17 Doodle king and a new encounter

Gosh, why haven't I used this earlier?

I'm almost disappointed in myself for not using this any sooner.

Along the walls of the rocky crystal tunnels and cave sections bore many different markings and symbols that glowed in blue light, giving the underground dungeon an ethereal look. However, if you looked closely, you would instantly notice that none of it meant anything. Drawings of random things such as dogs, swords, and aeroplanes can be seen glowing on the walls and ceiling. There were even random quotes and writings among the doodling in my native language, English.

'I waz here'

'dis dungeon suks'

'I'm de king of dis warudo'

Gweheheh.

So much is possible with this legendary relic.

I feel like...I'm wielding all the power in the world in my hands!

GAHAHAHA!!!!

FEAR ME DUNGEON!!! YOUR NEW RULER HAS ARRIVED!!!!

I floated around in a good mood and waved the mana crayon in the air as if it was a legendary sword. The light from the crayon trailed in the air and shined gently as it resonated with the light being emitted from the ceiling crystals. Soon the beginning of a new masterpiece was being drawn as I pressed the tip of the crayon against the rocky wall, making long and elegant lines. The artwork slowly began to take shape, It was shaped like a rock with four tiny and stubby legs with one big chibi eye on the front of its body. Yep, it's pebble.

Geez, it's only been a few hours and I'm already missing the little guy...

Have I always been this easily attached to things?

I never really got attached to anything in my previous life unless I spent a good amount of time with it.

Let alone myself, I guess spending time alone in this massive dungeon is enough to change someone to a degree...

Subconsciously, when I was wondering about the changes to my mentality, I began a new drawing on the rocky wall. It was a combination of many strokes of lines and a few circles. As I continued to connect the lines to their respective circles and added a few details here and there, the drawing slowly came together. Soon enough, the drawing process finally concluded. In front of me, what was displayed on the wall were five stick figures standing together side by side drawn in a childish fashion. Two big figures, two medium, and one small one. Both the large-sized and medium-sized stick figures had a boy and a girl while the smallest figure was a boy, that boy was me.

Ah...

Family...

It's been a while since I've seen mine.

I don't think I've even been separated from them for this long before, now even during camp.

That separation time is only going to get longer from now on as well...

I wonder what they're doing right now?

Are they doing alright after I left them behind?

Were there many people that went to my funeral?

Did I even have a funeral?

...I hope they didn't take my passing too badly...

...Mmm?

Why do I feel so...empty?

I don't like this feeling...

GAH!

Forget it!!

I can't believe I'm doing something so childish.

Am I a kindergartener or something!?!?

Before I can begin another drawing,「Mana Sense」began to trigger and multiple signals made themselves present at a nearby dark tunnel. I instinctively pullout all my weapons and watched the tunnel for monsters. Sounds of crunching and screechy whispers echoed out from the tunnel as the atmosphere of the area seemed to take a strange dip. My「Mana Sense」detects multiple mana signals, but there was a whole different feeling about these signals compared to all the monsters I have met before. It felt very strange, very unpleasant.

Suddenly a spot of red light appeared in the dark. Then two. Then seven. Then twenty. Then... er.. about a hundred?

Wait, isn't this bad?

Soon, one of the red lights slowly moved out from the dark tunnel and its appearance was revealed under the light of the blue crystals. It was a purple creature that bore a passing resemblance to ants but it had no mandibles and its six long legs had extremely pointy shells as forelimbs. It had an elongated head that was covered in a thick shell and its overall carapace bore a texture that was similar to that of the surrounding crystals. On its head was one big red eye.

「Appraisal」

---

Name:「Error. Being not of this world.」

Race: Formicidae Abominatus

Skills:「Error. Being not of this world.」

Race Skills:「Error. Being not of this world.」

---

HUH!?!? ERROR!?!?

Being not of this world?!?

What in the world!?!?

Why is it only telling me the race??

Before I can get my thoughts together, the purple insect lifts its head up and the front part of the shell on its head receded, revealing a disgusting circular-shaped mouth that had multiple rows of sharp triangular teeth. It let out a loud terrible sound that could only be described as the opposite of ear candy from its mouth.

*SCREECH!!!!*

Like a chain reaction, multiple other screeches sounded from the tunnel behind it and a large of its kind rushed out from the tunnel it entered from. The insects had sizes ranging from giants the size of a small car and dwarfs comparable to little dogs. The larger monsters charged across the floor while the smaller ones scaled the walls and climbed on the ceiling upside down. As the horde of monsters approached me, I pulled out all my weapons and began charging the Aerial Barrage bow with mana.

「Mana Sense」

Mmm, about one hundred and fifteen of them.

I don't like the look of this.

Can't I just draw in peace!?

Gah! Whatever!

First things first, I need to lower their numbers.

Soon, arrows of blue light began firing out of the bow. The lines of blue light flew through the air and made a beeline towards the swarm of insects. With the amount of power the arrows pack, this should be able to kill atleast the smaller ones and thin out the number of enem- eh?

Just as the projectiles came in contact with the insects, the purple crystal texture on the insects being hit shimmered in purple light and the mana arrows broke into two before dispersing into the air.

As I stared in awe, trying mentally to process what just happened for a moment, the smaller insects that clung to the ceiling began to sprout from their shell-like heads pink glowing spikes that resembled sharp and thin crystals. The swarm fired these crystals towards me, what was originally a small barrage quickly became a volley of glowing pink projectiles as the surrounding small insects joined in on the trend and unleashed their attacks. Snapping back to reality, I quickly charged Arondite with some mana and swung it, unleashing an arc of blue light that cleaved through the hundreds of pink spikes. Although most of the danger was cleared, a few of the pink spikes managed to survived and one of them, unluckily, happened to find its way on to my side.

*CHIK*

GAH!!!

These things are infused with mana?!?

Pain filled my body as I use telekinesis to pluck the spike out of my poor side. However, even after removing the spike, the pain in my body still persisted and even got worse. The part of me that was stabbed slowly turned purple and the usual lime coloured light that was emitted from my body began to turn purple in that section.

UWAH!!?!?

This is... poison?!?

Mana poison?!

As I tried to suppress the panic growing within me, an especially large monster ant leaps off from the wall it was walking on and dives towards me with its disgusting worm mouth wide open. I quickly raised my adamantite axe and swung it horizontally, catching the monster in mid-air and sending it flying back towards the wall it leaped off from.

However, just as I was about to instinctively finish the job with my other weapons, the giant insect scambles off the ground and gets back on its feet energetically. The part of the insect that was slashed by the axe was glowing in purple crystal light but not even a sign of a scratch could be seen on the carapace. The shock within me only grew as the insect began running towards me again as if nothing had just happened. The horde of monsters on the walls, ceiling, and ground in front of me swarmed towards me, covering the distance between us steadily.

Magic is ineffective.

Physical attacks are ineffective.

「Appraisal」comes up with an error.

Theres over a hundred of them...

Many thoughts went through my mind as I held Arondite in front of me. Its teal green blade shined under the light of the surrounding crystals while my other weapons floated around me. The part of me which was struck by the poisoned spike throbbed in pain as my anxiety continued to escalate. At this moment,「Mana Sense」began to pick up many signals identical to the insect from all the tunnels that connected to this cave section. One thought went through my mind.

Crap.