novelraw Chapter 51: Never Again!
Chapter 51: Never Again!
Daniel moved deeper into the twisting hallways of the Astral Verge. The air here was thick, making every breath feel like a chore.
He was alone, and for the first time in a long while, he truly wanted to be.
The memory of the ranking ceremony burned in his mind. Number six. That number felt like a brand on his skin. He knew he was stronger than the others. He knew he had faced dangers they could not even imagine.
However, he had played it safe. He had hidden his power to protect a team that was already doomed.
"Never again," Daniel whispered to the shadows. "No more distractions. No more holding back."
He touched the grey stone of the wall. It pulsed under his fingers. The walls in the Astral Verge were not dead stone. They moved. They shifted when he wasn’t looking, changing the path and turning the hallways into a living maze.
The dense energy in the air interfered with his senses. His [Omnivision] skill, which usually worked like a perfect radar, felt fuzzy here. It was like trying to see through a thick fog.
But Daniel did not stop, he pushed his senses even harder. He forced his will upon the environment.
"I will conquer this place," he vowed. "When I walk out of here, I will be Number One."
He walked for another hour. The silence of the Verge was somehow oppressive.
Then, his [Omnivision] pinged.It was a strong signal.
Ahead of him, the hallway opened up into a wider chamber. He could feel three distinct heat signatures. They were not moving much, but they were feeding.
Daniel slowed down. He then activated [Shadowsteps], but he did not use the speed boost yet. He used the passive noise reduction to silence his boots.
He crept to the edge of the opening and peeked inside.
The chamber was large and lit by the same faint blue veins that ran through the walls. In the center, there was a large crack in the floor, glowing with raw energy.
Three massive creatures were gathered around the crack.
They were Lithovore Stalkers, just like the one he had killed earlier. But these were bigger. Their stone armor was thicker, and their mandibles dripped with a glowing blue saliva as they chewed on the energy vein.
Daniel scanned them quickly.
[Lithovore Stalker - Level 3]
[Lithovore Stalker - Level 3]
[Lithovore Stalker - Level 3]
Three of them. They were brute-type enemies with high vitality and defense. A direct assault would be very foolish, because If they surrounded him, their crushing jaws could tear through his C-Grade vest.
Daniel analyzed the room. The Stalkers were clustered together, fighting slightly over the best spot at the energy vein. They were distracted.
"Tactical warfare," Daniel thought. "Separate and destroy."
He reached for his Skyreaver bow. He nocked an arrow, but he did not fire it immediately. Instead, he began to channel his mana.
He focused on his skill, [Mana Bolt]. Usually, this spell fired a bolt of energy from his hand. But Daniel had an idea. He channeled the spell into the arrow itself. The tip of the arrow began to glow with a vibrant purple light.
He aimed at the wall on the far side of the chamber, just behind the group of monsters.
TWANG!
The arrow flew through the air with a high-pitched whistle. It slammed into the stone wall.
BOOM!
The [Mana Bolt] exploded on impact. Stone shards flew everywhere. The sound resonated like a thunderclap in the enclosed space.
The three Stalkers shrieked. They spun around, their eyeless heads searching for the source of the attack. They began to shuffle toward the noise, bunching up even closer together.
"Perfect," Daniel whispered.
He put the bow away and drew his Twin Fang daggers.
He didn’t run; instead, he exploded into motion.
[Active Skill: Shadowsteps]
ZHOOM!
His agility tripled. He crossed the distance between the doorway and the monsters in a heartbeat. The wind from his movement shrieked, alerting the monsters, but it was too late.
He was already among them.
He didn’t strike with his blades yet. He planted his feet firmly on the ground right in the middle of the group. He focused all his kinetic energy into his palm and slammed it into the floor.
"[Forceburst]!"
BOOOOM!
The ground trembled violently. A visible shockwave of distorted air blasted outward from Daniel.
It slammed into the heavy bodies of the Stalkers. The sheer force lifted them off their many legs. They were thrown backward, crashing into each other and tumbling across the stone floor like bowling pins.
Their formation was shattered. They were confused and disoriented.
"Now, we dance," Daniel said.
He lunged at the nearest Stalker while it was still trying to right itself. He activated [Venomous Strike]. His daggers glowed with a sickly green light.
He didn’t aim for the thick armor on its back. He aimed for the joints.
