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/Fwoosh!/
Like a bullet cutting through the air, Philip ran through the caverns with Viera in his arms.
"Pr-la-sh... St-ch-op..."
"I'll… P-u…k…e…"
Despite trying his best to keep himself stable, it still wasn't enough for the girl on his arms, who fought with every fiber of her being to keep herself conscious.
The pressure was too intense, and the sudden acceleration momentarily knocked her out. She didn't know how she recovered consciousness, but assumed Philip was the reason.
She had trained only to keep up with her surroundings due to her sharp mind, but seeing the world turn into a blur as light flashed before her sent even that into oblivion.
Thankfully, it didn't last long as they arrived… That was how she felt, at least.
It was a very dark and rather large cavern, ten meters wide, with a ceiling thrice their combined height. The only source of light was the bioluminescent pink moss shining above.
What mattered here, however, was how half of the cavern's ground was a hole leading deep down, with a small waterfall falling from a hole in the ceiling into the darkness…
One could faintly hear the sound of splashing water echoing from deep below. Philip tried to listen to his surroundings, but he had something disturbing his focus…
"Huff… Haaa… I can… I can finally breathe…"
Viera tried to speak more, but her head was still spinning from her previous experience. The lights in the ceiling only made things harder as they left behind trails in her vision.
She held back her stomach, trying her hardest not to throw up everything she ate today… Maybe the entire week, even.
/CLANG!/
"..."
Philip, on the other hand, looked elsewhere.
/CLANG!/
Right before them, fighting in this small room was none other then his target… And some unknown creature.
'This world's strange biodiversity amazes me… What is this? It looks like a humanoid insect hybrid…'
The creature had a pair of large insect-like legs encased in a black exoskeleton with small thorns sticking out from the edges, and two pairs of arms that ended up in three thin and long claws.
Its head was like an ant's, but with four pairs of compound eyes and no antennae. Ending up with a large mouth similar to an ant's pincers.
Lastly, it had two pairs of wings on its back folded back like a cockroach, but they weren't being used… After he looked at them intently, he also noticed another pair of arms holding the wings back, keeping them in place as it moved around.
It fought quite aggressively, using its durable and sharp arms as blades as it both defended and attacked its opponent. And it was clear it was quite good at it too.
Ivia barely had the time to breathe as she was struck by constant flurries of attacks, pushing her around the place. She could only barely evade and move around the small room.
"We arrived on time."
'She's a little hurt, but still in one piece.'
Her attire was simple, it was a single-piece black set of clothes that stuck to her skin 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 even with the metal armor covering her limbs, chest, and head.
Lastly, a single white longsword she used with expertise, trying her best to counter the creature's movements by circling it with extreme speed… But the creature was only playing around with her. Like a cat running after a mouse.
She wasn't fast enough, nor strong enough to face it. As some would say, everything is fine until it isn't. She wanted to go deeper and she did… Until she met resistance.
Now, she couldn't even go back. She was so utterly enthralled by the fight she couldn't even tell they were around. On the other hand, the creature had already noticed their presence. And it was evidently on guard against them.
/CLANG!/
Over time, the creature began to lose its patience. Philip tried to read its emotions but they were strange and alien. Like trying to read shapes in thick mist, he couldn't understand nor make sense of the little he could read.
Maybe it was due to their presence that the creature grew warry, it wanted to stop fighting. So it moved on for the kill…
/Pierce!/
The insectoid turned into an afterimage as the ground beneath its legs shattered. A trail of dust and splintered rock was left in its wake as it dashed across not only the ground, but the walls too.
It positioned itself behind Ivia and kicked the walls, and in the next moment, her shoulder had been pierced through by one of its claws, barely blocking the other two from hitting her vital points as she tilted her body.
An instinctive reaction, a stroke of luck… The last she'd had.
/Splat!/
The insect monster moved its claw upward, leaving a deep gash on her shoulder, and with it, her left arm was rendered useless as she bled severely.
She gnashed her teeth, feeling pain like she had never felt before. Yet even so, her eyes did not blink as she kept her thoughts going, trying to figure out a solution for her situation.
