บท 35: Mother Insect
Finally, it's here!
With this, we're back on schedule for Zero fate.
I will immediately start making the next one after this so I can publish it tommorrow.
After it, I will make the ones missing for my other novels...
Phew.
The work never ends!
If you enjoy this series, make sure to pass by Discord and even support my P@treon.
Of course, your power stones are just as good.
And lastly! Check my other novels if you are bored!
If you still don't know, I have another book, I did a small pause so I could write these chapters, but I will return to it soon!
It's called Azimuth: The Elden Throne
Enjoy the chapter!
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/Fwush!/
'Like a bullet cutting through air, Philip ran towards his target.'
"Pr-la-sh... St-ch-op..."
"I'll… P-u…k…e…" Mumbled Viera as she tried her best to keep herself conscious
'Viera was a mage, so her body isn't trained to a point where she can resist the pressure due to Philip's running speed.'
'At most, her senses were strong enough so she could keep up with fast beasts, but this and that were two completely different things...'
'But at least, it didn't last long as they soon arrived.'
'It was very dark and rather large cavern 10M wide with a ceiling that was over 6M tall, where the only source of light was the bioluminescent moss in the ceiling.'
'However, half of the cave's ground was actually a hole leading further down into darkness…'
'The cave also had a small waterfall falling from a hole in the ceiling and into the darkness… The sound of water splashing could be faintly heard echoing.'
"Haaa… I…"
'Viera tried to speak, but her head was still spinning from her previous experience.'
'She had to try her best to not puke her previous lunch of cookies...'
"..."
'Philip on the other hand observed his target and the strange creature she was fighting.'
I can't help but be amazed every time I see a new creature.
It looks like a humanoid hybrid creature between an insect and a Human…
This is the first bipedal creature I've seen so far in these caves though.
'The creature had a pair of big insect-like legs encased in a black exoskeleton, and 2 pairs of arms that ended up in 3 thin and long claws.'
'Its head was like that of an ant but it had 4 pairs of compound eyes and no antennas ending up with a large mouth similar to an ant's pincers.'
'Lastly, it had two pairs of wings on its back, but they weren't being used…'
"She seems to be fine... Thankfully, I arrived on time."
'Philip turned his head to the side and looked at the black-haired girl.'
'Her attire was simple, it was a single-piece black similar to a diving suit. It was light but it also seemed to be very resistant and elastic, allowing the girl to move without restrictions.'
'On her head was a black helmet, but it had no special designs apart from looking sleek and shiny.'
'And lastly, she had a single white longsword she used with expertise, trying her best to counter the creature's movements by moving it around with extreme speed.'
'But it was clear that the creature was only playing around with her.'
'She wasn't fast enough, nor strong enough to face it, and it seemed she dug her own grave by going too deep and now she met with a creature the current her can't take on…'
/CLANG!/
'As they watched, the fight became more and more fierce as the creature lost its patience.'
/Pierce!/
'And finally, it seemed the insect creature have had enough of playing around as it vanished.'
'The next moment the girl had been pierced in the shoulder by one of its claws, barely blocking the other two from hitting her vital points.'
/Splat!/
'The insect monster moved its claw upward, cutting deep into her shoulder and leaving her left arm useless.'
"Dammit." The girl said in a low tone as she thought deeply
'She tried to move away from the creature, and surprisingly, the insect beast allowed her to make distance...'
/Cha cha!/
'The creature made a few strange noises and even tasted the blood on its claw as it saw her do that...'
'Perhaps it was mocking her, or perhaps it was simply delighted to have found a meal, one that was so fun to play around with…'
'After watching her for a while, the insect made a few clacking sounds with its pincers before it slowly made its way close to where the girl had fled.'
'She tried to counter it by swinging her blade but that proved to be useless as it simply slapped her hand, making her sword fly and slide on the ground.'
/Chi chi.../
'It made a few more sounds, looking straight at her eyes...'
/BAM!/
/Fwoosh.../
/THUD!/
"Ouch, my hand…" Said Philip as he shook his hand in slight pain
That is one hard shell…
'Out of nowhere, Philip appeared next to the insect creature stepping out of a faint cloud of mist, delivering a right punch straight to the insect's face.'
