novelraw Chapter 90: Stumbling into a Scorpion Nest
Chapter 90: Stumbling into a Scorpion Nest
“What did you do, Maxim?” Boris called out from behind, eyeing the collapsed remains.
“How did the sandworm’s corpse shrivel up like that?” Michelle also looked at the corpse in confusion.
“It’s a new signature skill I gained after my class advancement,” I explained, dusting sand from my armor. “Basically, I can draw out the energy stored in a monster’s corpse and convert it into something I can use later in battle.”
Technically, it wasn’t limited to just monsters’ corpses… and it wasn’t exactly ‘energy’ in the conventional sense. But there was no reason to dive into the finer details—or to bring up plausibility—right now. Since I planned on making frequent use of this skill from here on out, there was no point in keeping its existence a secret from them, even if I kept its true nature to myself.
Boris and Michelle exchanged a brief glance but tactfully accepted my explanation without prying into the details. That was one thing I appreciated about them; they knew when to keep questions to themselves.
“Alright then,” Boris said, clapping his hands. “Let’s keep moving.”
With that, we resumed our trek toward the distant outcropping, carrying the salvaged parts of the sandworm’s lower half in our inventories. The battle had barely drained some time, and the sun’s position was still uncomfortably high, which meant we still had plenty of daylight left—though in this place, that was more a curse than a blessing.
On the way there, a group of five scorpion monsters ambushed us, but they were no match for us, and we took care of them easily.
You have hunted [Poisonous Desert Scorpion Lv.56].
You have gained 660 EXP.
You have hunted [Poisonous Desert Scorpion Lv.55].
You have gained 650 EXP.
We pressed on, step by step, until the hazy silhouette of the outcropping slowly sharpened into focus. What had first seemed like a smear of darker sand began to take shape into jagged shapes. Rocks, tall and weatherworn, jutted out of the dunes like the broken teeth of some ancient beast.
Michelle shaded her eyes, squinting. “It’s definitely stone. And… wait. There’s something else.”
I followed her gaze, narrowing my eyes against the glare. Between the jagged rocks yawned a dark hollow cave, its mouth wide enough for several people to walk abreast, resembling the gaping maw of a beast.
“A cave… maybe we can use it as shelter for today,” I muttered, a mixture of relief and caution in my voice.
Boris’s lips curled into a grin as he wiped sweat from his brow. “We should check it out first. There might be monsters inside.”
Indeed, nothing this convenient would be left unguarded. We exchanged a nod, each of us pulling out a lantern we’d prepared for scenarios like this from our inventories. The light pushed back the darkness as we stepped inside.
The temperature dropped as we entered, and the air was thick with a faint, acrid stench that clung to the back of my throat. The walls narrowed into a tunnel before widening into a larger chamber. That was when Michelle stiffened, her hand tightening on her bowstring.
“There are tracks… monsters live here,” she whispered.
Activating my Night Vision skill, my gaze pierced farther than theirs, and my stomach sank. Jagged grooves marred the sandy floor, and along the walls and ceiling, dozens of pale shapes clung like grotesque ornaments. Their glossy black eyes gleamed in the lantern light, reflecting the glow back at us.
[Poisonous Desert Scorpion – Lv.57]
[Poisonous Desert Scorpion – Lv.56]
[Poisonous Desert Scorpion – Lv.55]
[Poisonous Desert Scorpion – Lv.58]
…
“Scorpions!” I muttered grimly.
As if the word itself was a trigger, several of the creatures stirred at once, tails arching high as venom-dripping stingers glistened menacingly.
“Figures this cave’s their nest,” Boris said, his voice hardening as he slammed his steel fists together.
The sound of skittering legs filled the chamber, echoing from deeper within. The noise multiplied, growing louder with every passing second until it felt as if the walls themselves were alive with movement. I counted quickly and found there were at least thirty, maybe more, as they began swarming toward us.
“Let’s retreat to the tunnel!” I exclaimed.
At least the tunnel was narrow, and we could use that to our advantage. In the open chamber, the swarm would overwhelm us with sheer numbers, but in a bottleneck, they’d be forced to come at us a few at a time.
Boris immediately took the front, his skin flashing into steel as he expanded his stance, blocking the tunnel with his bulk. Michelle slipped in behind him, her bow already drawn, eyes sharp and ready to fire the moment a target revealed itself. I moved to Boris’s side with my weapon at the ready. Since the tunnel was narrow and left little room to swing freely, I switched to my spear for better reach.
The first wave of scorpions poured into the passage with a deafening clatter, scrambling over each other in a frenzy to reach us.
“Steel Form: Blades!” Boris bellowed, his fists reshaping into massive cleavers. The first scorpion lunged, only to be split clean down the middle in a single, brutal swing that sent ichor splattering across the walls.
I thrust forward immediately after with Heavy Slash, piercing through the chitin of another scorpion, punching straight through its skull with explosive force.
You have hunted [Poisonous Desert Scorpion Lv.56].
You have gained 660 EXP.
Michelle’s arrows flew past us in rapid succession, striking the backline scorpions before they could advance. Each shaft burst into fire upon impact, flames spreading hungrily across carapaces, forcing the swarm to rear back in screeching agony. The narrow tunnel burst with the acrid scent of burning venom and meat.
As some of the scorpions tried to skitter along the walls to bypass the flames, Michelle suddenly stomped her feet. “Nature’s Split!” Thick, thorny roots tore up from the ground, winding across the stone floor and walls, coiling tightly around the advancing monsters. The writhing vines squeezed and pinned them in place, slowing their movements to a crawl.
We kept this up, pressing the advantage. The tunnel echoed with their chittering screeches as bodies piled up near the entrance. Yet for each one that fell, another pushed through, tails lashing like spears. One stinger shot toward me, whistling through the air, only to slam against my buckler with a sharp clang. Boris immediately cleaved the attacker apart with his steel blade hand, splitting its body clean in two.
