Chapter 7: The Nightmare Returns

Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling — LNCrawler · All chapters

Chapter 7:
The Nightmare Returns

Part 1

NINA PICKED UP the ballrabbit and climbed onto my back. I started off in the opposite direction from the retreating soldiers. No point risking running into more humans. Seeing how the soldiers treated Nina made me want to bring her to the walled city even less. But I had no idea what to do.

She kept saying she had nowhere to go. But just wandering aimlessly through the desert looking for the perfect place wasn’t productive.

Should I search for the river that brought me here in the first place and go home to the forest? Leave her in the care of the orangurangs? Well, if I was going that far I might as well take her to the village and give her to Myria. They would treat her well, but I’d have to drop her off on the outskirts. I couldn’t go back to a village I attacked.

That might be the most realistic, but I just couldn’t gauge distances. How far down the river did I come? How long even was the river? Traveling too fast would be hard on Nina, compromising her immune system and leaving her even more susceptible to the Dragon Scale Powder.

I was stuck. I should’ve gone through the humans’ things before scaring them off and checked if they had a map, or captured one to interrogate. I was so concerned with not hurting them too badly that I lost perspective. Still—they came hunting for me in the first place—they already saw me as a terrifying monster. They would never cooperate. I needed to find a more accommodating sort of human.

If I walked for long enough, I’d find someone. But not fast enough. God, I really didn’t want to take her to that walled city. I just wish I could find someone I trusted to take care of her.

The next time we rested and the ballrabbit was back up to full MP, I’d have another talk with her.

As we walked, I caught sight of a black horse in the distance. Hey, isn’t that Hagen’s horse, Maria? She must have missed her master. I hoped that giant centipede hadn’t found him before he could reach safety.

Maria noticed me and broke into a run. She was heading away from the city, though. Guess she didn’t want to go home. I felt bad for scaring her. Maybe I should turn her around?

No matter how far I walked, everything looked the same. Does this ever end? Why the heck did they go to the trouble of making a magic circle out here in the middle of nowhere? Not to mention the city. What was the point of building here? Did they strike oil or something?

I felt the tingling of an unfriendly presence—Psychic Sense was alerting me to danger nearby. I stopped. I could hear something thumping ominously along, but I didn’t see anything. I was about to check the sky, when the earth in front of me exploded, raining down sand and dirt. The giant face I saw was familiar.

“Gggtchhhh!” Its creepy, rasping voice echoed across the sand.

Species: Giant Sand Centipede

Status: Normal

Lv: 62/80

HP: 448/448

MP: 236/236

Ahhhhh! It’s back! This is the one thing I didn’t want to happen! Why? Why did you come all the way out here? Do you have a crush on me?

Oh God…what if there were a ton of Giant Sand Centipedes in this desert? You’re the same one I saw before, right? Please tell me you are! Also, your burrowing skills are amazing, could you dig me a nest?

No time for jokes. I needed an escape plan. I could fly…wait. No, I couldn’t. I got away before because I wasn’t its primary target. Dodging the Centipede Beam would use up a bunch of stamina, and I wouldn’t have enough left to run away.

My best bet was Roll. I jumped up and down, rattling Nina and the ballrabbit around.

“Pfeff?!”

“Nyaah?!”

I caught them both in my mouth, spun in the air, and moved into Roll mode.

The ballrabbit was yelling in disgust, but this was an emergency. Come on, you could use another bath.

The area around us was flat desert—the perfect environment for Roll.

“Gggggtttchcchhhhh!”

Or it would be perfect, if I didn’t have a giant bug chasing me. I was slightly faster and I stayed ahead, but the visibility here went on for miles. Could I go far enough to lose it? I needed to level up, to get stronger. I didn’t need to be powerful enough to beat the centipede, I just didn’t want to be such an easy target.

Its sudden appearance freaked me out so much I could barely think, but now that I remembered its long-range beam attacks…yeah, this thing was truly a nightmare. That tubby slave trader was insane for thinking he could make it across the desert in that carriage. Why didn’t someone stop him? It was a suicide mission.

I stole a glance behind. The centipede raced after me, kicking up sand in all directions, drool trailing from its mouth. Where the drool hit the ground, the sand sizzled and sank into little holes. Wow, I really don’t want to get hit by that stuff. Is that a biological weapon?

I couldn’t let this last too long—I was worried about Nina. Even slugs were stronger than humans, and the giant centipede was a hundred times stronger than slugs. I hate this desert. I hate it!

Part 2

AS I FLED, the ocean began to come into view. Would it chase me into the water? I knew bugs didn’t like salt, but what about salt water? It might work, but it was a gamble. If it didn’t stop, I would be a sitting duck.

I ran on the beach, parallel to the tideline. Maybe I should get farther away from the ocean? Here, one escape route was completely cut off.

Looking ahead, I saw another monster coming toward me.

Species: Motaricamel

Status: Normal

Lv: 7/31

HP: 74/74

MP: 48/63

Hey, it’s a three-headed camel, a gourmet meal! Its fatty meat was addicting, especially after subsisting entirely on cactus. The camel stank, but at this point the smell just made me hungrier. Hands down the tastiest meat I’d had in this world. I’d love to try it with piperis.

Under normal circumstances, I’d run it down, cut it open, roast it, and salt it. But I had more pressing problems. Oh, maybe I could get the hungry centipede to go for the camel instead—it was weaker than me, far easier prey. Sorry, three-headed camel, but you’re gonna be my sacrifice. I changed my trajectory and chased it out into the desert.

“Naarrgh?!” The camel noticed me, all three of its faces blanking with fear. It bolted, and I didn’t blame it. A giant rolling ball was chasing it. Back when I was a human, being chased by a giant rolling ball would have given me lifelong trauma. I’d scream every time I saw a marble.

Unfortunately for the camel, it couldn’t outrun me. I could have chased it down even without Roll. What a weird sight we must be—a giant centipede chasing a dragon ball chasing a three-headed camel.

Don’t be angry, camel. It’s just the food chain. You know, survival of the fittest, or whatever. I’m in danger too.

“Narghh, narghh…” The camel scrambled frantically, but I tackled it, dropping my speed just before impact, throwing it backward. “Nargh!” I felt the camel’s bones breaking under my body weight.

