67 The hunted Beetle
The next morning, Ben woke up at 12 pm. The haus was void of life.
His parents were working, while Ben had no idea where his sister could be.
Finishing his morning routines, Ben prepared something to wear and eat.
He brought these things into his white car and drove back.
While driving for 5 hours, Ben had talked with all the responsible people of the companies. When he listened to the small problems of the company, he could only feel jealousy toward them.
Problems would always arise. You either solve them or wait till the problem is forgotten or over. Ben felt jealousy because he would rather solve these small problems than look for a monster and catch it.
The game
It gave him so much pride to know that others wouldn't be capable of what he did, but it also made him more like an anomaly.
´Wouldn't other people do better after going back in time? There were a lot stronger, more intelligent, more successful adventurers, who could have done better than me!
Or maybe someone, who already has power to change the future through politics.
Why can't I remember why exactly I came back? Why was I brought back in time?´
Being tortured with the question about why he was brought back in time, he finally arrived at the town.
After taking his lunch, he went back to the bar.
After drinking 3 glasses of water, he asked the barkeeper if anything strange happened. After asking more questions, the barkeeper finally gave something useful. This morning a few trees had snapped.
The barkeeper assumed that it was either some rare coincidence that the three snapped one after another or that some illegal woodchopping was done in the morning.
After asking for directions, Ben went to the place with a steel bar and the insecticide spray.
At the place, he found three snapped trees.
The trees weren't chopped, but it also didn't seem natural.
They were relatively young, but had a trunk circumference of around 0,5 m and a height of 5 to 9 meter.
He looked around. Nothing. Looking at the ground. He didn't found anything particular. Except at some places a small point.
In normal cases, nobody would have thought anything.
But Ben was different, he had some experience with giant insects.
These traces could be the imprint of such monster. Some insects live off the sap of three. With how many threes snapped, the monster had to be quite hungry and big.
Ben knew that some insects even laid eggs inside the trees, so he looked around.
Finding nothing, he tried to lift the smallest three.
With a relatively confident smile, he tried to lift it up.
From holding at one end of the three, he could lift it up about 1 m.
Seeing how much difficulty he had to lift up one end, Ben gave up looking for any eggs.
It wasn't in vain as he at least had tested his strength.
He remembered that he still was weak even in no exp-forest.
A normal-sized three could easily squash me.
Ben tried to follow the steps in the dirt, but they soon disappeared.
Walking around like he was lost by constantly looking everywhere.
He suddenly heard something. Increasing the grip of the bar and the spray.
Ben silently advanced in the direction of the strange noises.
The noises were high-pitched and irregular.
Approaching the noise. Ben became quite nervous.
´I have found a monster. I will catch it. I can't wait.´
Looking behind one of the many trees, Ben saw it.
It was like what he thought. A very big insect. More exactly a giant beetle with a horn on the head and another horn pointing forward from the center of the thorax.
Black in color and covered with a coat of fine microscopic hairs.
The hairs were particularly thick on the beetle's elytra. The hairs give the beetle's body a yellowish color.
Being about 2 m, it was without doubt the biggest insect ever seen on Earth.
Ben waited for any reaction from the beetle, but it didn't come.
´Even better, it doesn't seem to have any hostility. I can easily take it down from behind. Should I try to bring it to the car? I am not that far from the car. A partner would really have been a great help. I should injure it's six legs, so that it can't flee.
I will say it now. I am really sorry about what I am going to do with you.´
Going around the monster, while still hiding, he was wondering what the beetle was doing. Facing its back, Ben approached silently.
Just as he was 5 m away from the beetle, it reacted.
It turned in a speed, Ben didn't consider. Charging at him like its big body didn't affect its speed.
Ben was terrified. He reflexively activated his sight of slow motion. Just before the beetle was going to bump into him. Ben sprayed the beetle with the spray.
It only slightly turned its head. But this saved Ben's life.
The big horn grazed Ben's arm, while Ben still tried to side-step.
Seeing the mouth of the beetle, Ben wanted to avoid ending up in there.
He struck with his full-strength at the beetle.
Ben didn't know what had happened.
He suddenly saw the world around him spin.
Flying through the air, Ben caught a short glimpse of the black beetle.
It's horn was held high in the sky.
Just then Ben felt a shock running through his body and the sound of his bones knacking. Sadly, Ben's first fly had ended in a big three.
