A Side Character's Mission ↠ Solo Leveling

Chapter 47: The Ant King 2

'It cracked?' The Ant King looked down at its own exoskeleton on its abdomen. 'Impossible. Against this body of mine...!'

While it was taken aback, Jin-Woo continued striking it. The ant abruptly extended its long, purple tongue, which grazed Jin-Woo's cheek.

'Is it poison?' Jin-Woo questioned himself as the color of his cheeks darkened to purple.

Paralytic Poison, one of the most toxic poisons ever generated by a living organism, was inadvertently absorbed by consuming cone snails. After it was combined and condensed with magical energy in its body, it became much more deadly.

"You seem to be having a bit of trouble, human."  The Ant King said in jest.

"Die."

It swung its arm at Jin-Woo, but Jin-Woo took hold of it, causing the Ant King to become agitated. Jin-Woo then punched it back.

[Cure poison has been completed]

'I thought it was strangely happy but was it cause of the poison? Maybe it's due to my sense stats getting higher but I can sense its emotion.' Jin-Woo scrutinized the ant.

'It is definitely getting nervous. But the same goes for us...'

As time went on, Cha Hae-In's condition deteriorated and her life was in danger. In addition, he had no idea where Seungeun was.

'I must still finish this as quickly as possible!'

The kick coming from above shocked the ant. The dust dispersed and The Ant King was gone when Jin-Woo landed on the ground.

"Where did it go?!" Yoon-Ho asked.

"It disappeared!"

The Ant King was flying in the air, its wings flapping in behind it. 'Not even 'poison' worked on him. A battle of strength would be just a waste of time.' The ant silently calculated. 'If my enemy specialized in strength, there's no need for me to face him head on. My true power is speed. I'll compress my body that I expanded earlier to focus solely on speed. Fun time for you is now over.'

Jin-Woo took two daggers, one in each hand, from his inventory.

The ant moved swiftly and extended its claw towards Jinwoo's direction.

'He evaded?!'

Jin-Woo suddenly materialized next to The Ant King and attempted to stab it, but the ant quickly blocked the blow with its claws before hurling Jin-Woo into the air. He sprang again to strike the ant after quickly landing on the cave's wall.

'Not only is he catching up on my speed but he is getting faster. What in the world!' The monster was taken aback.

'He might be on the same level as the demon king or maybe even higher.' Jin-Woo calmly thought. 'However, compared to back then, I've since obtained a stronger weapon. And also grew stronger by defeating him. Also without a doubt, his exoskeleton has gotten considerably damaged. I can end this!'

He kept attacking the ant until it was unable to respond.

'Now.'

[Skill: 'vital strike' activated]

He went after the ant's weak spots.

[Skill: 'vital strike' has been upgraded to its final form 'mutilate'.]

"An upgrade ? Mutilate huh ..."

[Mutilate lv. max]

The system signal briefly distracted Jin-Woo, which gave the ant the opportunity to flee.