abcnovels
Chapter 212: Getting Unlucky
Chapter 212: Getting Unlucky
BAAAAAAAM
The sound of a hard crash resounded as a figure plummeted from the sky, crashing into the barren, rocky ground and creating a 3-meter-deep hole.
Silence settled over the area, but it didn't last long. A fiery blue light suddenly illuminated the surroundings as a figure erupted from the crater, crashing to the ground nearby.
The figure was none other than Nolan, except now, his eyes were fiery blue, and he held a flashing crimson dagger.
[Your efforts were futile and that's expected.]
[Unless you're at the Cultivation Level of an Instructor, your chances of breaking through an already opened wormhole are nil,] the system said to Nolan, who spat out angrily.
"That should have told me not to try and break free?"
In Nolan's heart, a rising flame of rage burned within.
He had been set up, transferred away from the Quest World to another world he knew nothing about.
He had no idea that a teleporter's destination could be changed at the last second, nor that the one supposed to send him was an enemy.
It had all been too perfect, and now he was in a world where his enemies were probably confident he wouldn't be able to return from.
'Damn! How could I have fallen for that?!'He asked, bewildered, but eventually, he took his mind off it—or rather, he was forced to—as he stared at his surroundings instead.
[Well, talk about bad luck...] the system remarked.
Nolan instantly shifted his hands to the side, and immediately, his fiery chains appeared.
He chained them together with his dagger, revolving it around him while staring intently at the 'things' before him.
The ground beneath was hard and barren, with crumbled mountains scattered around.
In some areas, Nolan could see hot, steaming lava erupting from the ground, flowing like a small river.
But what took Nolan's concentration were the figures tightly surrounding him in a circle.
They were humanoid in their face and upper body, but instead of hands, they had pincers.
Below their waists were appendages that curved up and ended in a sharp sting.
At one glance, a single word came to Nolan's mind: "Half-human, half-scorpion?"
There were twelve of them, their twelve crimson eyes glaring at him.
Their mouths opened wide, revealing sharp, homodont teeth like those of crocodiles, as they circled around Nolan, their massive pincers opening and closing.
It was like they were having some sort of party, and Nolan just happened to unluckily crash in their middle.
[Mission Issued: Survive the Assault of the Larvae Scorpion Halflings]
[Rewards: ???]
The notification flashed before Nolan's eyes, and in the next instant...
SCREEEEEEEEEECCCCCHHH
SCREEEEEEEEEECCCCCHHH
SCREEEEEEEEEECCCCCHHH
The sound of an incredibly powerful screech resounded through the area as the scorpions attacked.
CRUUUSSSSHHH
CRUUUSSSSHHH
The powerful snap of pincers echoed as five of them lunged at Nolan's neck, head, chest, and back, intent on decapitating and killing him instantly.
Nolan's body was cleaved apart, crushed into pieces—but it was merely an afterimage.
CRAAAAAAACKKK
The sound of something being crushed resounded as Nolan reappeared outside the circle, his hair flapping madly from the sudden burst of speed.
His flaming dagger lunged for the head of one of the creatures, but it turned at the last second, smashing its pincers into the dagger.
The hard chitin cracked as the dagger left a web of fractures across the pincer, almost knocking it off.
However, Nolan himself was given the greatest shock as an immense force traveled through his hand, forcing him to let go of the dagger.
BAAAAAAAM
BAAAAAAAM
BAAAAAAAM
He crashed into the ground three times, each impact sending shockwaves through the barren land before he smashed into a half-crumbled mountain, which then collapsed, burying him within.
But in the next instant, a figure appeared in front of the rocks as Nolam also burst out from beneath.
A large pincer was mere inches from cleaving his face, but he slid across the ground, jerking his chain and causing the dagger to return to his grasp.
Without a shred of doubt, Nolan turned his back, and in the next instant—
BOOOOM
A deep crater formed as Nolan faded into thin air and soon a streak of light could be seen moving straight into the distance.
