Archmage To Druid: Chapter 46 – Wildlands of Hunger (2): Centipedes Everywhere

As they stepped into the Wildlands, dense air slammed into them, hot and humid, carrying a heavy stench of damp earth and rotting moss. It was a visceral heat that clung to their fur and scales like a wet shroud, making every breath feel like swallowing steam.

It was as if they had stepped into another world altogether, and as they did, alongside the suffocating heat, the hungering curse wrapped around them like translucent tentacles, probing and forcing its way into their bestial bodies.

“Fight it! Focus on our connection, focus on me!” Maximus shouted as he noticed Silex and Vesper struggle and growl, slamming their bodies into the earth in agony.

“Boss, I cannot go back to how it was, please, boss… Save me.” Vesper howled, his crimson fur soaked and matted from the oppressive heat.

“Max, you smelly bastard, where did you lead me to?! I knew I should have stayed in my damn swamp!” Silex roared, his pristine white scales smeared with dirt as he lashed his reptilian tail into the ground, sending clouds of soil into the air.

It’s even trying to take me while I’m in this form… What is this place even? Maximus fought the ever-twisting tendrils clawing at his mind before he roared, “Follow me! Don’t give in, I will be your guide, I will be your protector in your time of need!” His trait Call of the Wild, alongside his One of Us skill, activated as he poured as much spirit energy into them as he could, strengthening their link and pushing back against the invasive curse.

“Boss, I’m with you!” Vesper snarled through gritted fangs. “Damnit all, Max, let’s destroy this whole damn place… Level it to the ground!” Silex roared as he forced himself forward.

As they fought the curse, their connection to Maximus strengthened, the bond between them pulsing like a lifeline, and the curse slowly began to fade, the writhing tentacles crumbling into drifting motes of mana as if burned away by their unity.

Maximus sighed in relief as he collapsed onto the ground, his Cat Form drenched and breathing heavily. “We did it… Men.”

Skill Leveled Up: [One of Us (E) Level 18]

Class Trait Leveled Up: [Call of the Wild (C) Level 6]

“It’s suddenly easier to breathe. I’ve never felt like this within the Wildlands, you truly are something else, boss!” Vesper wagged his tail, his eyes wide with amazement.

“This place is actually pretty cozy when it’s not trying to drive you mad,” Silex muttered as he began to enjoy the thick humidity.

First hurdle passed, now it’s time to actually start this test. Also, it seems that Sprout is enjoying himself quite a lot. This place is rich with spirit energy; two of us could benefit greatly from it. Maximus noted as he consciously began pulling in spirit energy, slowly storing it within his seed.

“Let’s go, we don’t know which beast’s territory this is, so stay sharp and be extra careful,” Maximus warned as he took the lead, with the other two rising and following cautiously behind him.

***

They moved like predators through the thick tropical forest for about twenty minutes until they encountered the first beast within.

It was a centipede of nightmarish proportions, nearly ten meters of segmented, pitch-black armor, its body thick as a tree trunk. Hundreds of sharp, hooked legs twitched in a frantic rhythm, digging into the bark of an ancient tree that loomed like a five-story skyscraper. As it coiled upward, the two arm-sized pincers beneath its head clicked rhythmically, sounding like skeletons grinding their teeth in the dark.

“Max, that thing is disgusting, let’s kill it!” Silex whispered through their connection.

“Silex, I swear, if you do anything to provoke that monstrosity, you will be without dinner for a week,” Maximus muttered.

Silex opened his maw in shock, saying nothing.

“Boss, that is a Skittering Shadow Centipede. The good thing is that there are not many of them in the area, but they are one of the most dangerous beasts within the Wildlands. Their venom is extremely potent,” Vesper explained.

“I appreciate the information, Vesper, thank you. Let’s lay low for a while until the coast is clear,” Maximus whispered as they lowered their bodies to the forest floor.

***

They waited a while until Maximus was certain there was no longer any immediate threat, and they finally continued through the territory of the centipede. The whole region was scarred with paths the beasts had bulldozed through, and the trees were covered with deep scratch marks from their countless sharpened legs.

“This whole place feels like a nightmare,” Maximus muttered. It reminds me of the cursed lands of Fargaz; that Broodmother was a nightmare to deal with. Maximus sighed and forced the memory away.

Just as he returned to the present, Sprout suddenly jumped off his shoulder, transforming into his beast-like form and bounding forward on all four legs with excitement.

“Really, here? Fate sure likes to play tricks, huh…” Maximus sighed.

“Boss, what is going on?” Vesper asked, astonished, he had yet to see Sprout change forms like that.

“Sprout has caught the scent of something rare, a natural treasure if you will. Let us go and observe what it is.” Maximus followed after Sprout without hesitation.

“Did you see how he changed the moment treasure was mentioned?” Silex said, amused.

“He did fail to seduce the human woman, give him this at least,” Vesper added seriously.

“Hey, you two, I can hear your nonsense. I’ll leave you behind, just test me!” Maximus growled as the two chuckled and hurried after him.

***

Sprout moved fast on its four legs, leaping over fallen logs and weaving through dense shrubbery until a wide nest suddenly appeared before its eyes.

The nest was filled with old, dried bones and lay beneath a massive tree that had split apart at the base by a two-meter-wide and four-meter-tall black stone. Within the pitch-black stone, a vein of gentle azure light pulsed, flowing from the bottom toward the center, ending in a head-sized azure core that shone like a beacon in the dead of night.

“By the stars! That’s Obsidium ore, and it actually contains a vein of Mithril. This amount of Mithril would be worth a fortune anywhere you go!” Maximus stared, astonished, as he arrived shortly after Sprout.

