Chapter 39.
“Giant centipedes,” Galine supplied as I clung to her back. The centipedes crawled after us, pincers dripping with dark venom. I didn’t need to be convinced to run; they were horrid.
But Galine didn’t run; she brought her arms up to fight, smacking the first one that jumped at us with shocking agility out of the air.
“Run!” I urged Galine, but she shook her head.
“I can, I’ll break an ankle trying to run through the brush,” she grimaced.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “Okay, how can I help?” I asked as she swatted away another.
“Just hold on as tight as you can,” she said apologetically and then charged forward.
With a yelp, I clung to her. Her hooves pounded down, trampling several of the centipedes before she came to a stop.
A creepy crawler landed on her haunch. Without thinking, I smacked the bugger.
Turns out smacking monsters was far more effective for the martial artist. The centipede wriggled slightly in surprise before jumping at me. I braced for an impact, but Galine snatched it out of the air and flung it into the rock, where it splattered dead.
“Thanks,” she told me, breathing hard.
“Of course,” I nodded shakily. I had just realized another glaring flaw in centaur biology, Galine couldn’t easily reach, and thus couldn’t protect her rear, her hips, her back thighs. I didn’t know how flexible she was, but it didn’t matter to some degree; she was just longer than she could entirely reach.
With bravery which came from nowhere, I fumbled to spin around on her back, immediately digging my heels into her sides as hard as I could to hold on while I activated [Digest] and prepared for any rear attacks.
“What are you doing?” Galine asked, worried as she scampered to the side, making me flail slightly.
“I’m watching your behind!” I yelled back, determined. Six, I should have said six. Why had I said behind?! I wasn’t ogling her! Fuck, my stupid mouth.
Another centipede attempted to skitter up her leg, but Galine hopped very unhorse-like and then turned the creature into a gooey clump with a solid rear kick. Still, I stayed at the ready as I trusted Galine to work her magic.
The centipedes might have had numbers, but they were no raptors. Just big mother fucking ugly bugs.
“Above!” Candy called out. With a precision that I didn't even know I had, I snatched the falling centipede from mid-air. I didn’t have the time to ponder how in the world I had pulled that off. The thing was wriggling and waving its stupid, unholy number of legs in the air. I digested it, so thankful that taste didn’t come included now. Despite the carapace, it broke down easily, the centipede slowing down, curling into a ball before I finally melted the thing in half.
“Ew ew ew ew ewy,” I yelled, trying to shake the bug juice off me. Holy shit, I had killed a monster. I had killed a giant, horrible centipede.
My heart felt like it was going to explode.
“Incoming!” Candy warned again.
This time, I was reaching for the thing on Galine’s thigh before I even saw it. I almost dropped it trying to avoid the pincers, but the thing didn’t really have any other methods of attack. They were slippery and agile, but once you grabbed one, they kinda just died in your hand.
No, I refused to remotely enjoy this. Our lives were in danger!
“Fuck,” Galine cursed, slapping at her shoulder. A centipede had landed and bitten her; her shirt was tinged red.
I shrieked at the sight of the monstrosity practically right in my face. Then I remembered I was trying to help and promptly snatched it off her, nearly rolling off her back as I turned in place.
“Behind you,” Candy warned again.
Fuck, I didn’t have enough hands for this. I tossed the centipede I was holding into the air, where Galine grabbed it and squished it with a hard crunch as I turned just in time to grab the jumping attacker by the face before its pincers closed in on my neck. I melted that thing with gusto.
You have levelled up and gained five stat points to allocate.
You have gained the path skill [Dangersense].
I didn’t care about any of that right now. “Are you okay?” I asked Galine in a panic. She was still killing bugs, but their numbers were thinning.
“I think so,” she replied, though she didn’t sound certain. Those things had venom, I just knew it. If I had to design a nightmare bug monster, I’d give it venom. I had to assume these things were venomous.
She wasn’t bleeding heavily. That was good. Probably? Fuck, I wasn’t a doctor; my first aid qualification had definitely expired years ago. Oh yeah, and I was in a mystical, dangerous world with monsters and magic. So no, I had no fucking idea what to do.
