Tunnels

Vivian was walking all alone in a dark tunnel.

The environment was so dark that one couldn't even see their own hands. But despite that, she didn't carry a torch, activated [Halo] or even wore her Earring of Vision that she bought through a loan back at Luxen City. Instead, she was using something else. 

Her demonic eyes from her [Greater Origin Transformation]. 

This pair of eyes of hers allows her to see the world in black and white, similar to thermal vision. However, it wasn't affected by heat every living being in her eyes would feature a blue or a red-colored nervous system. 

And since she was wearing a mask and was alone, she didn't mind using it.

Hmm…

Vivian brushed her fingers on the wall as she walked.

Seeing inanimate objects in black and white only makes things a bit hard to differentiate…

Reminds me of static water…

Her demonic eyes had strengths and weaknesses. And one of its weaknesses is that if she sees a wooden sword and a metal sword, she couldn't tell the difference until she touches them. So if there was an inanimate trap laid out in front of her, she wouldn't be able to tell. In fact, she even had to strain her eyes a bit in order to read the details on her Identity Papers.

Nothing's perfect I guess…

But at least I wouldn't have to worry that much about enemies hiding…

Although she couldn't see through walls, living beings hiding in bushes or performing something like a camouflage technique were completely visible in her eyes, thanks to the blue or red-colored nervous system that they project.

***

A couple of minutes later.

Scriii, scrii…

Vivian suddenly stopped in her tracks and her brows knitted together behind her mask.

Did I just see something or was that just my imagination…?

She thought she saw and heard something up ahead before disappearing to the corner.

After waiting for about a minute, she pulled out her Identity Papers and checked the map.

I think I'm still on the right path…

Up ahead there will be 3 tunnels… 

And the one on the left would be the right tunnel…

Vivian cautiously moved forward as she strained both her eyes and ears.

When she finally got to the end of the tunnel, she immediately swept her gaze around.

In front of her were 3 tunnels and there was something she noticed.

What's that…?

She went over to it and picked it up.

A bone…?

Of what…?

Vivian wasn't any expert when it came to bones. If she sees one, she could only differentiate between a chicken, cow and fish. And judging from the size of the single bone on her hand, it was more like a cow's.

"Whatever."

Tak.

She tossed the bone to the side and checked her map once again.

Okay…

Um…

So from here, I have to take the left tunnel…

Her map only highlighted 3 exits -- Southwest Exit, Northwest Exit and the East Exit. And at the moment, she was on the path to the East Exit which leads to the mountains.

Vivian was about to resume walking when suddenly heard the sound once again.

Scriii, scriii…

Turning to the right tunnel, she saw what looked like a 2ft long caterpillar-like shape red-colored nervous system that was as thick as an adult's thigh crawling on the walls and heading towards her.

Vivian subconsciously reached out for her sword but grabbed nothing.

Tch!

Fuck…!

The tunnels were about 7ft tall and 4ft wide. Because of that, she decided not to carry her sword or poleaxe and left them back in her room.

She dashed forward and activated a skill.

[Power Fist].

Pa-riiip!

The monster's body was completely shredded into pieces.

Tch!

Vivian clicked her tongue once again and scratched her head as she stared at the shredded pieces of meat in front of her.

That was a mistake…

I should've examined its body so that I could compare it to my notes…

In one of her classes, specifically the one from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m., talks about demons, demon-worshipers, the Cult of Affinity, demon-kins and monsters.

In regards to the monsters, although the trainees didn't have to study all kinds of monsters in the world, there were around 150 monsters that they needed to study about. And to really hammer down how hard it was to pass the Training Course for the Inquisitory Division, the final exam for that class is only 100 items and it covers all of the topics discussed in that class.

Vivian stared at the empty corridor of the right tunnel.

Well… 

There's always a next time…

At least now I know that there are monsters in these tunnels…

Vivian turned back and headed to the left tunnel.

Hmm…

I wish I had the power to divide myself…

Like one part of me could do the studying, another would do the Physical Arts and another one would do the Magic Arts…

If there's a God out there, give that Lore Magic to me, you fucking idiot…!

***

A couple of minutes later.

Vivian was still inside the tunnels when she found herself in an interesting area.

Heh…~

What's this…?

She was in a large open space or cavern and was standing on top of a cliff. 

In front of her was an abandoned base with buildings all around, some of which were in rubble, and there wasn't a single light source. And although there wasn't any people or humanoid figures around, she could detect other living lifeforms with red-colored nervous systems scattered throughout the area, thanks to her demonic eyes.

Vivian was about to jump down but stopped when she noticed something else.

Holes…?

The ground was filled with holes, ranging from 1 to 2 diameters. And as for their depth, she couldn't see it from the curvature of the holes.

She knitted her brows and swept her gaze around.

This path is supposed to be one of the exits, right…?

I mean, why would they add such an exit if it's this dangerous…?

Or perhaps the monsters aren't aggressive…?

But there are holes…

Even with [Halo], this is still too dangerous…

Or maybe the holes are shallow and are connected like mini-tunnels…?