Sorry. I’m so sorry. I feel super guilty about this.

Gained 28 Experience Points.

Title Skill “Walking Egg” Lv — activated: gained 28 Experience Points.

Oh, I killed it. When I used Roll at the top speed like this, it could dispatch a lower-ranked monster instantly. Rolling over D-rank monsters might be a cool way to power level.

I looked back at the giant centipede, trying to gauge if my plan was a success. The camel’s body flew toward its head. Perfect! Now eat it and calm down.

Thump, splat!

The camel hit the centipede with a squishy impact sound. The speed combined with the centipedes hard shell completely obliterated it—the corpse didn’t stand a chance. Its legs and heads scattered in a spray of blood. The sheer horror of the scene had me staring longer than I should have. Three-headed camel, I am so sorry. I absolutely didn’t intend that!

The centipede’s high defense meant it didn’t take much damage. All I managed to do was piss it off.

“Gggggtttcccchhhh!”

The centipede was furious now, barreling at me even faster than before, shrieking as it came.

Ugh, come on! That was a peace offering!

It wasn’t all bad, though. Its increased speed put more strain on its body. It wasn’t thinking about its stamina; it was too busy being angry.

It wouldn’t last long like this. Or at least, I hoped not.

I kept up my pace, Rolling at the same speed. And just as I’d hoped, the shrieking grew more distant. Good. If I kept this pace up much longer, I’d end up injuring Nina. The ballrabbit’s tougher than it looks, though.

The true hero here was the camel. I should go back later and cook it up—or, uh, hold a burial service.

I’d have to butter up the ballrabbit too. If it got too mad at me, it wouldn’t be willing to use Telepathy or Clean, making my life a lot more difficult.

Just as I was starting to relax, I felt an incredible chill from behind me. I remembered this sensation. I turned just in time to see red light bloom around the giant centipede’s mouth.

It was the super-long-range attack, my nightmare: Heat Beam. I should’ve predicted this when I heard its cry growing distant. It dropped its speed last time too.

What should I do? Last time I took to the air and fell into a nosedive to avoid it, but now I was earthbound. How could I avoid it on flat terrain? It was too close to fly away; when I landed it would just be waiting for me. That window of opportunity was over.

My escape would have to be on foot. It sucked, but my agility was higher—if I just kept going, I would pull ahead.

C’mon. You can do this. If you screw this up, Ballrabbit and Nina will die.

“Gggttchh!” A red laser shot from the centipede’s head. Here it comes. Heat Beam. Just be positive. Stay positive! You can do this. Just keep running. If it even grazes you, it’s all over.

If it hit me, it wouldn’t kill me, but it would slow me down, and then I’d be a centipede’s lunch. My only option here was a completely clean getaway.

I veered wide to the left, and the beam hit the place I’d been only a second before. It shot past me through the sand, burning up the ground and leaving smoke in its wake.

I wasn’t safe by any means. The beam didn’t stop. It veered left as well, following me with single-minded purpose. I could feel the radiating heat on my scales.

The pressure was intense. I sped up, darting farther to the left to avoid Heat Beam. It shifted to chase me.

Argh, this is useless! I can’t escape like this! I should’ve just tried my luck in the air!

The range of the beam was just too large. This was so unfair.

In a lucky break, a sand dune appeared in my path, and I launched myself off of it and over the red laser like a jump rope. It passed right beneath me.

Wow. Thanks, sand dune. You saved my life.

But I couldn’t count on random sand dunes. I jumped again, and Heat Beam rose to follow me. You’ve gotta be kidding me! It’s still going? Are you trying to use up all your MP?! I really, really hate giant centipedes! I’m only still alive out of sheer luck!

As I Rolled, I stretched out both wings to change my center of gravity, just barely dodging. The Heat Beam passed right by. It didn’t hit me, but my scales felt scorched. And I was beginning to feel the fatigue.

What the hell is up with this monster beam? I landed and it came right for me at an angle. I Rolled to the right again, moving even faster than before.

Normal Skill “Roll” Lv 6 has become Lv 7.

Title Skill “Chicken Runner” Lv 2 has become Lv 3.

There it was! Insult aside, that skill was actually a huge help right now—my mean-spirited saving grace. I felt myself getting faster.

I’d pulled far away from the centipede, but its Heat Beam was relentless. I couldn’t shake it. I felt surrounded, only managing to evade because it was targeting me directly. If it started shooting it off randomly, there was no way it would miss every time.

Heat Beam hit the spot right behind me. I heard sand sizzling and smelled smoke. But the centipede had to be running out of juice. I just had to keep this up. I had to wear it out.

I can do this, I can do this. I’ll outrun it and become a rank-AAA+++ monster and eradicate all giant centipedes from this desert. You’ll be shaking in your boots, you creep!

The Heat Beam was trembling. The centipede had to be nearing its limit, but that made it ever more dangerous—its aim was all over the place. But I’d come this far, and I couldn’t back down now. I’d hit the bottom of the hill and then launch up into the air.

I could do this. I could do this!

I rolled up the hill and jumped off, and the Heat Beam shook back and forth wildly, slicing through my scales like paper. An intense pain raced through my body. It wasn’t just the heat—there was the agony of having my flesh scraped out.

“Grrgh!” I opened my mouth to scream, but the ballrabbit and Nina were in there. I could no longer maintain Roll, and I skidded across the earth on my belly, which scraped the scales from my stomach.

My head hurt and my vision flickered. I couldn’t think straight. When I finally came to a stop, I tried to look behind me. Ironically, Heat Beam was gone. Dammit. It got me at the very last moment.

“Ggggtcchh!” The master of the desert was coming for me. It must’ve anticipated a surefire victory, because it wasn’t bothering to move quickly. I was too injured to get up and run.

Even if I was done for, I had to get Nina and the ballrabbit to safety. I started to open my mouth to let them out. But that was when I saw a large hole in the earth, hardened sand surrounded by tight-packed sand, all a reddish-yellow hue.

I crawled on my belly toward the hole, my last hope of escaping the centipede. I wasn’t thinking straight, but luckily it was large enough for me to fit inside. The centipede could probably fit too, but it wouldn’t be able to move its legs much at all.

