Chapter 3 Boss

Almost immediately, the creature cried out in pain, shaking its head and tail vigorously.

Not letting up, the centipede used [Lock], a more potent strength flowing into his mandibles. The scorpion did something similar, grabbing its head with its pincers. In a lucky bout, the arachnid had stabbed into its left eye, causing it to let out a screech from the sudden burst in pain.

Just when he thought it was about to end, he felt slight vibrations. Not from the ground, but from inside the salamander. He heard something akin to flesh tearing and his [Cognizance] showed him the image of long, thin spines running up and down its back.

[Warning: Matthewi Salamander(Spine-back mutation), the Ruler of the Sunken Lake, has been enraged.]

The centipede's mind fell silent. [Ruler of the Sunken Lake]....don't tell him he found a boss as his second target!? Frustrated, he sunk his mandibles deeper, unconcerned of the spines. Comparatively, the scorpion was unable to hold on and was thrown into a wall across the cave room.

Ignoring the arachnid, it turned its body flexibly, its toothless mouth trying to grab hold of the centipede and attempted to swallow him whole. With quick thinking, the insectoid used his hundreds of limbs to launch himself away, taking a large chunk of flesh with him.

He was glad the monster had low defense, otherwise this would've been ten times harder. Tauntingly, he began eating the tasteless meat as the salamander glared at him. It was much larger than him, but for some reason, he felt an explicable joy.

[Obtained x5 EP] Not 1, but 5 EP! And he hadn't even killed it yet! Eating just a bit of its flesh allowed him to gain half of the needed points for whatever the system had in store for him.

A second later, he felt a sense of impending danger and dodged out of the way of several spines. They were easily embedded into the rocky terrain and he couldn't help but gulp. If he hadn't moved just then, he'd have been turned into a centipede skewer.

He glanced back towards the scorpion which had yet to move, cautiously taking several steps back. He also noticed its injuries healing at a visible pace. Now it made sense why it had low defense…

The salamander smirked, feeling his aura change from confident to fearful and arched its back, preparing to launch more spines.

Seeing it let its guard down, the centipede pounced. Instead of the intended reaction, he found his torso caught on a sharp spine. A loud screech reverberated through the cave, not from the salamander but him.

Huh…he didn't even realize he could make such sounds. The salamander smiled. It would be considered creepy if any of them could even see it properly. 'Damn…' he cursed. Was this the end?

The seemingly voidless mouth of the creature came closer and closer. Unconsciously, he shut down his sense of sight, but instead of the tightness of something wrapping around him, he felt himself falling.

It was then he remembered an important fact about his biology. His blood was a potent poison that could melt through rocks. He brought back his sense of sight and immediately noticed the melted remains of bone, the salamander's mouth enclosed on nothing.

He laughed in his head, using the chance to launch a surprise attack. He used [Sharp edge], [Dash], [Bite], and [Lock] all at once. Taking advantage of his height and the creatures blindness, he bit at its neck, gouging out a deep, fatal blow. The salamander twisted in place, trying to breath but choking on blood.

He won. He actually won…and [Bite] worked! A sudden bout of weakness overcame him. [Warning: Host has activated too many skills at once with insufficient strength. Strength decreased 75% for 24 hours.]

The man turned insect grew quiet. Now? Really? The damn salamander wasn't even dead yet and now this happens!? He saw out the peripheral of his blurry vision, the creature coming closer. It seemed that it was already regenerating from its injuries, wanting to eat him.

Whether it was to restore its strength or for revenge, he didn't know.

He tried to crawl away but the wound on his chest caused him to falter. The spine had been long and thin, but it still left a large, gaping hole. He was unwilling. Not when he was so close!

A loud 'Shlick!' echoed. The centipede found himself staring at the sight of a small arachnid stabbing its stinger into the salamander's other eye. He could see something green being injected inside as its skin turned pale mint, the right side of its face growing limp.

Exhausted and injured, the large creature fell to the ground with a 'Thud!' and didn't get back up. He could still see its body moving up and down erratically, slowly but surely slowing down.

[Congratulations host, for defeating Matthewi Salamander(Spine-back mutation), the Ruler of the Sunken Lake!]

[You have obtained x782 sharp spines]

[You have obtained x150 EP]

[You have obtained skill(s) Regeneration]

[For killing a creature ten times stronger than yourself, you have obtained bonus allocatable stats x10!]

…He survived…

Never again will he activate so many skills without knowing of its consequences. He nearly died because of it.

The regen skill he had obtained quickly did its job, closing up his wound. It wasn't fast, but he didn't consider it slow either. At least, with this, he could move around.

He turned to look at the scorpion that had helped him achieve this feat with gratitude. He knew this wouldn't have gone so well without them. He vowed that he won't do something so risky again unless the situation calls for it, and he was determined to protect his new friend.

They had gone through life and death situations together. Of course his opinions on the matter would change.

With a small, unseen smile, the two, centipede and scorpion, feasted upon their spoils.

To be continued…