Endless Evolution as a Centipede in a Game-Like World

In response to me agreeing to help him, Alazar leaned forward and rubbed the top of my carapace. There was a look of child-like wonder on his face, and seeing this caused the others to come closer too.

"Alazar, what’s going on?" the boy with black hair asked, confusion lacing his tone.

Alazar promptly stood up and began his introductions.

"This is my best friend Ren. We are the main fighters of the group. I’m usually the one leading the attack while Ren covers me from behind in case anything goes wrong!"

The boy named Ren seemed a bit younger than Alazar since he was a head shorter.

During the battle before, where Alazar was knocked away by the crane’s wind attacks, Ren froze due to fear instead of rushing to help his friend.

Though I can’t blame him since he’s young. He probably never had to face monsters before; he should get better with practice.

In fact, this entire group could benefit from some mentorship on how to act during battle.

They all seemed frail, and from what I’ve seen so far, they don’t seem to know how to use magic.

"And this is Ala," Alazar said, pointing towards the red-haired girl who was still standing protectively in front of the twins.

"She can be annoying at times, but she also knows a lot of stuff. Like which magic plants to eat and which will make you puke your guts out and stuff. And finally, the twins, Aries and Aria. The twins are shy and hardly ever talk to anyone except Ala and our big sis."

"It’s nice to meet you all."

"He said it’s nice to meet you," Alazar quickly translated.

They looked at Alazar skeptically.

"You expect us to believe that that thing can talk and that you’re the only one that can understand it? Have you lost your mind?" the red-haired girl asked, her bright emerald-green eyes looking at him skeptically.

"Look, I don’t have time to argue. He said he knows where big sis is."

"A monster in the middle of the dungeon knows where big sis is? Yeah, of course, he probably ate her!"

"If Alazar says that the monster can lead us to big sis Amara, then I believe him," Hal quickly interrupted.

The girl looked at the two incredulously before sighing in defeat.

"Fine, it’s not like I have a choice in the matter. I can’t exactly go off on my own."

Since we were all in agreement, I began leading them through the dungeon while following their big sister’s trail.

Alazar and I practically walked side by side with Hal closely behind us. The others kept their distance since they couldn’t get over their suspicion of me.

I asked him several questions as we moved along, mostly about his family and how they got here.

He told me a story about how the demon empire was pushed back by the other races and how this kingdom used to be a part of their empire.

But by far the most interesting thing about this tale was how this all happened just a few months ago.

If I had to guess, that entire story was probably a flag that gave way to a scenario. That’s most likely it. The players before me must’ve completed this scenario which gave way to the previous scenario with the Nymph.

As I moved through the dungeon, I began to pick up on several more monsters.

The scent felt familiar, as if I had encountered this beast somewhere else before.

Soon we finally came face to face with one of the monsters. It was an Electrosaur, one of the blue lizard-like beasts that had an electric attribute.

The moment the creature saw us, it let out a loud piercing screech as it leaped from the ceiling.

As it fell from the air, I sprayed acid, covering the creature’s face and back. The monster fell to the ground, writhing in pain as its scales and flesh melted off its bones.

[You have slain an F-ranked Electrosaur.]

The commotion must’ve alerted the others, as more of the lizard-like beasts began pouring into the tunnel.

"Stay behind me and don’t use your sword on them," I instructed as I skittered forward to draw their attention.

Alazar’s sword was made of metal with no special attribute or resistance, and since these beasts had an electric property, it would be a bad idea for him to face them.

[10 Skill Points have been spent to increase Skitter from level 4 to Level 7.]

[10 Skill Points have been spent to increase Serpentine Evasion from level 3 to Level 7.]

With the level of both these skills increased, I was now quicker and more efficient at evading the lizards.

Just a single touch from them would cause a powerful electric zap so I had to be careful. The lizards threw themselves at me, but with my speed and serpent-like movements, it became impossible for them to catch me.

As I moved, I left trails of googum on the ground, trapping the monsters as they tried to attack.

I then covered my forcipules in googum and used it to inject my venom into the Electrosaur’s flesh.

[You have slain 20 F-ranked Electrosaurs.]

[You have gained 500 biomass.]

After I stained and consumed all the Electrosaurs, I turned around to see the horrified faces of the children behind me.

"Wow, you’re really fast," Alazar mumbled.

We continued through the dungeon, following the girl’s scent. Strangely, her scent and the scent of the Electrosaurs seemed to overlap, as if they were coming from the same place.

With this in mind, we continued through the tunnels, killing Electrosaurs as they approached. I slew another 12 Electrosaurs and gained an additional 300 biomass.

As we walked, blue bioluminescent fungi began appearing on the walls. The fungi stretched in one direction, and soon we came upon a room covered in them.

The children gasped in shock when they saw what was in the room.

It was a massive Electrosaur, the size of a brown bear, aggressively clawing at the ground as if to get to something.

The beast’s wild eyes then snapped in our direction, and without wasting a second, the monster charged at us!