While Ryan was recovering from the poison's effects, fifteen minutes had passed after Cerberus's defeat. Then, he suddenly spawned in the middle of an island that seemed like a paradise. The forest around was so green and full of life, the ponds had crystal clear water, and one could feel a lot of energy coming from it. Small birds were singing non-stop in the distance… it felt like a place in which all tired souls could rest and recover forever.

However, even in such a place, the scary-looking Cerberus couldn't help but show an expression of utter shame. His head was so down that the ground was already wounding him. He was using that much strength to press his head against the ground, after all.

"You already returned, Cerberus," Echidna said. "How unusual. When was the last time that you failed?"

Although Echidna was called the mother of monsters and her offspring looked pretty scary, she herself was a world-class beauty. For some reason, she wasn't half-snake like Tristan said. The only animalistic thing she had in her body was a pair of fangs she had on her mouth that was just lightly long. Her hair was red, and her eyes were green, emerald-like green. For some reason, she was wearing some leaves as clothing to cover her parts, but it only worked to make her more alluring… in any case, it looked like Ryan was destined to have more problems with redheads…

"I am deeply ashamed, mother," Cerberus said.

"No excuses?" Echidna frowned. "A human won against you fair and square? I thought the Reptilians messed up, and I wanted to confirm that myself, but it looks like he isn't so bad… to think that humans still have this much potential after we left them so many years ago. That is intriguing."

Cerberus didn't say anything. Just talking with his mother after such a defeat was embarrassing enough to make him think of taking his own life. However, that was a waste of time since his existence was bound to a dungeon.

"Anyway, don't feel too bad about it," Echidna said. "Your strength decreases what, fifty times on Earth? Just be patient, and soon you will be able to show your true power there. What are you going to do now?"

"I will return to my post," Cerberus said.

"Such a hardworking child… Don't let your feelings control your actions too much," Echidna said. "Don't forget to keep an eye on the other humans either."

"Understood," Cerberus said and then vanished.

After Cerberus disappeared, Echidna took her time to study Cerberus's memories. Although he indeed lost, she recognized that Ryan struggled quite a bit. Still, for someone who didn't have a clear fighting style mastered, he certainly looked something else… Aside from Ryan, Echidna also took an interest in the female dragon that fought alongside Ryan a few hours before Cerberus ambushed him.

"Earth has become quite fun," Echidna smiled and then licked her lips. "I can't wait…"

----- -----

The effects of the poison on Ryan's body only started to disappear when the sun started to rise. As if that wasn't annoying enough, Cerberus' poison still managed to decrease Ryan's health even after three hours. The creature was really on another level…

"I need to level up Radar…" Ryan muttered. "I can't let another monster sneak up on me again like that. That being said, I need to prepare more for that kind of situation."

While that idea was obvious, Ryan knew he probably wouldn't be able to accomplish it. He had too many goals, and accomplishing all of them required different actions and skills. To defeat dragons, Ryan needed more power. To avoid ambushes, Ryan needed to increase his tracking skills, to decrease the effects of dungeon breaks, he needed more mana and tamed monsters…

"I also need a fucking storage device…" Ryan sighed after collecting his weapons and somehow storing them inside his backpack. "Anyway, this news is really cool, and the extra effect is really interesting. Maybe I can obtain similar skills."

The Sagittarian's' bow looked like as if it was made of eagle's feathers. Both ends of the weapon really looked like eagle's wings. Although Ryan was someone who valued efficiency above everything else, he was pretty eager to use a bow that had such a cool design.

After organizing his things, Ryan headed North. Although that slowed him down a little bit, he didn't use any spells that could increase his speed. Instead of that, he used all his mana to train Radar. Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, he didn't have much time to train the skill since he eventually found Lake Ontario, and much to his surprise, some megalodons were there, fighting dragons.

"Now that I think about it… this lake becomes a river downstream and then reaches the ocean eventually. Still, to think that those monsters would come this far…"

"You are late," Alissa suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and Ryan almost had a heart attack. "You didn't notice my approach, huh. I guess my training is complete. By the way, where did you get that bow?"

Ryan took a deep breath to calm down… Alissa not only had the nerve to appear like that and even acts as if it wasn't something important or annoying. Regardless, for some reason, it looked like she didn't fight and had been training. Although Ryan was curious, he decided not to pry. It wasn't like he would get anything by asking.

"That is none of your business," Ryan said abruptly.

"It looks like you managed to fight and defeat a formidable foe… impressive, but it also looked like you made some serious enemies."

"What happened, Orgar?" Alissa asked.

"Well, do you know the legendary…"

"If you tell her anything about it, our deal is over," Ryan said

"You can't just decide that! Men don't go back on their word!"

"Technically, I am a male of many species, so the effects of such words are less effective on me," Ryan said. "Anyway, I won't say it again. There is no sense in Alissa not reading my mind when you report her every single thing."