She bit her lips to ease the pain. But it did little as she could barely feel it either. Her adrenaline so high that she couldn't even taste it.
"Hupp!"
She tried to move away from the creature and recover some of her lost breath, 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 maybe it had a deeper reason…
/Clack, clack…/
After watching her for a while, the insect bashed its pincers against each other before it slowly made its way close to where the girl had fled. The end of the cavern near the hole.
A trail of blood was left as she moved away from it, but as the adrenaline rush came to an end, so did her energy.
Feeling herself grow weaker with every step, she began to realize that maybe this time… She wouldn't be met with the harsh words of her father, but with death instead.
She tried to push the beast aside by swinging her blade, but that proved useless as it simply slapped her hand, making her sword fly and slide on the ground before falling far down into the abyss.
/Chi chi.../
It made a few more sounds, looking straight into her eyes… And then her neck. The finishing blow.
"Huff…"
'I can't… Move anymore… I can still…'
Whatever her thoughts were, whatever memories were passing through her eyes… Philip was done watching.
/BAM!/
/Fwoosh.../
/THUD!/
"Ouch, my hand…"
'That is one hard shell…'
Out of nowhere, stepping out of a faint cloud of mist, Philip appeared next to the creature, delivering a right punch straight to the insect's face and sending it flying across the cavern.
He shook his hand afterward, frowning as he opened and closed it.
"It's red… Did I burst a vein?"
'That's the hardest thing I've ever punched before. It's like punching a wall of concrete… I waited for it to lower its guard and aimed at its head, but even then, for a split second, I saw it shift its gaze.'
'Despite unable 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. Had I punched one of its spikes, I might've had a hole in my hand by now.'
He looked at his hand, it had already gone back to normal.
'Is this one of the changes from consuming that Trait? This level of regeneration is almost as high as my previous one with the Old Blood… If I can call this regeneration.'
He smiled slightly as he turned to the side, muttering faintly, "Time to hunt." as a smile crept up his face.
"... !"
'I… Who?'
Ivia slowly recovered her bearings but remained confused. She had lost too much blood, her face paling with each second that passed.
She tried to look at him but her sight blurred. And with her strength betraying her, she laid down next to the edge, thinking about how things became the way they did…
/Shaaa…/
"Urg…"
"... ss… ss…"
"Wha…"
"ss... Miss... MISS!"
"Huh…"
She turned her head and looked at Viera who had a tense expression on her face as she looked at her.
"Who?... Urg!"
She yelped in pain, trying to hold onto her bleeding shoulder.
Viera looked behind her to see Philip nodding at her before he put his entire focus on the creature crawling out from the wall.
"Miss, we need to move! Can you get 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 flying debris, and Viera herself almost fell on the hole as she lost her balance.
"Haaa! Screw it! I'm dragging you out of here!" She exclaimed as she slammed her staff on the ground, causing the rocks around her to levitate as they flew out from harm's way
/SCREECH!/
"!"
When Ivia opened her eyes, feeling the weightlessness on her body, she saw Philip pinning down the creature on the ground with a small smile as he pulled out one of its wings.
The ground beneath them was cracked, almost like a meteor had just crashed…
"You're so loud. At this rate, I'm going deaf before I reach my thirties."
/SMASH!/
Philip raised the creature from the ground by holding onto the back of its head before brutally punching it in the face once more, shaving off a few pieces of its hard shell as it was flung across them.
"KYAA! Don't throw it at me!!"
/Fuom!/
"Rock Pillar!"
Viera turned around mid-air and pointed her staff forward in the creature's direction. A large magic construct formed at its tip before it cast a shadow on the ground beneath the insect.
/Rumble…/
The ground rumbled as a large stone pillar smashed onto the flying beast, pinning it against the ceiling as the duo fled the cavern.
"Do you even need to scream the spell's name?..." Philip muttered to himself as he scratched the back of his head
/CHIIII!/
/BAM!/
This didn't last long as the creature screeched and pushed itself off the ceiling by cracking the stone entrapment.
