A series of chasms appeared following the first. Her suspicion of the place being artificially crafted was now almost a certainty. Perilous pillars jutted from the slow-flowing magma far beneath. An obstacle course where one wrong step meant death sprawled before her. At the other end was another path leading further down into the caverns.

She peered over the edge of her solid foundation, kicking stones into the pool beneath. Her red hood fluttered behind her like a cape as a heat wave wafted from below. Evidence of rope bridges could be seen in the form of charred thatch. Broken chains were also found dangling from the pillars.

“Did magma not used to flow through here?” She had to wonder. “Unless the people that came before me were idiots and used something flame-able. Flame-enable – however you’re supposed to say it.”

It could’ve been to cover their tracks. But still, no one’s dumb enough to do that unless there’s an exit ahead? Even then it’s so stupid.

Red was faced with a gripping challenge all of a sudden. She scratched the side of her head with the hilt of her blade and wore a quizzical expression.

“Question is – how do I get across? All of my Glowworms are dead now. The heat isn’t making this easier.” She hopped on the spot before jumping as high as possible, testing the limits of her mobility.

Suddenly, the ground beneath her crumbled away the moment she landed.

“Dumb rock –!”

Were it not for her reflexes, then she would’ve been dragged down to a fiery death.

“Yeah. I’m not going to be able to jump all the way across. Agate. Rock Bugs. You think the people that came before me were monkeys?” She ran back deeper from where she came from and attempted a long jump, further testing her limits.

Unfortunately, this further confirmed that it was still beyond her reach. Agi was a stat that directly affected one’s mobility. Even with hers which she already considered high was not enough to cross the seven-meter gap to the next pillar.

“… I shouldn’t exhaust myself here. If I get thirsty then it’ll be bad. Let’s hope there’s something that will let me crack one of you open like a coconut!”

She leaned over one of the Rock Bugs with a foot over its back, assessing the situation further.

“I could always come back. But if my weapon really is further in, then that’s not an option. I have some sacks of the Manitid Stalker’s fluids to keep me going.”

She slapped one of the sacks that were tied around her waist.

“I wonder if there’s places I missed too. There has to be a lot more of those giant mosquitoes somewhere. Did this place used to be an underground jungle? Questions, questions. Agate. Where are my answers?”

Unbeknownst to her, the Rock Bugs began to scale down the sides of the cliff face. Their feet were flattened towards the end, and were unfit to scale such a terrain. Not to mention that they were incredibly heavy.

Yet they defied all logic, casually swarming down before they plopped into the lava.

“Hey – hey, hey, hey, hey HEY!” Suddenly, Red noticed that she was alone, and caught a glimpse of the last Rock Bug walking straight off the edge. “You’re not supposed to jump in like that! I was kidding about throwing you into lava!”

Red scrambled to the side of the cliff, staring down as the Rock Bug sank into the lava, raising one of its legs as if to give her a thumbs up.

“Roooooock Buuuuuuuugs!” Never did she think she’d give a single damn about them, and here she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Although…

“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO EAT YOU WHEN YOU’RE ALL MELTED DAMMIIIIIIIIT!”

… the reason was not because she cared about them. Rather, as was anyone in a survival situation; she did not want to waste food. And given that she sacrificed 70% of her hunt to them, seeing them drop to their deaths was too much for the poor girl’s heart to handle.

Red slumped over, her hand dangling over the edge as she let loose of along, defeated sigh.

“… Friendship? Yeah right. Agate. Remind me to never trust a bug. They’re all garbage, useless, tasteless, disgusting, putrid, ugly, unreliable piece of –!” Her mouth didn’t stop spewing nonsense.

It reached a point where even the ‘Voice’ had to show her a prompt stating:

< Your Bonded Rock Bugs are still alive >

“Huh?” Red blankly blinked. “You don’t understand. Magma is molten rock. Basically, lava that hasn’t surfaced! Even I know that! They were Rock Bugs! Are you telling me that they haven’t already become molten rock?”

Agate – the Voice – didn’t need to answer.

Because suddenly, bubbles began to violently form over the surface of the magma stream. And before she knew it, the Rock Bugs surfaced all at once, creating a giant raft large enough to carry several dozens of her.

Their lower bodies glowed a gentle orange due to the immense heat, but their backs were completely untouched. The intense heat disappeared beneath her, causing her to suspect that the back of the Rock Bugs was significantly colder than the rest of their body.

And to her surprise:

Rock Bug

< Observation Level 2 >

< The Rock Bug has an unassumingly high tolerance to the elements. Due to their body composition and the existence of a vacuum between the inner shell and the outer shell, they have tremendously low temperature transfer and are able to withstand extreme temperatures.

< Observation Level 3 >

< Additionally, despite their weight they have a very high buoyancy, allowing them to surface in all manners of liquids >

“Like a balloon?” Red pictured them taking a deep breath in order to float upwards. “But how did they breathe under the magma? Ugh… Grr. All these tricks you little bugs have under your carapaces. And people called me a monster!”

Red still didn’t know what enabled her to identify these Observations, let alone Skills from other creatures. She figured the Corruption Profession category was responsible for it.

I don’t meet the Nex and Level/Soul requirement yet. Whatever ‘Nex’ means. Nex short for Nexus?

< Awaiting… >

“So you know, but are waiting for something huh? Fine then. Keep your secrets. I do know that people who used to contain me were really uptight about it.” Red shrugged, wrapping herself tightly with her coat. “I’m practically naked without this. Alright. I’m coming down! You better not betray me or anything!”

She threw a fist around.

“Cause if I die then I’m dead, and none of you want that happening to the one and only, Hatchling Red!”