After we rested a little, we continued our journey, but one look at them made me realize they were feeling hopeless — especially Ronan, who knew Riana had died because the monster had targeted the weakest. That meant he would be the next target.
I kept scanning the surroundings as we walked. It was important to study the environment to try and anticipate the enemy. I didn't want to repeat the mistake with that damn mantis.
After walking for an hour, I encountered something abnormal that made me stop.
"What's wrong, Nox?"
Elena asked me as she moved into a combat stance in case of an emergency.
"Look ahead. There are many large, random holes."
I said, pointing to the group of big pits that looked as though something huge had come out of them.
Tremor! Tremor! Tremor!
Before we could realize what was happening, the ground began shaking violently.
"What's going on?"
I said, looking at the ground beneath my feet.
'The tremors are getting stronger!!'
Realization struck my mind like lightning as I turned toward the others, terror on my face.
"Everyone, jump away!"
I shouted as I leapt to the side. The others didn't question me; the moment they jumped, the ground split beneath us and a giant earthworm emerged.
'It's bigger than a train with ten cars.'
I thought as I looked at the worm rising and opening its mouth toward us.
Its skin was an extremely dark pink with stripes decorating its body. Its head was a maw filled with sharp teeth, and from the sides of its mouth extended two metallic fangs capable of piercing steel.
The worm lunged quickly toward Elena, trying to swallow her.
She barely dodged the attack, trying to slash the worm from the side, but her blade slid off its body with a shower of sparks.
"Damn it, its skin is like metal!"
I cursed when I realized what had happened, but I didn't hesitate — I ran toward the worm, trying to stab it. As soon as I climbed onto its back, the worm whipped its body like a lash, flinging me into the air.
I regained my balance but was too far away to land another strike.
Ronan and Elena kept striking blow after blow, but it was useless — they left only small wounds.
'Is this monster under the flower's control?'
I thought, examining the worm's body, trying to find the white flower.
'There it is — but how can I kill it like this?'
I thought in despair as I saw the flower in the worm's belly.
'Do I have to go inside its mouth? But then the others will see me — unless…'
I thought, glancing at the nearby holes.
After making my decision, I attacked the worm and struck it with a hammer of darkness on its head. I didn't hurt it, but I definitely irritated it.
The worm twisted left and right, smashing the ground as it pursued me.
I ran toward the nearest hole and jumped in.
The worm dove into its burrow happily; this was its playground, where it held the advantage.
"Nox, what are you doing?"
Elena shouted in worry as she watched me jump into the hole.
It was dark inside, but I could see easily. I ran through the narrow tunnel, then stopped and turned toward the worm.
I dispelled my armor — it would be annoying if it got destroyed because of my injuries.
The worm charged at me at full speed; as soon as it neared me—
I bent down and leapt into its mouth. Teeth surrounded me from every side, and then suddenly they began spinning like a saw, shredding me into smaller pieces.
"Damn it, we didn't agree on this!"
I cursed, shrouding my body in darkness to harden it further, but I was still being cut apart. I gathered myself as I delved deeper into the worm's belly.
My limbs were being sliced left and right, but my body kept regenerating again and again.
"I'm almost there… just a bit more…"
I gritted my bloodied teeth. My body was a chaotic mess of gore, barely recognizable.
I reached out and grabbed the violently quivering flower.
Vines shot out from beneath the flower, piercing my body hard and leaving a bloody hole in my abdomen.
"Arghh…"
I ignored the pain that almost made me lose consciousness as I pulled the flower and tore at it with all my strength.
Rip!
The flower tore free, and the worm's body shuddered before losing its life — if it even had one.
"This hurts… I hope I never have to do this again…"
I said, gasping for air — which I didn't even need, but I enjoyed the feeling of being alive.
"Really, being unable to die made me forget the blessing of life. But I'm someone who tried to commit suicide, so damn life — if I'd died from the start, I wouldn't be living this hell. The only good thing is meeting Elena, so I'll let this slide."
I screamed loudly — maybe to vent, or maybe I'd gone mad; who knew.
I crawled out of the worm's vile mouth, my body dripping blood with dead vines clinging to my abdomen. I summoned darkness to clean myself, then donned my armor and climbed out of the nearest hole.
"Nox, you're alive!"
As soon as I emerged, Elena ran to me, inspecting my body for any injuries. When she saw I was fine, she sighed in relief and fixed my hair, which was in a mess.
"What about the worm?"
Ronan asked from the side as he searched for the monster everywhere.
I said nothing, simply showing the flower in my hand as proof I'd killed it.
No one asked how I'd done it; Elena didn't care, and Ronan didn't have the guts to question me.
"The worm's got some meat — let's take it and make a bag to store food."
I said, gently taking Elena's hand off my head. My hair was already fixed, but she'd decided to play with it.
She gave me an apologetic smile, stood up, and went to the worm's corpse underground.
'I've died so many times just because of level-eight monsters. I can't rely on my immortality; it's my body on the line. What if a spiritual monster or a curse attacked me? I'd die easily. I must become stronger.'
I thought, clenching my fist again, steeling my resolve to gain power.
It took a full hour to cut the meat and make three small backpacks. We stored the food inside them and prepared to move on.
"Watch the ground. It would be annoying to fight another one."
I warned the two, who responded with understanding.
"Now that I think about it — since when did I become your leader? Weren't you supposed to receive special training in leadership?"
I said casually, surprised by the situation.
Ronan and Elena froze at my words, then stared at me awkwardly.
"Well~ you're right. I did get training like that, but Nox, you're good at leading. In fact, you're much smarter than me and you know what you're doing, so please keep doing it."
Elena said shyly.
"I agree with her."
Ronan said, coughing in embarrassment, ashamed of admitting his weakness.
"All right, but this is really annoying. I hate talking, honestly."
I said, annoyed by my current position, but Elena moved closer and whispered in my ear—
"I'll reward you with a kiss later."
She said that and quickly stepped away before allowing me to reply.
"???"
Ronan tilted his head in confusion, wondering what Elena had said to make me go silent.
It was good they were walking behind me; otherwise, they would have seen my face burning red.
'This girl… she doesn't hold back in her actions. But what does she mean by a kiss? It's just a kiss on the cheek, right? I mean, she wouldn't be reckless enough to kiss me on the lips!!! Wait, I teased her before, asking for a kiss on the lips. What if she decides to do it? That would be a disaster.'
I shook my head, driving away my improper thoughts.
'But to be honest, if she kissed me on the lips, I'd have no choice but to confess my love to her. After all, I'm a man who takes responsibility. I wouldn't abandon a girl who kissed me.'
I was startled by my own thoughts, then quickly calmed my emotions.
'I won't allow this. I'll avoid her at night no matter what it takes.'
I decided, looking ahead with iron resolve.
'He seems very eager for the kiss~~'
These were Elena's thoughts, as she misunderstood Nox's behavior as excitement.
...