Chapter 104 - I Still Got It
(MC POV)
I stored away the sword in my ring, planning to inspect how it works later.
Hey, not like that guy is going to use it anymore, right?
Anyway, I think it's about high time I get the hell out of here. At least I know this place is inhabited not just by monsters but people too.
Judging by what that guy had been saying, there's likely a community formed here as well. So either they were natives and I was just a one time incident, or everyone who got sent away by those busybodies ended up here and formed their own little group.
Not going to stick around to find out, especially when I'm in this form.
Maybe I'll return later just to check it out after I got my original form back.
Now let's see here… Where did I put my scroll of return?
Ah.
I forgot.
I can't circulate my quarks to activate it.
Fuuuuuuuu….
No wait!
That dead worm is a monster right?
Then it should have a Monster Crystal or whatever the hell my sister calls it! I can probably just jury-rig it somehow to work with the scroll!
Yep, that can work, I've already seen Elaria show me the process of making it work like a power supply. Since the Monster Crystals are the results of Elemental Quarks crystallizing, I should be able to use it to activate the scroll.
But the only issue now is the fact that the crystallization process takes a few days and I don't have time for that…
I'm probably better off going around finding another monster that has been dead for a few days already then.
Well, if I'm going to do that, I should prepare myself at least. I could use my own sword but I doubt it could cut through those worms as easily as the other sword can.
I brought out the sword I got earlier to see how it worked.
Honestly to me, it looked like a sharpened block of metal with a handle welded into it. The surprising thing about it is the fact that it's more than four times my height and yet I could still lift it up easily as long as I use both hands.
I suspect that some kind of weight reduction Technique was inscribed on it, since wielding it with one hand doubled its weight.
I still can lift it, but no way am I swinging this around one handed.
There were also two buttons on the handle, one of it causes the sword to extend even further to six times my height, but the centre of balance still remained the same which was odd.
Most likely it's another inscription.
The second button was the kicker.
The back of the blade seems to be fitted with four rocket boosters connected to some kind of canister near the handle. As long as the button is held down, air is sucked into the canister and the rocket boosters are ignited.
The heat also seemed to be conducted to the blade, making it glow red hot to slice and burn through most things. Must be how it managed to slice through the worm so easily.
The first time I tried pressing the ignition button, I had not been expecting the sudden acceleration and got thrown face first into the sand dune, creating a human shaped imprint on it.
It took me a while to learn how to use it, it was simple enough once I understood how much force the rockets generated.
At least now I have a grasp on how to wield it, though I'm probably not able to utilize it perfectly due to my small size.
Hefting the sword over my shoulder, I proceeded on in a random direction to look for a monster corpse that suits my needs.
The good thing was, I didn't need to go very far to find one.
Just by walking in a random direction for around two hours, I found another sand worm corpse that looked to be at least a few days old in the valley of two sand dunes.
The bad thing was that it was almost sundown.
The worst thing was that an even bigger monster was sniffing it like it was its dinner.
This monster resembled a centipede with jagged armoured plating on its back, its mandibles numbered six in total with the biggest ones extending far outside its mouth.
Unfortunately for it, I'm not patient enough to find another monster corpse for the Monster Crystal when one is right there.
Guess this centipede will have to join the corpse party.
Unnecessary risk?
Please, I prefer to call it a calculated risk and last I checked, my math was still pretty good.
Also, I have a rehearsal I'm supposed to attend tomorrow too, ain't going to miss it if I can help it.
I keep my promises, ok?
I reached the top of the sand dune, positioning myself right above the centipede that was still inspecting the corpse.
Seeing my chance, I leapt off with the sword pointed downwards, aiming for what I assume to be its head.
Just when I was about to hit it, the centipede suddenly slid to the side, avoiding my strike and letting me sail past it.
I crashed sword-first into the sand below, it seems I have underestimated this giant centipede. Or was it already expecting a trap of some sorts from seeing the worm's corpse?
I rolled out of the way just as the a blob of greenish liquid splattered at where I had been, the liquid having been spat out from the centipede's mouth.
The sand beneath the spit immediately began to sizzle and dissolve, clueing me in on its acidic properties.
Well… Guess I'll have to do this the hard way.
My finger pushed against the first button, causing the sword's blade to extend to its full length.
The centipede screeched as it reared its head back, no doubt to spit another of its acid again.
I thumbed the second button, holding tightly to the sword as the rocket boosters activated and sent both the sword and I flying off to the side, the acid missing me by mere inches.
Using the momentum generated by the force, I angled the blade to be perpendicular to the ground before pressing the boost button again.
The rocket boosted me into the sky, my arms swinging with its momentum to cut off the centipede's two longest mandibles.
I grabbed on to the centipede's left mandible stump with a free hand just as it roared out in pain.
Taking advantage of the centipede rearing its head back in an attempt to get away, I released my grip on the mandible before grasping the handle of the sword with both hands, igniting the boosters again.
I couldn't help myself and felt it was quite appropriate to at least shout out something cool, I blame it on my little sisters' influence. Wait, that's not a good sign is it? Oh whatever.
"Ignition Impact!"
The sword swung upwards from below the centipede's head, slashing clean through the front portion of its face.
I spun around in the air, using the boosters once more to propel me forwards while I spun like a spinning top towards the centipede.
My sword cut through its body like butter, slicing through both its plating and flesh without difficulty.
Seriously, whoever made this sword is an absolute genius.
I did the three point landing like the guy before, I have to admit it really was quite thrilling to use this sword.
The decapitated corpse of the centipede crashed into the ground behind me a moment later, the head landing nearby a few seconds after that.
Damn I'm good.
No, no, no. Purge that thought, don't want to end up like that guy.
Let's just find that Monster Crystal and get the hell out of here with my new toy.