(Nico POV)
Less than 20 minutes earlier….
In the upperworld of the blood river.
I stared at Vilthar for a few seconds, just simply taking in the sight of this monster. Was this how I die? Without ever achieving my goals? I refused to accept it. Everything has gone wrong ever since meeting Morgan….
Everything!
Nothing has went my way ever since meeting him in the Dreadful Tunnels. My resentment and bitterness towards him grew stronger, just at the very thought of him making my blood boil.
However, right now, I had no time to be thinking of that despicable fool. I was staring at death itself and had to figure out a way to escape this seemingly impossible situation. In a fight, there was no way I was defeating this boss.
It was simply impossible.
I had to accept this fact. I was not nearly strong enough to defeat an A-Class boss. Hell, A-Class creatures brings trouble to Unbound Humans back on earth too. So, trying to fight my way out was not possible. I didn't dare imagining the result of me trying to do that.
Especially underwater, in the blood river, in it's territory. So, I threw the thought of deluding myself that I could somehow win against it in some twist of fate. Reality just didn't work that way.
'There is only one choice.'
As I thought that, I felt myself being dragged Vilthar with it's thick, spiky vine that was wrapped around my torso with a grip that clearly said that escaping using traditional means was impossible.
I didn't try to, though.
Instead, I poured all my innate spirit into [Implosion] using up the last one I could use with my current amount of innate spirit, pressing down my palm against the vine. Then, my thumb pressed down on an invisible button.
The vine expanded, slowly but surely, then imploded, releasing me from its grip. The result left behind a powerful Shockwave underwater, sending bubbles flying upwards.
The sudden Implosion seemed to have shocked Vilthar, as he didn't make a move and let out a sound that was similar to a whale screaming underwater. I would of admired how beautiful the sound was, if I wasn't in such a terrible situation right now.
Luckily, the force from the shockwave had pushed me backwards, allowing me to gain bit of distance from Vilthar. But looking around, I had noticed that the Bloodroot Stranglers have already recovered from the shock, lunging towards me.
I didn't hesitate any further, while still holding my breath, I pressed down on the water—more precisely on the water molecules that made up the blood river. Exploding stuff in a molecular level is very draining on my innate spirit, but I had enough for it, even after the earlier Implosion.
But using this will definitely leave me unable to use my blessing abilities for around a minute. That would be a problem I'll focus on later. Right now, I needed to survive. The future me of seven minutes can deal with the consequences!
Looking back, I noticed that Vilthar had already recovered from losing one of his thousands of limbs. It was insignificant for him, anyway. Why would he care about losing a little limb, when he has over a thousand of them?
I saw them all shooting out towards me. No matter how calm I tried to remain, desperation began clawing it's way inside me. Desperation, panic and a primal fear I haven't felt since killing myself.
Perhaps this fear was what was influencing my actions as of late. As they have been both reckless and impulsive, but in the end, my goal of surviving mattered above all else. Even if it means surviving at the cost of losing it all. A dead man has no worth.
Thus, without hesitating any further, I pressed down on the blood river. Shut my eyes tightly, then activated [Explosion], allowing my innate spirit to flow into that blessing ability flawlessly, as I felt the familier sensation of the explosion being released enveloping my surroundings.
The water rippled, then blew up—not in flames, as it was extinguished the moment it was released, but rather released such a powerful shockwave, it sent me hurling through the blood river, right through the middle of the Bloodroot Stranglers that had gathered around me.
The Bloodroot Stranglers didn't hesitate for a second and adapted, trying to latch on to me as I was flung towards them, but even with their enhanced speed, they couldn't keep up with the boost the shockwave had given me. Which was a fortune that I hadn't calculated, wasn't exactly sure of when I released the explosion.
Eventually, my body was out of the blood river, my back slamming against the trunk of a tree, knocking the air out of me. Carefully, I inhaled the clean oxygen.
"I gotta get out of here…."
I mumbled to myself, quickly getting up without wasting any time. Then, using the strength my legs barely had left, I started rushing towards the next level—it was so close. Just within my grasp.
Distance to next Level: 1.9Km.
Just a single kilometer! I can do it. My legs can carry me that distance before the Bloodroot Stranglers reach me. I haven't even seen any of them pop out from underwater either—this was good, too good! My chance of becoming the first to ascend to the next level is right in front of me….
