The small courtyard at home.
The black cobra that had just been summoned flicked its tongue after hearing Motomu's words.
"Wait for me to get back."
Poof!
The white summoning smoke dissipated.
After waiting for a moment.
The faint sensation of a Reverse Summoning reached Motomu's heart.
'Is it time?'
A moment later, another cloud of white smoke erupted in the courtyard with a bang.
In the dim underground, a drop of water slid down a stalactite and fell into Motomu's collar.
Motomu, having just been summoned over, gave a shiver.
'So dark and damp... it certainly fits the Ryuchi Cave.'
Motomu looked around and quickly found the cobra coiled into a ball.
Seeing Motomu look over, the cobra raised the tip of its tail to signal for silence and spoke in a low voice.
"In this place, snakes like me with no muscle are at the bottom of the food chain."
"Looking at your scrawny limbs, you're even worse off than I am."
"Remember, don't run into the depths. The further in you go, the more dangerous it gets."
As it spoke, the cobra used its tail tip to pull a notebook from a shelf in the room.
"This is a map of the surrounding area I wrote when I was a hatchling. Take it with you. Just help me fill it in if you find any new spots."
Motomu took the map and flipped through it.
The cobra was truly an educated snake.
It had cleverly recorded the map of the vicinity in a 3x3 grid across nine pages.
Along the rope-like paths, there were many detailed notes left by the snake.
Currently, he was in the green safe zone on the first page.
According to the markers, the snakes here weren't even as big as the cobra.
Motomu estimated that the creatures here were at most Level 20.
Stowing the notes, Motomu looked at the cobra and asked.
"How long does your summoning last?"
The cobra closed its eyes to sense its chakra consumption before estimating an answer.
"Roughly an hour."
"The summoning will automatically end after an hour."
"If you're scared and want to go back, I can release it now."
Having obtained the info he needed, Motomu ignored the cobra's lip and turned toward the exit of its lair.
In the dim underground cave, the Right Eye slowly floated up. Under the vision of the Sharingan, the surroundings were clearly revealed.
Motomu recalled the route on the map.
The Big Eyeball was Level 22.
Meanwhile, the Ekans in this area were at most around Level 20. With a crushing level difference, the experience gained would be minimal.
At best, these snakes were only good for a few bites of life force via Dream Eater.
Besides, time was limited.
Using Psychokinesis to stun them and then Hypnosis for Dream Eater just for one snake's vitality was too inefficient.
Once his level was higher.
And he could launch Hypnosis directly at these snakes, he could perform a mass harvest.
A sustainable way to drain the pond dry.
For the next hour.
Motomu decided to let the Big Eyeball calm down and savor every bite of experience.
He accelerated along the way.
The Big Eyeball carried Motomu as it flew, arriving at the border between pages 1 and 2 of the map.
Beyond this point was the dangerous zone marked on the second page.
Motomu clearly noticed that the surrounding caverns were getting larger.
Some lush, bioluminescent cave plants hung from the walls.
As his field of vision opened up, purple snakes significantly larger than the cobra began to appear.
Motomu looked at these snakes.
A sense of familiarity surfaced.
Purple scales, black markings around the eyes, and a cruel gaze.
They looked quite like Orochimaru's Manda, just much smaller in size.
[SYSTEM: ARBOK (LEVEL 23) HAS ACCEPTED YOUR CHALLENGE]
[SYSTEM: DING!]
[SYSTEM: CONGRATULATIONS TRAINER FOR TRIGGERING A GYM CHALLENGE!]
[SYSTEM: THIS CHALLENGE IS AN OFFICIAL GYM BATTLE. AFTER VICTORY, YOU CAN OBTAIN A SMALL EXPERIENCE BONUS AND RANDOM ITEM REWARDS (TWISTED SPOON 1%, CHARCOAL 10.1%, BLACK GLASSES 5.9%, DRAGON FANG 1.8%, EXTREMELY LOW PROBABILITY OF EVOLUTION STONE DROP).]
