seven monsters approached, one of them an SSS-rank. Its terrifying aura instantly enveloped the entire sky, making it hard for the magicians to breathe.

"Have you ever dealt with an SSS-rank monster before?" Liang Di turned to ask the people behind her.

Stacy's face was pale. She shook her head.

"I haven't seen one in the past year. I did encounter one SS-rank, though. In that battle, we deployed six magicians and successfully killed the monster, but one magician died in the process."

Then this SSS-rank monster…

Liang Di felt a slight tension rise within her.

Robbins said, "Before us, other senior magicians have dealt with SSS-rank monsters, and even those stronger than SSS-rank, most of them suffering heavy losses. As for us... we haven't tried yet, and we don't know..."

He didn't finish his sentence. He wanted to say, "We don't know how many of us will die," but then he thought it was too ominous, so he didn't say it.

The monsters were already close in on them, those hideous, indescribable creatures almost touching.

Liang Di gripped her magic wand tightly, a bad premonition rising in her heart, a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.