Chapter 717 - Mother Hellbiter
'Think of it as multitasking, but of the mind. By dividing the consciousness, it becomes possible to think about two different things simultaneously,' Leon mentally explained.
'Eh? That sounds quite impressive. Wouldn't that mean you can cultivate while carrying out daily tasks simultaneously? Is it possible for me to learn parallel thoughts as well?' Aria inquired with interest.
'Of course, you can. It's nothing special, but it is quite handy. Nevertheless, it is not something that can be easily mastered. Even so, it is something that can be mastered with enough time and practice. There are no special requirements to learning the trick.'
Despite saying that, Leon did not master parallel thoughts through practice. It was something he had secretly obtained since the harmonization of his two souls.
'However, this skill is not without its disadvantages. Even if you master the practice of thinking two different things simultaneously, your efficiency will only drop without adequate mental strength,' Leon added.
In other words, Aria would need a strong soul like him to use parallel thoughts effectively.
Otherwise, she would only be splitting a single conscious thought with 100% efficiency into two conscious thoughts with 50% efficiency each, which defeats the purpose of parallel thoughts.
After all, there was no point in having a second consciousness if it lowers the efficiency of the first consciousness.
One would need their first consciousness to retain 100% efficiency while having a second consciousness at any level of efficiency for parallel thoughts to qualify as a useful skill.
For Leon, he was able to have both consciousnesses at 100% efficiency.
'I see…'
After Leon finished explaining, Aria fell silent with a thoughtful look.
Gradually, the group reached the end of the descending pathway and entered the tomb's first trial ground.
"Everyone, keep your wits about you. It's uncertain what dangers we will be facing from this point onwards," Chief Baskara warned the group.
Darlene paused for a moment before asking with surprise, "If the demons already cleared the first trial, shouldn't it be safe?"
"Little girl, don't underestimate a Demon King-level Tomb. Even if it is safe, you still need to stay vigilant. Otherwise, you wouldn't know how you would die," A Low-rank Battle Master teased.
Darlene was slightly embarrassed and no longer commented.
"Nevertheless, it seems like we have stumbled into a maze. Even if the demons cleared the trial, it wouldn't make it any less troublesome for latecomers. I wonder if the Demon King built the first trial like this with that in mind," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman speculated while observing the maze walls.
The Crimsonfog Tribe's Battle Masters all wore solemn expressions as they also studied the maze walls seriously, each with their own opinions.
Nevertheless, they did not voice them.
At the same time, Leon used Spirit Eyes and Divine Sense to scout the dark area before a map of the maze appeared in his mind, revealing all the blindspots and deadends as the clear route unveiled itself.
Even after finding the pathway through the maze, Leon did not forget about the ceiling and decided to glance up—when he quickly noticed a massive body with eight furry legs and crimsons eyes staring back at him in its nest of webs.
It was a gigantic Hellbiter, and not a weak one either.
According to Leon's silent speculation, its strength did not seem to pale in comparison to a peak-level Greater Demon or even a low-level Arch Demon.
Gulp!
Leon swallowed his saliva to ease his nervousness before he quickly noticed that Mother Hellbiter was inactive, giving him a bit of relief.
The Mother Hellbiter was not looking back at him. It was simply resting with its eyes open because spiders do not have eyes lids.
"Well, that's one thing we don't want to piss off," Leon muttered softly before stating to the group, "Follow me. I've already figured out the way through this maze."
"As expected of Young Master Leonhardt. We can always count on you."
The One-Eyed Venerable Shaman praised with a smile before Chief Baskara asked with furrowed brows, "But what does Young Master Leonhardt mean by something we don't want to piss off?"
"You might not see it in the darkness, but there's a giant as mother f*cking spider above us, the Mother Hellbiter, and its strength is suspected to be at peak-level Greater Demon or higher," Leon explained.
His words nearly caused several knees to buckle.
"A Hellbiter at peak-level Greater Demon or higher? Even the small Hellbiters can kill humans and demons alike with a single bite. Wouldn't the Mother Hellbiter's bite be instant death?"
A Low-rank Battle Master mentioned before receiving dumb looks from his fellow tribesmen as if he said something stupid.
"Are you joking? If the small Hellbiter bites you, you can worry about dying from its venom. But if the Mother Hellbiter bites, you won't have to worry about the venom killing you at all because there probably won't be anything of you left behind."
"Oh, that makes sense…."
The Low-rank Battle Master scratched his head awkwardly before his expression turned solemn again as he observed the surroundings with his limited vision, afraid of touching anything that may alert the Mother Hellbiter.
"Don't touch anything, lest we unwittingly disturb the Mother Hellbiter's rest."
Although Leon knew the group understood the gravity of Mother Hellbiter's threat, he felt it was still necessary to remind them.
"Naturally," Chief Baskara nodded.
A short moment later, Leon suddenly halted his footsteps, causing the group to stop along with him as they become alerted.
"What's the matter, Young Master Leonhardt? Why did you stop?" the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman inquired.
"Ahh, sorry about that. There's a pile of demon corpses nearby. It seems like they fell victim to the Hellbiters' vicious bites. If you guys don't mind, I would like to make a short detour to collect their bodies."
Leon apologized for the slight delay before making his request.
From the number of bites on the demons' bodies, Leon could tell that the Hellbiters were not small in number. Despite that, it was surprising that the demons were not devoured clean.
"Since it's a small request from Young Master Leonhardt, how can we reject?"
"Thanks, everyone."