Chapter 76: Soul Core

Rows of tiny gripping limbs moved around him, pressing into the soil and pulling the massive body forward. K could see the segments contracting in sequence, each movement passing through the creature like a wave.

He spotted the wounded joint.

"Got you."

He leapt and dug both of his palms into the slowly healing wound and pulled.

The creature howled and began to compress and slam itself into the ground, trying to swat K off itself but the soldier didn’t let go. Instead, he dug his sword into its skin and anchored himself there.

"Come on!"

The flesh there began to tear, the skin oozing more of its green fluid. The bitter liquid coated K’s tongue but he didn’t deter.

Worms only had chitin and no endoskeleton.

Easy kill.

He pulled harder and began hacking his sword into it to cut faster.

The worm was way larger than the usual type. So it’s body building would surely be advanced.

Harder chitin maybe?

But worm would always be worm.

The Sporm went berserk.

Thrashing and trying to get K off itself.

Its numerous limbs scraped desperately against the ground while its body twisted from side to side. The wound between the segments leaked thick green fluid, staining the surrounding sand.

K ripped the sword sideways, widening the wound before immediately diving away.

The beast slammed down.

Its body crushed the patch of earth where K had been hanging on.

K leapt away from the impact, landing several meters from the creature before immediately turning back toward it. His chest rose and fell rapidly, each breath scraping through his throat. Sweat ran down his face and mixed with the thick green fluid covering his arms and torso. His short sword remained clutched tightly in his hand, its silvery surface stained with the creature’s blood.

The Sporm writhed.

Its enormous body curled inward, then stretched again, each segment contracting with violent spasms. The wound K had carved between its sections was still open, but the flesh around it had already begun pulling itself together again. The edges of the torn tissue were knitting slowly, pushing against each other as new layers began to form beneath the damaged skin.

K watched the process.

"you can regenerate... we can’t have that."

The Sporm lunged.

K moved at the same time.

He raced directly toward the creature, lowering his body as its enormous head swept over him. The mandibles snapped shut behind his back, missing him by inches. K planted one hand against the ground, swung his legs beneath the creature’s head and rolled through the dust.

He came up behind it.

The creature was already turning.

K didn’t wait.

He rushed toward the injured section.

The sword flashed.

He drove it into the same gap he had opened earlier.

The blade punched through the damaged flesh, cutting apart the healing tissue.

The Sporm shrieked.

Its entire body convulsed.

K held on.

The creature twisted violently, trying to crush him against the ground. K’s feet dug into the soil as he leaned his entire weight against the sword.

"Stay!"

The creature’s body suddenly whipped sideways.

K was thrown several meters.

He struck the ground on his shoulder and rolled, but he kept his sword in his grip. He pushed himself upright just as the Sporm came charging toward him.

K’s eyes widened.

It was fast.

The creature’s many limbs dug into the ground in rapid succession, pulling its enormous body forward in a series of powerful contractions. The earth broke beneath its weight, leaving deep grooves behind it.

K waited.

Closer.

Closer.

The creature opened its jaws.

K stepped to the side.

Its head swept past him.

He jumped.

His heels landed on the creature’s back, digging into the spikes there but he ignored the pain and used another enchanted potion.

The Sporm immediately bucked.

K dropped low and drove one hand into the rough surface between its bristled growths.

The creature twisted.

Blood coated his fist.

K nearly lost his balance.

He recovered and ran along its back, narrowly missing some spikes and having some dig deeper into his feet.

The wounded section was below.

The Sporm turned.

He reached it and raised his sword.

"Found you."

He plunged the blade downward.

The creature screamed.

Its body jerked so violently that K was thrown into the air.

He landed on his feet this time.

The Sporm began thrashing again.

K could see the wound opening wider with every movement. Thick green fluid poured from between the segments and soaked into the soil.

He started walking toward it.

The Sporm lifted its head.

K tightened his grip.

"The more you move, the more you tear yourself apart."

The beast charged.

K waited until it was almost upon him before jumping.

He landed on the side of its head.

One hand grabbed a raised growth.

The other brought the sword down.

The blade cut through.

The creature jerked its head violently.

K held on.

He struck again.

And again.

Each blow drove deeper into the thick flesh around its neck.

The Sporm screamed continuously, its voice becoming a harsh, vibrating roar that shook the leaves from the surrounding trees.

K’s arms burned.

His shoulders ached.

His fingers were beginning to lose their strength.

But he kept swinging.

The creature suddenly threw its head upward and launched him into the air.

