Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 030
Chapter Title: Episode 008 (1)
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Mine Centipede.
Also known as Hundred Boots.
As the name suggests, the Mine Centipede was a centipede-shaped monster commonly found near mines.
The nickname Hundred Boots came from its countless legs.
Typically, it was known to chew through ore veins, consuming minerals that altered its carapace to match their properties as it grew.
Another notable trait was its size—ranging from forearm-length specimens to fully grown adults nearly a meter long.
—Krrrr.
Judging by eye, this one's length was roughly six to eight meters.
From that perspective, the Mine Centipede before him was a monster that had far surpassed the limits of its kind.
From its colossal body, Kuhn recalled a certain piece of information buried in Ming's memories.
...Is it undergoing spiritual beast transformation?
In the world where Ming had lived, ordinary animals occasionally transcended their limits after living for ages or encountering rare opportunities.
A rare phenomenon, even in that other world.
But if this Mine Centipede was experiencing the same...
That was Kuhn's guess when—
—Krrrr.
The creature, which had been emitting low growls, slowly lifted its head from where it was jammed into the cave entrance.
Its eight compound eyes swiveled, glaring at Kuhn.
Chunks of rock piled on its head crumbled down with a patter.
—Krr.
Despite slamming into the wall at breakneck speed, not a single scratch marred its head carapace.
Kuhn let out a quiet inward sigh at the creature's impossibly tough exoskeleton.
Only then did he realize why its carapace faintly gleamed red.
So that's why they call it a monster that grows by devouring ore veins.
Born to gnaw ore and reinforce its carapace and exoskeleton, even one midway through spiritual transformation couldn't escape that instinct.
And if among those veins was some Callior—blood ore, used in magic swords and demon blades...!!
Kuhn calmly gauged its hardness with steady eyes, certain it surpassed typical rock or mineral monsters' defenses.
With armor like that, most attacks might not even leave a mark.
But...
That doesn't mean there are no ways to deal with it.
No living creature was perfectly invincible.
First, accurately test its defenses.
With that thought, Kuhn readjusted his grip on his sword.
Clack.
A tremor rippled along the blade in his hand.
Vrrrrm—.
It wasn't his hand shaking.
The sword was crying out, unable to contain the surging torrent of mana.
The song of the sword.
It was the sword resonance, a phenomenon only elite aura practitioners could manifest.
Through a year of secluded training, Kuhn had reached that realm.
Even more astonishing, his expression remained utterly composed amid the resonance.
This meant he wasn't forcing it—he could produce it as naturally as breathing.
—Krrrr!
Provoked by the sound, the beast roared deafeningly and hurled its massive body at him again.
Kaboom!
A thunderous crash that set every hair on end.
Its bulk charged straight ahead, hundreds of legs wrapping around the cavern ceiling in a plummeting assault!
Its upper body—from waist to head—whipped like a lash.
The impact was so ferocious it seemed it might collapse the inner cavern and even the tunnel they'd descended through.
Rumble!
The cavern wall caved in where it struck.
Rocks and boulders rained down haphazardly.
Direct hit, and not only would survival be impossible—even the corpse might not stay intact?
Probably end up as a pulverized meat patty, or like a mosquito swatted mid-bloodsuck.
Despite the grim musing, Kuhn effortlessly dodged by leaping diagonally upward.
Whoosh!
Not too high, not excessive.
Just enough to slip past its attack range.
—Pbbt.
A flying rock shard grazed his cheek, drawing blood.
In that instant, without hesitation, he swung his sword downward.
From below upward, a vertical slash scraping its carapace!
One of the Thunderbolt Sword Style's mightiest techniques tore across the Mine Centipede's flank.
—Kagagagak!
.
—Kagagagak!
Sparks flew as the blade bounced back.
A strike that could split boulders left only faint scratches on its armor.
Not lethal—not even a graze worth noting.
Recovering his sword, Kuhn glared at the behemoth and licked his lips.
Uniform hardness across its carapace from head to tail?
Similar scratches dotted its shell.
Like rubbing pebbles on rock.
In other words, none of Kuhn's attacks had inflicted meaningful damage.
Targeting the belly instead of the top doesn't seem much better.
He muttered while evading with Soft Wind Step, mimicking a gentle breeze.
Now, he was probing its body for weak points, devising a hunt strategy.
The most effective so far are joints or carapace gaps, but...
Glancing back, he saw three swords deeply embedded in leg joints and shell seams.
Trophies taken from the Shagal brothers before entering.
Brought for emergencies, but who'd have thought he'd use them like this.
...Problem is, even knowing that, it won't deliver a decisive blow.
Chopping through a hundred legs one by one would take too long.
Gaps were effective but not fatal.
So...
Only one option left?
Not the exterior—inside its body.
Specifically, the head's interior.
Pierce the roof of its mouth, and he could scramble its brain in one go.
No need to carve through the armor.
With that, Kuhn kicked off the floor.
Not Soft Wind Step, but Gale Step.
His form blurred into a gale, bounding off walls between caverns.
Up, up, ever upward!
—Krrrr......
Below, the beast raised its head and upper body.
Its antennae writhed in the dark.
As if tracking his airborne form!
—Krrrrrr!!
Finding him gliding down, it roared furiously and reared up.
But that was the moment Kuhn had waited for—
—KRrrrrrr!
Its ear-splitting roar ripped the air as its jaws gaped wide.
A sticky something surged upward from its throat!
Splaaat!
Spider silk.
Thicker, tougher than any ordinary web!
As Kuhn had anticipated this moment, so had the beast hidden its trump card.
Silk that thick rivaled steel cables.
However...
I knew it.
Kuhn smirked faintly.
He'd already spotted webs and cocoons scattered through the tunnel and cavern—proof it spun silk.
Why hold back until now?
Stupid beast.
As he tightened his sword grip with a sneer—
...Roooar!!
A massive flame roared between Kuhn and the centipede!
Blazing inferno severed them, incinerating the incoming silk.
Whoosh!
The fire erupted from one of the cavern zones the beast had rampaged around but never struck.
Fire? Wait, from that direction...?
Turning, he saw a fox pup cocooned in silk, one eye barely visible, snout extended toward him.
Had it used the flames to burn its bindings, escape would have been easy.
But it hadn't...
Helping me in its own way?
The next instant, Kuhn's plummeting sword pierced one compound eye.
Splurt, stab—!
One of eight red eyes burst, the intruder sensation wrenching a agonized shriek.
—Kieeeek!
A pain-driven wail unlike before!
But piercing the eye was merely to anchor his fall using the sword!
Kuhn's assault wasn't over.
—Kieeek!
Wracked in torment, the beast thrashed wildly.
—Kieeek!
"Ugh, motion sickness..."
Hanging from its shaking head, Kuhn extended the index finger of his free hand deep into its maw.
Whoosh—!!
A damp, eerie wind coiled around his finger, carrying local wraiths that gathered at its tip.
A bullet condensing ambient spirits.
...『Art of the Wraith Bullet』
A gray flash.
Pierced its skull point-blank.
——————Piiiing!!