'And surprisingly enough, the creature's shell was hard enough to make him feel the recoil of his own strength, and make his hand hurt.'
"This isn't going to be that simple I presume."
'It was at that point when his hand connected with the shell of the creature that he realized this monster wasn't like the other he dealt with so far.'
'It's hard to draw comparisons between these creatures since each was different from the other, but this ant-like monster, it was clear it was a step up from the others.'
"..."
I waited for it to lower its guard and aimed at its head, but even then, for a split second, despite the creature not being able to deal with my speed, it did see me.
Its compound eyes moved and locked straight onto my fist…
It even tried to raise its arms, but it failed.
'Philip's mouth curled up…'
"Time to hunt." He said as he took out his sword from his back
"!"
I… Who?
'The girl on the other hand remained confused, she had tried everything but that creature was definitely something she couldn't take on her own.'
'Despite her recklessness, she had no intention of giving up her life, and together with her intense physical training, she always devoted herself to her studies.'
'Know thyself first and your enemy as they say…'
'The moment she saw this creature crawling up from the hole on the ground, she used her student ID to call for backup, and tried to flee…'
'Of course, the creature didn't allow it and immediately flew after her, and that was when she started her last-ditch struggle to buy time.'
'She didn't expect that help would come in like that, much less this guy!'
'The reason why she had been pushing herself so much today, the person who played with her just like this beast...'
'The man that seemed to be about her age and yet, so much stronger than her...'
"ss... Miss... MISS!" Exclaimed Viera for the fourth time in a row, waking up Ivia from her thoughts
'She turned her head and looked at Viera who had a tense expression on her face.'
"Who?... Urg!" She said in pain as she tried to cover up her bleeding shoulder
'Viera looked behind her to see Philip nodding at her as he got into a stance.'
"We need to move! Can you get up?" She asked as she carefully tried to pull her up
"I… Yes…"
/BOOOM!/
/Tremble!/
'Suddenly, the cavern shook as the sound of an explosion echoed all around, the two girls had to protect their eyes from the dust, and Viera herself almost fell.'
/SCREECH!/
"!"
'When Ivia opened her eyes, she saw Philip pinning down the creature on the ground with a massive smile on his face.'
'The ground beneath them was all cracked almost as if a meteor had crashed…'
"THEY ALWAYS SCREAM HUH?!" Exclaimed Philip as he punched the creature on the face again, shaving off a few pieces of its hard shell
/CHIIII!/
/BAM!/
'This didn't last long as the creature screeched once more and flung Philip aside with its feet, making him crash against the ceiling of the cavern.'
"... Tremendous power and speed, coupled with a rather rational line of thoughts... Yeah, definitely a monster of the highest degree."
'Despite the force of the impact, Philip didn't let go of his sword and he got ready and swung the sword again to meet with the insect monster's claws!'
/BAM!/
/SCREECH!/
'After their collision, the monster cried in pain as it ripped off one of its claws, now broken after clashing with Philip's sword.'
"I bet it burns fucker." He said with a smile
Trying to clash with this sword with your bare hands? Keep dreaming.
It may look pretty, but behind this shinny light lies a dangerous energy that wishes to swallow you whole.
If this was the game, the creature would be taking half slashing damage and half arcane damage...
But oh well, this isn't a game.
'He got into a stance once more, but this time, the creature stayed far from him, observing his actions...'
'And in this relatively moment of tranquility...'
"I wasn't paid enough for this…" Said Viera as sweat fell down from her forehead
'This time, she simply grabbed Ivia and ignored her grunts of pain, dragging her away from the fight.'
'Philip looked at the two of them and noted their hiding spot, smiling towards the insect creature, ready to do his best...'
...
"HA!... Ha… I felt as if my heart was on the verge of stopping…" Viera said as she rested her head behind a rock
"..."
'Ivia remained silent as she looked at this newcomer, who was she?'
"Here, drink this, and pass this on your wound." Viera said as she took out two vials, one with a red liquid inside and another one with a gray cream
/Tremble!/
"AH!"
'The cavern suddenly trembled again and Viera dropped the flask on the ground, but Ivia was quick as she grabbed it before it hit the ground…'
"Urg!... Be more... Careful..."
