novelraw Chapter 50: The Astral Verge
Chapter 50: The Astral Verge
The bright blue light of the teleport faded.
One second, Daniel was standing on the safe metal platform of the Academy, the next second, he was somewhere else entirely.
This new place felt... weird. He stood in a long hallway. The walls weren’t made of rock or metal like in the Aurora Vale.
Instead, they looked like smooth, grey stone, but they pulsed with a faint, strange blue light, like veins running under skin.
Daniel raised his left arm. He accessed his Databand to check his total attributes and skills before moving.
He needed to know exactly what he was working with.
[Name: Daniel Rivers]
[Class: Divine Warrior]
[Level: 3 (590/700 EXP)]
[Talent: Soul Assimilation (SSS)]
[Assimilation Charges: 9/15]
Attributes:
Strength: 112
Vitality: 95
Agility: 130
Spirit: 81
Defense: 95
Adaptability: 53
Attack: 120
Physique: 50
Active Skills:
[Shadowsteps (D-Grade)]
[Forceburst (C-Grade)]
[Quick Dodge (C-Grade)]
[Mana Bolt (C-Grade)]
Passive Skills:
[Combat Mastery (D-Grade)]
[Mental Fortitude (F-Grade)]
[Mental Echo (C-Grade)]
[Venomous Strike (D-Grade)] [
Equipment:
[Twin Fang Utility Daggers (C+ Grade)]
[Skyreaver Bow (C+ Grade)]
[Reinforced Deflector Vest (C-Grade)]
[Celestial Voidpocket (A-Grade)]
Daniel nodded to himself. The numbers looked good. He was strong. But as he looked around, a feeling of unease settled in his stomach.
The air hummed with a low energy that made the hairs on his arms stand up. It was different from the wild, humid energy of the jungle in the Aurora Vale.
This felt artificial. There was no sky here, just a high ceiling lost in shadows.
"Welcome to the Astral Verge, I guess," Daniel muttered to himself. "
He looked around the hallway. He didn’t see anybody. When the teleport light faded, he was completely alone.
He felt others had gone deeper into the Verge.
Or had he just been teleported to a different starting spot because of his high rank?
"Either way," Daniel thought, "it’s fine with me." Being alone meant less chance of someone trying to stab him in the back for his SSS-Talent.
He started walking, his boots making almost no sound on the smooth floor. He kept his hand near the C+ Twin Fang daggers strapped to his thighs. His C+-grade bow felt ready on his back.
He activated his [Omnivision] skill to scan the area. It felt different here. Usually, the skill spread out easily, like ripples in water, letting him feel living things nearby.
Here, however, the humming energy in the walls seemed to push back a little. It made his sense feel thicker, harder to push out.
He could still feel things, but the range seemed a bit shorter. And he felt... movement. Not creatures, but the walls themselves.
They were shifting, sliding almost too slowly to see, like the whole place was breathing.
"Okay," he thought. "’Astral Verge’ wasn’t just a fancy name then."
Getting lost seemed like a big part of the test. He walked for about ten minutes. The hallway twisted and turned. Sometimes side passages opened up, revealing dark corridors.
Sometimes they closed off right in front of him. He kept checking with [Omnivision], making sure nothing snuck up on him.
Then, he felt it. A single life signature, moving in a jerky rhythm, up ahead around a corner. It didn’t feel like a warm-blooded animal. It was something else.
He slowed down, activating [Shadowsteps]. He didn’t use the full speed boost, just the passive stealth aspect.
The faint camouflage effect helped him blend into the dim blue light of the hallway. He crept closer and peeked around the corner. It looked like a giant centipede made of the same grey, pulsing stone as the walls.
It was maybe three meters long, with dozens of sharp, clicking legs that dug into the floor. Its head had no eyes, just a big, round mouth filled with grinding stone teeth.
It crawled slowly along the wall, seeming to chew on the pulsing blue veins.
Daniel used his Databand to scan it immediately.
[Lithovore Stalker - Level 3]
[Stats: Moderate Strength, High Vitality, Low Agility, Very Low Spirit.]
[Abilities: [Wall Camouflage], [Rock Bite], [Tunnel Sense]]
[Threat Assessment: Slow but Tough. Blends with environment. Can chew through defenses. Relies on sensing vibrations.]
"Level 3," Daniel noted. "Slow, tough, bad eyesight, probably feels things moving through the floor."
Good thing he had [Shadowsteps] making him quiet. Its High Vitality and likely tough stone body meant his daggers might have trouble penetrating unless he hit weak spots.
But its Very Low Spirit? That was a perfect target for magic. Daniel decided to start with a bang, literally.
He stepped silently into the open a few meters away. The Stalker didn’t react, still munching on the wall. He raised his hand, gathering energy into his palm.
"[Mana Bolt]!"
FZZZT!
A bolt of purple energy shot down the hallway and slammed into the Crawler’s side. Sparks flew!
The Lithovore hide cracked where the bolt hit, and the creature flinched, letting out a high-pitched screech. It stopped chewing the wall and turned its eyeless head towards Daniel, sensing the attack’s origin.
