16. Sometimes Luck Is Needed to Create Results

In this narrow coastal cave, I accidentally discovered a bean beetle with an RGB type that changed color in real time… Let’s just call it the Rainbow Bean Beetle. It turned out to be a surprisingly tough opponent.

The reason was simple… Unlike the regular bean beetles that stuck to the ceiling or walls and stayed put when you approached, this Rainbow Bean Beetle crawled at high speed across the ceiling!

Of course, the ordinary bean beetles in the coastal cave weren’t completely immobile.

Among the three bugs I’d encountered so far, one would fold its body like it was running away when I got close and move forward.

But its speed was barely at the level of a tree frog or earthworm crawling. So, in terms of stabbing it to death, it was no different from standing still.

However, perhaps the law that different individuals of the same species have different stats even in the Abyss.

The Rainbow Bean Beetle, which made you squint just from staring at it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠showed a clear difference from the other bean beetles.

‘What the heck is it so fast? …Even its twitching is faster, ugh, it’s gross!’

The decisive difference was speed. Its speed along the walls was several times that of regular bean beetles!

It had surpassed the level where you could mock it as a tree frog or earthworm, and it moved like a rabbit or cat—you couldn’t even call it that.

However, the way this bean beetle moved its body, wrapped in a shell-like form, was only by writhing like the whole body was shaking, so…

The movement of the Rainbow Bean Beetle, which had reached super high-speed territory for bean beetles in real time, was…

Umm, I won’t hold back words for those who hate bugs, but it was enough to explain without adding more.

But even though it was high-speed movement beyond species for the bean beetle, in absolute terms, it wasn’t that outstanding. At best, it was like a rabbit or cat’s full sprint.

Then, in this Abyss teeming with all kinds of monsters… it would be like riding a bicycle on a highway.

Therefore, at least for me, who was staying at the middle layer of the Abyss ecology pyramid, I could proudly say that even though its speed was slow, it was still much slower.

If this place wasn’t the narrow coastal cave where I couldn’t jump properly, but an open plain with everything wide open…

“Ike…! Stop, run away! …Uggak!”

Pang!

The sound of something hard colliding and one side shattering clearly echoed in the cave.

The identity of the projectile that created this brutal sound was a rock protruding from the coastal cave and my thin, soft shoulder.

It was a simple accident that happened when I was chasing the Rainbow Bean Beetle crawling in front of me, didn’t check the protruding rock properly, and accidentally bumped into it.

The sound alone was so brutal that even a passing stranger would want to ask if their shoulder was okay.

But my body’s strength, which had already jumped beyond human levels, wasn’t enough to leave a wound with just a rock stuck to the wall.

Therefore, I won the collision between my soft, squishy shoulder and the protruding rock, but as a result of the shock, my foot slipped and I was temporarily tied up.

“Kruuu… This cave is really annoying!”

The narrowed distance that had been barely narrowed again became even farther due to this mistake. What was with suddenly protruding rocks on the wall.

So, in this extremely frustrating situation, I vented my frustration into the air, then quickly straightened my posture and started running quickly through the narrow, winding coastal cave.

If it had been a flat plain with no obstacles, the reason I hadn’t caught the bean beetle that would have been caught in just a few seconds was this. This space was too narrow for me!

Walking was naturally not a problem. It was a bit humiliating, but if I slightly bent my waist, my head wouldn’t touch the ceiling, so going forward was no error.

However, in this kind of environment, if I was running, it would immediately come back to haunt me.

That’s right, a runner naturally has to slam into the ground. Then, the body naturally floats a little… naturally, the top of the head would bump with a pong!

Moreover, I was currently aiming at the Rainbow Bean Beetle stuck to the ceiling. Naturally, I had to look up… so, if I wanted to run properly, I couldn’t run!

Besides, the path was winding and sloped, and the height of the ceiling was arbitrary, and there were even puddles where my feet would sink in.

It wasn’t easy to catch a small creature running away at high speed.

Well, since it was so troublesome and bothersome. I could just overlook it as a good sight, no matter how much it was.

‘Damn… I can feel there’s something to this. Intuitively, I know. If I miss this, I’ll definitely regret it.’

The intuition that had helped me several times in this Abyss was strongly asserting itself to me.

