Chapter 301: Thousands Of Eyes

The group continued moving carefully through the forest, keeping their attention on their surroundings as they approached the area with the higher concentration of Origin Energy.

Alex was using Mana Spheres to scan their path, but unlike before, he kept their range relatively short because he didn’t want to attract unwanted attention. Although the spell now had an impressive range, High Rank and Mid Rank Species possessed extremely sensitive senses when it came to detecting energy, and some of them might notice his Mana Spheres if he extended them too far.

As they walked, Alex continuously adjusted the mana density within the spheres, trying to make them as thin as possible without affecting their ability to detect their surroundings. It required considerable concentration, but he preferred spending extra effort on the spell rather than accidentally attracting the attention of something dangerous.

However, the longer they traveled, the more he began to suspect that something was wrong, as they hadn’t encountered a single monster since entering the area with the increased concentration of Origin Energy.

The absence of monsters made Alex feel uneasy, especially since the surrounding environment suggested that something powerful might have established its territory nearby. As they moved between the trees, the group began noticing webs stretched between branches and scattered across the vegetation.

Frank walked straight into a web that was difficult to see in the dim light under the thick forest, only realizing what had happened when the sticky strands clung to his clothes.

He quickly pulled himself free, but Alex had already noticed the faint traces of Origin Energy running through the web. It wasn’t something produced by an ordinary spider, and the webs became increasingly common as they continued forward, sometimes covering entire sections of trees and hanging across their path. While scanning the surroundings, Alex also noticed Petra trembling slightly as she walked beside the others, and her reaction became more noticeable with every passing minute.

"It looks like there are spider monsters living around here," Alex said, glancing at the webs stretched between two nearby trees.

Petra immediately began trembling even harder, and this time, her reaction was so obvious that everyone noticed it.

Emma moved closer to her with a concerned expression and gently placed a hand on her shoulder before asking, "Are you okay, sweetie? If something is bothering you, we can stop for a while and figure out what to do."

Petra shook her head, although she struggled to keep her voice steady when she answered. "I-I’m fine. We can keep going, so you don’t need to worry about me."

Alex watched her quietly, trying to understand why she was reacting so strongly to the possibility of encountering spider monsters. It was the first time he had seen her display such obvious fear, and the only other occasion he could remember her showing so much emotion was when she learned that her first body had died and that she could no longer return to Earth.

Back then, however, she had looked relieved rather than frightened, and the connection between those two moments left Alex wondering whether her reaction had something to do with her life on Earth.

He decided not to question her about it in front of everyone, especially when they were already dealing with an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous area.

"If Petra says she’s okay, we’ll continue for another ten minutes, but if we don’t find anything useful by then, we’ll turn back and look for another route. We haven’t encountered any monsters despite the amount of Origin Energy here, so I don’t think we should walk blindly into whatever is causing that," he said.

"I want to continue," Petra insisted, clutching the hems of her clothes more tightly as she looked ahead.

The group exchanged a few glances before continuing their journey, making sure to stay close together as they moved through the increasingly dense webs. Their clothes were in much better condition than before, thanks to Emma, who had managed to obtain fresh outfits for everyone, but that did little to improve their current situation.

They continued watching the trees and the ground carefully, hoping to find some indication of what had happened to the monsters that should have inhabited this area.

They had been walking for only a few more minutes when the vegetation began to thin out, revealing a mountain in the distance. Alex was examining the newly exposed terrain when a sudden chill ran across his skin, causing him to stop without even realizing it.

His instincts screamed at him not to take another step forward, and when he looked at the others, he realized that they were experiencing the same overwhelming sense of danger.

Everyone’s faces had turned pale, and several members of the group were trembling and sweating despite the relatively cool air. Even Joseph, who had remained calm-headed in most situations, appeared too unsettled to speak immediately.

Alex slowly turned his attention toward the mountain, realizing that whatever was causing this reaction had to be somewhere ahead of them.

He poured mana into his eyes to strengthen his vision, although the improvement wasn’t enough to let him see everything clearly at such a distance. It did, however, make it easier to distinguish movement among the trees covering the mountain, and what he saw sent another chill down his spine.

Thousands of eyes were staring in their direction, belonging to hundreds of creatures that looked like a fusion of ordinary spiders and trees.

Alex maintained his gaze on them, trying to determine their strength, but something didn’t make sense. There were far too many spiders for him to assess individually, and he couldn’t determine how powerful they were from this distance, which suggested that the overwhelming danger he felt wasn’t coming from those creatures alone.

He focused on the mountain again, carefully examining its shape and the arrangement of the trees until he finally understood what he had been overlooking.

The realization made him flinch, and he instinctively swallowed before speaking.

"What happened?" Joseph asked, noticing Alex’s reaction.

..

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