Its wings unfurled and propelled it down with incredible speed. Its sturdy limbs cushioned the impact as it landed before him, looking down with anger visible in its eyes.
In the blink of an eye, it flung Philip aside with its feet, making him crash against the cavern's ceiling. Almost mirroring what he done to it moments before.
/Crack…/
Stone fragments falling around him, Philip looked down at the world from above, saying, "... Tremendous power and speed, coupled with a rather rational line of thought."
His eyes flashed blue as he scanned the creature, sighing soon after.
'As expected, I can't see its level. There doesn't seem to be any records on this creature either within the Phantom Library.'
"... A sturdy carapace with sharp protusions around its weak spots… My waist is also a little numb around the area it kicked me…"
[Apex Evolver has automatically activated]
[Apex Evolver strives to maintain balance; Your body adapts and transforms]
[Your Hyper Cells are stimulated; The foreign substances within your body have been isolated and neutralized]
His skin around his waist seemed to wriggle before the bruises receded. It itched momentarily before it stopped.
"Poison… A monster of many talents…"
/BAM!/
/SCREECH!/
After their collision, the monster cried in pain as it ripped off one of its leg spikes!
It sizzled and smoked as it was thrown aside, the wound on the creature's leg bubbling as blood splashed around.
"... I bet it burns." He mocked with a smile as he cracked his neck
'I need to be careful of this. One wrong move and I could end up hurting those around me. If even a single drop of my blood ends up in someone else's skin, who knows what will happen?'
'Each cell is like a small nanobot that will not hesitate to dismantle everything it doesn't understand or deems dangerous.'
'Until I can figure out a way to stop that from happening…'
He got into a stance, but this time, the creature stood far from him, observing his actions...
And in this relatively moment of tranquility...
"Huff… You're heavy… I wasn't paid enough for this…" Viera muttered to herself as she landed at the cavern's entrance
This time, she simply grabbed Ivia and ignored her grunts of pain, dragging her away from the fight.
"Hm… It's just us now."
Philip looked at the two of them and noted their hiding spot, smiling at his opponent, ready to do his best...
…
/Meanwhile…/
"HA!... Haaa… I felt as if my heart was on the verge of stopping…"
Viera stopped a few meters from the cavern's entrance, plopping on the ground, her chest heaving as she tried to calm herself down.
She opened a small satchel on her waist and took a small vial of a bluish concoction before chugging it all down Ivia's throat. It didn't heal her, but that wasn't its purpose.
She pushed her clothes aside, crouching near her.
"Your shoulder… You're lucky you still have your arm…"
'... Guess I grew used to that numbskull healing through all injuries. I almost expected to see her heal too, and did nothing...'
She pressed her shoulder, and warm, bright light flashed. It didn't close the wound, but it stopped blood from pouring through.
If one looked closely inside her wound, they'd see the blood magically flowing in the air.
"..."
Ivia remained silent as she looked at this newcomer. Who was she? What was she doing?
Viera noticed her eyes darting around and smiled.
"You're strong… Most would've lost consciousness by now."
"Here, drink this, and pass this on your wound… Scratch that. Let me help you with that…" Viera said as she took out two vials, one with a red liquid inside and another with a gray cream
/Tremble!/
"AH!"
The cavern suddenly trembled again, and Viera dropped the flask, but Ivia quickly grabbed it before it hit the ground…
"Urg!... Be more... Careful..."
"Thanks…"
Although she did grab the vial, her arm soon fell, and the vial rolled around.
Viera took it with an apologetic expression, this time, tightly clutching it…
/Bam…/
/Clang!.../
"..."
She was silent as she performed first aid on the barely conscious girl, 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 faintly:
"Do you think... He is... Going to be alright?"
"... It doesn't matter if he does or not. But if he doesn't come back... Then… Kindly pardon my words… Were fucked."
"..."
"Ahem... Apologies, I guess his way of speaking has left a mark on me..."
"I meant 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 might compromise the situation just by showing myself.'