I used Roll to get as deep as I could into what appeared to be an underground tunnel, the whole interior covered in the same reddish-yellow packed sand. I hated to admit it, but this place was nicer than my cave back home. My magic clay was sturdier, but this clay was way fancier. Worse location, though.

“Ggggtcchh!”

The centipede stuck its head inside the hole, bumping into my back and knocking me forward. I hit my head on the ceiling and fell, but that actually worked in my favor, since it pushed me farther away from it. I was right; the centipede could barely move. It was stuck, groaning behind me.

“Gghhh! Gggtchh!”

All those legs the centipede loved using to zip around the desert smacked the sides of the tunnel, but the walls held. The creature couldn’t even turn to see the places where its legs were caught—and even if it could reach with its mouth, it would probably just break its teeth on the surprisingly hard walls. I doubted I had much to worry about on that front.

I was briefly worried that it might try to use Heat Beam down here in this confined space, but I was pretty sure it had used up all its MP by now.

Well, I did it. I outran the centipede. But now I was stuck in a tunnel, and all I could do was hope it wasn’t a dead end.

Part 3

I LIGHTLY TESTED my claws on the floor. Yep, it was solid. Not even the giant centipede could wreck this place. I opened my mouth and the ballrabbit crawled unsteadily out. It shook itself, sending my spit everywhere. I prodded Nina with my tongue, before stretching it out over the ballrabbit like a slide. Nina weakly slid down.

“N-nyaah!” She groaned and collapsed to the ground, passing out. The whole ordeal must have exhausted her. I checked her stats and breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t in any danger.

We couldn’t just lie here forever, though. The ceiling was too low for me to stand up to my full height, but I could still get around. I was injured, though, so maybe staying hunched over instead of standing to my full height was a good idea.

Maybe next time I evolved I would be a quadruped. Or would that be reversing my evolutionary progress?

The ballrabbit used its ears to roll itself up to its feet. “Pfeff…” It sounded mad.

I had to! I steadied you guys with my tongue. It shouldn’t have been too painful, right? Right? But I guess it must have been slimier…

Now that I knew we were all safe, I turned back to our enemy.

“Gggggtttcccchhhh!”

The giant centipede was thrashing its head around, legs flailing against the walls. Just go home, bro!

“Ggggggggtttttttcccchhhh!”

What? Oh my God, are you stuck? You shouldn’t have come in here, idiot! You’re just a bug!

I wanted to take care of it right here and now. Its MP was drained enough that it couldn’t use Heat Beam again. It was basically paralyzed. And I’d get a ton of experience points. It was a rank B, high-level monster, after all.

I stood in front of the flailing centipede and checked its stats.

Species: Giant Sand Centipede

Status: Normal

Lv: 63/80

HP: 455/455

MP: 54/241

Just as I thought—barely any MP left. It had Automatic HP Recovery, but not Automatic MP Recovery. Heh. Serves you right for bullying me just because you’re bigger! I’m gonna take out all my frustration on you!

I took a deep breath, then crept over quietly. There was no point in being precious, but the centipede still freaked me out. It gnashed its huge fangs. Stop it! You’re gonna break your teeth off. Or wait, those aren’t fangs. Did those used to be your front legs? I guess it doesn’t matter.

I got as far away as my range would allow, then sucked in a bunch of air and let out Scorching Breath. The centipede’s head was engulfed in flames, but it didn’t even react. Laughably worthless. We were the same rank, but that thirty level difference was making itself known. The only other long-ranged attacks I had were Whirlwind Slash or Disease Breath. If Scorching Breath didn’t work, there was no way Whirlwind Slash would either.

Disease Breath worked too slowly, and it wasn’t safe to use around Nina and Ballrabbit. And I didn’t want to raise an evil skill and get on another bad evolutionary path.

Should I just go with close-range attacks? Taking care of the damn thing here would make my life so much easier. There might be more of them, but killing this one would help me level up to take on the rest.

I took another hesitant step forward. The ballrabbit let out a “Pfeff!”

Don’t worry, I’ll be careful!

“Ggggggggtttttttcccchhhh!” Yellow liquid poured from the giant centipede’s mouth.

Gah! Oh no, I forgot Acid Drool! I backed up, wrapping my wings around myself. I felt the impact, stumbling backward.

“Ggttch!” The Acid Drool was a trap. It was waiting for me to defend with my wings before charging forward. I curled back into a ball and rolled away as fast as I could. The ballrabbit was behind me; I put on the brakes with my tail to stop from running over it.

That was close. If I’d been one second too late, that centipede would’ve crushed me to death. But now I was certain it was stuck. You could’ve turned around when you had the chance, but now it’s too late! You really wanna live in this tunnel for the rest of your life?

All right, time to settle this. It would come down to a hand-to-hand fight with a centipede.

With the differences in our stats, was beating it to death even possible? I decided to try one last Whirlwind Slash outside of its attack range. I brought my wings up, scraping them on the sides of the cramped tunnel walls, pooling magical energy. The blades of wind hit the centipede right in the face, to very little effect. It might have done something, but I didn’t have the MP to whittle it down to zero. Without its Automatic HP Recovery skill, I might have had a chance, but no such luck.

I tried again, focusing on making the wind blades smaller, aiming for the centipede’s front legs. I managed a direct hit, opening a gash in its leg. Blood seeped out.

Ooh, maybe this’ll work?

“Ggggggggtttttttcccchhhh!”

Oh man, now it’s pissed.

I shot off another Whirlwind Slash in the same manner, blowing off a leg. From this angle I could only target its front limbs, and it had plenty to spare.

Normal Skill “Whirlwind Slash” Lv 2 has become Lv 3.

Good. I need to level this skill as high as possible.

The giant centipede was so mad that its body jerked from side to side, its head knocking against the ceiling and the floor. The passage rumbled but didn’t crack. This place was so sturdy. Whoever built this is amazing. I wish I could build a hideout as good as this.

I’d planned to blow off the centipede’s other leg, but there was no sense in pissing it off any further. Whirlwind Slash required a lot of MP. This was pointless.

I turned my back on the furious centipede and looked down the path. The thick walls had messed with my senses, and up until now I’d been distracted, but now I could tell. There was something down here.

