I Was a Loner, but My Class Got Summoned to Another World…-Chapter 374: Bottom of the Ladder

After the first danger was averted, the group continued on in relative peace. It gave Logan a rare moment to enjoy the trip—especially with Rubina by his side, the girl pressed close as radiant flame streamed from her body in focused bands, lighting the path like a human torch.

The three kilometers around their newly established camp seemed safe for now. But everyone knew this was just the beginning. Not even Victor Rosengard, the one who had warned them about the island, knew its full size.

"What do you think? Should we go further? It should be around four in the afternoon—we've got time," Rubina asked, her tone relaxed but alert.

The group still had energy to spare, so Logan gave a nod. "Alright, everyone. We'll explore the forest ahead. Straight through and back—we keep it under an hour… hopefully."

He heard quiet murmurs of agreement.

"Rubina, you should get back on Uriel. We're heading deeper, and it'll be more dangerous from here," Logan added, straightening in his seat. With Rubina no longer providing light, it was his turn again.

The forest beyond was unlike anything they'd seen.

Dark and unnerving, its foliage seemed to thrive on darkness mana. The leaves were thick and strangely fleshy, their color pitch black—like charred remnants from a recent wildfire.

Creatures stirred within the underbrush, their eyes glinting in the shadows, but none dared approach.

Logan wasn't in the mood to tame anything weak. Not now.

After about half an hour, Logan called for Scorch to halt. The terrain shifted from forest to mountainous crags—steep and uneven, with no obvious path forward.

Then, something moved near the top of the ridge.

Without warning, Scorch fired a beam of searing flame—a precise laser that lit up the mountain's face.

The target dodged.

Logan only caught a glimpse—a large, pointed tail disappearing into the rocks.

"Did anyone see what that was? I wasn't paying attention…" Logan asked, scanning the area. He turned to Lisa, who hovered nearby atop Orus.

"How about you, Lisa, did you spot—"

He didn't get to finish.

The ground in front of him shifted violently. A massive stinger burst from the earth like a spear, aiming straight for him.

Scorch reacted instantly. The great beast snapped the tail mid-air, yanked it upward, and revealed the attacker—an enormous scorpion-like creature. Its body was monstrous, but what stood out most was its head—a grotesque blend of mantis and scorpion.

Logan didn't have time to act.

Scorch roared and tore off the stinger before unleashing another focused laser. The beam burned through the monster's upper shell, silencing its thrashing limbs.

"I guess we're just too strong," Logan muttered, watching as the energy around the creature began to dissipate. Still, they had a problem—there was no easy path up the mountain.

"We'll end the trip here for today. No point going further without mapping this place properly."

He summoned a terminal screen, the GPS-like interface showing a live feed of their movements. A map began to form, etched by their footsteps.

Scorch moved to feast on the fallen creature, but Logan stopped him. Instead, he summoned his storage ring and pulled the body inside—it could be studied later.

Within the hour, they returned to the edge of the tree line, where a new fort had been hastily constructed. As they approached, jackals scattered from the outer wall—clawed marks visible where they had tried to dig through.

"Vermin of this island," Logan muttered. "They'll be a real threat if we're not careful."

He jumped down from Scorch and rejoined the group. Lisa nodded, while Earl Rosengard moved toward one of the fallen corpses near the fort.

"It seems the others inside had to fight them off. They managed to kill a few," the earl said, crouching beside the body.

Logan brightened the area, extending his aura of light to examine it.

"It's not a jackal…" the earl observed. "It's a rodent. A big rat."

The creature had long beaver-like incisors but the body of a large dog.

"How about I take out the corpse of the scorpion-like creature for inspection, sir?" Logan offered, already reaching into his storage ring.

From within, he pulled the remains: the upper torso and head of the beast, along with a severed section of its massive stinger. Even incomplete, it was easy to imagine the creature once spanned over six meters in length.

Victor Rosengard, the renowned monster breeder, knelt beside the remains with a focused gaze. He tapped gently on the black exoskeleton, which gleamed like polished onyx under the light of Logan's skill. freewebnøvel.coɱ

Each knock sounded like it struck metal.

"Hmm… despite how easily Scorch dealt with it, this armor is no joke," Logan muttered.

Victor nodded. "This appears to be a young Scorpicore. Its face structure confirms it—just beginning to shift into adult form. Had it lived longer, it would have developed full mandibles and large venomous fangs. As for the tail…"

He ran a gloved finger along the base of the stinger.

"…It still carries potent venom. You should conserve it. I believe the young blacksmith hero—Ruben, was it?—can forge something useful from both the armor and the tail."

Victor rose, his expression turning more serious.

"More importantly, this one was likely pushed down the mountain. You see, for this type of creature the weaker it is the lower it grows in the mountain, the fully grown Scorpicores... The Adults will be at least three times this size, with armor twice as dense and I believe they even gain another stinger when they turn a certain age..."

He paused before gesturing toward Logan's ring. "Place it back. Study it later—but be ready. This was just a kid. The real threats are further up the trail we need to find… the ones fighting for dominance."

Logan nodded grimly and returned the pieces to storage. If this was just a juvenile, then it was only the beginning of what awaited them.

The group made their way into the makeshift fort. Despite the rushed construction, the place already felt like home—and with enough torches and light-element stones placed around the perimeter, even the lingering fog seemed hesitant to come closer.

The air still smelled of damp earth sea water and scorched wood, but for now, it was safe.

Safe enough to rest before the long journey planned for the next day.