'A mage is usually protected, and if he can't protect me…'
'But if I don't help either…'
Her conflicted thoughts were suddenly cut in half by Ivia:
"Are you also a student? From your clothes…"
"... Don't speak, focus on recovering on the off chance that we need to flee on our own…"
"What about him?"
"He'll be fine. He can take quite the beating, trust me… Regardless, it was his suggestion for us to flee without him if something were to happen."
'Although it felt more like an order…'
Ivia did not reply, clenching her teeth as she bore through the pain.
/Quake…/
/Screetch!.../
"..."
Under the trembling of the cavern and the cries of the creature, she, for the first time in a long time, prayed… Not only for the gods above…
But for someone else.
…
/CLANG!/
/SLASH!/
Philp's attacks were unending as if his stamina was infinite. He struck and parried, all the while evading either with pure skill or through his strange powers that always threw the beast off rhythm.
Unlike last time, the insectoid tried its best to evade his attacks. Nonetheless, Philip's strikes only grew faster each second.
Even if he didn't want to, this effect was only natural, as determined by his Skill, Momentum.
His physical strength, coupled with his high reaction time and combat sense, made it difficult for the beast to even land a blow. And in the rare chance it did, it always received another in response.
Strangely enough, Philip did not pull a weapon, choosing to fight merely with his hands, something he rarely did. Raveling in the feeling of his hands crunching its exoskeleton.
On a side note, this prolonged battle increased his understanding of the creature, which would improve its accuracy once their fated rematch occurred within the Simulation Room.
/SPLATTER!/
The insectoid punctured his chest, but it did not pass through his ribcage, stopping in his muscles as he held onto its pincers.
"How about this?"
He smiled, and the creature dashed backwards, feeling an intense level of danger.
/Crunch!/
The creature's neck was suddenly slashed by an invisible blade, leaving a long gash where a gray liquid slowly dripped onto the ground.
It's pincer had been cut cleanly, the cut so sharp it took a few moments for it to realize it was gone.
"CHI!"
But the creature wasn't phased by this, instead, it grew more enraged.
/CRACK!/
/THUD!.../
From the back of its remaining pincers, an extra claw projected outward. At the same time, several plates of its exoskeleton unlodged from its body, falling onto the cavernous grounds with loud thuds…
/THUD…/
/SWOOSH!/
"!"
The creature's speed suddenly increased as its wings unfurled. In one swoop, it swung its claws directly at his eyes.
But then… The world suddenly slowed down…
"..."
'An extra set of limbs hidden in its forearms… And the ability to detach its exoskeleton… This is fascinating, but not necessarily new biology. But it makes me wonder why it needed to evolve such strange mechanisms…'
'The underground world both entices and horrifies me.'
/SWOOSH!/
Philip bent his body as he evaded its charge.
/Crackle!/
From thin air, he took out a small knife and threw it at the creature's arm. As he released it, a controlled explosion in his palm propelled the knife forward at incredible speed. Splitting the air around it as it cut its way through.
This was none other than Ignition Strike, a Skill previously confined to his unique sword handle. Though its evolution removed its limitations, using it in a technological world remained difficult.
Only upon returning to his original body could he explore its true potential. A correctly-placed "explosion" activated the Skill. But even that was left for interpretation.
/FWOOSH!/
/Thud.../
/Boom!/
"!"
There wasn't an explosion, only the echoes of air being ripped through… And something hitting the ground.
It was the insect's amputated arm falling on the ground...
/SCREECH!/
The creature let out its loudest cry to date, attacking Philips' eardrums!
But he only laughed, smiling as always as he stepped forward.
"Hahaha!"
If Viera was around, she'd worry over his mental state. And while she might be correct in assuming Philip wasn't right in the head, calling him insane wouldn't be right either.
He needed something to vent his anger on. And everything so far only added to his frustration. He felt on the verge of popping a bubble only for nothing to happen.
He didn't want this to end. Not so soon, not so easily..
/CRUNCH!/
The insect flew to him, enraged. Biting onto his neck as it injected its potent venom directly into his bloodstream.
