Chapter 304: Suspicious Matthew [POWER STONE BONUS]

’If I go all out with Mana Railgun and combine Fire Element Mana with Kinetic Element Mana, I might be able to kill one in a single attack. However, even if I succeed, the other Mountain Spiders will probably get involved, and I’ll be too exhausted to fight them afterward,’ Alex thought

There was also the possibility that his strongest attack wouldn’t be enough to kill a Mountain Spider in one hit, especially if the creature was stronger than he expected.

Still, Alex trusted the strength he had gained through countless battles and difficult experiences, and he believed he could win if he only had to fight one of them. The problem was that he wouldn’t be fighting a single monster in isolation, since the hundreds of smaller spiders living on its body and the other Mountain Spiders could easily turn the battle against him.

After discussing the situation for a little longer, the group decided to return to the mountain they had chosen as their base. They couldn’t afford to waste their strength fighting an enemy they didn’t understand, especially when they still needed to find a way to reach the portal.

Alex agreed with the decision, although he continued thinking about the Mountain Spiders as they began their journey back.

They encountered several monsters along the way, and Alex dealt with most of them while continuing to practice his spells. By the time they reached their destination, he had advanced to Level 15, but he still hadn’t received any stat points from leveling up. His level had dropped from Level 16 to Level 10 when he evolved into a Mid Rank Species, and since then, every level he gained had brought him closer to his previous level without granting him additional stats.

Alex suspected that the System required him to reach his former level before rewarding him with stat points again, since he had already received the points associated with those levels before evolving. It seemed like a safeguard designed to prevent people from exploiting species evolution by repeatedly lowering their levels and gaining additional stat points when leveling up again. If his assumption was correct, the same restriction would apply to everyone who evolved into a higher species rank.

While walking, Alex continued training his abilities, and several notifications appeared before him.

[Disruption Mana Blade has leveled up. Level 5 → Level 6.]

[Fire-Mana Weaving Spell has leveled up. Level 3 → Level 4.]

Alex was pleased with his progress, particularly because he was becoming more proficient at combining Mana Shuriken with Disruption Mana Blade. He had also improved his Fire-Mana Weaving Spell enough to create solid fire mana armor that completely covered his arms, giving him another useful option during close combat.

By the time the group reached their base, they found Matthew’s group already waiting there. They had also brought a boy with a beautiful chocolate-colored skin who appeared to be around fifteen years old, and Emma immediately approached him with a friendly smile.

"Hello, I’m Emma! What’s your name?" she asked.

The boy replied in a language that none of them recognized, leaving Emma looking slightly confused.

Matthew stepped forward and explained, "He’s saying his name is Kwame, and he’s from Nigeria."

Emma looked at him in surprise. "You understand his language? I didn’t know you could speak Nigerian languages."

Matthew smiled proudly.

"Have you actually lived in Nigeria before, or did you learn the language for some other reason?" she asked.

"No, I’ve never lived there. I just wanted to learn their language because I’ve always wanted to travel around the world, and Nigeria was one of the places I planned to visit," Matthew replied.

"But isn’t English used in Nigeria’s government, law, mass media, and formal education? Wouldn’t learning English have been enough for your trip, considering that you could communicate with most people in formal situations?" Emma asked with a curious smile.

Matthew’s smile stiffened for a moment, although he quickly recovered and shrugged as casually as he could. "I’m just curious by nature, so I enjoy learning different languages whenever I have the chance."

"Is that so?" Emma replied, still smiling as she looked at him.

Anyone watching their conversation could tell that Emma was suspicious of Matthew and wanted to know why he had gone out of his way to learn a native language from another country.

Alex glanced at Matthew with sympathy. It seemed like Matthew was soon going to join the special ops with Alex.

After the introductions, the two groups gathered together and began discussing what they had discovered during their exploration. Matthew confirmed that the location Alex had previously found was indeed a dungeon, and the monsters inside belonged to the High Rank Species category.

Unfortunately, his group had been forced to retreat before they could defeat even one of them because more monsters had arrived while they were still fighting.

Based on their observations, the monsters appeared to be around Level 5, yet their strength was greater than that of Matthew’s entire group combined. That alone demonstrated how significant the difference between species ranks could be, since even a relatively low-level High Rank Species monster could pose a serious threat to several Ascenders working together.

After listening to Matthew’s explanation, Alex told them about the four Mountain Spiders surrounding the portal and explained how each creature had warned them to stay away. He also described the hundreds of smaller spiders living on their bodies, making it clear that approaching the portal would require far more than a simple plan to sneak past the guardians.

"That’s a big problem. We can’t give up on the portals, but defeating that many monsters isn’t possible for us right now," Matthew said, frowning as he considered their options.

"I have a plan to take down the Mountain Spiders," Alex said.

Everyone turned toward him, their expressions filled with surprise. Even Matthew, who had just finished explaining how dangerous the High Rank Species monsters in the dungeon were, looked at Alex with renewed interest.

"What kind of plan do you have in mind?" Matthew asked.

..

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