Strange Man

Oliver naturally didn't just think. He relied on void particles to disintegrate the snake's flesh, taking its skin and bones, cutting them into specific sizes.

This wasn't a difficult job for him, since void particles could destroy without damaging surrounding areas.

Even with void particles, the result of his work was very neat.

However, the snake's corpse was simply too large.

He could only disintegrate up to forty meters of flesh after using all his energy reserves.

Afterward, he was so exhausted that he collapsed into a sitting position.

He shook his head, thinking that was enough for now.

He tried to stand, allowing his body to absorb energy on its own to recover his strength.

Thanks to Life Energy, his recovery speed was greatly enhanced.

"Strange, why are there no monsters around this snake's corpse? Are they too afraid to come near, fearing the one who killed it?" Oliver wondered aloud.

He felt very safe near the corpse, since when he spread his Void Sense, he detected no monsters around at all.

Too tired to continue harvesting the snake, Oliver began walking around the area.

He was curious about the snake's trail, which was clearly visible among the hills. It had created an open path through the forest.

Before the giant snake died, it was clearly being chased.

As he walked, Oliver continued recovering his energy. Once enough was restored, he started using Void Step again.

His journey became much faster, and he eventually stopped when he saw a large cave ahead of him.

It was about 20 meters tall and 50 meters wide, surrounded by vines.

Oliver extended his Void Sense into the cave and was immediately surprised.

"So many," he muttered.

What he found were countless snake hatchlings, each about five meters long, all at Level 1.

"Looks like that giant snake that died was their mother," Oliver thought.

Naturally, he wasn't afraid of the baby snakes, especially at Level 1. No matter how many there were, they posed no threat, especially as earth snakes with simple earth-based abilities.

Oliver entered the cave, hoping to find some leftover treasure. Inside, he discovered a tunnel that led underground—too deep for his Void Sense to reach.

When he entered the cave, the hatchlings turned to look at him.

Though small, they already showed signs of savagery and a desire to attack intruders.

"Alright, move aside. I don't want to bully the weak," Oliver said with a chuckle.

He released his aura.

It easily pushed the snakes back, even though some were five meters long.

Some tried to charge at him, but were blown away by his aura before they could get close.

Without using Void Step, Oliver easily passed through them.

He then entered the tunnel, still not using Void Step in case of danger ahead.

The tunnel sloped sharply downward and was very dark—Oliver could barely see.

However, with Void Sense, he could observe safely.

The tunnel's length surprised him. He had been walking for a while without reaching the end.

Eventually, he was startled by the sound of footsteps echoing in the tunnel—other than his own.

"Is someone there?" he wondered, confused.

Even though he heard the footsteps, they were still too far for his Void Sense to detect.

"Could it be the one who killed the giant snake?" he thought, hesitating to continue. Meeting someone powerful enough to kill that snake could be even more dangerous than meeting the snake alive.

Just because they were both human didn't mean he was safe—Chaotic World was completely lawless.

If he met a very powerful person with a bad personality, he could be killed without any reason.

Unfortunately, it seemed he was already too late to back out.

"Hahaha, boy, can you come here and help me? I'll give you a reward," a raspy voice echoed from the depths of the tunnel.

Just from the voice alone, Oliver could sense danger.

He swallowed hard, thinking he might not be able to escape unless he returned to Earth.

"Hopefully he's afraid of my teacher," he thought, hoping that would be the case.

His teacher was one of the Cultivator Association's heads, without a doubt a very powerful person.

At the very least, he was one of the strongest in the UK, which was among the top three strongest countries.

Oliver continued forward through the tunnel.

Soon, he saw a dim light—seemingly from candles—shining from the end.

He stepped forward, curious about what was waiting for him.

It turned out to be a massive underground chamber, filled with snake skin remnants.

The light wasn't from candles, but from torches mounted on the walls.

In the center of the room stood a large black egg, about three meters tall.

There was nothing else in the room, except for a man with long curly hair who looked to be in his 40s, wearing a tattered gray cloak.

He carried a bow slung across his back.

The bow was purple, seemingly made of rare materials, occasionally crackling with lightning.

This clearly confirmed that the man was the one who had killed the giant snake.

From what Oliver could tell, the man was an Awakener—judging by his aura, which differed slightly from that of a Cultivator. Obviously, he was a very powerful and experienced Awakener.

However, he did something strange, which was to stick arrow after arrow into the ground, all pointing towards the black egg.

Every so often, a new arrow would appear in his hand, which he would then stick into the ground.

At a glance, it seemed like he wanted to fill the entire chamber with his arrows.

In fact, even the walls and ceiling were already covered with arrows stuck—only the floor wasn't fully filled yet.

Looking closely, the man appeared somewhat exhausted, his breath a bit ragged.

"Boy!" he waved at Oliver before suddenly sitting down.

At that moment, hundreds of arrows appeared beside him, bundled together.

"You see all these? Help me stick the rest of the arrows into the ground like I've done.

Once you're done, I'll give you a reward," he said.

Oliver wasn't sure how to respond after hearing that.