6. Encounter

Walking down the path of shame fueled me with self-loath. My mana pool had slowly recovered, but I was still walking sluggishly, either because my mana had just started replenishing or because my emotions controlled me like a puppet master. It felt as if the further away I got, my incarnation of fear diminished, only to be replaced by a shower of guilt and disgrace.

Why? Why couldn’t I just go? Why didn’t I find the courage to leave? Twenty times had I looked back, trying to convince myself to try again, but every glance brought a ripple of tension through my body. Unable to conquer my fear, I began to ponder it as a waste of time to despise myself. Now, should I go back to the pit or dive deeper into the abyss? Since I can sense creatures from a distance, I should be able to avoid them as I can move away a lot faster now that I can walk.

Drip… drip…

I glanced nostalgically at the tree root—the jewel-toned, pendulous root—I had sipped off. This spot was where I had that strange lucid dream about my mysterious past which begged the question of how similar I was to the previous Kyrios. He would surely have found the courage to leave—no, he probably wouldn’t even have that thought in the first place. He looked so ominous and ruthless, after all. But, in a way, it made me feel better like I’ve become a more jovial person. It felt as if I had become more humane and emotional. Hah, even the parallels between us were comparable. Although I shouldn’t assume too much yet, you could say one is born human yet acts like a monster, while the other is a monster yet acts human.

I had always wondered why similar visions never appeared again. It never occurred when I slept; I only occasionally had ordinary dreams. Part of me wanted to forget about my past and move on, but the other wanted to know more. Would I relive that dream again if I were to fall unconscious after drinking the toxic water droplets? Well, that wasn’t possible anymore due to my poison immunity, so skills weren’t always beneficial. This room had probably already served its purpose in my fate, and it was time to move on.

Rather than returning to the barker pit, I proceeded in the opposite direction, where the sounds echoed the longest. This path was different from the other generic tunnels. It had sharp, defined edges as if it was carved by a bolt of massive lightning. Worried about the unique foundation, I made a condition to myself that I’d immediately flee the instant I sensed any sign of hostile life.

As I began striding down the narrow corridor, I was shocked by how the shadows swallowed the ambiance. It was getting harder to identify anything, even with my night vision skill, as the atmosphere around me changed drastically. The air got soggy and quite acidic, while the only sounds I could hear outside were muffled and replaced with my unending echoing footsteps and breathing. Unlike the other tunnels, this one didn’t even have a hint of light. Of course, all the tunnels were dark, but you would sometimes stumble upon an illuminating flower or even a glowing crystal.

After it felt like I had walked for almost hours, I worried about the unknown as there was no way to know what horrors awaited beyond. At first, I had to rest now and then to regenerate my mana pool, but later, as my body adjusted to the motion of walking, I no longer needed to drain my mana to travel.

“Hello?” My voice echoed through the corridor, still with no sign of ending. “Ugh. This is getting repetitive,” I soughed.

“Is this tunnel ever—” An adherent web on the ground interrupted my whining as I tripped, landing head first on the floor. An insect, almost my size with enormous yet thin claws, rested right before my epic landing, causing me to end my sentence with a shivering voice. “—going to end?”

The insect awakened from my thud and swung his two claws in a cross shape, scraping the arm I had instinctively raised to protect myself that sent me stumbling back. Then it let out a startling screech before revealing its diaphanous beetle wings in a battle-ready pose. They blazed an ember orange gloss that lit up the passage, just enough for my eyesight to see my surroundings.

Although I was itching for a fight, I didn’t think there was a way for me to win, let alone survive. Seeing its sporadically twitching wings, an impromptu escape was likewise impossible, so I had to analyze the situation. Since it had noticeable eyes and produced light, it’s probably safe to assume that it depended on eyesight to fight or locate its surroundings. Therefore, if I were to crush its eyes, my chances of a successful escape would increase. But, if I were to close my distance, it would cut off my head, so how was I supposed to do that?

It hurdled toward me not letting me finish my plan. It raked its claws across my stomach, ripping off what was left of my clothes and slicing my belly.

I backed off again, holding my hand on my wounded side to dampen the pain. Unfortunately, the regeneration ability did not affect discomfort whatsoever. You would imagine the sped-up recovery to feel pleasant, but instead, the regrowth of damaged tissues felt like a harsher pain compacted in a shorter time.

Conjuring mana on my palm, I infused it with water and threw it at the insect. To my surprise, dodging wasn’t inbuilt in its instincts as it took it right to the face. As I fired another one, it appeared to flinch and shifted into a more defensive pose.

“This proved to be useful,” I noted while gathering a water sphere in both hands. Then, gradually backing off to my longest throwing distance without breaking eye contact, I hurled them with mana amplifying my strength. As it was distracted, I picked up the speed and ran away in a laughable motion.

- [Notice] -

Essential Skill [Running] Learned!

Stat Points are awarded for learning an Essential Skill.

[Mobility] 9 -> 14

Oh right. Even though I probably could, I haven’t tried running yet. Free stat points are always welcome, even if they’re unnoticeable because of my biological growth.

Slash!

A swift slice aimed at my neck grazed me as I barely managed to sidestep away. Damn it! It already caught up; I didn’t even get enough time to go through one thought. If I wanted a chance of victory, I had to destroy its eyes. Another clean slash was sent at immense speeds, but this time, its momentum caused it to backfire as the insect hit its head into the fractured wall. Mustard yellow liquid bled from the area of impact, and it had presumably received a concussion, seeing how the insect became uncoordinated and somewhat paralyzed.

This was my chance. I approached it swiftly yet cautiously before jabbing my hands like daggers into each eye in one quick motion. The uncanny sound of its eyeballs popping, the pungent rotten smell, and the sludgy blood engulfing my arms caused me to recoil out of disgust. I wriggled my arms around, hoping to further injure the insect despite the disgusting sensations. All of a sudden, it opened its jaw to reveal a cylinder-shaped tongue loaded with pale teeth that fired a gluey substance like a defense mechanism.

It landed a solid hit and stuck my torso to the wall as I didn’t expect such an uncanny attack. After that, the insect began slicing with its claws here and there, but without vision, it couldn’t locate me. There was something I wanted to try that could potentially kill it without having to close the distance. If it however failed, it would expose my location, but I still had prepared it, just in case. So, a stalemate it was until the gunk wears off or until it butchers me by luck.

Sqwelp!

What?! My heart skipped half a beat watching its abrupt action. Without a target to stab, the insect decided to dig its claws into its own body as if it was suicide. Rooted by gunk, I could only watch in horror as a purple glow, similar to mine, emitted from the wound. More aura formed around its shattered eyes and regenerated them within seconds. Then, the insect immediately scouted the surroundings with rapid eye movements and its regained eyesight. When it noticed me clinging to the wall, I could feel its fierce bloodlust through its odious eye veins.

It then let out a vile battle-roar before launching itself at me with its claws, ready to seal my fate.

“Garhh!” I cried out while channeling my prepared mana into the stone wall I was stuck to. In response to my mana, a stinging pillar jutted out, impaling the insect and freeing me from the sticky adhesive. The pillar crumbled when I released my mana, and the insect echoed a final anguished cry before falling lifelessly to the floor.

“Ha… Hahahaaa” My light chuckle gradually shifted into a peal of wicked laughter. “How did it feel to jump to your own death?”