Part 4

“GGGGGGGGTTTTTTTCCCCHHHH!”

The centipede continued screaming behind me as I approached the ballrabbit and opened my mouth. C’mon. It’s dangerous in here. It shook its head.

(“I walk. Now.”)

No matter how much I tried to get it to climb in, it refused. Well, whatever. Luckily, the giant centipede was blocking the path back the way we’d come, so I didn’t

have to worry about something else coming in. And with the rabbit in my mouth, I wouldn’t be able to use my Breath attack. Maybe it was for the best. I’d just have the ballrabbit take care of Nina.

“Graah.” I let out a low noise, instructing the rabbit to watch out for her. I tried to keep my voice low so I wouldn’t provoke the centipede, but it wasn’t screaming anymore. Perhaps it realized there was something down here as well.

Psychic Sense was telling me that whatever it was lay just around the corner, but the walls were too thick for me to tell what it was, only that it was coming this way. I highly doubted it was a human, even if this tunnel did seem man-made. A monster could have converted it into its base. The centipede was too large, but this place was the right size for pretty much anything else.

The ballrabbit followed my instructions and picked Nina up with its ears, settling her on top of its head. It followed close behind me, Nina’s legs dragging across the ground. Come on, you’ll hurt her! The rabbit gave a little “Pfeff!” and hopped, trying to scoot Nina further up onto its head. But now her head was dragging…

The ballrabbit slowly put Nina on the ground, then opened its mouth wide and swallowed her whole. Its body puffed out, before it made a gulping noise and returned to normal. I remembered it had a skill called Storage, but this was making me nervous.

“Pfeff!” The ballrabbit made an indignant noise and puffed out its cheeks. Ah, okay. If you’re sure about it, then I’ll relax. Don’t get fussy.

I turned to check on the giant centipede one last time to make sure it couldn’t move, then began my advance down the narrow tunnel. The ballrabbit dragged its body behind me. With every step I took, Psychic Sense blared that something was coming toward me. It didn’t seem that large, and I hoped that meant it wasn’t very strong either. It sure was taking its time—maybe it could sense me as well. Maybe it didn’t want to slam into me around a blind corner.

We were on the same page there. I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of bumping into an unknown monster.

I continued on and finally whipped around the corner. In front of me were two large bugs. That surprised me. From Psychic Sense’s limited function, I’d thought it was just one monster.

The bugs were scaled to me the way a large dog was to a human—they were about half my size. Their bodies were red, and they had short antennae and eight legs. They were segmented into two parts, top and bottom. Ants. I remembered seeing something like this when I was first checking out the desert.

Species: Red Ogre Ant

Status: Normal

Lv: 29/55

HP: 246/246

MP: 78/78

Attack: 213

Defense: 226

Magic: 48

Agility: 187

Rank: C

Special Skills:

Earth Type: Lv —

Community Spirit: Lv —

Pheromone: Lv —

Red Sand: Lv —

Resistance Skills:

Physical Resistance: Lv 2

Normal Skills:

Bite: Lv 4

Burrow: Lv 6

Clay: Lv 2

Clay Gun: Lv 3

Regenerate: Lv 3

Title Skills:

Soldier Ant: Lv 6

What the heck? These were some strong frickin’ ants. Not only were they rank C, but they had ridiculously high Attack, Defense, and Agility. They were perfectly suited for close-quarters combat. They weren’t quite at my level, but taking them on together was going to suck. Even one at a time would be nasty, honestly.

None of their skills worried me too much, and they barely had any Resistance Skills. But if we were going purely off stats, they were even more dangerous than the giant slug. Without fancy skills, they’d probably attack me directly and try to whittle down my HP. I also had the ballrabbit to worry about—I couldn’t let either ant slip past me.

I really don’t wanna fight them… Maybe we can resolve this amicably? I stopped and tried to catch their eyes.

“Kktch, kktch…”

The red ants let out high-pitched noises. Or maybe they were just gritting their teeth, who knew? The giant centipede kind of sounded like that too.

Ballrabbit spoke from behind me. (“They say. Leave.”)

Leave? Couldn’t they see what was behind us?

“Graah.” Ballrabbit, tell them there’s a big monster behind us and we’re not going anywhere.

(“…They know. They still say. Leave.”)

Ah, okay. So they want me to die. Guess there’s no negotiating.

“Kktch, kktch…”

The two ants moved before I could say anything else to the ballrabbit, heading straight toward me. Argh…now I have no choice but to fight them!

Part 5

THE TWO ANTS marched at me side by side. Halfway there, they slowed down, one taking the lead. The two of them had basically the same stats, so it wasn’t a case of the stronger going on ahead. This must be strategy—the first one would strike and the second would wait for an opening.

I knew what they were going to do, but whether I could throw them off their game plan was another story altogether. They were fast. I’d have to keep my attention on both of them. In the case of injury, any retreat would have to be immediate. I had to meet all their attacks as they came.

I’d start with Scorching Breath—it was a relief that I didn’t have the ballrabbit in my mouth after all. Breath had a long range and wide scope. The ants wouldn’t be able to evade it down here in this narrow tunnel.

I engulfed their bodies in fire, but they had enough stamina to withstand it. I spread my wings and shot off several Whirlwind Slashes, striking one ant’s face just as it emerged from the flames.

“Kktch!”

It sliced into the ant’s head, stopping it in its tracks, but the one in back took over in an instant. “Kktch,” it said and shot clay bullets straight at me with its Clay Gun skill. Man, that brought back memories. The black lizard had that skill too.

These bullets were red, though. Maybe it liked the matching color? I batted away the bullets with my claws and kept my eye on the ants. The one in the back began moving again. Its wound was already healed up. It must have used Regenerate.

“Kktch!” The ant jumped at me, mouth wide. Wow, hand-to-hand combat already? This place was so cramped, and my movements were restricted—they had the advantage here.

“Raaar!” I aimed a fist at the one jumping at me. I could do this. It would work. The red ant twisted its neck around in midair, and my claws hit nothing. The ant swung back around to bite at my arm. The scales protecting my flesh crunched. I raised my arm and smacked the ugly thing against the ceiling.

