On a scale of 1 to 10, how dangerous was the colossal worm far back behind Josh? Probably a 100! The Mini-Boss had already taken their all to take down, and this one newcomer was an actual Boss!
Still, he couldn't help but feel resentful. That damn worm! It had waited till the very last second to pop out and eat their prey. Couldn't it have done so before Josh went through all that trouble?!
Josh didn't believe one bit that he had what it took to fight that opponent, so he ran. For once, Josh didn't have to guide the snake. All the monsters in a large area were busy fighting, so they just ran straight.
But this was a bad idea. As fast as the snake was, it could never outrun their pursuant. That's why Josh remained attentive until he saw an access well and jumped off, his ride so frightened it didn't notice him.
The access wells were made of the same white brick as the ruins he had seen before. Then he found a hemp rope leading down into this realm's belly.
Without waiting further, Josh began his slow descent. He had only gone a few meters down that the surrounding atmosphere completely changed. The unbelievable heat was gone and was replaced by coolness.
As he reached the bedrock, he found himself in an underground tunnel. Following it, he stumbled upon more tunnels. These new tunnels led him to …some more! Ah, but sometimes he would face caves of various dimensions.
Every burrow looked so damn simple except for one point. In the middle of each, there would be tiny ponds. He cautiously went near one, trying to figure out what it did. But that's when something strange happened.
As he entered the shallow water, he had a sense of familiarity. It somehow gave him a very similar feeling to the river back in his training/nightmare. But, while the river had been tumultuous and violent, the energy here was utterly peaceful.
He felt as if there was some power contained inside that he couldn't access right now. But, he felt a link being formed with it, somehow. The longer he stayed inside and the better he could feel the power of the pond. This was a fantastic training opportunity!
Josh resolutely left. He wanted to find the biggest pond he could! He felt like these caves belonged to the creatures that he had seen on the surface. The stronger they were, and the better their magical pond would be.
His current goal was to search for the Mini-Boss's cave. That's how he kept going until he stumbled upon a crazy huge cavern. In it, he didn't find a shallow pond, but a goddamn lake! How potent would this be?!
As he greedily approached it, he noticed some kind of brown gem hovering above it while emitting soft mana in the surroundings. Its pale glow was mesmerizing. How often could one look at pure power?
Josh unconsciously gulped as he approached it carefully. He couldn't feel any danger at all from it. He slowly approached his hand, steadying his mind and protecting his body with mana.
As he touched it— the cave went away! He found himself under an orange-tinted sky with two orange-tinted suns and a scene of a massacre. Josh quickly made sense of what he was looking a: his defeated monstrous army.
But that's when he felt a chill. As he turned, he could see the Boss there, so close that he could distinguish the countless teeth in his gaping maw with the saliva dripping on him.
Josh tried moving away, but he couldn't control his body. Fuck! Was he going to die like that?! But that's when the saliva reached him and …passed right through his body?! That's when he realized that he wasn't actually here, and this was only a projection.
Just as he felt intense relief, the Boss 'looked' at him. He felt his very soul shake and risk dissipating. No, he couldn't allow this! Not before he saved her!
"So what if you're level 73? You're nothing more than a worm!" He taunted both resentful and as a way to steady his mind.
But that's when the creature suddenly sent something his way! It was slightly brown in color, transparent, and stuck right to him! What the fuck was that?! But as he focused, he instinctively understood.
This was a tracker. The worm god was now targeting him! Oh shit. Perhaps it was Josh's imagination, but he could see the worm grinning. Then it turned toward his location. The hunt had begun.
Then it was over. Josh regained his senses; His entire body froze in horror. He could feel the enormous killing intent already. He would die for sure.
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For once, he was scared, shitless. He was afraid of dying, failing, but most importantly, he was scared never to see her again. What was death like? Was it simply nothingness? Was there a life afterward? She would disappear completely.
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But he then realized how silly he had been:
"Alter System Protocol, I need you to bail me out!" But there was only silence with death approaching quickly. "Alter Tower, where the fuck are you?! AT answer!"
He didn't have time for this. Josh took out his Dimensional belt and activated it….But, nothing happened. What the heck?! He could feel it; whatever that brown thing had been, it was interfering! Was this why AT didn't answer either?!
Run?
He couldn't run.
He couldn't die.
He couldn't forget.
He had to fight.
Was victory even possible?
It didn't matter.
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He couldn't run, forget or die.
He had to win, no matter what.
He'd see them again, both of them!
Fuck that worm! Fuck that motherfucking worm!
It wanted to get rid of their memories!
It wanted to kill them.
It had to die.
Death, resolve, belief, doubt, necessity, anger, and all of it. It all meshed together until he didn't know how he felt. All he did was observe his surroundings, looking for a lifeline. He had never been as calm as he was now.
But suddenly, a smile blossomed on his face. Fuck that worm!
Creator's Thought
It's at that moment that I developed a dislike for worms and tracking spells. Tracking someone with magic is pretty much an insult to their power. What felt like a death sentence back then was actually an opportunity. Had I known what I know now, I could have killed the worm in one hit without cheesing it.