It held onto his arms and waist with all of its remaining limbs, puncturing his skin with its sharp talons as its eyes looked straight into his, trying to perceive the fear within them as it liquified his insides.
[Apex Evolver has automatically activated]
[Apex Evolver strives to maintain balance; Your body adapts and transforms]
[Your Hyper Cells are stimulated; The foreign substances within your body have been isolated and neutralized]
His body trembled in response, his veins growing black as they pulsed violently…
/Sizzle…/
Thick venom ran down his neck as his insides corroded, going past his muscles and into his very bones… Smoke rose from the jaws of the beast, spreading an acidic smell into the cavern.
[Apex Evolver has automatically activated]
[Apex Evolver strives to maintain balance; Your body adapts and transforms]
[Your Hyper Cells are stimulated; The foreign substances within your body have been isolated and neutralized]
His body fought against the torrent of venom, engulfing it even if it meant its destruction. Millions of cells died, but not in vain. They communicated, they shared what they experienced. Each cell improved from the failures of those that went ahead.
A million turned into tens of millions, their bodies corroded into dust, unable to stop the never ending tide…
Hundreds more fell… But a few dozen lasted longer… They perished, but all cells before them learned and transformed, and they all lasted a moment longer too.
This process occurred a thousand times within a second as tide after tide of cells exposed themselves to danger to learn more and dismantle the danger that affected their hive mind. And eventually, a champion arose.
A cell unbothered by the venom, it swam through without issues in its corrupted bile. And once one survived… All adapted.
At that moment, Philip became immune to its venom… And with it, hunger.
Enormous energy was consumed to sustain his cell's brutal charge, and with already little to eat, he fell victim to his own urges…
/CHOMP!/
He reciprocated the beast's actions and bit down on its neck, his teeth cracking open its hard shell as he pulled out its white-gray muscles from within as if he were sucking out crab meat.
His lips and teeth bled as they were cut open by the insect's sharp shell, but he barely registered the pain as he dug deeper into its flesh.
/SCREECH!/
/SMASH!/
It screamed even more than before as it let go of him, and the moment it did so, Philip kicked it away, cracking its chest.
/BUZZZ!/
But this time, the creature didn't hit the walls, and instead, it opened its wings and started flying.
It stood there, floating in the air near the ceiling, observing Philip with its pairs of oval wings… Or rather, its remaining pair.
All of its pairs of compound eyes were focused on him, its mouth was also closed, not moving anymore like before. It didn't even try to mock him as it did to Ivia moments before.
It had a solemn aura filled with hatred as it stared down at him, he wasn't prey anymore. He hadn't been so for a while even… He was now a dangerous adversary.
Most creatures would choose to flee when faced with considerable resistance, but this one… Had no intention of fleeing at all!
/SCREECH!/
Philip spat down some of its shell on the ground as he cleaned his teeth with his fingers, "... Serious now, are we?" He muttered out loud as he checked the insect
'Seems like it's time to stop playing around. Then again, I can't give it the same treatment.''
'There are things more threatening around me.'
Seeing that the creature was finally getting serious, Philip took out his Darklight sword from his inventory, activating it without hesitation, letting its purple sheen illuminate the cavern faintly. Casting distorted shadows all around.
/CHI!/
The creature seemed attracted to the sword, charmed by its lustrous design… But its eyes soon recovered their sheen as it flapped its wings and dived towards Philip.
Rationale replaced by bloodlust, the little intellect it had was all thrown aside in favor of its enraged burst of power.
"..."
'This is… Familiar.'
For a moment, he was reminded of his time in Yarham, much to his displeasure. Of the many unpleasant memories he held of that place, there was little worth holding dearly to.
Even so, it were those memories that made him survive and act as he did now. The experiences that differed him from others… And turned him into the Hunter.
Philip clenched his teeth and raised his head. Stepping forward, he bent his back slightly and raised his sword into a piercing stance.
"I've played enough for today."
'There'll be other opportunities in the future.'
