I slowly advanced forward. The area around me was far different than I had left it. There was not a single Rosethorn Constrictor to be seen. The creature had once been the Apex predator of the area, and yet now it was simply gone.
The thought sent chills down my spine as I vaguely remembered the various events when I left the forest. Due to my discovery of how to activate the were-rabbits latent Gene's, the Lycan god Fenfir had taken away his once failed creations.
The rabbits had been the main source of food for the Rosethorn Constrictors. They had also fed another creature, the Velocinids. These creatures were actually the reason I was here, they would make great prey for Hylia. The main reason was not the easy experience she could get, rather that as bugs they belonged to that filthy bug God.
An ominous feeling welled up in my heart as I recalled the events of the past. I silently cast my new spell, [Bone and Poison Short Sword], keeping it in my main hand as I crept forward.
I eventually approached my original home, but had yet to see a single Velocinid. The absence of the pack hunting beast caused me to feel extremely unnerved. The cave was different than when I had left it. It had only been around a month, and yet it had already been taken back by the Dark Forest. Small sprouting trees could be seen growing in what had once been a clearing.
They had most definitely not been there before, and Hylia told me that such growth was not natural, but all too common in the Dark Forest. I slowly crept past the trees and entered the cave that had once been my home.
The inside of the cave had changed even more than the outside world. The once earthen walls were now riddled with the familiar vines of the Rosethorn. As we traveled in more of the vines appeared. Finally, we approached the room in the very back of the cave. The room that had the stream running through it. The room had been almost completely blocked off by vines, but I was just barely able to crawl through.
Inside I was greeted by hundreds of Velocinids. They stood perfectly still, but they seemed to be randomly dispersed, none of them pointing in any particular direction. Upon closer inspection I could see that each of the Velocinids was covered in small versions of themselves.
I had walked into a massive breeding ground for the beasts. Horror filled my heart as I stared at the scene before me. The amount of Velocinids that were being bread here was enough for an army. The closest source of food around would be Slagstone City.
I silently crept around the room, as I got further back the horror that had filled my heart upgraded to complete terror. There beings were located at the back of the cave, all of them kneeled before a statue. A vague holy aura could be felt from the statue. Closer inspection showed that it was the figure of a male Arachne. The bug god Ishra had again made a move.
The three figures before the statue were all completely different. One was a gigantic Velocinid. It was around five times larger than the previous Alpha I had seen. Next to it was a Rosethorn Constrictor. The normal purple flower of the beast was blood red.
The last creature was completely different from anything I had ever seen before. It was a humanoid female creature, but small sprouts could be seen growing out of it. The skin of the beast was a forest green, but most of it had wilted and become a decaying black color. small insects could be seen crawling over its flesh.
Hylia whispered in my mind. "The creature resembles a Dryad, but seems to have been corrupted by something. No self-respecting dryad would allow bugs to feed from its flesh like that."
I nodded as I listened to her, and slowly backed out of the cave. Those three creatures were far too powerful for us to deal with. As I retreated, I cast several modified versions of a particular spell.
When I was done, I quickly escaped. When we had successfully left the cave, I snapped my fingers. Detonating the hundreds of grenades, I had left behind.
A flood of experience filled me, but it was not even enough to gain half a level. The experience was great for Hylia however as she shot directly to level 10. Her experience would have contained to rise if she had not met the maximum level. I continued to move in stealth as I ran towards the city. My bombs would not have been able to hurt those three creatures, and would have only delayed whatever plans they had for a short while.
I headed directly towards the guild hall when I returned to town. Thanks to my high agility the journey that would have once taken two days only took me around half a day. I recounted everything I had seen to my mother, explaining to her every event of relevance that had happened since I came her.
Her face turned pale as she listened, before going through several of the documents on her desk. Finally, she pulled up a report. She eyed the report in horror as she mulled over my words. She did not say anything as she ran from the room.
We only had to wait for a few moments before she returned. Next to her was a man who seemed like he would be retiring soon. The man looked at us with discerning eyes and asked for us to repeat everything I had told my mother.
After I repeated the information yet again the man nodded and turned to my mother. "Send a C rank team to verify the information. Mobilize every pair of D rank or higher. If what they say is true our city is in grave danger."
The man looked bonus again. "If your information is correct and we all manage to survive this you will be rewarded for your hard work. For now, return to your home and prepare for war."