RinoZ
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Chapter 1453 - Frog (snake) in the Well
🕑 Added 2024-09-26 02:27:47 +0000 UTCYou want to get into a spell-war with me, snake? Then prepare to be crushed! Literally!
As well as figuratively!
I keep snapping new shields into existence just as fast as they get eaten away, all the while building and weaving the dense mana necessary for the well. Naturally, the snake is just as capable of sensing mana as I am, since it already detected my first bomb, it can tell that something big is coming its way. It too begins to weave, drawing out even more mana from within its massive body, but even though it seems to have evolved along the path of a mage, the difference between us soon becomes apparent.
You can’t whip together a spell as quickly as I can, you slippery serpent! Prepare to eat the force of an empowered gravity well!
All the energy contained within the Altar rushes out in a great tide as the spell snaps into place. Able to manipulate the incredible force of the well with my will alone, I pour every ounce of power within it to crush the snake against the ground.
Stone cracks, pillars crumple and the snake screeches in pain as it is smashed into the ground, its head pressed against the tunnel floor by the force.
Gweheheheh! How do you like it, snake? You can’t steal this technique!
Sensing its vulnerability and surprise, I choose to go aggressive and leap down towards the foe. It’s risky to get this close to a powerful enemy, but I have more cards up my carapace I can play if things go south.
As I fall, I turn and unleash the full fury of my business conglomerate. The spray of potent acid covers the flattened snake and begins to eat away at it. I haven’t been using my acid much in the fifth, because the creatures here practically swim in the stuff for fun. Most of them are covered in slime that protects them from it, or have flesh that is resistant.
Despite all the investments I’ve poured into my acid producing capabilities, this is the worst possible stratum to use them in.
As expected, the slime covering the snake begins to bubble and steam the moment my acid touches it, counteracting the burn before it even has a chance to start propagating itself.
Damn this stratum! On top of everything else, they refuse to partake of the finest goods I can produce! It’s rude! Rude I say!
Pressed down the power of the well, the snake continues to weave its mana as I plummet down to engage in close combat. Writhing and hissing in fury, it’s going its best to try and move, but at best, it’s only able to slither a little bit. The time is right to apply the mandibles!
My jaws flex as I draw closer to the beast, but I’m wary of whatever spell it’s cooking up, so I remain cautious even as I go in for the strike. The well is continuing to exert its power, causing the rock beneath the snake to shift and crack as it continues to be crushed.
I land with tremendous force that my legs absorb, leaving me trembling for a moment as I regain my balance. This snake really is big. It must be a hundred metres long if it’s an inch, perhaps even more. Its body must be several metres thick at its thinnest to boot. This is a chonky boi, is what I’m saying. Despite its prowess with spells, there must be a formidable amount of muscle within that frame, there has to be.
RIght now, with the well in place, the creature is at my mercy, so I dash forward, jaws wide and ready.
VOID CHOMP!
I’d empower it if I could, but even with hundreds of thousands of ants within range, there isn’t enough energy flowing in to refill the Altar that quickly, but even so, the bite is a potent weapon in and of itself.
My mandibles crunch home, the jaws of pure black energy slicing into the snake with ease. The slime coating is thick and sticky, so I’m lucky I didn’t bite into it with my physical mandibles, but then… I notice something strange.
What’s going on with this snake? The response from the bite is… a little off.
Sensing danger, I leap back and observe my opponent carefully, waiting to see just what the heck is going on.
As I peer closely, the monster in front of me… looks like a snake. It might be covered in a layer of slime, but it has a clear pattern of scales, it has a snake-like head, it has long curved fangs, it even hisses! It’s hissing right now!
So why oh why, when I chomped into it, does it look like I chomped straight into slug flesh?! There’s no scales! No meaty, fibrous muscles, just squishy slug flesh!
Then something happens that sends me for a spin. The snakes eyes burst outward, and for a moment I think it might have succumbed to the pressure of the well, but then I see the stalks.
The eyes extend atop their stalks, fighting against the well, trying not to be crushed into the ground and the entire body of the snake begins to change. The scale pattern fades as its body puffs out, thickening slightly as it transforms from slick, serpentine grace to somewhat puffy slug body. It’s body flattens down, pressed by the power of the well, but like this, it’s able to move a little more freely, reeling around to face me and hiss with fury.
What do you mean, hiss?! You aren’t a snake! Well, it’s clearly part snake, a slug-snake!
Yuck.
It still has the fangs and snake-shaped head, but its body has become pale and squishy, the slime coating leaking out of it even thicker than before. My minds work furiously, pumping multiple forms of mana and preparing an array of spells as the creature continues to build up its spell, even as it tries to work its way towards me, hoping to draw nearer.
You might be able to move better than before, but the well is still giving you plenty of trouble. There’s no chance you’ll be able to catch me, you disgusting thing! For now, eat Dragon’s Breath!
I blast the monster with a jet of hot flame and it recoils from the searing heat, hissing furiously.
In a final attempt to protect itself, the slug-snake whips its face around, directly into the path of the fire, and opens its mouth, launching another dense ball of potent venom directly into my face.
Comments
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
Katrina Hamilton
Thank you for the chapter!!