/FWOOSH!/
He moved his arms forward, piercing his sword toward 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…
/SHAA!/
In an instant, a long beam of flashing, dark purple light ravaged the air, and the creature could do nothing but follow its instincts and evade.
/RIP!/
But they were not fast enough as the wings on its back shattered.
/BOOM!/
The purple beam hit the ceiling, causing the cavern to tremble, and when the dust fully fell to the ground, a deep hole was left behind in the cavern's sturdy walls. A testimony of the power behind that attack.
"Phew, It doesn't feel the same but… It's hard to describe."
'I still don't understand the principle behind this energy. Even before, there was never a description. It was just something imbued within the metal of the blade, a power evoked once needed.'
'It consumes stamina with every use, as if I were swinging my arms really hard and tiring myself out. Nonetheless, it doesn't explain its odd properties.'
'But is this anything new? I still don't know anything about the properties of the Arcane power and the Cosmos… For all I know, to the Great Ones, I'm nothing but a caveman running around with a gun using it to hit others in the head.'
'Maybe it's better this way… Some things are better off unexplored and not understood. I just need to know enough to exploit it until the day I can cast it aside…'
Philip shook his head as the dust settled around him, giving him a clear view of the creature hanging on the ceiling.
/Chattering…/
It rattled its mandibles and broken wings in a rhythmic manner, as if attempting to convey something to him. Perhaps it was pleading for some sort of mercy or mutual cooperation. Asking for both of them to go on their ways never to meet again…
But he bought none of it. Even if it was pleading for mercy, he wouldn't have granted it either.
He cleared the rubble from his feet and pressed it downward. Jumping after the creature with so much power a portion of the ground caved in, causing a wide landslide down the abyss!
/CRACK!/
"!"
The insectoid immediately reacted and moved, jumping out of the way while it opened its mouth and spat something akin to a bullet right through his right chest!
/Shaa…/
The moment the bullet pierced his chest, he turned into smoke, vanishing in the wind…
"?!"
"!"
Its compound eyes moved in search of him, glistening in the dark. They finally stopped, but they focused nowhere… For Philip was right behind it!
Without its wings, it couldn't move out of the way!
/BAM!/
In one motion, Philip raised his fist and struck down! But this wasn't a normal strike as his fist glowed with red energy…
/SPLAT!/
His fist went straight through the creature's carapace with incomparable sharpness, wisps of red energy flowing through the wound as Philip's hand grasped something within.
With a deep smile, he crushed his hand and pulled!
/SPLATTER!/
Unresponsive, they both fell at the edge of the cavern, straight into the abyss below!
/FALL!!/
However, moments after crossing the border, they fell at a small ledge a dozen meters down.
/SMASH!/
"Cough…"
Dusting his pants and checking his surroundings, Philip got up from the ground, "That was fun."
'Seems like the creature tried to flee in the end. It jumped into the abyss to avoid me, but without wings, there was little it could do.'
'Now… This is the time I'd ask Viera to butcher it since I'm clueless which parts are valuable… But I guess I can just bring her the whole body.'
He lifted his foot, ready to crush the creature's head… It didn't matter if it was alive or dead, Philip had the habit of ending things once and for all.
There were times when even cutting the head wasn't enough. But he couldn't burn its body either.
/FWOOSH!/
/Pierce!/
"..."
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 into his flesh like a bee sting, immediately making his leg swell…
But this time, no notifications sounded for they weren't needed. Within a few moments, the poison had already been neutralized.
"Chi chi chi…" It said as if mocking him
"I'll give it to you, you're persistent."
/CRUNCH!/
Feeling his leg still somewhat numb, he assumed a massive dose of venom had been administered, "In the end… Even this doesn't matter much."
/Splat!/
His leg muscles contracted, forcing a yellowish substance 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 of the yellow liquid…
But that was a meaningless act, as the insect's gray blood already covered him head to toe.
"I'm all stick now... This was an interesting fight. The other creatures I met so far in this world were… Lackluster to say the least."
"... Still… Not enough. I'm not satisfied."
'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 regardless.'
'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."
