Several years have passed since I was thrown into the lair of the bugs. Well, I don’t know exactly how long it’s been, since I didn’t pay any attention to such things back then. But there was no way it was just a few years.
I was still living in the monster den. Outside the crack was a living hell even compared to my history of getting eaten alive by bugs.
Some bugs stabbed me with needles, others had wings like swords.
Especially troublesome were the bugs that used magic and attributes. There were hundreds of different kinds of bugs. They threw at me pretty much every element in existence.
I also had many kinds of poisons injected, and even eggs implanted in my body. And I didn’t realize it until I felt a weird pain in my stomach. It is a funny story now, but that was the downside of reduced pain sensation.
I cried for the first time in my life when countless bugs burst through from the inside of my stomach. I had been educated to a certain extent in the process of the experiments, but I had never felt much emotion. This must have been the time when I had my first emotional outburst.
The bugs that caused me the most trouble at that time were probably the ones with space-time attributes. Not only did they use teleportation, but they also had their jaws covered with the space-time attribute so that they could phase through the skin and slice up my internal organs. Well, once I developed resistance to the space-time attribute, they were just weaklings with teleportation.
Yeah. Resistances.
A never ending battle for survival with bugs. Living in such a hellhole for so long gave me a unique power. In hindsight, I see now that I’ve always had a special constitution that made it easy for me to develop resistances.
Perhaps it was the ability of both dragons and slimes to adapt to their environment that manifested itself in such a way.
After being attacked by bugs for a long time, I was able to ignore most of their attacks. I later found out that the only resistances I did not have were moonlight resistance and necromancy resistance. Considering this, it is easy to see just how various the attacks used by the bugs were. Even now those two resistances are still low.
The other thing I discovered was the ability to eat anything. A glutton for any food, no matter how bad it is. This is another trait that both dragons and slimes have in common. To be honest, I appreciated this one more.
It was really by chance that I noticed it. I saw some bugs swarming around a rock and licking it, so I tried to lick it myself.
It was salty. A rock that contained salt and other minerals. I had only ever tasted bugs before, so the flavor shocked me. You could say I was fascinated.
A rock with a slight taste of salt. It was not something that a normal person would eat, but for me at that time, it was the best treat I had ever had.
As I kept licking the rock, I felt the urge to eat and couldn’t stop myself. And then I realized it…”Wow, rocks are edible”.
Not only had my jaw power increased, but before I knew it, I had the power to weaken whatever I put in my mouth. It wasn’t as strong as it is today, but it was enough to eat rocks and metal.
From there, my diet expanded. If I could eat rocks, how about sand? Iron-hard bug shells and magic stones were no problem. Especially tasty was the bedrock from which the magical water gushed. It was rich in mana.
I continued to eat the rocks around the spring. Eventually, a huge hole opened up and I discovered a certain place.
It was a dungeon core room. Apparently, this so-called monster den was actually a dungeon. The dungeon master was an insect, and not a particularly intelligent one.
Even so, they probably manipulated the core with their instincts and created a comfortable environment for their fellow bugs. That magical water was also a device to attract and nurture bugs.
I had no way of knowing such a thing at that time, and there was only one thought in my hand.
「Looks tasty.」
The dungeon core, which radiated tremendous power, just looked so delicious. I took one bite after another into the dungeon core, and couldn’t stop. I devoured it and succeeded in absorbing it into my flesh and blood.
Lately I’ve been thinking back to the floating island where I was born. Even though I was sleeping in a coffin, I was also on the floating island after it became a dungeon for a few hours before getting transported off. Could this have had some sort of influence on me?
What I can say for sure is that I have become dramatically stronger by incorporating the dungeon core into my body. Strong enough to annihilate every last one of the insects.
It was a dungeon, yes, but the bugs were monsters lured in from the outside, so they did not disappear with the destruction of the core.
However, I gained more than just power from the dungeon core. Apparently, the dungeon core remained in me in some form, causing interference when it came into contact with other dungeon cores.
The ‘Red Blade’, one of the hidden treasures of the Kingdom of Raydoss, was created with a dungeon core as its base. And something happened the first time I used it. The Red Blade and I caused a reaction exceeding my expectations, which caused extensive damage.
My body transformed into a gigantic earth dragon and went on a rampage. This was probably the result of the slime cell’s growth ability combined with my earth dragon cells.
A single fortress and the surrounding forest were wiped off the map in the few hours that the Red Blade lasted before running out of magic. The damage would have been much worse if Biscot and others had not put their lives on the line to stop me.
I can manage to control it now, but I can’t use it easily. The Chancellor even placed a seal on me before I left the country. You literally asked me to do this because you didn’t have anyone you could trust, and that’s how you treat me?
Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. Back when we fought off the knights and mercenaries of the Kingdom of Kranzel at the border crossing, I went on a rampage using the Red Blade.
Although I was in a dragonman form at the time, I can’t say for certain that no one recognizes that conspicuous Red Blade.
In fact, one guy did remember it. Yet still he wanted to cooperate with us. I guess that’s just how much he cares about his friends……
Maybe some others will recognize it too if I show them the real thing in a place like this.
It would be fun to continue our death match with Fran, but this is as far as I can show. Will she think I’m throwing away the win? Well, she seemed to be hiding some tricks up her sleeve too, so we’ll call it even for now.
We have achieved our goal of confirming the information that an S-rank adventurer has associated himself to the Kranzel Kingdom, and of finding out what he is capable of to some extent.
If Fran, who is equivalent to an A rank, is capable of this much, then an S rank should not be messed with.
Oh, shit, I’m losing consciousness. Is this what it feels like to die? Interesting……
What the hell? Who’s that? Dad……?
Oh, I guess this must be what they mean by ‘your life flashing before your eyes’? I think back to the day I first met my stepdad.
All the food was gone, and I was wondering whether I should leave this place or not, when a group led by a man appeared in front of me.
「This is…… I came here to find out why the bugs have disappeared, and I find…… a girl?」
It was Apollonius, the leader of the Knights of the Red Sword back then. My stepdad, who named me Sibylla and gave me a human life and the warmth of a family, back when I was no better than a beast. That was the moment I met the only person I could call a parent.
It was also after this that I met Biscot and Klikka. Chimera guinea pigs, children born with only one monster factor, had been created by misusing data from the research on me. They were also taken in by my stepdad, after he destroyed the facility conducting inhumane experiments.
That’s why the Knights of the Red Sword and the Southern Conquest Duke have been on bad terms since he retired.
I remember back to the thoughtless and yet bottomless smile of my stepdad. Yeah, leave the rest to me…… I’ll take care of everyone in Raydoss……
Haha, what the hell am I doing on the verge of death.
Man…… I lost, huh…… Well, it’s just means my opponent was stronger. So stop looking like you’re about to cry, Biscot, Klikka……
