Chapter 11- Run!

Before getting too far down the tunnel, Jared hears the quivering voice of Char in his head. "It's- it's charging right through them!"

Not daring to turn around in fear of being caught, Jared picks up his pace, running as fast as he can toward the pool where he first evolved. Every step causes a slight rumbling in the cave, and Jared can feel the beast getting closer and closer to them.

Luckily, Char's continuous web shots seemed to affect the injured beast, as it couldn't catch up with the speedy ant. 'Argh, I'll have to stop moving to fire my acid shot; I can't focus on the magic while moving!' Complaining internally, Jared's eyes seem to light up as he notices the blue glow of the pool coming up in front of them.

Reaching the pool, Jared quickly comes up with a plan to lose the beast. "Hold on tight, Char! I'm gonna start climbing!" Without waiting for her response, Jared runs to the nearby wall, scaling upwards towards the path hanging over the pool. As he reaches about 3/4 of the way up, Jared spots the lizard entering the room.

Scanning the room with its pale yellow eyes, it doesn't take long for the lizard to spot the climbing duo, hissing at the both of them but not moving off the shoreline. Stomping its feet in anger, it seems to have given up on the pursuit. Translucent, white thread draping across its "upper" body like a weird toga, its previous wounds seemed to have healed slightly, the blood no longer dripping.

Finally reaching the "ceiling," Jared stops, hanging upside down with Char still on his head. Staring down at the beast, Jared releases pheromones to taunt it. "Hah, you dumb lizard! Can't catch me now! What're you gonna do about it, huh?" Laughing at the lack of reaction from the beast, both Jared and Char begin to dance. In sync, both of them rhythmically tapped their feet against the ceiling, Jared being careful not to let go.

"Dumb rock! Dumb rock!" Enjoying the dancing, Char even begins to chant through the telepathy network, making fun of the beasts' appearance. 

Distracted, Jared belatedly notices the eyes of the beast beginning to glow once again. "Oh no, I thought we were out of range!" Trying to move further away, Jared turns around, climbing on the underside of the platform towards the other side of the room. Before he could get far, however, he let out a slight yelp while receiving some System notifications.

"Ah! Char, grab onto the ceiling!"

[You have been struck by "Petrifying Eye," you will be petrified for 10 seconds.]

[Congratulations, you have unlocked the skill "Petrification Resistance*."]

*SPLASH*

Jared's sudden movements luckily caused the petrification beam to miss his body. Unfortunately, due to his late reaction, it still managed to hit his middle left leg, causing him to slip and fall into the pool below with a big splash.

"ARGH- THAT HURT!" With the impact ripping off his rigid leg, Jared releases a message out of anger before his body can fully solidify.

[Pheromone Production proficiency has increased due to use. 5/10]

Its prey, now "helpless" before it, the beast greedily licks its rocky lips as it slowly saunters towards the pool's edge. Before it could jump towards Jared, however, sticky webs suddenly shot down from the ceiling, blocking its eyesight.

"Shoo! Shoo! Get out, you ugly rock!" Even though Char couldn't speak, her movements were taunting enough, causing the beast to let out a loud hiss in annoyance.

*HISSSS*

Sadly, her webs did not deter the beast; it took another step towards the pool. But, with its eyesight blocked by the annoying webs, the beast makes a wrong step, its foot landing too close to the edge of the pool.

*CRASH*

*SPLASH*

*HISSSSS*

The fragile rock is unable to support its weight, and the edge breaks off, causing the beast to slip, its front two legs falling into the blue liquid. Letting out an anguished hiss, the beast jumps back, pulling its legs out. Steam flowing off of its limbs, the lizard limps backward, its scales having melted off, revealing the raw red flesh underneath. Staring at Jared and Char angrily, the beast suddenly grabs one of the blue crystal shards scattered around it before charging back from where it came.

"Jared! Jared, are you okay?!" Shooting out a web towards Jared's floating body, Char hops down from the ceiling onto the shore, doing her best to pull Jared out of the scary liquid. Managing to pull him towards the edge, Char just doesn't have enough strength to lift his body out of the pool.

After another five or so seconds, Jared's body begins to twitch as shards of stone start to peel off of his exoskeleton, revealing his pristine, navy blue "shell" to the air. 

"I-I'm okay, damn, that hurt." Using his four and a half remaining legs, Jared pulls himself onto the shore, lying down and trying to catch his breath. Looking up at Char's small body, he smiles internally, seeing the budding worry in her beady eyes.

'Thank god I evolved here; otherwise, that liquid would have killed me. I suppose I should name it, considering we'll live here for a while. Hmm, I guess the "Mana Pool" should do it; it did provide me with the mana needed for my pseudo-evolution.' Having useless thoughts, Jared looks at his status, wanting to see if he gained anything from this dangerous encounter.

'Status,' Jared thinks.

—————————————————————

[Status]

[Name: Jared]

[Species: Formica Mana Superior*]

[Mana: 10/10]

[Skills:]

[Pheromone Production* (Level 1)

3/10]

[Mutated Exoskeleton* (Level 2)

1/10]

[Hive Control* (Level 1)

1/10]

[Minor Acid Shot* (Level 1)

1/10]

[Petrification Resistance* (Level 1)

1/10]

[Crushing Bite* (Level 1)

4/10]

————

[Growth Points: 30/100]

—————————————————————

'Looks like all of my proficiencies have increased. Let's check out Petrification Resistance.''

[Petrification Resistance (Level 1)

1/10]

[Few who are struck by petrification live to tell the tale. Those who survive this encounter, however, gain a new resistance to this dangerous power. With this skill, the user passively gains resistance to the "Petrified" effect, decreasing the effect of petrification on their bodies. This resistance can have one of two effects when triggered. Firstly, the petrification may be neutralized, preventing the body from being affected. Secondly, and more commonly, this resistance decreases the area of the body affected by petrification, preventing the entire body from being petrified at once.

Which effect is triggered is determined by the skill level of the resistance, as well as the skill level of the attack. The higher the level of "Petrification Resistance," the greater the chance of negating a petrification attack.]

"This will be incredibly useful when we face that beast again." Speaking through telepathy, Jared shudders, thinking about their recent encounter.

"Well, Char, it looks like we'll have to deal with that lizard before making our Stronghold, otherwise, we don't stand a chance." Thinking back to their entire encounter with the beast, a daring idea pops into Jared's head.

"But how? My webs couldn't even stop that rock!" Still scared, Char replies uncertainly, having lost her confidence.

"We have to strike when the time is right!" Remembering the crystal that the beast stole, Jared decides to strike the beast while it's incapacitated. But first, he needed to heal.

'System, how much will it cost to repair my body?'

[Calculating Growth Point cost for limb repair...]