This Rainbow Bean Beetle wasn’t just a beast with special appearance, but an existence hiding something important!

Then, could I really give up here? After all, intuition was always the one telling me choices close to the right answer.

…Well. If it was completely impossible, I wouldn’t have poured so much effort into this.

Every day was precious and valuable to me now, so there was no reason to exert effort into something without fun and that only injured my body.

Logically, it was enough to catch it. No matter how cumbersome the space was, the difference in physical performance was so great that the distance was gradually closing.

To put it bluntly, if it wasn’t the coastal cave, I could have moved faster than the bean beetle even by crawling on all fours. In fact, I had narrowed the distance by more than half when I first started chasing it.

‘But… there’s one reason I can’t help but get anxious.’

The act of catching itself wasn’t the problem. If I continued pouring time into it, eventually the distance difference would become zero.

Then, in the end, stabbing the Scissors Blade into the bean beetle’s back was already a done deal.

But there was one problem in the process…

Yes. The problem was right here.

If I kept walking along the path at this speed, I would go out of the map that had been revealed!

Even though Polaris’s power was close to a scam ability, since she had just received a body and was starting to eat, there were still limits to her abilities.

Therefore, the map of the coastal cave given to her now was not the entire map of Delic. The range was roughly around 2 km centered on the entrance.

So, for me, who didn’t have great memory and was walking in the dark, if I went out of Polaris’s map… it would mean losing the way back and being trapped here.

‘Huu, huu… There is still one chance… But if my foot stops again this time, the bean beetle will go out of the map. If that happens, I will have to follow it out of the map.’

To be honest, I didn’t want to go out of the map. If I barely caught it at the edge, maybe, but if I fell again, after running far out of the map, I would barely catch it.

Then, there was 100% certainty that I would lose my way in this coastal cave.

But intuition was insisting that even if I got into such a situation and wandered, I had to chase the bean beetle. It was truly inconvenient.

Of course, even if I caught the bean beetle and lost my way, it wasn’t a place with Predator Species, so it wasn’t a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠life-threatening situation.

But Polaris and Noise left behind were different. If I left them alone for too long, that situation would become extremely fatal.

‘Food… Even if I eat tomatoes, I can last a few days. But if a lost virtual beast from home flows in… the two without combat ability can’t do it.’

Noise is a knowledgeable support type, and Polaris is a mascot type with navigation ability.

At least, building buildings or cleaning trash wouldn’t be a problem, but no matter how injured, they didn’t have the power to deal with a ferocious virtual beast.

Of course, if they hid well, they could endure, but the buildings I built couldn’t withstand the Abyss environment without CP maintenance. That is, I had to be there.

…I had no choice. Then, the only decision I could make here was… If I don’t catch the Rainbow Bean Beetle this time…

‘Then, I’ll give up. I need Polaris and Noise. Intuition is saying to catch it no matter what, but whether I should secure it while abandoning the two… I don’t know.’

Sorry, Intuition. This time, I won’t follow your words.

But, I wasn’t thinking of giving up yet. Since I had the chance to catch two rabbits, there was no reason to discard it.

Let’s end it here. As long as I don’t go out of the map, I just need to catch the Rainbow Bean Beetle?

“Let’s go all out!”

My basic outfit came with low-heeled shoes that came as a set. Shoes sturdy enough to withstand almost any scrap metal.

Due to its design structure, this shoe had the effect of subtly pulling the body’s center of gravity upward. Therefore, thanks to that, I could take a more stable posture on flat ground than barefoot…

But in unstable areas like now with slopes, it became the main cause of twisting my body, so I made a very rational judgment… and chose to take off the shoes wrapping my feet and throw them away.

It was chilling. The cold sensation of the rock’s chill rising through the soles was very clear.

Well, it wasn’t completely barefoot, but my feet were wrapped in white socks… Anyway, when the soles touched the ground, the axis went slightly downward, and I could feel the force being applied more strongly than before.

‘I should have taken them off earlier!’

The hard clacking sound turned into a light tapping sound. And the force at the toes became clearer, and I felt my body advancing more lightly.

If I had known this, I would have taken off my shoes earlier… but seeing the white socks quickly getting wet on the wet floor, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

Of course, the shoes I left behind were too valuable to discard, so I planned to retrieve them later.

