Adrenaline Junkie [Book 2 Complete]

The green centipede lunged at its brother, not to bite, but to bop its brother's side with its head as it looped past. They tangled in a flurry of clicking legs, clacking mandibles, and swaying antennae, only to untangle just as quickly as they tangled themselves up, one darting up Archie's forearm, the other racing across the back of his hand.

Easy, you little gremlins, my body ain't a playground, he thought to himself, half-heartedly. But he didn't stop them; instead, he used his mana to wrap it around the Spirit Nucleus and move it off his lap and onto the ground beside him.

They moved like lion cubs from a nature documentary he once watched – poking, bumping, and scampering across his knuckles and sleeves, always staying close to one another. Their motions were quick, but not nervous, more like... gleeful. The word caught him off guard, but it fit. They looked gleeful.

He tilted his arm slightly, watching how they adjusted in perfect sync, their tiny feet gripping onto his skin without much of a thought. As he raised his hands to stretch, the green one took full advantage of gravity, immediately darting downwards toward his neck like a dog chasing down a squirrel.

Archie's eyes widened as it crawled atop his Wardenplate of the Briar's sleeves and reached his collarbone.

It stopped at the base of his jaw, its antennae twitching madly as it looked around his neck in curiosity. The black one followed, nipping at its sibling's back leg as though it were asking for it to move to the side so it could have a look.

Archie exhaled a slow breath, struggling to keep himself from laughing from the tickling sensations of their feet moving around his neck.

Alright, alright, you two win, he jokingly thought, gently lifting both hands to cradle the two before they could take off again. They wriggled for a moment, then settled in his palms, each coiled like a cat curling into a nap.

Now that they'd stopped wriggling, he could really see them.

The green one shimmered like luminescent moss. Its entire body pulsed with a neon green hue, every segment catching the light like glass skin stretched over coiled liquid green. Its antennae twitched energetically, and even its mandibles glowed a faint electric lime, razor-shaped and wet. The legs were almost transparent, jointed like fine wire, and shimmered faintly as they flexed against his palm.

It looked… unnatural. Like something carved from crystal and chlorophyll. Then again, it is a spirit beast; I don't think they're supposed to look exactly like their creature counterpart.

Turning his gaze to the other one.

Its exoskeleton was pitch black. It was not glossy like obsidian, nor was it matte like charcoal – it was somewhere in between. Its body looked like a 3D shadow.

Opposites, Archie mused as he activated Forgesmith's Flame atop his head to try and get their attention.

He shifted them slightly in his palms, letting the light play against them again. They didn't seem to mind – if anything, the green one leaned toward the glow, while the black one edged just slightly beside his thumb, nestling in the slight bend of his thumb.

Archie's brow creased. Maybe they share the same soul, acting like two halves of the same coin.

He couldn't help the huff that escaped him. You two are gonna be a handful to watch over, that I can guarantee already.

The green centipede tilted its head, curling into a loose spiral.

The black centipede stayed perfectly still, nestled perfectly in the bend of his thumb, watching him.

Archie leaned back, resting his elbows on his now raised knees, still cradling them in his palms.

Alright, let's figure out what you are… before you two decide to go and… do whatever centipedes do.

They didn't respond to his thoughts. But for just a second, both lifted their heads in the same direction, towards where he placed the Spirit Nucleus.

Archie followed their gaze. You two hungry?

They shifted in his hands, first the green one, then the black, stretching forward in slow, deliberate movements. Their bodies coiled slightly as if reaching, antennae fixed toward the dull glow of the fractured Spirit Nucleus lying at his side.

Archie blinked.

You two hungry? He mentally repeated to himself as though they were able to read his mind.

No response, naturally. But the green one twitched in place and began crawling across his palm with surprising eagerness. The black one followed suit, not as eager, but just as hungry.

Hold your horses for a minute, Archie panicked for a moment as he leaned forward, carefully lowering his arms so the pair could reach the cracked shell of their former prison.

The moment their legs touched the stone around the Spirit Nucleus, they moved in unison – mandibles clacking and crunching softly as they began to nibble at the shattered crystal husk of the Spirit Nucleus.

He watched with blatant intrigue as they broke off pieces of the once-glowing shell and devoured them ravenously, like hyenas that hadn't eaten in days. Shards of spirit-infused mineral cracked under their jaws, and fine crystal dust shimmered in the cave light as it drifted through the air.

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Archie tilted his head. Then again, I probably look just like them when I eat. Mom, Dad, and Henry always said I acted like I'd been starved for months whenever we ate together.

Honestly, I just think they were overreacting. He finished his thought as he watched the centipedes devour the Spirit Nucleus.

The green one chirped – an odd little sound, half static and half steamish sounding – as it eagerly cracked a larger shard and folded it beneath its many legs. The black one was more methodical, scraping slow circles around the edge, devouring its meal with far more manners than Archie and its twin.

Archie's arms hung slack at his sides as he sat cross-legged, watching them quietly.

Eventually, after a long stretch of silence filled only by the faint clicks of chitin and crystal, the two centipedes gave a final twitch. Then, as if on cue, they crawled a short distance away from the Nucleus remains, coiled up on the warm stone floor, and flopped over onto their backs.

Archie blinked again.

…Seriously?

Both lay motionless. Bellies up. Legs curled gently inward. The green one gave a little shiver before settling. The black one stilled for a moment before flopping on its back, unmoving.

Archie tilted his head.

You're either in a food coma… or dead.

He reached out tentatively and tapped the green one with a finger.

It chirped softly in protest, antennae flicking.

