Ava quickly devoured the ant while Theo looked around, watching out for other ants. This hunt would be much easier if everything went according to the plan.
However, Theo finishing the mission without picking it always had one problem. What if there was another group dealing with the mission? What if he wasn't alone this whole time? And what if he met the other group inside the nest?
Those questions might need to be answered now because footsteps began to echo inside the tunnel.
Even Ava stopped eating.
Although she didn't know how far the other party was, she got a good grasp of the situation just by watching Theo's action.
Theo was staring into the darkness for quite a while as if he found something. Hence, Ava quickly leaped to Theo and sneaked inside his shirt.
Her action woke him up as he wondered what to do.
Squinting his eyes, Theo muttered inwardly, 'What should I do? I can go deeper and deeper, but they already know my presence here. After all, some of the bodies have been devoured by Ava, so I can't really turn them into cards and I have left many blood traces.'
Theo had two choices: He could stay in this place and meet the guy or he could continue until he found an intersection and disappeared.
This could only happen because Theo didn't take the mission himself. Hence, the mission would be for everyone to see.
And the other group inside this tunnel must have seen the mission.
Their interests would certainly conflict with each other, so he wondered if he could settle this problem easily.
'Still, I can play ignorant like I don't know about the mission. Also, should I give them this place? I mean, even though they have taken it, this place is still for public use. No one can stop me from entering, especially if they don't know my situation.
'There is a possibility of me coming back from my mission and exploring this place. As much as I want to escape, I don't know how many ants will stand in my way and it will become troublesome if I get lost in the process.
'So, should I choose the more dangerous but hidden way or the easy but noticeable way?' Theo contemplated for a moment and sighed.
He knew this incident was bound to happen sooner or later, so he better experienced it right now to see whether this solution was good or not, considering he might find himself in this type of situation again in the future.
Theo turned around and touched every monster, except the Ant General because Ava had swallowed half of the Ant General.
To his dismay, it was also the time when he heard a shout coming from behind.
"Who are you?!"
Theo's heart beat rapidly as he glanced back, finding six people coming out of the tunnel.
"Why are you here?"
"Identify yourself!"
Two of them seemed to be on edge and pointed their weapons at him as if looking at an enemy.
Theo calmly turned around and took another look at them. He found one guy holding a shield, one holding a spear, two holding a staff, one guy wielding two daggers, and one without anything on his hand.
Although he didn't know their jobs, he got a good grasp of their strength. He thought, 'A knight, fighter, magician, healer, assassin and… an extra… I don't know the last one.'
Seeing their agitated expression, Theo said with a calm tone. "I don't need to identify myself. I came here because I saw ants crawling out of this hill."
"…" A guy with spiky hair suddenly stepped forward while putting down his spear. "This place is our hunt zone because there is a mission in the temple. I hope you can leave this place."
"This place is not yours. Even the temple doesn't say anything regarding a public space like this, so why should I leave?"
The guy frowned when he heard Theo's remark. He then noticed the corpse behind Theo and found several blood stains on the ground that clearly didn't come from the corpse behind him. And with how many ants Theo fought in this place and along the way, Theo must be exhausted.
Hence, the guy didn't bother to negotiate with Theo anymore and simply raised his spear. "Because I have this. Go out or die."
"…" Theo never thought the guy would be this foolish. Even Theo didn't want to point his weapon to someone unknown because there was a chance the other party was stronger than him.
If Theo actually knew the guy's thoughts right now, he would have laughed.
'This guy is alone. There's no way someone higher than level 380 will come to this place since there's no point in coming here. And this guy has been fighting all the monsters until this point… He must be worn out.'
However, what Theo did know was that they never intended to negotiate with him. The guy literally threatened him, yet the rest of the group remained silent as if they agreed to him.
Knowing he was in this type of situation, Theo sighed and said, "I will leave."
He walked forward, heading to the group to pass them, only to find the guy ordering him. "Wait! Touch that ant first. After that, put down all your belongings."
In this instant, Theo knew what would happen in the next one minute.
Theo followed their instruction and walked to the Ant General, placing his hand on the corpse.
Before he even touched it, the guy had arrived behind him, swinging his spear. It turned out the guy wanted to kill him as soon as he turned the general into cards.
"Is it greed or something else?" Theo sighed inwardly.
The three "What if" questions replayed in his mind. However, he finally found his answer in a situation like this.
Right before the spear hit him, Theo disappeared, stunning everyone.
"What?!"
"Healer, behind you!" The guy shouted and turned back.
Theo reappeared behind the healer while waving his spear. At the same time, he answered the question he had earlier. 'If they want to cooperate, I will gladly consider. If they want me to leave, I will go if they can provide a good explanation. If they want to harm me…
… I will kill them.'