Level Up The Colony-Chapter 27: Problem

"Brace for impact!" Timothy shouted.

SPLASH.

They hit the river, sinking without much resistance.

Timothy let himself descend, gravity pulling him deeper.

The water felt heavy, thick, definitely stagnant.

It reeked of decay, likely tainted by poison lingering in the air.

But none of that affected him.

He opened his eyes.

Immediate regret.

The water burned, filled with silt and filth.

His vision blurred before he could make anything out, forcing him to shut them again.

Through his perception, he tracked the serpent's movements.

It weaved erratically, stopping in strange places before finally locking onto him.

In an instant, it surged toward him at terrifying speed.

Gray's Scout skill was useless in the water.

They were blind.

Timothy, still sinking, didn't resist.

He held his breath, waiting.

20 meters...

15 meters...

10...

5...

The serpent lunged.

Its massive jaws parted, engulfing him whole.

But swallowing him? That was a different matter.

Timothy braced himself, pressing against the serpent's upper and lower jaws with sheer strength.

The beast thrashed violently, trying to close its mouth, but Timothy held firm.

It twisted and thrashed, slamming into submerged rocks and logs in a desperate attempt to dislodge him.

The scarf was wrapped too tightly around his arm to be useful underwater, so he relied on brute force instead.

With a sharp tug, he wrenched the serpent's head in another direction, forcing it to breach the surface.

As soon as they shot into the air, Timothy's eyes snapped open.

He took in a deep breath.

His gaze locked onto a tree near where the supplies were kept.

He flicked his scarf, wrapping it around a sturdy branch, and pulled himself upward while gripping one of the serpent's fangs.

Half of the serpent's body flailed above ground.

Its weight worked against it, allowing Timothy to haul it toward shore.

The moment his feet touched solid ground, the battle was already over.

A beast like this relied on its aquatic domain.

On land, Timothy had the advantage.

The serpent tried to retreat, but his grip was unrelenting.

With raw strength, he dragged the creature further inland.

It coiled and twisted, but there was no escape.

Nearby, the female assassin still lay where he had left her.

She was barely moving, alive, but in bad shape.

She stared in stunned silence.

One moment, their porter had gone fishing, the next, he was wrestling a monstrous eel and winning.

It felt unreal.

Then Timothy walked toward her, still dragging the serpent behind him.

"Got a weapon?" he asked, his voice calm despite the strain in his muscles.

The serpent sensed danger, thrashing violently to break free.

Timothy punched it square on the nose.

The beast recoiled, momentarily stunned.

The woman, still weak, fumbled with her daggers before managing to unsheathe them.

She winced as she held them out.

"They're not the best," she admitted,

"but they should do."

Timothy nodded.

"Thanks."

The scarf untied itself, snatching the daggers from her hands and placing them in his.

Without hesitation, he drove a dagger into the serpent's mouth, slicing down its lateral half.

He didn't do it for cruelty.

The creature's scales were like iron, his fists wouldn't do much damage unless he used Armament.

But that was a resource he couldn't waste.

The serpent writhed in agony, but Timothy didn't stop until it finally went still.

---

[You have leveled up.]

[Silverback Termite (Gray) has leveled up.]

Timothy exhaled, glancing at the notifications.

"Only one level?" he muttered.

Before he could dwell on it, Gray leapt from his shoulder and rushed toward the corpse.

It ignored every other organ, going straight for the heart.

As it gnawed through, another notification flashed.

[World Shard ***** is no longer stable and will collapse in 1 hour.]

'So, it's collapsing? That means the others finished their objective. Better hurry.' Timothy thought

Something glowed near Gray.

Timothy stepped closer, eyes narrowing.

A Mana Crystal.

He reached out, but the moment his fingers brushed the crystal, he felt Gray's discomfort.

For some reason, it needed this.

Timothy hesitated.

A C-rank Mana Crystal could sell for at least ten million naira approximately $6700.

A fortune.

But still... he let it go.

Without a second thought, he placed it back beside Gray.

No regrets.

Instead, he returned to slicing open the serpent's body.

Mid-cut, a dagger snapped against something hard.

A shock ran through him, had he just broken her weapon?

His gaze flicked toward the assassin.

She wasn't looking at him.

Her breathing had worsened, her body trembling from exhaustion.

She didn't even care.

But Timothy did.

And now, he owed her a replacement.

"Meh... she won't die so easily." Timothy thought, turning away and continuing his work on the serpent with his remaining dagger.

To his surprise, there was something solid buried deep within the beast, even lower than the heart.