Vivian continued sweeping her gaze around to see if there was a safer pathway.

Hmm…

If I were weak, the way I would cross it by walking down the road while avoiding the holes…

On the other hand, if I were powerful, I would be jumping through the buildings…

But I'm not sure if those buildings are safe…

Based on what she could see, the buildings were old and some of them were in rubble or in a pitiable state.

I think it would be safer to take the weak's path…

However, I have the [Nemesis of Beasts] Lore…

A small smile appeared on Vivian's face under her mask.

Well, I guess I don't have any choice…

I'll just make sure to kill everything here and leave no witnesses and evidence…

And plus, there's something I've always wanted to try but never had the chance…

She went over to a corner and an idea suddenly popped inside her head.

What if someone else shows up while I'm busy and steals my things to report me…?

That could definitely happen…

And the last thing I want to end up chasing that person through these tunnels…

Whatever…

Vivian began stripping down naked. And after removing all of her clothes, she wrapped all of them with her cloak.

Tch!

I didn't think about this…

Well… 

I'm just going to buy another White Cloak when I get back…

"Okay, it's show-- Oh, wait!"

Walking completely stark naked and carrying her things wrapped with her cloak in her hand, she found a flat and spacious place.

"Okay, it's showtime!"

[Greater Origin Transformation].

Blaaak!

Vivian transformed into a 10-meter-tall Greater Demon.

Her entire skin was covered in this ethereal pale grayish color and there wasn't a single strand of hair on her body.

Her head was like a squid or octopus covered with black eyes with yellow irises all around it which gave her a 360˚ vision and she could control them individually. Her mouth was replaced with long tentacles which she could control individually as well. And underneath the tentacles, there was no chin, only was circular mouth with 4 rows of teeth and a very long tongue.

Her body was replaced with a thin genderless frame to differentiate if it was female or male and she also had no reproductive organ. Her torso was abnormally long for her height that she was in a slouching posture and she had 4 thin two-elbowed arms on each side which looked more like a spider's arms. The size of her hands was appropriate for the length of her arms with long and black sharp fingernails.

Her legs were long and thin and they were in a semi-squat position. As for her feet, the size was appropriate for her the length of her legs with long and black toenails.

She also had a tail that was as long as her body's height which she could easily control.

"Hehehe…" Vivian let out a small chuckle that sounded like a loud but low rumbling laughter.

Thanks to her height, her already heavily distorted and slightly screeching demonic voice sounded even lower and the volume of her voice she projected became louder that it was already impossible to tell what gender she was.

Her 8 eyes darted around separately and she also moved her 8 spider-like arms.

Although it only has been a handful of times she used her full Greater Demon form, she had no problem controlling it, especially her eyes, arms and tail. It was as if it was she was born with them and had always known how to use them.

One of her hands formed a fist, keeping her things wrapped with her cloak safely inside her palm.

She bent down forward and began crawling like a spider.

When she got close to the buildings, the monsters that were already visible came charging at her. There were also a few ones that burst out of the ground.

Although Vivian still couldn't see their real appearance, from what she could see, they looked similar to the monster or caterpillar-like monster that she encountered earlier. Only this time, they were between 2 to 8 feet long.

But with her Physical and Magic Force combined with her 10-meter-tall height, 8 eyes that could move independently, and her 8 spider-like long arms, she easily caught and ate them. However, she only picked up the larger ones. The smaller ones, she ignored them or got flattened under her giant feet and palms as she traversed the abandoned base like a spider.

Chud!

Crunch…

Hmm…

Crunch…

Not bad…

Chud.

Crunch…

She grabbed another one.

Takes like a chicken but with an earthy taste…

Crunch...

However, it's nowhere close compared to when I eat humans...

Chud.

Crunch…

She continued crawling around like a spider and avoiding the holes as the monsters rushed over to her while she caught and ate them.

Braaag!

A giant caterpillar-like monster about 20ft long suddenly burst out from the ground and tried to bite Vivian.

Baa-riiip!

Vivian met the monster's head with [Power Fist], shredding a huge chunk of its head and killing it immediately.

Braaag!

Before you could pick up the carcass and eat it, another giant caterpillar-like monster burst out from the ground.

Chud.

Chud.

Riiip!

Vivian caught the giant monster with one of her arms and ripped it apart, causing blood and guts to paint the ground and buildings around.

Crunch, crunch, crunch…

Vivian stopped crawling around for a moment and ate the two giant caterpillar-like monsters. And after eating them, she leaned forward and resumed crawling around.

Crack…!

Vivian's hand pressed on the ground and it made a cracking sound.

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack…!

Which was then followed by a web of cracks around her, causing the ground to be uneven and Vivian losing her balance.

CRAAACK!!!

And before she even realized it, a huge hole appeared underneath her and she along with a dozen of buildings fell down.

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…

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Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. They also involve a few secret outline notes/details that I won't publish here because they contain spoilers or dispel some of the mysteries. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 268-272 are posted there.

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