The ground trembled again as the Wardens clicked in sequence, and the vibration climbed into Arvey’s legs and ribs. His teeth buzzed, and the circle inside him stuttered for half a breath before he forced it back into rhythm. The Wardens spread out as they left the mouth, forming a shallow arc that tried to hem him in. Their chitin shells made them look like black plates sliding over dark soil.
Arvey stepped forward first, cutting their arc before it closed, driving the fight away from the entrance in controlled movements. The first Warden lunged low, mandibles spread, forcing Arvey to step aside while keeping his shoulders square. He stabbed at a joint seam and felt the point scrape armor, then pulled back fast before the Warden could clamp.
The Warden answered the failed stab with a hard click that slammed into the soil. The vibration rolled through Arvey’s boots and climbed into his knees before he could shift his weight. His balance softened for a heartbeat, and his vision narrowed just long enough for his daggers to rise a fraction too high. The second Warden read the opening immediately and drove in from the side, shoulder first, plates grinding against the dirt as it built speed. Arvey took the impact in his shoulder and ribs, sliding on packed soil while forcing his feet to stay under him through a sharp exhale. “Damn it,” Arvey said while dragging one boot back to regain traction. He caught himself before he fell, shoved off the ground, and cut away from the next bite line with a quick step. Grit touched his tongue when his lips parted, and he forced his jaw shut to keep his focus. Kozlo skimmed in at the edge of the ram, striking shallow at an antenna before pulling away again just before the Warden could snap upward.
“Surface only,” Arvey said under his breath, keeping his eyes on the plates. “Don’t get grabbed, Kozlo,” he said, speaking fast between breaths. “You distract, I finish,” he added, keeping his daggers ready. “Distract them,” Kozlo hooted once, then dove again. The owl raked talons across the nearest face plate, clipping an antenna and forcing the creature to jerk its head. The clicking pattern broke for a second, and Arvey used that second to get inside the arc. He stabbed at the soft seam under the head, then rolled away when the third Warden tried to clip him with its shoulder.
The Wardens adjusted, showing they were not dumb brutes. They stopped rushing in straight lines and started moving like a unit, one body holding center while the other two tried to close the sides. The center Warden kept clicking in slow pulses, and each pulse pushed a vibration through the dirt that made Arvey’s ankles feel loose for a fraction. The two flankers used those fractions, ramming forward in short bursts and snapping their mandibles to force Arvey’s daggers up. Arvey kept his mana circulation steady, controlling his breath to keep the circle alive while his feet kept sliding and resetting. He couldn’t afford a stutter now, because the moment his circle broke, the next pulse would catch him planted. Kozlo stayed disciplined, landing quick shallow strikes on eyes and antennae, then retreating to a branch or root before they could harm him, and every strike made a Warden’s head jerk just enough to spoil its timing.
Arvey looked for a kill pattern instead of trading hits. The plates were too strong for careless stabs, and three bodies meant he would get boxed in if he got greedy. He waited for Kozlo to steal their sight, then he attacked the soft seams that showed when they reared or turned. He stepped left, baiting a lunge, then dropped low and stabbed into the underside near a front leg joint. The point bit deeper there, and the Warden clicked in pain, stumbling half a step.
The second Warden clicked hard, and the vibration slammed into Arvey’s ribs again. His breath caught, but he forced the mana circle to keep moving by tightening his stomach and exhaling slow.
“Eyes and antennae,” Arvey said, louder now, moving while speaking. “Make them blind,” he said, shifting his feet to stay off the pulse timing. “One second is enough,” he added. Kozlo answered with action, diving to rake across the nearest face and pecking at the softer eye tissue where plates didn’t fully cover. The Warden jerked its head, clicking in an uneven stutter, and its vibration pulse came late. Arvey used the late pulse to close distance, stepping in at an angle that kept him out of the mandibles.
He drove both daggers in sequence, first using the left blade to catch the edge of a plate and pull it off-line, then punching the right blade through the exposed strip at the neck base. The point sank into wet resistance, and the Warden’s front legs buckled for a moment as its head dropped. Arvey felt the body sag and heard the clicking turn ragged, but he didn’t wait to see if it would fall. The other two were already closing, their plates scraping dirt as they pushed in to trap him. He yanked the blade free, pivoted on his back foot, and used the turn to keep both Wardens in front of him. Dirt came up under his boot when he kicked, and it struck the second Warden’s face line in a gritty burst to buy a precious second. Kozlo dove in on that same beat and clipped the Warden’s antenna, forcing its head to jerk back and the next pulse to land late.