SLASH! SLASH!
He cut the legs on the left side of the creature. The blade bit deep, severing the tough connective tissue. Green blood sprayed onto the floor.
The Stalker screeched and tried to bite him, snapping its jaws blindly, but Daniel was already gone.
[Active Skill: Quick Dodge]
He shifted his body to the right, avoiding the bite by a fraction of an inch. He felt the wind from the snapping jaws brush his face.
He spun around the creature and drove his dagger into the soft spot behind its head.
SHLICK!
The monster shuddered and collapsed, its legs twitching.
One down. Two to go.
The other two Stalkers had recovered. They hissed, a sound like grinding stones. They charged at him from both sides.
They were slow, but they were heavy. And If they pinned him.... it was over.
Instead of Daniel to retreat, he ran straight at the one on the left.
The Stalker opened its mouth, ready to crush him. Just as he was about to run into its jaws, Daniel slid.
He dropped to his knees, his momentum carrying him forward across the smooth floor. He slid right under the belly of the beast.
He raised both daggers and tore them through the creature’s soft underbelly as he passed underneath.
RIIIIP!
It was a gruesome sound. The monster wailed and collapsed on top of itself.
Daniel rolled to his feet on the other side. He was covered in sweat and dust, but he was grinning.
However, the third Stalker was smarter. It didn’t charge. It slammed its front legs into the ground.
RUMBLE...!
A wave of earth spikes shot up from the floor, racing toward Daniel.
"Oh, you have tricks too?" Daniel muttered.
He jumped. He used the wall as a springboard. He ran two steps up the vertical surface and backflipped over the spikes.
He landed gracefully, but the Stalker was waiting. It shot a glob of sticky, grey slime at him.
It was a binding attack.
Daniel reacted on instinct. He couldn’t dodge in mid-air landing. He crossed his daggers in front of him.
SPLAT!
The slime hit his blades, gluing them together. His weapons were stuck.
The Stalker chattered in triumph. It rushed forward to finish the job.
Daniel didn’t panic. He looked at his stuck daggers. "Fine," he said. "I don’t need them."
He dropped the daggers.
He waited for the beast to get close. Ten meters. Five meters. Two meters.
The Stalker lunged.
Daniel stepped into the attack. He used his high Strength stat. He grabbed the upper and lower mandibles of the creature’s mouth with his bare hands.
His muscles bulged. His veins popped out on his neck.
"Open wide!" he roared.
He wrenched the jaws apart. The creature struggled, its legs scratching at his C-Grade vest. Sparks flew as the claws raked against the armor.
Daniel ignored the scratches. He focused his mana. He wasn’t using a weapon this time. He was using pure magic.
"[Mana Bolt]!"
He fired the spell point-blank, right down the creature’s throat.
KA-BOOM!
The blast was contained inside the monster. Its stone shell cracked from the inside out. Violet light poured out of the fissures in its armor.
The Stalker went limp in his hands. It crashed to the floor, dead.
Daniel stepped back, wiping the slime and dust from his face. He retrieved his daggers and spent a moment cleaning the sticky goop off them.
It had been a messy fight. It had used a lot of his mana and stamina. But he had done it.
He had taken on three Level 3 monsters at once without taking a single hit to his body. That alone was impressive.
He stood in the center of the carnage, his chest heaving.
Then, the notifications flooded his vision.
[You have slain: Lithovore Stalker (Level 3)]
[You have slain: Lithovore Stalker (Level 3)]
[You have slain: Lithovore Stalker (Level 3)]
[Total EXP Gained: 240 EXP]
[Level 3: 910/700 EXP]
A golden light washed over him. It was warm and comforting. It chased away the fatigue in his muscles. It refilled his mana pool instantly.
[LEVEL UP!]
[You are now Level 4!]
[Level Up Bonus: All Stats +15.]
[Assimilation Charges Restored: 15/15.]
Daniel clenched his fists. He felt the power rising within his body. His body felt lighter, denser, and more powerful.
Strength. Speed. Resilience. Every part of him was being upgraded.
"This is it," Daniel said, his voice echoing in the silent chamber. "This is the path."
He looked at the three corpses lying on the floor. There was still work to be done. He had full Assimilation Charges, and he wasn’t going to let this essence go to waste.
Daniel walked over to the first body. The hunt was over, but the harvest was just beginning.