Epoch of Twilight

Luo Yuan’s heart sank. He had predicted that the corrosive earthworm would be the same mutated earthworm he had encountered earlier – big in size but not particularly aggressive despite its unbearable stench. However, it was still a light-blue rank monster.

But that was in the past – about a month ago! Clearly this earthworm has evolved. Anyway, I better see it with my own eyes.

Wang Shishi struggled to get out of the basement, her face filled with both excitement and horror. Luo Yuan was in no mood to wait for her. He walked to the door as she carefully stepped out of the hatch and ran to catch up with him.

Huang Jiahui heard their footsteps soften as they walked away. She formed a fist with her hand.

EVOLVE ALREADY!

When Luo Yuan opened the door, they were greeted by a gush of white fog. However, the fog couldn’t reach them as an invisible dome had been projected, shielding them from the mist. The mist before them was thick and it haunted the area with an eerie crawl, blocking Luo Yuan’s sight.

Judging by its breath, this is definitely a blue rank monster, which means it must be immune to the toxins of the pesticide. Come to think of it, the pesticide might have been a catalyst to the species’ evolution. It might have even triggered its rise to the surface. If I could describe its mysterious breath with one word, it would have to be “oppressive”, because damn could this thing suffocate a person!

Every living organism was constantly exerting a specific power of magnetic energy – the larger they were, the stronger the magnetic force they exerted. When a human came into contact with a larger living organism, the stronger magnetic force was capable of putting the human under a state of oppressed confusion.

Considering he had already slayed two blue rank monsters, the physical and mental oppression was the least of Luo Yuan’s worries. However, that was not true for Wang Shishi.

Any trace of excitement had been washed away by her overwhelming fear – they hadn’t gotten far, yet she was already breaking into cold sweat. She would have run away, but she knew that Luo Yuan needed her there to shield him from the mist. She started trembling and unconsciously moved closer to Luo Yuan, who kept walking forward cautiously.

Suddenly, a colossal silhouette towered over them, its shadow covering them as it zoomed high through the mist. It seemed to be momentarily suspended in mid-air before it began falling.

The earth shook vigorously as buildings and trees fell, raining shrapnel all around Luo Yuan and Wang Shishi.

Luo Yuan stopped in his tracks and looked back at Wang Shishi. “You stay right here. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll go take a look.”

“Bu-bbbbut. What about you?”

“The toxins won’t hurt me for a few minutes. You wait right here and be ready to shield me when I return.” He took a few deep breaths and ran into the open space, holding his breath.

Luo Yuan had always had a very sharp perception of the environment, and he had caught sight of something strange when the shrapnel had shot past the shield – it had seemed to be liquified. He tried to recall the monster’s system name. It was still an earthworm, but it had intense corrosive abilities and that was not something to joke about. He worried that it would prove extremely difficult to protect Wang Shishi and avoid the earthworm’s slime at the same time.

The mist was getting thicker – his skin had already started getting moist within the short time that had passed since leaving Wang Shishi’s protective shield. The intensity of the pesticide’s chemicals had him itching.

I must finish this A.S.A.P! I can’t risk being exposed for too long.

He felt the irritation on his skin and bit down the urge to scratch himself. He hastened his pace, gripping tightly the hilt of his sword. Within seconds, he had arrived on the peak of a hill, leaving a trail through the mist as he ran swiftly.

A hundred meters in six seconds. That’s a new record!

His scabbard began glowing blindingly– the earthworm had to be nearby. The environment started growing violently, rocks and tree branches raining from above as the earthworm accelerated towards him. The distance between them got shorter.

In a split second, his senses picked up its humongous presence. They were less than ten meters apart, charging at each other with no intention of slowing down.

Ten meters... five... ONE!

As they collided, Luo Yuan struggled to reach for his weapon.

A ray of blue light flashed through the mist.\\

The earthworm continued charging at Luo Yuan, wriggling like a thundering whip on the ground. The air grew more dense around him. His clothes fluttered aggressively as a gust of wind blew right at him, pushing him back. Luo Yuan remained unfazed and focused.

That’s when an unexpected mutation started taking place.

A visible crack split the earthworm right in the middle of its torso, tearing it further apart as it kept moving. The earthworm was cut into two equal parts, creating two earthworms with flat-ended tails that glowed blue as they begun releasing white fumes. The surrounding oxygen became thin and the toxins started crystallizing in midair.

Sodium-colored mollusk started forming on the earthworms’ wounds, hardening almost instantly and slowing down the two creatures. Their tails hit the ground and shattered the mollusks into tiny pieces of crystals which began morphing into more earthworms.

An earthworm can survive as long as the slightest segment of its body survives. It can’t be killed by slicing and dicing. I guess the best way for me to defeat it is to use my sword’s freezing ability.

The earthworms kept secreting extremely corrosive blue slime– one drip on the ground and the earth sizzled, forming a sticky form of molten mud. Rocks and trees alike shrivelled when they came into contact with the slime, melting and becoming one with the molten mud pile. It didn’t take long for a molten swamp to start forming around the earthworms as they wriggled in sporadic motions, eventually slowing down thanks to the crystallized surface of the swamp that was shattered within moments.

F*ck! The sword’s freezing ability can’t seem to crystalize this blue rank beast entirely!

Wait, what the...

“ARE YOU TRYING TO ESCAPE?”

The molten swamp grew wider and wider as one segment of the earthworm’s body began drilling into the ground.