The scene before him was entirely different from the previous one. In contrast to the earlier sweltering heat, this place was far gloomier and colder.
Opening up before him like an expansive miniature world, the terrain was rugged and steep, with all kinds of peculiar flora growing upon the rocks.
Cassius could recognize several of them—spore mushrooms, algae dust, and bullywug horns—all plants that grew only in the deepest subterranean reaches.
Luminescent stone, glowing crystals, and phosphorescent moss, lichen, and fungi cast a dim illumination over scattered patches of the expanse.
Clusters of unknown crystals grew in heaps across the cliff walls, shimmering with a faint blue luminescence that cast the surrounding stone in deep indigo.
"Is this... the Underdark?"
"No."
The depth here clearly exceeded the bounds of an ordinary cave system, reaching into an altogether deeper domain.
Namely, that dark, unknown world lying beneath the feet of surface dwellers—commonly known as the Underdark.
Yet this region of the Bottomless Cavern seemed sealed off, disconnected from the outside world, more resembling an unnaturally formed subterranean pocket.
The red dragon flicked his forked tongue, using his extraordinarily keen sense of smell to taste the myriad pheromones in the air. Finally, he caught a familiar scent—the blood of the behir.
He glanced toward a corner of the rock wall. Illuminated by glowing crystals, the coloration there was distinctly different from its surroundings, marked by splatters of cyan-blue blood. Following this trail would make tracking the escaped beast a simple matter.
"Found you..."
"Behir."
He would not let this enemy slip away again; he had to ensure a killing blow in a single strike.
Cassius had just emerged from a grueling battle and exhausted his spells, so he drew upon the power of Sorcery Surge to recover his spell slots.
A surge of majestic sorcerous power flooded his body.
"Invisibility."
He silently chanted the incantation.
Instantly, his body—over seven meters long—melted once more into the darkness.
...
In a secluded corner, the behir was weakly licking its wounds.
Its massive body, originally seventeen meters in length, was now reduced to under ten. The rear of its form was no longer a tail, but a terrible, gaping cross-sectional stump.
Torn muscle, mangled organs, and trickling cyan-blue blood welled from the wound.
It was plain to see just how grievous the behir's injuries were.
Barring any miracle, its lower body would likely never fully regenerate; all it could do was let the wound slowly heal over, leaving it a crippled behir, even if it still retained seven pairs of legs.
"Curse that dragon," it muttered under its breath.
At the thought of the culprit behind all this—that bizarre dragon sorcerer—boundless hatred gleamed in the behir's small, ghostly blue eyes, an ancient enmity etched into its bloodline fused with the fresh agony of its maiming.
Behirs never nested in regions inhabited by dragons.
If a dragon attempted to nest within dozens of miles of a behir's lair, the behir was compelled to slay or drive it away.
Only when a dragon proved too powerful to overcome would the behir abandon its territory and travel far in search of a new home.
That was precisely why it had abandoned its previous lair.
Across the gloomy cliff face, a strange, inexplicable breeze drifted past, causing the behir to shiver slightly.
"This feeling..."
For some reason, an instinctive shudder surged from the depths of its bloodline. Instantly on guard, the behir straightened its body, its seven pairs of legs digging into the stone wall.
Yet it was already too late.
"Got you."
Descending from above, the red dragon materialized out of thin air, seizing the behir in a vice-like grip with both foreclaws.
And this time, he caught not its torso, but its neck.
Cassius had learned from his prior experience. He doubted the behir could sever its own head and survive.
"Skreee—!"
The behir stared at the red dragon in disbelief.
Its massive body thrashed frantically, its seven pairs of legs scraping violently against the cliff wall as it slammed its weight about, desperate to break free from the dragon's chokehold.
Crash!
The stone face cracked and crumbled under the impact of its body, raining shattered rock to the ground below.
Yet the red dragon refused to loosen his grip in the slightest. Opening his maw, he clamped his jaws down onto its neck, sinking rows of razor-sharp fangs deep into flesh and muscle.
Meanwhile, his long, muscular tail continuously lashed against the behir's severed stump, sending blood splattering in all directions.
The behir let out whimpers that grew weaker by the second.
Its frantic thrashing gradually subsided.
The red dragon still did not let go, pressing with even greater force until he was nearly spent.
Crack!
A sharp snap rang out as the behir's sturdy neck vertebrae gave way.
Cassius finally released his jaws in relief, and the behir's massive corpse plummeted from the cliff wall, hitting the ground with a resounding thud.
"Roar—!"
Standing atop the cliff, the red dragon spread his wings and unleashed a long, exultant roar.
[You have slain Behir - Man'a. Gained 7,200 XP.]
[Your class level has increased to Level 5.]
A dense list of spells appeared once again, filling Cassius with boundless joy.
Reaping rewards after an exhilarating battle was truly the greatest satisfaction.
Upon reaching Level 5, the sorcerer class granted two additional 3rd-level spells.
When it came to his spell selection, Cassius did not choose the renowned Fireball, leaning instead toward utility and defensive magic.
His racial feat, Maximize Breath, already provided more than enough raw damage, so Fireball was hardly a priority.
After a moment of contemplation, Cassius made his choice.
[You have gained additional 3rd-level spells: Blink, Protection from Energy.]
Blink
3rd-level Transmutation
For the spell's duration, there is a 50% chance you vanish from your current plane and appear on the Ethereal Plane. While on the Ethereal Plane, you can perceive the plane you came from, though everything appears in shades of gray. Other creatures can perceive and affect you, or be affected by you, only if they are also on the Ethereal Plane.
Protection from Energy
3rd-level Abjuration
For the duration (up to 1 hour), one willing creature you touch has resistance to one damage type of your choice: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder.
Had the red dragon possessed these two spells during his battle against the behir, he would never have feared its Lightning Breath so deeply, nor would he have been forced to close into such perilous melee.
The knowledge of both spells manifested directly in Cassius's mind.
They were far more intricate, complex, and versatile than his earlier spells—so much so that for the first few moments after they took root, he could barely comprehend them.
Standing in place, he pondered them for a long while before finally grasping their foundational principles, gaining the ability to cast them, if somewhat clumsily.
Between each tier of the Weave, the complexity and difficulty of comprehension multiplied several times over.
Fortunately, Cassius was a sorcerer who cast through intuition and natural talent.
He needed only to grasp the fundamental mechanics and bend reality through his sheer force of will, without having to calculate every minute detail or construct rigid mental models like a wizard.
Regardless, Cassius had finally taken another step forward, touching the third layer of the Weave.
Chapter 26