Now, Kaiju had to change his approach. Although obtaining an inventory was the biggest advantage he had, knowing he could obtain many fruits without having to carry it in his embrace, he had to ensure his survival.
He thought of placing a trap to wholly stop the snakes in case they pursue him en masse. Since he had much time left, he did what he could, creating three 1 meter diameter deep pits, while piercing it with myriads of sharp branches.
It took him three whole hours, and finally gathered an enormous single leaf to cover it entirely. Once two or more snakes slithered on the place, the single leaf couldn't handle their weight and fell to the deep pit with the snakes.
Once he was finished, he talked with Snow for a bit to calm her down somewhat. Of course, it was proven futile when he finally told her he would now slowly scout the trees ahead before the fruit would fully ripened. Kaiju wanted to have a clear knowledge of the place he would be venturing, desiring to pull the terrain advantage to him. The only threat he would be facing would be the Overlord beast.
Hopefully, he would be considered as an insignificant existence in its eyes to avoid garnering its attention. The worst thing he did not want to happen was to meet the Overlord beast head on.
Just thinking of facing a gigantic snake caused a chill to run down his spine.
Shaking his head to dismiss those unnecessary worries, Kaiju bid a smile to Snow, clearly seeing the latter's milky white eyes filled with worries. He was helpless, but then again, decided to turn his back against her and calmly moved forward.
He ordered the Gacha System to take the Bloodthorn out of his inventory, and it materialized on his hand, then grasping it tightly.
He was ready to activate all his skills at all costs. They were not inactive anyway since the cooldown had long been completed. Now, he was already formulating a combination of his skills being activated to escape after snatching many fruits.
He already had the information of when the fruit would be matured exactly, so all he had to do was to execute the calculation he formulated in his mind.
Kaiju moved through the shadows, eventually causing him to arrive on the trunk of the gargantuan tree, avoiding the eyes of feral snakes that could not climb the tree. Kaiju assumed that instead of not wanting to climb the trees, their strength was only insufficient to fight for the fruit.
Kaiju acknowledged the rule of the jungle.
"Survival of the Fittest."
Kaiju recognized his inability to murder even a single feral snake in fear of startling other feral snakes, inevitably creating a chain reaction that would reach the ears of the Overlord snake.
That was how weak he was, and he would not deny it.
Kaiju tilted his head upward. At this point, he knew he had to climb through the branches of the gargantuan trees.
He couldn't help but be filled with worries.
"Will the Shadow Step be inactivated once I climb?"
Common grade skills had so many restrictions – they would automatically be inactivated once the conditions set by them would be violated.
Kaiju pondered for a while.
"Alright. I'll climb once the fruits are fully matured."
Kaiju confidently leaned his back on the trunk, standing in the position completely shrouded in the shadow. Shadow Step has a duration of five minutes and it was almost up, but he still had another remaining activations yet, so he did not worry.
As he was enjoying his moment, the Shadow Step finally reached the limit of duration. Kaiju quickly activated other activations, but just in time, his blood ran cold.
His hair stood on ends, feeling an intense, chilling gaze above him. Time slowed down, the vicinity became quiet, a gust of wind often produced a light noise, the dancing crown of trees blurred in Kaiju's vision.
He concentrated his consciousness on his peripheral vision, as he stood frozen in one place. He recalled what his teacher, who taught them about Beast encyclopedia, said that once they were spotted by a snake, they must not move for a bit.
Knowledge provides confidence, and with confidence, their survival would be certain.
Kaiju heard that motto from his teacher, so he relied on the knowledge provided to him. Of course, he was now relying on his instinct – once it screamed in danger, he would not hesitate to move, activating the Swift Dash and leaving the place.
Furthermore, Kaiju was speculating the rank of the beast, now hissing above him, believing it should not be an ordinary Savage Rank beast, as it intimidated him that much when all it did was gazed at him.
'Is it a Corrupted rank beast?'
As Kaiju was lost in his own thoughts, he suddenly heard a voice echoing inside his head.
"Human."
No, it was not the Tower, and certainly not from the Gacha System.
It appeared elderly yet still vigorous from its tone.
"Were you sent by her?"
Kaiju felt his hair stand on end. He had a slight idea as to whom the voice belonged.
'An Overlord Beast?!'
Kaiju's mind turned blank. Before he was totally consumed by terror, he did not hesitate anymore to activate the Emotionless skill.
His palpitating heart slowly simmered down, the warmness on his head cooled down, and his chaotic mind finally settled down.
He could not think straight.
He did not want to wait for the Overlord beast either, so he replied, "What do you mean by her, Your Majesty? Forgive me of my ignorance."
"So, you are not sent by her. If that's the case, I want to kill you…"
Even with the Emotionless skill, Kaiju felt an unease washed over him.
"But she will appear at any moment. Since you are her kind, she might not hesitate to help you. Consider yourself lucky, kid."
{Congratulations! The host managed to survive due to his extraordinary luck. Calculating the Luck Points the host has gathered on this event…}
Kaiju's mouth twitched when he heard the voice of the Gacha System, appearing to be sarcastic on her remarks.
Nevertheless, he was more distracted by the fact of who the Overlord beast might be referring to.
'Who is she that even made an Overlord cower in fear?'