Title: A Centipede Wants to Live Peacefully.
Summary: I always wished to escape reality, believing in fairy tales, and immersing myself in books to distract myself from the duties of an adult. I wished to live in a cottage somewhere in a forest, free from the bustle of the city. I could never imagine that I would lose my life and then be reincarnated as a monster. Is my wish possible?
Day 8
It was already eight days since I sent my children out into the Great Labyrinth to fight for me and get stronger in the process. I lay curled up around my children as the ground vibrated slightly. I was feeling the ground shake occasionally since nightfall and the small tremors annoyed me but my mind was focused on my children that were in the labyrinth.
I was still worried about them fighting against stronger monsters but they proved me wrong time and again. My strength has been increasing rapidly and I had just gained another level putting me at LV6 from the LV3 I was days ago. However, I was too busy teaching the new children and the constant hassle of shedding my exoskeleton with every level up just made me not bother looking at the system, so when I opened the system I got multiple notifications.
Experience points have reached a certain point. Individual, Queen Ferect, Mai Yumehiro LV3 has become LV6. Every basic ability rose, skill proficiency level up bonus acquired, skill points gained. Currently, you have 400 skill points remaining.
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Paralyzing Evil Eye LV3] has now become [Paralyzing Evil Eye LV5]
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Poison AttackLV6] has now become [Poison Attack LV7]
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Enhanced Paralysis AttackLV6] has now become [Enhanced Paralysis Attack LV7]
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Heretic MagicLV4] has now become [Heretic Magic LV6]
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Poison Magic LV6] has now become [Poison Magic LV8]
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Cooperation LV4] has now become [Cooperation LV5]
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [MP Recovery Speed LV1] has now become [MP Recovery Speed LV2]
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [MP Lessened Consumption LV1] has now become [MP Lessened Consumption LV2]
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [SP Recovery Speed LV1] has now become [ SP Recovery Speed LV2]
Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [SP Lessened Consumption LV1] has now become [SP Lessened Consumption LV1]
Name: Mai Yumehiro
Type: Insect
Species: Queen Ferect
Level: 6
HP:3225/3225 +200
MP:3215/3215 +200
SP:3215/3215 (3215/3215) +200
Offence: 7205 200
Defense: 3900 +100
Magic Power: 3104 +100
Resistance: 3104 +100
Speed: 7390 +300
I closed the system in worry as one of my children I sent into the village to spy on the people living there - specifically Yuno Azvelt who had similarities to her old boss- had yet to communicate with me through our mental link. I had been keeping tabs on the village so there wouldn't be any surprises for me but it has been quiet for a long time now. I had secretly built tunnels underneath the village since I couldn't stay idle for too long. It was a habit that I brought from my life as a human while working under a tyrant like my boss.
I opened the link to my children who were in the labyrinth."I'm going to monitor the village so be careful my children." I told them. I always kept a close eye on them since I allowed them to enter the labyrinth because my sworn enemy was still in that labyrinth and I had no doubt that that the giant spider could wipe out my children. However, what worried me the most was being unable to contact my child I sent into the village.
I uncoiled myself and swiftly moved through – the elaborate set of tunnels I dug – on my way to the village. With my five hundred children following closely behind, we were like a ravenous wave moving through the tunnels. The children in the labyrinth suddenly spoke to me through our link.
"Mother, we have found a nest of our enemy." I heard my children tell me with a tiny bit of excitement in their voices.
"Any sign of the Queen?" I immediately asked as a plan started to form in my head.
"No Mother, we have counted exactly two thousand eggs. What are our orders, Mother?"
I suddenly remembered the hateful queen who attacked me for no reason and almost killed me in the process. She has over two thousand eggs, huh? There was no way she was going to let them live. It was about time someone toppled the queen.
"Your orders are to have a feast, my children. Devour them all as payback for her hurting your Mother." I ruthlessly reply. I knew that my actions were being controlled by my natural instinct to battle the queen. I didn't even talk like that but the authoritative tone came from nowhere. The human part of me wanted to live peacefully but whenever Queen Taratect has involved the instincts of my monster nature would emerge.
"Mother, we will do as you command!" Her children replied eagerly.
