"Scru-hii...?! (Human larva... hard...?!)"

/Poison attack detected

/Superbia skill activated

/Poison attack negated

A metallic-like noise sounded out and the demon centipede basked in a violet light let out a confused screech when its mandibles didn't even penetrate the boy's skin, much less cut him in half.

"Funny you've asked, Patience - indeed, I am happy. Ecstatic even...!"

Zombie's face twisted in a wild bloodthirsty grin as he raised his hand up high and both his eyes and the broken dagger began shining with a white light of a skill.

*stab*

*stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab*

"SCRUHIIII! (HUUUUUURTS!)"

As continuous attacks fell onto the monster's head and gouged out one of its eyes, it screeched furiously and began thrashing around relentlessly, smashing its own head against the ground in order to get rid of the boy, but it was basically impossible.

Instead of trying to free himself, Zombie was holding onto the mandibles clenched on his torso with all his might while keeping the superbia skill nice and active while continuing the unrelenting assault.

/Proficiency level reached

Skill upgrade

Stab (level 3)

"KHAHAHAHAHA! WHO IS A LARVA NOW?!"

*STAB*

Zombie laughed maniacally and unleashed the newly empowered skill right onto the annoying sigil burning in the middle of the centipede's head, piercing right through it.

"SCRUHIIIIIII...!"

Sometimes an anguished screech was just an anguished screech that didn't carry any deeper meaning behind it...

*CRUNCH*

"...III-GHH...!"

And then it suddenly stopped once Zombie twisted the broken dagger and turned the centipede's brain into a gooey mush.

*WHAM*

/Sigil monster has been defeated

You receive the EXP

/You level up

Level 4 »»» Level 14

All status points increased

All skills upgrade

All affinity upgrade

You receive a title

Sigil hunter

The series of system messages popped up in front of Zombie's eyes while the monster's body uncurled and fell limply onto the ground with its many legs still twitching for a few more seconds, unaware that the rest of the body was already dead.

*whooooooooooooooo*

"..."

The boy didn't even flinch when the centipede's body around him suddenly spontaneously combusted into red and black flames and began crumbling into ashes within seconds.

That was something he knew would happen - he had the knowledge of the events and activities the encounters with sigil monsters were counted amongst the minor and bonus events but events nonetheless, so he knew that they would leave no loot except for the experience - a massive amount of experience as proved by the system message informing him of skipping ten whole levels in one go.

This one centipede was worth more than a dragonewt that Cranberry and Zombie killed off on their first kill party during the first playthrough...

"...whew..."

Zombie let out a deep sigh and wiped off the blood constantly flowing from his wounded forehead while the violet light of the superbia went out and the white light faded from his eyes and the broken dagger in the same manner but much slower.

"!!!!!"

That was the exact sight that the five men who suddenly came from the village's direction witnessed.

Some of the body parts of the centipede were still in the middle of getting cremated, so it was still possible to make out the monster's shape before it turned into unrecognizable gray dust.

Three in the front were the village's hunters, they had proper equipment and weapons, but the other two were different.

One of them was the old man Melon, clenching an old hoe, wide-eyed staring at the boy.

And the last person was...

"K-Kiwi...? What are you doing here?!"

Pear, Zombie's father.

The man who came rushing once he was woken up by the loud noise - expecting to find his son slaughtering all the chickens.

...but what he had found out was much more terrifying for him...

|Lie to him.|

|Was going to do that anyway.|

Before Zombie opened his mouth, he had a quick exchange with Patience inside his mind.

"What does it look like? I thought I could get rid of the monster that had been attacking mister Melon's chickens. So I tried to set up an ambush but I've missed it. I was going back to the village when I've heard the explosion and then that thing came right at me, so I've killed it... but I've seen that the monster was covered in blood, which means that it killed the rest of the chickens, didn't it..."

The boy looked down with a sad expression and threw aside the broken dagger - no longer necessary - before putting his hand to his forehead to mitigate the flowing blood, but from the adult's perspective, it looked like he was hiding his tears.

"Kiwi! You reckless boy!"

The one crying out and approaching and hugging him wasn't his father - it was the old man Melon, who passed his hoe to one of the shocked hunters the moment it was clear that there was no need to be on guard anymore.

"Come, we need to have someone look at your wounds - Mrs. Apricot should be up already, she'll patch you up."

He said, effortlessly picking the child up.

"Mister Melon, it's alright, I can walk on my own."

Zombie smiled reassuringly, but Melon wasn't having any of this.

"No, definitely not. You just fought with a monster! A real monster! It's a miracle that you survived! You only think that you are feeling fine, but the moment you relax you might straight-up faint!"

The old man refused his request.

"Pear, I'm taking him to Mrs. Apricot, and then I'll get him back to your house. You have your shop to attend to, right? It's okay."

He turned to the shaken man and smiled reassuringly.

"...ah... that's a good idea. Thank you."

Pear flinched and nodded...

"...!"

Just to flinch again once he met his son's cold gaze piercing right through him.

|I see. Even though you threatened him before, he didn't have any reason to worry, or so he thought considering your age.|

|But now with this whole mess, he realized that you are in fact capable of successfully murdering him in his sleep.|

Patience realized and gasped in understanding.

|Now he should start panicking and will try to get rid of me as soon as possible, he will try to spin everything in a positive light, as if he is doing something good for me to protect his good opinion amongst the other villagers, so it really leaves him with only one option - getting his friend from Envys territory to pick me up.|

Zombie smirked internally, observing his sweating, pale as a ghost father.

"The size of that thing... It must have been a vine centipede, right?"

As Melon was carrying him away, the boy managed to pick up the exchange between the rest of the men.

"Definitely, probably somehow hatched with a fire-based skill. The vine centipedes are weak to fire, once it got pressured by the kid, it must have used it in desperation and caught itself on fire - that's why it burnt to a crisp."

The other hunter pointed out, and honestly, it wasn't a bad explanation, completely wrong, but not bad for a shot in the dark.

"Vine centipedes are stronger than chickens, but not by that much, still for a kid that small to actually put up a fight! How old is he, like five, six years old...?"

The third hunter turned to Pear and asked.

"He's three."

Zombie's father corrected him in a weak voice.

"Three?! His potential is incredible! A shame though, he surely leveled up at least twice - losing on the easy early quest isn't good..."

"Yeah..."

One of the hunters pointed out and everyone else nodded.

With that Melon got far enough for Zombie to be unable to overhear anything else.

|Now we wait, I guess...|

|Now we wait...|

Patience pointed out and Zombie agreed, resting his chin on Melon's shoulder as a wave of exhaustion actually did hit him just as Melon warned him before.