“Kktch!” The ant released me and fell to the floor, but it didn’t go down. The other red ant lunged at me, going for my stomach while I was distracted. But I’d been expecting a coordinated attack from the beginning; I was ready for it. Don’t think you’ll fool me so easily!

I took a step back and kicked out at the ant lunging at me. I knocked it into the air and used Dragon Punch, smashing it away into the tunnel. It twisted in midair and managed to land on its feet. These guys were tougher than I expected, but at least I got it away from me. I could pick off the other one while it made its way back to me.

“Raaar!” Huh? Where did the other ant go? Oh, it’s checking on its friend. Did they realize they’re no match for me?

The two ants looked at each other and nodded, then charged. Oh, they’re attacking together now. Damn, they’re smart. Still, I’ve got ranged attacks. I’ll knock down their HP using Scorching Breath and Whirlwind Slash.

They had Clay Gun, but that was easy enough to bat away. They didn’t have much MP, so they could only use Regenerate a few times. I checked their status to see how far I had to go.

Species: Red Ogre Ant

Status: Normal

Lv: 29/55

HP: 232/246

MP: 21/78

Species: Red Ogre Ant

Status: Normal

Lv: 27/55

HP: 86/246

MP: 56/78

Oh hey, I already did a lot of damage. I’ve got the advantage here. I should let them eat another blast of Scorching Breath. I could suck in more air and blast the ants with a fiery gust of wind as they charged at me. There was nowhere for them to go—they couldn’t dodge. That would do some damage.

The two ants stopped moving. Their dwindling HP appeared to have drained their courage. But they were already too close. I wasn’t letting them get away.

If they wanted to escape, they should have run as soon as I prepared my Breath attack. Take too much damage and you start to run out of options.

I used Scorching Breath, flames covering my vision. I followed up with a Whirlwind Slash right into the flames. The blades cut through the fire, and I heard a thump.

Huh? Did it hit something?

The flames died to reveal a wall of red sand blocking the path. They’d used Clay to wait out the fire. As soon as it died, the wall crumbled and clay bullets zipped toward me. The ants were coordinating their attacks. The path was too narrow to dodge; I had to deflect them with my claws. But even with both hands, I couldn’t stop them all. They just kept coming.

My instinct was to guard with my wings, but they’d just charge me. The bullets I couldn’t smack away got through, and I thrust my right shoulder out in front of me, taking the damage there.

On cue, the two ants leapt at me together.

I withstood the pain from the bullets, pulling my shoulder back and adjusting my stance. Don’t panic. They’re just draining the rest of their MP with Clay and Clay Gun. They won’t have enough to use Regenerate. If I could finish one off, that would assure my victory.

“Kktch!”

They returned to a single-file formation, despite that not working last time. And yet here they were, going back to their old plan. Did they think it would go differently, or were they just defaulting to the basics?

It was tempting to go for one and ignore the other—getting rid of one would win me the battle for sure. But that would leave me open to a pile-on if I couldn’t take care of them fast enough.

Why the heck was an ant rank C, anyway? It was like two quick Little Rock Dragons coming at me. Screw this desert. I focused my attention on the ant in front. I had to prioritize defeating that one first. I swung my tail around and struck out at its face.

“Kktch!” It opened its mouth as wide as it could and bit down. Good. That was exactly what I wanted. It’d latch on just like that and let me take care of it once and for all.

With my tail, I swept the ant’s body into the air and dug my claws in where the two segments connected.

“Kktch!”

The red ant couldn’t take the pain and loosened its grip on my tail, releasing me. I stabbed my claws in, not letting go. I bit down on its neck as hard as I could.

“Kktch! Kktch!!” It shrieked in pain, its legs flailing.

Ugh, these things were so tough. That had to have done a ton of damage, though. Time to finish it off. I glanced at the other ant rushing toward me and circling around from the left. It lunged for my side. It was too cramped for me to dodge. Even backing up wasn’t an option.

Under normal circumstances, I’d grab it and fling it away from me. Fighting this battle by the book would have just meant guarding against their attacks while advancing with my own. But that would go on forever. I had to stick to my original plan of taking out one of them, even if I sacrificed some of my health in the process.

Bad news if they both attacked at once, but I could withstand a bite from one. I knew I could.

I kept my eye on the ant coming toward me while I bit the other in the neck again. My fangs were so deeply embedded I could bite its head off.

The second ant wasn’t expecting this. It paused for a moment. Its flat eyes almost seemed to crowd with emotion, as if to ask me, “What? Are you serious?”

But that was only for a second. It quickly regained its composure and lunged at my stomach, sinking its teeth in.

“Graah…” It hurt, but I had enough HP to ride it out. I had to withstand this and finish off the first ant. Then I could take my time ripping through the second. I gritted my teeth to bear the pain, which in turn just made my fangs tear deeper into the red ant’s flesh. Transparent liquid poured out of it, overflowing from my mouth.

It has clear blood. This is random information, but I remember that ants have tubes that pump oxygen through them instead of blood vessels, so they don’t have red blood cells. That’s why their blood is clear.

That knowledge was in my brain, but I didn’t know where it came from. I had a sense it was from a long-winded lecture. Maybe one of my friends in my previous life was obsessed with bugs.

I kept the ant firmly between my teeth as I pulled my claws out. Tear it apart! Tear it apart! Die already!!

“Kkkktttcccch!” The ant shrieked, flailed, and finally stopped moving.

Yes! I did it!

Gained 432 Experience Points.

Title Skill “Walking Egg” Lv — activated: gained 432 Experience Points.

Plague Dragon Lv 36 has become Lv 39.

Whoa! That experience was delicious! C-rank monster! I was over halfway to my max level.

No time to celebrate—I still had an ant gnawing on my stomach. I tossed the corpse of its friend to the ground and jammed my claws into its back. I curled up into Roll, waiting for the right moment. I spun to gather momentum and then flung the ant upward.

“Kktch!” The ant struck the ceiling, then ricocheted back to the ground. I used Roll again, mercilessly mowing it down over and over. “Tch!” It let out a short scream, and then it was over.

Gained 432 Experience Points.

Title Skill “Walking Egg” Lv — activated: gained 432 Experience Points.

