Alvaric opened his eyes. Almost his entire body was destroyed, except for his torso and head. He had lost both arms and legs. Yet, he was still alive. The surprising part was that he was now inside the stomach of the Giant Sandworm. Slowly but surely, his arms and legs began to regenerate.
What shocked him most was that he was still alive. "So my suspicion was right."
Alvaric's body regenerated, but his HP remained at 1. It wouldn't increase or decrease as long as the Shield Regeneration skill was active. This gave him a chance. Alvaric didn't understand how he had acquired such an incredible skill, but now was not the time to think about it.
He stood up and looked around. Acidic liquid was beneath his feet. His feet were slowly blistering, but he had grown used to the pain. Around him were soft, red, pulsating walls. It was the inside of the Giant Sandworm.
That's right, Alvaric was now inside the stomach of the massive monster. His eyes searched the area, looking for his Vappers Dagger. He needed that weapon.
"Ah, there it is." Alvaric walked to the right. As he moved, he nearly fell into the acidic pool inside. He quickly pulled himself back up. "I thought it was shallow. Turns out I was standing on another monster."
Alvaric didn't know what kind of monster he had stepped on, but one thing was certain—it was large and had a hard shell. He didn't focus on that. He needed to retrieve his Vappers Dagger no matter what. The dagger was about 20–35 meters away.
Not far, but separating him and the dagger was the acidic liquid that kept melting his body. He could swim, but at the risk of his skin dissolving and only bones remaining. The one thing he still feared was his internal organs being destroyed. Could he still survive that? He wasn't sure.
When fighting the Prince of Ant Bee, the Shield Regeneration skill made him untouchable. But when it was active and he was attacked by the Giant Sandworm, it seemed ineffective. He still took damage—his limbs were destroyed. There were no guarantees.
"What should I do?" Alvaric thought.
Time kept moving. He didn't have much left. Standing still wasn't a wise option. That would be the same as waiting to die. Alvaric took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He nodded—he had no other choice.
His heartbeat doubled in pace. He was extremely anxious and scared. Death always frightened people. Even though he had nearly died many times, imagining himself dying was still terrifying.
Alvaric closed his eyes and jumped. He swam as fast as he could toward the Vappers Dagger. Slowly, his body felt like it was being dragged downward. His skin and flesh began to dissolve from the acid inside the Giant Sandworm. It made his body heavier.
"Please! Let this work!" Alvaric said, full of hope. "God, help me!"
For the first time, Alvaric prayed to a god. A second later, his hand grabbed something. He pulled himself up and made it. As his eyes recovered, he clearly saw his own white bones.
He grabbed the Vappers Dagger, stood up, and looked upward. Alvaric didn't know if it would work, but it was worth trying.
"If this fails, then I'll die!" Alvaric said.
He jumped toward the inner wall of the Giant Sandworm's body. With the Vappers Dagger, he stabbed the monster repeatedly. Suddenly, everything started shaking. Alvaric's body was flung far away. He was now far from his footing.
"Damn. I got careless."
He tried swimming back to that platform. Unfortunately, his skin and flesh started dissolving again. His body slowly sank into the acidic liquid.
Alvaric tried to keep swimming, but it was impossible. He kept sinking, his flesh nearly gone. His internal organs began to show. Alvaric clicked his tongue in frustration. He was mad at himself—too eager to slash the Giant Sandworm's inner wall out of rage. That made him lose focus.
Alvaric gave a small smile. "If this is where I end... at least—no, give me one more chance!"
The acid suddenly trembled and rose. It pushed Alvaric's body upward rapidly. In just a few seconds, he was ejected from the Giant Sandworm's body. He wasn't the only one—several creatures the worm had eaten were also thrown out.
Alvaric's body was launched far into the air. For several minutes, he hadn't yet fallen back down. "I did it."
[Shield Regeneration Ended.]
Alvaric scratched his head. He only had a sliver of HP left. If he fell and hit anything, he would take fall damage—and die. Alvaric thought it was ridiculous. If he had the choice, he'd rather die inside the Sandworm's belly than from falling.
But if there was another option, Alvaric would choose to live.
"Master, I found you."
Alvaric frowned upon hearing that. The voice was somewhat familiar, but he didn't recall having any followers or subordinates who would call him "Master." A second later, something touched his body—cradled him—and gently brought him down.
After that, Alvaric was carefully set down. It was... very strange.
"Who are you?" Alvaric asked. He took a few steps back and readied his stance. "Are you trying to kill me?" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁
Instead of attacking, the creature knelt before Alvaric. It showed respect and submission. Alvaric, seeing this, was puzzled. He didn't recall ever taking in a disciple or anything like that. He scratched his head, confused.
"I am the Princess of Ant Bee. A pleasure to meet you, my lord," the creature introduced herself. "You may call me whatever you wish."
"Princess of Ant Bee? Are you the sibling of the Prince of Ant Bee?"
The Princess of Ant Bee tilted her head. "I don't understand what you mean."
Alvaric explained about the Prince of Ant Bee he had fought before. But the Princess of Ant Bee didn't seem to recognize the monster. Their forms were indeed similar, but with a few differences. Most notably, the Princess's chest was more pronounced, her eyes were blue, she had a pair of wings, and her skin was red.
"You really don't know the Prince of Ant Bee?" Alvaric asked again.
The Princess of Ant Bee shook her head. "Forgive my ignorance, but I truly don't know anything about that."
Alvaric was puzzled. But he sighed and nodded. He wouldn't dwell on that now. There was a more important question.
"Why did you call me Master?" Alvaric asked.