Chapter 325:Tunnels and more tunnels.

Chapter 325: 325:Tunnels and more tunnels.

At first, he thought he’d found exactly what he wanted. A larger tunnel system, perhaps these smaller routes connected different sections of the mountain. If burrowing creatures were moving through here regularly, there might even be a route toward the surface.

He deactivated Spatial Sense and continued. The first few meters were quiet, then he noticed small, repeated scratches. He crouched to observe them.

The marks ran along the base of the wall. Silver touched one and it was fresh.

He stood, his handgun coming out.

"Alright."

He slowed his pace out of caution. The passage widened ahead. He could see a larger chamber which he approached carefully; there was no movement.

He stopped before entering.

[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated.]

There were multiple tunnels, and several cavities. Something felt strange.

Silver narrowed his concentration. There were small disturbances around the edges of his range. He couldn’t immediately identify them because the surrounding earth was filled with narrow spaces.

Then one of the disturbances disappeared. His expression changed. He could hear rapid movement approaching him.

He raised the gun but it was too late. The wall beside him exploded.

Silver twisted to escape but something slammed into his shoulder. He stumbled sideways.

A creature roughly the size of a large dog burst from the packed earth, its thick front claws tearing through the wall as though it were loose sand.

It had a low, heavily muscled body covered in dark brown plates, tiny eyes, and an oversized mouth lined with short teeth.

Silver reacted instantly, the handgun snapping upward.

[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated.]

Pfft!

The suppressor reduced the shot to a sharp, contained crack. The bullet struck the creature through the side of its head.

Silver barely had time to register the kill, when he noticed the ground moving.

His eyes widened.

He jumped backward just in time as a second creature burst upward where he’d been standing.

He fired.

Pfft!

The bullet struck its shoulder but it didn’t stop.

"Seriously?"

Silver stepped aside as it lunged. His sword left the sheath and with one slash the blade crossed its neck. Blood sprayed across the dirt.

Then he heard scratching everywhere around him. He froze.

He slowly looked around.

"Oh."

A third creature pushed its head through the wall, then another. Silver’s expression became blank after that.

"This isn’t a tunnel."

The ground beneath him trembled.

He hurriedly moved.

A creature burst upward. He avoided the claws by centimeters.

"This is a fucking nest."

Three more emerged and Silver didn’t wait. He fired twice.

Pfft! Pfft!

One creature dropped immediately. The second bullet struck another through the chest, it staggered but he didn’t give it a chance. Silver stepped forward and drove his sword through its skull.

Another attacked from the left. He twisted but it’s claws scraped across his newly purchased shirt. He looked down in horror. Four fresh tears appeared across the fabric.

He stared in anger..

"You..."

The burrower snarled in response. Silver slowly looked at it.

"I bought this today."

The creature charged. He kicked it before it could even reach him.

[Primal Strength Lv2 Activated.]

The impact lifted the Tier Two beast off the ground, slamming into the wall. Silver raised the handgun immediately afterwards.

Pfft!

Its head snapped backward.

"That’s for the shirt."

More scratching came from behind him. Silver’s irritation disappeared as the reality that he was still surrounded settled in.

He activated Spatial Sense.

[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated.]

The entire area changed. Now that he knew what he was looking for, the situation became considerably clearer. Movement filled the surrounding earth. It was clear there were a lot of burrowers but hopefully not enough to be troublesome.

He counted at least nine within immediate range. Some were already moving through the narrow tunnels around the chamber while others were digging toward him.

His expression hardened. Individually, Tier Two beasts weren’t much of a threat anymore. The problem was that they didn’t need to attack from the tunnel, they could come from anywhere.

Silver backed toward the most solid section of rock he could find since that reduced the directions they could attack from.

He kept Spatial Sense active.

One approaching from below. Silver waited until it was close enough and stepped sideways. The ground exploded, but before the burrower fully emerged...

Pfft!

The bullet entered beneath its jaw. It collapsed halfway out of the hole. Another came through the wall. Silver turned before it emerged.

Pfft! Pfft!

Two more approached simultaneously. Silver holstered the handgun for half a second and drew his sword properly.

The first emerged and Silver slashed it. The second came from below, he jumped. His injured ribs screamed but he ignored it.

He landed behind the creature, his sword coming down. The blade cut through the back of its neck. Yhe burrower twitched, then stopped. He stepped away, his breathing became heavier.

"Come on."

The earth trembled from three directions. Silver’s Spatial Sense tracked them. There was one ahead, one to the right and the last one below.

He considered Space Slash, then immediately rejected it. The ground was already filled with tunnels. Cutting through structural sections with spatial attacks could cause the entire chamber to collapse.

He had survived being buried once. He wasn’t interested in repeating the experience.

The burrower ahead emerged first.

Silver shot it.

The one from the right broke through next. He sidestepped it and slashed it with his sword. The third delayed.

He frowned.

It was beneath him but cleverly not moving, waiting to catch him off guard.

He backed away.

The creature followed beneath the ground. Silver watched through Spatial Sense.

"Not bad."

He stopped and the creature stopped. He smiled slightly at that. It was like a game of cat and mouse, only that it was underground.

"But you’re Tier Two."

He stamped the ground, the force forcing the beast to react; it surged upward.

Silver was already moving, the moment its head appeared...

Pfft!

The body dropped back into the hole and silence returned.

Silver remained still.

Spatial Sense stayed active as he searched. He noticed movement farther away. Several creatures had retreated deeper into the burrows.

Silver didn’t chase.

This wasn’t an extermination mission and he wasn’t getting paid. He didn’t particularly care if several Tier Two burrowers survived.

He wanted out.