Another day passed.
Luke sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, staring at the virtual magic simulation space panel hovering in front of him. His fingers traced glowing runes in the air, testing different formations, tweaking variables, and scrapping failures in rapid succession.
He was close—but not close enough.
"A self-sufficient rune system…" he muttered, rubbing his chin. "Theoretically, if I design a rune node to absorb ambient mana, it's too weak to sustain the entire network."
His eyes flicked to the cavern walls, where he'd already etched a web of runes throughout the first layer of the cave. The idea was simple: channel mana into a network that would provide permanent illumination. But in practice…
"It's like filling a hose with water. If there's not enough pressure, the flow doesn't reach the other end. The same applies to mana. Without a strong enough power source, the runes won't light up the whole cave."
Using mana crystals was an option—but a stupidly wasteful one. He had 64 crystals from Shiki's secret stash, plus whatever they'd harvested from the spider corpses. But burning through those just to turn on some lights?
"Yeah, no. There has to be a better way."
He exhaled, closing his eyes, deep in thought.
Then the wolf shifted.
Luke's gaze flicked to the massive beast resting nearby. She had been dozing—until now. Her golden eyes cracked open, ears twitching toward the narrow path leading deeper into the cave.
Something was coming.
"CHIEF! CHIEF! CHIEF!"
Luke's head snapped up just as Rok, Zog, and a group of female goblins came barreling toward him.
They were breathless. Fear radiated off them like heat.
"What?" Luke demanded, already reaching for his weapon.
Zog gulped, struggling with words. "Worm bug. Big. Eating spiders."
Luke's brows furrowed. "How big?"
Rok spread his arms as wide as he could. "T-Tall. Large. Black. Many legs. Scary."
Luke's stomach dropped.
Shit. Centipedes.
He had been careless. With all the spider corpses left rotting in the deeper layers, of course something would come scavenging.
Luke grabbed his battleaxe and activated [Burst Sprint].
A sonic boom cracked through the cavern as he blurred forward, racing toward the second layer.
The tunnels twisted and stretched, but he arrived in seconds.
Nothing.
No centipede.
Just more slaughtered spider corpses.
Luke's eyes narrowed. Third layer. Where the Broodmother's corpse is. If I'm right, it's after her mana core.
His grip tightened around his battleaxe.
With a deep breath, he moved forward, descending into the depths.
The air grew heavier, thick with the scent of blood, decay, and something else. Something acidic.
The cobwebs grew denser. Sticky strands clung to his arms and boots as he pushed through, until—
There, looming over the half-rotted Broodmother's corpse, was a monstrous centipede.
Its slick, segmented body undulated as it coiled around its fallen prey, its mandibles digging into the Broodmother's flesh.
But what sent ice through Luke's veins was what happened next.
The centipede lifted its head—gulping down a massive, round mana core.
Luke's fingers clenched around his weapon.
"Oh, hell no."
A notification flickered across his vision as he used [Scan Enemy].
[Elder Dark Centipede]
Level: 29
STR: C
AGI: C
PER: D
VIT: C
RES: B
INT: D
Luke's brow furrowed.
"Slightly weaker than the Broodmother."
Which made sense.
The Broodmother had been stronger—this thing must have avoided attacking her territory for that exact reason. But now, with the Broodmother dead…
It had nothing to fear.
Luke's stomach twisted further as the centipede's body convulsed violently.
[Elder Dark Centipede - Level 30]
(Undergoing evolution. All stats reduced by 30%.)
Luke froze.
"It's evolving."
He gritted his teeth. If this thing fully evolved, there was no telling how much stronger it would get.
I can't let that happen.
The centipede's body snapped toward him.
Its sickening screech tore through the cavern.
Then—it lunged.
Its massive mandibles stretched open, a gleaming row of serrated fangs ready to crush him whole.
Luke leapt, twisting mid-air, and kicked off the ceiling.
[Burst Sprint.]
He rocketed downward, battleaxe glowing as [Mana Edge] coated its surface.
And then—
[Charged Strike.]
A burst of mana exploded from the axe as he swung downward, aiming straight for the centipede's armored head.
CRACK!
The blow slammed into its skull, sending shockwaves rippling through its entire body. The monster shrieked in agony as black blood splattered across the rocky floor.
Luke landed with a grin.
"What's wrong, you overgrown worm? That all you got?"
The centipede twitched violently, struggling to lift its head. Its entire body spasmed—the evolution process had weakened it.
Now's my chance.
He activated [Burst Sprint], closing the distance in a blink.
The centipede barely had time to react before Luke delivered a second crushing blow—this time, targeting its exposed side.
[Heavy Strike!]
BAM!
The attack connected, tearing through its exoskeleton and exposing raw, pulsing flesh underneath.
