The first thing that came to mind when I looked around the scene was: grotesque. Not just grotesque — it was nauseating. The grass, which should have been a serene green carpet, was stained with a thick, greenish liquid that gave off a putrid, pungent smell, enough to make your stomach churn.

The air felt heavy, almost sticky, like every breath dragged particles of that decay along with it. Scattered around, repulsive-looking monsters lay sprawled, vaguely resembling giant flies, but twisted and even more disgusting.

On top of that, I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been repeating the same process — plunging my dagger into the skulls of these creatures once, twice, dozens of times. Maybe it’s the situation affecting me, but it feels like time itself is crawling, as if each second is deliberately stretched just to make me feel the weight of every strike.

The only thing I was certain of was that, at some point, the buzzing of the flies changed; their wings began beating harder, frantically, as if trying desperately to take off and escape. But before they could, Alice acted — her eyes glimmered for a moment, and she simply activated her ability again, silencing the swarm in the blink of an eye.

By the way, Alice’s ability — [Slowness], as she calls it — has some additional features that, honestly, I hadn’t noticed until now. Besides its obvious effectiveness against these flies, there’s something even more interesting: if multiple enemies are nearby, the ability seems to spread from one to another, paralyzing them in sequence.

Anyway, the point is, I’ve been here for quite some time — at least that’s how it feels — exterminating these creatures one by one while messages kept popping up in front of my eyes. Not that I’m complaining; this is practically easy experience farming, almost mechanical. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that watching these things die isn’t exactly pleasant.

*You killed [Corrosive Fly – lvl 23] – Experience gained. Experience shared with your party. 46 TP obtained*

*You killed [Corrosive Fly – lvl 22] – Experience gained. Experience shared with your party. 44 TP obtained*

*You killed [Corrosive Fly – lvl 25] – Experience gained. Experience shared with your party. 50 TP obtained*

*You killed [Corrosive Fly – lvl 20] – Experience gained. Experience shared with your party. 40 TP obtained*

*You killed [Corrosive Fly – lvl 20] – Experience gained. Experience shared with your party. 40 TP obtained*

*You killed [Corrosive Fly – lvl 20] – Experience gained. Experience shared with your party. 40 TP obtained*

*You killed [Corrosive Fly – lvl 24] – Experience gained. Experience shared with your party. 48 TP obtained*

Eventually, after spending far more time than I would have liked crushing each of those flies alongside Alice, I finally got a bit of silence. The metallic smell mixed with the residual buzzing still seemed stuck in my ears, mocking me.

Then two new messages appeared in front of me, interrupting my brief relief. No matter how I tried to see the bright side, it didn’t feel like a fair trade — a hundred disgusting creatures, an irritating, repulsive effort, just for my level to increase by a measly two.

*DING! Class: [Assassin] reached level 30 – Status points allocated*

*New skills available for the Assassin class*

Of course, it wouldn’t make sense to complain about something like that — especially considering that gaining a new skill alone could already be seen as a blessing. Still, as that thought formed in my mind, my eyes instinctively glanced toward Alice.

She was just a few steps away, her breathing slightly quickened, crushing the last of those flies without hesitation, the insect’s green blood staining the blade in her hand.

At the same time, I looked around — and, well... yeah, the view wasn’t pleasant. I had expected it, but it was still the kind of scene I’d rather not have burned into my memory. The ground was dirty, stained with remains, and the air carried a heavy odor that seemed to cling to the skin.

The grasshopper corpses were still scattered around, though far fewer than the flies. That, however, didn’t make the scene any less suffocating. Alice and I were literally surrounded by corpses. Follow current novels on novel[f]ire.net

Yeah. As if sharing the same thought that was crossing my mind at that moment, Alice — who was near my female body — broke the silence. Her voice echoed through the area, fragile and sickly: “This place is starting to make me nauseous”

As the words left her lips, her expression twisted almost imperceptibly. The slight tremor in her shoulders and the way she pressed her lips together made it clear she was fighting to stay composed, as if at any moment she might give in to the urge to vomit.

Even the color of her face seemed to drain, turning pale under the strange light bathing the area. Honestly, I didn’t have much to say to her. Deep down, I wasn’t in a state so different from hers — maybe just a little more used to the discomfort. Still, I imagine the situation is harder for girls than for boys.

I can speak from experience, since, at the moment, my female body seemed to react much more intensely: nausea came in stronger waves, almost making me lose my balance. That’s when I realized this contrast between my two bodies, something I honestly hadn’t noticed until now.

Anyway, with all the girls dead, Alice and I simply stepped back from the bodies and leaned against a nearby tree. We kept a safe distance from the killing scene — far enough that the sight wouldn’t be burned into every blink, but close enough to feel the weight of what had happened.

The putrid smell of the corpses was still easily noticeable, a suffocating mix of blood and decay clinging to the air, but it was much more bearable there than at the epicenter of the bodies.

As I stared almost absentmindedly at the small bee bodies scattered across the ground, a strange feeling settled in my chest. Beside me, Alice—who had remained completely silent until that moment—finally spoke.