The wounded Warden tried to retreat, crawling backward while clicking a warning rhythm that sounded like a call for help. Arvey refused to let it escape, because he didn’t want it disappearing. He chased in short steps, keeping his center low so a vibration pulse wouldn’t catch him planted. The other two Wardens tried to slide into his flanks, and Arvey kept turning with them so he never had one behind him. He kept the mana circle steady despite the ache building in his shoulders, forcing each exhale long enough to keep control. The first Warden clicked again, sending a pulse into the ground. Arvey felt his balance wobble mid-step as his heel hit loose dirt. Kozlo skimmed in at the exact moment and pecked the clicking Warden’s eye ridge, breaking the timing and cutting the pulse short. Arvey used the moment to close on the wounded one.
The pulse weakened, as Arvey reached it. Its head lifted to bite, but its sight was compromised and its movement slowed from the neck wound. Arvey slipped under the mandibles, driving the dagger deeper into the same seam with a controlled thrust. The Warden jerked, then clicked once in a low, broken sound. Mana pulled into Arvey’s chest in a sharp rush, and he knew the first of the three had died. “One down,” Arvey said. “Two more to go," he added, keeping his eyes on the remaining two Wardens.
He didn’t stop moving after the kill. Arvey backed away from the body, keeping the remaining Wardens in view. He dragged the dead Warden’s bulk into his peripheral vision and used it like an obstacle, forcing the two survivors to circle wider instead of charging clean. His forearms burned from gripping and stabbing, and his knee felt tight from constant pivots as he reset his footing on packed dirt and crushed chitin. The two Wardens reoriented fast, spreading again to rebuild their arc and push him back toward the entrance, their plates scraping the soil in a steady hiss. Kozlo landed on a root behind Arvey with wings half-open, watching for another chance to strike and staying ready to dive the moment Arvey called for eyes.
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The nearest Warden did not rush right away, and that pause felt worse than a charge. “I hate when they coordinate,” Arvey muttered, keeping his shoulders loose. The first Warden clicked in short bursts, and the second answered. The ground trembled in alternating pulses that tried to catch Arvey mid-step. Arvey adjusted by moving on half-beats, refusing to plant his weight when the vibration peaked. The mana circle stayed alive, but it tightened every time a pulse hit, and he had to adjust his breathing to hold control.
“Keep their faces busy,” Arvey said to Kozlo without losing the line. The pulses alternated again, and Arvey mistimed one step when the ground shook under his heel. One Warden used the opening. A plated shoulder slammed into his ribs from the side, and pain flashed through his chest and back. He kept both daggers up and refused to fold. He staggered one step, then planted and shoved back, dragging the fight toward open ground so they could not pin him against roots.
A thick branch lay across the dirt like a low barrier, and Arvey used it on purpose, forcing the Wardens to step over it instead of charging clean. The moment a Warden lifted its front plates to clear the branch, a soft seam showed under the head and at the front leg joint. Arvey snapped a thrust into it. Kozlo pecked at an eye ridge at the same time, stealing sight for a heartbeat. The Warden’s head jerked away from Arvey’s dagger. In that moment, Arvey pulled out fast and slid sideways, keeping his shoulder off the next ram line. The Wardens clicked again, and the soil shook hard enough to loosen dirt around his boots, but he kept moving on the half-beat so the vibration would not catch him planted.
“Short hits, then out, Kozlo!” Arvey said, keeping his eyes on the Warden's faces. Kozlo answered by diving shallow, snapping at the antenna base, then retreating to a root. One Warden tried to track Kozlo instead of Arvey, turning its head too far. Arvey used that mistake, lunging in, he drove a dagger into the exposed neck strip, twisting enough to widen the damage.
The Warden convulsed, legs scraping dirt, and it tried to ram him. Arvey took the shove on his shoulder and rolled with it, staying upright, keeping the blade in. He stabed deeper with the second dagger, targeting the same strip from a slightly different angle. The creature clicked one last time as its head sagged.
Mana pulled into Arvey’s chest again, heavier than the first pull, and it didn’t settle neatly. It stacked behind his ribs like pressure waiting for release, and Arvey felt heat under his sternum. He stepped back, breathing controlled. He kept the circle moving to keep that pressure from turning into pain. He looked at the last Warden and saw it hesitate, clicking slower, reading him. Arvey realized his body was close to a threshold, and he didn’t need anyone to tell him what it meant.
“I’m close,” he said in a low voice, keeping his eyes on the last Warden. “Tier three.” The words came out strained, because the pressure in his chest made speaking feel heavy.
