The Rise of the Winter Wolf - Book 6 - Chapter 53 - Exhaustion

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Wolf

Just like with the other soldier bugs, I try one method of killing them after another. But nothing works. Even with the cracks all over their carapace.

When I try to send lunar ice element into their mouth or other openings, I just find them sealed off the moment the energy gets close. As if they have some sort of automatic defense against it. And when I try just plain freezing it, the thing is still strong enough to break my ice. Even with the jump in levels I got from slaughtering the rest of its companions.

I try to narrow my ice down into a thin point and slam it into the cracks in an attempt to widen them, but that doesn’t do anything either.

So in the end I’m left fleeing again. That is, until more soldier bugs join the fray again and I can play tag with them again.

Of course, with the soldier bugs always being it as they crash into each other.

Then this game continues for entire hours, with more soldier bugs arriving every time I kill all but one of them and move to a new location. Meanwhile the other bugs all leave quite a bit of distance between themselves and the soldier bugs. Almost like they’re afraid of them or something.

But that doesn’t matter to me, since they’re still in the range of my ice. So I freeze them all solid and watch them fall.

Because the regular bugs are weak enough for me to freeze now that I’ve grown in level a lot.

And them being frozen means them falling to their deaths.

So thanks to them, I rack up more and more EXP, leveling me up much faster than I was before.

Even after killing bugs and soldier bugs for an entire three days though, I still can’t kill a single soldier bug on my own. Which is getting on my nerves.

Not to mention the fact that I’ve had my organs and bones crushed by the soldier bugs numerous times during this little hunt. And I haven’t been given a single moment of respite either.

I grit my teeth while panting a little in exhaustion. Which hasn’t really happened in a long time. Being exhausted from a lack of rest.

Since I don’t need sleep to be healthy, and I’m generally a lot stronger than the enemies, I’ve never really had any issues getting breaks. But these soldier bugs just don’t know when to quit. And since I can’t kill them alone, there is always one that’s left alive.

Unfortunately, when I tried numerous times to get the last two to crash into each other, it’s never ended how I want it to end.

One of them somehow always survives the collision.

And it’s frustrating as hell.

The only bright side about these things is that they’re incredibly stupid and don’t learn from their mistakes. So there’s that I guess.

I continue slaughtering the bugs as Sapphire and I make our way from one tower to another. All without any breaks, and while exhausted to the extreme.

But we keep going. And going. And going.

Until eventually something startles us into pausing.

Something nice.

A faint yet exhausted smile covers my face on the sixth day of the soldier bug parade as Sapphire and I stare at a floating blue orb somewhere deep in one of the towers.

An EXP Orb.

I’m pretty sure there weren’t any of these in the towers before, which means that new things are still being added to the towers. That it’s not just the soldier bugs that were added since I came here.

That or this tower is just different from the others. But I doubt it.

Anyways, I reach out and grab the EXP Orb, making my level shoot up by three levels all in one orb. Then Sapphire and I flee right as the soldier bugs slam into the wall of the room, bringing it crashing down.

I EXP Orbs are being added into the floor, then it shouldn’t take anywhere near as long to be on par with those soldier bugs as I thought it would. And on top of that, they seem to be rather good EXP Orbs considering that one of them gave me three levels of EXP.

Which is a lot. Even for the Beta Dungeon.

So after dodging the soldier bugs again, I go ahead and continue my running from the soldier bugs. While still killing them as well through their little game of tag, of course.

But this time I also add in searching for EXP Orbs to my agenda while running. Or rather, flying. Technically.

I really wish the sponsorship would just start now instead of waiting until I find that damned scepter…

Actually, come to think of it, that scepter at this rate is probably only going to appear when I’m a sufficient level. Just like the soldier bugs did.

And more importantly than that right now, what is going to appear next after the soldier bugs?

Because if the soldier bugs are already this annoying to deal with, what could be worse than them?

Some sort of warrior bugs with similar defenses and actual intelligence?

That would be a nightmare.

I shiver at the thought as I continue killing bugs one after another. But my stamina keeps draining the longer I use it, even with my tapping into Sapphire’s stamina to recover it along the way. And my using some special potions on top of that.

Everything has their limits though, and I am getting extremely close to finding mine as I find it beginning to grow difficult just to freeze things around me.

Then, just as I’m beginning to finally run out of steam, I find it.

A strange door floating in the middle of a tower’s roof.

I blink in surprise before muttering out loud, “Huh?”

Why is there a door here…

I glance behind me at the soldier bugs heading my way before looking at the door again. Then, after a brief hesitation, I finally let out a sigh and reach for the door.

Whatever. I can’t last much longer out here, so I need a way to get away from these bugs.

A way to rest.

The moment my hand touches the door, it shines with a bright green light, and I’m teleported away somewhere.