As he was falling a few meters, Ben saw all his new memories flashing before him.
Of his family, his friends, his training.
Everything had been for nothing.
´I am going to die even earlier than my last life.´
Feeling a tear forming in his eyes, Ben felt another impact.
´It seems like I finally landed.´
After having made a little salto in the fall, Ben ended up seeing the forest in its full-beauty. If anyone saw him at this moment, he looked like a broken crying little puppet. Tears were streaming down, while he didn't move any muscles.
Just as he was appreciating nature, Ben saw the beetle fly toward him with its legs outstretched.
It was funny that even though he was in danger, he was slowly observing everything.
´The sight of slow motion is really trashy in such a situation. I don't specially want to see how I die.´
Just as the beetle was approaching him, it suddenly lost control. It slided away from Ben's sight.
Suddenly, Ben's brain and body began to activate.
The sudden pain rush made Ben realise the state of his body. He didn't know what exactly he had broken, but he knew that he had to move.
The adrenalin in his body was climbing up at a rate, which would have been deadly for normal people. Ben was feeling strange from the rush.
He felt an enormous surge of energy, but his body didn't clearly know what to do.
It was inclined to run, but Ben's sudden surge of rage had stopped the instinctive reaction.
´This son of b*tch. I will m*therf*cking kill you and your ancestor!!!!´
Hearing the beating of his heart, Ben knew he had to act before the rush ended.
Rapid heart rate, sweating, heightened senses, rapid breathing, decreased ability to feel pain, increased strength and performance and dilated pupils were the normal symptoms of adrenalin rush.
Everything was exactly the same just at another level. The breathing, which could be heard near the battle place, was so loud and fast that it had a strong resemblance with a crazed beast.
Without even looking at where the beetle was or how the state of the beetle is, Ben sprinted in the direction, which he thought it would be.
His instincts didn't fail him and he adjusted the direction he was sprinting.
If Ben wasn't in his crazed mood, he would have inspected the beetle.
The beetle was struggling with its wings and also making strange movements.
The insecticide seemed to have taken effect on the beetle.
Ben suddenly took a jump of a few meters. Landing on the head of the beetle.
The beetle did every movement it still could to react and released very loud, hissing squeaks.
These squeaks could be heard in the whole forest, but Ben didn't react to the squeak as though he didn't hear them. He ripped the membranous wing of the beetle, which were still unprotected without the thick black wings covering them.
Following that he ripped apart the antennas.
Being completely blind and also poisoned, the fate of the beetle was set.
Still covered by a thick exoskeleton, Ben had difficulties killing the beetle.
But after ripping apart its limbs, he found weak points in the exoskelet and completely ripped the beetle in many different sized parts.
Just as he was feeling extremely tired, the pain was coming back, an encouraging message came.
´Level up! x 2´
´I am saved. From now on I will pray to you the EXP-GOD!´
Not waiting any second longer, Ben increased his Vitality and opened his status.
´Status open.´
<System: StarSoul-Last>
<User: Ben Lupus>
<Race: Human>
<Level 18>
<23/180>
<Strength: 40>
<Agility: 31>
<Vitality: 25>
<Stamina: 28>
<Resilience: 13>
<Intelligence: 22>
<Mana: Default (no core could be found)>
Feeling a certain warmth inside his body, Ben knew that his body was already healing the life-threatening injuries. Sadly although the level-up and the increase of Vitality helped him, the pain was still very strong.
A problem seldom comes alone, so he was also suffering from thirst and hunger.
Going as fast as he could with his injuries, Ben arrived at his car over 40min later.
On the way, he had found the useless bar and life-saving spray.
Arriving at the car in a state that no parent would want to see their child, Ben went in.
Trying to not dirty the seat with any blood, Ben emptied two big bottles of water.
Never would he have thought that his body pleaded him so much to drink a sweet soft drink. After satisfying his thirst, Ben ate everything he had.
Only after he calmed his needs did Ben begin to inspect his body.
The result of the inspection wasn't a big surprise.
When he took a deep breath, his chest would hurt.
When touching the right side of the rib, it hurts even more.
Other than that, Ben had bruises all over his body, an injury at his belly and other bones, which hurt a little.
Ben changed his clothes, which had been dirtied with his blood, the dirt and the stinking fluid of the beetle.
Ben followed by going to the next hospital.
