After talking a bit more about their plans regarding their journey deeper into the heart of the inheritance, the group eventually began their trek towards the plains, following the formation that Valyr had suggested to them earlier.
With both of them having reconnaissance skills, as well as the fact that they were most experienced when it came to combat, Hal and Valyr formed the vanguard of the group, taking a look at their surroundings to see if there were any enemies nearby. As this would be their first time fighting against the denizens of the inheritance, they actively searched for an enemy that looked to have been separated from the others.
As for Loreina, Vera, and Faulus, the three of them also kept their eyes peeled for any possible enemies, hoping to get an idea on how they would adapt their fighting styles to their enemies within the inheritance. With their stats bolstered after ascending to the peak of Rank 3, their attempts at looking around hadn't been entirely useless as Loreina eventually noticed a lone enemy a kilometer or so away from where they stood.
With their improved stats, it did not take long for them to get a better look of what they would have to fight against during their time in the inheritance. However, after getting a good look at their opponent, most of them somewhat regretted the fact that they had gone closer, with Hal and Valyr looking at it with grim expressions.
If one were to sum up the appearance of the being that was still a distance away from them in one word, then that word would have to be human. Though, that was the only similarity it and the five had going for it as the being looked to be an incredibly poor attempt at emulating the appearance of one.
All of the muscles making up its four appendages had been blown out of proportion, reminding a few among the group of how frogs looked before they let out a croak. Nevertheless, veins as thick as branches lined each and every muscle, which formed a stark contrast to its torso and its head.
For the lack of a better term, the being's torso and head looked to be lopsided, bent in an unnatural manner due to the weight of its upper limbs. It was as if all of the nutrients the being partook in had all gone to its muscles, with only a small amount remaining towards these two areas.
With a blank glare adorning its emaciated face as it roamed around like a feral creature, the five looked at each other and wondered whether they were even looking at one of their kin. Fortunately, a quick activation of the identification skill was more than enough for them to find out that the system declared the beings as something else entirely.
Ding!
[Aberration (Legendary Elite)] (Level 64)
Class: Aberration (Uncommon)
HP: 15,424/15,424
MP: 10,368/10,368
Stats: 482 VIT, 565 STR, 502 AGI, 473 DEX, 324 INT, 284 WIS, 252 PER, 144 LUK
Skills: [Intermediate Regeneration], [Intermediate Physical Damage Resistance], [Basic Physical Damage Nullification], [Basic Magical Damage Resistance],...
Remarks: An experiment gone wrong.
Taking a look at the screen brought up in front of him thanks to [Greater Analysis], Valyr's eyes briefly widened in surprise as he noticed that the being was actually a Legendary Elite tier monster. 'If we were still at the peak of Rank 2, this would have probably been a Rare Elite tier monster. Possibly an Epic Elite tier monster at most.'
"An experiment gone wrong, huh…" With his stats giving him the confidence to be calm up against what would be their first opponent in the inheritance, the young man eventually shifted his gaze towards the remarks written by the system, raising his eyebrow in slight curiosity.
'With how advanced the city looks even after it turned to ruins, I guess they dabbled in genetic modification.' As they had moved somewhat closer to the city, Valyr was able to notice a few more things about the ruins that he hadn't noticed at first. One of those was the fact that it looked like the city had achieved a level of technology far above the level of technology Earth had achieved in his past life and in his current life.
Nevertheless, the thought only came to mind as he had recalled reading a few attempts at genetic modification in the past, though those articles talked about how they were successful in making people immune to all types of diseases, improving people's physical capabilities, and the like.
Of course, he was more than certain that a large pile of failed attempts had laid down the path people needed to take before they were able to achieve even one successful attempt, with the aberration that stood far before them being an example of one of those failed attempts.
"So, who wants to fight the aberration?" Turning around to look at the others, Valyr went ahead and asked them as he pointed at the aberration. With how everyone had ascended to the peak of Rank 3 and how everyone had Mythic grade classes, the young man was certain that everyone would be able to defeat the aberration without much of a problem.
However…
"Shouldn't you fight it first as the leader?" said Faulus in response, eliciting some of the others to look at him with surprised expressions. "After all, among the five of us, you're the strongest when it comes to combat, so you'd be able to defeat the aberration without a problem, as well as obtain a few nuances during the fight that would allow us to combat it more easily."
"Why don't you do it instead?" Though he felt a bit of anger at Faulus from the suggestion, Valyr wasn't going to acquiesce that easily, turning the tables around in his response. "You did approach me last night that you wanted me to teach you a few things about combat, so why not use this opportunity as a way to gain some experience?"
"Alright, I'll do it." Fortunately, just as Faulus was about to answer back with a retort at Valyr, Hal had stopped the entire thing from escalating any further, telling the others to stay where they were.
Taking in a deep breath, Hal took out his newly upgraded sword with a low sigh, heading straight for the aberration before Valyr could even say anything.
