Chapter 110: 110. Scorplings
Chapter 110: 110. Scorplings
"Let's go," the masked girl said, looking at everyone. "But be careful of those corpses."
Orion and the others nodded as they carefully walked along the cave.
As they walked, they noticed the cave had traces of fighting everywhere. Some parts of the cave were burning with fire, while others were frozen blue. Weapons lay scattered across the ground, evidence of the intense battle that had taken place.
However, it seemed there hadn't been any casualties among General Dray's group, as they hadn't come across any human corpses along the way. Only the corpses of scorplings were scattered throughout the cave.
Like that, they continued to move forward slowly, and an hour passed in this manner.
Surprisingly, they hadn't encountered any obstacles or anything worth mentioning, so they reached the end of the path very quickly.
But just as everyone sighed in relief at reaching the end of the path easily, Orion heard something.
"Shhh!"
He put his finger on his lips, indicating everyone to remain silent. Concentrating on the sound, his expression changed greatly a moment later.
"Something is moving in large numbers towards us," he warned everyone. "Be ready."
Everyone's faces changed as they heard Orion. They quickly took out their weapons and gripped them tightly to face whatever was coming towards them.
A moment later, they could hear the sound of some creatures running towards them at the end of the path.
"Look!"
Lisa shouted, pointing at the distance where they could see a small cloud of dust making its way towards them.
"Something is coming!" Orion shouted, seeing that.
As the mass of clouds came closer, they could hear the running sound more clearly, and not only that, but they could finally see what it was that was approaching them like a storm.
To their shock, the approaching creatures weren't just one or two, but an entire pack of scorplings heading toward them at breakneck speed. Their numbers ranged around a hundred, and they moved like hungry wolves, their eyes glinting with feral intensity.
The ground seemed to tremble beneath their onslaught, and the air filled with the sound of their rapid, relentless approach.
"It's a pack of scorplings. Everyone, ready to fight."
Orion shouted as he activated the Curse Transformation with the curse of Frozen Torment.
The transformation caused his left hand to completely freeze from the tip of his fingers to his shoulder, turning it icy blue. Spikes of ice protruded from his elbow and shoulder, making the transformation more formidable.
The air around his arm grew colder, and a faint mist emanated from the frozen limb, adding an aura of deadly beauty to his newly transformed appendage.
As the transformation was completed, Orion could feel his strength had increased a lot, and not only his physical strength, but he could also sense that he now had better control over ice elements in general.
Feeling the chilling sensation emanating from Orion's arm, everyone felt a little shock. Because almost all of them were at the iron rank, but only the cold emanating from his frozen arm caused them to tremble. They couldn't imagine what it would be like if they were to face it directly.
As for Orion, he was ready to attack.
Seeing that the scorplings were almost upon them, he moved forward a little and punched the ground with his left hand.
Almost instantly, a layer of frost released from his hand, moving towards the incoming scorplings.
The layer of frost froze everything in its way—the ground, the corpses, and even the scattered weapons. The chilling cold spread rapidly, encasing everything it touched in a solid sheath of ice.
As it approached the scorplings, they too were caught in the icy wave. Their frantic movement slowed, then stopped altogether as the frost encased them, freezing them solid in their tracks.
They all ultimately turned into frozen statues, their snarling faces and aggressive postures preserved in ice forever.
Everyone witnessing this spectacle was shocked. The sheer power and sudden transformation that had turned the ferocious scorplings into frozen statues left them in awe.
It was completely one-sided. The scorplings didn't stand a chance. The overwhelming display of power had frozen them in an instant, leaving no room for resistance or escape.
The sheer efficiency and dominance of the attack stunned everyone, leaving them surprised and shocked at the same time.
"Orion, what was that?" Ryfin exclaimed, his voice trembling with excitement. "Are you really only at the iron rank and not at the silver rank?"
Orion didn't have any answers for Ryfin, as he himself was in shock. He hadn't thought that the transformation would bring such an increase in strength.
The raw power coursing through his icy arm was beyond anything he had imagined, leaving him both amazed and unsettled by the potential within him.
Most importantly, the control over ice elements seemed to increase a lot. When it was mentioned in the description of the Curse Transformation, he had thought the increase would only be around 2-3%, but the actual increase was around 10%.
The unexpected boost in his ability to manipulate ice was a pleasant surprise, opening up new possibilities and strategies in combat that he had yet to explore.
Turning to Ryfin and the others, who were looking at him like a monster, Orion smiled wryly.
"It's my new sub ability I unlocked when I reached the iron rank," he said, scratching his head.
At the same time, he also deactivated the Curse Transformation causing his left hand to return to normal.
"Let's continue to move forward," he said, trying to divert their attention to the task at hand.
They nodded as they moved forward, and Orion also followed them from behind as he thought about his new ability.
'This Curse Transformation ability is too strong, even if I only use one curse. What would happen if I were to use two at the same time or all the curses I have at the same time?'
He believed that his strength would soar to new heights if he were to use more curses in the Curse Transformation mode, but that would also bring more negative emotions to his mind, which would ultimately do more harm than good.
The temptation to tap into the power of all the curses in the Curse Transformation was strong, but he knew that the price of giving in to that temptation would also be too high.
"Look! There are only mirrors ahead."
As he was thinking deeply about his ability, someone's shout brought him back to reality.
Turning his head forward, he was surprised to see mirrors of various sizes scattered throughout the front area. Not a single trace of ground or walls in the cave could be seen, as the entire area appeared to be surrounded by mirrors only.
The reflections from all these mirrors created an eerie and disorienting effect, making it difficult to discern what was real and what was merely a reflection.
"Why are there so many mirrors in the middle of a cave?" The masked girl thought out loud as she looked at an area full of mirrors.
"It should be a trap," Orion said, looking at everyone. "Think about it. There are so many mirrors in the middle of a cave. How often do you see them?"
"But who would build a trap here?" Lisa asked this time. "Even if this is a trap, General Dray's team has already passed this area, so this trap should have been broken, but why does it appear that it's still in effect?"
The questions Lisa asked caused everyone to ponder about the mirrors surrounding their path in front of them.