L.E. Miranda
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B2 Chapter 13: The Consumed Territory (3)
🕑 Added 2024-10-14 22:35:54 +0000 UTCMichael walked out of the Village and looked up. The blue glow of Bluestone’s Territory shone brightly. His gaze moved to his surroundings. Silently, he beheld the underground. It was as expansive as ever. The gigantic stone columns held up the ceiling, adorned with glowing mushrooms of varying sizes. The walls, outcroppings, and small hills created what was virtually a maze.
His Dragonheart thumped within his chest as he started running, easily traversing the terrain and leaping over the walls and hills.
Illumination.
Something changed. His chest felt warm. Then, from it, a golden light began to spread, covering his entire body in an instant and illuminating his surroundings. It was as if he had become a star. Power coursed through his veins. His movements sped up but didn’t lose their precision. It was as if he were walking on flat ground. He leaped over the hills and mushrooms.
Soon, he reached one of the giant columns. He ground to a halt, flexing his hands and arms as he stopped. The glow subsided.
The speed is inferior to Lightspeed, but it is as if all my physical stats have increased.
The improvement was considerable. He sighed. He should have used this Skill earlier.
No, there wasn’t a need to.
He had managed to pull off his results without using it. Still, it was a powerful Skill that he had neglected. From now on, it would be his standard Heritage Skill, given how it improved his physical parameters, which would allow him to react better when in battle. A thought sprouted in his mind.
Does it also strengthen my Active Skills?
It was something he needed to test out immediately. He began glowing again. He smiled to himself. The Skill was anything but discreet. Michael pointed his staff at the ground.
“Mana Sphere.”
A large orb coalesced in front of the staff, then shot towards the ground. It easily drilled through the stone and earth, going ever deeper. He peered into the hole, watching the Skill’s prowess. After some time, it disappeared.
Damn.
He couldn’t even tell how deep the hole was. At that moment, he was certain that his Mana Spheres could pierce through the defenses of any of the enemies he’d faced so far. This was likely true for his other offensive spells.
This is a bit…
He didn’t know how powerful the Forgotten were exactly, especially when fighting as a group, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was growing beyond the boundaries of the Tutorial. He had called Lohann’s Blessing too powerful, but wasn’t his even more overpowered? As expected from a draconic Blessing, each and every one of its Skills could take him to the next level. They were indispensable.
Nodding to himself, Michael looked at the giant column. Now, it was time to climb it. Creating a Mana Blade on his open hand, he stabbed into the column and used it to start climbing, weakening the Blade at the right moments to avoid having it sear straight through the stone as he climbed. He rose quickly. The higher he went, the easier it was to see the Territory’s bounds. After climbing far enough, he carved himself a small nook and sat down on it.
Now free to use another Skill, he activated Eagle Eye. His visual acuity improved in an instant. His eyes darted around, taking in everything he could see.
It should be that way. Time to go.
Having found the path that led to the center of the underground by watching the Territories’ boundaries, he looked down. He was quite high up, yet looking at the ground didn’t even give him a sliver of vertigo. He sincerely believed that even if he were to fall, he would be able to survive. Was it because of his Constitution stat? There was no sense of danger.
I hope the Forgotten are more of a challenge.
He blinked, then frowned. It was a surprising thought. Why had it appeared? Silently, far above the ground, Michael pondered. He came to a single conclusion: he enjoyed the feeling of overcoming a difficult enemy through nothing but his own abilities and strategies. He sighed.
“I must be going crazy or something.”
True battles, where only one of the combatants walked out alive, were something to be avoided. Naturally, they could result in severe injuries even if one was the survivor. However, he was now filled with a mysterious sensation. Michael didn’t try to invalidate or reduce his feelings; he sought only to understand them.
Now that ordinary battles lost their dangerous edge due to his power, he found himself yearning for a challenging encounter. He sighed once more. Parts of him had changed with the Tutorial. He just didn’t know how much. Before, on Earth, it would have been unthinkable for him to imagine himself enjoying the dangerous dance between life and death that composed a battle.
Maybe it’s got something to do with the Dragon blood.
He didn’t know enough about Dragons or the way their blood affected him. It was also something he was hesitant to ask about. Tairy had told him not to share his secrets, and Lohann’s abilities had already proven that there were Skills capable of affecting one’s mind. If the existence of his Dragon blood ended up being leaked, he didn’t know what the consequences would be.
“I don’t know anything about what exists beyond the Tutorial…”
As such, he needed to keep this to himself.
Using another Mana Blade, he made his way down. Once he reached the ground, golden light radiated from him. Michael started running towards his destination. The pillars of light created by the Flags shone brightly. Also using their arrangement as a guide, he continued on his way, easily traversing the rugged terrain.
Finally, he arrived.
He slowed down, one hand tightly gripping the staff. On top of a hill, he looked at what seemed to be a wall of darkness in the distance. No, it could be more accurately described as a dome. Even only at first glance, it seemed to span several kilometers and extended itself up to the underground’s ceiling. His guard was completely raised.
That’s got to be it.
The darkness moved as if it were alive, pulsating and writhing. He could only see indistinct outlines, even after using Eagle Eye. There was no way around it; he needed to walk in. Slowly, he approached the dome of darkness. No matter how much closer he got, he couldn’t see through it properly. Soon, he reached its outer edge.
He frowned as the darkness extended towards him like tendrils. It was as if it were trying to swallow him. Keeping his frown, Michael walked closer. The darkness enveloped him as he entered the dome. System notifications appeared in front of him.
[You have entered the Consumed Territory.]
[The Curse of Darkness eats away at your body. All stats have been reduced by 15%.]
[The Curse of Darkness attempts to devour you. You will be consumed if you become weak enough.]
“…What the fuck?”
He read the messages over and over. Then, he sighed. As if the stats reduction wasn’t enough, the Curse would consume him if his state became too dire?
Is it like an ‘execute’ in games?
The Curse only had two effects, but they were powerful enough to be a real hindrance. At the same time, Michael got a better understanding of what the Consumed Territory and the Forgotten were. Based on his conversation with Tairy and this Curse’s effects, it could be inferred that the Forgotten were people who had been consumed by the Curse.
He looked around. The wall of darkness no longer extended itself towards him. The space was completely dark. There were no glowing mushrooms to light up his surroundings; it was to the point where he couldn’t even properly tell if the topography was the same. He frowned.
“Mana Sphere.”
The Sphere took shape above the staff, shining with blue mana. Yet, the area illuminated by the mana’s glow was much smaller than Michael expected. It was as if the darkness around him were a physical force and not a mere lack of light. He attempted to expand the Sphere and feed more mana into it. Slowly, the ring of light pushed outward, but it was as if it were moving against the current. With a scoff, Michael dismissed the Sphere. There was one thing left he could do.
Illumination.
Light bloomed from within him, leaving his chest and covering his entire body. The darkness throbbed and recoiled like a living creature. This was Michael’s belief in the draconic Heritage. The Blessing of Light seemed to be the complete opposite in nature to the Curse of Darkness. He reasoned that Illumination would be able to fight back against the all-consuming darkness.
As he observed the changes in his surroundings, he realized that he was right.
