There were too many of the creatures to count.

If I was to estimate the numbers inside the circular cave, I would say there were easily up to a hundred. And that was just the ones that resembled bats.

And if I counted the semi transparent sword-like insects hovering around, their numbers would easily triple.

The odd thing was, none of the creatures had reacted to me and I noticed the bat creatures all had their eyes closed, while the sword-like insects who were awake, were hovering far away from me, in a large swarm near the cave's open roof.

It was simply too good to be true.

I stared at the closest creature which was the fanged bat monster that had its black eyes open. I wasn't sure if it could see me, so I poked my head out from the opening I created, slowly bringing my face up close against it.

Earlier it seemed to have reacted to the wind blowing from my cave, rather than my physical presence, so I made sure not to touch it, or breathe.

The open dark eyes stared at me, unblinking and after a few anxious seconds of staring at it, its lids dropped down to close. And soon, I could hear its steady breathing.

I was shocked. I'd never seen such a carefree monster!

To fall asleep with a predator staring right at it was too brazen! It seemed I had been cautious for nothing. Was I just not a threat to it or... could it really not see me at all?

I was curious so I appraised it to find out.

--------------

LV27 Verum Dactus

Specie: Ailith Crodon

HP: 135/135 Defence: 84

MP: 64/64 Intellect: 76

SP: 116/116 Magic: 52

Attack: 95 Agility: 100

Skills:

[Tail Spike: LV7] [Echolocation: LV10]

[?????: LV??] [????: LV??] [????: LV??]

--------------

Its level was much higher than I expected! That combined with it's low stats made it rather unusual.

I knew it wasn't much of a threat. But regardless, I was on edge. The cave was simply too perfect an opportunity for there not to be some kind of trap.

And maybe this was it.

I appraised more of the sleeping creatures and to my shock, none of them were under LV25.

This reality caught me off guard.

In such a large gathering, there tend to be some that were weaker than others. And my plan was to pick those off first, but everyone of these had high levels and shared the same terribly low stats.

What was this situation?

It seemed stupid to be afraid of them when my stats were easily four times higher. Yet their high levels along with their large numbers made me hesitant.

Maybe there was something I wasn't seeing here?

"Are they evolved monsters?" I asked Sensei.

«No.»

Huh? Surely with their high levels that couldn't be.

"Not a single one?"

«None.» Sensei repeated. «If you are curious about its stats, kill one and find out.»

It was hard to believe. The only way to find out was to see their full stats for myself. So I targeted the one that dared to fall asleep right in front of me.

But before attacking it, I looked up at the insects hovering above. I was most wary about them.

They were thin, but their segmented bodies looked too solid for it to be a mere coincidence.

The way they flew was unusual too, both pairs of wings moved independently from their joints, allowing the creature's body to move in interesting ways, or simply stay fixed in the air.

The fact that they could change direction at any time, made it hard to land an attack.

If they were alerted, I imagined they would all swarm down towards me.

Uwuh...that's scary.

As I examined them, I observed one that was noticeably larger than the hundred others in the air.

The movements of its body were much faster than its peers and I could barely make it out as it moved back and forth in the air, so I quickly aimed appraisal at it.

--------------

LV16 Melior Occino

Specie: Ailith Mesurpetala

HP: 148/148 Defence: 108

MP: 109/109 Intellect: 48

SP: 134/134 Magic: 98

Attack: 126 Agility: 180

Skills:

[Grip: LV5] [Pierce: LV6] [Coordination: LV5]

[Soundwave: LV4] [Accelerated Flight: LV6]

[Stridulation: LV10] [Deadly Venom: LV5]

[Paralysis Venom: LV6] [Endurance: LV7]

[Sting: LV10] [Flight: LV10] [Claw: LV3]

[Pain Toxin: LV6] [Exoskeleton: LV7]

[Scent: LV3] [Compound Eyes: LV6]

[Directional Stability:LV8] [Bite: LV3]

Title:

[Colony Hunter]

Magic:

[Air Magic]

[Sound Manipulation: LV3]

Resistances:

[Piercing Resistance: LV4]

[Wind Resistance: LV8]

--------------

Compared to the higher level bats, I was more wary of this creature.

Fortunately, all those insects seemed far too occupied with keeping watch on the ceiling. So, I quickly formed a ball of poison and aimed it at the bat's head with lightning quickness.

The creature's reacted immediately as its eyes flung open and its mouth let out a cry. But the sound was nothing more than a gurgle as opening its mouth allowed the poison that covered its head to flow through its nostrils and mouth.

