Chapter 118: Danger of Core Area

"37 huge bugs, all bigger than any human alive, and not too far. And that is just near the border of the inner and core part. Who knew what kind of monstrosities would be at the true core of this place," Alros muttered to himself.

In the end, he decide to see the bugs for himself and evaluate their threat levels. While he will not make any move on them anytime soon, he might do so if they have abilities that would be beneficial or if they are exceptionally powerful.

-x-

"So, this is the bugs that make the Phantom Wasp observe it," Alros remarked, observing the huge scorpion that crawled on the forest floor.

He can tell the sheer might it possess, not to mention the fact the ominous marking on it's head, or the fact poison drip from it's stinger. The scorpion no doubt powerful and would be a fine addition to his force.

However, he stop himself from trying to grab such powerful bug for now. He intend to explore and observe all 37 first, before heading to the true core of the forest.

Seeing all 37 would be a good way to gauge if he is over his head or not with this endavour.

-x-

"I can probably fight them, but it would be hard. Only with some help can I subdue the huge bugs close to me," Alros said out loud, though he was not alone.

[ True, but it would be a very close fight. You will need to engage them first before the other monsters do so, or you will lose monsters quickly with no results to show. ]

"True, so if try to attack and capture any powerful monsters, it will need a lot of planning, to minimize the losses," he uttered, scribbling more information he manage to gain from observing the monsters.

He will consider them to act similar to animals with similar appearance to them until shown otherwise, though he will not consider it to be their full abilities. Who knew, maybe the huge spider can unleash electricity through their webs, or the praying mantis can rip apart steel with it's blade.

-x-

"Huh- th-that- huh, is intense," he said, taking gulps of air as he wipe the sweat of his brows. Who knew running for his life would be so exhausting.

"Here's hoping there would be nothing coming after me after the tw-" the incubus sighed as he turned his head, his eyes meeting the one belonging to a giant centipede.

"Well, I have only one thing to say, screw Murphy, with spear,"

-x-

Another chase and Alros find himself on a very tall tree, hopefully away from huge bugs though he did not have high hopes for that. After all, it seem to be a perfect place for wasps or bees hives to be placed.

So, he keep his vigil up as he rest for the moment. Hoping the centipede would lost interest and goes back to the dark hole it came from.

Of course, even as he was still exhausted, he looked around, not wanting to be ambush by any bugs while he was recovering. The spyglass in his position allow him see disturbance at far distance. The Phantom Wasps would be his first warning signal, to tell him if there is any bugs in the area and warned him the moment they spot it.

Several Thread Spider also join the danger detection squad, creating thread to be used as warning signal, in case their enemies able to turn themselves invisible or disrupt the detection abilities of his Phantom Wasps.

"Let me rest for now," Alros said with an exhausted tone. "If something here, sting me," he ordered, before falling asleep, to tired to care where he did so.

-x-

Thankfully, his luck did not seem abysmal, so he was not attacked when returned. And so those his base, thankfully. After making sure the area around is safe, the experience turning him a tad paranoid, he return to the system space, taking a well deserve rest.

"One good thing I learn is that I am not strong enough for the core part. The border, maybe, but the real core of the forest, no way," he said, Laili in her larger form sat on his lap, cuddling as he is too tired and mentally drained to do it.