Frozen Terror

Hours passed, but the storm showed no signs of abating. Instead, it grew larger and denser, its fury intensifying with each passing moment.

Meanwhile, Seraphina, after informing Kai, had maneuvered the Colossus' satellite drones to scan Glacialis' atmosphere from above its orbit.

Inside the transport ship, Kai remained surprisingly calm, thanks to his Mental Fortitude skill. To pass the time, he played a tune named 'Thunder and Rain' on a pure black shamisen he had crafted using his Devouring Metal ability. As the final notes finished, he sighed.

"Any updates on your end, Sera?" he asked, his voice filled with frustration. "How long is this storm going to last? I don't have anything else to do down here."

Seraphina's voice was serious, her tone carrying a hint of bad news.

 [The thing is... this storm is massive. I've scanned the entire planet using the orbital drones, and I can see multiple storms Swirlig all over.]

Kai casually propped his feet on the console and leaned back in his chair. "How many storms could there possibly be?" he scoffed, dismissing the idea of a serious threat.

Seraphina's reply was blunt. 

[Over 120 across the entire planet, with 18 currently active in your immediate vicinity.]

Kai's feet slipped off the console as he heard the staggering number. "E-eighteen?" he stammered in disbelief. "Just how long am I going to be stuck here? I don't want to get buried under all that ice!"

[Based on my estimations, the storms could last anywhere from a few days to a month,] Seraphina informed him. 

[But you'll be protected. I've deployed a thermal shield to prevent the ship from being buried.]

Kai muttered under his breath, rubbing his head in frustration. "Damn it. I have to be cooped up here for so many days, maybe even longer."

Kai waited inside the ship, trying to find ways to pass the time as the hours ticked by. 

Over six hours later, he found himself sprawled on the cockpit floor, gazing up at the storm raging outside through the roof window.

A sudden, thunderous boom echoed through the ship, much louder than the previous sounds of falling ice. 

Initially, Kai dismissed it thinking it was another barrage of boulders, but then the next second, the entire ship shook violently, as if caught in an earthquake.

He scrambled to his feet and frantically scanned the external camera feeds, but the limited light and swirling snow obscured the source of the tremor. 

"Sera, can you pinpoint my position with the satellite drones?" he asked urgently, his eyes glued to the screens trying to detect anything unusual. "I just felt a massive tremor, and the source must be nearby."

[Sorry, Kai, but the storm clouds are too dense in your area to get a clear image of the surface. It could just be a shift in the ice plates below you,] Seraphina explained.

Kai, still scrutinizing the screens, shook his head. "No, I've experienced plenty of earthquakes in my past life," he said, his voice grim. "This felt different."

Suddenly, the tremors stopped. Kai quickly raised the shutters of the cockpit's frontal window to see what had caused the disturbance.

Just then, a few hundred meters ahead of the ship, the glacier wall erupted. A sudden lightning bolt struck near the area illuminating the scene, revealing the source of the disturbance.

Kai's eyes widened as he saw something that sent shivers down his metallic spine. Two massive arthropods, Two colossal white centipedes, battled each other fiercely in the raging storm, completely unaffected by the harsh conditions.

Though he only glimpsed them for a moment, the image burned into his mind: their white bodies, thousands of sharp, crystalline legs, and four larger, blade-like front limbs.

Each creature possessed two enormous, curved blue tusks, like those of a mammoth. Their fight was a spectacle of violence, blue blood dripping from minor wounds and staining the ice as they tore at the landscape, reshaping the glaciers with each clash.

Kai's jaw dropped, and he snapped out of his trance, quickly transmitting the video feed to Seraphina. "Are you seeing this?" he asked in a low, calm voice, though his mind raced with a mixture of awe and fear.

Seraphina's voice turned grim. 

[Ughh, This isn't good. I don't recognize their species, but they seem to be fighting for territory or perhaps engaging in some kind of mating ritual.]

As she spoke, one of the centipedes tore a chunk of flesh from the other with its razor-sharp pincer like appendages. 

A geyser of blue blood erupted, freezing instantly in the air, followed by a guttural, multi-layered screech as the wounded creature retaliated. However, it was quickly overwhelmed by its opponent.

In a gruesome display, the victor ripped the head from its opponent's body and began to devour it slowly. A timely bolt of lightning illuminated the scene, highlighting the horrifying tableau in stark detail.

"I hope it leaves once it's finished eating," Kai muttered, a shiver running down his spine. "But if not..." He considered the possibility of a confrontation. "Even though it's much larger, I might still have an advantage in a fight," he said, forcing a smile to calm his mind.

He glanced back at the creature devouring its fallen opponent. He activated his Eyes of Knowledge skill, seeking information to prepare for the worst.

His optical sensors flared as the data flooded his vision.

[Name: Ice Centipede] 

[Species: Dracoglacialis Giganticus (mutated, reasons unknown)] 

[Description: The apex predator of Glacialis. This colossal creature can grow up to hundreds of meters long and 20 to 40 meters in diameter as adults. It possesses specialized sensory organs to detect prey through the ice, and its powerful jaws can crush even the toughest shells. It hunts indiscriminately, attacking anything in sight.] 

[Classification: Level B, Upper Rank]

Kai's expression fell as he read the description of the Ice Centipede. "That doesn't sound very reassuring," he muttered. Then he noticed a new piece of information that had appeared after his synchronization had reached 13.5%.

He quickly opened the system shop, searching for anything that could help him in a potential confrontation with the creature. 

Spotting a few items that seemed promising, he purchased them, saying, "I don't know which of these will be most useful, but I'd better get them."

[Basic knowledge on arthropod anatomy and biology, Level D] 

[Basic acid resistance, Level F] 

[Different melee weapons design catalog, Level G] 

[ 15,000 meters projectile radar, Level D]

The chips materialized from the screen and disappeared into Kai's forehead, flooding his mind with information about arthropod anatomy and blueprints for various melee weapons he could construct using his Devouring Metal ability. 

Simultaneously, the Basic Acid Resistance skill was integrated into his skillset, enhancing the durability of his metallic plating.

Meanwhile, the Ice Centipede, having finished its gruesome meal, activated its sensory organs to search for nearby prey. Its focus quickly zeroed in on Kai's transport ship.

The creature turned its head towards the ship, its antennae and fangs glistening with blue blood in the flashes of lightning. It let out a guttural screech, the sound echoing ominously through the wide glacial valley.