"Corpse Explosion!"
[Corpse Explosion level 1 ➢ 2]
Boom!
Pointing at a dead body I cast my spell, instantly killing the crowd of giant termites nearby.
The mana consumption was only 10 and it did about 50~60 damage in a 5 meter radius. With such low mana cost it wasn"t a problem to spam continuously.
The only downside was that I couldn"t revive the bodies once I had blown them up. I had to choose whether to revive them through Necromancy or use Corpse explosion, because I couldn"t do both.
"Corpse Explosion! Corpse Explosion!"
I pointed at several bodies, resulting in a series bangs similar to a fireworks show.
Kueeeeeeek
The young dragon stuck his head out and began to scream, maybe it was complaining that its food was being destroyed. I put the noisy guy back into the bag on my back and closed it tight.
The last of the gargoyles had already perished in the corpse explosions and there were none left standing. Likewise, my small hit squad of flying ants had already expired and turned into gray ash. It was just me against the swarm, but my new spell more than made up for it. The fireworks were still ongoing.
Boom! Bang!
More flying termites were coming in a tight formation, rows of 5, zipping through the hall.
"Inferno! Inferno!"
I aimed it high, right above the middle of their formation the inferno burns brightly creating a strong vacuum which pushes them all to the ground.
"Corpse Explosion! Corpse Explosion!"
[+312 experience points]
[+614 experience points]
[+2,557,152 experience points]
[Acquired ｟t.i.tle: Ant Exterminator｠ Lv9]
[Corpse Explosion level 4 ➢ 5]
[Level increased 15 ➢ 20]
A wealth of experience points continued to be displayed before me. I had been advancing step by step and for the first time I was gaining ground as I was killing them faster than they could advance.
I already pa.s.sed through the narrow pa.s.sage, retracing my steps. Past the Catacombs and through the dragon"s lair, killing my way towards the Jungle pit, all the dead termites became my experience points.
"It seems that for the first time I can sense some meekness on their part , Is it because of my t.i.tle?"
A big reason as to why they had lost their momentum was also because their frontlines would hesitate upon seeing me, it was an instinctual fear. I kept on advancing.
"Corpse Explosion! Corpse Explosion!"
As they were retreating the efficiency of my corpse explosions were reduced.
"I"ll have to give them some enticement"
I pull out the baby dragon from the bag and parade him in front of me
Kueeeeeeek!
It seemed to be complaining about being woken up and having to walk around but it served as a beacon of light to all the termites ahead. Instantly their rage overcame their fear and they rushed forward.
"Corpse Explosion! Corpse Explosion! Corpse Explosion!"
[+312 experience points]
[+614 experience points]
[+2,557,152 experience points]
[Acquired ｟t.i.tle: Ant Exterminator｠ Lv10]
[Corpse Explosion level 6➢ 7]
[Level increased 20 ➢ 24]
The damage and and range had doubled compared to Level 1, so now with 3 Corpse Explosions I could wipe out a 10 meter area.
"It feels like Level 10 isn"t the max for this t.i.tle."
I kept advancing with my dragon in front and could finally gauge their numbers.
"Are there about 3000~4000 of them left?"
I had killed off more than half their numbers, as my explosions could wipe out anywhere between 10-20 of them at once. At this rate I should be able to wipe them all out in 6~7 hours.
It had been 12 hours since the battle began, If I was human, I would have long dropped down from exhaustion, but being an undead was very advantageous in such situations.
Conversely, the giant termites were beginning to show signs of tiring. The dragon"s pheromones were constantly driving them to push forward and after all these hours of being tightly packed together in the tunnel, their stamina was low, even for those who hadn"t fought yet.
Eventually, I had pushed them back to the edge of the tunnel and could see some sunlight again. There were only about 1000~2000 left between me and the termite"s main nest.
At that moment a terrible shriek resounded from the very same termite nest.
Kuoooooooooo!
"Oh…what"s that thing? Is it also a termite?"
About 200 meters away a gigantic monster broke through the hill to get out. From far away, I decided to check its stats.
Name: King of the Pit
Gender: Male
Status: Unique
Type: Ethereal Termite
Cla.s.s: King
Rank: E+
Level: 62/70
HP: 6733/6733
MP: 2511/2511
Attack: 1400
Defense: 800
Agility: 132
Intelligence: 251
✧ Unique Skills
[Magic Resistance Lv5] [Physical Resistance Lv3] [Acid Poison LV5] [Quake Lv3] [HP Recovery Lv2] [Call to Arms Lv1] [Flying Lv2] [Lighting Shock Lv2] [Telepathy Lv1]
[Mind Reading Lv1]
✧ t.i.tles
[Owner of the Pit]
I was in a state of panic after seeing his stats. Even without the status window, I could see that it was a unique monster because of the golden name.
I looked towards that giant King of the Pit, flanked by the remaining thousand somewhat ants.
"What is that thing? Is it a dragon? Those stats, skills and level …. I definitely have no chance at all. I mean Flying? Really?"
Flap! Flap! Flap! Flap!
The sound of its wings reverberated throughout the cave as it flew towards me. I looked back at the tunnel which I came from and stared at the little dragon on my back.
"Do I need to run away again?"
