Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 60: Something is wrong

The [Mutated Acidic Worm] is also a mutated monster that has never appeared before. If Su'en hadn't seen its habits with the All-Knowing Eye, he wouldn't have been puzzled.

But now he knows, and doubts arise.

Why did these non-aggressive worms fall from their nests?

"They generally don't leave their nests unless they face a life-threatening threat." This explanation is particularly eye-catching. What exactly threatened their lives?

Did the academy instructors want to increase the difficulty of the trial?

A sense of unease flashed through Su'en's mind, but he didn't have time to think about it. The group of students had already run out of the acid pool and rushed towards the hidden tunnel entrance where he was hiding.

.......

"Oh, it's so disgusting. This slimy mucus almost made me vomit my breakfast."

"Damn it! What kind of bug is this? I've never heard of it before..."

"Can someone help me wash off the mucus on my clothes? I feel like I can't breathe..."

"..."

The students abandoned their mechanical shields and heavy equipment and ran over, covered in green slime, looking very miserable.

However, it was clear that these worms were just appetizers.

Su'en's gaze was focused on the depths of the passage, as if searching for something. He hadn't forgotten that there was a note behind the worm's description that said "the mature form is highly aggressive."

Since this was the larvae's nest, the mature monsters must be nearby!

The female assistant instructor, Rosa, also realized this and stopped the students who wanted to take off their combat suits on the spot. She said, "Everyone, be careful. The next wave of monsters may be coming! Everyone, unlock your alchemical implants and prepare for battle!"

At her command, the students who hadn't unlocked their implants before also activated their alchemical formations one by one. Various magnificent alchemical implants were like a high-end exhibition, dazzling Su'en's titanium alloy eyes.

[Diamond Dragon's Skin], [Magma Demon's Flame Core], [Thunder Serpent's Eye], [Rampaging Demon Muscle of the Velociraptor]... and a familiar type of implant, the Cross Society cadre's [Thousand Kill Feather Wings]!

The complexity of the alchemical formations on the ground indicated the level of the alchemical implants. There was not a single black iron implant!

Su'en had only seen silver implants in the Complete Guide to Alchemical Implants, and there were even several students with suspected gold implants.

As soon as the alchemical implants were unlocked, the entire team's momentum changed instantly.

(Note: Unlocking the implants consumes dark spiritual power, and low-level practitioners cannot maintain the unlocked state for a long time.)

"..."

Su'en looked at these students, his gaze slightly stagnant.

He had spent all his money to obtain a gold implant blueprint, but he hadn't even found the main materials yet. Now, these students who hadn't even left the school had easily equipped themselves with top-of-the-line implants.

However, after witnessing the luxurious equipment of these little nouveau riche, he wasn't too surprised.

Of course, there were always exceptions among this group of arrogant little lions.

Assistant instructor Rosa's words made everyone aware of the crisis, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

And at this moment, Su'en once again felt a gaze from the crowd directed at him.

He turned his head and saw Charlie, the chubby guy, looking at him with a weak pleading look, as if saying, "See, I told you it was dangerous. Brother, you should understand~"

Almost all the students in the class had unlocked their alchemical implants, except for the few stragglers in Charlie's team.

Not that they didn't want to, but because they couldn't.

The only one left was the black iron implant that Su'en had overlooked, the [Ironhead Dragon's Mushroom Skull], an implant that enhanced survivability but had an extremely ugly appearance.

Perhaps his talent was too poor, and he couldn't fuse high-quality implants. He could only reluctantly equip this thing.

The other chubby guys were not even practitioners!

After all, money could assist in cultivation, but it couldn't completely replace it.

Advanced practitioners needed to reach the standard of dark spiritual power, which required countless days and nights of arduous meditation. For many people, it was an extremely difficult process. The more they wanted to join the workforce as soon as possible, the higher their self-discipline needed to be.

Obviously, Charlie was not the kind of person who could be disciplined in his cultivation.

Su'en once again showed a wry smile, but he nodded at Charlie, who then turned his head in relief.

.......

Obviously, Su'en's worries were not unfounded.

Assistant instructor Rosa's reminder prevented the students from being caught off guard again.

After the white worms fell and shattered on the ground, it didn't take long for a chain reaction to occur.

Although they didn't see any distorted monsters for the time being, the dense and eerie "squeak squeak squeak" cries came from the deep holes in the ceiling...

In this dark underground cave, it made people's hair stand on end.

"They're coming!"

Su'en's eyesight allowed him to see the monsters before anyone else.

Suddenly, some flying creatures that looked like bats and moths burst out of the caves where the worms had fallen.

