Cat-atstrophic Chandelier Crush

Nearly two hours had passed since Alec had departed from the room. The labyrinthine nature of this place baffled him. Descending numerous staircases, he surmised he was approaching ground level. Oddly enough, the vast inner castle, though immense, remained devoid of life – not a living soul or even a departed one in sight. Eerie silence filled every corridor. He passed by rooms adorned with rune-lit doors, cautiously avoiding them, fearing they might activate some defense mechanism. Just as the corridor was about to veer sharply to the right, a sharp creaking noise finally reached his ears.

Huh?

Alec rushed to activate [Mystic] and took cover behind a nearby pillar, his heart pounding. The voice grew louder and closer, pushing him to strain his vision and identify its source.

A Centipede?

Down the hallway, the grotesque creature emerged, its armored limbs creaking eerily on the dark stone floor. Its scythe-like mandibles clicked menacingly, a cacophony that sent shivers down Alec's spine. The segmented body twisted and contorted as it approached, bringing it within a few meters of Alec.

This nightmarish centipede was a ghastly sight. Its segmented body, reminiscent of a demented jigsaw puzzle, bore a twisted pattern. Its head, crowned with serrated scythes, swung back and forth in disoriented fashion. The centipede's chitinous armor glistened ominously, reflecting the dim light of the hallway.

Alec's breath hitched, and his heart raced as he watched the creature. He pressed himself further against the pillar, hoping that his instincts weren't lying about [Mystic]'s effectiveness. It was something he had never felt before, The feeling of vulnerability, it clawed at him as the centipede, disoriented and alien, seemed to be searching for something. The centipede resembled a predator who had lost the scent of its prey.

Alec remained hidden, his breath held, behind the pillar. After what felt like an eternity, the centipede finally straightened itself and slithered away, disappearing into the right hallway with a serpentine motion.

{Sanguis Scolopendra Lv10}

No, don't even think about fighting that thing.

When the creaking finally faded in the hallway, Alec finally released mystic and let out a heavy gasp, letting his tense body relax. He glanced in the direction the centipede had departed.

That was close. Guess I'll go the opposite way. Don't want to meet Mr. Centipede for a chat.

Shaking his head to clear the residual strain from using [Mystic], Alec turned and proceeded down the hallway on the left. He was determined to avoid using his abilities unless absolutely necessary. The sensation of his cranial nerves throbbing against his skull was a painful reminder of the limitations of his skills.

Just as he reached the top of the next stairway, the familiar creaking sounds returned. Not again. This place is like a haunted house. Can't a cat catch a break?

But that wasn't all.

What the fuck?

{A new sub-quest has emerged:

Strange Fortress (Blood Beast Extermination)

An influx of blood mana on the ground floor of the fortress is leading to an increased spawning of blood beasts.

Objective: Eliminate the spawned blood beasts (0/67).

Difficulty: SS

Reward: Skill (Blood Chains)(T1)

[Please note that sub-quests cannot be declined.]}

Alec just stood there, frozen, eyeing the quest screen for a moment. He stared wide eyed at the number of spawns. Sixty seven? Are you fucking kidding me? How the hell am I supposed to defeat even a single one of them? He recalled the memory of the armoured centipede upstairs, sending a cold shiver down his spine. No way in the hell am I fighting that thing! The creaking sound drew closer and closer. Alec hastily activated Mystic and and ran towards now darkened hallway. He paused for a moment when he noticed something.

It stopped.

The creaks stopped. Alec looked up, towards the only source light in the dark hallway, the stairways he came from. A red centipede stood there. Shifting it's head left and right in confusion.

Alec's sudden realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. This creature wasn't tracking something; it was tracking him. The moment he deactivated Mystic, that relentless insect would chase him down. It was nine levels higher than him, and facing it directly meant risking those razor-sharp mandibles slicing through his defenses like a hot knife through butter. Outpacing it was out of the question. He couldn't keep Mystic on forever. He needed to come up with a plan, and fast.

Let's see how nuts you've truly gone, Alec.

Alec dashed through the dimly lit hallway, and with each step, his eyes adapted to the gloom, revealing the intricacies of the corridor. The stone walls were adorned with peculiar, faded runes. This place seems old as fuck.

