Somewhere, deep within the northern forest untouched by the footsteps of adventurers, a shadow darted through the dense trees.
Alrain continued moving forward at a nearly invisible speed. He kept darting straight toward the central coordinates where his wind magic had caught those numerous suspicious movements.
From a distance, through his focused gaze, he saw a considerably large cave mouth gaping darkly like a giant's jaw. And right in front of the cave, there were four Giant Wasps flying on patrol, flapping their wings in a highly orderly pattern.
Is that dark cave their main nest? Alrain guessed inwardly as he meticulously observed the movement pattern of the four ferocious wasp monsters. Judging from the way they patrol so strictly like that, it seems the cave is indeed the entrance to their nest.
Without slowing his pace in the slightest, he continued darting and immediately approached the flock of Giant Wasps standing guard in front of the cave.
With his incredibly high speed and...
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Four wind slashes were unleashed consecutively by Alrain.
Without having the time to realize the presence of their executioner, one by one, the heads of the four Giant Wasps were severed with highly precise cuts in the blink of an eye.
However, before the massive heads and bodies of the monsters crashed to the ground and created a thud, Alrain had already acted. With an incredibly fast movement, he immediately stored all the monster bodies into his magic bag.
All the monsters seemingly evaporated just like that, swallowed by the air.
While flying and darting back and forth at high speed in the open area around the front of the cave to keep his magic from stopping, Alrain spread his exceedingly thin wind magic into the pitch-black mouth of the cave.
The wind magic functioned like a sonar radar, detecting the contours, temperatures, and even the slightest movements residing deep within.
It only took a few seconds for his wind magic to map out the entire interior of the cave, and the information sent back to his brain was enough to leave the youth stunned for a moment.
Terrifying! I never expected there to be over a hundred monsters in there at all. No wonder the guild went as far as sending A-rank adventurers.
However, in his detection results, Alrain caught an anomaly. He found it strange regarding the majority of the life signs in the depths of the cave. Those life points were pulsating, yet they were completely motionless, merely staying in their respective positions without moving elsewhere like the others.
Why are there over 70 monsters only making small movements in a single spot? he wondered inwardly, his curiosity increasingly piqued to find out what was actually hidden at the end of the cave. And what makes me most curious is that there is one exceptionally massive presence right in the middle of those 70 motionless monsters. Is that giant figure their king?
Not wanting to waste too much time, and because his goal was indeed to destroy the cave he had found, Alrain immediately darted into the cave.
The conditions inside the cave were absolutely pitch-black. There was not the slightest opening for sunlight to enter.
However, this did not hinder his movements in the slightest. Alrain continued darting at high speed while spreading his wind magic.
The winds acted as his perfect 'eyes' within the darkness. He could feel and accurately know the distance of the cave walls, the height of the ceiling, down to the rocky stalactites that might obstruct his path, enabling him to weave and evade very smoothly.
As he kept darting deeper, his radar caught several Giant Wasps nearby.
Slash! Slash!
Without hesitation, Alrain slashed them one by one with incredibly fast and precise movements.
As if his eyes could see everything with utmost clarity in the pitch-black darkness, he killed all the monsters that crossed his path in a single flawless swing.
Exactly identical to the method he had used in front of the cave earlier, Alrain immediately stored all the monster carcasses into his magic bag before the bodies had the chance to fall and hit the rocky floor.
Alrain continued traversing the cave corridor, which turned out to be extremely long and expansive.
Every Giant Wasp he encountered, Alrain executed in silence, then he neatly gathered their corpses into his magic bag for Arion's sake.
Until finally, the surrounding air felt increasingly stuffy and damp. Alrain realized that he had nearly reached the end of the cave corridor, the place where the giant monster and the over 70 motionless life signs resided.
The youth slowed his pace, then landed extremely softly and silently on the rocky cave floor. Then, Alrain activated his lightning magic on a larger scale. He let the lightning flashes envelop the entire surface of his body.
Concurrently with the activated and crackling lightning magic, the state inside the cave chamber that was initially pitch-black instantly became brightly illuminated, bathed in the light radiating from Alrain's body.
As soon as his vision became clear, Alrain could finally see with absolute clarity everything in front of him. His eyes widened slightly.
All over the walls of the giant cave, there were dozens of holes made from a mixture of dirt and hardened slime. Inside each of those holes, more than 70 pale-white giant larva-shaped monsters resided, squirming slowly.
However, what caught his attention the most was the figure situated right in the middle of the room.
A Giant Wasp monster with a highly absurd size. The monster had a height reaching 4 meters and a body length of about 9 meters down to its tail. Its thick wings were folded on its back, and the stingers at the tip of its tail, as well as on both of its arms, were the size of spears.
It was the Queen Giant Wasp. It was the leader of the wasp colony, fully on guard protecting its nest.
It turns out... this is indeed their nest! I must kill all these monsters! Alrain concluded inwardly, once again tightening his grip on his wind swords.
The bright light from Alrain's lightning instantly disturbed the monster's tranquility. Realizing there was an intruder who had dared to break into its nest, the Queen Giant Wasp immediately glared sharply at the tiny human in front of it. Its compound eyes flashed with anger. Its jaws opened wide, revealing sharp fangs dripping with fluid.
Splat! Splat!
The Queen Giant Wasp directly spat out shots of concentrated venomous fluid from its mouth toward Alrain incessantly at an extraordinary speed.
Realizing the danger of the lethal projectile spray, Alrain immediately utilized his reflexes. He moved to evade to the left and right sides with great agility. His movements were like lightning, ensuring that not a single one of the consecutive venomous fluid sprays managed to hit his body.
Hiss...
The fluid hit the cave floor and walls behind him. The sound of the cave rocks melting could be heard very clearly and horrifyingly in that exceedingly quiet and silent place. Alrain could also feel the thick venomous smoke wafting from the remnants of the melting rocks.
Alrain glanced briefly, looking at the remnants of the spray. And at that very moment, he remembered the power belonging to one of his family members.
The melting capability and destructive power of this monster are exactly like the Corrosive Hard Water magic that Kylen possesses. Alrain noted inwardly. If I was not fast enough to evade it and got hit by that fluid, my flesh and bones would definitely melt and shatter instantly.
Alrain looked around at his surroundings, which had been contaminated by poison.
If I hadn't drunk that Elixir of Immortality, I also definitely would not be able to last long and would die in here after inhaling thick venomous smoke inside such a stuffy cave with no air circulation like this.