“Waaah!”

Running barefoot, the distance to the Rainbow Bean Beetle narrowed even more clearly.

And feeling my strong momentum, I felt like the bean beetle’s twitching was getting faster.

But my speed, prepared barefoot, was far superior to the extended speed. With this speed, as long as there was no problem, catching the bean beetle was just a matter of time!

‘A little more… Just a little more…!’

I swung the Scissors Blade and aimed at the bean beetle’s back. There were only a few steps left to the distance where this stab would hit.

There was a similar distance left to exit the map, but it didn’t matter if I went out a little. That was within the error range that I could quickly return.

‘Two steps… One step… Now!’

And finally, when my arm was stretched enough to barely pierce the body of the Rainbow Bean Beetle…!

The ground suddenly sank with a thud, and my right leg that had stepped on it was sucked downward with a whoosh.

“Uggak…?! Damn…!”

My body shook greatly, and the aiming point of the sword I was aiming at became unsteady. But I couldn’t turn it back to normal with my will.

My body was already being pulled down with great force, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Rainbow Bean Beetle was running away in a bloop bloop bloop.

Failed. I had no choice but to bite my lip in despair at the last chance that had disappeared so miserably.

If I quickly pulled my leg back and chased again, I would have no choice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but to run mindlessly on a path without a map.

For me, who had bet everything on this chance, a situation like this was the worst failure.

‘No, no. There really is one last move.’

But I quickly reignited the flickering flame of will that was disappearing and glared intensely at the Rainbow Bean Beetle.

There had been a chance from the beginning, one of the means with a risk of missing if I failed. But that risk was no longer a problem.

Now there was no chance at all, so where was there room to think about the risk of missing?

Slap.

The sound of the wet sock stepping on the ground from the sunken puddle.

And straightening my waist, I stood up, grabbed the Scissors Blade I had been holding in reverse, and took a throwing stance by pulling my shoulder back.

Thud. It was a terrifying means that allowed humans to catch monsters stronger than themselves after fire…

But this time, it would be a way to safely catch the annoying running bug!

“Haaah! Eat this… Awaaah!”

But if I designed the posture perfectly in my head without assuming other variables…

I hadn’t expected that it could result in a ridiculously funny outcome.

Here, there is a sock soaked with water and the floor glistening with the water that flowed out.

If, in a situation where one leg bears the weight for throwing, the supporting leg slips away, what would the person’s next posture be?

…Imagining that result isn’t that difficult.

“Hnak!”

With my right leg as the axis, I extended my left leg, and the scientific result of the reaction giving a large rotation to the waist was extremely simple.

Slipping, tilting, and then falling forward with a ridiculous scream.

I.

The Scissors Blade, launched to pierce the bean beetle’s shell, didn’t stay in my hand but just slashed the air in vain.

And I, staring at the floor, fell with a resounding crash, like my nose was pressed to the ground.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that much. The embarrassing feeling made my face and ears hot.

Thankfully, no one was watching. If it had been broadcast, I would have been tagged like a tail and laughed at for life.

“Kuuu… Ah, what is this… Am I really stupid…”

Thinking about it, my body seems to be listening less these days.

Falling and pressing my nose into the dirt at the botanical garden was one thing… It seems like I fall with a resounding crash about once a day.

Of course, I didn’t realize there was water on the floor this time, so it wasn’t a matter of being careless, but even so, I fell often.

Perhaps my mind hasn’t caught up to my body yet. Or maybe rapid body enhancement has this side effect.

‘…No way I’m the type to be careless. Yeah, it must be that. Then, enhancing the body too quickly isn’t a good idea either.’

I tried to stand up after rubbing my slightly numb nose because I fell without any preparation… and suddenly realized there was an odd sensation from the Scissors Blade.

…It was heavy, how should I say.

Like something was stuck at the end.

Well, the activated Scissors Blade was sharp enough to cut through solid rock like a sponge. Well, when I fell, I must have stabbed a nearby stone.

So, I thought of that appropriately in my head and slowly stood up…

“…Eh? What is this.”

Looking at the Rainbow Bean Beetle stuck at the end of the Scissors Blade, I had no choice but to make a slightly dazed expression.

Why is it stuck here.