“Amazing job, Sprout, like always!” Maximus smiled gently and petted the small sprout in its doe-like shape.

“Boss, you better be careful, that’s a centipede’s nest,” Vesper warned as he and Silex arrived.

“Don’t worry, I know. You two stay behind, I will be quick!” Maximus said as he turned invisible and swiftly moved toward the stone.

He carefully avoided the dry bones so as not to alert anything and landed next to the exposed roots where the stone had burrowed into the tree’s base.

Maximus placed his paw over the ore and poured spirit energy into it and around the stone. He patiently scanned and calculated its dimensions, tracing where it began and where it separated from the tree. Got it. Maximus nodded as he activated his storage.

A white light enveloped the entire ore vein and pulled it inward, leaving behind a hollow cavity where the stone had once been.

Luckily, that worked. Most of it was above ground… But how did it end up here, and how did it merge into the tree? It’s as if it were placed here purposefully… Maybe by Astrae? Maximus thought as he moved swiftly back, his stealth fading.

“Let us go, that went well,” Maximus said just as a clicking sound began to echo loudly behind him.

“Ehm, Max… Want to say that again?” Silex growled as Vesper summoned his wolves.

Maximus turned and saw a massive centipede, larger than the one they had seen before, descending the tree, its pincers clicking rhythmically.

Maximus lunged backward and morphed into his human form, instantly shifting his legs for enhanced movement. He summoned his staff and cast Nature’s Wrath, doubling the cost for extra damage.

A beam of green flames struck the centipede head-on, crashing it down as chunks of its thick black shell cracked and fell away.

“It’s weak to fire!” Maximus shouted as he summoned Embi. “Embi, cast Fire Enchantment on everyone!” Maximus ordered.

Embi buzzed happily and darted between them, wrapping each in a faint cloak of crimson flames that infused their attacks with the chance to ignite their target.

“Entangle!” Maximus shouted, summoning thick roots to bind the writhing centipede, only for it to shatter them instantly and lunge at him, maw open and pincers clicking eagerly.

Maximus dodged backward, enhancing his lupine legs with Gale Step, moving dozens of meters away as he swallowed a handful of Cinder Seeds. Meanwhile, Vesper’s pack lunged at the centipede, slashing and biting, setting portions of its body ablaze.

Vesper joined in, releasing a thick beam of congealed blood that tore through dozens of legs as the creature twisted aside, trying to evade the attack.

As pain fed its frenzy, the centipede dove into one of the wolves, ripping it apart and swallowing half its body in a single motion.

“Damn you!” Vesper snarled as he lunged, his claws glowing with dense blood mana, fire merging into a horrifying crimson blaze as he tore into the centipede’s back, ripping shell and searing flesh.

The centipede reared high before crashing onto its back, crushing several wolves and Vesper beneath it. He squealed as shattered legs stabbed into his body, piercing his barrier.

Seeing this, Silex lunged forward in fury and unleashed Echo Crunch. A spectral echo of his maw surged like a raging river, snapping onto the centipede’s underside and crushing its softer segments and numerous legs.

Green ooze splattered as the creature’s black armor cracked.

The centipede rose again, its mind lost to madness, and burst forward with terrifying speed toward Silex.

Its pincers clamped around the crocodile’s neck and snapped, piercing his scales and flooding venom into his body.

Silex roared in agony just as Maximus unleashed Storm Javelin. Two javelins struck the beast, one in the head, one in its back, the explosion of wind and lightning tearing away half its skull and forcing it to release Silex as it redirected its attack toward Maximus.

“Go down, you mad beast, Solar Pyre!” Maximus roared, and a massive pillar of radiant light crashed into the centipede’s lower body, shattering it apart just as one of its pincers stabbed into Maximus’s stomach, bypassing Barkskin as if it were paper.

Pain flooded through him like molten lead, but he transformed his arms into those of a bear and seized what remained of the creature, slamming it repeatedly into the ground until it stopped twitching. His strikes shattered its exoskeleton completely, while Embi hovered above, launching fireball after fireball into its ruined body.

You have defeated: [Skittering Shadow Centipede Lv. 29]

Tamed beast Silex Leveled Up. Level 29 reached.

Battle Tokens earned: 1500

Sprout, on the other side, sprouted vines and tried to close the bleeding wounds on Silex’s neck.

“I’m fine, plant… Don’t cry…” Silex muttered weakly.

Seeing his once pristine scales painted in red, Maximus downed a potion and lunged toward him. First, he cast Cure Poison, then Focused Treatment.

Silex vomited black ooze as his wounds began to seal. “Thank you, Max, I’ll be fine now,” Silex said honestly, without any hint of his usual attitude.

Vesper limped over, spitting out fragments of legs, pulling them free with his fangs.

“Vesper, please wait a moment for my spirit to recover,” Maximus pleaded as he took out an Emerald Stone and began draining the stored energy within. “I’m fine, really…” Vesper said as he placed weight on his injured paw, only to wince in pain.

Moments later, after draining the crystal dry, Maximus cast Rejuvenation on Vesper and forced a potion down his throat, then did the same for Silex as well.

“Boss, you don’t look well!” Vesper noticed, his ears flattening as Maximus’s skin grew noticeably paler.

Maximus lowered his head and gasped. Amidst the chaos, he had forgotten about the venom. His armor was torn apart, his stomach had turned pitch black, and thick black ooze mixed with blood began to pour from the wound.

[Health: 103 / 1000]

[Health: 102 / 1000]

[Health: 101 / 1000]