As he ran, Alec couldn't help but think he had a plan forming in his mind. If the centipede was following him, he needed to lead it into a situation where he had the upper hand. The layout of the fortress would work to his advantage. It was like a labyrinth, a maze of hallways and chambers. This was his home turf, so to speak.

He noticed a pattern in the centipede's behaviour. It was struggling in the darkness, almost blindly following him through the corridors. The creaks and clicks indicated its confusion, occasionally brushing against the walls in its attempts to keep up. This thing was dependent on sound and movement, Alec realized. If he could exploit that, he might just have a chance. The sly smile on his feline face broadened. This would indeed be fun. Well, here's to me leading a creepy-crawly on a merry chase in my pajamas.

***

Alec ran for nearly fifteen minutes before finally reaching the source of light he'd been searching for. At the end of the dimly lit hallway, he spotted a brightly lit entrance and bolted inside, his eyes widening in surprise.

A library?

Two immense, empty bookshelves stretched up to the high ceiling of the library. Circular desks and benches adorned the polished, dark obsidian floor. As Alec looked around, he noticed a thin layer of dust covering the smooth wooden desks.

With a swipe of his paw, Alec confirmed that the dust layer was indeed thin. It hadn't been long since the place was abandoned. The bookcases, however, were empty, leading him to speculate that the owner of this place had taken the books with them.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden creak. He knew the centipede had finally arrived. Activating Mystic, Alec scurried across the library, moving toward the nearest bookcase. He deftly hopped from one rack to the next until he reached the top of the bookshelf.

The centipede, confused by the sudden disappearance of its prey, had reached the library. Alec's eyes darted to the circular chandelier, located about a meter away from the edge of the bookshelf. Stealthily, he leaped, catching the chandelier and gripping it with his claws.

I hope this works. He knew that the centipede was somehow tracking his location. He didn't know if it was following the trail or it just sensed his location. But following him all the way like this was nearly impossible with a single one. Alec concluded that it was following the trail as well as sensing his location. If it works like a radar system, would it scale with altitude?

He lifted off Mystic, while standing on the heavy iron bar across the diameter of the circular chandelier. The centipede moved, clacking it's scythes of death and stopped right below the chandelier, where Alec once stood.

The centipede looked up directly at Alec, its demeanor suggesting that it had finally located the tasty morsel it had been chasing.

Apparently yes.

He shifted his attention to the chandelier. He'd seen similar chandeliers before, not only in the room where he woke up but also in the hallways. However, he'd never paid them much attention, other than noting their odd defiance of gravity, hanging without any visible support.

Now, he looked up and observed a series of strange runes connecting the base of the chandelier to the ceiling. The centipede, growing increasingly agitated, thrashed about and attempted to jump, clearly frustrated by its inability to reach Alec.

Alec knew it was now or never. With determination, he shifted his claws to the exact spot below the ceiling rune.

{Blood Claw}

His claws surged with dark red crackles of lightning and violently tore into the surface of the ceiling rune.

Gravity took hold, and the massive chandelier started accelerating downwards. Without wasting a moment, Alec jumped, slamming into one of the bookshelves before landing hard on one of the desks.

Ouch! That fucking hurts!

Before the centipede even had a chance to react, the heavy chandelier came crashing down upon it with a gruesome, bone-crushing impact. The giant centipede let out a blood-curdling, inhuman screech as its carapace shattered, releasing torrents of dark, viscous ichor. The creature writhed in unimaginable agony, its barbed tail thrashing violently, sending sprays of gore in all directions. The library floor was soon a grotesque tableau of splattered red blood and mangled chitinous remains.

The chandelier mercilessly tore off the centipede's head, revealing the gore inside—a grotesque mixture of shattered exoskeleton, pulpy flesh, and tendrils of entrails. Finally, the creature's movements ceased, leaving only the eerie silence of the library in its wake.

Alec groaned, his vision swimming as he looked up at the sudden window that had appeared with a loud ding.

Defeated {Sanguine Scolopendra Lv10}!

Additional experience is awarded for defeating an opponent ten times your level!

{Level up! 1→2

STRENGTH +5

ENDURANCE +1

VITALITY +3.

