NOVEL NEXT Chapter 362: Radius of an Alpha?
Lillian stared at the Heroine and fell into deep thought. She keenly thought back to the Barrel Mole's sudden increase in physical stats. It was both unnatural and... Supernatural.
And she knew the reason why—it was because of the Alpha's Predatory Aura.
While the aura of a powerful monster did prove to be useful for hunting small prey, it also provided a sort of morale boost and enhancement for lesser monsters of the same species.
Granted, this ability could only be attained as long as every kin respected the Alpha and saw it as the leader.
Monsters that held this ability were naturally called by both Jester and the humans as Alphas.
The radius of this buff was relative to the Alpha's rank, which was around D-rank—Savage. This, in turn, would mean it could spread to a maximum diameter of around 50 metres.
...
If the monsters around them were now in range of the Alpha's buff, then that would mean... They were in danger.
"I think we should retreat."
Lillian had sensed signs of the Alpha's rapid approach. The ground shaking, the echoing stomps... She had even sensed a bad premonition inside her chest.
If she recalled back to the strongest monster she had ever faced—being Morbasker, the Parasitic Evergrower—she remembered it was also at the same rank and had the same number of shells.
A Savage Maw.
Just one swing of its roots was able to tear down multiple pillars made of stone. And not only that, but its were also tipped with a deadly toxin that was able to subdue the Beetle without much of an issue.
If it wasn't for Marionette's congratulatory gift from her family, the Pin of the Roselle, Lillian doubted they could win even with the Assassin's overwhelming skill.
Pushing herself out of her thoughts, she found Millis frowning at her with folded arms, as though she was disagreeing with her decision. This left the Rabbit confused.
"What's with the look?"
"Ya can't run after starting a fade." Millis shook her head, adamant on continuing the battle with the monsters digging through the walls.
Lillian couldn't help but give her a deadpan expression, but then one of astonishment as she facepalm, "Did I say that the monster leading these guys was an Alpha? Surely, you can tell that we're in a dire situation, right?"
"Ye, but so what?" Millis then shrugged with a confident expression, "Not like we'll lose anyway."
With how confident and sure the Heroine was, Lillian almost thought the same way. However, she pulled herself back and stated:
"We won't die to these guys, I'll give you that. But I don't exactly think that we can beat the Alpha alone without some help—"
Right as she was about to finish her sentence, the walls around them shuddered, cracking as dust slipped through the web etchings on the ceilings.
Lillian panicked a little, looking towards Millis to find her still firm and fearless of the incoming danger.
Then, she watched as the Heroine pulled out a handful of seeds from her pockets, instilling mana into them.
Lillian, watching as the seeds grew into a healthy sunflower, couldn't help but recognise them.
Bombardier Sunflower, belonging to the Trial world—Hearth—were a type of flower that warded off a certain monster with a high-concentrated explosion.
Each fully grown flower was capable of erupting into an explosion comparable to 2 to 3 sticks of dynamite.
"H-how did you get those? Aren't they really expensive?" Lillian stuttered.
Millis, having planted them into the ground, glanced at the girl and shrugged.
"Meh. Have a play around in a monster-infested zone and ya will get enough money to buy whatever seed ya want."
After planting exactly three and pocketing the rest, she got back up from her crouch.
Lillian, whose attention had drifted away from Millis, found that the walls had stopped shaking. But then—
BUM!
—A shower of dust fell over them like a waterfall, irritating her.
Brushing off the dust that fell on her shoulders, she looked back towards Millis and found her looking upwards with a smirk—confused, Lillian looked up as well.
And what she saw... Was not what she expected.
With the light that came from her helmet, she scanned the ceiling and found an ominous pair of glowing yellow eyes staring down at her.
Startled, she swiped her head to the side, revealing more eyes of the same colour looking down at them like they were the centre of a stage.
The stone ceiling created by Millis was completely gone, with only the edges of it pried open by metallic claws that...
Skr... Skr... Skr...
... Eerily scratched at the walls rhythmically.
Lillian felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, bumps forming on her arms as her breath hitched and her heart skipped a beat. She felt a primordial fear fall upon her as she continued to stare up.
They felt the air grow thin, the darkness becoming concentrated, and a pungent smell seeping into the room they were in.
Skr... Skr... Skr...
She then watched as thick whiskers slowly slithered through the hole in the ceiling, lowering into the room they were in as though they were inspecting them—inspecting... The blood on them.
However, Lillian ignored them; she was completely frozen as the only thing in her field of vision was its dozen eyes. She could even see the bulging veins inside them.
Skr... Skr... Skr...
Lillian shivered as the cold sounds of the monster's scratching caused her muscles to tense and relax in rapid succession. And with the feeling of the monster's whisker brushing against her arm... It wasn't helping.
And it didn't help that...
They were face-to-face with the Alpha.
She then felt a low vibration echo inside her ear, akin to what she would describe as a growl. It had identified the blood on their bodies.
The whiskers tensed, sharpening as they aimed themselves down at them.
However, before anything could happen after that, the ground under Lillian's feet opened. And the split second after she fell—
BOOM!
—A chaotic explosion erupted above her, followed by a deafening and reverberating roar.
Heat washed over her body, especially from the friction as she slid down the oddly smoothed walls around her.