Chương 69: The Oasis

[Worker Status] Name: Ava Designation: Alchemist Specialist: Potions Professional Status: Master Monthly Maintenance Cost (MMC): 25000 Contract Payment: 250 Theta Standard Monster Corpse (or) 750 Delta Standard Monster Corpse (or) 1500 Gamma Standard Monster Corpse (or) 2500 Alpha Standard Monster Corpse Arthur sat within the rock's shade as the sun moved away from its high point. He had eaten the best food, and he instantly felt sleepy; however, he did not entertain the thought of sleeping in this place.

After all, he could do nothing but wait for Zero to find more locations. Already, the Skeleton had discovered another location where Faunite Crystal could be mined. Hence, Arthur hired three additional Miner Skeletons— Mya, Sty, and Paleo. Their contract required 75 alpha standard cores, which was very cheap labor, and he subsequently sent them to mine the location. With that matter concluded, he wanted to prepare himself for what would come after the mining.

Since he could not consume things raw, he needed a Skeleton who could brew a potion or create something consumable. Thus, after searching for a while, he found the perfect Skeleton to offer a contract to. Although the contract payment was huge, he could accomplish it. Currently, the hiring of Techi the Debuffer was placed on hold. Though that Skeleton would help him greatly in the overall situation, his personal growth came first.

If he were to perish at the start, what use would the Debuffer be, as they would only perish with him? Therefore, he would first ensure his safety and grow, and only then could he build his army. With that, he stood up and stretched. The day was still young, and he could not afford to waste any time. There were no monsters left around this quarry anymore; everything had been cleaned out. They had to move from here.

Thus, he first commanded the Butcher Skeletons to take all the materials with them to the Nether-Realm. For a while, they would not be needed for any work. One by one, they disappeared with a certain amount of material, which Arthur guessed was the limit of what they could take with them. The remaining material was taken by Brog, since he was also not needed for now. Then, he gathered his combat team Coburn, Maan, and Dolph and prepared to move out to hunt a huge amount of corpses.

He had already given orders to Zero to maintain the workforce of the mining. If it were to find more locations, it was to divide the workers among the different places. Furthermore, he also gave a command that if any ants were to return to the cave and attack, the miners had permission to dismiss themselves to the Nether-Realm. In that case, he would not need to station guards for the mining Skeletons. Arthur tilted his head up at the sun and guessed that the time would be around three in the afternoon.

If they were to find another herd of monsters similar to this place before it got dark, it would put them at a great advantage in their advancement. With that thought, Arthur exited the quarry and walked toward a small spot of greenery far away.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. The reason Arthur decided to head toward that green spot was due to how out of place it looked. Compared to the land near the mountain, the surroundings they had been walking through consisted of very little vegetation. However, upon looking around, Arthur's eyes spotted this green spot that looked like a mini forest. Curious to see what was there, they decided to move toward it.

The further they walked, the more the greenery expanded in their vision. After walking for more than half an hour, they finally reached the edge of the vegetation. Up close, this spot stretched long on the sides with dense trees and bushes. However, the strange thing was that the vegetation cut off abruptly, as if the plants were simply not capable of growing past that point.

"Coburn, lead the front. Everyone, be alert," Arthur commanded. Although the forest possessed dense vegetation, it was not like that vile Solomon Valley where the area was full of vines that put them in a tough spot to move even a foot. Here, there was no need to constantly clear the path; Coburn only used its sword occasionally. There were no movements of monsters in this patch of forest. Even while walking toward this place, they had encountered very few monsters.

Surprisingly, they did not even see a single Ant that had escaped from the quarry.

'They must have run away to the mountain,' Arthur guessed, though he was not one hundred percent sure.

"Everyone, expand your full senses. Check for every move," Arthur insisted to the Skeletons once more. The lack of monsters in this area drove his heart into an uneasy mode. After walking for a moment, the trees and vegetation opened up, and they stood directly in front of a big lake.

"It is an oasis," Arthur muttered. The water seemed fresh enough to drink and even take a bath. Daniel had been worried about water; he must have come this far to obtain it. However, it was a relatively long distance. Furthermore, they would have decided to move toward the mountain in search of water instead of randomly roaming this place.

"I wonder what Nickolas and the others are doing," Arthur said to himself as he eyed the translucent lake. They must have grown frustrated under the dictatorship of that guy. He should go there soon and rescue them, but before that, he had to obtain the potion from the Crystal. Otherwise, he would just get stuck there, if not get killed again. However, in order to do that, he needed monster corpses. But where were the monsters? He did not see even a single monster's movement on the periphery of this lake.

It was as if the monsters were afraid of the water. Arthur was no longer as naive as he was a few days ago; he naturally understood the current situation. If the area was devoid of monsters, it meant either the water was not drinkable, or the monsters were afraid of something that lived in this lake. That much was clear.

But now, the question was whether Arthur wanted to check what kind of monster lived in this lake that terrorized every other monster, or if he should walk away in search of less dangerous monsters to collect corpses and hire workers. Arthur was quite sure that whatever lived here was a very dangerous predator. Since it even repelled other monsters, this meant it was equal to the Ant King in terms of strength. However, the question was whether it would give him another Ability card just like the Ant King.

"It is worth a try!" This did not simply stem from mere greed. Arthur could truly kill a monster that possessed the same strength as the Ant King, because he had a cheat ability where he could pinpoint the weaknesses of monsters. With that ability, he would hunt the predator monster without any issue.

"Now, let us see what kind of predator lives here that scares other monsters." Arthur picked up a fist-sized stone and hurled it into the center of the lake. Splash! The stone dropped into the lake, and the water started to ripple. Arthur was not sure if it was enough disturbance for the predator to awaken. However, before he could search for more stones, the ripples on the water increased slowly. Soon, the center of the lake erupted like a tsunami.

For a second, hesitation rose after seeing the sheer size of the monster. Was he overconfident?