In Danmachi with My System

A wet, dense pop sounded like a blade piercing flesh. I felt something hot and thick splatter my face. Blood. My mind screamed at me to shut my eyes, and I did just in time to avoid being blinded by the liquid. The metallic smell filled my nostrils, and for a second I thought the ant's giant paw had pierced me.

But when my eyes focused on what was in front of me, I realized it wasn't me who had been impaled.

The one who had just received the final blow was the monster.

My fingers, stiff and drenched in sweat, still held the hilt of my chainsword. The curved blade was buried in the ant's belly up to the hilt. I had managed to fit it exactly where I needed it, in the weak spot between the plates of its exoskeleton.

As I said, I could not bleed. So the warm liquid covering me was not my blood, but the purple liquid flowing inside that thing.

I stood there for a second with the sword in my hand and the ant's body shaking. I held my breath as I watched the sharp claws fall toward me.

Then, just as its front paw brushed my forehead, the monster's movement slowed. There was no roar of pain. And as if someone had flipped a switch in its brain, the paw that was about to rip my head off a second ago stopped altogether millimeters from my face.

I breathed.

For an instant, the ant seemed to inflate, as if something inside it was building up pressure. Its exoskeleton lost its reddish glow and became dull and gray. And then, without warning, it exploded in a cloud of dust.

"Shit." I immediately regretted parting my lips. I quickly waved my hands to wipe my face with my sleeve.

I already knew what had happened, and at some point you could even say it was planned. Or at least planned in the last second thanks to my quick reaction.

The magic stones.

Every adventurer knew how they worked, or at least if you wanted to survive more than five minutes in this hole, you knew. The monsters here weren't really "alive" in the traditional sense. They were more like some sort of magical body―beings with a core.

Rose said that the Magic Stones were their heart, their source of energy, and the only reason they could exist. When you killed a monster, you could extract the Magic Stone. Only then would the monster's body crumble into dust.

But if you destroyed the Magic Stone while the monster was still alive, it would immediately disintegrate.

This was what happened to the ant. My attack had been precise enough to break its stone before it could do any more damage to me, and its entire body had turned to dust on the spot.

Of course, in order to accomplish the latter, one would have to know exactly where its core was. In this case, the killer ant had it in its belly. That stupid ant dug its own grave the moment climbed on top of me and exposed its underside.

"Damn... I destroyed my money."

Magic stones were valuable resources, an adventurer's main source of income. Therefore, one wouldn't really focus on destroying the Magic Stone if possible, unless it was absolutely necessary.

In my case, I had no choice but to inflict 'critical damage', otherwise I would be dead already. The least I could do now was to curse and spit on the place where the ant was.

After confirming that my HP bar had not dropped from the last hit, I sighed, jumped up, and prepared for the next round. The other two ants were still there. Even from a considerable distance, the sound caused by those jaws scraping against each other reached here. 

The first ant was half unconscious, staggering as if it had drunk too much. I figured it wouldn't cause me much trouble.

The second, however, was still fresh. It hadn't taken a good hit that would put it at a disadvantage.

With a quick movement, I swung my sword. The metal emitted a spark in the darkness as it scraped the stone floor.

Swosh! The wind ruffled my hair as a shadow approached from the side. I spun just in time to avoid the onslaught of the second.

Surprisingly, the ants were fast. Of course they were fast, but with their size, I was hoping that at least their stats weren't so deceptive. They had super speed, an attack that could cut through iron, and a defense that could block swords.

Could they cheat any more?!

I ran to the nearest wall, using the irregularities in the rock to gain some advantage. The ants might be fast, but they weren't exactly agile. If I could stay out of their direct reach, I could think of a strategy.

But strategizing... that's never been my strong suit. I preferred to confront my opponent directly. That adrenaline rush you get when you're one step away from death...

The second ant attacked again. This time I jumped aside and rolled over the rough ground as its body slammed into the wall, kicking up clouds of dust. I took advantage of its moment of clumsiness to hurl my chainsword at another of its joints. A loud crunch of flesh being severed echoed at the same time as the crack of the exoskeleton fracturing was heard.

I did not stop to see if it would fall. There was no time to measure the effectiveness of my attacks, for the first ant was already upon me, its sharp legs scratching the ground with dizzying speed, even with its wound. Its blurred silhouette appeared before me.

The closing claw closed in front of my face in an instant. Without panicking, I raised the chain sword and blocked its attack with the blade. There was a violent crack. Simultaneously, my body was pushed out a few steps.

[305 HP/700 HP]

I glanced at the HUD. With this HP, I could only withstand up to three direct hits at the most. I wished that I had enough time to draw a HP potion and drink it, but the ants clearly disdained that idea.

The first ant was the closest, and it was its next attack as well. I let it miss, and at the same moment, I tensed my leg muscles before throwing a kick under its chin. A stinging pain sparked in my right foot and shot to my brain. Damn defense! At least the impact sent it flying several meters.

The distance between me and the first one gave me enough room to take care of the second one. As the ant charged at me, I flicked my wrist, extending the chain, and just as the antennae tried to react, I wrapped it around its neck. The chain tightened, crackled, and the head was caught.

The monster jerked and struggled, trying to change its trajectory, but before it could, I propelled myself forward and leapt over it. It was a high jump, almost in slow motion. As I passed over its body, I grabbed the hilt of the sword and used my weight to pull on the chain with everything I had.

Ant tried to continue its attack, but the pull was too much even for it. My body fell, and with the momentum I carried, the force of my fall pulled on the chain until it creaked. The monster's body came to an abrupt halt, its neck twisting violently, and the next thing I knew I was rolling on the ground. The ant, its neck trapped and no longer in control, pulled itself up by inertia and rolled over me.

The next thing I heard was a dull crunch as the ant fell heavily to the ground, its back hitting the stone with a thud.

I struggled to my feet, sweat trickling down my forehead and my breath catching in my throat. I cut off the ant's head to make sure it was truly dead.

As soon as I straightened up, the last ant appeared in a dark blur at my side. My eyes cringed as I saw one of its front legs approach my neck.