186: The Facility

The Facility

After that powerful statement from Theo, the group finally started their journey to Eilric's Family Artificial Nest.0

The journey took a bit longer than they previously needed to hunt the mammoth, but they could understand it since they went to a farther but more difficult area where monsters residing in the area were above Level 120. Most of them were at Level 150 to Level 180, making it a perfect spot for them to level up in their current situation.

Of course, they fought monsters from time to time on their way to the Artificial Nest and ended up leveling several times due to the absurd amount of EXP caused by their level difference.

On the fourth day, they arrived at a savanna filled with monsters. The group sneaked inside the savanna, knowing that their destination was within. They slipped past the ignorant monsters while hiding under the swaying yellow grasses.

The grasses were tall enough to cover their body if they crouched and it somehow prevented the group from killing the monsters nearby, knowing that it would only just attract another group soon.

It took them two hours before they stumbled upon a trapezoid building made of limestone. That building had giant gates in four directions as if inviting the monsters to stay inside.

Before they arrived, Alea opened her mouth and explained, "There should be people hiding inside the building. They are the guards of my family. Although I believe my grandfather has informed them when sending them supplies, I still need to walk in front so they recognize me, avoiding any suspicion."

Theo and the others agreed without hesitation as Alea moved up, leading them from the front. There were around twenty monsters in their perimeter and they didn't want to antagonize them for the time being. So, they kept crawling on the ground.

Theo also said they could come back for them after one week inside to level up a bit since there was no time limit outside the building.

When they were about to enter the building, Alea suddenly rose and slipped inside the building before getting spotted. Meanwhile, Theo was admiring this twenty-foot tall building, stretching up to two hundred feet wide, making it possible for many monsters to come at once.

Before following Alea inside, he took another look at the side of the building, finding a valve that led to the basement. It was probably a pump to suck out all the water that flowed to the basement under the downpour.

Seeing the rest of his team had entered, Theo finally sneaked inside the building, finding a colossal pitch-black hole inside the place. He could also see gentle slopes that allowed the monsters to enter the Artificial Nest.

Right when they entered, someone suddenly opened a door that was a bit far away from their position, revealing a middle-aged man wearing a blue shirt.

He instantly recognized Alea's face and arrived before them, lowering his head. "Young Miss…"

"Yes. I believe my grandfather has informed you what I am about to do, right?"

"Yes." The middle-aged man nodded, swaying his short black hair. He grabbed his hat and placed it on his chest to act like a gentleman while extending his hand to the room hidden by the darkness earlier. "We should talk about it in the observation room. Also, I was informed that Theodore Griffith is the man holding the key and the contract. May I ask about his presence?"

Hearing his name called, Theo took a step forward and introduced himself. "I'm Theodore Griffith. I have both of them with me."

"That's perfect." The middle-aged man nodded and led them to the room. "Now, please follow me so we can talk in a relaxed way."

They both nodded as Theo didn't have time to observe the lower floors since he believed it was a huge hall with walls that made it look like a labyrinth to prevent one monster from interfering with the others.

The group soon arrived inside a room that was completely different from the pitch-black underground halls.

To his right, he realized that the room was several floors down from the stairs that led to the underground. In the opposite direction were many screens that projected all the information about the monsters. To his front, he could see a few people operating it to check the monsters' condition, including inputting the data of their habits and such.

"As you can see, this is the Eilric Family's Artificial Nest called Goliath. It's one of the biggest Artificial Nests in the vicinity." He started explaining while leading them to his team. "There are five people taking care of this nest to ensure that no one sneakily enters this place since we have placed cameras in all corners. There are a total of two thousand cameras in this place and this is my team." 

The remaining four rose from their seats and lowered their heads to Alea while politely nodding to the others, showing their priority.

"First of all, I would like to confirm the contract and the key first." The middle-aged man looked at Theo with a calm expression, extending his hand.

Theo nodded and took out a small cube that was slightly bigger than a die while grabbing his Skylink and showing him the contract. "That's the die and this is the contract. Where should I send the contract?"

The middle-aged man grabbed the small silver cube and put it inside a rectangular hole that matched with the cube's shape.

The hole then projected a blue screen, asking for contracts.

Theo understood immediately and moved his Skylink to the sensor, so it could begin the direct transfer.

The machine quickly processed the contract and the sign before showing a green light with a check mark, confirming that it was authentic.

The middle-aged then smiled and continued, "Now the authentication is completed. You can start anytime for seven days. We will also give you a map and directly mark your location. If you have finished for the day, there is a door leading to this room on every floor, allowing you to rest and clean yourself in this facility. In other words, you can focus on killing the monsters here and leave the rest to us."

"Thank you." Alea nodded and said, "We've gotten the layout and the data from two weeks ago. Is there any big change?"

"No. There is only a slight increase in their number, but nothing else happens." The middle-aged man shook his head.

"Alright. I think we can start now…" Alea hesitated and glanced at Theo.

Theo, on the other hand, looked down and crossed his arms, contemplating.

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