… Food coma it is.

He exhaled through his nose, lips twitching into a crooked smile as he leaned back against the wall.

As he took in the silence of the cave for a few seconds, a memory popped itself back into existence. Ah, I should tell them that the spirit beast hatched… thinking of which, what even are they? He thought before Identifying the two small centipedes with bulging torsos.

[Glenwyn Centipede Lv 1]

[Glenwyn Centipede Lv 1]

Glenwyn? Archie frowned as he leaned back against the cool, stone wall of his base, both wrists resting on his raised knees, eyes glazed slightly as his focus drifted inwardly, into his mind's eye.

I've never heard of a race called the Glenwyn before. Is that what they call Spirit Beasts in the Multiverse? Archie frowned, flipping mentally through the table of contents of both 'The Myriad of Races within the Multiverse, 36th Edition' and 'The Sapients and Non-Sapients on Fractal', scanning for anything remotely familiar on the topic of spirit beasts.

He'd finished reading both books back when he was still traveling with Aoife, and now found he could recall their contents almost perfectly.

Behind him, the green centipede – its tiny body still puffed from gorging on the Spirit Nucleus' shell – let out a sudden, echoing burp unnoticed by Archie. A puff of moss-colored vapor lifted into the air like an eerie soap bubble, shimmering faintly before dispersing.

The centipede watched its creation drift upward, antennae twitching in delight.

Archie remained oblivious, flipping past a glossary of Lesser Fae Hybrids, squinting at a section on "Unclassified Elementals."

Another, slightly louder burp followed. This cloud was darker and thicker. It floated sideways, drifting lazily until it nudged the black centipede, curled up in half-sleep near the heel of Archie's boot. The black colored centipede flinched as the gas tickled its antennae. It blinked once, sluggishly.

Then came a third burp. Denser. This time, the gas wafted directly onto its face.

The black centipede jerked upright with a flick of indignation, twisted toward its twin, and scraped a pebble-sized clump of dirt from the base of Archie's boot using its mana before it flung it in an arc.

Smack!

The wad struck the green centipede right in the face, sending it into a dramatic backward tumble. A full 360 roll.

Still none the wiser, Archie's attention had finally zeroed in on something promising.

Glenwyn… he leaned his head forward instinctively, his mind's eye scanning a long-winded passage under Nature-Attuned Spirit Beasts. His brows rose slightly as he read:

"Glenwyn Spirit Beasts are infantile Twin Nature Spirits Beasts – commonly referred to as 'Children of the Glens.' Often incubated in biologically rich environments or high-density ecosystems of Nature Spirits."

Children of the glens… he repeated within his mind. That actually checks out. The Dungeon of the Lost Valley was inside a massive, prehistoric gorge – basically a glen. And the Hidden Temple… yeah, that massacre happened in a massive temple that resided in a glen, too.

While he pieced together the origin of his strange new companions, the two said Glenwyn Centipedes were escalating.

The green centipede hissed in annoyance and spat a pebble-sized bead of poison across the stone floor. It plinked harmlessly against its sibling's armored side. The black centipede clicked, unimpressed, and launched another dirt wad that bounced off the green one's flank.

Archie mentally turned to the next page.

"Behavioral anomalies: Glenwyns exhibit synchronized tendencies, occasional territorial mimicry, and a penchant for harmless chemical discharge when agitated or playful."

He nodded. So... basically, they're born pranksters.

The centipedes were now actively circling each other – tiny warriors exchanging fire with venomous droplets and mudballs no bigger than beads.

Still locked in the book, Archie sighed. Yup. I can already tell that they're gonna be a handful…

The battle escalated – it now took place atop Archie's Plated Legguards of Fortitude.

The green centipede reared up slightly – well, as much as a palm-sized, many-legged noodle could – and launched two more venom-globs in quick succession. They arced unevenly through the air, landing with sad little splats near the black centipede's feet.

It missed.

The black centipede didn't even flinch. It crouched low, body undulating with focus, used its earth mana to scrape off another piece of dirt stuck in the ridges of Archie's left boot, and flung a clot of dirt toward its twin.

This one smacked the green one directly in the thorax with a soft thump.

The green centipede squeaked. Not audibly, but its whole body did a startled wiggle like a worm.

Archie glanced up briefly from the book, noting a green and black blur of movement out of the corner of his eye.

…The hell?

The moment he turned his head fully, both centipedes froze mid-motion. One perched atop the curve of his boot, the other half-twisted in an awkward lunge pose behind a loose button from his pants. They didn't move – seemingly frozen in place.

Archie blinked. Were… were the two of them fighting?

Silence.

He squinted, narrowing his eyes at them like a mother eyeing up two of her rambunctious sons who were eating a bit too quietly at dinner.

Still, they remained as still as statues.

He slowly leaned his head back against the stone wall and delved back into 'The Myriad of Races within the Multiverse, 36th Edition' that resided in his mind's eye.

The moment his attention turned to the next passage on "Spiritual Dietary Needs of Glenwyn Spirit Beasts", the black centipede launched a sneak-attack dirt wad from behind Archie's boot. The green centipede, ready this time, whipped to the side and countered with a wad of poison that collided directly into the other's clump of dirt midair.

Pfff!

The collision burst both projectiles into harmless dust and a spray of sticky mist.

Perched on either of Archie's boots, the twin centipedes stared at each other – one on the right, one on the left.

They regarded each other like rival warriors meeting on a battlefield.

Both of them, barely four hours old.

What followed could only be described as perfectly synchronized chaos.