The spider leaped faster than ever before. It no longer felt like a spider, rather it was a streak of living fury, a blur of red and black tearing through the air. Adam's instincts screamed at him, but there was no time to decide between dodging or countering. The monster was already upon him.
The impact came like thunder.
The spider's fangs sank into his head, piercing through his armor with a sickening crack. Pain flared across his head rippling through every nerve. The fangs couldn't penetrate his skull, but a small wound was all it needed for the venom to take effect. Adam reeled, the world spinning. The vibrations of the spider's body coursed into his skull; he could feel the pulse radiating through him, erratic and feverish.
He struck back.
His mandibles lunged toward its underside, a blind and desperate counter, but the spider reacted first. It vaulted upward, its body twisting midair. Jumping high into the air. Adam quickly dodged, rolling to the right as the spider fell, its limbs smashed the ground as it landed hard, the shockwave trembling through the mushroom floor and up Adam's legs.
He retreated further, gasping. The spider didn't stop. It jumped once more and came crashing down again, all its weight and momentum slamming into the earth. The chamber shook: crystals embedded in the walls flickered with its frequency.
"I won't be able to overpower him with close combat. He is too fast and unpredictable now." Adam strategized, wishing for a miracle to appear in his mind. Until his brain lit up like a lightbulb.
Mana shield.
A sudden rush of energy surged through him. It was like trying to stand against a tsunami. Mana pressing from every direction, crushing his chest, stealing his breath. The barrier unfolded with a sound like grinding glass, separating the entire chamber in a pale blue dome.
The spider, stuck on the otherside, hurled itself at the shield, over and over. Each strike rang through the air like hammer. Vibrations screamed through Adam's body. He gasped, legs trembling, his body shuddering from the feedback.
Crk—crk—crk.
A fracture snaked across the barrier. His mandibles clenched. "The wall can't hold on for much longer."
And so, it shattered into a million pieces. The spider burst through the haze of broken mana shield. Adam dropped the shield instantly, pouring everything he had left into motion. The two collided mid-stride, mandibles locking together in a clash that echoed through the cavern.
They struggled. locked in primal hatred. The spider's limbs lashed out, longer and faster than before, each strike dented and cracked his armor. Pain lanced through him. But amid that agony… came his chance.
"NOW!"
Mana pulsed through his core.
[Skill Activated: Tremor Pulse]
The ground convulsed. Cracks shot through the stoney floor, sending waves of dust and mana upward. The spider staggered, its limbs scrabbling for balance. Adam's senses sharpened, the world pulsed like a giant earthquake about to spew its deepest hidden treasures in an instance.
[Skill Activated: Tactical Foresight]
A thin, glowing line appeared before him, tracing the path from his mandibles to the spider's shoulder joint. Adam leaped, following it instinctively. His mandibles sliced through flesh in one clean motion.
A spray of thick, dark blood splattered across the ground. The spider's left limb fell, twitching violently before going still.
The creature shrieked. Its voice echoed in the chamber, shrill, hollow and filled with pain. It staggered, eyes flickering wildly as it turned back to face him.
Adam stood his ground. His breath was heavy.
In the spider's eyes, Adam saw, that burning red fury slowly changing, now trembling. There was fear. Genuine fear of a prey.
For the first time, the beast hesitated.
Adam felt something stir within him. A deep, quiet pride. The satisfaction of seeing his strength, hard-earned and undeniable. He knew the spider has lost, victory is just within his grasp. And he was proud, he felt as if his body was on fire, celebrating the triumph just within his reach. Despite that, he felt a cooler sensation, emerging from him as he stepped closer to claim his prize.
The chaos around him, the shaking ground, the dripping acid, the resonance of mana, all seemed to fall silent. In that moment he felt he could control the world.
He exhaled slowly, mandibles tight. Blue lines emerged from his mandibles with each breath.
What Adam couldn't see, what screamed through the spider's wild, primal instincts, was the impossible sight unfolding before it. Blue flames had begun to rise from the ant's small, battered body. Manifesting into a shadowy figure, grinning with pride. It mocked the spider with its eyes. To the spider, such a creature was beyond its worst nightmares, towering over him in every way, emerging... from a creature it considered prey. The air thickened with heat and energy, distorting the stone walls around them.
The spider froze mid-step. Its many eyes widened as the first wave of mana brushed against its carapace. The sensation was maddening, the mana too bright, too powerful, shimmering the air stronger than before, shaking every cell within his body. Every fiber of its being screamed to run. Its legs trembled, the chamber echoed with an unknown hum, as if the world itself held its breath.
The spider screeched and leapt backward, its instincts spiraling into chaos. The brilliance of those flames tore through its senses, and it bolted, jumping wildly between the walls, trying to escape the radiant terror behind it.
But it couldn't. A blue shimmer bloomed across the exit. A wall that solidified into a burning blue barrier. The spider's fangs cracked against it, its legs scraped frantically, but there was no escape.
Realizing it was trapped, it turned. And there, bathed in the undying glow of blue fire, stood the ant.
Adam's eyes were hollow with focus; his mandibles set in eerie stillness. The flames traced his outline like a crown, silent and alive. The spider's instincts shattered between fight and flight until only desperation remained.
It hissed, clattered its fangs, and lunged, roaring one last time in a desperate attack, a final defiance against the inevitable.
But mid-air… it stopped. Its legs stiffened, its motion faltered, as though the world itself slowed to watch.
Its vision split. The Mana slash curved through its body faster than he could comprehend.
The spider's body fell, eyes dimming, its consciousness fading in disbelief. The last image burned into its dying mind was that of an ant, standing before it, small, silent, and burning bright like a monster of the light.
And in that fading moment, the predator realized, he had become the prey.
For a moment, Adam just stood there, trembling. Joy swelled within him, but it was more than that. It was fulfillment. He felt like an entirely different person. No longer bound to pointless law and rules, no longer adhering to the expectations of society. He was truly free. He... was wild.
For the first time since awakening in this strange world, the weight on his shoulders eased. the purpose he had carried, and the expectations he had set upon himself, were finally conquered. Yet he couldn't shake this feeling of unease.
The moment was brief.
A faint sound broke the silence. A slither."Hisssssssss…"
Adam froze.
"What was that?!"
His mind raced, panic piercing through his chest. Frantically looking around for an answer. "Is it another monster?! Don't tell me I have to fight it now!"
He spun, scanning the tunnels, his antennae twitching sharply. The faint blue glow of mana painted the walls, but there was nothing. No shadow, no movement. The tunnels stretched empty, silent…
Then the pain struck.
"Cough—Cough!"
Blood splattered against the stone, dark and glistening beneath the fading light. His chest burned as the mana flames began to dim, flickering out like exhausted embers.
His body trembled violently. Every limb felt heavy. The rush of victory drowned beneath a growing wave of weakness. His vision blurred. The walls started bending, the world tilting.
He tried to steady himself, but the ground came rushing up to meet him.
The last thing he saw before darkness claimed him was the cracked, blood-stained floor and the faint reflection of blue light still flickering in the chamber.
Then... cold darkness.