Looking back, I noticed that the termites had cut off my escape route. My army of revived minions had also long disappeared. I had no choice but to focus on the large King approaching. As he got closer, I could see him more vividly. He was about 8 meters long and 3 meters high with a protruding horn on its head and giant mandibles half my height. A mix between an ant and dragon would be the most accurate description.
"What kind of crazy monster movie are we shooting right now?"
Kuuuuuung!
It dropped down 5 meters in front of me, looking down on me imposingly. More and more termites kept surrounding me to form a circle with a 20 meter diameter.
"Is this some schoolyard fight?"
When I went to once again open his status page, some words appeared in my mind.
"Little man, Are you the one who has been killing off my colony minions?"
It was able to communicate telepathically, directly in my mind. Is it using its ability?
I tried to respond by organizing the thoughts in my mind.
"I was just acting in self-defense, they attacked me."
"Is that not the sp.a.w.n of a dragon which you are carrying on your back?"
"Yes."
"Then you can"t claim self-defense since you are protecting our enemy."
"I don"t like it when others interfere with my possessions" I answered.
I never thought there would be so many difficulties with raising my baby dragon. Of course, simply giving it up was no longer an option because I had killed so many of their comrades.
"Good! You sc.u.m, you challenged my authority! Today only one of us will be left standing!"
"I"ve already been prepared for this outcome."
"Your courage is praiseworthy, little man I"ll remember you."
"Why don"t you save those words for after you"ve beaten me."
It was talking down to me with a confidence that implied it had already won. Of course, considering the circ.u.mstances its confidence was understandable.
It lifted its head to the sky and let out a deafening roar.
Rawwwwr!
Kueeeeeeek
The little guy gave out a cute roar in response,surprised by the loud noise.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The King of the Pit stared me down as he circled around me.
Although when he spoke to me it sounded like he was underestimating me, his mannerisms led me to believe he was taking this seriously.
In the case of the dragon I was lucky to be swallowed alive and hit it from the inside, there were also those worms which finished it off, but I had no such luck this time around. Be it in skills or stats my opponent severely overshadowed me.
Shiik Shiik
The close to 2000 remaining termites were chomping with their jaws, resembling and applause which added suspense to my situation.
"Its joints are weaker that its other parts."
Looking at the opponent’s body, I was trying to formulate a strategy.
"It has decent Physical Resistance but even worse is its Magic Resistance at Lv 5, it"s such a terrible match up for me, it even has Health Regeneration so drawn out battles don"t work."
It was no simple task to take it on alone, It is like some raid boss monster that could only be killed with a large party.
"Fireball!"
Pshhhh~
The Fireball which I sent out as a test sizzled out shortly after hitting the King"s body. It looked down at me with an air of arrogance, awaiting my next attempt.
"I"ve got no choice but to keep trying!"
I thought up a good combination.
"Inferno!"
I aimed it at the its lower stomach and the vacuum which formed after the explosion, sucked in dozens of dead corpses which littered the floor.
"Corpse Explosion! Corpse Explosion! Corpse Explosion!…"
Bang! Boom! Ka-Boom!
I burst dozens of bodies simultaneously resulting in a large explosion sending dust everywhere.
"Did it work?"
As the dust began to settle, I heard a voice in my mind.
"Was that the best you"ve got? What an insult to my fellow species, how disappointing."
I could slowly make out the figure of the King standing upright, completely unharmed.
"d.a.m.n it"s a monster among monsters, how am I going to deal with it!"
It was nonchalantly walking towards me in a haughty manner. It was really frustrating to know that there was nothing I could do. Faced with the certainty of death, I was unwilling to go out this way.
"Do I have to die like this?"
I looked at the large number of termites around me.
"If I die they will completely trampled my body in revenge, in that case would it be possible to revive?"
I looked back at the approaching King, giving me the feeling of my impending doom. I was ready to simply give up and take my chances with the resurrection, were it not for the sudden cry of hunger from the baby dragon behind.
Kueeeeeeek
The sound jolted my mind awake, giving me a sense of purpose, I turned around.
"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball! Inferno!"
I was now able to instantly kill the giant termites with the combination of 3 fireb.a.l.l.s and an inferno. Dozens of bodies littered the ground behind me.
"Corpse Explosion!Corpse Explosion!"
I had carved out an escape path behind me by blowing up the dead bodies.
Kooooooo~
The King"s roar resounded behind me as his ma.s.sive footsteps approached, I ignored him and sprinted away at top speed.
"You thought it would be a duel but I never agreed! I"ll exterminate your entire colony, this is war!"
Ptuui!
The spot I had just been standing on was. .h.i.t with thick burning acid.
"If… if I"m hit with that there will be nothing left of me to revive!"
Since being reborn as a skeleton this is the greatest fear I"ve experienced, The King sent out several Acid spits but I somehow barely managed to dodge them all. I was hoping to draw the King to the sulfur gases as it was my strongest form of offense.
"What should I do if even that doesn"t work?"
A fierce will erupted in my mind, born from the desire to survive. As the King neared a voice appeared in my mind.
"Little one, this is as far as you go. Time to meet your maker!"
Ptuui! Ptuui!
A huge blob of liquid acid, about 1 meter wide was flying towards me.
"I must hold on!"
I use the dragon hide to cover myself from the incoming acid.
"Tshhhhh~