Chapter 68 - 64

From what I could tell, there were at least about twenty monsters surrounding the lair. And among them, I could sense this one powerful presence that made the others with him look like some weakling. 'An alpha-class monster.' I concluded.

Looking at my current condition, I couldn’t help but sigh. 'This is really bad, huh?' According to what was displayed on my Status Screen, it seemed like I was still in a weakened state for now. And to be perfectly honest, even without checking that, I already knew that by just the feeling of my body alone. So, in all honesty, forget about fighting that alpha-class monster, I wouldn’t even be able to win against those nineteen monsters that were with him.

'This is all that ape’s fault once again!'

In hindsight, I really just wasted my time searching for the location of that ape. Because in truth, I could probably have done some more productive things using all of that time. Like, hunting for food for example.

'Damn it!' I couldn’t help but curse. But knowing the fact that I wouldn’t accomplish anything by just blaming someone else, I immediately turned the gears of my mind. 'There is no use in finding the fault in the past. I just need to find a way at this moment, right now.'

With that thought in mind, I activated stealth and jogged to the opposite side of the powerful presence. 'If I can’t fight, I just need to escape.' While making sure that the monsters wouldn’t be able to detect my movements, I focused and united my exceptional senses to get a read of the monsters’ movements and locations.

Thanks to my Sixth Sense skill, I managed to get an easy grasp of the monsters’ positions and formation. 'This is a really handy skill.' More than that, it also seemed like I could mark all the monsters within a certain range of my immediate vicinity. In my head, it worked kind of like a radar, and wherever I go, the radar would also follow with me at its center point.

Because of that skill, I managed to formulate a somehow probable and doable plan. 'Yes, they have an alpha-class monster with them. But even then, it isn’t as if that monster can exist at all places, at the same time.' I surmised. 'So, in conclusion, as long as I avoid going near that monster, then it will be hard even for that thing to catch up.'

At that moment, I prepared myself to activate Accelerate at any given time. 'Besides, I’m quite confident that I can easily beat those weaker ones if it came to a contest of speed.'

Of course, it wasn’t as if I was planning to just use my speed and run past those monsters. After all, my speed wasn’t the only advantage I have over them. To be more specific, I also have this Stealth. And well, it just so happened that the stage was now this dim forest area. Which if you really think about it— was the perfect environment to use the skill.

'Okay, let’s see how it goes.' With my Sixth Sense skill keeping track of the monsters’ movements, I somehow managed to leave the vicinity of the lair without getting caught. And upon reentering the forest, I finally identified the monsters that were chasing after me. 'If I’m not mistaken, these are the wolves from before.'

For some unknown reason, even though it was clear to see that the wolves were after me, I still couldn’t detect any kind of hostility coming from the monsters. In fact, they were all registered as a neutral party in my Sixth Sense skill. And of course, it was also the same for that alpha-class monster nearby.

To be honest, the only reason why I was acting this cautious was because of the possibility that the wolves came from the pack of the Tempest Wolf. And naturally, I also did consider that the alpha-class monster might just be the Tempest Wolf himself. If that happened, then I wouldn’t have any problems in slaughtering the weaker wolves on my way to escape. But since my guess was wrong, that also meant that I had to change my approach to the situation.

Whilst hiding in the shadow of a tree, I observed the behavior of the wolves. 'There really are no benefits in antagonizing that Lightning Wolf. That means that killing these guys is now out of the window.' Truth be told, it was a very tricky situation. After all, if I made the mistake of killing even just one of these wolves, then I would be an instant enemy of that Lightning Wolf. And well, I also couldn’t come out and reveal myself since there was no telling what these monsters' reactions would be.

'I cannot afford to have this alpha out for my blood. Especially not when I have a bigger fish to fry.'

After making sure that wolves hadn't noticed my presence, I began moving on the shadows of the trees and behind some tall grass. 'As I thought. This skill really does shine in these kinds of areas.' In the midst of doing that, I also noticed that the Lightning Wolf had now entered the lair. 'Unfortunately, you will find nothing in there.' I murmured inside.

As I was waiting for a wolf to pass, I couldn’t help but wonder. 'But seriously, where did that ape go?' From what I could tell, it was pretty obvious that these wolves weren’t just looking for me. Especially since these were the very same monsters that had chased us from that time. 'Is that guy searching for food or something?' Considering the ape’s speed and abilities, then I do not doubt that he would be able to hunt for food without getting noticed. The problem was…

'It will be really bad if that guy recovers and makes some move against an alpha. Like, seriously, that guy is nothing but a walking time bomb in this place.'

In the grand scheme of things, there was no doubt that the Gigarillon was still a lot stronger compared to the alphas that were ruling this area. But because of that very same power difference, the scale of the trouble that it might cause was also bigger than normal. And while it was true that it was possible to use such disturbance to my advantage, it would still be a headache if that caused a temporary ceasefire and unification between the alpha-class monsters. After all, if my memories were right, those alpha-class monsters put the survival of the species above anything else. In short, if a major threat appeared within this forest, then those three might actually decide to work together.

'I need to prevent that from ever happening.' While keeping that in mind, I once again checked the position of the Lightning Wolf. 'Wait, huh?' Unfortunately, that was when I finally noticed.

'He’s gone?!' To be precise, it was more so that I couldn’t sense its presence, instead of actually vanishing into thin air. 'This is bad!'

But as if he was also waiting for that moment, the Lightning Wolf’s presence rushed towards me. 'Wha—' Because of that, I decided to abandon Stealth, and just run away. 'Damn it! He’s already too close!'

Knowing that the wolf was heading towards my location, I activated Accelerate and ran away from there. 'How?!' Though, of course, that action also alerted the nearby wolves, so they also began chasing after me. The only stroke of fortune was that the wolves weren’t able to keep up with my speed, so I didn’t have to worry about them that much.

'Does that wolf also have the Sixth Sense skill?!' Based on the behavior that the Lightning Wolf had shown, it was pretty clear that the monster found me at the same time that I also found him. 'But if that was really the case, then that was one hell of a trap!'

At that very same instant, I felt the oppressive gaze of the Lightning Wolf, zooming in from behind. “Guh!” Because of that, I lost some control over my skill, which resulted in Accelerate shutting down. 'Crap!'

For a moment, I was stunned. But luckily, that triggered something with me, and it produced a calming effect on my mind. 'Is that some type of mental attack?' I wondered while reactivating Accelerate. Unfortunately, that was when the alarm bells started ringing in my mind.

Following my instinct, I jump away to the side. And when I did just that, a lightning bolt passed by, and it followed by the sound of a raging thunder. “Guh!” Grazed by whatever it was, I felt a jolt of pain running through my body.

'Damn it! What was that?' As I landed on the ground, I gazed at the burned-down trajectory of the lightning bolt. And in there, I found the Lightning Wolf looking at me, with some traces of sparks still coming off of his body. 'You’ve gotta be freaking kidding me.'