It seems that my children also considered the Queen and her spawn enemies judging by the eagerness in their voices. I smiled inwardly before moving to make a right turn that would take me to beneath the village. The closer I got to the village a feeling of dread filled the pit of my stomach. The tremors I heard earlier were much more prominent and they sounded awfully like explosions.
I could feel the trees above crying out for help and that only made me move faster. I reached my destination and dug through the soil above me to reach the surface. I burst through the surface only with only my upper body to be met with flames and screams. I could see the bodies of the villagers littering the village grounds. The night sky was filled with smoke from the burning houses and at the center of the village was the guild which was now collapsed.
I stare in horror as I watch what looked to be an elf viciously force a sword through the chest of a villager. There was a small army of 100 elves - which I counted with my arithmetic processing skill - tearing through the village. I tried to appraise them and found that I couldn't get a reading on them at all.
"How did this happen? What is going on?" I thought inwardly as I watch with wide eyes as a woman and child were cut down after trying to escape.
I couldn't allow this to happen. "Launch a surprise attack from underground!" I told my children who were crawling around impatient underground. I didn't want to sacrifice any of my children as I suspected that the child I sent out was killed by them or in an explosion but this was an entirely different matter.
"Yes, Mother!" They chorused and began digging beneath the village.
I used my poison magic and released a poisonous cloud from my mouth that moved towards the elves and obscured me from their vision. I inwardly smirked in satisfaction until the first elf burst from the poisonous cloud sprinting towards me with the army following behind. I attempt to use my paralyzing evil to stop it but for some reason, it didn't work.
"How? Are they even human?" I roared in thought before swiftly emerging from the burrow. I wasn't as large as I was before but I was still big enough to dwarf the elves. I swing my tail in a wide arc at the first wave, the golden hooks meeting metal but was able to tear through it effortlessly.
"They're robots?" I thought as elves started shooting elemental magic at me. I dodged the attacks easily as I processed this information. I was trying to avoid being surrounded by them until a stray ice spell caught the lower half of my body which weighed me down a bit.
"Fuck this shit!" I cursed and expelled my strongest poison attack from the bowels of my stomach: Deadly Poison Shot. The red poison glob spread over my lower body, melting the ice easily and a turned the attack onto the army that was closing in. The poison covered a fraction of the army and started to melt the metal as soon as it settled. I unexpectedly found a weakness! "Children, use your strongest poison attack to melt their bodies!"
Soon enough, holes began opening up beneath the army and pulling them one by one into the abyss. "Good job, my children!" I praised them generously as notifications of my level increasing sounded in my ears. However, I ignored it in favor of the trees in the forest in the east called for my aid. They were calling for me to help them.
"Who is them?" I questioned before heading in that direction.
Yuno Azvelt
Yuno Azvelt was counting down the days until his success. He couldn't have been more proud of the deal he made with Potimas. Not only did he gain a lot of gold for the weapons he sold to that damnable Elf but he was doing him a favor of running the villagers out. He also didn't know why Potimas wanted that little boy who could produce magic crystals from his tears but it didn't matter to him. He had to maintain his reputation with the villagers and he couldn't do that but do the deed himself.
Yuno walked onto his balcony and rest his hand on the rail. He observed the guild he built through unscrupulous means. Now that he owned the tree, had a guild, and will soon own a village he felt proud. Despite his satisfaction, he couldn't help but think of that woman from his old world.
His grip tightened on the rail. He dreamt of her last night for some reason. He dreamed of their college days where he would do everything she asked but she would never give him an inch of her love. He had wanted her so badly but she only viewed him as a friend.
He hated her for leading him on. When she applied to his company he gladly let her because he knew he could torment her.
However, that torment became an obsession for him and he couldn't help but see her grovel at his feet. He wanted her to beg him to help her like in the old days but she took all of his abuse like a sponge.
"Bitch." He muttered under his breath while glaring at the floor. She had once told him that everything he owned was earned by his father and that he couldn't do it on his own.
Look at him now!
He wanted to laugh in her face loudly. If she was in this world he would torment her the same way he did when she worked under him. He didn't know if she was here but because she was caught in that blast too he wondered if she was here or had already died.