My life is on the line here...
'Although she did grab the vial, her arm was still bleeding severely, and her strength had long left her body, so Viera had to help her with the first aid…'
/Bam…/
/Clang!.../
"..."
'She was silent, but it was clear Viera was worried about Philip's condition, or perhaps, she simply knew that if something happened to him, she was next.'
'Seeing her expression and her clothes, Ivia asked:'
"Do you think... He is... Going to be alright?"
"... It doesn't matter if he does, he does, if he does not... Then we're fucked." She said with a serious face
"..."
"Haa... Apologies, I guess his way of speaking has left its impression on me..."
"I want to say that... We can't do much right now apart from believing in him."
I could try to help, but just from those few moments, it was clear to me I had no part in that fight.
Even if I could cast a support spell, I may be compromising everything by showing myself.
But by not helping I may be...
'Her thoughts were suddenly cut in half by Viera:'
"Are you also a student? What are you doing this far…"
"Don't speak, focus on recovering on the off chance that we need to flee on our own." She said with a serious face
"What about him?" Asked Ivia
"He'll be fine, regardless, it was his order for us to flee without him."
"He isn't that weak as you saw..."
"... Who is he?"
"Ask him when he returns, for now, shut up and recover."
I myself don't know much...
"..."
'Ivia said nothing, she didn't care if Viera was being rude to her or not, she knew that she was currently a burden, one that may as well be abandoned in the off chance something goes horribly wrong.'
'So she clenched her teeth and focused, trying to rest as much as possible and let the medicinal items work their magic…'
'And under the trembling of the cavern and the cries of the creature, she for the first time in a long time prayed...'
…
/CLANG!/
'Philp's attacks were unending as if his stamina was infinite.'
'He continually swung his sword at the beast, and this time, it tried its best to evade it, but even so, Philip's strikes were getting faster and faster.'
'It was the effects of his Class-specific Skill, Momentum!'
"How about this!"
/Crunch!/
'The creature's neck was suddenly slashed, leaving a long gash where a gray liquid slowly dripped onto the ground.'
"CHI!"
'But the creature wasn't phased by this, instead, it grew more enraged, from the back of its hand, an extra claw suddenly appeared, not only that, but several plates of the exoskeleton fell onto the ground...'
"!"
'The creature's speed suddenly increased, and in one swoop, it swung its four claws directly at his eye!'
'But the world suddenly became slower for Philip...'
Wow! That was close.
A sudden burst of speed... That's my style!
But oh well... Two can play this game!
'Philip smiled, lifting his sword as he evaded the now slowed down claw...'
/Crackle!/
'Behind his sword, the air seemed to twist, and a fireball slowly formed.'
'Just as quickly as it formed, the fireball detonated, launching the sword forward with an incredible speed!'
'This was none other than the Ignition strike, a Skill previously confined to his other sword, but after some experimenting, Philip discovered he could use any source as a catalyst for the Skill to work.'
'As long as there was an explosion at the right spot, the Skill would activate. And for the poor creature, when added to slowed down time of Ripper mode...'
/FWUSH!/
/Thud.../
/Boom!/
"!"
'There wasn't an explosion, only the loud sound of air being ripped at massive speeds.'
'Following that was the sound of something hitting the ground, it was the sound of the insect's amputated arm falling on the ground...'
/SCREECH!/
'The creature let out its loudest cry to date, attacking Philip's eardrums!'
'But he only laughed with a smile.'
"Hahaha! This is it!" Said Philip with a smile as he swung his fist at the head of the bizarre creature, sending it flying
/BUZZZ!/
'But this time, the creature didn't hit the walls, and instead, it opened its wings and started flying.'
'It stayed there, floating in the air, observing Philip with its 2 pairs of dragonfly wings.''
'All of its 4 pairs of compound eyes were focused on him, its mouth was also closed, not moving anymore like before.'
'It had a solemn aura filled with hatred as it stared down at Philip, he wasn't prey anymore, but a dangerous adversary.'
'And the creature had no intention of fleeing at all!'
"... Serious now are we?" He said as he noticed its change
Fine...
I'll step up my game if that's the case.
'Seeing that the creature was finally getting serious, Philip also reactivated his sword, letting its purple sheen illuminate the cavern.'