It wasn't particularly well-hidden, just lodged somewhere around where he assumed the stomach would be.

'It probably swallowed something hard'

His suspicion was confirmed when a wave of bile and viscous fluids spilled out, sizzling upon contact with the ground.

Toxic fumes rose immediately, the stench sharp enough to make his nose wrinkle.

Brushing aside the corrosive mess, he finally spotted the culprit, it was an orb, dark and eerie, with streaks of gray across its surface, almost like claw marks.

It was this that had shattered the dagger.

He reached out and plucked it from the carcass.

[Congratulations, you have completed the Emergency Quest.]

Before he could inspect it further, the orb vanished from his palm.

[Your reward has been sent to your inventory.]

"What the hell?" Timothy muttered, momentarily thrown off.

He'd check later.

Pushing the thought aside, he resumed dismantling the serpent, extracting two more mana crystals, smaller than the first but still valuable.

That was when movement from across the river caught his attention.

The other group had begun making their way toward him.

Acting quickly, Timothy stashed his share of the mana crystals in his bag, then used a portion of the serpent's skin to conceal the termite who was still feasting.

It wasn't done eating yet, and since there was no complain from Gray, he gave it privacy and security.

Straightening up, he pulled a thermos from his inventory and rinsed off as much blood and grime as he could.

He didn't particularly enjoy being filthy.

Once satisfied, he stored the flask away and turned toward the approaching party.

The group arrived with wary expressions, eyes flicking between him and the massive serpent's remains.

They'd suffered injuries, bruises and claw marks marred the warriors like Stan and Yusuf, while the tanks bore dents in their shields.

The mages, unsurprisingly, were unscathed.

The only healer stood at the back, untouched.

But their greatest loss lay on the raft, lifeless body.

The other assassin hadn't made it.

Yusuf's gaze landed on the female assassin.

"You survived, but you don't look unscathed. Poison or battle wounds?"

Timothy immediately intercepted and answered

"She needs help. The poison is spreading fast."

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"I didn't ask you." Yusuf cut him off.

"Besides, we didn't bring any detoxification materials."

Meanwhile, Stan and one of the tanks moved to inspect the serpent's corpse.

"What about the healer?" Timothy pressed, turning toward the woman in question.

Yusuf ignored him.

Instead, he gestured toward the raft.

"Take the body off and use it to retrieve the mana crystals from the other side."

Timothy glanced at the raft, the corpse, then at the crystals still lying across the river.

He exhaled sharply and was about to walk away when a weak hand grasped his ankle.

He looked down, was the female assassin.

'Lady, I've already done enough for you. What more do you want?' He thought and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

A mental debate raged in his head.

Was there really no way to settle this peacefully while staying uninvolved?

He decided to at least try.

"Mr. Yusuf?" he called.

"What?" Yusuf replied, his tone edged with irritation.

"Could we at least start healing her?"

A tense silence followed.

Then Yusuf spoke.

"Do you have problems Timothy? At home?"

"Yes."

"Problems you actively created?"

"Yes."

"And now you're trying to fix them?"

"Yes."

"Then don't become a problem for me while I'm solving others."

Timothy considered his words, then sighed.

Without hesitation, he lightly moved the assassin's hand away and stepped toward the raft.

That was when Stan shouted.

"Hey! There's no mana crystal in this thing!"

All eyes immediately turned to the female assassin.

She smirked, ignoring their glares, and with visible effort, lifted a single trembling finger pointing straight at Timothy.

A mage rushed forward to search her but found nothing.

By now, she was coughing violently, her skin turning an alarming shade of green.

Yusuf's group had no choice but to shift their focus.

All their gazes landed on Timothy.

Feeling the weight of their stares, he turned slowly.

"What?"

"Where's the mana crystal?" Stan demanded.

"With me. Why?" Timothy replied, calm and unbothered.

"Hand it over."

"Why?"

Stan scowled.

"Are you stupid? Because it doesn't belong to you!"

Timothy scoffed.

"That's nonsense. I killed it. The crystal is mine."

"You're becoming a problem, Timothy." Yusuf's voice was dangerously calm

DING!

[Hostile intent detected.]

[Special Quest: Eliminate Hostile Intent.]

[This quest cannot be declined.]

[Failure will result in death.]

[0/7 targets neutralized.]

Timothy's brows furrowed.

"I hope this doesn't mean I actually have to kill them..." he muttered.

"I told you the kid had a sharp tongue. Should I handle him?" Stan asked.

Yusuf didn't even hesitate.

"Do what you must. Get the crystals."

Before he could finish turning away.

BAM!