I was inside a box made of a strange blue color. Its extremities clearly followed the shape of the rock I could see outside, but that was just a curtain of magic, like one of Elk’s creations.

  However, it wasn’t the illusion that made me want to vomit—it was the thing in the middle of it.

  It could barely pass as humanoid. It had two extremely thin human arms, its skin so white it looked like there wasn’t a single drop of blood in its body.

  Two other arms extended from its sides, insect-like, covered in small hairs and ending in claws—like the arms of a giant cockroach. Its torso was bloated, as if it had eaten far more than possible, its insides straining to escape.

  Its feet couldn’t support its weight, twisted at unnatural angles on the ground, as if its legs had snapped under the pressure.

  In its two human hands, it held a mirror high, swirling inside it both my lightning bolt and fireball. Its insectoid arms twitched from side to side, shifting nervously, as if anticipating what was to come.

  But its face—that was what made my stomach turn. It looked as if a cockroach had eaten a human, but half of the person’s head was still lodged inside its mouth.

  The grotesque fusion of human and insect defied everything I’d seen so far. It looked like a true alien.

  But it also looked like a bug.

  And I never hesitated to smash a cockroach whenever I saw one.

  What if this motherfucker started to fly? I couldn’t take it.

  I rushed toward it, dagger in hand, but its insectoid arms intercepted my attack, claws sinking deep into my arm.

  The human head gurgled something—it sounded more like a plea for help than anything else. My stomach turned again, and I threw my dagger straight at its face.

  The mirror shot up, intercepting my blade and knocking it to the ground with a metallic clang.

  At that moment, Elk burst inside the "rock," his eyes bulging at the sight of the monstrosity looming over me.

  “I didn’t know humans could look like that!” he shouted, already assuming a fighting stance.

  “Just distract it!” I barked, barely dodging a clawed swipe aimed at my throat.

  Fireballs streaked through the air, crashing into the creature’s twisted body. The monster absorbed them with its strange mirror, the surface rippling like water, but it was struggling. It couldn’t dodge my relentless strikes while also countering Elk’s magic.

  It twisted and lunged at me, its human mouth opening wider than it should, revealing jagged teeth and mandibles twitching at the corners. I barely got my dagger up in time, deflecting the lunge, but its insectoid arm shot forward, raking across my forearm.

  Blood ran hot down my wrist, but I ignored the pain. My arms were already a mess, and Mary’s magic clearly couldn’t reach inside the illusion. There was no choice but to push through.

  Elk circled to the left, keeping up the barrage of fire while I moved to its right. We fought as one, cutting off its escape, forcing it to react faster than it could handle.

  I struck low, aiming for its warped, jointed legs. My blade dug into one, splitting chitin and sending the thing lurching to its left—right into Elk’s fireball.

  The explosion sent the creature stumbling back, its twisted human face contorting, but this time, it wasn’t just gurgling. It screamed.

  A horrible, high-pitched screech—somewhere between an insect’s chittering and a dying man’s wail.

  I didn’t let it recover.

  With a snap of my wrist, I hurled my dagger straight at its face. The blade sank in, piercing deep, and the monster spasmed before crumpling to the ground in a heap.

  A message flashed before me.

  Congratulations! You have slain Insectoid - Necromancer - F3.

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  You earned 10 credits.

  The illusion shattered.

  The walls of tangled roots and darkness melted away, revealing the outside world—but we had no time to catch our breath.

  Mary and Tress were right in front of us, but something was wrong.

  Two massive trees had them by the neck, thick branches tightening like coiling snakes, lifting them off the ground. Their feet kicked uselessly, hands clawing at the bark.

  Didn’t we just kill the thing?

  I didn’t hesitate.

  I activated [Lightning Momentum], my body crackling with raw energy as I launched forward. The world blurred. Twigs and branches whipped past me, scratching, grabbing, trying to ensnare me—but I tore through them.

  I reached Mary first, my dagger flashing as I hacked through the tendrils crushing her throat. The bark split, sparking with blue energy, and the moment the grip loosened, she gasped for air.