He twisted before landing and hit the ground hard on both feet. His knees buckled.

"Shit..."

The Sporm turned toward him.

Its head was hanging lower now.

One of its feelers dragged across the ground.

Its movements had become sluggish.

K looked at his sword. The blade was still intact.

He breathed deeply.

Then he noticed something.

The creature’s enormous body had begun pulling itself backward toward the trees.

It was retreating.

K blinked.

"You’re running? Don’t be the bitch here."

The Sporm crawled faster.

K immediately chased after it.

The creature tried to disappear between the trees, but its enormous body couldn’t move quickly enough through the dense vegetation.

Not with its gaping wound. Branches snapped across its back while its numerous limbs tore through the soil.

K ran alongside it.

He waited for an opening.

Then he jumped.

His hands caught one of the raised sections along its back.

He pulled himself upward.

The creature thrashed.

K climbed.

One segment.

Two.

Three.

The creature twisted beneath him, but K kept moving.

He reached the damaged section.

His sword rose.

The creature suddenly curled its body.

K drove the blade down with everything he had.

The sword pierced through the wound.

K didn’t stop.

He pushed deeper.

The creature’s body tightened around itself.

K gritted his teeth.

"Die!"

He twisted the blade.

Something inside the creature popped.

The Sporm froze.

Its legs stopped moving.

Its enormous body remained curled for several seconds before slowly collapsing into the grass.

K stood on top of it, breathing heavily.

He waited.

The creature didn’t move.

K cautiously pulled the sword free.

Nothing.

He stepped backward.

Still nothing.

He had to make sure the fucker wasn’t faking.

He slowly made his way to the creature’s head and struck it. Cutting off the part from its body.

Then the System appeared.

[Quest complete!!!]

[SOUL FRAGMENTS ACQUIRED: +24]

K stared at the notification.

"Twenty-four?"

A tired smile crossed his face.

Then another interface appeared.

[REWARD GRANTED]

[+2500 EXP]

[+15 ATTRIBUTE POINTS]

Then the corpse beneath his feet began to glow.

K immediately stepped away.

The Sporm’s enormous body started breaking apart from the wound in its neck. Its flesh lost its color first, becoming pale and translucent. The thousands of tiny hairs and spikescovering its body disintegrated into drifting particles.

The enormous segments followed.

One after another, they dissolved.

The creature didn’t bleed anymore.

It simply came apart leaving its green fluids on the ground.

Its head vanished.

Then its limbs.

Then the enormous torso.

Within seconds, the massive creature that had nearly crushed K beneath its body was reduced to a swirling cloud of white and gold particles.

K stood completely still as the particles drifted around him. Then they began moving toward one another. The scattered fragments gathered in the center of the where the body once was.

They spun faster.

Faster.

The light condensed. Then a small sphere formed.

Then it grew.

And grew, until it became nearly the size of K’s head.

The orb dropped into the grass with a heavy thud.

K stared at it.

Unlike the golden fragments produced by his sword, this was solid.

Its surface was translucent, with green and gold energy slowly moving beneath it like smoke trapped inside glass. Tiny sparks travelled across its surface before disappearing into its center.

K crouched beside it.

He reached toward the orb.

The moment his fingers touched it, the System appeared.

[SPECIAL DROP DETECTED.]

[ITEM: SPORM SOUL CORE]

[QUALITY: UNCOMMON]

[SOURCE: SPORM]

[Memory fragments x1]

K’s eyes widened.

He lifted the orb carefully.

It was heavier than it looked.

The System continued displaying information.

[SOUL CORE CONTAINS CONDENSED RESIDUAL ENERGY.]

[POSSIBLE USES: CRAFTING / ATTRIBUTE ENHANCEMENT / MAP LOCATION EXCHANGE.]

K turned the orb over in his hands.

"Is this the orb you spoke of?"

[Yes.]

He looked at the empty patch of grass where the Sporm had disappeared.

So the Sporm was the guardian of this location.

The forest had already gone quiet again.

K slipped the orb into his inventory.

[SPORM SOUL CORE x1]

He looked at his short sword. Green fluid dripped from the blade. K wiped it against the remaining grass before sliding the weapon back into place.

His body hurt.

His pants were torn.

His arms were covered in scratches.

But he was alive.

And now he had something new to experiment with.

K glanced toward the deeper forest.

"How do I move to the next location?"

[Follow the cursor that will now be displayed in your vision.]

He turned away from the clearing and continued deeper into the trees.