Chapter 360: Intelligent Monster
Alex breathed heavily as he examined his surroundings. He had managed to kill all the house-sized spiders nearby, but the battle had taken a considerable toll on his physical stamina.
His mana pool was still almost completely full, with barely ten percent of it consumed throughout the battle. However, continuously maintaining Neural Overdrive, reinforcing his body, and enduring repeated impacts had exhausted him considerably.
Fortunately, the high-Rank monster meat he had swallowed earlier was finally beginning to digest. With Advanced Blood Vitalization Spell assisting him, his body gradually replenished the blood he had lost, while the nutrients helped restore his stamina.
Alex looked toward the surrounding forest, where hundreds of smaller spiders were still moving between the trees. However, their movements had become noticeably less coordinated after the deaths of the enormous spiders.
‘So those big ones really were coordinating the smaller spiders through the webs,’ Alex thought, feeling somewhat relieved that his earlier suspicion had been correct.
He immediately activated Mana Vortex Spell, destroying the invisible webs surrounding him before accelerating toward the hill base.
Throughout the battle, he had repeatedly activated the Mana Vortex Spell in short bursts to prevent the webs from trapping him again. As he flew above the forest, however, Alex noticed several enormous figures approaching from the distant trees.
They were more house-sized spiders, and judging by the number of smaller monsters accompanying them, the group he had just defeated was only a small portion of the entire swarm.
‘I did think those giant ones were a little too weak. Were they actually just stronger foot soldiers?’ Alex wondered, his expression darkening.
If that assumption was correct, then the situation was much worse than he had initially believed. The spiders appeared determined to eliminate his entire group, and with such enormous numbers, they could potentially overwhelm even powerful Ascenders.
‘There are far more spiders here than I saw on the Mountain Spider’s body last time. They must have been hiding somewhere else, or living somewhere else, back then,’ Alex considered, increasing his speed.
Within moments, he reached the hill base, but what he saw immediately caused his expression to turn solemn. Numerous spider corpses littered the surrounding ground, mixed with the bodies of several Netherclaw Prowlers.
Alex bit his lip, feeling anger rise within him, but quickly forced himself to calm down. He couldn’t afford to lose control while Mia’s people were still fighting for their lives.
Twenty Mana Bullets appeared around him as he began constructing them simultaneously. He deliberately avoided using Fire Bullets, since their explosions could easily injure the Netherclaw Prowlers fighting among the spiders.
“Die,” Alex muttered, releasing the bullets toward the monsters below.
Each projectile struck its target with tremendous force, piercing through armored shells and killing the spiders almost instantly.
…
Roka growled fiercely at the disgusting eight-legged monsters surrounding her. The spiders had rarely attacked creatures outside their territory before, so she couldn’t understand what had suddenly caused them to become so aggressive.
Nevertheless, understanding their behavior wasn’t particularly important right now. She slipped into the shadows and emerged beside a spider, tearing through its neck before disappearing again.
Her movements were extraordinarily fast, allowing her to kill several monsters before they could respond. However, no matter how many she killed, more spiders continued emerging from the forest.
“Me… meow,” her mate growled weakly from behind her, attempting to attract her attention.
Unlike Roka, he hadn’t received a name from the Queen yet, since their Queen had been extremely busy recently.
None of the Netherclaw Prowlers minded waiting for her to name them, however, since she had given them something far more important than names. She had awakened their intelligence, freed them from the tyrannical influence of Origin Energy, and allowed them to become something more than beasts driven entirely by instincts.
“Meow,” Roka growled at her mate, telling him to remain quiet while she dealt with the approaching monsters.
However, he immediately meowed back, insisting that she should abandon him and escape. He told her that several of his limbs were broken, and he could barely move, making him an enormous burden during the battle.
“Meow!” Roka snapped angrily, refusing to entertain the suggestion.
Not even a week had passed since they had gained the ability to think like intelligent beings. They had barely begun experiencing their new lives, and Roka couldn’t accept losing her mate before they had an opportunity to enjoy their new life.
She continued fighting, repeatedly slipping through the shadows to attack the approaching spiders. However, her injuries gradually accumulated, and maintaining her movements became increasingly difficult.
Her mate stopped asking her to leave, although she noticed him attempting to stand to help her. Seeing his broken limbs trembling beneath him made something inside Roka’s chest ache strangely.
‘Is this what the Queen meant when she talked about emotions?’ Roka wondered, struggling to understand the unfamiliar sensation.
It was painful, considerably more painful than she had expected, yet despite that pain, she desperately wanted to survive.
She was only nine years old, and she had found her mate barely a year ago. They hadn’t even had children yet, and there were countless things she wanted to experience now that they had been given the opportunity to live intelligently.
Roka growled fiercely as another group of spiders approached, although she knew her threats wouldn’t frighten them. Her body was reaching its limits, and with her mate unable to escape, she could no longer see a way out.
Just as the spiders rushed toward them, however, something suddenly tore through the air. Several muffled explosions rang out, and the approaching monsters collapsed almost simultaneously.
Blood spread beneath their bodies as Roka stared in confusion, unable to understand what had just happened. More spiders emerged from the forest, but they too were killed within moments.
Then, a familiar figure descended from the sky, surrounded by numerous floating Mana Bullets. It was Alex, the Queen’s friend, whom Roka had never particularly liked because of how casually he treated their Queen.
In fact, her dislike had been one of the reasons she had refused to accompany the others into the Sunken Vault Dungeon. However, seeing him now filled her heart with an unfamiliar sense of relief. It was another new emotion, one she could feel only after gaining intelligence.
Unlike the painful emotion she had experienced earlier, this new emotion was strangely comforting.
“Are you alright, Roka?” Alex asked as he flew toward her. Even while speaking, he continued constructing Mana Bullets and firing them toward the approaching spiders, preventing any of the monsters from reaching the injured Netherclaw Prowlers.
“Meow,” Roka replied.
“That sounded like you’re doing fine,” Alex said, smiling slightly.
As he moved past her, the red armor covering his body disappeared, and he briefly rubbed her head.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. For now, go and tell the other Netherclaw Prowlers to gather inside the Badger Dungeon. We’ll establish a defensive line there,” he added.
Roka felt a strange warmth spreading through her chest. She couldn’t tell whether it was because of his reassuring touch or because of the confidence with which he had spoken.
She raised her paw and rubbed the spot where Alex had touched her head. It had felt surprisingly pleasant, which made her wonder why the Queen always hissed whenever Alex attempted to pat her head.
Meanwhile, Alex crouched beside Roka’s mate and began examining his injuries. Several of his limbs were broken.
..
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