[Mutated Fleshwing Moth]

Explanation: 'Blue-eyed Poison Moth' that has undergone mutations due to environmental influences; although they are fragile, their mouthparts have extremely strong armor-piercing abilities and can inject a deadly neurotoxin; they are abnormally sensitive to luminous objects and highly aggressive!

"So, these are the mature forms of those worms?"Su'en looked at the giant moth in the distance, about half a meter long, with bat-like wings and a long proboscis, his expression slightly serious.

Without any hesitation, he immediately hid all the reflective and glowing items on his body behind his trench coat.

Before he could warn anyone, the moth swarm descended from the sky in an instant.

At this moment, Assistant Rosa quickly approached Su'en and kindly reminded him, "Mr. Guide, don't stray too far from me."

This was a trial for the students, not a death sentence for the guide. Seeing Su'en's "simple equipment", she naturally wanted to help if she could. She didn't want the guide to die here just after the trial had begun.

"Okay."

Su'en nodded, not refusing this kindness, and replied, "Thank you."

Although the monsters were fast, he could clearly distinguish and capture almost every approaching moth through his left eye.

He didn't prepare to draw his gun, but instead reached for the two Nepalese curved knives he had made himself at his waist.

Knowing that these moths were attracted to light, it was best not to use a gun, otherwise the flash would definitely attract more moths. Although he hadn't shown much close combat ability in the past, Su'en, who had mastered intermediate swordsmanship, was not weak in close combat!

......

Su'en instantly learned about the moths' phototactic behavior through his All-Knowing Eye, but the students didn't know about it.

Moreover, the energy symbols on their combat suits (to prevent friendly fire in the dark), their implants, and the glow of their spells were all sources of light that couldn't be concealed.

In the darkness, they were particularly glaring.

As soon as the swarm of moths descended, they immediately rushed towards the students.

For a moment, gunfire erupted, and all kinds of dazzling spells were thrown at the swarm of monsters without hesitation.

But this time, their "money power" didn't seem to be as effective.

The previous battle had used too many heavy weapons, some needed to cool down, and some were left in the acid...

Although they killed a large number of moths under concentrated fire, the sudden burst of light made the moth swarm even more "excited".

They enveloped the entire team like a sandstorm in an instant.

Su'en didn't dare to approach the students' team, he found a dark corner and crouched down. This was a trial for the students, not for him. Even so, he still killed several moths that were flying around him with his knife.

"Now those students are in for a tough time..."

Su'en looked at the students who were still using flames to kill monsters, and knew that their "money power" was definitely going to take a hit this time.

Experienced hunters knew that dealing with mutant monsters was not a one-size-fits-all approach, they needed to observe the monsters' habits. If they found the right technique, they might be able to achieve a lot with a little; if they didn't, even high-level professionals could be killed by low-level monsters.

Just like now, the students were using fire spells against a swarm of moths that were sensitive to light sources. Regardless of how effective they were at killing the enemy, they were indeed good at attracting them.

These moths, upon seeing a light source, would fearlessly rush over in a frenzy!

Moreover, flying monsters were much more agile than the previous land monsters.

The all-around three-dimensional attack also made the students' defense line virtually useless.

Moreover, because the monsters had the ability to dodge obstacles as agilely as bats, the damage that firearms could cause was very limited. Without superb marksmanship, they couldn't even hope to hit them.

......

"Captain Jack, what do we do?!"

"Damn it, these moths are interfering with my sight, I can't aim at all. Shooting their wings is useless, if we can't hit their heads, we can't kill them!"

"What kind of monsters are these, the more we burn them with the flamethrower, the more they come! If we don't think of a solution, we're screwed."

"..."

As the moth attack came, the students instantly felt that their firearms were becoming less and less effective, even Jack, who was known as the "best marksman in the academy", was silenced and made frequent mistakes.

He had been full of confidence before, killing a mutant monster with every shot, but now he couldn't even manage basic self-defense.

Su'en watched from a distance, clicking his tongue.

This was the difference between target practice and real combat.

The reason Jack had performed so well before was because his teammates had created a stable shooting environment for him. But now that the moths had gotten close and started to harass him, his lack of adaptability in real combat was immediately exposed.

......

Half a moment later, the situation was getting worse and worse.

"These guys should have learned 'combat observation', they've suffered so much, but they still haven't noticed that these moths are attracted to light sources?"

Su'en occasionally frowned as he watched.

Their equipment, implants, skills, and knowledge reserves could all be considered elite, but their adaptability was too poor, they had no real combat experience at all. When they encountered unfamiliar monsters, they were immediately confused.

Originally, Su'en knew that there was a second-order tutor secretly following them, watching the students being beaten and fleeing in embarrassment, he also followed from a distance, without saying a word.

But gradually, as the situation got worse and worse, he realized that something was wrong.