The centipede screeched, writhing in pain as it slammed its body against the cavern walls in desperation.
Luke didn't let up.
With a savage grin, he gripped his axe tighter. "You're not going anywhere."
He swung again—
But this time, the centipede did something unexpected.
It twisted violently, slamming its massive tail against the ground with tremendous force.
The cavern floor trembled.
And then—a massive hole collapsed beneath it.
The centipede plunged downward, escaping through the newly-formed chasm.
Luke gritted his teeth.
"Oh no, you don't."
He dashed forward and—without hesitation—leapt in after it.
The fall was longer than he expected.
Luke landed with a roll, absorbing the impact as he straightened.
He froze.
Before him stretched a massive, underground ecosystem.
Bioluminescent trees and glowing fungi lined the cavernous space, their eerie light illuminating a vast, open landscape. A river of glowing blue water cut through the terrain, reflecting the lights above.
Luke's eyes widened.
"What the hell is this place?"
A sudden movement caught his attention.
He snapped his head toward the centipede—now limping across the rocky terrain.
But it wasn't running aimlessly.
It was calling for help.
A sharp, high-pitched chittering echoed through the cavern.
Luke's stomach dropped.
From the shadows, dozens of smaller Dark Centipedes began emerging from the cracks and tunnels.
One… Five… Ten… Thirty…
Fifty.
Each one was smaller than the Elder Dark Centipede, but their numbers made up for their size.
Luke checked his HUD.
[Dark Centipede]
Level: 9-12
Exp per kill: +50
A grin spread across his face.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun."
The swarm charged.
Luke readied his battleaxe.
The hunt was on.
Luke tightened his grip on the battleaxe, his heart pounding—not from fear, but from exhilaration. Fifty enemies? That was a jackpot.
The first wave of centipedes rushed forward, their segmented bodies undulating as they skittered across the rocky terrain. Their mandibles snapped hungrily, their black carapaces reflecting the eerie blue glow of the underground ecosystem.
Luke activated [Burst Sprint], his body blurring forward.
The first centipede lunged.
Too slow.
With a clean, fluid motion, he twisted mid-step, bringing his battleaxe down in a brutal diagonal arc. The blade carved through chitin and flesh, cleaving the creature in half.
+50 EXP
He didn't stop.
Pivoting, he brought his axe upward, catching another centipede that tried to flank him. The force of the impact shattered its head, sending its twitching corpse skidding across the ground.
+50 EXP
The centipedes hesitated for a fraction of a second, their primitive minds registering the sudden loss of their kin. But hunger and instinct quickly overrode caution.
They surged.
Luke exhaled, his grin widening.
"Come on, then."
A dozen centipedes attacked at once.
Luke moved—weaving between snapping mandibles, sidestepping strikes, and countering with precise, ruthless efficiency. His battleaxe whirled through the air like a reaper's scythe, every swing calculated to maximize damage.
Dodge. Strike. Kill.
He activated [Charged Strike], his axe glowing with raw mana before he brought it down in a devastating overhead slash. The force of the impact cratered the ground and obliterated three centipedes in a single blow.
+150 EXP
Their numbers were thinning, but they weren't backing down.
Good.
A centipede lunged from his blind spot.
Luke twisted, barely dodging its mandibles. It scraped across his armor, tearing through leather and leaving a stinging cut on his shoulder.
His grin vanished.
"Alright. You wanna play rough?"
He activated [Mana Edge], his battleaxe crackling with blue energy.
His next swing bisected five centipedes in one go, their bodies twitching as they collapsed.
+250 EXP
The ground was littered with chitinous corpses, but the last few centipedes were still fighting.
Luke dashed forward, closing the distance.
A brutal kick sent one flying into a rock, where it crumpled, twitching. He turned, burying his axe into another's head before yanking it free.
With a final [Charged Strike], the last centipede was reduced to twitching halves.
Silence.
Luke exhaled, his breath fogging in the cold underground air. His arms burned, his shoulder throbbed, and his clothes were splattered with thick, black ichor.
His HUD flickered.
Total EXP gained: +2500
He grinned.
"Now that's what I'm talking about."
But his victory was short-lived.
A deep, guttural rumble echoed through the cavern.
Luke turned.
At the far end of the underground ecosystem, something moved.
A shadow.
A massive shadow.
The Elder Dark Centipede.
But it wasn't alone.
Emerging from the depths, two more centipedes, nearly as large, skittered into view. Their mandibles clicked, their bodies pulsing with fresh, eerie bioluminescence.
Luke tensed.
"Oh, come on… that wasn't even the warm-up?"
The ground trembled as the centipedes advanced.
Luke exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders.
"Alright then," he muttered, spinning his axe. "Round two."