Free Web NovelChapter 38: Endless Centipede
The end result was that he still fell into the swamp.
However, the monster that had tried to devour him was already dead. Naturally, the ordinary wild beasts didn’t dare do anything.
Using the vines, he climbed onto another tree branch.
Fortunately, this one was genuinely sturdy.
Just as he was about to move forward, he suddenly felt as though he was being watched by a dangerous and piercing gaze.
He immediately stopped.
After causing such a disturbance, it was impossible that he hadn’t attracted attention.
This was exactly what he had hoped for.
"Mm!"
Suddenly, he saw numerous whirlpools forming in the swamp.
More than ten of them appeared, surrounding his location.
Shua! Shua! Shua!
From each whirlpool, a giant black centipede with crimson eyes and red stripes leaped out, lunging toward him.
DING!
(A Level 20 Boss Monster!)
A notification appeared.
It was supposedly only a single monster, so why were there so many?
Could all of them be the same centipede?
The centipedes opened their mouths.
They weren’t particularly wide, but their rows of teeth looked incredibly sharp.
A black liquid coated them, giving off an extremely threatening feeling.
In response, Mateo released Ghost Wave toward them.
The distance was too short for them to evade.
The fire ghosts burned them into ashes.
Even the portions of their bodies hidden beneath the swamp were burned away as the swamp water evaporated.
However, Mateo soon became confused.
There was no notification indicating that he had killed the monster.
As the swamp recovered, new whirlpools appeared.
More centipedes emerged from each one.
Shua! Shua! Shua! freeweɓnovel.cѳm
They charged toward him again, trying to swallow him whole.
How was this possible?
Mateo was bewildered.
This time, he chose to dodge.
Buzz!
He released Primordial Wind through the soles of his feet.
Even without proper control, merely releasing wind downward instantly propelled him upward at tremendous speed.
The centipedes chased after him until their entire bodies emerged from the swamp.
Each was roughly twenty meters long, with hundreds of legs that seemed to be running through the air.
’It seems this boss can split itself apart,’ Mateo thought.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, more centipedes emerged from those centipedes, using the bodies of the first ones as platforms to leap even higher.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Four times.
By repeating this process, they managed to catch up to Mateo despite the height his wind had propelled him to.
"Ehhh..."
He watched as every centipede’s body suddenly swelled up like balloons being filled with air.
Then they all exploded soundlessly.
A foul-smelling black liquid spread through the air.
Just smelling it caused Mateo to feel his blood flow slowing down.
His vision swayed and became filled with shadows.
Shua!
He immediately teleported to the edge of the swamp forest, realizing the danger.
The poison felt capable of interfering with the use of his powers.
That was why he chose teleportation instead of counterattacking.
Once he could no longer smell the poison, he quickly recovered.
However, he wasn’t given any time to relax.
The swamp before him suddenly churned violently, forming whirlpool after whirlpool.
Centipedes shot out from each vortex.
Whoosh!
He unleashed a wave of flames filled with ghosts, incinerating the centipedes.
If he didn’t destroy them quickly, they would likely explode again right in front of him.
Yet, just as before, there was no notification that he had killed the monster.
This only further confirmed that he was merely destroying fragments of the centipede’s body.
The question was where the real body was hiding.
The swamp was simply too vast to search manually.
When he scanned the area with the Star Wheel, what he discovered instead were numerous large lifeforms spread throughout the swamp. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Although he couldn’t confirm they were all centipedes, it couldn’t be anything else.
There certainly hadn’t been that many before.
No wonder they had located him so quickly after he appeared.
He teleported again, moving farther away from the swamp forest.
Opening the Magic World forum, he searched for information about this centipede and quickly found it.
Endless Centipede.
One of the most troublesome Boss Monsters due to its ability to divide endlessly, combined with its highly dangerous poison.
To kill it, one had to locate its true body.
However, there was a trick.
Like the Forest Chameleon, it was fond of Life Power.
Life Power could be used as bait to lure out its true body.
Mateo’s uneasiness vanished, replaced by a faint smile.
If that was the case, then this centipede would soon be finished.
Taking a deep breath, he teleported once more.
This time, he appeared inside an underground chamber at the edge of the swamp forest.
There, he released a considerable amount of Primordial Life Element.
Trees rapidly grew until they filled the entire underground chamber.
He hid behind them, prepared to teleport and attack the moment the centipede appeared.
It didn’t take long.
Soon, the cracks in the ceiling darkened, indicating that something enormous was blocking the light above.
This had to be the centipede.
And its true body.
Shua!
Mateo immediately teleported upward.
The moment he saw it, his expression became serious.
What an enormous centipede.
It was perhaps fifty meters long, though only around four meters wide.
Thousands of legs supported its elongated body.
However, what astonished Mateo most was the armor covering its entire body.
The forum hadn’t mentioned anything like that.
The armor was probably something the centipede had obtained on its own.
A magical armor capable of adapting to the shape of its wearer.
The centipede still hadn’t noticed Mateo.
Its attention was completely focused on the holes in the ground that were emitting Life Element.
Its countless legs dug into those holes, widening them further.
Mateo swung his dagger.
It was coated with condensed fire and wind, producing a slash that descended like lightning toward the centipede’s back.
So what if it wore armor?
Could that armor withstand two Primordial Elements at once?
Mateo didn’t believe that was possible.
Boom!
The slash struck the armor and exploded.
Mateo, who had been completely confident, frowned.
The armor merely scratched.
That was all.