"Guild Master!" One of his members shouted from the ground floor. "Come celebrate with us! It's a joyous night for all of us!"
Yuno felt his mood lighten at the invitation but shook his head. "While you guys are celebrating I have duties to-"
Suddenly, he was blown back by a large explosion and the blast threw him back into his office. He coughed violently, eyes blinking to adjust to smoke and flames filled his vision. His hearing was completely gone for a few seconds before the sound of roaring flames and screams rushes into his ears. He got up using the wall and leaned against it as his expression turned into one of horror and then pure anger.
There was only one blast that could cause this amount of devastation and it was from the weapons he made. He jumped out of his window, abandoning the collapsed guild, and hid in some bushes. He watched with pure hatred as Potimas's elves raided the village two days earlier than planned. Furthermore, there were never meant to be so many deaths. Not only did that damned elf raid the village but used his own weapons that he sold him to do so.
The village he worked so hard to get in their good graces and the guild was all gone. Yuno cursed under his breath, cursing the elves from the deepest parts of his heart.
"Master Yuno!" Five of his secret guards appeared around him in a flash.
"Where is Hayate?" Yuno asked them.
One of them stepped forward and knelt in front of him. "I don't know where he is master," He spoke in a deep voice.
"Forget him. Geralt, you're the leader of my guards. Let's move to the tree quickly. There is no saving this village but maybe we can save some of those apples." Yuno ordered them.
"Yes, Master Yuno."
Yuno followed his guard out of the village but not before looking back at the village. "You're going to regret this Potimas!" He snarled before disappearing into the shadow of the forest.
He raced through the forest with his guards still cursing the elves in his heart. He had to leave his gold behind but he could always rebuild. He would rebuild somewhere else easily. He could still create weapons whenever he wanted and there were always people in the world who needed weapons.
"Master, the tree!" Geralt's voice snapped him out of his thoughts as his eyes rested on the tree. The tree was engulfed in flames and so were the surrounding fruit trees.
"FUCK!" Yuno screamed hysterically. "POTIMAS!" His plans were ruined in one night because of that elf. He really planned to leave no way out for him. "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Yuno started running back but was held back by his subordinates. "LET ME GO!"
"We must escape and rebuild!" Geralt slapped Yuno in his face, leaving a red print, and shocking the man.
Yuno bared his teeth, glaring at Geralt who slapped him. He had half a mind to gut the man right there and then but he was right. He couldn't go back right now.
"Let's go." Yuno pulled away from Geralt angrily. "I will have my revenge." He swore in his heart.
Naofumi Kogure and Hayate
.
.
I woke up to the sound of several explosions and fear immediately filled my heart. I was once reminded that I was Caspian Baker and that Naofumi Kogure no longer existed. Another explosion rocked the house and I could hear my mother and father talking in the next room.
"We need to escape now! The elves are killing us all!" My mother said in a scared voice.
"What about Caspian?" My father asked in desperation.
"Forget that damn babe. We have enough crystals to survive without him now let's go!" She screamed.
"Alright, let's go." My father replied.
I didn't hear them after my father's final words and immediately my tear ducts started operating. I knew they only wanted me for my crystallized tears but it still hurt that they left me. The house caught aflame and I could see smoke entering.
"Alright, Naofumi. Be strong. I cannot die here yet." I tried to reassure myself through my tears. I had only recently learned to roll over but there wasn't enough time for me to learn to crawl. Fortunately, I have been training my telekinesis skill every day and managed to get it to LV4. I wasn't able to see any more skills on the system but this was enough for me for now.
I halted my tears and started to plan my escape before I died here. I was currently wearing a jumper with a large pocket at the front. I looked at the window in my bedroom that wasn't engulfed in flames.
"Telekinesis!" I yelled in my mind while focusing on the dozens of crystals I had produced that fell to either side of my face. The crystals lifted off the bed and I guided them into my pocket. I panted a little as I spent some of my energy using that skill. If I could use it one more time and float through the window over there and into the forest then maybe I can escape.
Before I could enact my plan a shadow flew through the window and a man garbed in a ninja outfit walked over to his crib. I froze as the man whose eyes I could only see looked down at me. Was this it for me? I thought in resignation but his next words gave me hope.
