CHAPTER 155: "..."

Monsters are solitary creatures—predators. They hunt alone, even preying on their own kind and the mana beasts they evolved from. By all accounts, seeing them in a group should be impossible.

’There are more monsters!’ The thought startled Oliver.

’Perhaps they are not monsters.’ He watched through the golden mana covering him, seeing red dots appearing in the forest below the hill.

These creatures were climbing from the lake, swiftly approaching Oliver’s position.

’They are certainly coming here. And they seem to be working together.’

’Monsters working together! What kind of fucked-up situation is this? And are these the same kind as that one?’ He turned to gaze at the bleeding carcass of the aquatic, monkey-like monster he’d just slew.

That one was dead.

Deader than the deadest monster he ever saw.

With blood seeping from its wounds, its skin and muscle ripped apart, it looked like roadkill. The explosion inside seemed to have done more damage than Oliver expected. Once the healing process stopped, the muscles that were in the process of regenerating rapidly disintegrated.

’Anyway, I don’t have to worry if they are similar. B-ranked monsters aren’t enough to take me down.’

Now, Oliver had the blood-mana level of a peak B-ranker. Previously, he had used a little over ten percent of it to take down the monster. So, a dozen more would mean nothing, considering he could replenish his mana with blood and heal from critical injuries.

’Let’s see what the future has in store...’

Oliver clutched the sword tightly and walked to the ledge where the monster had climbed up from.

He now had a better view of the area and could clearly see the red dots moving quickly through the forest below the hill. His eyes swept over them, tallying their number.

’Thirteen. Thirteen B-ranked monsters versus me.’

He scoffed.

’If it were my past self, I could have killed them all without lifting a finger.’

Oliver’s peak blood sac could contain about ten million litres of blood—a volume similar to an average-sized five-storey apartment building, or about 150 shipping containers.

That’s excluding the fact that he could control even more as long as he could touch it with his blood tendrils. His past self would have been able to squish the B-rank monsters like they were worms.

Even A-rankers would suffer defeat in the face of his impeccable control of blood.

The only trouble he had was with S-rankers, mainly because of their incredible defence.

Blood, however thick or heavy, couldn’t harm S-rankers who could maintain a natural defence of about 100,000 units of mana. Unless they were in a weakened state, Oliver had no real way of killing an S-ranker, be it beast, monster, or person.

However, relying on trickery and careful planning, he had killed several S-ranked enemies in the past.

And none of his enemies could kill him.

He was practically immortal.

A smug smile formed on Oliver’s face when he thought about his past life.

As an immortal being that could survive almost any danger, he was a foe his enemies rightly feared.

So, he didn’t show an ounce of fear as he noticed the monsters rapidly approaching his position.

’Even if they are grouped together, I can survive if there are no A-rankers,’ he muttered.

However, just as he said, he saw the red dots burst out of the forest, toppling trees. His eyes focused on their bodies for a second. Although they were of the same kind as the monster he just slew, their bodies were huge.

’One, two, three... fucking five A-rankers!’

Oliver could see five towering figures among the thirteen monsters that appeared.

They were twice the size of the one he had killed, about ten metres tall. He was speechless as he looked at the towering forms running on four legs, climbing over the ledges to approach him.

’Damn! Me and my big mouth. I should just shut up...’

The foul smell of rotten blood, combined with the sight of their razor-sharp teeth, made him queasy. While he didn’t fear death, he didn’t wish to be eaten alive by those frigging mouths.

Maybe I have a chance, he thought.

This stupid golden armour has good defence. Perhaps I can take advantage of it to kill an A-ranked monster, or even escape.

Oliver gazed at the flickering, illusory armour on his body.

To maintain it, he had to convert 10,000 litres of blood to mana. He could use more mana to strengthen his defense. That might just allow him to survive.

Death was, after all, not pleasant. He wanted to live if he could.

’After all that, I’m lucky that I didn’t come across an S-ranked monster.’ Oliver let out a hollow laugh.

But before the sound died, he saw another giant red silhouette appear in his vision. It leapt out of the murky lake and crashed onto the island. The fifty-or-so-metre-tall body slammed into the muddy shore, sinking a couple of metres.

