Chapter 323: Giant

The group fell silent after hearing Matthew’s words, and Alex frowned as he considered what could have caused the monsters to disappear.

Something similar had happened in the Badger Dungeon, although there had been two reasons for it back then. The badgers had been hiding to ambush anyone entering their territory, while the Boss Monster had been attempting to consume a High Rank Species monster’s egg.

Could something similar be happening here? Alex couldn’t tell, but he doubted the monsters had disappeared without a reason.

’Whatever the reason is, it must be something important,’ Alex thought, feeling a faint excitement rising in his heart.

He had obtained quite a few valuable things from the Badger Dungeon, and if something similar was happening here, there was a good chance they might discover something worthwhile.

"Let’s continue moving. We won’t figure out what’s happening by standing around here," Alex said, prompting the others to resume their exploration.

They continued checking the surrounding passages while Alex sent his Mana Spheres ahead to search for monsters. After walking for some time, they eventually reached a junction where the corridor divided into two enormous passages.

"We didn’t explore either of these properly yesterday. Unlike most of the passages we’ve encountered, neither of these seemed to have a dead end, at least as far as we managed to check," Matthew explained, looking between the two paths.

Joseph considered his words before asking, "In that case, shouldn’t we split into two groups? We could cover more ground that way."

"I was thinking the same thing," Matthew replied, nodding. "Besides, with this many people together, it’ll be difficult for everyone to get a proper chance to fight once we encounter monsters."

Alex thought about it for a moment before agreeing. "You’re right. Our main purpose in coming here is to improve our strength before fighting those mountain spiders. If everyone attacks the same monsters, we’ll only get in each other’s way, and there’s also a chance of accidentally hitting one another."

After some discussion, they decided to divide into two groups, with the young newcomer accompanying Matthew’s team. Since the Dungeon’s exit was located where they had entered, either group could retrace its steps if something went wrong.

Once everyone had agreed on the arrangement, Alex’s group entered the passage on the left, while Matthew led the others through the right. They continued advancing cautiously, with Alex keeping expanding Mana Spheres to detect anything approaching.

For a while, nothing unusual happened, but eventually, Alex sensed several large creatures moving through the corridor.

"Monsters are coming. Get ready," he warned, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

They didn’t have to wait long before five enormous Krakens appeared ahead of them. The creatures resembled giant octopuses, although their bodies and tentacles were considerably more intimidating.

The corridors were enormous, yet only two of these monsters could move side by side, which made Alex appreciate just how massive the structure actually was.

Four of the Krakens were Mid Rank Species monsters, while the fifth was noticeably smaller, barely half their size. However, when Alex attempted to examine it with his Mana Sphere, he discovered that his mana couldn’t penetrate its body, confirming that it was a High Rank Species monster.

The group prepared to fight, but before Alex could make a move, Joseph suddenly spoke. "Alex, can you leave the High Rank Species monster to us? We want to try defeating it without your help."

"Why?" Alex asked, keeping his attention on the approaching monsters.

Before Joseph could answer, one of the Krakens began forming enormous weapons out of water, immediately reminding Alex of their previous encounter.

He remembered how he and Joseph had nearly failed to block similar attacks, which had almost killed everyone. However, he was much stronger now, and with Disruption Mana, he was confident that he could stop it.

Just as he prepared to create several Mana Bullets, Emma drew her bow and released an arrow. The arrow burned brightly as it flew toward the nearest water weapon, exploding the moment it made contact. The resulting blast was powerful enough to shatter the other water weapons as well, scattering water throughout the corridor.

’That was quite good,’ Alex thought, genuinely surprised by what he had witnessed.

Emma’s newly purchased Skill apparently allowed her to turn arrows into powerful explosives, but what impressed him more was how quickly she had reacted. She had accurately fired the arrow almost immediately after the monster began preparing its attack.

"You’ve already defeated a Level 10+ High Rank Species monster, Alex, but the rest of us haven’t accomplished anything like that yet," Emma explained, turning toward him with a smile. "We can’t keep depending on you whenever something powerful appears. Otherwise, how are we supposed to help when we fight those mountain spiders?"

Alex glanced at the others and noticed that they all seemed equally determined. Since they had already completed their Species Evolution, perhaps it really was time for them to challenge a High Rank Species monster without depending on him.

"Fine. I’ll keep the four Mid Rank Species Krakens occupied while you deal with the High Rank Species one. Just make sure you don’t underestimate it," Alex replied.

"Are you sure you can hold back four of them alone?" Joseph asked, looking somewhat surprised. "I’m not doubting your strength, but they’re enormous, and you can’t exactly use your explosions freely inside this place. Even as strong as you, an attack from something that big will be fatal, and it might also instantly..."

"I can do it," Alex replied confidently, already considering how he wanted to approach the fight.

He had been meaning to properly train his Superior Body Reinforcement Spell for quite some time, and this seemed like a good opportunity to test how far he could push his physical abilities.

"All right, then. We’ll leave those four to you," Joseph said, nodding as he turned his attention toward the smaller Kraken, clearly putting his trust in Alex.

..

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