The earth rat locked its gaze on them as prey the instant it emerged from the ground. The monster seemed as though it had been waiting for a long time to feast on something, starving even, despite its massive size.
The rat lunged toward the six of them with incredible ferocity. It swung its claws haphazardly and opened its mouth wide. What shouldn't be present in an earth rat was now there on this monster, and that was two rows of sharp teeth within its gaping maw. These rows of teeth resembled roughly crafted spearheads, adding a terrifying aspect to the monster's appearance.
"Well, what about it?" Wiley asked. "Are you going to join in on the attack?"
Clyde gazed at the earth rat, which was approaching them with a menacing aura radiating in its surroundings. He used his [Skill: Inspection] to check its stats and found out it was just a Level 56 monster.
"No. You guys can handle it," Clyde said.
Wiley snorted. "I thought so."
Upon hearing Clyde's words, they all charged toward the giant earth rat. Lola fired her crossbow with much improved accuracy compared to before. She had clearly progressed rapidly since Clyde had remembered it.
Wiley fired a few moments later when he was closer to the giant earth rat.
Leon and Rosie, as usual, attacked from close range. They both drew their swords and daggers and then struck with swift yet precise movements.
Albert, on the other hand, circled the giant earth rat to find its weak point. His ability and fighting style made him look like that of an expert assassin.
Lola's arrow struck the giant earth rat's eye. She aimed for its weakest point, demonstrating that she had grasped and honed her own fighting style.
Meanwhile, Leon was tanking the giant earth rat with his almost invincible body. He accepted all the scratches and bites as if they were nothing, although, with its relatively high level, the giant earth rat managed to inflict some wounds on Leon. However, he seemed unfazed by it.
Rosie attacked with her hammer, infused with lightning. She seemed to be generating even more lightning than Clyde had previously recalled.
They fought the giant earth rat excellently. Watching them up to this point, Clyde was confident that they no longer needed his help.
"They've become much stronger than before. What about Samuel's party, though?" Clyde thought. It was possible that Samuel and his party were even stronger than them. From the beginning, they had been more powerful.
An idea crossed Clyde's mind. Could they also gain Celestial powers if they could touch their Cradle? But then he remembered how Maethion struggled just to stand near the Nexus of Creation. The burden Maethion alone couldn't bear would undoubtedly be much heavier for them. There could even be more severe consequences for them, so Clyde knew he couldn't take that risk.
"Better to let them become strong the usual way. Like this."
After several minutes, the giant earth rat finally fell to the ground with various wounds on its body. The decay that Wiley had inflicted caused several parts of its body to crumble. The decay continued to spread even after the earth rat died, producing a nauseating odor.
Clyde regarded Wiley's ability as the most terrifying among his party members. He had also mastered how to leverage the situation and shoot his blowdart effectively, allowing him to attack both efficiently and effectively.
Clyde also couldn't imagine what would happen if Wiley's blowdart were to hit him. He didn't want to envision his body slowly decaying like all of Wiley's victims.
Leon sighed. "It's finally dead." Then he turned to Clyde as if waiting for his approval.
"Good job," Clyde said simply, as he thought it was fitting for the moment. He walked toward the earth rat and was about to suggest that they should retrieve the green crystals from the monster's body.
However, it turned out they already knew what to do, and they began extracting those green crystals from the earth rat's body. They worked relatively quickly, accompanied by a few complaints, but they eventually completed the task.
They then stashed those green crystals into the cloth bags they had brought along since the outset. Their preparations seemed adequate, Clyde thought, and it was good that they knew what to do once they set foot in the Ruin. That was a good thing.
After finishing the process of packing the earth rat's body, they continued their journey to hunt down other monsters. It didn't take long for them to locate more monsters, as they were plentiful in this area.
Clyde eventually chose to join in killing these monsters because he couldn't just stand by, having already entered the Ruin. Although the monsters here were far below his Level, it was better than doing nothing at all.
Besides, he had the [Skill: Exp+], which doubled all the Experience he gained. If he killed enough monsters in this place, he could at least gain one Level.
They spent their time hunting for monsters in the Ruin. Some of the monsters were strong enough to overwhelm Leon and his friends, but Clyde could handle them easily, even without his swords.
During their time in the Ruin, Clyde still refrained from using the power he had obtained from the Celestial Cradle. Doing so would only make them suspicious and possibly terrified.
"I can't go on any longer. I need to rest," Albert said, sitting down against a large rock. Albert had some bruises and cuts on his body from fighting the monsters, just like his friends. The only one who remained unscathed was Clyde.
They all agreed, and they finally took a break in that spot. However, Clyde remained standing. He leaped to a piece of elevated land that provided a better vantage point.
'There's nothing special in this Ruin,' Clyde thought after scanning the surroundings.
Suddenly, a rumble emanated from the sky, startling them all. When Clyde looked up, he found a dozen meteors falling at high speed.
But upon closer examination, Clyde realized that they weren't meteors. There was a reddish portal in the sky.
~~~
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