/CHI!/
'The creature seemed to be momentarily drawn to the sword, but its eyes soon recovered their sheen as it flapped its wings and dived towards Philip.'
"..."
This feeling…
It's like those times when I was a puny Hunter trying to survive in that maddening city...
The feeling of fighting a monster that sees you as nothing but food!
Enraged and bloodthirsty... I can't say I missed this feeling.
'Philip clenched his teeth and raised his head, taking one step forward, he bent his back slightly and raised his sword into a piercing stance.'
"It's been a while since I tried this!"
/FWOOSH!/
'He moved his arms forward, piercing with his sword in the direction of his diving enemy!'
'One in the air, and the other on the ground...'
'They were checking each other out in a clash of power!'
/Flash!/
'But to the creature's surprise, the Darklight sword suddenly flashed and…'
"?!"
'In an instant, a long beam of flashing, dark purple light was released, and the creature could do nothing but follow its instincts.'
/RIP!/
'But they weren't fast enough as one of its wings was completely destroyed.'
/BOOM!/
'The purple beam hit the ceiling, causing the cavern to tremble, and when the dust fully fell into the ground, a rather deep hole with a conical shape was left behind as a testimony of the power behind that attack.'
"Phew, It doesn't feel the same but… It's hard to describe." Said Philip as he looked at his sword
Previously in the dream/memory, using the sword's power would consume the quicksilver bullets for some reason.
But ever since I came back to the real world, it started to consume my stamina upon every use.
And the feeling changed once again when I passed my abilities onto my main Status, there may be an underlying reason for this, but so far...
It only makes me feel a bit sluggish. But I guess this has to do with me not being used to using it.
And to be honest, there aren't that many instances where I can use this.
'He shook his head and looked at the creature who was now perched on the walls of the cavern.'
"Che che… Che chi…"
'It kept making some strange noises as if trying to communicate with Philip, but he wasn't buying any of it.'
'Perhaps it was pleading for some sort of mercy or mutual cooperation, perhaps it simply asked for both of them to go on their ways never to meet again...'
'So he raised his sword and got into a stance once more…'
/CRACK!/
'He poured all of his strength into his legs and jumped, making the grounds crack due to his strength.'
"!"
'The insect monster immediately reacted and moved, opening its mouth and spitting something akin to a bullet at high speeds right through his right chest!'
'But Philip's image suddenly vanished like smoke...'
"?!"
'All of the insect compounds' eyes moved at high speeds, trying to find Philip's location…'
"!"
'And the creature finally found him… But he was behind it!'
/BAM!/
'In one motion, Philip raised his fist, but this wasn't a normal strike as his fist was glowing in red energy…'
/SPLAT!/
'His fist went straight through the creature's carapace with incomparable sharpness, and with a cruel smile on his face, Philip grabbed something inside the monster's head and crushed it as he pulled his hand.'
/THUD!/
'The creature's wings stopped flapping, making both of them fall from the air, crashing into the ground.'
'Dusting his pants and checking his surroundings, Philip got up from the ground saying:'
"So in the end, I won."
'With a smile, he lifted his foot, ready to crush the creature's head.'
'It didn't matter if it was alive or dead, Philip would make sure there was no way for it to come back suddenly and bite him in the ass…'
/FWOOSH!/
/Pierce!/
"!"
'And as expected, the creature was still somewhat alive, piercing his left leg with a small nail from one of its remaining arms.'
'The nail disappeared onto his flesh like a bee sting, immediately making his leg swell...'
"Chi chi chi…" It said as if mocking him
"I'll give it to you, you aren't an ant, but an annoying cockroach."
'Philip immediately felt his leg go numb, but before anything could happen, he crunched the creature's head and bifurcated its remaining arms and legs from its main body just in case it was still somehow alive.'
"Tsk, I was a bit too excited and let it scratch me with something annoying…"
It should've inserted some sort of poison in my leg, but the numbness has already disappeared…
Just in case, I stopped the flow of blood on my leg and I'll remove all of the foreign substances from my bloodstream.
Venom is almost useless to me since I can control my own blood…
'Even if the poison wasn't removed, Philip was unlikely to die due to his body quality and all of the special Titles he accumulated, giving him an edge over these sorts of foreign substances and energies...'