"Hello, little one. I'm Hayate," He said while picking me up, "I'm here to save you little one. I don't know why Potimas wants you but I can't allow them to have you."
I finally felt safe for the first time in a long time and almost cried again but this time in joy. He carried me through the window and I went outside for the first time since I awoke in this world. I didn't see beautiful green trees or houses but I saw flames and dead bodies littering the grounds. I was too relieved from escaping that it didn't impact me as it should.
Hayate ran swiftly through the forest, moving further away from the burning village. I couldn't help but whimper because I didn't have an easy time since coming here but at least I was safe now. However, the dream was quickly shattered as Hayate stumbled forwards with a grunt, still holding me tightly, but blood was still splashed on my face.
I stared in horror as a metal spike was protruding from his shoulder. He suddenly jumped high into the air and I couldn't tell who it was since he had me close to his chest but I knew he was avoiding another attack. "Who are you?!" I heard him shout.
"Hand over the child." A female voice said.
"There were here for me?" I thought in horror. "Was it because of my tears?"
"Why do you want him?" Hayate asked as he dodged another attack by the woman.
"That boy is a reincarnation and Potimas wants him." She said before shooting more iron spikes from her crossbow at Hayate.
Hayate expertly dodges the attacks despite the injury. "So that's what it was, huh?" Hayate said before sinking inside his shadow.
I suddenly felt complete darkness flood my vision and the only reason I didn't cry was that I still felt the warmth of Hayate's around my tiny body. When I saw light again, I was suddenly behind the woman, who was surprisingly an elf.
In Hayate's hand was a sword that was through the woman's chest. I wanted to cry but held in the tears through much strength. I was still scared though.
"You think that is enough to defeat me." The woman garbled as her head twisted right around to face them with a grin.
Hayate jumped away from the woman instantly, bringing his sword with him. The elf woman who was bleeding from her chest suddenly grew in size and morphed into a werewolf.
"I'll kill you and that child today. Potimas won't care that he died anyway!" The woman, now a werewolf, growled and launched herself at them and a battle ensued between them.
I was forced to watch Hayate try his best to dodge the beasts' attacks while trying to protect me. I didn't know where he was injured exactly but I knew it was bad. I knew my face was red from holding in my tears. I was bout to burst at any moment.
"Little one, I don't think I will make it." Hayate coughed softly, blood coming from his mouth, as he leaned up against a tree. "The beast is too damn strong."
"I can smell you!" The beast roared from a distance away.
I could see the despair in the face looking down at me. This man did more for me than my parents ever did since I came here. This might be my last night alive but I wasn't going to be a cry baby now. I was going to be strong and help him.
"Telekinesis!" I focused on three crystals in my pocket and lifted them out. They floated and moved towards Hayate's mouth slowly.
"You-you're using magic!" Hayate whispered with a shocked expression. He looked at the crystals that floated near his mouth carefully. "You want me to eat these?"
"YES!" I inwardly screamed and blinked twice.
He smirked and snatched the crystals out of the air and swallowed them quickly. The effect was almost immediate and I watched his eyes glowed blue like the crystals and a blue aura surrounded his body. "Thanks, little one. I should be able to defeat the beast now."
Hayate ducked and rolled away from the tree before the tree exploded behind him and the werewolf lunged at him. It was hard to fight with one single arm and a baby in the other but the boy who could clearly understand him gave him the power to defeat this beast. Those three crystals boosted the strength in his body, his magic, and heightened perception.
"Die!" The werewolf roared while lunging.
"I will finish this in one stroke," Hayate said as he readied his sword which became shrouded in black magic. He could see the werewolf moving in slow motion. "Black Blade!" He vanished from his spot and reappeared a few feet behind the werewolf.
The werewolf reverted back into her original form. "I..Impossible.." The woman whispered before her head rolled off of her body and fell to the ground.
Just as quickly as it came, the energy faded from his body and his weakness still came back in full force. He slowly walked over to a nearby tree and sat down. He leaned back against the tree, holding Naofumi close to his body. He closed his eyes before he could see two elves who were hiding emerge from the forest.
