Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain
Chapter 205 - Monsters Adaptation

                          Since Ryan went on a straight line toward the salamanders' dungeon, he advanced quite fast, even though he always stopped when he could see a new monster on any direction. While that was good and all, Ryan couldn't help but wonder why he didn't replace a single elder salamander until now. Logically speaking, considering that no one cleared the dungeon, they should have no real reason to stay stationed there when the number of bosses was probably over one hundred.

"I guess that is also fine… it only means that I will have the chance to kill all of them."

                        After moving for a full day, Ryan found the salamanders' dungeon in the middle of a small town called Binghamton. Considering the number of salamanders, it was kind of surprising that dragons didn't notice them. Most likely, the town now had more salamanders than it had inhabitants before.

"Maybe it is high time to make good use of Hawkeye. The dragons didn't destroy completely the town, neither did the salamanders. So, there are some buildings in which I can use as a vantage point to snipe them. Still, should I do it right now?"

              Although the town was relatively small, it had plenty of buildings in which some survivors could hide. Things had become really difficult after hiding for two months, but that doesn't mean the chances of him replaceing some people weren't zero. In the end, Ryan decided not to wait, he was planning to take a look at New York D.C. before heading North. So, he had no idea for how long he would stay there.

"Well, before anything, just to be safe, let's summon some Giant Bees."

              Ryan spent a few hours summoning those monsters and then made them spread around the city in order to kill the salamanders that are leaving the town. That will give him some extra mana recovery. Ryan also used that time to count the number of enemies because sniping all the bosses wouldn't solve anything. As expected, the number of Elder Salamanders was 105 and the ordinary salamanders was over five thousand. The number was quite low, but considering that even monsters need to eat to survive, it would be insane to keep a number larger than that when they can't hunt humans or other monsters.

              Regardless, Ryan decided to put his plan in place after sunset. At night, it would be harder to replace him, even if he fires several times from the same position. Although unlike the reptilians, the salamanders didn't create campfires to illuminate the area, occasionally, some of them used their Flamethrower to illuminate the place. That even showed Ryan something unexpected, he could see the shadows of their silhouettes in the distance thanks to his Nocturnal Eyes, but Ryan didn't notice that half of them were sleeping.

"I guess it is weird that I didn't see that happening until now… even monsters need to sleep as well. In any case, I didn't see that until now because I always put my enemies on high alert."

              It would be nice if Ryan could take half of the bosses just like that while they were sleeping, but even if he could, doing so without alerting other enemies was probably impossible… without relying on Power of Money. That skill saved Ryan's ass many times in the last few days, but he also didn't want to spend his coins like that.

              In the end, Ryan attacked the monsters using his ordinary bone arrows. First, he concentrated his Power Shot for three seconds to kill a single boss, but then, after the third shot, Ryan learned that just two seconds of charge was enough.

You obtained 2.250 coins.

You obtained 2.250 coins.

You obtained 2.250 coins.

                        Little by little, the salamanders began to wake up. However, only after twenty or so of the bosses died that they finally noticed that Ryan was hiding at some point at East of their localization. It was all thanks to the fact that Ryan focused on killing the bosses that were close to the ones that died first. In any case, things wouldn't get easier that quickly. At least half of the bosses and of the ordinary salamanders began to run toward Ryan's location. Facing them directly was out of the question.

"Half, huh…"

                        The twin swords Ryan got from the reptilians would really come in handy right now… if the skill they granted him weren't fire-based. In any case, Ryan kept firing for a few more seconds while the monsters were approaching and he managed to kill more than ten bosses before those creatures finally saw him standing at the top of a semi-destroyed radio tower. The salamanders used their Flamethrower to melt the structure, but Ryan didn't fall because he had a block of earth underneath him. The monsters tried to attack him, but their Flamethrower had a limited range, so the best they could do was to make him sweat a little.

                        While the monsters were trying to reach him, Ryan made his giant bees attack the army from the sides and at the same time, he used Arrow Shower to slay several of the ordinary salamanders. For a skill like that, Ryan couldn't ask for a better target than a conglomerated of monsters like that one.

"Hehe, this isn't half bad…"

                        Thanks to his summoned monsters, even though his Arrow Shower couldn't kill monsters fast enough, Ryan still was recovering enough mana to keep the skill active. While his coins were pilling up and his skills were leveling up, Ryan knew it was only a matter of time before things go south.

                        Just as he had imagined, something unexpected happened. The bosses gave up on trying to hit him with Flamethrower. Instead of that, they began to spit replicas of Fireballs. Fortunately, they weren't good at that, but eventually, the magic projectiles began to look like Fire Spears and that type of projectile… the salamanders could control quite well… Ryan couldn't help but sweat cold when he watched the monsters learning a skill like that in a matter of seconds.