After going into the sea, I met the witch.

Ryan's gaze fell upon the notes, and the gray-text translations came to life before him.

[...The effects of the Crimson Radiance on us are becoming increasingly severe...At this point, the team is down to only four members...Fortunately, after surviving the initial invasion of the Crimson Radiance, our bodies seem to have become stronger. Although we have experienced some "minor" side effects, as long as we can maintain our consciousness and uncover the truth, any sacrifice is worthwhile...]

[...We've been deep inside the inner ring area for some time now. The upper layer is covered in yellow sand, while the lower layer contains a complex network of karst caves...]

[...Upon arriving here, the monsters' strength had increased considerably, and even quite a few monsters of the [High Rank] subjugation level had appeared, including the Crimson Knight roaming the desert and the Roaring Black Tiger guarding the gate...]

[...According to the established plan, our team was supposed to go straight to the central area, but before that, I made an astonishing discovery...Deep underground, I sensed the lingering aura of an "Ancient Dragon"...]

Even though it wasn't the first time we'd encountered it, that terrifying aura still sent shivers down our spines... Could the owner of that aura be the "He" we've been searching for?

I don't know if anyone will ever see this record I left behind; the chances are probably slim... But anyway, if anyone does end up here, please be careful and prepare some antidotes to counteract the "miasma" before heading into the 'Rotten Abyss'...

[Seventh Reconnaissance Hunting Squad, Vice Commander, Loik Froome, to remain.]

Chapter 106 Treasures Amidst the Miasma

[Campfire Point - Outpost of the Boulder]

Ryan put down his notebook and sighed softly.

The records left by Loik, the vice-captain of the Seventh Reconnaissance Hunting Group, did not reveal more information about the mysterious island, but they did reveal several important pieces of information.

Firstly, the Red Sun has an impact on humanity, but if one can withstand this impact, it seems that some benefit can be gained, albeit at a small price. This is similar to the "Red Sun Evolution" of Great Silver, but it's unclear what this so-called "small price" actually is.

Secondly, his earlier intuition was correct; the increasingly pungent stench ahead indeed concealed immense danger. Leaving aside the "ancient dragon's whereabouts," the mere mention of "miasma" by Vice-Commander Loik sent a chill down Ryan's spine.

Neither "miasma" nor "poison" is a good thing. The combination of the two is enough to send chills down one's spine just by hearing about it.

Ryan currently only has two "antidote supplies" on hand: "specialty matsutake mushrooms" and "abundant pearls".

The former only has an inhibitory and alleviating effect on poison, while the latter is mainly for healing wounds, and it's hard to say whether it has any effect on "miasma"...

However, as the saying goes, where there are venomous snakes, there are often antidotes nearby. If you want to find a specific medicine for "miasma", you probably have to go down to the "Rotten Abyss" to look for it.

Thirdly, the notes mention two [high-rank] monsters: the Crimson Knight roaming the desert and the Roaring Black Tiger guarding the gate. Ryan has already seen the former, which is a [high-rank] unicorn dragon. As for the latter, judging from its name, it seems to be a tiger-like special species guarding the passage into the central area?

These are the three key pieces of intelligence. As for the "Ancient Dragon" mentioned in the notes, Ryan chuckled. With his current strength, if an Ancient Dragon dared to appear before him, he'd be willing to die on the spot in front of it. (Hilarious.jpg)

Besides the notes, there was nothing else of use in the cave. Ryan rested briefly by the campfire before getting up and leaving.

Time was running out, so he had to continue his exploration.

After leaving the narrow crevice, Ryan reached the end of the passage, let out a soft breath, and then stepped out.

The sudden brightness made him instinctively squint. Only after his pupils adjusted to the abrupt change in light was he able to properly observe his surroundings.

The exit of the passage is a small protruding rock formation on the cave wall, tens of meters above the ground. Looking down from above, it is a wide area covered with a large number of grayish-white, unidentified coral-like plants.

The entire area was shrouded in a grayish-yellow mist, making it impossible to see the specific situation inside.

All Ryan could see were many pale white ribs, several meters high, stuck in the ground. Judging from their length, the owner of these ribs must have been no smaller than the Rathalos leader in life, but here, he was just one of the many nameless creatures corrupted.

A strong, putrid stench filled Ryan's nostrils, making him feel slightly dizzy. He looked down at the grayish-yellow mist below, his expression grave: "That must be 'miasma'?"

After observing for a while, Ryan decided to go down himself and actually experience the "miasma" to see how much it affected his body.