Galine stomped a few more centipedes. The numbers were dwindling, most had given up on attacking and had decided to simply flee as a wriggling swarm into the forest or back into the cave.
I tugged at her shirt, inspecting the damage. There were twin gashes in the fabric, and a nasty bite mark on her skin. Oh fuck.
“Infection might be a problem,” I muttered weakly. “I think your shirt might have gotten in the gash.”
“What?” Galine asked, still distracted.
“Back on Earth, there was a kinda famous pistol duel with a man named Humphrey Howarth,” I babbled nervously. “Anyway, he was an army surgeon, so he got naked before they duelled, which everyone ridiculed, but it was probably smart because he talked about how clothing would get inside the wound and then infection would be what was fatal, not the bullet itself,” I trailed off from my panicked side tangent. “We need to get you to Frida,” I settled on with a little more determination.
“What in the world are you talking about?” Galine chuckled, adjusting her shirt.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, wrapping an arm around her as I gave her a hug from behind. “Thank you,” I added, “you saved me.”
“Well… I was just doing as I said I would,” she stuttered. “But you’re welcome,” she added, crushing a straggler for emphasis. “And yes, I’ll have Frida look me over when we get back. Don’t worry. I’ve got [Purity of Body], mundane diseases and poisons can’t harm me.”
“Oh,” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Wait, but does venom count as poison? Because they are entirely different things,” I worried.
Galine chuckled. “Pamela, I promise, I’m fine.”
“Okay,” I sighed. I didn’t feel the most reassured, but I chose to believe her. She seemed the type to know what she was talking about, and even if she wasn’t a professional mercenary, she helped manage them. She had to know her stuff
I turned my attention to the new notifications.
[Dangersense]
Thanks to your symbiont’s perception, you have an uncanny sense of when things nearby aren't as they should be.
This alerts you to potential danger before you might even notice anything is wrong.
Well, that seemed nice. Especially since Candy was so perceptive in her lack of human eyeballs, it wasn't remotely flashy, but it could very likely save my life, so… I definitely wasn’t complaining. Even if Candy had hurt me, we were stronger together, yet that notion didn’t sit so right with me anymore. She didn’t deserve to be hated, but ignorance did not exempt someone from the harm they caused. That was a pretty core legal principle; you weren't exempt from committing crimes just because you didn’t know something was technically a crime.
I sighed. I needed to sit down and talk with Candy. Brooding wouldn’t get me anywhere.
I put two points into vitality, bringing it to 15, and did the same for agility. The last point I put into perception, bringing it to 31. Part of me hated undoing the nice symmetrical five increments, but a high perception was invaluable with Candy’s help.
That left my stats looking like this.
Status
Name: Pamela Bishop/Candy
Evolution: Mythic Empress Slime Hybrid
Class: Dungeon Matriarch
Path: Symbiotic Dyad
Health Points (HP): 15
Mana Points (MP): 18/25
Stamina Points (SP): 7/10
Stats
Strength: 10
Agility: 15
Endurance: 15
Vitality: 15
Wisdom: 25
Intelligence: 30
Perception: 31
Willpower: 31
Titles: [Protagonist's Progression], [Symbiogenesis]
Evolution Skills: [Language Common], [Analysis], [Digest], [Slime Gestation]
Class Skills: [Dungeon Core]
Path Skills: [Telepathic Link], [Repurposed Body], [Dangersense]
Not too shabby at all. Though interesting, I had used up some mana, I assumed from [Digest]. And my stamina was also lowered, but given the fading adrenaline, that wasn’t exactly a surprise. Both, I was pretty sure, would return with a little time.
[Dungeon Core] still sat there tauntingly still. I slid off of Galine’s back and tentatively approached the cave. I should just go for it. Even if I was conflicted about Candy and she was avoiding me, Galine was right, I needed to make use of the skills I had.
Begrudgingly, I activated [Dungeon Core]. Pain speared through my chest, making me collapse against the wall. Fuck it hurts! Why did everything always have to hurt?!
You took 3 damage.