CHAPTER 359

Rhinoceros Beetle

Right now, in front of us, a monster that looks like a rhinoceros beetle larva is going in and out of holes.

The reason I say "looks like" is because the shape of larvae is almost identical between rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles. Hell, if you ignore the size, even the larvae of flower chafers look the same.

So, the only way to distinguish beetle-type monsters is by what their adult forms look like, which is why we have no choice but to tentatively call this one a giant rhinoceros beetle larva (provisional name).

And speaking of this giant rhinoceros beetle larva (provisional name), it’s about 60–80 cm long. Its body is extremely voluminous, roughly the size of a human head. So in terms of length and thickness, it’s just the right size for a hugging pillow.

Though, if you woke up in the morning and found this thing wriggling under your blanket, any normal person would definitely let out a bloodcurdling scream.

(Hmm… It looks a lot like a rhinoceros beetle, but I wonder…?)

When you think of rhinoceros beetles, they’re the undisputed kings of insects. Plenty of kids probably find their majestic appearance cool.

But here’s the thing—even the king of insects is no match for hornets. There’s even a theory that rhinoceros beetles became nocturnal to avoid running into hornets at feeding grounds.

Hearing that, you might think, "That’s ridiculous. Rhino beetles have tough, sturdy exoskeletons. Even if it’s a hornet, its bites and venomous stings shouldn’t work, right?"

But surprise! Hornets already know that, so when they fight rhino beetles over feeding spots, they relentlessly target their legs.

But why? Well, it’s because even the heavily armored rhinoceros beetle has thin, fragile legs.

Hearing that, you might think, "No way, that’s stupid. Hey, rhino beetle, why are your legs so weak?!" But there’s actually a good reason for it.

The rhinoceros beetle’s evolution incorporates a seemingly contradictory, greedy design philosophy: heavy armor and flight capability.

To put it in other terms, it’s like trying to make a tank fly or loading a fighter jet with absurdly heavy armor. Naturally, these incompatible elements clash, and any designer would struggle to balance them.

But the rhinoceros beetle achieved this greedy combination of heavy armor and flight by drastically reducing the weight of its legs. If it had evolved without flight, it probably would’ve ended up with thicker, sturdier legs.

However, because of this overambitious design, it wound up with fragile legs, like the landing gear of planes or helicopters.

This was extremely convenient for flight, but in battles against other species, the legs’ durability was far too low.

Hornets, finding little effect in attacking the body, instead target the rhino beetle’s absurdly thin legs. Their bites easily sever the claws, and since feeding battles usually take place on tree sap sites like oak trunks—where the surface is vertical—losing grip means falling.

Despite their heavy armor, rhino beetles are sluggish and can only fly for movement, not combat. Hornets, agile and skilled in aerial combat, easily outmaneuver them, sever their legs, and send them tumbling out of the ring.

But, well…

A tank fused with a fighter jet! Yeah, that’s pure POWER × POWER, something seriously awesome!!

The rhinoceros beetle pulled off this super-robot-like evolution for real. That kind of romantic, over-the-top appeal is probably what captivates kids so much…

"What’s wrong, Egetsu-san? You’ve gone all quiet…"

Whoops, I got lost in thought about rhino beetles. Did I worry the two of them?

"Nah, I was just thinking for a bit. My bad."

"If ya say so… But there’s a ton of holes here, kinda creepy, ain’t it? They look like normal holes, but what if spears or arrows suddenly shot out…?"

Nina-san’s right—the next 20 meters or so are littered with that kind of terrain.

"Worried about traps? Fine, then let’s cross using mucus. …Here goes!!"

Behold, the mucus rope.

I stick the tip to the ceiling deep in the passage, then swing it up and down to create waves, attaching it bit by bit… Soon, it’s stuck in small arcs, like party decorations.

"See? If we cross like it’s monkey bars, we won’t touch the floor or walls at all. Most traps are triggered by switches on those surfaces anyway."

Realistically, no one would put trap triggers on the ceiling, where nobody touches.

"Egetsu-san, your mucus is amazing! So amazing, mucus!"

"Hahaha, impressive, right?!"

With the [Mucus] skill, you can move freely, unshackled by common sense.

Now, after crossing the danger zone with our monkey-bar move, only Masaru remains.

But since he can’t do the mucus bars, he shifts into a forward-leaning high-speed stance and dashes through with a kangaroo jump, building momentum.

Maybe after seeing us, he figured he’d minimize his steps. Either way, we all made it through safely. Seems there were no traps after all.

"Good job, Masaru. Nice work—keep it up."

"Heh heh!"

I lightly pat Masaru’s shoulder as he reaches us, praising his effort. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s a decent start.