Chapter 265: Exploring the Island
Sam confirmed his suspicions.
There was indeed a type of beast in this area.
Only one beast. But rather than calling it a beast, it is more suitable to call it a plant species.
This is called Blue mucus algae.
Even though it is called algae, unlike other algae it doesn't require sunlight, in fact, it is quite repulsive to it.
This type of algae is somewhat peculiar. The blue-colored mucus it excretes gives on an illusion that it is perfectly clear water.
But one couldn't be more wrong. It latches on the rocks underwater and there will be some tendrils that will be formed over its surface.
These tendrils envelope whatever prey that comes towards them and will suck the flesh away. That's right, they will suck the flesh bit by bit. There would be only bones left no matter the beast.
They are quite repulsive to light and heat. They can even deal with some beasts stronger than them if they are high in numbers.
What makes them terrified is that this thing will grow even if you place a small piece of it on the rock. To kill it, one either has to overwhelm it and completely destroy every last one of them. No matter the type of attack they used they have to deal with once and for all.
Even if there is a little bit of it left, then it would reproduce rapidly until there is a break in rocky terrain.
Sam wanted to collect these as soon as he confirmed. These can be used as a perfect trap in water and there is no need to find proper resources, these are just like termites and locusts, they can feed on anything.
But for that he needs to make ample preparations, the level of these algae is determined by their area of expanse. Right now, Sam could confirm that they occupied at least ten square meters, which means, they can devour a Great realm cultivator with ease.
So, he needs to make a proper plan.
He left the place but he suddenly remembered something.
Murali said, that every danger is a form of treasure for them.
Since these algae can be considered as dangerous, he has to find a way to bypass them and see if there really is any treasure.
So, he has to make other plans.
One advantage of these algae is that they can be sure that there wouldn't be any beasts in the nearby waters.
So, for now, they are safe within one hundred meters radius.
Now it is time for them to move forward. First, they have to be familiar with as much terrain as possible.
Sam climbed on top of the tower's roof and took out his telescope.
He was trying to get a glimpse of the other towers' position and he really did find out.
The island is most probably in rhombus shape. The four towers seemed to be in four corners.
And judging from what he could see from the telescope, his tower is at the end of a longer diagonal.
Because he cannot see a tower straight ahead but he could see two towers at two angles towards the left and right side.
He wished that he had one of those positions because he could monitor all four towers.
Now, he has a vague idea of how vast the island is and he can explore a certain amount of territory without interfering with others.
Since this whole thing is a competition, there is no way that they would be friendly with other people. There is a high chance that the teammates might turn on each other, much less on other teams.
Sam decided on how to proceed. He would avoid these people at all costs. He has to do so. They would only appear when an inheritance appears, otherwise, they would harvest some treasures or resources by finding a suitable place where there was no interference.
The lesser the encounters the more probability for them to be safe. As Murali mentioned that the island is prone to extreme dangers, there is a high chance that the beasts could be attracted by the smallest of the commotions.
So, it is better for them to avoid others.
In a place and situation like this, one must have as much information as possible, and the more variables they have in control the more benefits they have.
The first thing they have to do is explore the area and implement somethings Sam has planned.
So, the next moment the team of five started moving. When they are walking in a certain direction, Sam and Watt moved on the hoverboards to scout a certain area before coming back.
And leading the way, so that they could avoid any attacks. They kept on examining the woods for all types of species. Insects, pests, snakes, rodents.
Sam doesn't want to take risks. Shadow mice are small, but the things they can do with proper guidance are beyond imaginable.
Sam has divided the whole island into four equal parts and after three hours, they didn't even finish one-sixth of the area under their tower.
Even though there are some beasts, there are no large habitats and there are absolutely no traps. But this area can be still considered somewhat dangerous if they travel alone. Because there are some spots, they could be struck between two beasts.
After that, when they moved forward, Sam and Watt didn't notice any peculiarities when they saw some expanse of land free of trees. This could become a nice camping spot.
But as soon as, Philip stepped on the land, his feet suck into the ground and the clear hard ground just before suddenly turned into a quicksand swamp.
But this didn't seem like ordinary quicksand. Philip didn't try to move much after the initial shock and Sam also quickly caught him while he stood on the harbinger.
Sam tried to pull Philip up with all his might and using the thrust of harbinger, but there is an extreme resistance.
"There seemed to be vine-like thing coiling around my leg, I think it is sentient," Philip said in astonishment.
Sam was stunned immediately and said.
"Increase the heat of your legs, don't let it hold on to you for long."
He increased the thrust to its full capacity and finally able to pull up Philip.
They moved back to the normal land and Sam examined Philip's leg and to his astonishment, Philip is holding a piece of small red-colored vine-like thing in between his toes.
Philip smiled and said.
"We might get something out of it don't we?"
Sam smiled and first cleared the mud off of Philip's leg with the water element. After that, he carefully took that thing in his hands and carefully examined it.
The red thing has some very small sharp protrusions on it, like a tiger's tongue. This thing can rip off the flesh on a person, at least the skin if they are not strong enough. Luckily, Philip is a warrior-mage with a good physique, so the damage is not high.
After ten minutes, Sam finally identified that thing. It is not a vine, rather it is a tongue. It is a tongue of the beast and a very peculiar one at that.
This beast is called swap swallower. This thing resides underground and the area above it will turn into a swamp.
It can sense vitality and if any living objects come over it, then they would be in deep trouble. They would be swallowed into the swamp as the beast would devour them whole.
The only disadvantage of the beast is it wouldn't move. It will only move when it is in infancy and after growing a bit, its speed will become incredibly slow, so they will settle down after finding a suitable place.
This is indeed a great natural trap.
Sam couldn't help but shake his head. This Murali guy seemed to be a little too perverted. The way he set the traps is somewhat peculiar.
Using beasts and a very unique bunch at that.
After that, they carefully crossed the whole area. Because, Sam has other plans for this place, so he has to look around so that he can use these surroundings to his benefit.
After some time, and changing directions, they finally found a habitat of considerable threat.
Jade horned rhinos. These rhinos travel in groups and despite their large size, they are incredibly fast. The main thing is although it is called Jade horned, the whole body of the rhino can be converted into a jade-like structure. Just like elemental fusion.
Although it is called Jade, it is only because of the looks, in reality, they are stronger than most metals.
The skeletons of these rhinos are just like the skeletons of the Gold Blooded tiger he killed in the start of his journey in this world.
Sam and the rest carefully avoided the rhinos and went towards other places.
They circled the whole part which Sam marked as their territory in the island until midnight.
All in all, the foundation around six habitats, which have multiple Level 5 beasts in them, seven different traps like the swamp swallower.
More than seven individual beasts which are Level 5.
More than forty or so individual beasts at Level 4.
Out of all these a single Level- 5, beast might even be capable of dealing with them.