Brandon14754
but why pirate it when just wait a monthish and read it for free legally on Royal Road or webnovel, just to spite the creator? also webnovel and royal road don't always update at the same time as the patreon but end up with the same number of chapters so if you're using that as your reason it's a very shitty one and if you want communication so much join the discord and ping rinoz if he forgets or misses a chapter communication can go both ways and you can easily make the effort to contact him if you had wanted and often times he does let us know in advance if he won't be able to write during a week so he does communicate, you are right that he "misses releases" but again the patreon isn't paying for releases it's paying for being ahead of the public releases not having set releases so that is irrelevant
Lemur420
Sure, sure. Simultaneously I have contributed since the beginning of his patreon when there were like 16 of us. I have contributed more money at times, less at others, but all in all, since the beginning. I'm not new here, I'm not here or BotD, though I saw that start, I'm here for chrysalis. I have expectations on releases and I hope for consistency from those I sponsor. Is it consistent? Are missed releases made up? If not, then why when I go to WN do I see an update for chrysalis and none for here, where I pay for it. It doesn't matter in the end, my man has gone from $240 a month to 14k per month. Me leaving and pirating the work I spent years paying for means little in the face of that amount. Apparently 14k a month doesn't pay for consistency or communication.
Lemur420
You mean webnovel?
Brandon14754
Also I know you didn't specifically bring this up but I wanted to just say this for those who question the rate, Rinoz releases about 5x 1,000 word chrysalis and 2x 2,500 word BOD chapters a week. At close to 50 weeks a year, yes sometimes it drops close to 40, but still that that ends up at close to 250,000 words per year for each series which divided onto 250(the standard) word pages is writing 1,000 page books for each series every year, you can compare that to other authors who often will only release 1x 300 page book a year or like GRR Martain who hasn't released the sequel to GOT in 10 years and rino releases all chapters for free after about a month and rino is writing a hell of a lot faster than most authors (sorry actually writing it out was way bigger than I thought it would be)
Brandon14754
that's what you''re not understanding the patreon isn't paying to have him release at a certain rate or at a faster rate, it's to get 30 chapters ahead of the Royal road and support the author, and get access to patreon discord channels, everything else that you think you're paying for is you tricking yourself into THINKING that's what you're buying, that's not what you are actually buying, if you're not happy with that then don't pay but also don't complain that you're not getting something you were never being sold in the first place
Lemur420
I understand how the release works, friend. What I am not understanding and I thought I made abundantly clear, and which you and others seem to be misunderstanding, is a failure to do exactly what is being paid for. That's my issue. Don't weigh in when you aren't even aware of what I'm paying and not paying for.
Brandon14754
besides you seem to be misunderstanding patreon, you are legally paying for a set number of advanced chapters as it says on the tiers, not that a certain number are released during a set date. Don't complain when you aren't even aware of what you're paying for.
Brandon14754
you can get his work for free if you wait for it to come out on royal road, no DMCA's are even needed unless you're reading stolen patreon content before it releases on RR, then you're just being a jerk.
Lemur420
Alright man, I love this book, and genuinely don't mind supporting you otherwise, but you make way too much money for the inconsistency of releases. If I am going to have to wait for an inconsistent release rate, I may as well not pay for the latency. I could always have been up to date with the patreon AND not pay for it, but I wanted to support what I love. I have expectations for what my money goes to, sorry all my commie cooks here in the comments. As such, I think I'll just get your work for free, man, and just call us even with all the times you took the money and left us hanging. Perhaps you'll be able to file a few dnca's and prevent it in the long run, but we'll see. Either way, you won't be getting more from me. Later Rinoz
Rahsheem Reid
It’s stated in the excerpts that After a while he leaves from the colony. I’m wondering if the following will be able to follow him then.
Tag
Thank you for the explanation on why the business district has been dormant in the 5th.
alt31415
"I’m wondering if Anthony will have a a following when he is at that point. " - My brother, he's had a 'following' since Tier 3.
CentaureHeart
Interesting that it's a half slug at least. Could it be a clue as to where the krath come from?
alt31415
Corporate espionage, lets goooo
evyatar
Thanks for the chapter, and half slug damn the slugs are so annoying with their bodies half resistant to shock and blunt force… until the force exceeds the speed of sound which Antony can do, at that state the vibration would get out of the control of the slugs and their bodies would spiral out of control, essentially Antony needs to create concussion grenade. The same types of grenade the army use for water combat to hunt divers, for example if he use the gravity bomb on the ceiling and let a the ultra dense sphere drop on the snake(or the slime around the snake, if there is enough for the snake to be half covered or more, the millions of tons hit the water and vaporize the whole lake but because the slug is half liquid… you get the picture and if he could in the future? Add gravity bolts to the ultra dense sphere, or a gravity well to accelerate the sphere to hit faster, a canon for the ultra heavy ammo
SirSquidlington
Tftc!
Kiongku
Anthony’s wares do face a stiff competition in this stratum. Maybe he will get some inspiration to innovate here.
alt31415
Damn, a slug-snake. Anthony's GOTTA be close to leveling up some of his skills. He's been Void Chomping and Mind-Magicing for ages now, right?
alt31415
No chance. Krath don't evolve.
Rahsheem Reid
Those might be the old Krathlath that get exiled and that is a ?really? Old one but it seems more like a monster.
Brandon14754
Interesting, I wonder if this a tribe's krathlath and this is where they were giving out orders from, iirc he had to go through an entire tunnel filled with krath attacking him
Rahsheem Reid
The foreshadowing of Anthony being as big as a mountain is really dope. I can imagine why the legion can’t get as far as they want and try and quell monsters while they are a manageable size. I’m wondering if Anthony will have a a following when he is at that point. The fifth strat is very interesting moving forward. The monsters that will spawn are interesting also. Many new things and happenings and I’m excited. Tyfc RinoZ!
