The small and sharp outcropping of ice splintered and shattered, broken shards flying in all directions each time the heavy armor stepped on the ground. The terrain was rough but many paths showed signs of regular usage something he had not seen in his previous settlement.
He had been traveling at full speed since he had woken up and the distance had covered would have been enough to leave the Grand Formation in his previous settlement but here, in the capital, it was an insignificant distance.
‘Habitable Zone had a circumference of 1900km and the Core Barrier would be only bigger.’
“!”
He readied himself. Qi flowed into his weapon and ice started materializing, growing larger and larger until the massive blade exceeded the height of the armor suit. By the time the greatsword became ready, he could make out the monsters that came crawling.
Sharp appendages soundlessly dug into the ice so despite their speed it was difficult to hear them approach. They started fanning out wanting to surround him but he kept moving, there was no change in his motion as though he was unaware of the beasts looming around him. Then the monsters entered his range.
Forwards Thrust. Propelled forwards, he swung his blade, the thruster on his arm amplifying the speed and strength of the strike, bisecting through one of the monsters. Resistance. Threads gathered around the blade allowing him to perceive everything in that small area. The monsters had joined to resist his weapon, stopping it from advancing further. Reverse thrust. He spun in opposite direction along with the blade and before they could react, it cut through the other side, cleaving another two.
Backward thrust.
The monsters pounced. He swung, cutting through their legs. The momentum of the swing allowed him to throw another kick.
Jump.
Thrusters on both arms and legs were mobilized at full force and he spun mid-air with the greatsword in hand.
There were no howls, there were no growls, and there was not a single sound even though he constantly cut off their appendages. They appeared emotionless as they attacked with the same unrelenting force they had shown since the start despite being cut down one after another. But he could sense their anger as messages rapidly passed in between the remaining monsters allowing the beasts to coordinate their attacks with greater precision.
For a moment he stayed frozen mid-air until gravity pulled him to the ground and during the fall, he induced a slight tilt to his fall. Starting from the center he cut through the monsters, emerging from the back.
Roll
He kept rolling, avoiding the spear-like appendages that rained only transitioning into running upon gaining some distance.
The armor constantly updated the model of the surrounding terrain making him aware of a blocky outcropping. It was a massive pillar. He jumped, his keens bent as he landed horizontally against the pillar. Thrusters activated sending him flying back toward the monsters. Mid-air he activated the thrusters, repeatedly changing their power to spin like a top.
Kicking, punching, slicing. He forced his way through the monsters, killing them when he could and destroying their legs if he could not. Most of the monsters had already been killed when he had attacked from above so he quickly dealt with the remaining monsters.
Slice.
Crack crack crack
The moment he cut open a monster, its insides that had been isolated instantly froze, cracking and shattering due to the sudden drop in temperature. As the armored hand brushed past them, searching for the core, the frozen insides shattered.
Storing the core he turned to the remaining monsters who despite having lost their legs and being unable to move, kept wiggling on the ground. Their mouths opened and snapped shut repeatedly, their aggressiveness was as absurd as their regenerative power. Their appendages had started recovering.
He retrieved his blade and started killing the one after another, storing all of their cores.
The moment he was done he hurried away as fighting always caused a lot of commotion which attracted monsters near and far.
It felt refreshing fighting such an active battle after a long time and even though it was to recover more quickly, it had felt stifling to stay still unable to perform any intense activities. He was still nowhere near his peak. His body was improving but his core was still a cracked mess restricting him from using the threads.
The wide frozen plain gave way to mountainous terrain and his armor generated massive and imposing mountains that existed further away. Despite their imposing looks, they were all hollow inside due to the massive tunnels that had been dug out by the worms. This was the place with the highest chance of finding harvesting the fluids as their nest was located inside there.
He turned, finally addressing the stalker. He had been keeping a track of the stalker wanting to see what his objective was but despite giving him chances, not once had he taken any action, just spying from a distance. It was annoying.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Come out.”
The stalker appeared to have been shocked as he quickly retreated only stopping once the distance between them doubled, it was enough he would shake him off easily now that they were no longer in the open plain.
He turned to look at the mountain. The terrain was complex, filled with outcroppings and boulders, and pillars. The information had described a path normally taken by the harvesters to get inside the mountain but even though it was easier, it was quite long and would waste too much time.
