"Alone? Are you out of your mind?" Renee expressed her disapproval, "I know you're stronger than all of us, but you shouldn't-"
"It wasn't a suggestion. Also, I'm only going to scout the place. I'm not that big of a fool to fight all those creatures head-on." Ashton replied, "If anyone of you has better recon capabilities then step forward. I'll let you go without any problems."
Obviously, none of them stepped up. Ashton already knew he had the highest stealth stat amongst the ones present here with the exception of Seven. Ashton's level was still not enough to view his stats. But the fact that he didn't step up, meant either one of two things.
One, he really didn't think he had more stealth points than Ashton. Or second, he knew Ashton had something in his mind and therefore did not object. Either way, it was good for Ashton.
"Well, if you're dead set on going alone. Take this with you." Baiter broke the silence and handed Ashton some sort of mobile device, "It's a thermal scanner. It might come in handy for you to avoid large groups of monsters inside the dungeon. It can look through walls as well."
Ashton nodded and placed the scanner in his inventory. Having a creationist on the team was already showing its benefits. Following Baiter's lead, all of them gave a thing or two to Ashton. Most of them were potions to temporarily increase a variety of resistances.
The only other useful item he got was a rough map of the area Ashton was about to venture into. The officer was a bit reluctant to give it to Ashton, as it was the last map they had, but it wasn't like he had a choice in the matter. Especially when Seven was looming over his head.
"I'll accompany you till we find the cave." Seven uttered in a definitive voice, "Someone would need to protect the entrance after all."
"Do as you please." Ashton shook his head.
Ashton knew there was no point in arguing with Seven. After all, his life was linked to his *lord's*. So he went along with him, leaving the rest of his party back.
***
Unlike Deja, there were no portals connecting the outskirts of the ruins with the main city, which was obvious, considering each portal would need at least a dozen or so soldiers to guard it as the forces in the city were severely understaffed.
They were only managing to protect one portal which connected them to the capital and that was enough. However, this meant Ashton and Seven had to traverse all over the muddy ground by themselves which proved to be a tiring task.
Not to mention the acidic rain wasn't the only thing they had to be cautious of. As they continued following the map, they were slowly surrounded by one of the thickest layers of fog, they had ever seen.
It was proving to be almost impossible for them to look at anything and had to heavily depend on the thermal scanner Baiter had given Ashton to look for enemies. Well, At least Seven had to, because Ashton had his [Perception] skill.
Although it wasn't all that accurate. Some of the monsters they had encountered were simply too good at hiding. But weren't all that strong once they found them through the scanners. It took them a couple of hours to make the journey that would have usually been completed in half an hour.
"Are you sure you wanna do this alone?" Seven was hoping Ashton would change his mind after facing all the couple of night creatures they had till now. Sadly, his hopes were bound to get shattered.
"I didn't stop you from accompanying me till now, so you shouldn't either. See you in a bit." Ashton flexed his neck and was about to walk into the wicked-looking dungeon when Seven stopped him again.
"45 minutes." Seven mumbled, "I'll barge in once 45 minutes have passed. That much time should be enough for you to do whatever reconnaissance you want to."
"You think I will let you interrupt me like that?" Ashton was now getting a bit annoyed.
Yes, he knew his safety was Seven's priority, but the situation was getting out of hand now. He did not appreciate Seven's continuous interruptions even when he had made his intentions clear.
"Don't forget what'll happen when the king finds out the truth about the gorillan." Ashton warned Seven, "If you want the things to remain as they are, then shut your trap and stay out."
A moment later, Ashton walked inside the cave. The cave looked big enough from outside but Ashton did not think he would find such majestic foliage within. While the tree and plants outside were decaying thanks to the acid, the plants within the gave were flourishing.
But the beauty of this hidden forest had its scars as well. Numerous skeletons were scattered all over the place. Some belonged to humans, or at least Ashton assumed so while the rest belonged to some unknown creature with huge canines attached to their skull.
The nutrients from these corpses might be the reason why the forest was able to flourish inside a cave without any visible source of light apart from the mosses which had attached themselves to the trees and were giving off a weird purplish light.
The light wasn't bright or anything, but Ashton could feel a weird sense of warmth coming from them.
While Ashton deeper into the forest, he felt sudden movement behind. He quickly turned around and saw claw marks running up one of the trees. The following moment, the leaves began rustling in the thick foliage.
"This won't do. I've already been found.. The recon mission is a bust, what shall I do? I have no choice but to fight, do I? Eh, enough drama for the day." Ashton smiled and quickly activated all of his genes, "Let's have a tasting session, shall we?"