[SYSTEM: CHALLENGER: MOTOMU]
[SYSTEM: CURRENT GYM: RYUCHI CAVE GYM - LEVEL 20-30 AREA]
[SYSTEM: CHALLENGE TARGET: ARBOK]
[SYSTEM: CHALLENGE LEVEL: LV.23]
[SYSTEM: RECOMMENDED CHALLENGE LEVEL: LV.23-LV.26]
After glancing at the system prompt, Motomu turned his gaze to the Big Eyeball.
"Time to eat!"
The order was given.
The millstone-sized Big Eyeball whipped its purple tongue and charged straight at the cluster of snakes.
With 300kg of Psychokinesis surging, it uprooted a stalactite and slammed it into the head of an Arbok that had its jaws wide open.
Crack!
Fragments of stone splattered against the surrounding rock walls.
The dazed Arbok shook its car-sized head as the tiny shred of logic in its eyes vanished completely.
Coiling its body, it launched like a spring.
Its foul-smelling maw clamped down on the Big Eyeball, and the unique python-like teeth pierced into it like rows of steel nails.
There was no sensation of biting through and having juices splatter everywhere.
The Arbok felt as though it were biting a stone pillar, making its teeth ache from the hardness.
Just as it tried to loosen its jaw to swallow its opponent whole.
A sharp pain instantly tore through its esophagus.
The Big Eyeball stuck in its mouth formed a drill out of Psychokinesis and drove it straight into the Arbok's tender throat.
Amidst the spraying blood, the Big Eyeball's purple tongue whipped around excitedly.
The telekinetic drill pushed from the inside out until it was snagged by the scales.
A large bulge swelled on the back of the Arbok's neck.
Even so, with its tenacious life force, it continued to swing its head, slamming the Big Eyeball against the wall.
The Big Eyeball bared its fangs as the telekinetic drill expanded horizontally, spinning inside the Arbok's neck like a chainsaw.
Spine, nerves, and blood vessels were all severed.
The Arbok's massive pupils dimmed as its life faded. Its ten-meter-long body was left with nothing but nervous system spasms.
[SYSTEM: RIGHT EYE (LEVEL 22) USED PSYCHOKINESIS!]
[SYSTEM: ARBOK HP: -124]
[SYSTEM: VICTORY!]
[SYSTEM: ARBOK (LEVEL 23) IS UNCONSCIOUS]
[SYSTEM: RIGHT EYE EXP +64]
Not bad!
The experience was plentiful, but the drop rate for special items was a bit low.
'It would be great if an Evolution Stone dropped.'
Motomu calculated the time.
Six minutes for the battle, ten minutes for travel.
Forty-four minutes left.
If things went smoothly, it would be enough to level the Big Eyeball up three or four times.
With thoughts flashing, Motomu ordered the Big Eyeball to head toward the next cave.
Crawling out of the Arbok's mouth, the Big Eyeball used its large purple tongue to wipe the blood blocking its vision and wobbled deeper into the cavern.
...
Squelch!
Amidst the sound of a massive weight hitting the ground, the system prompt rang out again.
[SYSTEM: RIGHT EYE (LEVEL 24) USED PSYCHOKINESIS!]
[SYSTEM: ARBOK HP: -155]
[SYSTEM: VICTORY!]
[SYSTEM: ARBOK (LEVEL 24) IS UNCONSCIOUS]
[SYSTEM: RIGHT EYE EXP +57]
[SYSTEM: RIGHT EYE HAS LEVELED UP, IT SEEMS TO HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING]
[SYSTEM: 1. GROWL, 2. BITE]
[SYSTEM: 3. AIR SLASH, 4. TAKE DOWN]
Looking at the refreshed list of moves, Motomu once again declined to swap any techniques.
The Big Eyeball's current moveset was very practical.
Motomu didn't want to re-familiarize himself with new moves, and he felt these ordinary skills weren't worth choosing over what he already had.
However, he was quite looking forward to the next passive skill at level 30.
Just as he was imagining what kind of broken passive he would get at level 30.
A thunderous, earthquake-like sound echoed from a tunnel not far ahead.
Along with the noise came gusts of a foul-smelling, malignant wind.