Plague Dragon Lv 39 has become Lv 42.

I canceled Roll and stood up. Victory, but with some nasty damage to my stomach.

Special Skill “Dragon Scale Powder” Lv 4 has become Lv 5.

What?! That skill leveled up too?!

“Pfeff, pfeff!” The ballrabbit came up from behind and cast Rest. Our stats were so different, it took three spells before my wounds even began to close.

Thanks, Ballrabbit. But save the rest of your MP for Telepathy, okay?

“Pfeff!”

Not only did the ballrabbit have Clean, it had recovery magic and Telepathy. Not to mention it could use Storage to carry Nina around. At first all it did was eat my food, but now I couldn’t live without it. I’d befriended the ballrabbit initially for its Burrow skill, but now I felt like it contributed more than I did.

Part 6

“PHEWW…” I let out a sigh of relief as I turned to the dead ants. One of them was nearly decapitated, and the other’s body was crushed, fluids seeping out. Squished ants were disgusting when they were huge, even if I was pretty used to seeing dead monsters by now.

“Pfeff…” The ballrabbit started licking at the corpses.

Typical Ballrabbit.

It opened its mouth wide and bit into an ant’s head. It snapped off easily, and the rabbit chomped down noisily.

Umm, isn’t Nina in your stomach right now? I hope she doesn’t get coated in red ant guts. A-anyway, my level went up a ton. I should probably check my stats.

Illusia

Species: Plague Dragon

Status: Normal

Lv: 42/75

HP: 172/339

MP: 193/232

Attack: 291

Defense: 222

Magic: 201

Agility: 185

Rank: B-

Special Skills:

Dragon Scale: Lv 5

Divine Voice: Lv 4

Grecian Language: Lv 3

Fly: Lv 5

Dragon Scale Powder: Lv 5

Dark Type: Lv —

Wicked Dragon: Lv —

Automatic HP Recovery: Lv 3

Psychic Sense: Lv 4

Resistance Skills:

Physical Resistance: Lv 4

Falling Resistance: Lv 5

Hunger Resistance: Lv 4

Poison Resistance: Lv 5

Loneliness Resistance: Lv 6

Magic Resistance: Lv 3

Dark Resistance: Lv 3

Light Resistance: Lv 2

Fear Resistance: Lv 2

Asphyxiation Resistance: Lv 3

Paralysis Resistance: Lv 2

Normal Skills:

Roll: Lv 7

View Status: Lv 6

Scorching Breath: Lv 5

Whistle: Lv 1

Dragon Punch: Lv 3

Disease Breath: Lv 3

Venom Fangs: Lv 3

Paralyzing Venom Claws: Lv 4

Dragon Tail: Lv 2

Bellow: Lv 2

Meteorite: Lv 2

Nutcracker: Lv 3

Human Transformation: Lv 4

Whirlwind Slash: Lv 3

Neckbreaker: Lv 3

Title Skills:

Dragon King’s Son: Lv —

Walking Egg: Lv —

Klutz: Lv 4

Just an Idiot: Lv 1

Infighter: Lv 4

Pest Killer: Lv 3

Safety First: Lv 1

Liar: Lv 2

King of Evasion: Lv 2

Protective Spirit: Lv 7

Itty-bitty Hero: Lv 5

Wrongdoer: Lv 6

Calamity: Lv 5

Chicken Runner: Lv 3

Mr. Chef: Lv 4

Dastardly King: Lv 4

Stalwart: Lv 2

Giant Killer: Lv 1

Ceramic Artisan: Lv 4

Clan Boss: Lv 1

Laplace Interference Authority: Lv 1

Hell yeah, I’m almost over 300 Attack! If I keep going at this rate, once I get to max level, no giant centipede will stand a chance against me.

Once I leveled and evolved, I would obliterate that bastard. I would have my revenge. As soon as my stats were all over 350.

Depending on my next evolution, I might even make it to rank A. And then I’d pick up that many-legged freak and smash its head against the ground. Was rank A the highest you could go? My next evolution could be my final form.

I mean…the ranks are based on the alphabet, right? It didn’t make any sense that the people in this world would say A or B rank—it was just a system to make it easier to understand my power level.

Special Skill “Divine Voice” Lv 4 is unable to provide that explanation.

I wasn’t even asking you. You don’t ever tell me anything that doesn’t relate to skills and levels, and even then you pick and choose what to tell me. You’re absolutely worthless as a helpline.

The tunnel was clear, though the thought of running into some other nasty thing made me hesitate. But the centipede was still behind me losing its mind, so we had no choice but to go on.

I turned down the path, and once again Psychic Sense picked up several monsters down the corridor. Damn it. There was no end to this. This place really was a nest full of monsters.

The only source of light was the tunnel entrance, and this far in, it was pitch-black. My night vision was much better than it had been when I was human, but it still wasn’t great.

The best move might be to just go back to the light and wait for the monsters to come to me. Chances were whatever it was lived down here and was therefore used to the dark. They might even have skills specifically evolved for low light.

Turning to the ballrabbit, I saw it had activated Illuminate—two fireballs slowly rotated around it. This was what I assumed the skill was for in the first place.

“Graah.” Can you go a little brighter?

“Pfeff.” The ballrabbit understood me and nodded. A third fireball joined the first two, and all three got a little brighter.

Man, the ballrabbit was all grown up. What was its fireball maximum? This rabbit had so many skills. The people of this world should domesticate ballrabbits—one for every household. Argh, but then the country would suffer from a food shortage. Too many ballrabbits would overrun the world, and then they’d have to eat each other. I’m just freaking myself out at this point.

“Pfeff?” The ballrabbit shot me a suspicious look.

Crap, I forgot it could just use Telepathy to spy on my thoughts. I was pretty sure I had to be actively focusing for it to hear them with any real clarity, but I couldn’t run the risk of making it mad. I didn’t want it to turn off the lights. I shook my head, driving away the idle imaginings.

Well, that was the darkness taken care of. So I could fight now, but the question became…should I?

The path ahead was a long, straight shot. Best case scenario, I could gather basic information on my enemies before they reached me. Psychic Sense was telling me there were a lot of them. I only wanted to fight the ones I absolutely had to.

