Chapter 17 : as planned

 carried the symphony exactly as planned.

The massive head whipped away, following the phantom prey.

Almost... almost...

The wyrm's body tensed, coiling. Adom could feel its weight shifting above him, preparing to strike. The ground groaned under its mass.

Now.

"AAARGH!"

The sword thrust upward as the snake struck downward. Scales parted. Resistance, then - a give. Every muscle in Adom's arms screamed as tons of serpentine flesh threatened to wrench the blade sideways. His shoulders felt like they were being torn apart, but he held the sword steady - if it tilted even slightly, the strike would fail. The blade sank deep into soft flesh. The beast's own momentum did the rest.

Steel tore through the wyrm's entire length as it shot forward. Blood cascaded into the hole like a red waterfall, hot and thick, drenching Adom completely. The creature's shriek shattered crystals, a sound of pure agony that echoed through every tunnel of the maze.

Internal organs spilled from the massive gash, splattering across the cavern floor. The snake's body thrashed wildly, its coils smashing against walls, its blood painting everything crimson.

Adom held the sword steady, even as more blood poured over him, into his mouth, his eyes. The blade kept cutting, kept tearing, until the wyrm's momentum finally ceased.

The massive body collapsed, twitching, organs still sliding out of the horrific wound that had split it nearly in half.

A final, wet hiss escaped its jaws.

Then silence.

[Achievement Unlocked: Serpent Slayer]

[You have slain the White Wyrm (Level 10)!]

[Level Up! Level 1 → Level 2]

[Stat Increases:

Intelligence +3 (Quick thinking in combat)

Strength +2 (Wielding sword against massive resistance)

Dexterity +2 (Precise movements under pressure)

Vitality +2 (Survival against overwhelming odds)

Wisdom +3 (Strategic planning and execution)

Agility +2 (Evasive maneuvers)]

[Life force 100 → 205]

[Inventory increased to N/10]

Blood-soaked and trembling with exhaustion, Adom let out a shaky breath. The sword slipped from his fingers, clattering against stone. He was alive.

"I'm alive."

Somehow.

"Wait a minute," he frowned, addressing the System, "I thought you didn't grant power? Why do I have stat increases?"

[Clarification: System does not grant power directly. Recent combat experience has pushed your body and mind to their limits, resulting in natural growth. Stat increases reflect your own achievements and adaptations during intense stress.]

Adom nodded slowly, processing the information. He glanced at his hands, flexing his fingers. The trembling had subsided.

"And the life force increase? The inventory expansion?" he pressed, still skeptical.

[Life force increase is a natural result of pushing beyond previous limitations. Inventory expansion is a System feature unlocked by demonstrated growth, as previously explained.]

"I see..."

Every inch of Adom dripped red as he hauled himself from the hole. The blood had seeped everywhere - under his fingernails, between his toes, in every fold of clothing. His hair was matted with it, thick and warm. It filled his ears, coated his tongue with a familiar metallic taste that made him pause.

His boots made wet sucking sounds as he pulled them from the red pool that had collected in his hiding spot. Blood ran down his glasses in rivulets, turning the world red.

He took them off.

The wyrm's massive corpse stretched across the cavern, internal organs still spilling from the terrible gash. Parts of its tail still twitched, muscles remembering life. The wound gaped like a second mouth, showing just how perfectly his sword had split it.

[Warning: Ancient Blood Detected]

[Analyzing...]

The blood dripped thick and warm across his skin, making odd 'clop clop' sounds as it landed. A strange tingling sensation began to spread wherever it touched, though the blood itself remained stubbornly present.

Wait. Tingling?

Adom froze. Blood wasn't supposed to tingle. Not normal blood, not monster blood, not any kind of blood. His heart began to race as the sensation intensified, spreading across his skin like pins and needles.

Adom stumbled into a cavern where crystals caught his [Flame]'s light, throwing scattered rainbows across pools of water. Cave hoppers and other small creatures scattered at his approach, their tiny feet pattering away into darkness.

The sword clattered to the ground as he practically fell forward, plunging his face into the nearest pool. The water was cold, almost painfully so, but he didn't care. His throat felt like sandpaper.

He kept his head submerged longer than necessary, letting the silence calm his racing thoughts. The water muffled everything except his heartbeat and the soft echo of drops falling somewhere deeper in the cave.

When he finally came up for air, his mind was clearer. The beast had found him multiple times now, always after he'd made noise. The running, the fighting, even just talking to himself - sound carried far in these tunnels.

He touched his bruised ribs gently, wincing. The snake's reactions were almost predictable - it struck at movement, at sound. It would rear up to deliver killing blows, exposing its belly in the process. If he could somehow...

Adom picked up a small stone, tossed it into a far pool. The splash echoed weirdly, seeming to come from multiple directions at once. Just like the snake's movements had seemed to come from everywhere earlier.

His eyes narrowed, studying the cavern's layout. The uneven ground. The pools. The crystal formations creating natural acoustic channels.

He could use this.

If he positioned himself just right, created noise in specific places... he could make the snake strike exactly where he wanted. And when it reared up for the kill...

Adom picked up the sword again, testing its weight. He'd only get one chance at this.

"Alright," he whispered, "let's set up a welcome party."

The cavern's acoustics revealed themselves with each careful step. Adom's fingers traced the crystal formations, feeling vibrations travel. Three large crystals created a natural funnel for sound - perfect. A tap here echoed precisely where he needed it.

His boot slipped on wet stone. The scraping sound echoed.

He froze.

Nothing.

Breathing slowly through his nose, he began digging near a pool's edge. Each movement had to be silent. The ground gave way easily, softened by centuries of water seepage. His hands worked methodically, measuring depth against his arm's length. The sword laid carefully aside, he widened the hole just enough - no more, no less. Extra space meant extra sound.

A crystal tumbled.

Adom's heart stopped.

Silence.

Sweat dripped despite the cave's chill as he positioned loose stones around the hole's edge. When struck right, they'd create a sequence of sounds like running prey. The echoes would lead straight to—

Something shifted in the tunnels beyond.

Adom didn't breathe for ten seconds.

False alarm.

Water from the nearest pool was already seeping into his trap, softening the earth further. The snake's weight would do the rest. He tested the hole's depth one final time, calculating the sword's arc. It had to be perfect. One chance.

A distant hiss froze his blood.

Too soon.

He eased himself into position, every movement measured. The sword aligned just so. Loose stones ready to create their deadly symphony.

Now came the worst part.

Waiting.

As expected, the wait was unbearable.

One.

Two.

Three.

Water dripped somewhere. Each drop echoed like thunder in Adom's ears. His arms ached from holding the sword at the perfect angle, but he didn't dare adjust his position.

Four.

Five.

A pebble shifted near the tunnel entrance. His heart stopped.

Too soon. Please be too soon.