Chapter 116 - Circle of Monsters
Wheat walked closer unwillingly, then stopped when it was in range. It shrunk itself back to the size of a normal rat, then cast Scatterstone Rain.
An angry howl sounded out as the stalagmites fell into the water.
A scaly gigantic back of a creature rose from the depths. It was the exact monster which devoured the Vengeful Skeleton earlier. Fatty could see from where he was standing that the monster's scaly back seemed to be blotched and spanned several meters.
Fatty did what he usually does. He used Appraisal.
Deepwater Crocodile.
Level: 40
Notes: A creature living in the Wraith Swamp after being mutated by the negative energies.
Crocodile skin was known to be tough and Wheat's Scatterstone Rain dealing a measly hundred points of damage was proof that it applied to this monster as well. Despite that, the Deepwater Crocodile was clear infuriated. It splashed its tail with a roar and sent a wave crashing towards Fatty.
At the same time, it also followed its attack. When the creature climbed onto the shore, Fatty was completely dumbstruck. How's this a crocodile. It's clearly Godzilla!
The Deepwater Crocodile was over a dozen meters in length and covered in blotches and swells. It's four legs were as thick as elephant legs, while its tail took up around half its entire length, every single swing seemed to be a huge python slithering around.
Fatty took a few steps back as he gasped. It's definitely like this because of the mutation. Hey… Did its crucial organ turn long and thick too?
The ground shook as the Deepwater Crocodile crawled. Now that it was closer, Fatty could see that it dwarfed the Mad Bull King even though that was a huge monster as well. The Deepwater Crocodile shook the world as it ran just like a bullet train.
The monster didn't even have to attack, even a mere touch of it was able to turn a person into minced meat. Fatty quickly retreated with Wheat and tried to use the surroundings to his advantage. However, when he immediately gave up on the thought when he saw two towering trees get easily snapped by the monster.
The mission's more important. Lord Fatty isn't going to get on such a barbaric monster's level!
The Deepwater Crocodile finally stopped chasing Fatty and Wheat after several hundred meters. It turned around and waddled back. Meanwhile, Fatty panted heavily and glared at Wheat, only for it to wag its tail and glare back.
"Tsk, even a rat will kick you when you're down," Fatty picked Wheat up off the ground and pinched, only letting go when Wheat squeaked in complaint. When Fatty landed back on the ground, it immediately returned to its natural size and growled.
The most dangerous part of Wraith Swamp was not the monsters you could see. Rather, it was the monsters underneath like the Deepwater Crocodile. A single-misstep was fatal.
Fatty put Wheat away and ventured forth in stealth. Although he moved a lot slower, he was also a lot safer.
Fatty avoided every living thing he saw and soon, he saw an island. It was around several hundred squared meters in size and was filled with green willow trees, colorful flowers and stood out from the desolation in its surroundings.
The island looked like a paradise amongst everything else, but its surroundings seemed even more horrifying than anything else in the area. Bones floated on the surface of the murky pitch-black water, bubbles of sickening stench occasionally burst, filling up the area with a nauseating reek.
It was here that Fatty realized that the monsters were not the most terrifying part of the swamp, it was the abhorrent environment that seemed to oppose the living. The stench from a single bubble that burst in front of him took away most of his health.
Fatty was near despair. The island also just happened to be surrounded by no less than ten thousand monsters and that was only the ones that Fatty could see with his naked eyes. God only knows how many more lurked beneath the foul waters.
What's going on? Why are there so many monsters here? Fatty could not comprehend the scenario. He took a few steps away from the shores again to keep his distance. Although walking in the swamp itself would not reveal him, it would cause a change in the torrent. That was something he had learned long ago.
The circle of monsters around the island remained there but did not come into conflict. They merely seemed to be waiting silently for something. Fatty thought long and hard, then finally had an idea. Could they be waiting there for the Dragon Revolution Herb as well?
Anything with "dragon" in its name was always extraordinary. The rogue mentor wanted it to advance to the next rank, but it's definitely not as simple as that. There was definitely more to it. Damn it, I can't think of what it might be though!
Fatty could only wait in a corner and wait for the monsters to disperse away. During so, he did even log off to eat and rest for a while, but when he logged back on, he saw that not only did the number of monsters not decrease, more monsters also came over. The situation had also become more chaotic with some monsters fighting amongst themselves.
I can't just keep waiting here. Fatty slowly retreated with Wheat to where he could still see the island and began to farm. Purple Bell was still first on the leaderboards at Level 33, while the ones behind her were all Level 32. The higher level players got, the harder it was to grind. Fatty was already quite a bit behind. Although levels were not the most important things right now, he couldn't allow himself to get that far behind.
Due to the missions, he completed the last few days, he wasn't too far away from leveling up to Level 31. When he saw that the monsters seemed like they would remain there for quite a while, Fatty decided to just farm where he watched.
This time, he grinded for an entire night. When the day brightened up again, a ring broke the silence of the area.
Ding.
System Notification: Congratulations. You have reached Level 31.
A pillar of gold light rose into the air and illuminated the night sky. Fatty was shocked. Please don't let the monsters come over! However, the island seemed to be too far away for the monsters to care.
Wheat, who had full EXP already, also leveled up with Fatty. It grew slightly bigger once more and was now around the size of Diggy Rat. Fatty checked Wheat out for a while, until Wheat backed away in worry, then nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad, I can ride you now. You'll be a good horse if after a get a saddle in town."
Meanwhile, the circle of monsters around the island seemed to grow more excited. Then, when the light rose and the first slither of sunlight gave itself to the island… All the monsters howled and sprinted towards it.
A deafening roar sounded out as a gigantic monster slowly appeared in front of Fatty. The monster's neck was very long and its wings were equally wide. The size of its body cast a shadow on the ground that nearly covered the entire island.
A Pterosaur! Fatty quickly back away.
At the same time, the water seemed to bubble. A boa with a head the size of a small hill poked its head out and glanced at the pterosaur before staring back at the island.
A loud croak sounded through the air. A toad several tens of meters tall showed itself on the other side of the island and glared at the boa. The green told had six eyes on its head and a single flick of its tongue caused all of the monsters in ten-odd meters in front of it to disappear down its throat.
A gigantic monster identical to the Deepwater Crocodile Fatty saw earlier appeared with a splash in another direction of the island. The head of this monster was over ten meters tall with two rows of razor-sharp teeth that protruded out from its lips. Its limbs were as thick as mountains and every step it took seemed to shatter the earth. All monsters it stepped on also turned into nothing more than a splatter of flesh.
In the final direction, an immense turtle shell rose to the surface of the water. The size of it was no smaller than the island in front. When the creature finally showed itself, it stretched its head and limbs out from its shell and looked at the center of the island before letting out an ear-splitting howl.
As if on cue, all the other powerful monsters attacked the other monsters on the island.
The pterosaur flapped its wings, generating two cyclones that soared forth, sweeping the monsters into the air and throwing them far away.
The giant boa spat out a mouthful of yellowish gas that covered a wide area, which left nothing but pus after a few seconds.
The toad croaked and swept its tongue out, flinging the monsters in front of it into its stomach again.
The Deepwater Crocodile-like monster only needed to take a single step before clearing up a large portion of monsters in front of it and a simple snap of its mouth ate the rest.
Finally, the giant turtle let out a few softer roars, which caused all the monsters in front of it to explode.
Oh my god, there are so many items! Fatty leaped up when he saw the gigantic monsters display their might. Then when he looked back at the muddy water, it was as if even the filth was unable to stop his shimmering gaze. Fatty could see that all the drops from the monster deaths laid underneath!