If they were weak enough, I could just use Roll to flatten them all, but that could backfire spectacularly. I needed to know what I was dealing with.

Before long, I saw a flash of red, and an ant’s head popped out of the darkness along the corridor.

“Kktch…”

More red ants?! I figured those other two were just here by accident, but there were a bunch of them. There were two more behind the leader.

“Kktch…”

“Kktch, kktch…”

Give me a break! Three of them? Could I even handle that many? Well, I had just leveled—I was in my best shape ever. And it wasn’t like I had a choice.

They were good for experience points. Guess what, Ballrabbit? You’re gonna have a lot to eat today. I’ll cheat and use my knowledge from my previous life to make a mountain of preserved red ants in soy sauce. Though for my serving I’ll just stick with plain sauce, thank you.

Another four ants joined the party. I wasn’t sure if it was due to their fallen companions, but they were all very clearly enraged. This was like facing off against seven Little Rock Dragons. Even one of these guys would be overkill to destroy a village. Maybe the first two were just supposed to hold me off until the rest of the crew could get there.

“G-garr…” I made a little noise and unconsciously took a step backward; I was scared.

N-no, I can do this. I know a battle tactic that works even in close quarters. And I’m not alone. I have the ballrabbit and Nina.

If I considered the ants’ skills and tactics, I could come up with a solution. Should I ask the ballrabbit to try to negotiate for me? But no, a surrender here would mean disaster.

Think, think! Isn’t there anything I can use? A weak spot in the walls or something? I should look closer.

Glancing around, I caught sight of a fragment of the red clay wall the ant had made. It wasn’t as strong as the cavern walls, but it was the same color and construction.

Oh God, this wasn’t a tunnel at all. It was a colony.

More ants appeared in a line behind my seven new friends. One, two, three… There’s no end to it! I give up on counting. I’m dead.

Part 7

“KKTCH, KKTCHH!”

“Kkktchh!”

“Kktch!”

“Kkttchh!”

“Kktchh!”

The army of red ants pushed forward.

Calm down. Just calm down. Panic won’t help anything. It’s always possible that the first two were outliers. They must have a wide range of levels—they can’t all be that strong. Don’t freak out before you check their stats.

If they were around level 10, I could use Roll and flatten them all in one go. It was totally possible that these were small fry.

I had no proof of that, of course. But I could hope. And I could also hope that all of these ants secretly longed for peace and were just acting under orders from their two evil leaders. That’s how ant colonies work, right?

Species: Red Ogre Ant

Status: Fury

Lv: 25/55

HP: 230/230

MP: 71/71

Species: Red Ogre Ant

Status: Fury

Lv: 24/55

HP: 226/226

MP: 69/69

Species: Red Ogre Ant

Status: Fury

Lv: 25/55

HP: 230/230

MP: 71/71

Species: Red Ogre Ant

Status: Fury

Lv: 27/55

HP: 239/239

MP: 75/75

Species: Red Ogre Ant

Status: Fury

Lv: 24/55

HP: 226/226

MP: 69/69

Yes, I was right! The advance guards were the strongest ones. The average level of these ants was two levels lower than the first two!

At this rate I can totally…nope, there’s literally no way I’m beating them! Two levels is a rounding error, for all the good it will do me.

They were moving differently from the ones before, but there were just too many! I looked behind me to find the ballrabbit frowning. I could tell it was trying to use Telepathy on the ants. They were ignoring the rabbit completely, acting like it wasn’t even here.

I started biting at the wall. If the ants made it with their Clay magic, then I could destroy it. It hurt my fangs, but I wasn’t letting that stop me. After the fifth bite, a small crack formed. Damn it, this is useless. The wall is just too solid! If I had time, I might be able to make a dent, but that was a luxury I didn’t possess.

I had no guarantee we’d be able to escape through the wall, but right now it was my only play. Of course, the whole thing might collapse on us, rendering the problem of escape moot.

The ballrabbit could make it out of even just a small hole. It had Burrow; it could dig on its own. And if Ballrabbit was safe, Nina would be too.

But as for me…well, it’s like that sometimes. A dangerous world meant a dangerous life.

It was honestly impressive I lasted as long as I did. My one regret was never learning Human Transmutation properly. I didn’t remember the first time I died very well—my memory of my past life wasn’t reliable—but I was pretty sure I’d been prepared for it. It must have been something like this—rough and not at all peaceful.

A rabbit and a demi-human would be the only survivors. I never managed to join humankind, but a human relied on me for a while, and that made me feel proud. Even if she was frightened of me most of the time.

“Raaaar!” I let out a roar and sank my fangs into the crack in the wall, my mouth lighting up with pain. My teeth weren’t making it out of this any more than I was. I tore at the hole with my claws, making it bigger. Good. That looked big enough for the ballrabbit to fit through.

“Grahh.” Sorry to put this on you, but take care of Nina for me, Ballrabbit. She’s the only human connection I’ve got left in this world.

“Pfeff! Pfeff!” the ballrabbit cried, racing to my side.

“Raaaar!” I stopped it before it got any closer. I looked at the hole, then turned back to the ants. “Raaaaaaaaar!” I bellowed, activating Roll and charging down the line. This was my last dance, so I didn’t worry about direction or control. I went full power. I couldn’t take them all, but I could buy some time.

“Kktch!”

“Kktch, kktchh!”

I smashed through the first two easily, overconfidence making them sloppy, but the next line formed a wall of four that stopped me in my tracks.

“Kktch!”

Red clay hardened against my body, layer after layer. Their plan was to wall me in, but I wouldn’t let it be easy.

“Raaaaaaaaaar!” I screamed and flailed as I got my feet back under me. I broke through the hard red shell of earth, shards breaking off all around me. This was nothing compared to the tunnel walls. Seeing this, the ants halted their advance. “Raaaaaaar!” I roared again.

“Kktch, kktchh!” The ants backed up, a few of them circling behind me to block off my escape. I have no intention of running. Surround me all you want.

I swung my claws through the air, bracing for counterattacks. Come at me!

“K-kktch…” The ant in front lost its momentum, flagging at my show of intimidation. I skewered it, killing its low-level butt in one blow.

Gained 384 Experience Points.

