novelraw Chapter 8: The Swarm of Worms
Chapter 8: The Swarm of Worms
Garoth circled at an altitude of a thousand meters, his dragon eyes locking onto the Rockgrub worm below.
Using the Life Level Detection Technique, Garoth had already confirmed that the Rockgrub worm was a level 7 lifeform, the same level as himself.
The Life Level Detection Technique—this was a quasi-spell skill he had awakened a year ago.
Dragons were top-tier magical creatures and natural sorcerers. As they aged, they naturally mastered many quasi-spell techniques derived from their bloodline.
These techniques differed from true spells; their power was weaker but could be instantly cast, thus called quasi-spell skills.
The Life Level Detection Technique was one of these.
Normally, young dragons were not yet able to awaken or master quasi-spell skills.
Garoth, however, had rapidly grown in physique due to adaptive evolution and had likewise mastered some quasi-spell skills ahead of time.
"Same level as me, should be able to take it down safely."
Life level was only a reference; many creatures could fight beyond their level, dragons especially so. Garoth was cautious and steady by nature, so he would not consider hunting above his rank for now and instead targeted the Rockgrub worm at his level. Garoth retracted his dragon aura, vibrating his wings with minimal movement as he gradually approached the target from above.
Rockgrub worms sensed creatures through vibrations.
A breeze swept past, and the sunbathing Rockgrub worm suddenly lifted its head with alertness, blinking its two tiny eyes the size of green beans, almost invisible.
Powerful beasts and demons were everywhere in the wilderness, along with hunting parties formed by clans of intelligent beings.
Hunting and being hunted was the eternal theme here.
The Rockgrub worm was a powerful hunter, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t become prey.
At a hundred meters in the air,
the moment Garoth saw the Rockgrub worm reveal an unusual reaction, he squinted his eyes, slowly vibrating his wings. His wingspan of over twelve meters suddenly expanded, whipping up a fierce gale.
The young dragon became a meteor streaked with black and red. As he dived, the edges of his wing membranes sliced through the air, almost sparking.
By the time the Rockgrub worm reacted, the dragon’s shadow already covered its body.
With no sign of slowing down, Garoth dived with tremendous force, using his body as a weapon to slam onto the Rockgrub worm.
The insect’s iron-hard shell met Garoth’s body.
Under the massive impact, the black shell shattered like eggshells, and the flesh underneath was directly crushed into pulp.
Crash! With earth-shattering force like an earthquake, the rocky plates shattered into countless stones, dust billowing up mixed with debris.
The Rockgrub worm, a relatively strong beast among level 7 lifeforms,
was struck from above by the young dragon’s falling blow, splitting its body into two halves.
Garoth, with some buffer scales falling off his body, suffered almost no falling damage.
Wuuu!
In excruciating pain, the Rockgrub worm let out a roar like a raging wind sweeping through a canyon.
Insect life was tenacious; it did not die but instead exploded with a last surge of power like a dying light returning. Its upper body rolled with fury, throwing the young dragon toward a sharp rock spike.
The rock spike failed to pierce the dragon scales and was instead crushed to pieces.
The buffer scales on Garoth’s back absorbed the impact upon collision with the rock, generating a counterforce.
Garoth accelerated again, shooting toward the Rockgrub worm at even greater speed.
By now, the Rockgrub worm wanted to escape. Its mandibles rotated sharp teeth, gnawing at the ground, with half its body already burrowed underground.
Even if only the upper body remained,
with the Rockgrub worm’s regenerative abilities, it could gradually restore itself completely.
Feeling the vibration of the dragon body slicing through the air, the exposed part of the Rockgrub worm’s shell suddenly swelled, and high-temperature, high-pressure steam shot out from the cracks.
A strong sulfur smell assaulted the nostrils.
This steam carried both fire and water elemental damage and was the Rockgrub worm’s life-saving skill, packing considerable power.
Garoth closed his eyes and charged straight through, using his strong physique to pass over the steaming mist. His claws tore the insect shell again, embedding deep into the worm’s flesh.
Huff!
He flapped his powerful wings, soaring into the air, fully pulling the upper half of the Rockgrub worm from the ground. Then he swung its body around, smashing it repeatedly against the surrounding rocks.
The pounding sounds lasted several seconds.
A flap of dragon wings scattered the surrounding dust.
Garoth released his claws. The Rockgrub worm was completely silent, its shell shattered in many places, flesh mangled and horrifying to behold.
“Too much force.”
“The Rockgrub worms of my level seem utterly unable to resist my strength.”
Garoth clenched and then relaxed his dragon claws, feeling the rapidly fading pain in his body, silently thinking to himself.
The final high-temperature steam attack from the Rockgrub worm’s fire damage was mostly immune to Garoth, and as for the water damage, it should have caused some trouble but he had trained specifically to adapt, so the minor damage was negligible.
“Overcoming my disgust and training in water was effective.”
“Though I can’t measure it exactly, my resistance to water elemental damage has definitely improved.”
Turning to look at the insect corpse,
Garoth stepped forward and peeled off the shell with his claws, revealing the flesh inside.
Unlike its fierce appearance, the Rockgrub worm’s meat was white and tender, very appetizing to look at. The taste and texture were excellent—cool and delicate, sweet like vanilla ice cream.
Not long after, having enjoyed the bounty from the hunt,
Garoth scanned the abandoned mining pit around him.
Jagged rocks surrounded the pit, with steep and dangerous rock layers encircling it. Inside lay a rugged area full of collapsed or abandoned tunnels.
Flapping his wings, the young dragon landed at the bottom of the mine.
Garoth closed his eyes slightly, quietly sensing the ground beneath him, soon feeling a faint magnetic pull.
“There are still some remaining mineral veins underground.”
He thought to himself.
There were many abandoned mining sites in the Ser Wilderness, but very few were completely depleted—there were always some mineral remnants.
His gaze swept across the surrounding tunnels. Garoth pondered; this seemed like a good place to settle.
Not far from this abandoned pit was a forested area with lakes and a decent population of creatures similar to gray hyenas.
Water, prey, mineral resources—
these elements made it a good location.
“Once I leave the iron dragon mother, I can first claim this place as my dragon nest, then plan further.”
Garoth thought quietly.
Suddenly,
the ground trembled slightly.
Garoth’s gaze sharpened. He flapped his wings and shot straight up into the sky, vanishing from where he stood.
Boom!
The rocky ground beneath him shattered like fragile glass in an instant. A huge shadow burst from the earth, catapulting hundreds of meters into the air before crashing down.
Tension eased slightly.
Garoth exhaled and lowered his eyes to the ground below.
In his view was an enormous Rockgrub worm over a hundred meters long, coiled at the bottom of the abandoned mine. Its shell gleamed cold and metallic under the sun, radiating overwhelming pressure.
Crack crack crack!
With teeth-grinding sounds, the ground continuously broke apart. One Rockgrub worm after another burst from the earth.
They were densely packed in huge numbers, their bodies rubbing and entangling, sending chills down one’s spine.
“There’s a Rockgrub worm swarm, and a worm king exists.”
“This place is not for me, for now.”
“Looks like finding a suitable territory to settle isn’t an easy task.”
The young dragon thought with regret, avoiding the acidic rain spat by the Rockgrub worm king and flying higher and higher, leaving the place behind.