"I won, little one." He whispered with a smile before passing out.
I watched as Hayate passed out and couldn't help but scream inwardly. "Wake up! More of them are coming!" I screamed but he couldn't hear me. They were holding swords in their hands and coming towards us. For some reason, the trees around them were shaking wildly even though there was no wind but thought quickly rushed from my mind as they stopped in front of them with insidious smiles. I looked on in horror as they raised their swords in the air.
I closed my eyes. "This is it…" I thought but the killing blow never came. I opened my eyes and my body immediately froze. A large centipede monster was looming over us and the elves turned to face it. It was the biggest centipede I had ever seen in my life. It was as tall as a giraffe in my opinion.
I was completely terrified.
Mai Yumehiro
.
.
I crawled through the forest swiftly and when I got there I saw two elves with their swords raised ready to kill a garbed man and a baby. I raised my upper body over the two elves who turned around to look at me. Before they could react I accurately shot two globs of poison on their faces. They screamed in terror as their faces started to melt, leaving a bloody mess.
"They're not robots?" I thought was the two elves dropped to the ground dead. I turned to the two humans on the ground. The man was unconscious and the baby was staring up at me with watery eyes. I quickly appraised them.
Name: Hayate
Type: Ninja
Species: Human
Level: 36
Name: Caspian Baker (Formerly: Naofumi Kogure)
Type: Reincarnator
Species: Human
Level: 1
I didn't bother looking at their skills and focused on the basic information. To think I would find another reincarnator like me so soon and he was so close as well.
"He's just a baby.." I thought sadly, knowing that if I hadn't shown up he would've died before he got his start in life. "I have to keep them both safe."
I recalled my children who came to my side immediately and I left the forest with the man and baby being carried on the backs of my children. I moved further away from the village and deeper into the forest towards my burrow.
I would heal the man with my pure water magic and the baby as well, just in case. I often did babysitting when I was a human during college. I was just worried that as a monster I would not be unable to do the things I needed to as a human so that was why I needed to save the human man as well.
I did not know that the tree I created was burned to the ground by the elves nor did I know that my title of Queen would be challenged again and that a monster war was on the horizon that would impact the continent.
Will my Queendom be safe?
Name: Mai Yumehiro
Type: Insect/Poison
Species: Queen Ferect
Level: 6
HP:3425/3425
MP:3415/3415
SP:3415/3415 (3415/3415)
Offense: 7405
Defense: 4000
Magic Power: 3204
Resistance: 3204
Speed: 7690
Stat Skills:
Skanda LV10, Herculean Strength LV1, HP Auto-Recovery LV1, MP Recovery Speed LV2, MP Lessened Consumption LV2, SP Recovery Speed LV2, SP Lessened Consumption LV2
Attack Skills:
Poison Attack LV7, Enhanced Paralysis Attack LV7
Enhancement Skills:
Poison Enhancement LV5, Paralysis Enhancement LV5, Piercing Enhancement LV5
Active Skills:
Expel LV10, Herbalism LV1
Leadership Skills:
Fartalk LV10, Egg-Laying LV5, Cooperation LV5, Leadership LV4
Perception Skills:
Detection LV9, Arithmetic Processing LV7
Magic Skills:
Magic Power Operation LV7, Shadow Magic LV5, Heretic Magic LV6, Poison Magic LV8, Harvest Magic LV1, Pure Water Magic LV6
Evil Eyes Skills:
Paralyzing Evil Eye LV5
Resistance Skills:
Status Condition Nullification, Acid Resistance LV3, Heresy Nullification, Rot Resistance LV2, Fear Resistance LV2, Fire Resistance LV8, Cutting Resistance LV1, Pain Resistance LV6, Faint Resistance LV6, Destruction Resistance LV5, Pain Mitigation LV5, Piercing Resistance LV1
Passive Skills:
Stealth LV10, Shell LV8, Concealment LV1,
Other Skills:
Taboo LV6, n% I = W, As One, Appraisal LV10, Toxic Brew, Fertile Nature, Satiation LV2, Shelter LV1
Titles:
Foul Feeder, Assassin, Kin Eater, Hedge Witch, Poison Technique User, Commander