Title Skill “Walking Egg” Lv — activated: gained 384 Experience Points.

Plague Dragon Lv 42 has become Lv 44.

The ants’ anger transmuted into panic, but they didn’t retreat. From their perspective, they had me cornered. They weren’t the type to give up an advantage. The tenacity of the first two proved that.

Part 8

TENSION SWEPT THROUGH the line of ants, but they didn’t stop their slow advance, surrounding me on all sides. We were at a stalemate, but the formation around me gradually tightened, putting me more and more at a disadvantage. If I’d been trying to win, I would have cursed my luck. But right now I only wanted to buy a little time. They wouldn’t make any big moves before their formation was complete. That worked for me.

“K-kktch!” One of the ants couldn’t take the tension anymore and lunged. Behind me, I heard more ants jumping into the fray, lured in by the false start.

“Raaaaaaaaar!” I twisted my upper body around, lashing out with my claws and knocking away the two ants lunging at me. Neither of them died, but they sailed farther down the passage. They flipped over and started spasming—they were probably activating Regenerate.

“Kktch!”

“Kktch, kktch!”

Seeing what happened to their comrades must’ve shaken the ants, because their slow advance collapsed into a mob. I could no longer predict when they’d strike. If they kept coming at me one at a time, great, but I couldn’t do this forever. They’d wear me down eventually.

“Kktch!”

The biggest ant let out a shriek. I wasn’t sure if it was trying to urge the others on or stop them, but I doubted it was just screaming for its health. Its attention was on the ceiling. All the other ants froze at its sudden yell. Was this the boss ant? Their lieuten-ant? It was probably a B-rank monster.

Its yell appeared to calm the others, because they fell back into their orderly approach. The leader wasn’t having any more reckless sacrifices.

All I wanted was to give Ballrabbit a chance. I didn’t care what they did.

I glanced behind me to check on the ants circling back there, then farther down the tunnel to where Ballrabbit should be making its escape.

“Pfeff, pfeff!”

It still hasn’t run away?! It didn’t even seem to be looking for an opening. What the heck are you doing?! What was the point of me buying all that time for you? Nina’s inside of you, you know!

(“N-no.”) The ballrabbit looked at the ground and sent me a hoarse telepathic message.

At this rate our whole crew is gonna go down.

“Kktcch!” One of the ants ran at the ballrabbit. The leader looked after it and cried, “Kktchh!”

It seemed the leader wanted to keep the formation intact, and it didn’t want to risk provoking me until it was complete. That was why they’d left the ballrabbit alone. But that didn’t stop the one that had gone rogue. The ballrabbit threw its fireballs, and the ant didn’t even try to dodge it. The fire fizzled out as soon as it touched the ant’s carapace, leaving no trace.

The ballrabbit was in trouble. I sucked in as much air as I could, swinging my neck and blowing out Disease Breath in an arc all around me, targeting the frozen battalion of ants. Noxious air bloomed.

“Kktchh?!”

I used the moment of confusion to whip my tail around, knocking through my enemies and clearing a path toward the ballrabbit. I reached it just as the rogue ant opened its mouth wide. I bit into its back.

“Kktchh?!” My fangs sunk in deep, and I lifted it high into the air before slamming it against the wall. Its body cracked as it hit the ground, but it healed immediately using Regenerate and was back to charging at me in an instant. A moment later, the whole army of ants followed suit.

When the two scout ants attacked me in tandem, that freaked me out. But one at a time? No problem. I kicked and punched at them as they approached, then scooped the ballrabbit into my mouth and ran for safety. Well, the giant centipede was blocking the entrance, so I was running toward a dead end. But I had to escape, I couldn’t let it end like this.

I should have leveled up Disease Breath after all. If only I hadn’t spent so much time agonizing over every possible outcome…

“Gggggtttttccccchhhh!”

As expected, the entrance was still blocked by the centipede’s huge idiot body. I figured this was the end, but suddenly the centipede began to scramble backward. Wait, you could’ve gotten out this entire time? I thought you were stuck! Clearly it didn’t want to take on an army of ants.

Perfect. I could just slip out after the centipede. Salvation! I couldn’t believe it—I really thought I was going to die.

That’s an inefficient way of backing up, though. It’s just flailing its silly legs around. But who was I to judge a centipede’s grace? Its cry sounded decidedly pained. Hey! My dude! Let’s call a truce!

I Rolled down the path after the centipede. It was moving slower than usual, but even that was pretty quick. Maybe this whole time what I thought was its head was really its butt, and its butt was its head? No, absolutely not. A centipede with Heat Beams shooting out of its ass was too much, even for this desert. And I’d seen it gobble down those demi-humans with its mouth.

“Gggggtttttccccchhhh!” The giant centipede’s body emerged from the tunnel, and I slipped past it and out into the open air. My relief was short lived, though. The sight greeting me was horrific. About thirty red ants clung onto the giant centipede’s tail. Apparently, they weren’t very pleased with it blocking their front door.

I raced past them as fast as I could, glancing behind me just in time to see the army that had been advancing on me engage with the centipede.

“Gggggtttttccccchhhh!” The centipede tried to twist away, but the ants pinned down its tail. The other group split into two formations to avoid its Bite attack, completely pummeling it. All their energy focused on biting through its thick skin.

Those red ants were freakin’ scary. The giant centipede curled up its body, trying to whip them off, but it just couldn’t shake the horde of ants. The group pinning it was too heavy. Its speed—its greatest weapon—had been taken from it.

Red light gathered at the centipede’s mouth as it prepared its Heat Beam, but it fizzled out almost immediately.

Giant centipede…bro…you used up all your MP fighting me. You used Heat Beam on me so many times. The master of the desert, defeated by a group of ants, unable to raise a single leg in its own defense.

“Gggggggggttttttttccccccccccchhhhhhh!” The giant centipede’s shriek was filled with fear and rage. I wanted to watch the conclusion, but I didn’t want to risk drawing the ants’ ire again. I picked up speed and didn’t look back.

See ya, giant centipede. I know I swore I’d defeat you someday, but this works too. Our rematch isn’t actually that important to me. I hate you. I hope you die painfully. I’ll live on to tell the tale of the idiot who got itself stuck down a hole and nibbled to death by ants.