Chapter 365: Forced Retreat

The blue screen dispersed the black ink in all directions. However, due to him being on the ground and the Three Great Defense skill itself, Theo didn't get any more pressure coming from the shield, allowing him to supply the Magic Power needed to block this attack.

Still, it didn't dismiss the disappointment in his heart.

"Ugh, I feel like this ink won't get off my clothes or my skin… Luckily, the shield is dispersing it, so it doesn't touch me or whatsoever. But…" Theo glanced at his clone, obliterated by the ink, before looking at the spear who already blended with the ground color.

His spear obviously had been painted black and seemed to be unusable after this. "I need to buy a C Rank Spear, which will cost quite a fortune. And… The price is even higher than a C Rank Skill. Suck to be me."

With that disappointment filling his heart, Theo kept blocking it until the squid stopped spurting the ink, realizing it could not penetrate Theo's defense.

In that instant, Theo used his Blink to take him upward and used his Telekinesis to fly straight to the squid.

The squid seemed to have noticed Theo's movement and returned to the water while sending all three tentacles to stop Theo.

Theo summoned his Magic Bullets once again and shot all eighty Magic Bullets.

The squid was obvious to what happened and tried to smack the bullets, not wanting to be hit by those bullets again.

Using this chance to resummon his Clone, He sent Clone Theo to grab the spear back. Even if he needed to discard it later, the clone could still use it since no black ink would matter to something that was bound to vanish sooner or later.

Meanwhile, the real Theo observed the squid's movement, trying to see where he should go.

At the same time as Clone Theo started heading to Ava, Theo went in the opposite direction to loop around, trying to hit the squid from its blind spot.

Unfortunately, the squid saw him and followed his movement even if it meant turning its giant body.

This was the time Clone Theo showed its superiority.

Theo wanted to create this opportunity, so his clone could change his direction and hit the squid's back where the protective screen couldn't reach.

"Cannon Blast."

Theo stabbed the squid and ripped apart the skin, creating a hole with twice his height as the diameter. The position of the hole was above the right eye that had been destroyed by Theo earlier.

"This should weaken the squid even further," Clone Theo muttered while glancing at Ava, who still managed to hold on.

Because of the attack, the squid turned around and slapped Clone Theo, but the real him utilized that movement to make a sneak attack, ripping another tentacle from the squid.

Bam.

The tentacle fell to the ground and created a small shock wave that kicked up the dust nearby.

Meanwhile, the disappeared clone reemerged next to Theo as they took this chance to unleash another attack to widen the wound they had made.

They ripped the skin apart and connected the hole in the eye and the one above it, widening the wound, which allowed the green blood to flow out even faster.

Due to that wound, the squid began to move slower than ever, giving Theo an easier opportunity to strike it.

"Ava, I'm almost done. Take care." Theo shouted after cutting down another tentacle.

"Kyu!" Ava nodded and jumped in the air, avoiding the tentacle that almost hit her. At the same time, she headed to the left and hit the tentacle, blowing it away to prevent the tentacle from reaching Theo.

The latter couldn't be more grateful because the fight had been much easier with her help.

With the constant blood flow coming out of the body, the squid had become weak to the point one of the tentacles dropped on its own while the other could barely move.

Theo didn't hesitate in claiming that other's tentacle, rendering the squid useless.

Before it could move its body, Theo pierced the squid's second eye and hit right in the middle of the eye, connecting the wound on both eyes and eventually killed it.

[You killed a Squiddy Lamp.]

[EXP+120,400]

"As expected from a level 280 Squid…" Theo smiled before he got another one.

[Mission completed.]

[Hurry up and get to a safe area instead of killing the other squid.]

"…" Theo frowned when he saw the message. The other squid had been weakened by Ava's continuous attacks, so he thought it was such a waste of opportunity to retreat.

However, he couldn't dismiss this warning as well since it might be important.

After a few considerations, Theo shouted, "Ava, we'll retreat."

"Kyu?!" Ava's body shook as she turned to Theo with a shocked expression.

She never thought that Theo would choose to retreat after getting this much of an advantage.

Theo placed his hand on the squid's body and turned it into cards. He picked them up with his Telekinesis before bringing Ava away.

His clone remained on the lake to withstand the squid's onslaught, buying them time to escape.

Theo returned to the camp without hesitation.

Ava landed safely while staring at him in confusion. "Kyu?!"

Of course, she would question his decision. It was abnormal for Theo to retreat when they had the advantage.

From the past month they had been together, the only time Theo would run was when he was at a disadvantage.

Unfortunately, Theo couldn't explain it either because the notification told him to quickly return to a safe place.

"I don't know. I need to take this reward first it seems… That's why you can take care of my body?" Theo asked.

"Kyu." Ava hesitated for a second before nodding with a serious expression.

"After everything ends, let's celebrate, shall we?" Theo smiled.

Ava didn't let out a sound and simply stared at Theo with a smile on her face.

Theo nodded and closed his eyes while muttering, "I hope this reward is worth the hassle."

His consciousness was transported back to where he took the reward after becoming a Champion Rank Expert.

He was surrounded by mountains while standing in the middle of a grass field.

Turning around to observe the place, Theo found a huge wolf standing behind him and glaring at him.

"You have finally come. I am tired of waiting."

"…" Theo almost forgot that the one standing before him was considered a Mythical Creature that had killed a God. Normally, such a creature would be arrogant. In fact, his reaction might be more appropriate compared to God of Mischief or the serpent. 

Theo couldn't help but smile.