novelraw Chapter 94: Emerging Memories
Chapter 94: Emerging Memories
Boris blinked, lowering his steel-coated arms in awe before breaking into laughter. “Gahaha…! Lad, you just turned the whole cavern into an ice graveyard!”
Michelle was agape and stood frozen, her bow still drawn though her hands had gone slack. Her wide eyes darted between me and the frost-laden battlefield. Despite the deep chill coating everything, not a single trace of frost clung to her. “This… this isn’t the power of a Gimmel-rank divine warrior. Maxim… what did you just do?”
Still staring at the frozen horde, I lifted my shoulders in a casual shrug. “Nothing much. Just a signature skill of mine—something I can’t use often. Think of it as my long-cooldown ultimate.”
Their expressions said clearly that they didn’t believe me. But since I had already claimed back in earlier scenarios that I possessed such a signature skill, they refrained from pressing further.
While waiting for their shock to subside, I opened my status screen since I’d killed so many monsters at once.
Maximillian Anderson Lv. 14/60 (EXP 1,196/2,960)
HP: 97%
MP: 11/416
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Paradox Incarnate
Title: One Who Conquered the Impossible (5)
Status: Mana Exhaustion
Strength: 331 + 37 + 33 | Dexterity: 331 + 24 + 33 | Stamina: 278 + 25 + 28
Mind: 185 + 19 | Magic Power: 226 + 23 | Luck: 224 + 22
Plausibility: 581
Free Attributes: 156
Signature Skill(s): [Absorb Plausibility], [Fabled Vessel], [God!$# Creation], [Grant Plausibility], [Scenario Manipulation]
Skill(s): [Basic Alchemy Lv.7], [Basic Cryo Magic Lv.1], [Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.7], [Basic Neutral Magic Lv.8], [Basic Shield Mastery Lv.8], [Back Stab Lv.3], [Berserk Lv.2], [Calm Mind], [Chantless Casting Lv.2], [Desperate Willpower Lv.8], [Divine Sermon Lv.1], [Extraordinary Agility], [Extraordinary Endurance], [Extraordinary Magic Power], [Extraordinary Power], [Fast Equip], [Heavy Slash Lv.7], [Heavy Stab Lv.6], [Inspect Eye Lv.3], [Intermediate Spearmanship Lv.2], [Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.3], [Inventory], [Mana Manipulation Lv.7], [Mana Sense Lv.7], [Mental Tolerance Lv.5], [Negotiation Lv.5], [Night Vision], [Pain Tolerance Lv.6], [Paralysis Resistance Lv.3], [Poison Resistance Lv.3], [Projectile Defense Lv.3], [Predator’s Step Lv.4], [Weapon Manifestation Lv.1], [Wind Rush Lv.6]
Spell(s): {Mana Arrow}, {Mana Bullet}, {Spinning Mana Arrow}
My level immediately shot up by six after wiping out the entire horde with that single spell. If I could replicate this a few more times, I might even reach the Gimmel rank cap. Such was the frightening potential of Fabled Vessel—more than enough to tilt the scales.
But at the same time, finding such a dense cluster of Gimmel-rank monsters again would be rare, and I couldn’t afford to spam the skill recklessly. The drain on plausibility was immense. More importantly, Boris and Michelle needed growth too; hogging every kill for myself would only weaken our team in the long run.
We stepped past the frozen statues that now lined the path until we reached the oasis at the cavern’s heart. Up close, it shimmered like liquid crystal, untouched by corruption and somehow unfrozen despite my earlier spell. The air around it was cleaner and more vibrant. From the pool’s depths, a faint blue radiance pulsed upward like the steady heartbeat of the earth itself.
“This isn’t just water…” I murmured, realization striking me. “It’s tied directly to the earth’s mana flow—a convergent point of ley lines. Or in other words, a mana vein.”
Michelle knelt, trailing her fingers across the surface. Her eyes widened slightly. “It feels… alive.”
Boris scooped up a handful and splashed it over his arm, blinking in surprise. “Ha! What in hell—my stats just went up. This water strengthens us!”
He was right. A convergent point of ley lines like this could indeed empower divine warriors—and even creatures like monsters. That likely explained why those worm-ridden zombies had been far stronger and tougher than the zombies I’d encountered before.
Cautiously, I cupped the crystalline liquid and rinsed my face and hands. A rush of energy burst through me instantly, invigorating every fiber of my being.
You have rinsed yourself in the Oasis of Memory.
Your Strength has increased by 10.
Your Dexterity has increased by 10.
Your Stamina has increased by 10.
Your Mind has increased by 25.
Your Magic Power has increased by 15.
Your Mind has reached 200 points.
You have learned a skill: [Extraordinary Memory].
However, something else came with this surge of strength. A sudden, piercing throb lanced through my skull, and fragmented visions erupted behind my eyes.
I saw thrones of light suspended above endless skies. Countless gods waged war against horrifying entities that should not have existed—things made of shadow, madness, and void. I saw myself, standing among them, crowned with authority that dwarfed all others. And then, I saw that crown shatter into motes of light as I fought back against the encroaching dark, my will straining to seal it away.
Through it all, a voice whispered—a voice cold and distant, yet intimate, as though carved into my very soul. It spoke my name. Not Maximillian, but the one I had borne long before this life. The name of the God-King.
