Chapter 354:An opening?

Chapter 354: 354:An opening?

The first impact came from somewhere beyond the reach of Silver’s headlamp, but the vibration travelled through the entire tunnel strongly enough to shake dust from the roots above him.

He remained where he was for only a second before his instincts screamed at him to move. The enormous signature at the edge of Spatial Sense was advancing steadily, and unlike the smaller worms that had chased him throughout the last several hours, it wasn’t searching.

It already knew exactly where he was. Every violent movement brought it closer, and the creatures that had been pursuing him were abandoning the main passage as quickly as they could.

He turned and ran uphill. There was no reason to wait for visual confirmation.

He had fought the queen once already, if what happened at the bottom of the cave could even be called a fight. Silver remembered very clearly how that encounter had ended.

He’d exhausted nearly everything he possessed simply trying to keep Ravenna and Antony alive long enough to escape, and the queen had still struck him badly enough that the system had been forced to place his body into emergency recovery.

That had happened when Silver was in better condition than he was now but the last several hours had eaten into his reserves again.

[Spatial Reserves: 57%.]𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

[Mental Capacity: 68%.]

[Physical Fatigue: High.]

He dismissed the status.

"More than enough."

He didn’t particularly believe that but what choice did he have?

His distress beacon continued transmitting from his equipment as he ran, occasionally vibrating whenever it caught another emergency-frequency connection.

At the moment, the tunnel climbed and that was all he cared about. He followed the incline while Spatial Sense tracked the queen behind him.

The distance decreased, sowly, then faster.

Silver frowned.

The queen had reached the larger tunnel. Its enormous body no longer needed to force itself through narrow passages.

The next vibration nearly threw Silver off balance. He looked behind only to be met with darkness.

He continued without stopping.

Several abandoned worm tunnels opened along the walls. Silver ignored them because most descended or narrowed too quickly. He needed elevation, not another maze.

The airflow grew stronger, he could feel it against the sweat on his face. He was close enough now that there could be no mistake.

He ran for another thirty meters before the tunnel curved. The moment he rounded the bend, he heard something moving behind him.

He turned.

The queen emerged from the darkness. His headlamp illuminated only part of it at first, then more.

The enormous segmented body filled most of the tunnel. Hardened plates overlapped along its back, many carrying scars from previous battles and fresh damage caused by forcing itself through the mountain.

Its front limbs tore into stone as it advanced, and the massive mouth opened to reveal rows of jagged structures that had already come dangerously close to killing him once.

The queen suddenly stopped. Silver also stopped as well for some bizarre reason. For a moment, neither moved, then the queen’s head tilted.

Its poor eyesight didn’t matter since it knew his scent. The creature released a violent screech.

Silver grimaced.

"Yes, I remember you too."

Insight activated.

[Special Insight Activated.]

The familiar information appeared but better this time since he could atleast read it without the ground trying to buckle underneath.

[Parasitic Burrowing Queen]

[Tier: Six.]

[Type: Colony Queen / Subterranean / Strength.]

[Primary Traits: Extreme Physical Strength, Reinforced Exoskeleton, Rapid Reproduction, Colony Command, Subterranean Adaptation.]

[Secondary Traits: High Regeneration, Vibration Detection, Territorial Aggression.]

[Known Weaknesses: Sensory organs, exposed joints beneath frontal armor, softer abdominal segmentation.]

[Threat Assessment: Extreme.]

[Warning: Target significantly exceeds Host’s current Rank.]

Silver stared at the final warning.

"I figured that out the first time."

The queen charged.

Silver moved without any hesitation.

[Short-Step Lv2 Activated.]

Space folded, and disappeared before the queen smashed through where he’d been standing. Silver reappeared several meters farther uphill and immediately ran.

The queen turned towards him already sensing where he was going. The entire tunnel shook as it pursued.

Silver didn’t waste ammunition since he had no intention of killing it. Even with every ability he possessed, the difference between Rank Two and a Tier Six queen was ridiculous.

Escape was the objective, nothing else mattered, he wasn’t suicidal enough to even try and take it on for a second. He reached another bend.

Spatial Sense spread forward.

The passage continued upward, then widened. Beyond that...

Silver slowed almost instinctively from disbelief.

Something felt different. His perception reached an enormous hollow, it wasn’t another cavern, the space extended farther than Spatial Sense could map. Air moved through it freely.

His heart jumped when he came to a realisation that it was outside and that he had finally found an opening. He could feel it before he could even see it.

He was almost at the end of the tunnel. Silver ran faster towards it but then stopped. The queen’s route connected to the opening from another direction.

His path curved slightly before reaching the opening, unfortunately for him, the queen had taken a shorter branch. The enormous signature moved ahead of him.

He stared in horror.

"No."

He sprinted faster, this was the first time he wished he had integrated an agility core.

The tunnel opened into a broad chamber. Natural light appeared ahead; faint, distant, and beautiful.

Silver almost laughed, his pace increasing but before he could celebrate, the queen crashed through the side passage and placed itself directly between him and the light. He stopped hard enough that his boots slid.

The queen turned and looked at him. Silver looked past it at the light. It was perhaps eighty meters away and he could even see the actual sky.

There were roots hanging around the edges and wind entered continuously.

He could smell vegetation and finally see daylight. After almost six days underground, he could see the outside.

The problem was the enormous Rank Six creature occupying most of the space between him and freedom.

Silver looked toward another route but there was nothing useful. The left side ended against stone while the right contained a narrow passage, but Spatial Sense showed it curving downward.

He wasn’t going back down, not after everything. He looked at the queen, then the opening.

"You couldn’t just stand somewhere else?"

The queen answered by charging. Silver activated Spatial Distortion.

[Spatial Distortion Lv1 Activated.]

Space warped.

The queen’s attack crossed a distance that suddenly wasn’t behaving normally. It’s head struck several meters away from where he should have been.

Silver Short-Stepped sideways as stone exploded around him from the impact.

[Short-Step Lv2 Activated.]