It hissed and charged. Low Agility was right. It wasn’t fast, more like a determined shuffle, but its grinding mouth looked like it could bite through his C-grade vest easily. Daniel grinned.
"Too easy," he whispered. He sidestepped the clumsy charge. As it passed, he drew one of his C+ daggers and activated [Venomous Strike].
The blade glowed faintly green. He slashed quickly at one of the leg joints where the stone plates seemed thinner.
SHINK!
The dagger bit deep! Greenish poison spread quickly into the joint. The Lithovore screeched again, stumbling as that leg buckled.
Daniel jumped back before it could swing its heavy body around. It tried to charge again, slower this time, dragging the poisoned leg.
Daniel just danced around it, his Agility making him seem like a blur to the slow creature.
He peppered it with two more [Mana Bolt] hits, aiming for the cracks the first bolt had made. More sparks flew, and chunks of stone armor broke off, revealing the softer inner body.
The Lithovore seemed confused, unable to pinpoint the fast-moving, quiet target. It stopped, lowered its head, and seemed to listen to the floor, trying to feel his footsteps.
"Not gonna work, buddy," Daniel said quietly. He used [Shadowsteps] again, circling behind it silently.
He saw a spot near its tail where the armor plating looked thinner, maybe covering some kind of power source or nerve center?
He decided to try his physical powerhouse move. He focused energy into his fist.
"[Forceburst]!"
BOOM!
He punched the spot near the tail with all his might. The impact sound resonated loudly in the narrow hall.
A visible shockwave pulsed outwards from his fist, rippling through the air.
CRACK-CRUMBLE!
The Lithovore’s back end exploded into stony dust. The front half jerked, clicking its legs uselessly, then went still.
The blue light pulsing in its body faded out.
[You have slain: Lithovore Stalker (Level 3)]
[EXP Gained: 80]
[Level 3: 670/700 EXP]
"Nice chunk of EXP," Daniel said. He walked over to the dusty remains. He placed his hand on the largest chunk.
A wave of cold, stony energy flowed into him. It felt different from animal or human essence, dry and ancient.
[Soul Assimilation successful on Creature: Lithovore Stalker (Level 3).]
[Gain: Strength +8]
[Gain: Vitality +8]
[Gain: Adaptability +10]
[Assimilation Charge Consumed (8/15 Remaining).]
"Good stats," Daniel thought. "Especially Vitality and Adaptability. Useful for getting tougher."
No skill this time, but that was okay. The attributes were worth it. He looked down the hallway.
The walls seemed to glow slightly faster now. He continued walking, more alert than before. After a few minutes, he came to a T-junction.
Left or right? [Omnivision] didn’t feel any immediate danger either way. He chose left randomly. He walked about thirty meters, then the floor ahead suddenly glowed with faint blue lines, forming a complex pattern.
A trap? He stopped, observing. The pattern pulsed rhythmically. He crouched down, looking closely.
Pressure plate? Magic rune?
This looked like a simple pressure-activated energy discharge trap. Stepping on the lines would likely trigger a blast from the walls or ceiling.
"How to get past?" he wondered. He could try jumping over it, but the hallway wasn’t very wide. He could try disabling it, but he didn’t have any trap skill.
He chose the Divine Warrior class and not the hunter class. He looked closer.
The pattern didn’t cover the entire floor. There was a narrow strip, maybe only thirty centimeters wide, right against the left wall that wasn’t glowing.
Risky, but maybe the safe path? He activated [Shadowsteps] for maximum quietness and balance.
He carefully placed one foot on the narrow safe strip, then the other, moving slowly, hugging the wall. His heart beat a little faster. One wrong step... and he’s done for.
He made it across and the glowing lines faded behind him. He let out a small breath of relief.
"This place isn’t just full of monsters, it has tricks too." He continued on. After another turn, he heard sounds ahead. It was the unmistakable sound of magic bolts, a panicked shout, and the screeching sound of another Lithovore Stalker.
He slowed down, using [Shadowsteps] to approach silently. He peeked around the corner. A young woman, maybe one of the recruits he vaguely recognized from the platform, was desperately fighting a Lithovore.
She wore basic E-grade gear and was using a D-grade fire spark Talent, shooting tiny embers that barely seemed to annoy the Lithovore beast.
The Lithovore was slowly backing her into a corner. She looked terrified, her mana clearly running low. Daniel paused.
He could easily step in and one [Forceburst] or a few [Mana Bolt] hits would end the fight instantly. It would save her life. But... it would also reveal his power level. It would draw attention. Questions would be asked.
And honestly, saving every struggling recruit wasn’t his job. Instructor Baldwin’s words replayed in his head: Relying solely on individual talent is a recipe for a short career.
This recruit had clearly relied only on her weak Talent and hadn’t prepared well. Maybe this was her lesson to learn, harsh as it sounded.
He made his decision. Survival of the fittest. It was the core rule of the Verge. He pulled back from the corner, his footsteps completely silent thanks to his skill. He took a different passage, leaving the recruit to her fate.
A flicker of something cold passed through him, but he pushed it down. This was the path he had chosen. The path of the lone hunter.
He ventured deeper into the Verge. It was only beginning to show its true colors.