Venomous Training Grounds

Far away from the main building, there stood a worn down, enormous treehouse. Though it was damaged to the point where it seemed like it would fall apart any second, there was still a menacing ambience lingering amidst the treehouse, an atmosphere befitting the stature of the almighty Gerald Silvermoon. 

In the midst of the terrifying yet mysterious forest, there was a young boy concealed behind tall, thick bushes, crawling towards the expansive training grounds in front of him. 

'Phew... This must be the infamous venomous training grounds. It sure does live up to its name.' Sethos shuddered. 

The venomous training grounds - one of the most well-known 'tourist destinations' in Lumena, was Gerald Silvermoon's personal training grounds. The reason it became so famous? Well, it definitely was not because of the top-tier equipment or astounding architecture; but instead, it was due to the horrifying amount of deaths and injuries that happened within that very place. All people, including commoners, wanderers, mages, nobles, and even the cherished Silvermoon descendants, were not spared once they stepped into the vicinity of the training grounds. 

'I wonder if the rumoured Crimson Chomping Plant exists? Perhaps I could even find the Thornvine and the Petalblade around here somewhere.' 

Sethos carefully crouched down, and surveyed the area using the techniques he learnt as a spy. 

'There are so many traps around here, including the Fire Breathing Rose hidden under the ground to my right, the giant pitfall to my left, and the Glazing Ice Lily in front of me. Back in the Jade Sword Sect, this level of difficulty would be classified as a B class mission.'

'With the skills I have right now, it would be extremely demanding for me to defeat all of those plants head on. It would be better if I sneak past them using my stealth skills. And once I get past all of these annoying vegetables, I would be able to find Gerald Silvermoon and discuss terms with him.'

Slowly and surely, with the experience he accumulated in his past life, Sethos finally made it to the middle of the training grounds. There were thousands of 200 ft. tall trees surrounding the centre, and right in the middle, there was a gigantic centipede crawling around the vicinity. 

The centipede had around 300 pairs of legs, with a body looking to be as long as the Nile River. Right at the tip of its head, it had a strange opening which looked to be an ordinary mutation of some sorts, but Sethos could instantly tell that wasn't the case. 

'The strange opening there is filled with mana particles, which means that it is extremely likely for that centipede to cast magic. I must approach this carefully, or I might end up with a broken limb, or even worse, dead.' 

Just as Sethos was about to sneak past the blood-curdling centipede, he suddenly felt a surge of mana spiralling towards him. With his trained instincts, he immediately rolled towards his right and saw a purple beam shooting towards his original location. 

Sethos looked back, and saw a frantic teenager shooting magic beams in all directions while tears streamed down his face. Snot started falling from his nose as he screamed for help. 

"HELP! SOMEONE, PLEASE! PLEASE, I DON'T WANNA DIE!" 

On close inspection, Sethos could see hundreds of thousands of centipedes chasing after the teenager. Though, the centipedes weren't as enormous as the one in the centre, a frightening amount of them would definitely give someone the heebie-jeebies. 

Just as the teen was about to be devoured by the swarm of bugs, everything seemed to come to a pause. After witnessing the colossal centipede resting in the centre of the forest, the rest of the centipedes immediately halted, and turned back towards the direction they came, leaving the teenager flabbergasted. 

"W- what just happened? A- am I safe now?" The teenager muttered to himself. "I'm alright now, right? Right?"

However, as someone trained by the Silvermoon family, he knew, he knew deep in his heart, that something worse was about to happen.

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The king centipede started to move towards the teenager, with the gap in its head opening itself up. The 300 pairs of legs started to move, giving rise to ominous pitter patter noises. It slowly stood itself up, with half of its legs supporting itself. 

"KREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The king centipede let out a deafening shriek, making everybody, including Sethos, instinctively cover up their ears. It then started moving towards the teenager, shooting laser beams from its mouth over and over again. The teenager started dodging left, right, up and down nimbly, avoiding every single beam. However, in a contest of stamina, it is evident that the centipede would win against a puny human who already had their energy depleted. 

Even though he was enclosed by all this chaos, Sethos didn't care about the teenager's life a single bit. Instead, he was thinking about benefits and gains he would obtain if he saved him, as well as the risks and losses that accompanied them. 

'Should I save that kid? Or should I just abandon him and run?' 

'If I save that kid, depending on his status, I could reap some decent rewards from his family. And even in the worst case, I could obtain a relationship with someone who has knowledge and connections within the Silvermoon House. However, the risks are also immense. With my current strength, if I'm not careful, or if something unexpected happens, I may end up perishing alongside the boy. That would contradict my goal of surviving and getting stronger in this world.' 

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Meanwhile, the teenager was still running and evading the attacks of the centipede. After the chase from earlier, he was already out of breath, and had no strength to retaliate. 

*huff huff*

'Is this the end of me? Am I going to die here just like that? Me? A future warrior of the Silvermoon House?'

'I mustn't accept my fate like this. Even if this is where I meet my end, I will also take the enemy down with me!' 

The teenager mustered up all his strength, using every drop of mana left in his mana heart, and decided to launch a final attack on the centipede. He felt every single mana particle draining out of him, causing dizziness and fatigue, but even then, the teenager still gritted his teeth and persevered. A violet ball of mana started to form on his hands, with crackles of darkness swirling around it. The ball was stronger than any magic he has ever created before, and he could feel his own sweat and blood dripping from his pores. His mana heart was vibrating intensely, unable to endure the pressure put onto it. Just as it was about to implode, a spark suddenly appeared next to his heart, forming a glowing sapphire circle. 

The teenager's mana ball suddenly started to grow even larger, and the mana within it swirled even more intensely. Dark particles started to engulf the ball, making the boy feel like he was one with the darkness. 

"BOOM!"