Chapter 305: Deadline

Alex looked around at the gathered group, noticing that everyone was waiting for him to explain the plan he had mentioned. He had already considered several possibilities while they were discussing the Mountain Spiders, but none seemed reliable enough to guarantee success. After thinking it over, he decided that the best approach was to prepare themselves for battle rather than waste time searching for a complicated strategy.

"We’ll train and become strong enough to fight the Mountain Spiders. We have seven days at most, and if everyone works hard during that time, I believe we’ll improve enough to stand a chance against them. Even if that doesn’t work, I’ll create something capable of gravely injuring one Mountain Spider, and the rest of you can finish it off before it has time to recover."

The group exchanged uncertain glances, but Alex continued explaining how he intended to divide their responsibilities. His team would handle one Mountain Spider, Matthew’s team would deal with another, and he would personally take care of the third. As for the fourth, Mia and her group of Netherclaw Prowlers could fight it.

"There’s also someone powerful from Hell Difficulty whom I know. I’ll look for them when I return to Earth to see whether they’re willing to cooperate with us. Besides, the Sunken Vault Dungeon, where the Krakens live, would be an excellent place for us to train and become stronger before fighting the Mountain Spiders."

The group fell silent as they tried to process everything Alex had just said. His plan sounded straightforward, but the thought of fighting four enormous monsters that resembled mountains was clearly difficult for them to accept, especially when they had barely managed to escape their attention earlier.

Finally, Sarah spoke with a stiff smile, looking as though she wanted to confirm that she hadn’t misunderstood him. "S-So your plan is that we get stronger and defeat the Mountain Spiders? You’re not considering any other options?"

"Yes, that’s the plan, and I think it’s a good one. There’s no need to make things unnecessarily complicated when we already know what we need to accomplish, especially since complicated plans are more likely to fail when something unexpected happens."

Nobody immediately responded, and the expressions on their faces suggested that they had countless questions they weren’t sure how to ask. Meanwhile, the new boy, Kwame, tugged at Matthew’s sleeve and spoke to him in his native language, likely asking what Alex had said.

Matthew answered him in the same language, and Kwame’s eyes widened as he turned toward Alex with undisguised excitement. He said something else, gesturing toward the distant area as if he wanted to make sure he had understood correctly.

Matthew smiled faintly before translating. "He’s asking whether you can really fight one of those giant monsters alone."

Alex nodded without hesitation, which only made Kwame look more impressed.

Joseph massaged his eyebrows and sighed, clearly struggling to accept the idea. "I don’t want to doubt you, Alex, but that thing was practically a mountain, and everything we’ve encountered so far suggests that monsters can move exceptionally fast regardless of their size. That creature might be as fast as our fastest members, or perhaps even faster, so unless you can kill it in one hit, I don’t see how you’re going to defeat something that enormous by yourself."

"It’s not really a question of whether we can afford to do it, because we have to find a way. I’ll show you why I believe it’s possible soon enough, since there’s a new attack I’ve been working on that I want to test tonight," Alex replied.

The mention of a new attack immediately caught everyone’s attention. They had heard Alex talk about fighting giant Wild Orcs and known he had battled a massive Kraken, so they already knew he possessed considerable destructive power, but none of them had actually witnessed the full extent of his strongest attacks.

Emma raised her hand slightly, looking curious about another part of his explanation. "You mentioned creating something that could gravely injure a Mountain Spider, but what exactly are you planning to make?"

"My Class allows me to create Runes, so I’ll use that ability to construct a powerful weapon capable of dealing enough damage to one of those monsters," Alex explained.

He expected to become increasingly involved with Runes as time passed, and he suspected that some of his companions had already guessed his Class was closely related to them, so he saw no point in hiding his Class.

Joseph stared at him in surprise before asking, "I thought your Class was a combat-oriented one related to Runes, something like a Rune-Warrior or Rune-Berserker. Are you saying that your Class is actually focused on creation instead?"

Alex nodded, leaving Joseph looking even more bewildered than before.

"You’re that strong despite having a creation-type Class? How is that even possible?" Joseph muttered, clearly struggling to reconcile what he knew about Classes with Alex’s achievements.

Alex understood why Joseph was so shocked, since Classes improved a person’s innate talent, which was different from the Talent displayed on their status screen. A Swordsman would naturally learn sword techniques more quickly, while a Shield Bearer would find it easier to wield a shield and distribute the force of incoming attacks.

Someone with a Rune-Warrior Class would therefore have an advantage when using Runes in combat, making Alex’s achievements more understandable if that had been his Class. However, a creation-type Class primarily improved his ability to create things rather than his talent for fighting, which made his current strength considerably more surprising.

"All right, I have one last question," Matthew said when he noticed that everyone else had fallen silent. "You mentioned knowing someone powerful in Hell Difficulty, but who exactly are you talking about?"

"It’s a Beast, similar to Mia. It followed me for quite a while when I first arrived, but it never showed any hostile intentions, so I’ll look for it when I return to Earth and see whether it’s willing to cooperate with us. Having another powerful ally would benefit both sides, especially since gaining access to a portal would make things much easier for it as well."

Matthew considered that explanation for a moment before nodding, although his expression remained serious. "I understand why you want to approach it, but please be careful, Alex, because not every Beast will be willing to cooperate just because we offer something useful. Some animals on Earth were treated terribly, and even those that were treated well still have instincts that might make them unpredictable, so we can’t rule out the possibility that it could attack us or betray us when we least expect it."

"I’ll keep that in mind," Alex replied, acknowledging Matthew’s warning. He had no intention of trusting the Beast blindly, but he still wanted to approach it and see whether they could reach an agreement that benefited both sides.

"All right, then! Since we now have a goal, we should start discussing how we’re going to—"

"I have a question," Yulia interrupted, drawing everyone’s attention toward her.

"Yes?" Alex asked, turning to face her.

"Why did you say we have seven days at most? Is there something you know that the rest of us don’t?" Yulia asked, looking at him curiously. "You sounded quite certain when you mentioned that deadline, so I’m wondering whether you have a particular reason for choosing that number."

..

Author’s Note: If you’re enjoying the novel, consider leaving a vote. It helps the novel a lot. Thank you!