Following the vines hanging down from the edge of the platform, Ryan landed easily on the ground. He was in a high place, not yet shrouded in the gray-yellow miasma.

He glanced around and saw that the area was full of those strange grayish-white corals. Unfortunately, the panel didn't give any information about this type of coral plant, which made Ryan sigh with regret.

After pausing for a moment, Ryan reached out and grasped the hilt of the greatsword behind him, and carefully walked towards the "miasma zone".

The grayish-yellow miasma severely obstructs vision, making it difficult to see what's inside. If a special species were to lurk within and launch a sudden attack, it would be dangerous, so a high level of vigilance must be maintained.

The closer they got to the "miasma zone," the stronger the stench in the air became. By the time Ryan actually stepped into it, it wasn't just "slight dizziness," but "a stinging sensation all over his body."

With each breath, he had to inhale the "miasma" in the environment, which caused Ryan's lungs to burn with pain.

"We absolutely cannot stay in this environment for long, or we'll run into serious problems!"

Ryan felt a chill run down his spine, but he did not leave the "miasma zone"; instead, he quickly began searching the surrounding area.

After a while, when he felt the stinging pain in his body was about to reach its limit, his eyes lit up when they fell on a peculiar plant with oval-shaped fruit.

Because the panel provided a corresponding prompt for this plant.

【Elimination Fruit】A peculiar fruit that can grow in various extreme places. It is relatively rare. After consuming the fruit, one can remove one's abnormal status in a very short time, such as poisoning, miasma, burns, frostbite, etc. However, it cannot remove the "fainting state" caused by being attacked or certain extreme negative statuses.

"found it!"

Ryan was delighted and gently picked the fruit from the plant.

This [Eliminate Fruit] plant has three fruits, representing three opportunities to remove the abnormal status.

In terms of detoxification alone, this stuff is much more effective than "specialty matsutake mushrooms." Of course, it doesn't have the energy-boosting effect of matsutake mushrooms, nor does it have the healing properties of abundant pearls.

Feeling a sharp pain inside his body, Ryan took out a fruit that could eliminate pain and threw it into his mouth.

The fruit was tiny, only about the size of a thumb. After a quick chew, it tasted slightly sweet and was quickly swallowed by Ryan.

One second later, Ryan felt the stinging sensation in his body was significantly relieved. Two seconds later, all the stinging sensation disappeared. By the third second, there was no more "miasma" left in his body, and with each breath, a cool sensation lingered in his lungs. Even if he inhaled miasma again, there would be no more stinging sensation.

"After using the fruit to remove the abnormal state, can it significantly increase resistance to that abnormal state for a period of time? Similar to the principle of vaccine antibodies?"

The unexpected joy brought a smile to Ryan's face.

With enough "elimination fruits," his movements in the Rotten Lands will no longer be restricted, which will greatly benefit his exploration.

Having tasted success, Ryan became even more motivated to find fruit.

Just as he found another "elimination fruit" with two fruits and picked it up, he suddenly felt the ground shake.

"Buzz...buzz..."

The tremors grew stronger and stronger; even the pebbles on the ground began to shake violently, as if a colossal creature was rapidly rolling toward them.

Ryan's expression changed slightly. Judging from the movement, this guy's weight was terrifying, and it was at least no lighter than the Rathalos leader.

Holding his breath and concentrating, Ryan felt a surge of spiritual energy and accumulated power, entering a state of "power accumulation" ahead of schedule.

"Rumble..."

The rolling sound in the distance grew increasingly alarming. A few seconds later, a huge sphere with a radius of nearly ten meters tore through a large patch of grayish-yellow miasma.

Its surface was covered with thick, pale bone armor, and wherever it went, the ribs and grayish-white coral were crushed into fragments.

The clues about the facets came to mind.

【Bone Armor Dragon: Brute Wyvern, Lower-Tier Pinnacle, a powerful and unique species that inhabits the "Rotten Miasma". Its body can secrete a heavy oil that tightly adheres the bones scattered throughout the "Rotten Miasma" to its body, forming a sturdy heavy armor.

It has a sturdy body, a tail as long as its body, and short forelimbs. Although it looks clumsy and stiff, it actually has very flexible dark skin. This special body structure allows the Bone Armor Dragon to curl up its body and roll forward like a tire.

The Bone Armor Dragon possesses a special organ called a "sleeping bag," which can emit a hypnotic metabolic gas that induces a strong "sleep urge" in its inhabitants.

"Lower-level vertex?"

Looking at the information on the panel, Ryan's lips curled into a faint smile.

