A shadow moved in the distance, and Derek's muscles tensed. The ground cracked, and a massive form erged from the earth, its size so imnse it seed to blot out the orange sky. A creature unlike any he had faced before.
" A centipede, that's new ", Derek remarked.
A D-level Nether Centipede, to be precise—its grotesque body coiled in layers of thick, segnted armour that shimred with a slick, black sheen. Each of its dozens of legs scraped across the cracked stone with a sickening chitter, their movents impossibly fast for sothing so massive.
Its glowing red eyes fixed on Derek with an unblinking stare. Then, with a piercing hiss, its mouth opened wide, revealing twin pincers glistening with green venom. Acidic steam hissed from its mandibles as thick strands of saliva stretched and snapped between them.
Derek's pulse quickened. His breath slowed. His instincts scread in warning. This was no ordinary enemy.
The creature struck first.
With a violent hiss, the centipede reared back and launched a blast of green mist from the glands beneath its head—a Corrosive Spray. The cloud of acidic vapour shot toward him in a wide arc, instantly lting the stone where it touched.
Derek activated Fast Step, disappearing in a burst of blur just before the spray engulfed the spot where he'd stood. The air behind him sizzled as droplets of the mist clung to the ground, eating through it with a horrifying hiss.
He reappeared above the centipede, blade already in motion. Night Fang flashed through the air, slamming into one of the armoured plates—but it bounced off with a clang, leaving only a scratch.
"Tch... It's tougher than the last one," he muttered as he twisted midair, flipping away just as the centipede lunged.
Its pincer sliced past him, fast enough to cleave a boulder in two.
Derek landed in a crouch, the soles of his boots skidding over molten stone. He rolled to the side as another Corrosive Spray carved a wide trench beside him, the acidic fog eating away everything it touched.
He had to adapt. Going head-on was suicide.
He moved in a blur, zig-zagging around the creature, reading its rhythm. The centipede twisted unnaturally, tracking his movents with a sinister intelligence. This wasn't just a mindless beast—it was hunting him.
A quick opening.
Mana Echo activated with a pulse, and a subtle vibration rolled through the air. The centipede's legs faltered for a heartbeat.
That was all he needed.
Derek dashed forward and drove Night Fang between two of the beast's lower plates, right at the thin mbrane. The blade sank deep, twisting in corrupted flesh. Black blood erupted, splattering Derek's arm and hissing as it touched his armour, burning tiny holes.
The centipede screeched, its entire body convulsing. It reared high, then slamd down, causing the ground to quake. Enjoyingthestory?Discovermoreon*.
Derek was flung back, crashing into a ruined wall. Dust and bone shards exploded around him as he coughed, pain spiking through his ribs.
Then ca the worst of it.
The centipede's body pulsed, its carapace shifting open like a blooming petal, revealing a row of flesh sacs along its underbelly. With a sickening lurch, it launched a volley of acidic projectiles, each one trailing green fla.
"Shit—!"
He dove to the side as three of the sacs burst midair, raining corrosive bile across the battlefield. The liquid lted bone and blackened stone, so of it even splashing on Derek's left shoulder.
The armour hissed and cracked. He bit back a scream as the acid burned through to his skin.
He gritted his teeth. "Enough."
A dark, calm settled over him.
He wiped the blood from his lips and triggered Bloodburst—just a pulse, a taste. His eyes glowed faintly red, the blood in his veins surging with heat. His pain dulled. His movents sharpened.
The beast reared again.
But Derek was faster.
He blinked forward with a double Fast Step, appearing beneath the centipede's exposed underbelly. Before the sacs could reload, he slashed once, twice, three tis, each cut enhanced by Mana Echo and his furious montum.
Night Fang, empowered by rage and precision, tore through flesh and tendon. The sacs burst in a chain reaction, spewing bile upward into the creature's own body.
The centipede's shriek beca a howl of agony.
Its massive form twisted uncontrollably, crashing into the earth with a thunderous quake. Derek leapt back just in ti to avoid being crushed.
The beast spasd for several seconds, then went still, black smoke rising from the hole-riddled corpse.
Silence returned.
Derek stood there, chest heaving, the acrid scent of burned flesh and acid thick in the air. His body ached, his shoulder throbbed with pain, but he was alive.
And the creature was dead.
Another D-rank down. Another level-up waiting.
[ Level Up! Level 9 to Level 10 ]
[ 10 All Attributes ]
[ New Skill Acquired: Acid Resistance (C-Rank) – Major resistance to acidic damage and corrosive effects. ]
Derek exhaled, wiping the gri from his face as he stared at the smouldering ruin of his opponent.
But the battlefield was quiet once more.
Still no sign of the Netherworld Flower.
Still no hint of the real path forward.
He clenched his fists.
It didn't matter.
He was alive. He was stronger.
And he would find it.
Even if he had to burn this entire damn realm down to do it.
Author's Note
[ So this is the fourth update today, plus my other book, that would be 6, and honestly, my back is aching, so I will try to update tomorrow after my paper, send so GT's and PS if you are feeling the effort.]
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