Nolan had made his decision: to run.
Without looking back, he raced into the distance. The sound of crashing echoed behind him, but he didn't turn around.
Even though he had barely exchanged a move, Nolan knew he was no match.
They were simply too strong.
He had been able to avoid their deadly attack, proving he was faster than them.
But when he sneak-attacked them, they had still been able to block, and only a crack had appeared on their exoskeleton.
The force of their counterattack had sent Nolan flying uncontrollably for fifty meters.
He assessed that he would need to strike their most vulnerable part—likely the neck—five times before killing one.
But if their pincers even grazed his skin, the affected part would be crushed.
Nolan was confident in his reaction speed, but he wouldn't delude himself into thinking he could fight ten of those scorpions without taking a single hit.
Besides, Nolan could sense that more scorpions were hiding in the lava.
The noise of their battle would undoubtedly wake more of them, and who knew how many were inside?
So in the end, he had simply decided to run for his life!
Three hours later, the scorpions were still hot on his tail.
He had no idea where he was heading, and running around unfamiliar terrain was no doubt risky, but there wasn't much choice.
Eventually, as he ran, the barren ground gave way to patches of grass, and it didn't take long for him to climb a steep rise and arrive at the top.
Looking below, he could see the scorpions still on the ground, but they didn't climb the hill with him.
They bared their pincers at him, screeched loudly, then reluctantly turned back and left him alone.
"Finally," he breathed loudly as he collapsed on his back on top of the hill, the soft grass cushioning his fall.
His chest heaved up and down as he caught his breath.
Now that he could see the sky, he realized it was a mixture of red and blue, divided by a fine line.
The place where he had come from was covered by a heavy red cloud, but just at the hill where he was resting, there was a clear dividing line.
Beyond the hill, to his back, the sky was all blue—a blue that Nolan was familiar with.
He exhaled loudly at the prospect of escaping but quickly regulated his breathing and rose upright, trying to get a grip on his surroundings.
Before him was a large forest area filled with tall pine trees, with spaces in between that allowed Nolan to see through the forest itself.
It wasn't eerily quiet.
There was a gentle breeze fluttering through the area, accompanied by the faint sounds of chirping birds and insects.
"It's not a dead forest, at least," Nolan mused.
According to what they had been taught in preparation for the upcoming sect survival, any place that was eerily quiet and still could be a clear sign of danger.
Most likely, a dangerous beast or entity had occupied the area.
But the place before him had birds and a breeze blowing.
At least it revealed that everything was fine.
[Congratulations, Host has successfully completed the quest and survived the Larvae Scorpion Halflings.]
[Host has received new rewards.]
The system notification resounded, but just as quickly, another notification appeared.
[You're standing on a hill, making you wide open and easily sighted from afar, Nolan. Get away from here.]
The system called his attention to the danger, and Nolan quickly scurried away.
Faced with the choice of returning to the mountainous ground where he had been chased, Nolan chose to move toward the living forest instead.
The barren ground was wide open and not suitable for hiding at all.
The same couldn't be said for the forest filled with trees.
In the forest, he could live—maybe in a sufficiently high treetop—and there was food from the creatures living within.
It was the best bet for now, so he quickly entered the forest, venturing through the trees.
Eventually, he found one with large branches that blocked the view from below and then he climbed up the tree and rested silently on one of the branches.
The leaves shielded him from sight, both below and above, and only now could he take a deep breath and rest his tired legs while trying to recover his energy.
For now, he was safe.
Silence reigned in the forest, the only thing you heard being the chirping of birds and soft Humm of the winds, and Nolan's white hair gently fluttered in his head as his formerly rapidly beating chest calmed down and he regained his cool once more.
[What's your plan?]
The system instantly got down to business the instant he regained his bearing as Nolan sat up placing his back in the branch.
"I don't have one, but I do know how I fucked up..."