Kozlo landed near him with bright eyes and answered Arvey with a short hoot, sounding eager and tense. The owl’s Tier two presence felt sharper now that Arvey was near a jump. The last Warden clicked and the ground trembled, but the pulse felt weaker than the earlier stacked attacks. It was alone now, and it had lost the rhythm of coordination.
“Kozlo,” Arvey said in a low voice, keeping his feet moving. “I will handle the rest alone." He advanced, forcing the Warden to back away from the entrance even more, keeping open ground behind it so it could not retreat into the hole. The creature tried to ram him, but its timing was off and its sight was compromised from earlier shallow strikes.
Arvey shifted left, baiting the Warden, then stepped inside the mandibles when the head turned wrong. The Warden tried to correct, but Arvey was already there, shoulder pressed into plated mass, driving it off-line. He jammed his first dagger into the neck seam and did not pull it out clean. He dragged the blade through the opening, widening it, then slammed the point back in deeper. The clicking turned ragged, and the vibration pulses came late and weak.
Arvey stayed on it without mercy. He used the dagger to wrench the head aside, then drove the second dagger into the same seam from the opposite angle and twisted until the plates stopped fighting him. The Warden tried to ram him, but Arvey kept his weight low and braced on a root, then shoved forward and pinned the body to the ground. He stabbed again and again into the soft strip, short thrusts, no wasted motion, until the creature’s legs stopped pushing. The last click broke in its throat and died. Mana surged into Arvey’s chest in a violent pull. The pressure that had been stacking finally reached its limit.
Arvey straightened first while his chest still burned. His mana expanded outward in a single shockwave, pushing against the air and the ground around him. Loose dirt lifted and scattered, and he felt the pressure roll off his skin in one clean burst. He stepped back only after the wave passed, setting his feet wider to keep balance. “Finally,” Arvey said, forcing the word out while his breath returned. “Tier three,” he added, keeping his eyes on the entrance anyway. His breath left him and then returned in a controlled inhale as the circle snapped into a stronger rhythm. The Tier three pressure settled around him.
Kozlo held position, wings half-open, watching Arvey with wide eyes. "TIER 3!", the owl shouted in excitement. "Yeah," Arvey said with a grin, looking over at Kozlo while flexing his fingers. He felt how clean his hands responded, even after a fight that should have left him shaking. The mana circle had helped him. His body felt stronger than it had before he started circulating the mana. “Seems like my body is absorbing mana steadily while it circulates in it.” He looked at the dead Warden on the ground and then at the hole, listening for more clicking.
Nothing came immediately, and Arvey refused to chase into the hole while his body was still adjusting. He backed away from the entrance a few steps, then chose a tall tree with a thick lower trunk and a wide branch. He kept his daggers in hand while he climbed, pulling himself up fast. Kozlo flew up after him and landed on the same branch, still alert and ready to dive if something moved. Arvey nodded once and said in a calm voice, “Good work.” Kozlo puffed his chest once.
“We pause now,” Arvey said as he sat down with his back against the trunk and folded his legs into a cross-legged seat. He closed his eyes, forcing his shoulders down, and guided the mana into circulation again. The circle felt bigger now, filling more space inside him, and it moved with much less resistance. Pain didn’t hit the way it had before, and that told him the threshold had changed.
He kept his breathing slow to maintain control. Mana slid through his arms and returned to his chest with a stronger pull, then moved down into his legs and back again without stalling. Arvey opened his eyes and watched his hands for a moment, testing grip and steadiness. Something in his hands felt different, a change he couldn’t name yet. He opened and closed his fists twice and felt the response come quicker and cleaner. He rolled his wrists once, then let his hands rest on his knees.
Arvey stayed in the cross-legged posture and kept the circle moving, getting familiar with Tier three without forcing anything. He knew his new power was not enough for the forest, but he felt more capable and more safe now. He let the circulation settle into a rhythm he could maintain, because what he was about to do would be tough.
He looked toward the tunnel entrance and said, "Let's fight the lion in its den."
LitRPG Cultivation Weak to Strong Isekai
When Death Magic collides with Immortality.
Mo Fan transmigrated to the Cultivation World with a broken body and "Trash Spirit Roots." He has no future in traditional cultivation.
However, he brought a unique cheat: The power to command death. Armed with his System, he will start from zero and shock the world.
What to Expect
Smart MC Ruthless World No Harem Optimistic
- From bottom of the food chain to apex predator
- Unique fusion of Necromancy & Dao
- Modern tactics crushing ancient traditions