I'm really sleepy, so I gave you a pillow.

Right now, he just needs a special species at the "lower-level peak" level to upgrade the level of his wandering clone.

Although his combat power had greatly increased after the awakening of the [Relic - Azure Medal], Ryan estimated that, excluding weapon factors, he was still a bit short of the level to fight a [High-Rank] Unicorn Dragon.

If we could advance another level, we would be much more confident.

It must be said that the monsters inhabiting the inner ring area are quite powerful. Since entering, the weakest of the special species that Ryan has encountered so far is at least at the lower peak level.

The Bone Armor Dragon rolls incredibly fast, like a giant, speeding tire, and it seems to have its own unique way of locking onto enemies while rolling, precisely rolling towards where Ryan is.

A nearly ten-meter-tall "tire" covered in sharp bones came towards you, and the intense sense of oppression would probably have frightened an ordinary person so much that they would have stiffened up and collapsed to the ground.

But for Ryan, who has faced so many different types of special species along the way, it's nothing at all.

He made no attempt to dodge, remaining in a "charging" posture, like a pitiful ant overestimating its own strength and blocking the way of a speeding train.

A fierce gust of wind came rushing towards him, causing the hair under Ryan's helmet to flutter backward. When the distance between them was only one meter, Ryan moved.

"Boom--!"

With one step, large cracks appeared on the ground beneath his feet. Facing the oncoming "Bone Armor Dragon Rolling Ball," he did not retreat but advanced, charging forward on his own initiative.

This move was not due to his overestimation of his abilities, but rather because of his newly acquired [Special Sword Technique - Charge Attack].

"boom!"

As he charged forward, Ryan could feel the blood in his body roaring, and his heart pounding faster and faster, like a drumbeat resounding in his ears.

The panel doesn't provide a specific explanation of what "blood energy" is, but Ryan did gain some personal insights during his previous training attempts.

The so-called "blood and qi" is more like a concrete manifestation of his physique. It has form but no substance, and the flesh cannot touch it, but it truly exists.

Before mastering the two special sword techniques, Ryan had a vague sense of "blood energy," but lacking the correct method, he could not guide it and could only let it flow freely within his body.

Now, with the right methods, these "vital energies" can finally exert a truly powerful effect!

"Boom--!"

As Ryan charged forward, he collided with the rolling bone armor dragon.

A faint blood-red membrane appeared on his body. It was a protective membrane formed by blood energy. This thing had an extremely strong kinetic energy absorption capacity. At the moment the man and the dragon collided, ripples that kept spreading formed on the surface of the blood energy membrane. Ryan, who was protected by the blood energy membrane, hardly felt the impact of the collision. The process of accumulating power was not interrupted.

In contrast, when the Bone Armor Dragon collided with Ryan, it was as if it had hit an incredibly hard piece of metal. Not only could it not break Ryan, but it was also sent flying by Ryan's impact, crashing heavily into the mountainside with a "rumble" as it fell to the ground.

The Bone Armor Dragon, disoriented from its "bent and rolling" form, collapsed to the ground, revealing its soft belly, and was less than two meters away from Ryan.

Ryan would certainly not miss such a golden opportunity.

The greatsword slashed out, its silver-blue shadow cutting through the air, carrying with it a trail of icy mist, and struck the bone-armored dragon's abdomen with tremendous force.

Without the protection of "bone armor," the Bone Armor Dragon's abdomen was quite vulnerable. The greatsword easily sliced ​​through its abdominal lining, and a large amount of blood gushed out. A thin layer of frost spread outwards from the wound.

The severely injured Bone Armor Dragon was jolted awake from its "stunned state" by intense pain. It rolled over, swung its large tail covered in bone spikes, and tried to force Ryan back.

In the past, Ryan would have had no choice but to retreat and dodge such an attack. After all, he was just flesh and blood, and even if he wore a suit of scale armor, he could not withstand such a blunt force attack.

But it's different now.

Facing the massive hammer tail sweeping towards him, Ryan held his greatsword in front of him and charged forward with both feet.

A faint glow of blood reappeared on his body.

The massive hammer tail was blocked by the greatsword, which was filled with blood-red light. The moment the two collided, the blood-red light suddenly erupted, forming a strong recoil force that knocked back the hammer tail that was coming down. At the same time, the exploded "blood energy" flowed back into Ryan's body, allowing him to complete "a period of charging up" in an instant.

Furthermore, the special skill [Turn Defense into Offense lv.1] attached to the loot dropped by the Mud Dragon also caused his internal power to surge.