As he observed the model of the mountain, a path quickly sprung up in his mind. It would not be easy in his current state but that further added to his excitement. He rushed ahead controlling the thrusters and climbing the mountain unaffected by the obstacles that were everywhere rather he flowed through them with the grace of the wind.
***
Perfect movements that flowed smoothly as though they had been practiced countless times, it was like she was viewing a dance instead of a fight. Each action seamlessly connected with the next and made what should have been a dirty brawl into an elegant, enchanting spectacle. He was like air, never being caught despite being besieged from all sides, always in arms reach but never getting caught. It was like the monsters and harvester were putting up an act.
Even if he had no talent as a harvester his ability to fight was worth coveting.
‘What level will he reach when he grows older?’
Many could do the job of harvesting materials but few could survive all alone when outside the settlement, and fewer still could continue being so reckless even after leaving the Core Barrier.
‘Is this the reason he was chosen by him?’
Unlike her lady, she had read the reports related to this person so she had been observing him with great interest, recording everything that she saw especially when he fought.
“Come out.”
Shock!
‘When?’
She had been cautious since the start always, maintaining distance between them, and her armor was especially specialized for stealth operations but despite all that, she had been found. In spite of her shock, she instinctively increased the distance only breathing a sigh of relief when he turned back towards the mountains.
‘Was he bluffing?’
Just to be careful, she decided to put some more distance between them. She did not want to be discovered even if he was just bluffing.
He started running straight towards the mountain, rushing through the steep terrain filled with obstacles with the same grace he had shown while fighting. It was unexpected. He had bought the information so she had expected him to take the normal route. Having no other choice she chased after him as it would be impossible to find him inside the tunnels.
‘Why is he rushing despite having a whole week?’
There was a reason harvester had dug out a path to get into these mountains. The climb was steep, the terrain rugged, and sharp outcroppings of ice were everywhere. Where he had made to look effortless she had to put in all her might to execute the complex maneuvers, controlling the thruster, calculating the path all to be executed simultaneously within split seconds, repeatedly.
It had been a long time since she had last pushed herself this much.
Despite her best effort she could not catch up and could only follow the footprints of shattered ice that were left behind in his wake.
A cave shining with blue light. It was massive and despite having seen these tunnels before the awe she felt was no less. There was not a single support beam but the tunnel was stable, without a single crack as it withstood the weight of the mountain above it.
Fluids excreted by these humongous worms were truly magical. She had studied these fluids many times and was astonished every time by the complexity existing within them. After freezing, these fluids added an abnormal level of strength and stability to a structure even if the blue light they emitted was undesirable.
She entered the tunnel and sight returned. A soft and gentle blue light was emitted by every inch of space inside the tunnel along with the aura of the worms.
It would be difficult to find him here.
***
Threads extended out from his body inspecting the thick coating of the light-emitting material that was covering every inch of the tunnel. The coating kept emitting an aura that filled not just the tunnel but penetrated the mountain.
‘Is this the reason these tunnels can bear such weight?’
He strolled through the empty tunnels and when he tried to use the navigation system, the dense aura rendered that impossible.
He stopped. Facing him was another forked path, one tilted downwards, another went straight ahead, while the last one curved to the left.
‘It seems it will take time.’
He had already spent a lot of time getting to this place and before that he had slept for a whole day, adding in the time it would take to return he could not just wander like this or he would fail. For him that was not an option, he had to get access to the Frozen Sea as quickly as possible.
He chose to go deeper after leaving behind a mark. Even though the armor was mapping out the path he was taking, it was best to be careful in this maze-like place.
As he ventured deeper inside the mountain, the number of the forked paths he encountered kept increasing. At the start, he had been focused on going deeper but after getting no results he just started to randomly select a path. His ears were open, if such a massive creature moved, it was bound to produce noise.
Time passed.
It was difficult to keep track of where he was as he wandered through the silent and desolate tunnels. With nothing else to do, he started reviewing the information he had bought hoping to find something that would help in finding these worms.
***
‘Should I do it?’
The explosions would surely attract the worms but it was questionable whether the tunnels could bear the explosive force. If the tunnels caved in, the results would be fatal with him having no hope of making it out alive.
‘A useless worry rather it would be good if that happened.’
He would do his best to survive like he always did.
‘If I live, I live. If I die, I die. Hopefully, I die.’
He took out the cores he had harvested from the dead monsters. They were all raw and as his Qi entered the cores, it was like a meeting between two irreconcilable enemies. A violent reaction ensued. The cores started trembling intensely so he threw them with full force.