The dungeon has been parasitized

Chapter 137 Large Chunks of Meat

hula-

Air currents swept across the wingtips, lifting the lithe body. The wind brushed through the gaps in the scales, carrying a slightly cool touch, and Klein felt an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.

At this moment, he is a winged serpent dinosaur.

He flapped his wings, his body skimming the water's surface, his wingtips almost touching the lake's surface, stirring up a circle of tiny ripples. Then he raised his head and soared back into the sky, the swamp spreading out beneath him—gray-green moss, crisscrossing shallow waters, dead tree trunks, and that lingering, muddy, fishy smell.

Apart from the taste, everything was absolutely wonderful.

The speculation about the mission, that I might just be some kind of program, some kind of puppet with a predetermined direction, weighed on my mind like a stone.

He spent a long time thinking in the plantation, the vines twisting and loosening, then twisting again, but he couldn't come up with a clear answer. His emotions were suffocating, with nowhere to go.

Then Klein suddenly thought of the group of pterosaurs.

What does it feel like to fly?

It turns out that flying is really great.

However, Klein wasn't foolish enough to go for a drive alone. In fact, he was followed by a group of winged serpent dragons. Overlooking the swamp, the sparse aquatic trees were covered in shadows cast by the winged serpent dragons, and the monsters in their path fled in panic.

It seems these monsters really have a psychological trauma from the winged serpent dragons.

However, the swamp has become more vibrant than it was a few days ago. But after being swept away by hundreds of winged serpent dragons, only a small number of the monsters remaining here have survived by sheer luck.

More likely, they are new faces who migrated from other caves during the demonic tide.

However, they did not encounter a single flying monster. Just as the rat tribe said, flying monsters seemed to be very rare. Klein had only seen the Winged Serpent Dragon so far.

Klein stopped thinking about the mission. At least not now.

He filled his wings with wind and used the updraft to spiral upwards.

The view stretched out further and further—beyond the edge of the swamp were continuous gray rock walls, with several dark openings embedded in them, like the entrances to a nest left by some giant creature.

Further away, the luminous crystals hanging from the dome form a band of light, the evening light being warm, enveloping the entire underground cavity in a thin layer of warmth.

This is the world he lives in.

From the air, it was larger and more desolate than Klein had imagined.

I want to see the outside world.

The idea surfaced uncontrollably amidst the jumble of thoughts: this vast, unknown, fascinating yet extremely dangerous world, full of wondrous allure.

Now that we have the [Clone] skill, we can go out and take a look, right?

Klein didn't know whether his thoughts came from his own heart or were being driven by the system as before.

Perhaps he was just a puppet controlled by the system, but he was freed by a erroneous mission.

The mission seemed to be slowly repairing itself; even though Klein hadn't done anything, the mission's progress suddenly increased on its own.

If I continue exploring, will I truly become a puppet driven by the tasks at hand?

Did I come into this world just to complete this task filled with gibberish?

This was the worst possible outcome Klein could imagine, but it didn't make sense if he was really just a puppet; in that case, there would be no need for his soul to exist at all.

In that case, wouldn't it be better to just use the system to completely replace yourself?

I can't figure it out...

Klein felt the refreshing breeze, but his emotions were in turmoil.

Forget it, let's take a step by step.

At least Yanami is still here, and I will protect her.

Klein shook off his complicated thoughts and continued flying, soon arriving at the edge of the swamp.

The swamp is actually more like a basin that holds water, with high ground around the edges and a low center, so all the water gathers together, while the surrounding land is covered with trees.

But flying is more physically demanding than expected.

As the pterosaur's muscles continued to throb, they gradually became sore, and the airflow between the scales was no longer just cool, but began to carry a burning friction sensation.

He's still not very skilled, after all, Klein wasn't born a pterosaur.

I'm a little tired... It seems that pterosaurs aren't good at long-term flight? Or maybe I'm just struggling too much to fly... Klein glanced at the other pterosaurs following behind him; they seemed to be doing quite well.

Klein began to slow down, intending to find a place to rest.

What is that?

Near the edge of the cave, in the forest there, there was a huge... piece of meat?

This piece of meat is huge; if I had to give a figure, Klein felt it was three cubic meters.

It was like cutting a piece of flesh from a giant creature and throwing it into the forest. It was a piece of bright red flesh, and Klein, hovering in the air, could even smell the stench of raw meat.

Why is there such a large piece of meat in the forest?

Klein's first thought was of a bloody slime, which was also a big lump of meat, but he immediately dismissed the idea.

The Bloody Slime is much bigger, and it will keep chasing other monsters, but this piece of flesh just stays in one place and doesn't move.

Moreover, since Bloody Slimes are composed of the bodies of countless other magical beasts, they are often covered with the limbs and fur of various animals, but this piece of meat is just a clean piece of meat.

This reminded Klein of Marion, who had been skinned alive and now looked a lot like this lump of flesh.

Could it be that Marion escaped? Or perhaps it was actually the corpse of some monster that was eaten away until its skin was gone?

Klein was intrigued by it, so he activated the spell: Appraisal.

Launch failed.

Launch failed...?

Is it because the distance is too far?

Klein was still circling in the air and was getting tired, so he decided to go down and take a break.

Klein narrowed his wings, lowered one wingtip, and tilted his body, drawing an arc.

Instead of landing directly on the ground where the piece of meat was, he chose a sturdy ancient tree nearby.

Flapping its wings to slow down, the Klein Pteranodon extended its claws forward, its hooked talons opening, and grabbed a thick, horizontal branch the instant it touched the treetop. Its wings folded in smoothly, its body swayed twice, and it regained its balance.

The tree canopy suddenly sank, shaking off a few withered leaves.

The other winged serpent dragons also landed on the surrounding trees, causing a rustling sound throughout the area.

Klein used his hind paws to adjust his position on the branch until he was sure he was standing firmly before raising his head to take another look at the large piece of meat.

Upon closer inspection, it didn't look like a corpse at all; it really did look like a piece of meat. We were about ten meters away from this piece of meat, which should be enough distance, right?

Klein activated his skill again: Appraisal

Launch failed.

Huh? That's strange... Isn't it close enough?