Couldn't My Reincarnation have been more Cliche!

Chapter 12 (Memento Mori) Part 1

This break of the ant's attention gave me a moment's rest to recollect myself, this moment was short-lived. With the ant noticing my state immediately resumed attacking
My feet skittered down the slope which I had taken so much effort to climb earlier. No longer caring about the white tentacles tracing across the ground, my foot briefly fell on top of one, crushing it into a white smear along the ground before disappearing again, keeping my body in constant motion.


As I pushed forwards, I glanced over my shoulder only to see the small red ant idly standing at the top of the hill; its hazy eyes looked at the stony wall above like it was the only thing that existed in its world, it's body shook for an instant as if waking from a dream its head slowly tilted towards me, sending shivers up my spine.

Its hallowed eyes stared at me with a piercing gaze looking at me strangely, compared to the mindless bug-like eyes that I had seen from all the other ants, this gaze, was one that seemed wholly unlike a bug, containing some unknown hunger.

It flung itself into the air, thrusting its tentacles onto the jagged remnants of a boulder, redirecting its body to land at my side. it landed beside me, it wasted no time in sending a flurry of attacks in my direction. Its partially translucent limbs blew past the dust surrounding its body as they closed in on me.

The ant had managed to close the distance between us while I was still mid-run, leaving me with little choice but to take the attack head-on. Wrapping my hand tightly around the blade in my right hand, I twisted my body towards the attack, bringing my blade forward in a sweeping motion. Masses of flesh filled the space in front of me as my blade continued its arc into the first tentacle, slicing through it at a diagonal angle, sending its decapitated tip into the air.

After slicing through the first tentacle, my wrist bent downwards, sending my sword in the opposing direction into another tentacle that had arced below the tip of the blade, biting into its midsection, carving a smooth cut across its surface. The tentacle landed harmlessly beside me before recoiling in shock. The ant reacted to my defense almost as soon as it began, redirecting one of its tentacles to go for my side. As I noticed this new threat, my feet hit the ground, halting my precious sprint.

My sword was already slicing through the air towards the third tentacle, but after dealing with the first two in rapid succession, I had no confidence in being able to intercept the third. An effect the ant was likely counting on, as its attack near my side with deadly intent. I Shoved myself backward, the tentacle nearly missed my body just glancing at me, ribbing my dress as it forced me backward. I countered with my sword sending a splatter of green liquid onto my skin as it cleaved into the fleeing tentacle. Though I had hadn't been injured The force from the impact was enough to send me sputtering to one knee, my hands ringing in pain from having to absorb so much force.

This wasn't good; these words repeated like an alarm inside my head. Letting out a heavy breath, my eyes tilted towards the ground. I couldn't help but feel how outmatched I was. In that brief exchange of blows, I had to use my full strength to barely avoid a critical injury. This wasn't a sustainable situation from any perspective. Sighing to myself, I briefly opened the system menu only to be met with the disappointing grayed-out symbol of my cloak skill. I wanted to examine the system more for the cause, but as a glow began to flicker off the stone ground in front of me, I could tell the ant wasn't about to let me get any time to breathe, let alone think. Rising unsteadily to my feet, I was met with the ant, an unsteady orange light obscuring its features.

My heart raced, and I dove over a boulder behind me, using it as cover. Every sense of fear I had was telling me I had to run or else I was going to turn into a charred pork skewer, but I knew I had to put those instincts aside right now while I was effectively staring down the barrel of a loaded cannon. It wasn't like I could dodge, at least not in my current state. Peering over the edge of the rock, all I could see was a gradually intensifying light. At one moment, it seemed to solidify only to dim again like the flickering of a candle in a dark room. The constant dimming showed that it was struggling to maintain its attack.


Opening the system panel, I frantically skimmed through it, trying to find something to protect me. I glanced through the armor section only to be left exasperated at how expensive everything was. I really wanted to yell that poverty wasn't a crime. The system struggled to keep up with my hectic thoughts as it flipped from the quest menu, then to the map page where I was able to catch a glimpse of three red dots following a large group of other dots heading toward my location, before it flipped back to a rapidly scrolling weapon page. Scanning through row after row of useless items, my desperation was on the verge of overcoming my better judgment to try and flee. Before it could, I saw what I had been looking for.