Chapter 16 - The Kheliphod King - [C16]

Put in front of such a quest, Shu Himo let out a heavy sigh and prepared himself for the encounter. System, information about the kheliphods?

[Kheliphod: a territorial spiderlike monster that lives in a hierarchy based on ranks. Normal kheliphods vary from rank 1 to 3, kheliphod queens can reach up to rank 4, while kheliphod kings can reach the rank 5. Each increase in rank will increase the kheliphod’s size.

Their preferred method of attack is an ambush, but if they have an overwhelming advantage they will instead attack head-on.

Special mutations may allow the monster to reach greater ranks, or even create new species altogether.]

[The Dantian Core Formation realm is divided into 9 strings. The 9 strings are separated into three sections composed of three strings each: low-strings, mid-strings, and late-strings.]

[Monster rank 3: a monster with similar prowess to a cultivator in Dantian Core Formation realm’s early strings.]

[Monster rank 4: a monster with similar prowess to a cultivator in Dantian Core Formation realm’s middle strings.]

[Monster rank 5: a monster with similar prowess to a cultivator in Dantian Core Formation realm’s late strings.]

Gazing at his allies, Shu Himo frowned. Every elite here is between the 2nd and the 4th string, the kheliphod king can annihilate us easily…

Having no choice, he turned toward Hains. “Let’s do a deviation from the kheliphods’ territory.”

“Why?” Surprised by Shu Himo’s hurried tone, Hains was confused. He knew that the child in front of him was strong enough to walk through the forest by himself, so he felt that such worry was unjustified unless an overwhelming threat was coming.

“We don’t have anymore time, the—”

“SKEE!”

“Another team of kheliphods! Their numbers are over fifty! Several rank three are hidden within the group!” The report from one of the elites shook Hains out of his thoughts.

“Was the young master talking about that horde? It’s fine! Rank three is still within what we can fight!” He drew out his sword and looked toward the approaching monsters, but he stopped all of a sudden. He felt a shiver going down his back, and looked back at the child.

“You think that”—Sweat ran on his face—“a rank four queen will attack us?”

Hearing the question, Shu Himo was about to answer—

"SKEEEEE!"

—but a thunderous screech answered in his stead.

Continuous stomping sounds resounded from afar, caused by what they believed was an immense being trampling on the trees, nearly crushing them into powder.

In the face of such events, not only Hains’s but also every other elite’s face whitened.

“Retreat! Run, run! Ignore everything and run away! Fast!” As any good leader should do, Hains screamed with all his lungs the retreat signal. And as any good soldier should do, the elites had already started to run before his signal.

Many trees continued to fall, as the stomping noise approached the group.

Just when the noise was near, however, it stopped. And the light in the forest darkened.

Before anyone could realize what was happening, another thunderous "SKEEE!" resounded, this time coming from above. Everyone turned to look anxiously at the sky, where they spotted a building-sized monster's descent.

Able to generate earthquakes with just its impact, the monster aimed at the group with its ten sharp-tipped legs, resembling legendary lances. Its thousands of red-blooded eyes seemed to focus on its preys without diverting its attention for a single instant. As if remarking its sovereignty, a pair of black horns sprouted from its back.

As expected of a being defined as 'King', it was on a completely different level from the other kheliphods.

Staring at the gigantic spider, Shu Himo felt an ominous feeling similar to when he had first seen the scythe, albeit way weaker. Meanwhile, the appearance of the monster made the elites feel to be in front of death’s door.

“Queen? That’s not a queen, that’s a fucking rank five king!” Hains’s shock was so great that he dropped his polite speech. He felt his heart leaping out of his chest. He accelerated his running speed immediately, but he still paid attention to the others' condition.

Suddenly, a bad feeling swept over everyone's mind, as a thunderous noise resounded in the vicinity. A shock wave spread through the ground, carrying tremors to each being's legs.

In but a moment the stomping noises resumed, approaching swiftly the group. Even in the face of such threat, the elites suppressed their feelings and fled from it, using the trees to conceal their trail from the monster's sight.

Instead of worrying about the oncoming kheliphod king, Hains suddenly widened his eyes as he recalled Shu Himo's current realm. Shit!

Shu Himo’s previous performance had stunned him to the point that he had forgotten about his real realm. Although he knew that the child was strong, a cultivator placed against an opponent at a higher realm would feel a pressuring fear, making most unable to move. And unlike the elites, Shu Himo had not yet trained to withstand such feelings.

Hains had already experienced it when he had first met a nascent soul realm expert, so he knew how fearsome that pressure would be.

He immediately panicked and looked back in search of the child. But no matter how much he hoped to find him, he could not see him anywhere despite his best efforts. Lacking an alternative, he was about to head back and search for him even at the risk of facing the kheliphod king—

“Hains, what are you so worried about?”

—When a childlike voice echoed in his ears.

Dumbfounded, he turned quickly to the source of the voice and saw how the child he was so worried about ran even faster than himself. No, instead of running, Hains felt that the child was just skipping ahead, each step distant tens of meter from the next.

Unbothered by the massive monster’s chase, Shu Himo's gaze seemed to be lost within the vast sky, deep in thought.

His serious expression made Hains wonder what he was thinking about. After a few seconds, however, he heard the child mumble in a serious tone, "I wonder, would that spider be useful as a mount?"

“Eh?” Hains felt that Shu Himo wasn’t kidding. The seriousness beneath those ridiculous words overwhelmed Hains, shattering his common-sense in thousands of pieces. He felt that common-sense was something useless in front of that monsterlike child.

Unlike the others, Shu Himo was, in fact, quite relaxed about the situation. While a rank five was still an unbeatable enemy, he had noticed from the start that the land-movement speed of the kheliphods was peculiarly slow, unlike what one would expect from a spider.

Even just spamming the [Hopper] skill gave him enough speed to outrun his opponent almost effortlessly. And he could also see that the other elites didn't have any difficulty to hold the pace.

It was no wonder that the quest was just ranked C+. After the training with the Dark King Dragon, Shu Himo could not see the kheliphod king as anything more than an oversized pet.

Thus, his expression was peaceful, unbothered by the threat posed by the kheliphod king. At least until he heard the nonsense from the system.

[The user successfully destroyed the common-sense of a person!]

[You gained an achievement: The common-sense killer!]

[You obtained 1 BS point!]

[You now have 34 BS points!]

[If you want to check your achievements, say the command ‘achievement’ or use the regular way of thinking about it.]

He was stunned for a second, but a smile then grew on his face. Not only did he gain a free BS point, but he had also respected the seventh rule of the MC Way: Common-sense is an enemy!

Hindering creativity with unreasonable limits defined by what most deem 'impossible'... Such common-sense must be destroyed!

He felt glad to have saved one of his allies from such a fearsome enemy.

Seeing Shu Himo’s smile, Hains fell in thought.

He was sure that the young master in front of him was completely different from the past. He didn’t know if the change was related to the kidnap or to something else. However, of one thing he was certain.

With the new Shu Himo’s lead, the Shu family may reach unparalleled heights.

Time flew quickly as the group fled from the kheliphod king, and in no time a few minutes had passed. Soon, a familiar 'ding' echoed in Shu Himo's mind.

[You successfully escaped from the territory of the kheliphods!]

[Quest Success: Escape from the wrath of the Kheliphod King!]

[Quest Difficulty: C+]

[Quest Reward: 6 BS points!]

[You now have 40 BS points!]

Finally out of the kheliphods’ territory, the elites sighed in relief at the sight of the kheliphod king walking back.

After resting a bit, they all restarted to walk toward Arsia’s capital once again.