Oliver could see the creature clearly, even though it was a couple of kilometres away, due to its sheer size. The last monster that leapt out of the lake looked just like the one he had killed.

"I’ll be damned."

"Fuck! Fuck..."

He cried out as he realized the newly arrived monster was even swifter and larger than any he’d encountered before. Most likely, it was an S-ranked monster, or close to it in power.

A moment ago, he’d planned to slay a few monsters and make his escape.

But now, he had to reconsider his earlier decision.

There was no point in fighting or fleeing.

S-ranked creatures, even monsters, weren’t easily fooled. It would surely hunt him to the ends of the world and kill him.

"Why! Why!" He stared at the sky and screamed.

"Little koi, you seem to have offended something beyond your abilities. You are indeed a mythical creature if you could flee from that."

Oliver looked at the S-ranked creature once again.

The creature’s colossal body rippled with dense muscles. Its hairless skin was an even deeper shade of blue.

Just from its size and shape, he was sure it could tear apart a mech as if it were a toy.

With his current strength, he stood no chance against it. Even in his previous life, he would have struggled to defeat a similar monster with only the blood he had in his blood sac.

’Let’s think of this as an information-gathering exercise.’

Oliver consoled himself and abandoned all hope of survival.

’I still need to know—Why are the monsters working together? Why were they chasing the little koi fish? Who was the one who observed me? Were they all working together—and most importantly, do they have some relation to the demons?’ Oliver quickly thought, hoping to salvage some understanding from the situation.

’Monsters working together was an anomaly that could only be explained if a demon were controlling them.’

’Perhaps the S-ranked monster is a demon!’ Oliver thought.

’It’s as if demons have a hand in everything. Were they chasing me, or am I chasing them?’ Oliver mused, gazing at the fifty-meter-tall monster as it wrecked the forest, moving toward him.

"ROOT! YOU IDIOT! I KNOW YOU’RE SOMEWHERE NEARBY. LEAVE NOW. I WON’T BE ABLE TO PROTECT YOU FROM THAT MONSTER. IT’S AN S-RANKED ONE."

In one breath, Oliver shouted into the communication device he carried.

Root was lowering the drone after flying to about five kilometers high when he heard the communication device chime. The data from it was directly transferred into his brain.

Instantly, he heard Oliver’s shout.

He thought he was being sneaky when he lowered the drone, but Oliver seemed to have predicted his disobedience.

"Boss, how are you going to survive against an S-rank beast?" Root asked. "Are you going to smother it with the nonsense you usually spout?" He was closely monitoring the condition of the little koi as he asked.

He was a little angry.

Root realized how helpless he was in the face of true strength.

"You don’t need to know about that." Oliver promptly dismissed him. "There is no one on this planet who can kill me," he declared.

"This is Second Earth. There are many things here that can kill anyone."

"Not me." Oliver looked at the sky as the thundering footsteps of the monsters neared him and said, "And you can’t help me. So, quickly leave. The monster hasn’t sensed you yet. It won’t be able to follow you if you use overdrive mode and flee."

"Are you sure you want me to leave you?"

Root asked once again, a hint of hesitation shrouding his voice.

"Yes, leave," Oliver said and leaped down from the cliff ledge he was standing on. "I will contact you by the time of the Hero Academy survival test."

Oliver’s voice became quieter after that.

Root clenched his fist in frustration and decided to leave.

If there really was an S-rank beast chasing them. It was coming to capture the little Koi. Once it sensed their position, they wouldn’t have the chance to leave.

And Oliver...

If he went by what he knew, Oliver was not someone who would throw away his life. There must be some hidden method he couldn’t reveal that ensures his survival.

With that thought, he controlled the boat to speed away.

Meanwhile, Oliver landed below the cliff and dashed towards the monsters.

The weaker ones were close by.

He wanted to kill as many as he could before the S-ranked one came.

Although his situation became progressively worse, as long as Root and the koi were safe, Oliver had nothing to worry about.

So, hiding his excitement, he dashed forward to attract the monsters’ attention.