Zyric stood silently, staring at the burning path ahead as a low rumble shook the ground beneath him. The air felt heavy with danger, and every direction seemed uncertain.
"Zyric, do as I say," the Fat Insect instructed.
Without wasting any time, Zyric jumped through the fire and landed on the other side. Once he reached a safe distance, he began jumping heavily, making loud thumping sounds with every step. Hearing the heavy thuds, the Driller Stones moving underground toward the princes and Elysia changed their direction.
"Yes, yes, keep doing that. They'll think there's a large beast walking around with heavy steps," the Fat Insect told Zyric.
"That's it! They're here. Run!" the Fat Insect warned.
Zyric immediately turned around and ran. The ground behind him appeared slightly uneven, indicating that all the Driller Stones were moving after him, mistaking him for a large meal. Soon, both Zyric and the Driller Stones disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Father, is this boy crazy? He'll be killed like this!" Edward shouted at his father.
However, King Eldric continued watching the direction in which Zyric had gone, even though the boy had already vanished from sight.
Zyric was running as fast as he could, but he was still much slower than the Driller Stones. Their speed underground was truly incredible.
Even the Fat Insect was so fast when traveling underground that not even a Velociraptor could outrun him. After all, speed was the Velociraptor's greatest strength. So, what chance did Zyric have? The Driller Stones were rapidly closing in on him.
"Zyric, remember how that prince combined his beasts' genes with his own body? Try combining the Velociraptor's genes with yours," the Fat Insect instructed him.
"Yes, Zyric, I have speed. Otherwise, I could come out and let you ride on me. But that would be a problem for you because you wouldn't be able to hold on to me properly, and it would also make running difficult for me. If you simply combine your genes with min—" the Velociraptor was explaining when—
"Hey, but I don't know how to do that!" Zyric shouted.
"Oh, come on! Then learn it! You should at least learn something before you die!" the Velociraptor told him.
Zyric closed his eyes and tried to combine the Velociraptor's genes with his own. At first, he couldn't do it properly. For a brief moment, he felt as though he had become a Velociraptor, but he couldn't establish a proper connection.
"Think of yourself and me as one!" the Velociraptor instructed.
Zyric closed his eyes again and imagined himself and the Velociraptor as a single entity. The next moment, the shape and color of his legs began to change. His legs grew larger, gradually transforming until they looked exactly like the Velociraptor's legs.
Then, Zyric, who had been running at an ordinary speed, suddenly accelerated and began racing forward. His hair streamed wildly in the wind as he continued running at an incredible speed. A smile appeared on his face as he glanced back.
"Zyric, we've come quite far from the tribe. Now, if we can get rid of these Driller Stones, we'll be safe. They won't return to the tribe because this is a forest, and they'll find plenty of other beasts to feed on here," the Fat Insect explained.
"But they're still incredibly fast! They're right behind me. How am I supposed to escape them?" Zyric asked in surprise.
"Ah, do one thing—combine my genes with yours," the Fat Insect suggested.
"But what power will I gain by combining your genes with mine?" Zyric asked while continuing to run.
"I don't know myself. Try it once and see what happens," the Fat Insect replied.
Zyric closed his eyes and imagined himself and the Fat Insect as one. Suddenly, both his hands began transforming, taking on the appearance of the Fat Insect's mouth, complete with the dangerous teeth it used to dig through the ground.
"This… this looks like your mouth. Does that mean I should go underground?" Zyric asked in surprise.
"Give it a try. Your speed will increase even more underground," the Fat Insect replied.
Zyric immediately dived toward the ground as if he were jumping into water. The next moment, he began burrowing into the earth, tearing through the soil as he moved forward.
"Not that deep! Up, up!" the Fat Insect instructed.
The Fat Insect then taught Zyric how to move forward, turn left, turn right, and control his movements underground. This time, Zyric moved much faster, and the power of the Fat Insect's genes increased his speed even further.
As Zyric continued moving underground, he suddenly sensed something unusual.
"Wait, does this mean I can sense things just like you? But you can't see what's happening above ground from down here, can you? Do you figure everything out by listening to sounds?" Zyric asked the Fat Insect.
"Yes. I can sense the sound waves traveling through the ground. And the more sound waves I detect coming from above, the bigger the meal is likely to be," the Fat Insect explained.
Following the sounds, Zyric emerged at the exact spot from which the strongest vibrations were coming.
A huge dinosaur was standing there. As Zyric burst out of the ground, he tore through its legs before immediately burrowing underground again.
Deep wounds appeared in the dinosaur's legs, and blood began flowing from them. The dinosaur started jumping in pain, producing loud, heavy thuds that echoed throughout the area. Hearing those sounds, all the Driller Stones pursuing Zyric changed direction and rushed toward the dinosaur.
After all, why would they continue chasing Zyric when they had found a much bigger meal?
Zyric quickly traveled underground to another location, where he could hear the screams of a dinosaur. From the sounds, he understood that the Driller Stones must be devouring it alive.
After somehow managing to escape the Driller Stones, Zyric finally made his way back to the tribe.
Upon arriving, he found everyone sitting around, looking rather sad.
"That boy made such a great sacrifice for us. We will never forget his sacrifice…" King Eldric began.
Before he could say anything more, he noticed Zyric approaching them.
Zyric walked toward them as if nothing unusual had happened at all.