26 Chapter 25: Hellfire Badger (1/2)
”Huh…is this the right way?”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose after lifting up my glasses a little. Somehow I was confident that I had been through this way before, but I just couldn't place my finger on where exactly I was. It felt like I had been walking in circles for a while right now.
”How long has it been already?”
Probably about three or four days after killing the Ghost Bear. With the apex predator in this cavern dead, I was free to roam about the entire place without anything to fear. Of course, I maintained a great deal of caution. I wasn't about to underestimate the Lunar Rabbits and Silverback Wolves roaming the area just because I had killed their brethren before.
Underestimating one's foe was a quick route to death.
Fortunately, the Lunar Rabbits and Silverback Wolves had recognized me as the new ruler of the underground cave and had largely left me alone. Apart from a few foolish ones who pounced on me when they mistakenly thought I was vulnerable, I was free to explore the cavern undisturbed. Without having to fear for my life as much, I had done an extensive search of the cavern and still had yet to find anything. There seemed to be no route upward.
Yet.
On the other hand, there was a passageway that contained a set of staircase that led downward instead.
If I still can't find any other route, I've no choice but to proceed downward, huh…
It was entirely possible that the only route to this level was through falling down the abyss. The trap that the bastard Qi Fu Ren had triggered all those weeks ago. That was the only reason why I couldn't find any other route leading down to here. I wondered how the creatures inhabiting the cave ended up here in the first place. Perhaps their ancestors fell in here and couldn't get out, and they adapted to the underground space. That sucked, because it meant I was trapped with them. Furthermore, instead of finding a way out of the cave, I discovered that I could still proceed deeper downward.
Damn it. I wanted to go up and get the hell out of here, not go down!
I was aware that the deeper caves would be even more dangerous than this level. But the other option was to stay here for the rest of my life, never moving forward. I would rather risk it and get killed than stay static forever.
Besides, the stronger opponents I meet, the more I can learn from them. I might be able to become more powerful after surviving encounters with them…and learn how to defeat them eventually.
That was my goal. It wasn't just to survive. Surviving was just the first step. My ultimate goal was to return to the surface and take my revenge on all those who mocked me. Qi Fu Ren. His cronies. The other students who bullied me back in Wu Ling Academy.
The heavens themselves, for putting me in such a ludicrous situation.
”I guess I don't have a choice…”
Returning to my burrow, I began to pack up. Using the bottle that Teacher Jiao gave me right before the first year students ventured into Sen Lin Forest, I scooped up as much Green Dragon Spring water as possible, filling it to the brim. No more magical healing liquid if I used this up, so I had to be careful with rationing it. I had to make sure it lasted me the journey back to the surface.
Yet I'll probably have to go deeper before I can go up again.
I wasn't very pleased with how things turned out, but at least I was progressing forward. There was no turning back. There was no staying still. If I wanted to change my fate, I had to keep moving forward and find a way out of here.
”Let's go.”
After packing as much frozen meat as possible into a leather satchel that I had sewn and shaped into a backpack using the Silverback Wolves' pelt and fur, I looked around the burrow that had been my home for the past month or so, and then bowed toward the Green Dragon Spring.
”Thanks for everything.”
With that, I left the burrow for the last time.
*
”This is the place, huh?”
I found myself standing right outside the passageway that housed the staircases leading toward a deeper region of the cave. The stairs looked as if they were in bad shape, and it would be more accurate to describe the ”stairs” as an uneven slope that tapered downward. The mouth of the passageway itself was creepy, with stalactites and stalagmites facing each other like the fangs of some monstrous jaw. The slope disappeared into inky darkness, with the absence of the qi stones that normally adorned the walls of the subterranean cavern providing no illumination whatsoever.
Walking down the stairs felt like I was strolling down the gullet of some monstrous creature. I couldn't help but shiver.