/Splat!/
'His leg muscles contracted and a yellowish substance was squished out of his leg like a pressurized jet…'
"It's just as ugly as I expected…" Philip said as he shook his leg, trying to clean it from the yellow liquid…
'But that was just a meaningless act as his body was already covered in the gray substance that was once the blood of the creature he slew.'
'Even his fingernails were covered in the strange matter he crushed...'
"This was an interesting fight, the creatures I met with so far in this world were… Lackluster to say the least."
If I were to say, from the beginning till now, the times where I use my strength were this one, the Elven Knight, and the Orc I faced after I left the palace for this adventure.
With this one being the strongest of them all.
But still not strong enough to make me try everything I had to survive.
Not saying there weren't any other dangerous beings, let's not count most of the high-ranking professors of this academy and the one I fought.
There is also the old man I met outside of the city and the King and his personal guard...
The instructors and a few of the maids gave me some strange feelings as well.
The problem of this creature was its speed and the sharpness of its claws, it caught me off guard once and it cut my shoulder a bit.
"Still… Not enough."
Fast, but not fast enough to make me incapable of following its movements.
Its armor was hard, but my sword is sharper, and I am strong enough to crush it.
But perhaps I should be happy and not disappointed, not meeting with a monstrous creature every once in a while is good, right?
'Philip stayed there, thinking for a while until he realized he had to move.'
"Into my inventory you go." He said as he stored the insect's body
'His sword turned back to normal on its own, so he placed it on his back.'
'While he did this, he turned his head and stared at the dark hole, thinking:'
That creature must've come from there…
'He focused...'
I can hear something happening down there, like the sound of many leaves being crunched…
But I bet it isn't leaves.
Whatever it is, it isn't coming up, but perhaps, it's the reason why this creature is here?
It seems rather deep, but it's better to leave rather than wait here and find out…
I am not that far into my own delusions to think I am unbeatable.
"Oi! Are you two okay?" He exclaimed out loud
'He looked at a pair of rocks, and as expected, a head popped up from behind it, it was Viera.'
'And the moment she laid her eyes on him her tense expression went away as she let out a relieved sigh.'
'Philip immediately made his way to them, and he soon met the girl he was supposed to protect, her eyes still closed as she rested.'
"It seems everyone is okay." He said as he looked at Viera and then at the Ivia
'Viera looked at him and asked:'
"What about you?"
'He smiled and replied:'
"I'm fine… For the most part, I got a cut on my shoulder and I am a bit tired, but that's it."
"..."
'Ivia seemed to have reacted, but she didn't open her eyes.'
"... You're stronger than I thought." She said in a low tone
'Philip smiled awkwardly, asking:'
"And what made you change your opinion?" He asked with a smile
"Don't you know what you just faced? In fact, what happened to it?... Guessing by the Hemolymph on your body…"
"I killed it, wanna see its body?"
"N-No thank you... I imagine you don't know, so I will be brief, that was a lone juvenile queen Pheonia."
"Queen Pheonia?" Philip asked, surprised
"It's a type of bipedal ant… Although it's unexpected to see one this far up."
"That was an ant? Why and how?" He asked with a twisted expression
"... Did you skip all of the classes of Monster Biology?"
"Uhhh..."
Funny enough, I'm supposed to be the assistant of the teacher of this discipline...
"It doesn't matter, I'll give you a brief description."
"As I said, seeing one this early is uncommon."
"But since we saw one, it's definitely because we are in one of its mating periods. This lone ant mated and was looking for a place to start a colony."
"It must've been chased out from the deeper and more abundant parts."
"Normally they aren't much of a problem, but these ants are rather intelligent and are known to love playing with their food like cats, and it isn't uncommon seeing them do so."
"And added to the fact most underground creatures are already strong…"
"How strong is it?" He asked, curious
"That's the only thing you care about huh…" She said with a frown
"Well, it is at the very least, a 7th rank underground monster, meaning… State 60 to 70, but underground creatures are stronger than the ones on the surface so... It's pretty strong?"
"It's safe to say no student would be able to take it on without relying on some sort of special item or help, those that can do would be fitting of being described as monsters."
