"Are you serious?"

"Yup!"

"You want me to go there and stand next to that creature?"

"Yup yup!"

"Are you fucking kidding me? Who in their right minds would stand next to certain death?" Jace groaned.

"You will! Don't worry, I gotcha back homie!" Alec said as the crimson chain serpents surrounding them rattled in empty space.

"I just hope you know what you're doing." Jace said before finally shifting his gaze from the little devil sitting on his shoulder and moving towards the creature.

Alec shifted his position over Jace's shoulder and softly wrapped his tail around his burly neck.

[Mystic]

Alec noticed as the skill activated, a thin veil of mana repelling barrier formed around both of them. Neat

Jace slowly made his approach towards the crimson creature. The centipede just stood there, silently, as it clacked it's bladed mandibles, showing no reaction as Jace drew nigh onto creature.

"Just as I thought."

"It's not doing anything?" Jace asked as he stood in front of the blood centipede.

"Centipedes are blind creatures, they lack eyes, but some possess a variable number of ocelli, which are sometimes clustered together to form true compound eyes. However, these eyes are only capable of discerning light and dark, and have no true vision." Alec said as he gazed at the crimson pest.

"... You literally lost me from the start. And why am I here again?"

"Because I'm taking you to the safe zone, you're totally not working as a partime lab rat. And to answer your first question, no, it is trying to do something." Alec replied.

"What?"

"See those raised antennae?" Alec said as he pointed towards the portion of red armour above the bladed mandibles of blood centipede. "That means it is listening. Sound is merely just a vibration. Listening might not be the appropriate term, it's more like sensing. Arthropods can sense vibrations through their feet (which centipedes have a few extra, fucking abominations) and their antennae."

I once got bitten by one of these shits and had to scour every bit of information they had regarding them. Ah, good times.

"Arthro- what now? I have no idea what you're talking about but..." Jace said as he analysed the crimson creature, shifting it's little antennae left and right, "is it trying to take apart what sounds we are making to determine what's being said?"

''No. It's not hearing us. However, the vibrations of sound against the two antennae will give them intensity and direction of the sound. They don’t need any more than that."

"Well, I don't think I got all of that... but doesn't that mean it knows where we are and can attack us any moment, even if you have masked our presence? I still have so many questions regarding this whole Mystic skill." Jace asked, catching the black cat's attention.

"No, it won't. The reason to that is simple, because centi boy here is actually very smart, despite being a multilegged ugly abomination. It directly relates to how they use the blood mana around them. I'll explain everything later once we reach our safe zone." Alec replied in a playful tone "Did you not say you were an adventurer? Am honesty surprised by your lack of knowlege regarding these monsters."

"You got something against me for being an Adventurer? Why would we be studying these creatures when we can just cleave them in half." Jace groaned as he rolled his eyes.

"That makes sense."

"So, how long are you going to keep me standing here?"

"Ah! Yes, I totally forgot. Just gimme a moment." Jace said as one of the crimson chain serpent whistled under him.

The centipede's surprise wasn't even registered when a crimson chain strangled and mutilated it's facial structure. As a second chain flew past the black cat, moving parallel to Jace's arms and disintegrated the centipede's unmoving armoured segments to a vermillion mist before finally dissolving them within.

Defeated [Sanguis Scolopendra lv13]!

Experience recieved!

Restored MP +73

"Pick that up." Alec said, steering towards the glistening red crystal resting on the gound as the vermillion mist dissipated.

"Blood mana essence?" Jace said as he picked up the crystal "too bad it's just common grade."

"Is that a bad thing?" Alec asked while shifting his position on Jace's shoulder.

"Not exactly, but it's a blood mana essence. Humans don't usually have any blood affinity, unless you're from a vampire's bloodline, these crystals can only be for alchemical purposes."

"Wait wait wait, hold up, you lost me a little here, VAMPIRES? Like actual blood sucking superhumans?" Alec asked with a glint of excitement in his eyes.

Watching the black cat perked up, Jace replied "Superhu- what? I said vampires. I don't exactly know what to make out of the description you told me, but yes. I actually have a vampire friend, well not exactly a vampire but from a vampire bloodline, they are quite common in the City of Anthea."

"I just have too many questions, but I'll ask them later. Take a left turn from here." Alec said as they reached next junction.

"Where exactly are we going?" Jace asked as the rushed past three more centipedes.

"To the safe zone!"

"Still doesn't answer my question." Jace said as he kept rushing past the vacant couloirs.

After nearly half an hour, When they entered a new corridor, Alec's senses picked something as a sudden chill resonated through the air. There's something wrong here.

''You gonna tell me now?''

"I don't think we have the luxury to continue our little QNA session, stop here." Alec said in serious tone. Crimson chains shifted in the brumal sigh as he turned off the mana absorbtion.

"I was going to even if you hadn't told me. My danger senses are going a little wild over here. What exactly is this place? Please don't say that this was your so called safe zone." Jace rumbled.

Both Jace and Alec came to halt when they noticed something down the hallway. "I wish it was." Alec said as he took a gander up the empty aisle, it was frozen, as the crystalline cerise stalactites dawned over the black cat and Jace, a sharp chill treked over their bodies.

"This is bad." Alec said as he gazed towards the frozen crimson floor. Activating mana sense, he shifted his gaze as he scrutinised the frozen asile.

Just then, from the corner of his emerald eyes, he noticed a movement. A soft movement as the blue limbs shifted between the bloody stalactites. There was no strain in those movement, invisible to mundane eyes, as the creature slowly made it's descent behind them.

Frigidus Sanguis Scolopendra lv34

A blue armoured centipede, with crimson stripes over it's segments, armoured limbs as they silently approached the frozen bloody floor. The large creature, easily five times the size of a normal centipede, now, stood blocking the path they once followed.

A cold sweat ran down Alec's spine as he looked up to the monstrosity behind them.

"Don't turn around, it's already behind us." Alec whispered, catching the big man's attention.

Jace just stood facing forwards, shivering, as a chilling sigh ran past his tattered clothes. "What exactly is this thing?" Jace asked as he tried to control his shivering.

"Didn't you say you were an adventurer?"

"Now's not the time Alec!" Jace gritted his teeth as he whispered back.

"Keep talking!" Alec raised his voice.

'What?'' Jace shifted his gaze towards the black cat sitting on his shoulder.

"I said keep talking!"

"What? You just sai-" Jace stopped in the middle when he noticed the seriousness in his tone and the gravity of the circumstances, "What should I talk about?"

"Just keep rumbling some random stuff, loud enough to catch the blue boy's attention." Alec said as one of his crimson chain shifted in the air.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Jace asked, raising his voice.

The question drew a malicious grin from Alec as one of the crimson chain drew nigh unto left frigid cerise wall.

"EXPERIMENT!''