The creature clawed away at my poison sphere to try to get rid of it, but it simply reformed itself. When it failed, it dropped down from the ceiling to try to fly away, its frantic eyes bulging as my poison took effect.

I instantly reached it and caught the creature between my jaws before it got too far, before dragging it with me back to my cave. There I waited and watched as my poison ran its course.

Then, as the creature stopped struggling, I heard the system ding.

〚You have killed LV27 Verum Dactus!〛

〚You have earned 102XP〛

With its death, I was able to check its full status and find all its secrets.

--------------

LV27 Verum Dactus

Specie: Ailith Crodon

HP: 0/135 Defence: 84

MP: 0/64 Intellect: 76

SP: 0/116 Magic: 52

Attack: 95 Agility: 100

Skills:

[Tail Spike: LV7] [Echolocation: LV10]

[Scent: LV10] [Bite: LV10] [Grip: LV10]

[Flight: LV10] [Enhanced Hearing: LV10]

[Frenzy: LV10] [Night Vision: LV10]

[Claw: LV10] [Coordination: LV8]

Title:

[Colony Hunter]

Resistances:

[Wind Resistance: LV10]

[Pain Resistance: LV10]

[Fatigue Resistance: LV10]

--------------

It was good, yet so bad at the same time.

Its defence was low, it couldn't use any magic. The only thing working for it was that most of its skills were maxed out.

It likely missed out on its evolution window at LV12 and never got the chance to do so again.

Never evolving would explain why it's stats were so low, even with its maxed out skills. It had to be decades old, depending on how long its species could live.

Yet, it didn't explain how it had managed to live so long.

Such a weak creature should have been killed off a long time ago.

Nevertheless, I collected it and returned to the 'food supply' cave.

The creatures were still asleep, so I activated [Shadow Shroud] and slithered in between them, picking targets to kill among the bats that were roosting far away from others.

I approached the first with my poison ready, making sure to completely cover its head so it wouldn't be able to scream, and waited for it to drown like the one before.

〚You have killed LV25 Verum Dactus!〛

〚You have earned 94XP〛

In this way the bats were truly defenceless.

I stared at the cave roof where the insects were hovering but none of them were alerted.

I continued my silent hunt, moving further down the cave. After drowning the fifth bat in poison, it too died without much notice.

I felt very much like a snake among a flock of chickens, but still I remained quiet in order not to wake them. They may be individually weak but if they attacked together, I would be their snack.

With the death of my eighth victim, I decided I'd gathered enough. I can't be too greedy now, can I?

I should save the rest for later. But for now, it was time to return and cover up the hole.

I was about to head back to the hole, when I noticed the insects had started acting strangely. Their movements in the air were frenzied and they seemed to be flying around faster than usual. And then I heard the hoarse cry of a bird, followed by the flap of great wings.

The pale blue light from the forest was covered completely by a shadow and I caught a flash of yellow claws, followed by the overwhelming stench of rotten flesh.

It seemed the insects were about to become a meal and I decided to retreat immediately. It was none of my concern.

However, before the bird could grab one of them, the cave filled with a high pitched ringing that drowned out every other sound.

The waves of vibrations reverberating from every insect so loud it felt like a physical attack on my senses.

I wanted to cover my head to block the disorientating feeling. But I couldn't do so with so many creatures around and when I looked ahead, I noticed the bats had begun to stir as well.

It seemed the sound was meant for them and now every one of the creatures was waking up.

They flapped their leathery red wings in multitudes, rushing madly towards the winged creature with gnashing fangs like insatiable beasts. The bird's body quickly disappeared as it was beset by hoards of bats that bit into its flesh and tore apart its body.

Soon the quiet cave began to rain feathers and blood.

I resisted the painful sounds around me and ran.

To my horror, the remnants of their feeding frenzy rained down on my cloaked form and the insects that were feeding noticed me and began to swarm in my direction.

Multiple sword-like insects swiped past my body like bullets, their bodies piercing the ground as they barely missed.

Sharp! They were too sharp!

I was able to dodge most of them by weaving a scattered trail but they were far too many to keep dodging!

But soon I spotted the opening in the cave wall and immediately leapt for it. I quickly snuck back to my cave, eager to get away before I ended up looking like a porcupine, or worse, became a part of their meal.

The insect creatures chasing after me were moving too fast to change their path and from inside of my cave I could see them all rushing for the opening.

I quickly released all the excavated debris in my [Dimensional Box], sealing the opening firmly.

I breathed multiple sighs of relief as I sprawled on the ground, exhausted to have saved my snake butt from a very splintery end.