6 6 - Escape

Chapter 6 - Escape

Written By Curiostyx

~[The Wyrm]~

~{Great Elroe Labyrinth, Middle Stratum}~

In the same brief moment that his Mother was torn apart, the Wyrm who was only about the size of a large rat, boosted out of there whilst activating the ability of Fire Wyrm LV 2, Heat Wrap, which exponentially increases his natural movement speed by burning his body.

-Crash~!*

A loud sound reverberated as the Wyrm crashed into the molten ground of the Stratum.

Heat Wrap combined with his previous lunge dragged him across the ground, kicking up dust and rock as his form accelerated with heat.

"Nreighh...!" The Gunerush Squad Leader neighed as his followers kicked back the ground and started running... Swimming to their quarry.

They were undermagma creatures, after all.

Swim LV 2 took over and guided the Wyrm's instincts as he made use of his body to its optimum degree.

His form ascended through the magma, breaking the surface and creating miniature waves as he leaped over the lava river like a Dolphin.

The lava crashed and roared as the Shrimp-like Wyrm returned to its embrace. His 8 legs worked in overdrive as they propelled him forwards.

His back fins glowed a soft orange in the dark light as it emanated burning heat, a pair of huge obsidian black eyes admired the surroundings before the Wyrm's fins broke through the surface.

Like a Shark, his back fins cut through the magma like a razor slashing through silk as a fine line of white formed behind it.

But then, the Wyrm suddenly froze as a barrage of turmoiling emotions crashed into his Soul like a dumptruck, halting his movement.

'Wha... How did I not feel-' His thoughts were interrupted as the magma behind him erupted into the sky.

-Boom~!*

Like an explosion, the lava crashed around as the form of a Draconic Sea Horse shot out of the magma, flying over the little Wyrm.

'Shit!' He cursed.

"Nreighh...!" It was as if the Gods themselves had smiled upon the Wyrm today as the Gunerush crashed back down to the lava, barely missing him by only a few inches.

Another Heat Wrap was activated and its effects stacked on top of the previous one, doubling both his movement speed and SP consumption.

'Fuck... I can't keep this up... My SP is already in the red, and using up my Reserve SP would be disastrous!' He had 2 bars of SP. The regular one which symbolized his immediate energy, which a few short breaths can recover.

But the red bar, which was his Reserve Stamina, represented his overall vigor. A deep-sleep and nutritious food is required to fill this bar, draining it may also prove fatal. He did not want to find out.

With the Gunerush hot on his tail, the Wyrm maneuvered through the steaming magma as he searched for an escape route.

A second Gunerush rammed into his left, sending him crashing to the right as he felt like he had just been hit with a bag of bricks.

'Shit...! Us-Use Heretic Magic!' He commanded the System as his field of vision spun around in a hectic manner.

『Unable to create Spell Circuit. Appropriate Skills not found.』

...However, his hopes were quickly dashed when the System revealed he wasn't even able to use his newly acquired Skill.

'Wha-What!? W-Why didn't you tell me sooner!?' This was the moment he realized what the System was; an apathetic machine.

But, it was as if the System itself became offended by his statement, as Voice-chan herself announced his saving grace.

『Skill Points sufficient, would you like to purchase the necessary Skills?』

'Of course, do it now!!!' He loudly demanded as one of the Gunerush suddenly appeared on his left, about to pounce on the little Wyrm.

『The Skills ~Magic Perception~ and ~Magic Power Operation~ has been acquired. 200 Skill Points have been deducted from Skill Bank.』

Unfortunately, the acquisition of those Skills came a brief second too late as the Gunerush crashed into the Wyrm once more and promptly chomped down on the little Shrimp's serpentine tail.

-Snap~ Pop~ Crackle~!*

The Shrimp-like Wyrm made several distressed clicking noises as a chunk of his tail was bitten out by the Gunerush.

The other Gunerush followed its predecessor's lead as it chomped on his tail. This time, it started pulling his tail backwards, the predecessor swallowed the chunk it bit off and started helping the other Sea Horse in its endeavor.

-Crack...~!*

With a soft crack, the Wyrm's underside was completely uprooted out of his torso and flung to the side, like a Goat's marrow being sucked out directly from its bone.

The Wyrm released a disturbingly human scream that went unheard as it was muffled by the lava flowing down his throat.

An explosion of agony that would wake up even a Snorlax from its sleep reverberated through his nervous system, giving him massive trauma towards Sea Horses.

The Wyrm's mind was in disarray as he unconsciously threw a dozen Heretic Magic Spell Circuits in every direction as a form of desperate self-preservation.

Most of which missed by a long shot, but a few managed to actually hit their targets, as the troop of Sea Horses abruptly paused in their hunt as they felt the Phantom Discomfort.

The Wyrm continued spamming the Spell as he tried to escape from his hunters.

He then crashed into large rock and seeing the opportunity, the little Wyrm climbed on top of it as his MP bar dwindled into red.

A metaphorical lightning smited the Wyrm as he lost consciousness on top of the weird rock. His MP had been depleted due to the constant use of Magic thus his mind shattered into a Krillion pieces.

The Gunerush troop recovered from their stupor as they looked for their quarry, seeing him knocked out on top of the unusual rock, a malicious glint appeared in their eyes.

However... For whatever reason, they didn't climb the rock, they just waited nearby as they hoped for the Wyrm to fall off or something.

The Wyrm didn't fall off and he didn't move, the Guneri looked at each other as they debated whether or not the Gunelift had died.

As to not waste his Children's time, the Lord told them to only hunt the Anomaly if he was within reach... Now that they had an excuse of him being on top of a sleeping Budhefrog, they were sure they could get away with shirking their duties now.

One had to know that besides for the fact that the Lord himself had ordering them to hunt the little Wyrm, they didn't have any other actual incentive to do so.

The Trio had a silent agreement as they left the Wyrm to die, their job was practically done, anyways...

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"For no specific reason, in terms of pure design, do you guys prefer Destroyah or Safi'jiva? Just asking lol, nothing to do with the fic" -Remark

This venerable ancestor of the 18th generation Dragon Gods demands a Power Stone Tribute!!!