Meanwhile, 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… The girl must've used this room to rest or worse… She was planning on jumping down there when she was ambushed.'
'Either way, she's lucky… Or maybe not. Fabrin told me she had something to protected herself but… I didn't see her taking anything out even as she grew dangerously close to dying.'
"Maybe it's one of those situations… Extremely high adrenaline caused her rational thinking to decline…"
'Oh well.'
He focused onto the abyss...
'Hm… I can hear something happening down there, like the sound of many leaves being crunched… But the waterfall overshadows everything.'
'That said, if I can hear it, the source of the noise must be pretty loud… It likely isn't natural.'
'Whatever it is, it isn't coming up, but perhaps, it's the reason this creature is here? A predator pushed out of its habitat by another larger hunter…'
'It seems rather deep, but it's better to leave rather than wait here and find out.'
"I really want to seek out, but…"
'I am not that far into my own delusions to think I am unbeatable.'
He looked at the abyss and turned around, turning into mist as he made his way back.
…
"... Hey! Are you two okay?" He exclaimed out loud as he climbed out of the hole
He looked at the entrance, and as expected, a head popped up from behind a large boulder.
"... Phew…"
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.
Multiple bandages had been wrapped around her body, making her look like a mummy, but her breathing was stable and her wounds seemed to have closed.
"It seems everyone is okay."
Viera looked at her and nodded quietly before asking Philip:
"What about you? I can see blood and… Something else all over you."
She was worried, especially as she looked at the wounds on his shoulders. The bleeding had long stopped but the stains were still there on his thorn clothes.
"I'm fine for the most part. That thing bit me but aside from some numbness, I'm okay.
/Twitch…/
Ivia seemed to have reacted to their words, but she didn't open her eyes.
"It bit you?! And you're still in one piece?... You're stronger than I thought." She said in a low tone as she looked at his shoulder
Philip smiled as he put his hand over his shoulder as he stretched it, "And what made you change your opinion?"
"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'd rather leave… Before more of them come."
"More?"
"I imagine you don't know… That was a lone juvenile queen Pheonia."
"Queen Pheonia?"
"How do I explain this? Uh… It's a type of bipedal ant… Although it's unexpected to see one this far up."
"That was an ant?... I can see the resemblance but that's a bit much."
Philip scratched his head in wonder as Viera looked at him with a helpless expression:
"... Did you skip all classes on Monster Biology?"
"Uhhh..."
'Ironically, I'm supposed to be the assistant of the teacher of this discipline… One of them at least.'
"It doesn't matter… I'll give you a brief description, so rest a little before we depart."
"The thing is, seeing one this high is unusual as Pheonia Ants tend to live extremely deep. In fact, seeing a queen is unusual as it is but it's definitely because it just mated."
"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 for whatever reason. That's the only explanation."
"Hm…"
'So I was right.'
"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 finally, because it only had two pairs of wings, it's safe to say it is a juvenile queen ant."
"Why?"
"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."
"... 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 she was in.
"I hope you don't mind the... Well, blood on my body..."
"... I can take care of that..." Viera replied as she prepared a spell
/SWOOSH!/
After a few seconds, a soothing wind passed through his body and cleaned most of the dirt, throwing it against the wall.
"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! Actually… Since you asked…"
"What?"
/BLAST!/
A powerful stream of water fell on him from high above, sending him crashing against the ground!
"?!?!?!"
Philip tried to say something but water entered his mouth. Only after half a minute did the water stop, leaving him coughing on the ground as he regained his breath.
"There you go. Brand new."
"Cough… You know… Cough!... Karma will get back at you one day…" He said as he wiped his mouth
She did not reply, smiling faintly as he shook his hair to dry himself.
"Tche! Don't splash water on me! Are you a dog?"
"And who's to blame for this? My shirt is now gone."
Philip took off his ripped shirt. The pressure from the water had destroyed the little that remained, and while he still had the student jacket to go over it. It felt coarse directly on his skin.
"What are you doing?!"
Viera looked away as Philip took off his shirt, revealing his chest to her.