MIND +5

CLARITY +1

AGILITY +4

ADDITIONAL STAT POINTS +4

SKILL POINTS +1

Level up! 2→3

STRENGTH +4

ENDURANCE +2

VITALITY +3

MIND +4

CLARITY +2

AGILITY +4

ADDITIONAL STAT POINTS +4

SKILL POINTS +1

Level up! 3→4

STRENGTH +5

ENDURANCE +2

VITALITY +3

MIND +5

CLARITY +1

AGILITY +4

ADDITIONAL STAT POINTS +4

SKILL POINTS +1

Level up! 4→5

STRENGTH +5

ENDURANCE +1

VITALITY +3

MIND +5

CLARITY +1

AGILITY +5

ADDITIONAL STAT POINTS +4

SKILL POINTS +1

Level up! 5→6

STRENGTH +5

ENDURANCE +1

VITALITY +3

MIND +5

CLARITY +1

AGILITY +4

ADDITIONAL STAT POINTS +4

SKILL POINTS +1}

{Sub Quest Progress: 1/53 eliminated.}

Alec's heart was hammering in his chest. In his previous life, he never would've considered attempting a stunt like this. He gazed up at the quest screen, his thoughts racing.

But something was amiss. The numbers didn't add up. He could have sworn there were a total of sixty-seven initial spawns according to the quest. Perplexed, he quickly accessed the quest screen to check the details.

{Sub Quest

Strange Fortress (Blood Beast Extermination)

An influx of blood mana on the ground floor of the fortress is leading to an increased spawning of blood beasts.

Objective: Eliminate the spawned blood beasts (1/53).

Difficulty: SS

Reward: Skill (Blood Chains)(T1)}

Alec pondered this development. The decrease in the number of spawns could mean two things: either someone else was hunting them, or they were preying on each other. Maybe it was a combination of both. Regardless, it made his task a bit more manageable.

Alec rolled over, grinning with satisfaction, and checked the new notifications. His stats had received a significant boost. His base strength, mind, and agility had almost tripled, which brought a smile to his face. However, his joy waned when he noticed the minimal increase in Endurance and Clarity. He contemplated the purpose of Endurance, guessing it was connected to his defenses.

Way to be a glass cannon I guess.

With 20 additional stat points at his disposal, Alec decided against investing them in Endurance. He had no desire to put it to the test against those deadly scythes.

Alec couldn't help but wonder why his wisdom hadn't increased. He surmised that it was directly tied to his mana pool, as it appeared to be roughly ten times the mean value of his base wisdom and clarity. Deciding to hold on to his unallocated points for the time being, he pondered his situation.

He then shifted his attention to the massive, lifeless centipede before him. It was indeed a colossal creature. Bloody hell! That's one big-ass centipede. Maybe it ate all the books from this library? He marveled at the size difference between him and the deceased creature, realizing that he was merely about half the length of its menacing mandibles.

It's kinda scary how big this thing is. Like, if this is the norm around here, I might need to work on my cat-sized self-esteem.

Gazing at the tail portion, he charged his claws with blood mana and slammed them down on the hardened carapace. The claw pierced through the upper carapace, only to be blocked by inner bone defenses.

What the heck? Wasn't my strength tripled? I'm still here tickling this multi-legged abomination. This isn't good. I can't even think about killing this thing; it's got endurance like a tank.

Alec was clearly frustrated by his inability to pierce the centipede's defences with his charged claws.

I need to find a different approach. Tossing chandeliers at them won't always do the trick, although it'd be pretty convenient if it did.

With a grimace, he pulled his sticky, red-stained claws out of the centipede. You sure this is blood, centi-boy? Why's it so darn gooey? Yuck.

Alec, though in a seemingly silent hall, couldn't let his guard down. He knew one of those centipedes was tracking him, and there was no guarantee that others weren't doing the same.

He realized he was likely on the ground floor, and his immediate priority was finding the exit. When a blazing death sword is hanging down on life, quests can go fuck themselves. I just have to survive and escape from here. He hopped onto a circular desk and tried to ignore the gross blood puddle forming under his paws. Ew, not exactly the kind of splash I was hoping for.

Well, Alec, you've played enough video games to know the drill. Time to spend some skill points. He pondered, glancing around the library walls and bookshelves. Seeing no immediate threats, he decided to take the opportunity to explore the status page and potentially make himself better equipped to survive in this chaos.