Explosion
"Lucian! Make way for me!" Medeia pointed to the barrels. "I want to destroy their nest!"
Without much explanation, Lucian seemed like he understood what Medeia wanted to do. He rushed to her, standing in front of Medeia to block the Tunnel Crawlers attack.
"Where do you want to go?" asked Lucian.
Medeia moved her eyes from one hole to another. If she wanted to destroy the nests, she couldn't do it so blatantly. She had to find the smallest hole, so the Tunnel Crawlers wouldn't realize that their nest was in danger.
"There! I want to go there!" shouted Medeia as soon as she found what she needed.
"Follow me closely." Lucian turned his head to the boy. "Nico, stay here."
Lucian then asked Bear to stay by Nico's side and protect him from the tunnel crawlers. The wolf howled softly, as if to tell Lucian not to worry.
Medeia rolled the barrels and kicked them along the way. Even though she walked in the midst of chaos, she didn't show any fear at all because Lucian would kill any monster that tried to approach her.
When they approached their destination, Medeia pierced a dagger to the barrel lid, guiding the heavy flow of dark brown liquid into the Tunnel Crawlers' nest. The liquid soaked the dirt and filled the air with its sharp, fermented scent.
After she emptied all of the barrels, Medeia stepped back and asked Lucian, "Can you increase the oxygen concentration inside the tunnel with your ability?"
Lucian nodded. He stuck his sword into the ground, then extended his hands, as if to grasp the air around him.
A gentle wind began to pulse through the hole, and Medeia felt her breath quicken as the air thickened.
Medeia searched for something to make a fire, but she found nothing.
[Do you want to buy a box of matches by exchange 50 gold coins (YES/NO)]
Without thinking further, Medeia immediately chose 'YES'.
[Request Accepted]
[Exchange 1 box of matches to 50 gold coins]
A box of matches suddenly appeared out of nowhere and fell to Medeia's palms.
"It's enough!" Shouted Medeia to Lucian. "Step back now!"
Medeia lit a match and threw it into the hole.
BOOM!
Lucian jumped toward Medeia and carried her away from the explosion's source. The ground beneath them shook violently and gradually collapsed.
Fire blasted out along with the gravel and humans' bones. Medeia could finally know the reason why the Tunnel Crawlers made nests under the dead city.
"They eat the bones." Medeia circled her hands around Lucian's neck, looking at the explosion behind them. "We are standing above the graves."
The small town was once a lively town with a population of nearly three hundred thousand people.
When the apocalypse happened, many of them died, so the remaining population decided to turn the town into cemeteries.
However, their graves ended up becoming the food stock for the Tunnel Crawlers.
"Bear! Let's go!"
The wolf threw Nico to its back and followed Lucian before they heard the next explosion.
Medeia was amazed by how fast Lucian could run, even the wolf was slower than him.
The ground behind them started to crack and collapsed, along with the old houses. The small town that once filled with life, ending up becoming cemeteries forever.
[You have slain a Tunnel Crawler (Grade-C): +80 XP]
[You have slain a Tunnel Crawler (Grade-C): +80 XP]
The announcement popped up one after another, even Medeia wasn't able to count how many Tunnel Crawlers that she killed.
[Calculate the total kill …]
[Ding! Ding! You have slain 112 Tunnel Crawlers: +8,960]
[You have destroy the Tunnel Crawlers' nest: +1,500 XP]
Medeia widened her eyes in disbelief. She didn't expect to gain so much XP in one day.
Wait, didn't it also mean she would level-up quickly?
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 5!]
[Congratulations! You have reached …]
A broad smile appeared on Medeia's lips as her level continued to rise. She hoped to reach level 15 and regain her demon skills.
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 13!]
[Total stat increase: +8,100 MP, +2,800 HP, Strength +60, Agility +35, Intelligence +35, Defense: +35]
Fuck!
She was so close to reaching level 15!
[Proceeds to list the total reward …]
[Reward Item:
1. Crystal Water Pendant (Grade-A) — Effect: Increases HP regeneration by 20% per minute while in contact with water.
2. Druid's Cloak (Grade-A) — Effect: Increases defense by 15%
3. 10 Healing Potions (Grade-S) — Effect: Restores 80% HP
4. Abyssal Sword (Grade-A) — Effect: Damage of 150 HP of each hit and stun the enemy for 30s
5. Mystic Compass (Grade-B) — Effect: Navigate to every place the user's wish to go
6. 10 Flash Bombs (Grade-A)]
[Reward Skills:
1. New Active Ability Unlocked: Hydromancy — Effect: Create a temporary barrier for defense (Cost: 100 MP per use)
2. Skill Upgrade: Mana Flow Lvl. 2 — New Effect: +20 MP regeneration per 30s near water source
3. New Passive Skill Unlocked: Night Vision — Effect: Ability to see in the dark]
[Reward gold coins: +12,400 gold coins]
Wow, that was a lot of rewards there and some of them looked really useful in the future.
"Are you okay there?" asked Lucian when Medeia didn't say anything for some time.
Medeia, "I'm fine." she looked at the ruined city behind her. "We're destroying a city in one day."
"It's already destroyed from the start."
Still, it felt weird to see a town collapse within minutes. The scenery made Medeia realize she truly lived in the apocalypse.
"I think we are safe now." Lucian stopped running as they couldn't see the town anymore.
He tried to catch his breath several times before putting Medeia down. Sweats dripped from his face, but it made him look more handsome.
"So, we can go home now, right?" Nico clunched on Bear's fur because he was too afraid to come down.
When Medeia wanted to open her mouth, she heard the sound of thunder above her.
The first drops of rain fell, sizzling on contact with the barren ground, eating away at the soil and leaving faint wisps of smoke.
Medeia raised one of her eyebrows. "Yeah, about that … I think we accidentally ruined the weather." she clapped her hands once. "So, who is ready for camping?"