It felt as if the ground beneath my feet was shaking violently as the worms moved underneath the soil.

With nothing else to do, we rushed forward out of the forest and into the barren lands.

The ground was dark red and had a grainy texture to it, making it harder to run. In contrast, the worms became a lot quicker in the sand.

Still, we ran as if our lives depended on it while I instructed them on which directions to go since I was the only one that could see the worms in the soil thanks to my mana sight.

I led them through the safest path I could find, but it felt as if the more we moved, the more worms we drew to our attention.

Most species of worms were unable to see. Instead, they had specialized light-sensing cells in their skins. This helped them distinguish between light and dark so they could burrow deeper underground to escape light.

They were also extremely good at sensing vibrations which was how they were able to track us. The soil then shifted violently. The sudden movement caused Kali to stumble and collapse with the twins.

This caused Alazar to scramble to get to her, but just then one of the worms erupted from the soil and bit into his shoulder.

Alazar collapsed to the ground under the weight of the monster, all while trying to free himself of the beast, but the worm was latched on too tightly.

With the monster this close to him I couldn’t use magic or acid since I didn’t want to risk accidentally hitting him, so that only left me with one choice.

Vibrating my wings at supersonic speed, I dived into the air and molded a 7-inch-long stinger at my rear before diving from the sky and sinking it deep into the monster’s flesh.

The obsidian stinger pressed into the beast’s flesh, but it couldn’t pierce through its skin. Instead, I was violently repelled.

Confused, I reactivated mana sight. By watching the flow of mana, I realized that the worms used magic to increase the toughness of their skin while leaving it soft and squishy so they could dig.

Their skin was like a built-in shock absorber, and there wasn’t anything I could do to get through it.

"Eeek!!"

At the same time, a horrifying scream ripped through the air. I turned around to see Ala on the ground with a worm latched onto her feet while Hal bashed the monster over and over with his stick, but it was to no avail.

To make matters worse, more worms were converging on us as we speak.

"Apex!"

Dammit! I have to figure something out quickly. I was the one that brought them into this.

My mind was running through several different possibilities, but none of them seemed to stick.

A flood of emotions was running through my mind, making it difficult to think.

Fear and panic gripped me, causing me to freeze while the children screamed for my help as they battled for their lives.

[20 biomass has been spent to improve brain function by 25%.]

[Divided Consciousness has reached Level 5. You have gained an additional consciousness.]

The first consciousness is the one I used to create strategies while fighting, but this consciousness was also responsible for my emotions, which is why it became impossible for me to come up with a plan of attack while panicked.

I decided to use this 6th consciousness to keep track of my emotions.

-New Skill Acquired-

[Monarch’s Indifference: When activated, this skill allows the user to bypass his emotions and make decisions with perfect clarity and brutal efficiency.]

After reading through my new skill, I didn’t waste a second before activating it.

Immediately it was like a cool breeze washed over my mind. My emotions were dampened and it was no longer clouding my thoughts. I was now able to see things that I couldn’t before.

It was as if my brain had transformed into a high-processing computer, allowing me to see several outcomes along with the best path ahead.

[Fire Bolt]

Mana coursed in me as I fired a perfectly aimed fireball onto the worm latched onto Alazar. I was no longer afraid that I would miss and accidentally injure the boy.

Instead, I was perfectly calm, which allowed me to be precise when firing.

When the firebolt hit the monster, it caused a bright flash of light. This caused the creature’s natural instincts to kick in as it immediately released Alazar and flopped onto the ground, ready to dive back underground.

But before it could, I used my earth control spell to harden the surface of the ground and then my mold skill to cover it with obsidian, effectively trapping the creature on the surface.

Worms burrow underground by wedging their pointed heads into the gaps in the soil. With an obsidian surface, it was impossible for the worm to escape underground.

My Fire Bolt spell did nothing to hurt the monster. It more or less just startled it, so I had to come up with some other means of killing it.

[Fire Bolt]

[Fire Bolt]

[Fire Bolt]

Still, I continuously fired the firebolt spell at the monster to keep triggering the same response as before. The monster screeched loudly as it thrashed around unable to escape thw light created by the spell.

Still, my best bet is to trigger another evolution.

But which organ would give the best evolution?

After calmly thinking about it for a few seconds I finally came to an answer.

[20 biomass has been spent to improve the acid gland and acid sac.]

[40 biomass has been spent to improve the acid gland and acid sac.]

-New Evolution Unlocked-

[Mana Devouring Acid Gland and Acid Sac: A special acid gland that allows the user to melt through mana and magic. It also provides the user with a special acid sac to hold this acid.

[70 biomass has been spent on Mana Devouring Acid Gland and Acid Sac.]

After hitting the worm with another fire bolt, I didn’t waste a second before spraying it with acid.

The moment the acid touched its skin, the worm let out a piercing screech as it writhed in agony.

Seeing this reaction, I began spraying more acid on the worm until its entire body was covered in it.

As the worm was taking its final breath, I decided to make another evolution.

[15 biomass has been spent to improve hardness and sharpness of your mandibles.]

[25 biomass has been spent to improve hardness and sharpness of your mandibles.]

Even though the worm was burned with acid, its flesh was still hard, making it difficult to devour.

And at this level my magma wouldn’t do much to it, so I had to upgrade my mandibles so I could tear through its flesh.

[You have slain a D-ranked vampyric worm!]

[You have ascended to Level 23 and have gained 23]

[You have ascended to Level 24 and have gained 24 skill points.]

[You have gained 150 biomass.]

[25 biomass has been spent to improve the telopodal gland! The production and strength of secretion have improved.

[Secretion has reached Level 5!]

[50 biomass has been spent to improve the telopodal gland! The production and strength of secretion have improved.]

[Secretion has reached level 6.]

I quickly turned my attention to the worm that had latched on to Ala’s leg and fired my firebolt spell.

The bright light from the spell caused the monster to release her, and she quickly tried to dig underground, but before it could, I shot a web of googum at the worm, covering it up instantly.

The worm fought and struggled to get the googum off it, but with no limbs and the properties of the googum more advanced than they were before, this made it impossible.

Then by combining my mold and earth skills, I created massive sharp spikes in the ground before grabbing onto the wrapped-up worm and flying into the sky.

My wings carried me high above the clouds until everything down below looked like a speck of grain.

I then channeled my mana into my wings and created a powerful sonic blast that launched me downwards like a meteor.

I propelled myself through the air, perfectly aiming the worm so it was skewered on the large spike.

The obsidian spike dug into its flesh. Its tough skin resisted against the spike, but with the force at which the monster was pushed against the spike. Its skin could offer little protection as the spike dug into its body, splitting it in half.

[You have slain a D-ranked Vampyric Worm]

[You have ascended to level 25 and has gained 25 skill points]

My wings were shredded, and my exoskeleton held deep cracks.

[Molt skill activated]

Before I could bleed out, I molted and healed all my injuries.

"Apex!"

Kali and the others climbed to their feet. All nursing small injuries except for Alazar and Ala, who were bitten by the worms.

Kali rushed forward to take a look at their injuries, and at the same time, I covered the ground in obsidian and created an earth structure to barracade them before I took to the skies once again.

Around me were several worms, deep in the soil. If I killed and devoured them, then I would gain biomass. Then from the biomass I gained, I could purchase more evolutions.

I’ll continue this process of killing and evolving until killing these monsters is as easy as squashing a bug.

[10 biomass has been spent to upgrade your venom gland.]