  “I’ll release you,” I said and she nodded. Sitting on the branch, I worked to cut it as other make-shift arms tried to grab me by the back. She eventually fell with her two feet on the ground.

  Elk burned the branches holding Tress in the air, and she plummeted, but thankfully, he caught her before she could hit her head.

  I fought the branches still trying to grab me, but before I could reach the ground, another twig wrapped around my ankle, suspending me several feet in the air. That’s when I noticed something at the top of the tree—

  The glistening of a brownish carapace against the light.

  The necromancer was up there.

  A branch came flying toward my head, and I instinctively blocked it with my right arm. The thin twigs pierced deep into my wounded flesh, making me want to scream.

  I grabbed the branch with my other hand, looking down before propelling myself upward.

  "Don't burn this one!" I called to Elk as I used every ounce of strength to heave myself up, my abdomen acting as a lever. When I was partially upright, I activated [Lightning Momentum] again and shot toward the creature at the top of the canopy.

  It wasn’t expecting me.

  I crashed into it, and we tumbled through the air, slamming into trees and branches.

  My head spun as we rolled across the rocky ground. A branch snapped into my mouth, slicing the roof of it, and I spat blood instantly. I struggled to stand, and when I did, the monster was already facing me.

  Ten feet away, the monstrosity stood tall.

  This one hadn’t swallowed a human.

  It was a humanoid cockroach in its full, disgusting form.

  Worse, a dead jaguar lay beside it.

  It didn’t take long for the thing to notice the dead animal. Blue strings erupted from its tiny arms, latching onto the jaguar and making it move unnaturally.

  [Shadow Step] came in handy as the cockroach’s small black eyes scanned the area, its antennas twitching frantically, trying to sense my position.

  The jaguar was already up, searching for me, but I circled them slowly, using my rogue class to stay unnoticed.

  However, no matter how sneaky I was, I couldn’t hide the blood pouring from my arm.

  A second later, the dead jaguar was charging toward me.

  I didn’t run from it.

  I rushed at the necromancer.

  I slammed my shoulder into it with everything I had, sending it rolling to the ground. I fell on top of it as my invisibility vanished.

  The jaguar bit into my back, but my armor held.

  The cockroach wasn’t so lucky—its exoskeleton cracked under my dagger as I plunged it into its grotesque chest, white blood bursting from the wound.

  Poisoning Effect - Ineffective.

  "That should’ve work! It always works!" I cried, raising my dagger for another strike, but before I could bring it down, the jaguar clamped onto my already wounded arm.

  I scrambled to the side, stabbing the dead jaguar, but it didn’t let go. Wasn’t this thing already dead?

  The necromancer moved away, preparing to use its magic to power the nearby trees.

  I couldn’t let it to do it, I’d lose all the ground I had conquered.d

  I gritted my teeth and ignored the pain of the monster tearing my arm apart.

  It was hard to run with several pounds of undead jaguar hanging off my limb, but I did it anyway.

  The cockroach looked stunned, victory seeming to slip away from its insectoid frame.

  I swung my arm—jaguar and all—leveraging my high stats and smashing the cockroach right in the face.

  I doubted anyone had ever struck something with a jaguar before, but there was a first time for everything, right?

  The necromancer collapsed, and I followed up with a lightning strike.

  The attack hit its head.

  Stunning Effect - Effective.

  At that moment, the jaguar finally released what was left of my arm. I crouched and drove my dagger straight into the necromancer’s tiny eyes.

  Poisoning Effect - Effective.

  It was instant. The necromancer spasmed in all directions, trying to turn and run, trying to scramble to the side—but all it managed to do was thrash on the ground, gasping for air until it died.

  The jaguar mimicked its movements, as did several trees around us.

  I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, watching the cockroach twitch one last time.

  Congratulations! You have slain Insect Necromancer - Rank F3

  Congratulations! Your Soul Core upgraded.

  Calculating...