Chapter 660 – New Species

Chapter 660 - New Species

They spent the rest of the day on the surface, making sure their body recovered from fatigue.
Theo, who had nothing to do, decided to climb the mountain to see their surroundings.
Unfortunately, he couldn't see anything other than trees' leaves covering the ground. It was the same in all directions, disappointing him a little bit.
He ultimately went back to the camp and said that they wouldn't be able to see anything from the sky if they decided to enter the forest.
In other words, Theo wouldn't be able to replicate what he did when he defeated the Dryad. Considering they were going to fight inside the mountain, they didn't care much regarding this issue and continued their day.
The night went by with howls accompanying them from time to time.
As soon as the next day arrived, Theo, Ava, and Agata headed to the crack on the mountain.
The crack stretched only about forty feet and the gap wasn't that big either. They could barely descend through the gap.
"We can't head inside and prepare for battle right away." Theo narrowed his eyes, pondering their choices.
After a moment, he said, "I'm going to send my clone first to see whether the inside is safe or not."
"Got it."
Theo then summoned his clone and turned it into an ant before dropping it through the gap.
Ant Theo immediately utilized his Telekinesis and flew through the gap. Although it was too dark to see anything, he didn't consider this a problem.
Ant Theo spread his Awareness while making his descent to make sure there were no tiny monsters in the gap.
Luckily, he didn't find a single opening or living creature until he reached the big tunnel inside the crevice.
In one instant, Ant Theo picked up several creatures with his Awareness. It was clear that the monsters around him didn't think much about an ant falling down, so he made a quick check of his surroundings.
He went to the left and hit the wall after fifty feet. He went to the right and took twice as long, meaning he was in the middle of the tunnel earlier.
The problem would be the length of the tunnel.
"To be honest, I need to fight all these monsters first to secure the landing area," Theo muttered inwardly while looking around. He didn't bring his glasses here, so he didn't know the monsters' strength.
On the other hand, the real body was looking down while frowning. "Hmm…"
"What's wrong?"
"There are several monsters inside. If we enter, they're going to attack us, so I'm planning to deal with them first. For now, I have noticed that the opening is huge and confirmed that there's a tunnel below us.
"I don't know the extent of the tunnel, but we should expect a long one like the report." Theo shared his experience inside.
"For now, we have confirmed the report." She nodded. "Let's bring down a Skylink first so you can check their name and strength."
"Yep. Let's do that." Theo agreed while Agata picked up a Skylink and handed it to him.
After that, Ant Theo flew upward and retrieved the Skylink before making his way back into the tunnel.
He checked their position with his Awareness once again and pointed the Skylink at them.
He soon received the confirmation.
Name: Stone Shattering Centipede
Level: 440-450
Name: Unidentified
Level: ???
Name: Unidentified
Level: ???
'We have several unidentified monsters…' Theo started contemplating his choice, knowing it would be a bit hard to defeat them.
He took a look at his status.
Name: Theodore Griffith
Status: Hero
Level: 377
EXP: 708,599/ 2,585,249
Blessing: God of Mischief
Skill: Blink (B), Clone (B), Illusion Construct (B), Illusion Destruction (B), Illusion Manipulation (B), Magic Augmentation (B), Magic Bullet (B), Magic Power Expansion (B), Metamorphosis (B), Telekinesis (B)
Attributes: Strength 495, Endurance 321, Agility 316, Vitality 321, Magic Power 615
Free Attribute Points: 0
'Hmm… I don't think it's easy to fight multiple monsters with their current level, especially in an area like this where I can't use my tricks.' Theo frowned, wondering what he should do.
He raised his head and wondered if he should bring Ava and Agata down to eliminate them.
'Never mind. I should move around this place first to know how many monsters are around the area and what I should expect after defeating them. If it's clear, I can bring Ava and Agata here and eliminate all these monsters together.' Theo nodded with a serious expression.
Now that he had come up with a plan, he used his Telekinesis to levitate the Skylink an inch above the ground, carrying it with him as he moved forward.
He had been spreading his Awareness this whole time and found a total of eighteen monsters in his direction.
He had tried to identify them, but the majority seemed to be a new species. So, Theo just skipped them and continued his way onward.
Meanwhile, on the surface, Theo asked Agata. "By the way, what are we supposed to do if we meet a new monster?"
"A new monster, huh… Normally, we will name them and give some statements regarding their strength and weakness if we find any. If possible, we can bring the corpses back with us, allowing the scientist to research them.
"If we can do that, we will be able to get some reward, depending on their level," Agata explained.
"Hmm, it's quite simple, but I don't know if we can preserve their bodies, considering we have a long investigation ahead. And it's also hard to move them up because the gap is not big enough. The best we can do is dismember them and carry their body parts one by one."
"Yes. Is there a new monster inside?"
"A few of them. Out of eighteen monsters I have seen so far, eleven are unidentified. With my Awareness, I can see their body structures are different, so yeah…"
"I see. This is going to be a big haul. As for preserving their corpses, no need to care about that. As long as we can carry them back, we can still get the reward."
"Got it. For now, I am going to see the extent of the tunnel before we jump in. The monsters are quite powerful, so I don't think I am strong enough to handle all of them…" Theo nodded.