Their foot makes a rustling sound when they tread on the sand. The sun was already hot enough even when it was not too high.
'Looks like the clock is pretty accurate.'
Clyde looked up at the sun and saw that his position was not very high. Based on his memory, the sun's position was like that when the time entered 8 or 9 am.
'Maybe this time the clock was accurate. But I can't let my guard down because one day the clock in the Fortress may be manipulated.'
They walked a little further from the portal without any interference from the worms. This is quite strange because yesterday the worms should have arrived and surrounded them right about now.
Even so, the six people remained vigilant with the thought that worms could still emerge at any time. And they can't afford to be too relaxed about it.
Clyde was still walking in front of the group clutching his sword tightly. Because the worms had not appeared, Clyde couldn't help but think again about Maethion, the mysterious Elf who approached him.
In Clyde's eyes, Maethion seemed like a devious and cunning character. With eyes sparkling full of slyness behind his glasses.
Clyde knew that the Elf must have other intentions and goals behind his desire to help him. He knows that nothing is free in this universe, so he can't always escape this situation.
He is still quite weak now and he is aware of it. Even when he already has an extraordinary advantage compared to his peers.
But the opponents he has to face are people who have obtained the powers of the Celestials, and eventually the Celestials themselves.
So, it can't be helped that he needs as much help as he can. And for that, he has to do something to pay for the help offered by those who have more power than him.
With a long sigh, Clyde thought. 'I can accept the help Maethion offers and do the work he offers later. Moreover, he was one of the Senior Councils who came to me first. If I can get his favor, it can be a good help in the future.'
Clyde finally arrived at his conclusion. It was at that moment that he noticed movement in the sand several meters in front of him.
"Watch out!" Clyde said.
Her voice instantly alerted the others to a fighting stance.
"What is it?" Kei who was behind him asked.
Clyde only replied by pointing at a place a few in front of him where he saw the movement. Kei and the others who also saw the movement in the sand widened their eyes.
"Worms?" Leyan asked while creating an arrow.
Samuel frowned staring at the sand. "No," he said. "It looks bigger than worms."
"Oh shit!" Kiara felt her heart sink. "You're right."
The movement in the sand expanded rapidly. Within a few seconds, the moving sand covered a radius of about ten meters, indicating just how large something was beneath it.
"It looks like our enemy now not worms anymore!" Leyan said in a worried tone. He had already aimed his arrow and was ready to aim.
Clyde still shows a calm face even though the monsters they will face are much bigger than the previous worms. And the monster may be also stronger because the worms don't appear. After all, they seem to be avoiding that monster.
However, Clyde only saw it as a source of Exp and a tool to test his abilities.
Samuel stood next to him and said. "How do you think? You think you can still handle it yourself?"
"I don't know. Maybe," Clyde replied with an unchanging expression.
Samuel glanced at him with a sharp corner of his eye. But immediately shifted his gaze to the front again before Clyde realized it.
The sand in front of it was burst open by a very strong force. The scene looked as if something had exploded under the sand.
Then a moment later, when the sand fell, they could see what figure had been hiding under the sand all along.
It is a giant scorpion.
The monster had hard skin the same color as the sand. Its pincers appear larger than they should be so they are disproportionate to its body size.
The giant scorpion's tail curls over its body. And just like its pincers, the tail looks disproportionate because it's so long.
The tail is also flexible making it look like a snake is growing on the scorpion's back rather than a tail.
The scorpion is ten meters long, its tail is about three meters and it keeps dancing over its body.
"Shit!" Leyan cursed with widened eyes.
Only he was able to make a sound when the others were still trapped in a daze by the monster's appearance.
Clyde was not as shocked as the others. He observed the giant scorpion monster and tried to use his [Skill: Inspection].
[ Inspection (Lv3) is activated! ]
It turns out The skill still functions properly.
<<<Monster Information>>>
[ Name: Giant Desert Scorpion. ]
[ Affiliation: Desert Monsters. ]
[ Level: 50 ]
[ Skills: Venomous Tail (Lv.7) ]
[ Stats: Strength (9/10), Stamina (10/10), Agility (4/10), Magic Power (-/10) ]
[ Weaknesses: Lightning. ]
[ Affinities: Poison ]
[ Rating: B (D) ]
Clyde grinned. It was as he had previously expected that the monsters in this Ruin posed no threat to him with all of his Stats and Skills already far beyond the standards of the Selection Stage.
All of these monsters were created for the purpose of the Selection Stage so their Stats would only be at max level 10.
Samuel noticed that Clyde was grinning. He frowned in surprise. From what he observed on Clyde's face the boy seemed to be able to see the entirety of the monster in a matter of seconds. And he also already knows that he can handle the monster without any problems.
'But why didn't he say anything?' Samuel was confused.
Meanwhile, the giant scorpion started advancing toward them. The four pairs of legs move in unison across the sand without difficulty.
However, because of its hard and thick shell, the giant scorpion's movements are quite slow. Its long tail danced incessantly.
*CLICK!*
*CLICK!*
*CLICK!*
...
The two scorpion pincers clashed together creating a clacking sound that added to the party's tension. The loud sound of the two pincers indicated how strong the pincers were.
"What's the plan?" Leyan asked.
"I don't think we need too many plans," said Clyde in a calm tone despite the giant scorpion that was closing in with murderous intent.
"You think you can kill it?" he asked.
"Yes. I think I can kill it," Clyde replied without hesitation. "You can give me support."
Kiara, Haru, and Kei exchanged glances. While Samuel just stared at Clyde in silence with a look that was difficult to translate.
"Alright, whatever. If you feel you can kill it, you can do it," said Leyan. He was more than happy to just provide support instead of attacking the giant scorpion directly.
Clyde nodded. 'Then, I will take my Exp now.'
Clyde lunged at the scorpion monster with his sword at his side. His eyes flashed, excited.
His lips also formed a grin but since he had his back turned to them, Samuel and his party couldn't see the look on his face.
"We're really going to let him handle the monster by himself?" Kei was worried seeing Clyde moving away from them and getting closer to the monster.
"Yes. Just let him handle it!" Leyan said. "What do you think, Sam?"
Samuel said. "Yes. Let him handle it. He said himself if he could do it. We just have to provide support. Let's go."
They also began to approach the giant scorpion but at a slower pace than Clyde.
Now Samuel understood how Lahn felt. She must have envied Clyde's strength. Inside her heart, the desire to become strong and then take revenge on the Celestials was bubbling.
Yet, she can't get as strong as Clyde and can only wait for she doesn't know how long to get enough strength.
That must have made her bitter and angry. Just like how Samuel felt right now.
Before, Samuel had never felt that way because he knew he was one of the strongest in the Sivagadh Fortress and his growth was fast. Samuel was sure that it wouldn't take him long to get enough to fight the Celestials.
However, now in front of him was a figure who could achieve what he had trained so hard for years in just a few days. And he will surpass him in no time.
Samuel -- who wants to quickly avenge his lover -- of course, will feel envy. Especially when Clyde said that he just got his strength without him knowing it.
Samuel felt that it was all just his bullshit. He knew that Clyde must know the reason why he could be that strong and hide it for his own benefit.
While staring at Clyde's back who was already right in front of the giant scorpion, a red glint appeared in Samuel's eyes without him realizing it.
~~~
The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on fre(e)webno(v)el.𝒸𝑜𝘮