Confusion Punch

Thinking Sprite Ally was the one talking to her, Arthur waited for Sprite Ally's reply. Suddenly, a beetle in front of Arthur, who was invisible, blending with the dungeon light, emerged from the dungeon light.

Seeing the beetle in front of him, Arthur's body stunned for an instant. As Arthur gazed at the beetle, seeing the beetle in front of him from nowhere, his whole body was immediately hit by shock.

"How ab..." As the beetle tried to repeat his words, saying, "How about we work together? Arthur rapidly raised his hands toward the beetle. Knowing Arthur's next move, the beetle jumped through the air, dodging Arthur's web, which he shot instantly after raising his hands.

"I need to run..." Arthur thought. The moment his web attack missed, he immediately jumped backward. Turning himself toward the ground's edge, he quickly started running, thinking of jumping from the top to the ground.

"Maybe I should go to the ceiling; he can't catch me there," he thought. While running toward the edge, Arthur slightly looked back, trying to find where the beetle was. As he looked back, Arthur's survival expression changed into fear, sweat starting to drip from his face.

"Hmm... he's smart," the beetle muttered, standing on the ceiling upside down with his hands and legs gripping it, looking down toward Arthur.

While looking back up at the beetle on the ceiling, Arthur's strategy to use the ceiling and walls to escape failed.

"Collapse... slip..." While running toward the ground edge to escape, he suddenly collapsed and started slipping toward the edge.

Seeing himself slipping toward the edge, Arthur inserted his spiked leg into the ground, trying to stop himself. As he inserted his spiked leg, it scratched the ground beneath him, decreasing his momentum. Even though Arthur continued recovering his balance, his gaze remained locked on the beetle, ready to counterattack.

The beetle continuously watched Arthur. Even though his intention was not to hurt or scare Arthur, seeing Arthur's reaction, he didn't know how to stop him and communicate with him.

With the help of his spiked hands, Arthur was finally able to stop himself at the ground's edge. His eyes locked on the beetle, thinking of a new strategy to escape. He stood on top of the ground's edge.

"I need to stop him. It will be bad if he jumps to the dungeon ground where other monsters can see him and me. I can't compromise this top ground; it's connected to my plans. If other monsters find this place, my plans will fail," the beetle thought, looking straight at Arthur, who was also looking back at him.

With rapid speed, the beetle jumped from the ceiling. The beetle's jump was so powerful that Arthur couldn't see which direction the beetle went. He knew the beetle was aiming for him, but he didn't know which direction he was coming from. With no other options or time left, Arthur decided to jump from the edge toward the ground.

But a beetle suddenly appeared behind Arthur. Arthur sensed the beetle's presence at his back, even though he was still looking forward. Feeling the beetle's presence, Arthur knew the beetle was very close to him, close enough to touch him. Arthur knew it was too late to do anything. Still, he quickly looked back, crossing his hands and taking a defensive stance as his last resort.

Surprisingly, Arthur fully turned, looking straight at the beetle and crossing his hands, ready to take the beetle's hit. Arthur waited for the beetle's action, knowing there was no escape. But the beetle did nothing. Arthur was shocked and confused about why the beetle did not attack.

"Is he playing with me?" Arthur thought, trying to understand why the beetle wasn't doing anything. Thinking this was his only chance, Arthur decided to move and run in a different direction.

Thinking of a way to stop Arthur, the beetle quickly raised his hand and threw a straight punch at Arthur.

"Smash... Boom..."

The punch was so strong that it threw Arthur straight into a pillar connecting the dungeon ceiling and the top ground.

The punch's impact made a devastating sound, spreading broken pillar dust in the air as Arthur hit the pillar. "Ah..." Arthur yelled in pain as a crack emerged in the pillar, reaching toward the ceiling.

Despite feeling the pain, Arthur tried to look at the beetle with blurry eyes. Blood was dripping from Arthur's mouth onto the ground.

"Drip... drip... drip..."

Trying to stay conscious, Arthur looked at the beetle, who was walking toward him. As the beetle came near, he looked straight at Arthur.

Arthur was stuck in the middle of the pillar, blood dripping from his mouth. He couldn't move his body, and he was feeling pain all over, but his gaze still remained locked on the beetle.

"I'm not your enemy," the beetle spoke loudly, looking straight at Arthur.

"What... not... enemy?" Arthur tried to speak weakly, gazing at the beetle one last time before losing consciousness.

After some time...

"Ha... where am I?" Arthur opened his eyes. As he tried to move, pain surged through his body. As the pain hit him, he recalled everything that had happened. He quickly stood up and looked around. Arthur found himself near his broken egg, where he was born.

"How am I still alive?" he said, thinking about how he survived the beetle's powerful hit. At first, Arthur thought the beetle intended to kill him. Suddenly, a memory struck him. He recalled the beetle's words and realized the beetle was not trying to kill him.

"But why did he hit me then?" Arthur wondered aloud.

"Because you weren't listening to me," the beetle replied.