“Aarrghh!” The pain intensified, driving me to my knees. My hands clutched my head as if I could keep it from splitting open, but the memories pressed harder, clawing free from the depths of my soul. What had been fragmented for so long now rushed back in pieces, stitching into something whole and terrifying.
“Maxim!” Michelle’s panicked voice rang in my ears, muffled through the pain.
“Lad!” Boris bellowed, already moving toward me.
But I couldn’t respond. My breath hitched, my chest seizing as flashes continued to assail me—the divine throne that once rose above all creation, the endless battlefield where gods clashed with abominations from beyond, the faces of countless deities who had once bent the knee before me. And the shadow. That cursed shadow which had cast me down. The memories burned like fire and froze like ice, tearing me apart from the inside out.
This oasis hadn’t just strengthened my body, but it had also loosened the seals on my past life. The life I once lived—the life of the God-King—was clawing its way back to me.
Time became meaningless. Perhaps a moment passed. Perhaps an hour. Or a day. I could no longer tell, caught adrift in a sea of memories and pain.
At last, the storm within me began to recede. The pressure in my skull lightened, the fiery throb dulled to a faint ache. With trembling effort, I finally opened my eyes.
The cavern’s dim light returned to me, along with Michelle’s anxious face hovering just above mine, her hands gripping my shoulders. Boris crouched nearby, his massive hand bracing me as if to keep me from collapsing again.
“Maxim…” Michelle’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. “What happened to you just now?”
I swallowed hard, tasting iron on my tongue. Words caught in my throat. How could I explain? Yet deep within, I knew the truth: those fragments were not illusions. They were pieces of me, shards of a life long buried. Memories of the God-King I once was… and of my fall.
A chill that had nothing to do with the cavern’s air ran down my spine. If all these memories are true, then… I don’t have much time, I thought grimly. I had to ascend quickly—to become a divine hero as soon as possible, to gather faith, to ignite my divinity, and step once more onto the path toward godhood. Anything less would mean ruin.
No wonder that foul, writhing thing is active, even daring to show itself in a god’s divine kingdom. These eldritch beings’ supreme god is about to awaken.
I couldn’t imagine the horror and devastation if It were truly to awaken. Countless worlds would vanish into nothingness, while many would be consumed by darkness. Civilizations would crumble into ash, leaving only silence and ruins in their place. Gods themselves would become nothing more than fodder—stripped of divinity, reduced to fuel for Its endless hunger. And if that nightmare continued unchecked, even the vastness of the universe would not escape Its grasp. Nothing would.
My fists tightened at my sides, nails digging into my palms. Just the fragments of memory were enough to chill me to the marrow, but I couldn’t allow Michelle and Boris, who were just mortals, to see that despair.
“It’s…” My voice faltered for a moment before I forced steel into it. “I just remembered something important.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue. Important wasn’t enough to describe the truth, but it was all I could give them for now.
Boris snorted, though his gaze lingered on me with clear concern. “Hmph. If you say so, lad. Just don’t go frightenin’ us like that again. I’ll admit, though… touching the water of this oasis has awakened memories that I’d forgotten.”
Michelle’s expression softened, but she still frowned. “Mhm. But what kind of memory could be so painful that it nearly broke you?”
Well, they wouldn’t believe me even if I told them. And even if they did, the truth would only shake them more than I dared risk. Some burdens were mine alone to carry.
Instead, I let determination fill me to the core as I said firmly, “In any case, let’s focus on finishing this scenario.”
They exchanged a brief glance before nodding in unison.
I quickly pulled up the interface, checking the timer. Less than twenty-four hours remained before the scenario ended. As for the total of slain desert-dwelling monsters, it had reached eighty-seven. That meant only thirteen more stood between us and fulfilling the second extra condition.
“First things first, we need to find a way out of here,” I said while scanning the cavern walls and the frozen expanse that was already beginning to thaw.
And so, we searched thoroughly, combing through every shadow and narrow gap. There were some monsters, such as the worm-ridden zombies that had escaped my earlier attack, along with a few scorpion monsters hiding in cracks and crannies. I told Boris and Michelle to handle them; after all, I had already taken most of the kills before. Better to let them grow stronger now.
Yet despite scouring every corner, no exit revealed itself. The cavern was sealed tight, the walls nothing but solid stone and stalactites dripping with thin rivulets of water.
“Don’t tell me, the only way in or out… is through that sandstorm and the sand that dragged us here?” I murmured, looking up at the ceiling.
The water feeding the oasis was likely from some underground reservoir, slipping through hidden cracks and seeping from the dripstones above. No tunnel wide enough for us to follow, no passage to lead us back to the surface.
That being the case, this left us with only one option, which was to wait until the timer ran out and be transported out of the scenario. Luckily, the stragglers gave us enough for finishing the second extra condition, so we didn’t have to worry about it.
The only problem here is that there’s still more than twenty-two hours remaining… Am I supposed to sit here doing nothing while It is trying to break free? The thought gnawed at me, and while it wasn’t going to happen any time soon, it made me restless.
While I thought of that, a brilliant idea crossed my mind.
“Right, using that should cut the remaining time.”