CHAPTER 106: LANGUAGE BARRIER

In a dimly lit cave, with the light of a wine-hued glow running deep into its depths, a strange screeching sound echoed, leading the way.

Harry and Gracie walked for about an hour, moving slower than an average turtle, cautious of any potential attack.

Finally, after a short but nerve-racking journey, both felt a pressing aura. It was subtle—something every person possessed—the difference being in how strongly one could manifest it.

Harry was well aware of this sensation, he had felt it multiple times before, even during his previous visit to the cave.

It was a clear sign that someone was already aware of their presence. It might not know their exact location, but the general area had been revealed.

"Thump"

"Thump"

Harry heard a sound—it was getting louder with each passing second. Something was approaching.

Harry and Gracie prepared to unleash their full strength in a single blow.

But then came a rush of a hundred Behemoths. Strangely, none of them were larger than an average pig.

Harry used Inspect, realizing that none of them had reached the Elemental Master level.

Gracie relaxed. Though she couldn’t determine their exact level, her intuition told her that even a thousand of these Behemoths weren’t a threat to her.

She had already seen the corpses of much larger Behemoths outside, compared to them, these were like rabbits.

Suddenly, all the cute little Behemoths halted and looked at Gracie with affectionate eyes. Gracie stepped aside, pulling Harry with her to clear a path for the creatures.

But one Behemoth lingered, then started walking ahead of them, deeper into the cave.

Gracie pulled Harry to follow it. She knew that killing these beasts would do more harm than good, so she had influenced their emotions to prevent them from attacking and kept one behind as a guide.

Her plan was to read the young Behemoth’s emotions and make decisions based on what it felt.

Harry and Gracie followed at a distance of about a hundred meters. Due to multiple turns in the cave, they couldn’t see the young Behemoth, but Gracie could still sense its emotions clearly which was perfect.

Eventually, Gracie came to a stop, halting Harry as well. She suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of love from the Behemoth—but it wasn’t directed at her. It was for someone else.

Then came fear. The feeling of fear kept rising until it became unbearable, and Gracie’s skill broke. The young Behemoth came running back at a frantic speed, dashing past both Gracie and Harry.

Gracie peeked from behind a rock and saw green, slimy substances all over the place. It was a large chamber, and broken eggshells lay scattered around.

Her eyes twitched as she spotted a massive, tough-skinned Behemoth. Its skin looked loose but pulsed with power and wisdom.

"Crunch"

Under the pressure of its jaws, the eggshells shattered and were swallowed.

"Do they... eat each other?" Gracie asked in shock.

"What do you mean?" Harry cautiously peeked at the creature—but the Behemoth suddenly turned its head, as if recognizing him.

Harry jolted back, breathing heavily. He was ready to fight, but the encounter felt like a jump scare—he hadn’t expected it to notice him.

Surprisingly, it didn’t attack. It ignored his presence.

Harry looked again, and this time the Behemoth didn’t react. Harry was sure it was aware of him, yet it didn’t see him as a threat.

Did it start liking me? He shook his head in disbelief.

Then he noticed it eating the eggshells.

"I think it’s clearing the cave for—" his voice broke off.

"For?" Gracie asked.

"A new batch of newborns."

That explained the high density of Behemoths in the area. They had a high birth rate, and it seemed that all the Behemoths laid their eggs in one place, entrusting their safety to a powerful guardian.

Normally, female beasts are proactive when it comes to their offspring, but Harry was well aware of the diversity among species.

For some beasts, giving birth was like laying chicken eggs—a process they went through regardless of emotional attachment.

Harry stood at a curve in the cave while Gracie leaned against the wall beside him.

When Harry had started thinking, his hands were placed above Gracie, unintentionally pinning her and preventing her from moving.

Gracie’s face turned red, feeling his hands pressing against her chest.

As Harry finished his thoughts, he stepped forward, revealing himself to the Behemoth. Gracie sighed in relief, no longer feeling his touch—but tensed up again upon seeing Harry walk straight towards the beast.

All the Level Nine threats she had ever killed had required careful planning and support from her subordinates—yet here Harry was, confronting a beast larger than the average truck.

Her hands twitched, wanting to slap him, but that would reveal her position too.

Harry walked boldly closer to the Behemoth. It continued to ignore him, giving Harry more courage.

But as he crossed the fifty-meter mark, the Behemoth looked directly at him. Its abysmal eyes chilled Harry to the bone.

He panicked and rushed back toward Gracie, who jolted upon seeing him retreat.

"Ahurrr... ahyyy... ahur..."

A voice reached both Gracie and Harry.

Shocked, Harry looked at Gracie. "What language are you speaking—and at a time like this?"

"Ahurr... ahhhhyy... ahu..." The voice returned, but Harry was now sure it wasn’t from Gracie—her lips hadn’t moved.

That left only one possibility: "The Behemoth is talking."

Harry stepped out of hiding, entering the Behemoth’s line of sight. He saw its mouth moving, and another batch of strange words echoed through the cave.

The beast was trying to say something, but Harry couldn’t understand any of it.

He remembered how the Dreamthorn had once spoken to him as fluently as any human. That was due to its ability to control minds, which gave it enough data to learn human language by tapping into countless minds.

It even understood the emotional weaknesses humans carried. But this Behemoth had no such power—it couldn’t speak a human tongue.

Some beasts that lived among humans had learned to speak the language, but on this isolated planet, Harry was sure this beast had never interacted with humans before.

So now, it was all up to what he could decipher—whether to kill it outright or try to understand its language.