Before me was a field that was filled to the brim with eggs. Not only that, but each of those eggs was probably as tall as I am!
"What the... is this the nursery of the turtle monster above?"
They were all scattered around as if they were dropped from the ceiling. Well, I doubt the monster above could fit here anyway, so it was the only possibility.
"Rather than that, they didn't destroy the portal before, right?!"
I recall that the portal shattered like glass, so it was probably pretty fragile. Dropping a large egg on top of it would definitely spell trouble.
While being extremely careful of my steps to not touch an egg and break it accidentally, and also to not create too much noise, I went down. As I went onward, a certain question was circling in my mind.
'How long have these eggs been here?'
Monsters based on mammals could asexually reproduce, almost like they're simply pooping. The scariest part was that their offspring would rapidly grow to an adult's size in just a day.
However, since they're literally giving birth, their numbers are still pretty limited. However, oviparous animal-based monsters were different. And since they could even reproduce asexually, that means their numbers could exponentially increase if we're not careful.
From what I can see, the eggs around me have been here for days. It could be two days or three, but I'm not so sure. And the problem lies in that specific uncertainty.
"Monster eggs hatch in two or three days, and the moment they pop out, they're all already ready for combat!"
Just imagining that all these eggs would hatch simultaneously while I was inside was enough to give me trauma. "Wait, did I just raise my own death flag?"
About ten minutes later, I finally reached the bottom of the mall. As expected, the density of monster eggs there was on a different level. It was to the point that I had no clear space to walk through.
I squeezed through the gaps of the eggs, heading for where the pedestal of the portal was before, based on my vague memory. It took me another ten minutes just to reach the place I could recall, but soon, a smile crossed my face.
"It's still intact!"
Probably because above it was a cantilever that was sporting a roof-like part. The portal's fragments were safe due to that.
I was running out of time, so I quickly began placing all the fragments into my World Storage. After all, analysis could take time, so why not take everything along and slowly research it later?
The smaller fragments that looked like crystal or glass were easier to keep, but for the pedestal, I needed to use a crowbar as a lever just to lift it from the ground where it was embedded.
As soon as I successfully placed it in my storage, I wiped the sweat covering my face and checked the time. It was exactly 30 minutes after I left the others, so I still have time.
I turned to look ahead at the hellish scenery covering the entire mall. "However, I can't simply leave here, can I?"
If I let these eggs go, then most likely they would become a threat to the nearby cities in the near future, meaning they would be a headache for our guild sooner or later.
"So why not take care of them here and now?"
Of course, I would do something like smashing all the eggs with the parent right above. That's just asking for trouble, after all. From my storage, I took out the perfect item for such a thing. A time bomb!
"She told me it was for clearing blocked paths, but well, we can just ask for more, can't we?" Thinking so, I started setting the timer for fifteen minutes later, just to give me some time to escape.
After synching dozens of timers, I simultaneously pressed their activation switch, which activated the bombs and started the countdown. At that moment, I quickly moved, throwing each set of explosives at nearby pillars.
After all, I only have a few explosives, not enough to blast all these eggs to kingdom come. Instead, I could aim to collapse the mall completely, taking down the eggs along with the aftermath.
After throwing the tenth and last bomb, I started running for the stairs. I didn't care if I touched or pushed an egg anymore, as I was already escaping anyway. However, just as I was about to climb the edge of the broken stairs, I heard a loud and ominous sound.
*CRACK!*
"..."
With fear, I turned to look behind me, and there, a pair of eyes were staring straight at me through the crack of an eggshell. These guys... are about to hatch!
As soon as I realized that, I didn't care for stealth anymore and simply ran as fast as I could. Along the way, the cracking sounds were getting louder and louder, along with the high-pitched sound of the newborn monsters' cries.
"D*mn!"
However, halfway up, the eggs that were lined up on the side of the stairs all hatched completely. Five turtles, as big as I am, were staring at me like I was a delectable treat.
"Unfortunately for you, I'm not your food!" I pulled the heavy hammer from my storage as I shouted. "Haap!"
Of course, I avoided slamming the hammer against the stairs, as it could technically break the only way I had to escape this place. Instead, I used a sweeping motion and slammed the five of them like pancakes against the wall.
I'm not sure if it was due to the hammer's weight, its damage, or just that their shells were still weak, but they all died in one hit. As soon as I confirmed their deaths, I placed the hammer back into the World Storage and ran.
As soon as I raised my head, however, my legs stopped in place.
"... Ahahahah..." A bitter laugh escaped my lips as I stared at the red, angry eyes of the large turtle right outside the mall's entrance. "I'm f*cked..."
*KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!*
A high-pitched roar, something you wouldn't imagine coming from a large monster, made the air vibrate. It was so loud and irritating that even though I covered my ears immediately, I could feel a warm liquid dripping down them. In short, my eardrums popped just from hearing it.
Now that it's come to this, it's do or die! Disregarding my own safety, I activated Ground Shrink, aiming for the giant turtle's head. It was the furthest flat surface that I could see, after all.
The space around me started warping as my legs moved by themselves, jumping off with unbelievable strength and running through stairs, walls, and ceilings alike. Before I realized it, I was already face-to-face with the large porcupine turtle boss monster, standing at the tip of its big nose.
"Take this!" Knowing that we could no longer avoid a fight and that escaping its range seemed impossible, I took the chance and landed the first attack.
Using the hammer, I literally pounded its nose down, causing the monster to reel back in pain.
*KIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!*
Although my eardrum broke, the powerful sound waves from its pained cry were enough to vibrate the air. As a result, although I was supposedly rendered deaf for a moment, I could still "hear" its cry.
At that moment, I saw a flash coming from the left. Without bothering to look at it, I quickly jumped down, using the hammer as a windbreaker, as I watched the flash I saw earlier land at the monster's face. It was Toki's fireball, followed by Kaede's black lightning!
The turtle seemed irritated by their attacks but was mostly unaffected. That just shows how much of a gap was present between us and this fifth-stage monster.
Using the chance given by it rampaging around as it squirmed in pain, I quickly ran to where the girls were while ignoring the intense tiredness of my body from using Ground Shrink. I could see them from the distance, waving their hands as they fired attacks one after another. Their mouths were moving, but I couldn't hear a thing they were saying.
As soon as I came close to them, I quickly pointed to my ears. Lily nodded immediately, chanting for a skill, and cast a bright flash of light over my body. Soon enough, sounds started to come back into my silenced world.
"Ruin! Can you hear me now?!" Lily asked as she continued healing me.
I quickly nodded my head in response, making her heave a sigh of relief as a faint smile covered her face. While waiting for the healing to complete, I turned to face the porcupine turtle and frowned. Soon enough, it would recover. When that happens, we will all be in danger from the missile-like flying spikes on its back.
Two plans quickly came to mind. One is to let Hailey strike it numerous times until the hex counter depletes, killing it, or to wait for two minutes and place it right above the mall, praying that the bombs I set up would collapse the entire building, dragging the bigass monster along with it. Escape? That's out of the question.
Thinking of the risks, I quickly settled on our course of action.