Well, whatever happens will happen. No use worrying about it. I'll just have to fight whatever stands in my way and find a way to survive…
Unfortunately, I wasn't as edgy as Nagumo Hajime, so I wasn't going to declare confidently that I could kill and devour whatever got in my way. It would be hilarious if I stumble upon a blond loli vampire girl sealed at the bottom of this cavern, however, but I doubted that would ever happen.
After walking down the slope cautiously for a while, my vision turned blur when dim light suddenly bust across the space at the bottom. It seemed that I had reached the next level or something, and once again I found myself in vegetation.
This time, the next level wasn't a forest but more of a plains where the trees were sparse. It wasn't exactly a desert. It looked more like a grassland that belonged to an African plain. The ones with lions and giraffes and all that.
”…”
Already my sense of danger was heightened. If the previous level was of any indication, then this level was sure to be dangerous as well. I could imagine monstrous lions and humongous leopards roaming the plains.
Casting my gaze over the plains cautiously, I stepped into the new region. For now, I didn't see anything, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything lurking within the tall grass. Trying to make minimal movement, I wove through the plains and did my best to lessen the noise.
”!”
At that moment, I spotted a movement to my left. Twisting around, I caught sight of a black shape darting about. Then it vanished as quickly as I glimpsed it. Tensing up, I stared at the direction where it disappeared into, holding my breath and waiting.
No sudden movements now…I didn't want to unintentionally provoke whatever that thing was and get attacked. After all, I wasn't an edgelord or typical wuxia protagonist who went around killing whoever and whatever was unfortunate enough to cross my path. If it didn't bother me, then I wouldn't bother it. There was no need to stir up unnecessary trouble.
”…”
Exhaling in relief after nothing happened for what seemed like an eternity, I cast another cautious glance around before taking another step forward.
Hiss!
”Whoa!”
I quickly jumped back as something flew toward me. Stumbling back, I caught sight of a long, serpentine figure uncoiling in the grass. Behind me, whatever that missed began eating into the grass, sizzling as fumes erupted from the corroded part.
That's acid!
It wasn't just acid. It was venom. Glancing from the acid-eaten grass and soil toward the source, I saw the unwinding serpentine figure crawling into view. It was, as I expected, a cobra. Its long body was covered in ominous black scales, and it seemed about ten meters long, about as long as a python and twice the length of most cobras.
This is most likely this timeline's analogue of the Africa Spitting Cobra. If I remember correctly, it's the Black Spitting Cobra.
With the ability to spit venom, there was no mistaking it. I stumbled back, getting ready to use my footwork techniques to evade if necessary. Hissing, the Black Spitting Cobra reared back to fire off another one of its ranged acidic attacks.
It never got to.
The dark shape I saw from earlier blasted out and slammed into the Black Spitting Cobra, all teeth and claws. I caught a glimpse of black fur and a ferocious face of fang and claws before the two tangled monsters rolled into the grass.
Hiss!!!
Gr…!
Mesmerized, I watched as the newcomer rear back to its feet before pouncing on the Black Spitting Cobra, which spat out another glob of acid. The acid splashed against the new creature, but it ignored it, merely grumbling in pain before slashing at the armored scales of the Black Spitting Cobra and knocking it to the ground.
Screeching, the Black Spitting Cobra wrapped its coils around the fearsome creature and sank its fangs into the latter's neck, but to no avail. I realized that the fangs weren't able to penetrate the thick coat of armored fur that protected the beast's neck.
That's…a Hellfire Badger!
Based off the Honey Badger from Earth, the Hellfire Badger was a ferocious and fearless creature that did not hesitate to attack anything, even those monsters larger than it. For good reason too – it was equipped with lethal claws and deadly fangs, and its thick coat of armored fur rendered it impervious to any sort of attacks, whether it was tooth, claw or qi blasts. Furthermore, even if the Black Spitting Cobra succeeded in sinking its fangs and injecting venom into the Hellfire Badger, it wouldn't have worked. The Hellfire Badger was immune to any venom and poison found in this world.
Amazing…