"I see."
State 60 means it would be a Level 60 creature, and since the average of the 5th years is something on the likes of Level 35 to 40, seeing a student strong enough to defeat a Level 60 monster is a rather odd thing.
Such a Level of power would be more than enough for them to graduate early and go somewhere else.
Besides, this is the minimum of the spectrum of this creature's power. It could very well go beyond that and into Level 70 or from their perspective, State 70.
"... And finally, because it only had two pairs of wings, it's safe to say it is a juvenile queen ant."
"Why?" Philip asked
"Only the females of the species can fly, and once they set up a colony their bodies will mutate so they can produce large amounts of eggs…"
"They lose their wings in this process, so this one was without a doubt a juvenile one."
'Philip nodded, finding all of this fairly interesting.'
'He turned his head to the girl sitting on the ground and asked:'
"We can talk more later, so how about we call it a day and return to the surface?"
"Yes… I had enough of the underground." Viera said, longing for the sun…
"... What about you? Can you walk?"
"I'm… Fine." Ivia said as she opened her eyes
'She looked at Philip for a moment, she expected him to mock her or reprimand her for her actions, but he did none of that.'
"!"
'Instead, he kneeled in front of her and showed his back to her.'
"Don't try to act tough, your shoulder is still heavily damaged so it's better if you don't put too much pressure on your body."
'She wanted to say something but she eventually bit her lips, knowing full well the state of her own body.'
"I hope you don't mind the... Well, blood on my body..."
"I can take care of that..." Said Viera as she prepared a spell
'After a few seconds, a soothing wind passed through his body and cleaned most of the dirt.'
"Pretty convenient... But I still smell a bit..." He said as she looked at her
"Don't look at me! I am not a cleaning machine!"
"..."
/Chuckles.../
'Slowly, she went to his back and allowed him to carry her.'
"Alright let's go!"
"..."
"Why the sunken face?" He asked Viera
"..."
'But she turned around and left, ignoring Philip.'
"..."
Why is she upset?
"Thank you." Said Ivia out of nowhere
"Hm? No worries. Rest, for now, you did well not giving up, so I'll do my part and carry you up safe and sound so we can enjoy some warm food under the sun."
"..."
'She opened her mouth, but said nothing.'
'After he said that, Philip started walking, going after Viera.'
"..."
'And without saying much, Ivia rested her head on Philip's shoulder and went to sleep.'
'She was incredibly tired…'
…
'The trio made their way up without problems, most of the creatures on this path had already been taken care of by either Philip and Viera, or by Ivia herself in her search of monsters to slay.'
'Of course, these beasts are creatures like any other and they move from time to time, so a few had to be taken down.'
'They ignored all of the Outposts on their way since they didn't need to stop by them, even if they had a few corpses to hand in, they could do so on the surface.'
'Everything was going well up till they arrived at the surface.'
"... I almost forgot about these guys..." Viera said as her mood feel rock bottom
"..."
'In front of them were a large crowd of people, blocking the sole passage out this damme place.'
'They consisted of many students, some from the different groups that were cooperating to rip off everyone, and the rest were the students who refused to pay, waiting for the time to pass.'
"What do we do now? Her injuries are rather serious and these potions are definitely going to heal her, but it's probably going to leave a nasty scar even if I use healing magic on her..."
"In fact, that is the reason why I didn't use it on her, even if I accelerate the healing speed with magic, that is only going to speed up the formation of a scar." Viera said as she looked at Philip
'Philip didn't seem worried, but he was very annoyed.'
"The students aren't the problem, the problem is those guys hiding in the dark..."
They may hide beyond my eyes, but I can hear their heartbeat nonetheless.
I know some of the students came with guards to protect them, but as long as they arent attacked, they are obliged to not move.
But I bet those students aren't going to let me pass without attacking me...
So the question is:
"You think we can pass by them without them attacking us?" He asked Viera
"..."
...
.
.
.
Notes
I feel as if nothing happened and at the same time, a lot happened.
Its fun how 5K words go by so quickly...
Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it.
Next chapter, Will this small arc finally end so we can leave this damned academy?!
I hope so.
New version
There is a rewrite of this work going on. (New Version)
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