That said, she couldn't help but take a few sneak peaks at his physique.
"My shirt won't do anything now. And the little armor I had is long gone… So this will have to do." He replied with a smirk as he approached Ivia
He took a towel from his inventory tool and dried his body before showing his back to her, waiting for her to approach him.
"..."
Slowly, she went to his back and allowed him to carry her.
"Alright let's go!"
"..."
"Is everything accounted for?... Hm?... Why the sunken face?" He asked Viera as he turned to her
"..."
But she turned around and left first, ignoring him.
"Huh?..."
'Why is she upset?'
"... Thank you… I know that before I…"
Philip's expression changed slightly as he heard her words, but his smile did not fade away as he turned to her faintly:
"Hm? No worries… Let's leave what happened before where it belongs, in the past."
"You must've already figured out why I'm here… You should rest now. I'll do my part and carry you to safety so we can enjoy some warm food under the sun."
"You did well to not give up… Many would've thrown the towel long before."
"..."
She opened her mouth, but said nothing. She rested his head on his shoulder and fell asleep, all of her energy gone in the blink of an eye.
After he said that, Philip started walking, going after Viera.
…
The trio made their way up without much trouble, 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. While other students had long diverted onto another path in this maze of caverns.
They ignored all Outposts on their way, stopping only to rest every so often to check on Ivia and for Viera to recover her stamina.
On the way, Philip sneakily left behind his snake to feed, and not out of his own volition.
For the past few days, he felt the snake grow significantly more agitated at the lack of things to eat and do. Philip thought it strange given its nature, but complied with its wishes after some thought.
The only reason why he hadn't done so already was for the same reason he avoided using some of his abilities. Other people. In his first Dungeon, that wasn't much of a problem, but now, with so many people involved in this event, the chances of someone finding his snake were high.
It wasn't like much would happen even if someone found it. From the perspective of some professors, the snake would be a familiar or a spirit connected to some student or another professor, but if someone troublesome happened to come across it, or rather, for the snake to cause trouble with someone else… Then that would escalate quickly.
For now, he told the snake to dive deeper and far from the center. This way, it would encounter more unique creatures and increase the repertoire of unique creatures for him to simulate with his Skill.
After all, the entire underground of the Academy was connected, albeit certain parts were sealed off from each other. It would take much for it to move around. And if they were lucky, its presence would pass the eyes of the professors without attracting their attention.
As for the Academy's Spirit… Trying to hide anything from it was meaningless, rather, that would only make it focus on him more. So he did what he had to do and moved on.
And everything went well… Until they arrived at the surface…
…
/A few hours later…/
"... I almost forgot about these guys..." Viera muttered as her mood feel rock bottom
"It is a little problematic…"
Before them were a large crowd of people, blocking the sole passage out of this damned 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.
Philip had thought this would happen eventually, but was surprised by how quickly they decided to set it up.
"... What do we do now? Her injuries are rather serious and while these potions are going to heal her, 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, I'm not good enough to prevent a scar from forming."
"Uhum…"
Philip didn't seem worried, but he was very annoyed. He looked at the sides of the cavern and frowned.
"The students aren't the problem, the issue is those guys hiding in the dark..."
'Passing through them is quite easy. But I'd rather not cause even more trouble than I already have… I know some of the students also came with guards to protect them. That said, as long as they aren't attacked, they shouldn't do much either. But I bet things won't end so peacefully…'
'As for the professors… It's not much different for them either… Sigh.'
'Where's that dude when we need him?'
Philip looked at the students and then back at Viera:
"You think we can pass by them without them attacking us?"
""...""
...
.
.
.
Notes
We're reaching the end of the Academy Arc with a timeskip! And I have a few extra things I want to add in between the end of this Arc and the next one. Although I may end up putting it in the middle or even the end after he gains his next Class.
That said, I wanted to add another small Class for him in a similar fashion as we did with Simulation Room! If anyone has any ideas or thoughts on this, I'd be very inclined on hearing out your ideas.
For now, that's all.
Thank you for reading!