Though the scorpions attacked relentlessly, their numbers were limited—no more than thirty or forty—and before long, every last one lay exterminated.
You have hunted [Poisonous Desert Scorpion Lv.56].
You have gained 660 EXP.
You have leveled up.
You have hunted [Poisonous Desert Scorpion Lv.56].
You have gained 660 EXP.
You have hunted [Poisonous Desert Scorpion Lv.56].
You have gained 660 EXP.
You have hunted [Poisonous Desert Scorpion Lv.56].
You have gained 660 EXP.
…
As the last of them collapsed in a twitching heap, a piercing, guttural screech reverberated through the stone walls, echoing from deep within the cave. Dust trickled from the ceiling, shaken loose by the sound alone.
“Watch out. Something bigger’s coming,” Boris warned.
The light from the lantern I had set beside me flickered as shadows twisted, and then it emerged. From the depths of the chamber crawled a monstrous scorpion, dwarfing the ones we had slain. Its armored body gleamed in the glow, chitin so thick it shone like polished stone. Each leg was as thick as a trunk, claws gouging stone with every step. The massive pincers at its front snapped with such force that sparks flew.
[Poisonous Scorpion Broodlord Lv.77].
The leader of the Poisonous Desert Scorpion nest, commanding lesser kin with shrieks and pheromones. Its armor is nearly impervious to ordinary weapons, and its venom can fell even Gimmel-rank monsters within seconds. Approach with extreme caution.
The scorpion brood’s glossy black eyes locked on us as its tail arched high above, venom dripping steadily to the ground and sizzling on contact, leaving smoking pits. It was clear this monster intended to avenge its fallen kin.
Boris spat to the side, his steel sheen spreading once more across his skin. “Come at me if you dare.”
“Don’t get careless,” Michelle warned, drawing her bow. “One hit from that tail, and we’re toast even if we have an antidote.”
Provoked, the scorpion brood let out another screech and charged at us along with smaller scorpions that skittered in its wake.
“Focus fire on the big one,” I said firmly, setting my stance. “If we take it down, the rest won’t matter.”
It closed the distance with terrifying speed, large pincers slamming forward like twin hammers.
“Interesting! Steel Form: Pincers!” Boris roared, his blade-arms reshaping into massive steel pincers, clashing against the brood’s.
Clang!
Sparks erupted as metal ground against chitin, the impact echoing through the chamber.
Michelle loosed her arrow, the shaft streaking like a comet. It struck the scorpion brood’s flank and erupted in a violent blast of fire and force. Smoke and dust billowed outward, scattering the smaller scorpions, but as it cleared, the brood’s armor bore only a charred mark.
“Tch, its armor’s even tougher than the sandworm’s hide!” Michelle hissed.
The scorpion's brood’s tail lashed down, striking the ground where I had stood an instant before. The impact shattered the stone floor, venom splattering and sizzling as it ate into the rock.
“Heavy Stab!” I shouted, driving my spear forward with all my strength. The tip pierced its eye, bursting it in a spray of ichor. The beast screeched in agony, unable to dodge since Boris’s steel pincers locked it in place.
Even with its monstrous armor and deadly venom, under our combined assault, it could only thrash helplessly as we struck again and again. Boris ended it, his steel pincers wrenching outward and tearing the brood’s body apart in a gruesome spray of ichor and shattered chitin.
“Whew. Guess that’s the last of them.” Boris chuckled as his hands reverted to normal, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Between Michelle’s flame and explosive arrows and the relentless heat outside, the temperature inside the tunnel had become almost suffocating. The flames had eaten up much of the oxygen, leaving the air thin, stifling, and filled with smoke.
“Anyway, now that this cave is clear, we can secure it as our shelter for tonight,” I chimed in while looking at my status screen.
Maximillian Anderson Lv. 8/60 (EXP 2,026/2,720)
HP: 100%
MP: 404/404
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Paradox Incarnate
Title: One Who Conquered the Impossible (4)
Status: Normal
Strength: 331 + 37 + 33 | Dexterity: 331 + 16 + 33 | Stamina: 278 + 25 + 28
Mind: 184 + 18 | Magic Power: 222 + 22 | Luck: 224 + 22
Plausibility: 747
Free Attributes: 84
Signature Skill(s): [Absorb Plausibility], [Fabled Vessel], [God!$# Creation], [Grant Plausibility], [Scenario Manipulation]
Skill(s): [Basic Alchemy Lv.7], [Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.7], [Basic Neutral Magic Lv.8], [Basic Shield Mastery Lv.8], [Back Stab Lv.3], [Berserk Lv.2], [Calm Mind], [Chantless Casting Lv.2], [Desperate Willpower Lv.8], [Divine Sermon Lv.1], [Extraordinary Agility], [Extraordinary Endurance], [Extraordinary Magic Power], [Extraordinary Power], [Fast Equip], [Heavy Slash Lv.7], [Heavy Stab Lv.6], [Inspect Eye Lv.3], [Intermediate Spearmanship Lv.2], [Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.3], [Inventory], [Mana Manipulation Lv.6], [Mana Sense Lv.7], [Mental Tolerance Lv.5], [Negotiation Lv.5], [Night Vision], [Pain Tolerance Lv.6], [Paralysis Resistance Lv.3], [Poison Resistance Lv.3], [Projectile Defense Lv.3], [Predator’s Step Lv.4], [Weapon Manifestation Lv.1], [Wind Rush Lv.6]
Spell(s): {Mana Arrow}, {Mana Bullet}, {Spinning Mana Arrow}
We lingered at the entrance, letting the fires die down and the smoke drift away, before finally pressing deeper into the cave’s depths.