Her voice was low, yet carried a weight that immediately demanded my attention. There was something rough in it, a trace of restrained irritation: “Even if I want to...” she paused briefly, as if the words themselves were heavy: “I don’t think I’ll ever forget this scene”

As she spoke, Alice let out a sigh full of resignation, as though releasing part of the weight she carried in her chest. Personally, I shared the exact same thoughts—maybe even more intensely. This insane situation would certainly be etched in my memory forever, like a scar that could never be erased.

And not just for me: it was probably the same for everyone dragged into this so-called “tutorial” In the end, this day would be remembered as the moment our lives were turned upside down... the instant when everything changed forever.

As these dark thoughts dragged through my mind, my eyes remained fixed on the green grass beneath my feet, as if seeking an answer I knew I wouldn’t find. Then I felt a subtle movement beside me: Alice, who had stayed silent until that moment, touched my shoulder.

The gesture made me blink—not out of surprise, but because of the strange weight of that touch—heavy, firm, almost as if it carried more than just physical contact. In a fraction of a second, the sensation ran through my body like a silent shiver, and I instinctively knew something was wrong.

When I lifted my gaze, something struck me strangely—the environment around us had changed. It wasn’t a glaring transformation, but a subtle, almost imperceptible shift, and yet profoundly disturbing.

The forest, which just moments ago had reeked only of death, now seemed to vibrate in a silent rhythm, as if the very air were tense. Leaves trembled without wind, the ground pulsed beneath my feet, and I had the unsettling sensation that something colossal, invisible to my eyes, was advancing toward us.

The wings of the dead flies—even those reduced to indistinct smudges on the ground—began twitching spasmodically, as if some unseen force were pulling their bodies back to life.

The sound they made was high-pitched and irregular, like thousands of cracked bells ringing at once, a metallic wail that seemed to resonate inside my skull. A cold shiver ran up my spine as I realized the noise wasn’t just coming from them, but spreading through the very ground, as if the earth itself were breathing... or buzzing, alive beneath my feet.

Alice, still at my side, turned her face slowly, as if every movement were too heavy to make. Her eyes widened suddenly, reflecting the source of the sound that now felt closer, almost tangible.

For a moment, her breath caught—her chest rose and stayed suspended, as if she had forgotten how to breathe. The atmosphere around us seemed to compress, making the air denser, forcing a suffocating silence between us.

Then an absolute silence fell over the place. No breeze blew, no leaf moved, and even the distant buzzing of insects ceased—as if the world itself had held its breath. The air felt thicker, heavier. In the next instant, the ground cracked with a deep snap, as if the earth itself were screaming.

Roots split with sharp snaps, stones flew in all directions, and swarms of dead flies were hurled into the air, swirling like black ash. Then, something emerged from the depths: a chitinous structure, black as coal and shiny as polished obsidian, reflecting light in distorted fragments, as if darkness itself had taken shape.

First came the claws—long, curved, and sharp, each glinting with a wet green sheen, as if venom itself dripped from them in tiny drops. Then the rest of the creature revealed itself: a grotesque, disproportionate fusion of beetle and praying mantis, its joints cracking with every movement.

The abdomen, covered in translucent plates, pulsed irregularly, as if breathing on its own, emitting a faint green glow that lit the ground beneath it. The smell, already awful, became almost suffocating—a sharp, heavy stench that burned the back of my throat and clung to the roof of my mouth. Instinctively, I raised my hand to my face, but it did little good.

When the creature lifted its head, a shiver ran down my spine: I saw its compound eyes for the first time, each reflecting the environment around us like hundreds of tiny distorted mirrors, fragmenting our own image into grotesque distortions. For a moment, I felt as if it were looking in every direction at once.

The creature opened its jaws slowly, revealing uneven rows of serrated teeth glistening in the surrounding light, slick with saliva. Then it made a sound that wasn’t exactly a roar—it was deeper, a low reverberation that seemed to come from the ground itself. The vibration rippled through the air, making the stones around us tremble.

Honestly, no matter how you look at it or try to analyze it—every detail screams pure power. It was impossible to ignore the overwhelming presence radiating from this monster. The instant I activated [Identify], everything made sense. The reason for that suffocating feeling became crystal clear.

[Colossal Beetle-Mantis - Level 45]

Fifteen levels above my current one—great, as if that were some kind of consolation. As I’ve said before, levels aren’t exactly a reliable measure of real strength when it comes to the monsters inhabiting this place.

Still... tell me, where could a colossal beetle, with scythe-like arms like a mantis and a shell that looked like molten metal, be considered weak? Just imagining that metallic sound when its legs hit the ground sends shivers down my spine. Honestly, I can’t summon enough confidence to face something like this and guarantee Alice comes out unscathed.

Actually, this still counted as a positive thought — at least compared to the queen ant I faced in the dungeon last time. Honestly, it would almost feel like a win if Alice and I managed to get out of here without losing any limbs.