Not to mention, Morgan isn't anywhere around either. I knew that he was alive by checking the 'Key Rush' mission log, but perhaps he was so far away that I couldn't see him? Maybe he got taken to some secret place and was trapped forever? There was endless possibilities, after all…
I knew he hasn't ascended yet, because it would be announced the moment he did. So, this is my chance! All this misfortune for me will change the moment I ascend, not to mention, the crimson moon is close to dipping over the horizon—the crimson glow becoming less bright by the minute.
"If what Movarathos said is true, ascension to a level creates a small Respite Zone...."
I murmured, while still running, recalling what Movarathos had said. The Respite Zone will help deal with my thirst, Hunger, excretion, exhuastion and even replenish my innate spirit. There should also be a shop there to buy much-needed equipment. I already had good armor—I now just needed a weapon and decent shield that fits my battle style.
Just as my hopes were rising, I felt something wet hit the tip of my nose from the sky. Then another one, followed by another. Before long, the crimson moon was being obstructed by a large cloud above me, as the wind started gradually picking up.
'What…?'
My eyes widened in recallement, my mind wandering to what Movarathos had said.
'The Storm is one of the events inside the Key Rush. It's quite weak and manageable during daytime, but it would be a total monster for you during the nighttime. A force of nature you cannot fight against. If you are up against the Bloodroot Stranglers, they can absorb water from The Storm and grow stronger.'
I gulped. Then, started running much faster. I needed to get to the next level before The Storm arrives! Those were just little warnings. I need to atleast reach the next level before the actual Storm arrives. It would be a certain death sentence of im late, even by a second.
Just when everything was Turing out well—
[The Storm has arrived….]
My face crumbled in despair.
Desperation clawed at my hand, as I begged my feet to start running faster. The next level was only a kilometer away. Only a kilometer! It was right there! I can't give up yet. I won't give up so easily.
Even as I said that, I was helplessly the moment the rain fell down like powerful needles from the skin, the wind hitting me like a train, sending me hurling through the air—it was almost like The Storm was some violent hurricane—but, much, much worse.
"Argh!"
I groaned as I felt my skin being pierced by the violent gale, the rain drops hitting me like needles, as I was tossed around like some rag doll.
The unique thing about The Storm here was that the wind didn't blow in one direction, they blew in all directions at once. So my body was just being tossed around from east to west, north to south, mid-air. It was a horrible feeling, that made my eyes shut close, a violent urge to vomit filling my stomach.
I tried redirecting my body towards the direction of the next level, but it was impossible. The Storm during the crimson moon was like a force of nature—fighting against it, like Movarathos had said, was impossible. Even when I managed to save up some innate spirit and use [Explosion] to redirect where I was being tossed around to, it was fruitless.
I just ended up back to where i was, running in circles inside the powerful Storm, thunder just barely brushing past me as it struck the blood river down below.
At that moment I had no choice but to wait out The Storm, or to wait and see where The Storm will lead me. Trusting something like this was a bad idea, but I didn't have much of a choice. There were no tools in my arsenal that could help in this situation—the one thing that could help is useless due to my lack of innate spirit.
Besides, I was tired. At the very least, The Storm offered a moment of relaxation against the Bloodroot Stranglers below me. Facing actual monsters trying to kill you was much different than facing a force of nature. A force of nature doesn't discriminate.
I was able to tell since no Bloodroot Stranglers, or Vilthar tried to extend their powerful vines to grab me, bringing me down from the Storm. Instead, they all seemed to have retreated back down to the blood river for their own safety during The Storm.
This atleast gave me some peace of mind.
I remained stuck in The Storm for awhile, my eyes closed, my body limp. I was praying to whatever God or Goddess that existed to bless me, to bless with a chance of landing right where the third level was. The chances was negligible, but at the feeling of this powerlessness, I could only suddenly become religious.
While a bit bored, my thoughts drifted to Morgan. How was he faring during The Storm? I didn't even know where he was, but once again, I checked the Player Participants and he was still there. Alive and well. Where the hell was he? Did Movarathos kept silent about some secret location, that only Morgan knew?
Was he just playing the fool for show? Was he wary of me from the start? All of this was making my head hurt. Well, it was quite literally hurting due to the powerful raindrops and powerful winds.
As my thoughts kept on wandering and wandering to pass the time, I heard the familier voice sound inside my head.
[The Crimson Moon descends….]
[The Sun rises!]
The familier warm glow filled my vision, hitting my face. For a brief moment, I allowed a smile to paint my lips.
[The Storm has left….]
My happiness as gone as quickly as it came, though. As now I was suddenly falling to the ground, the powerful winds keeping me afloat suddenly disappearing.
"Ahhh!"
I exclaimed, startled. But quickly, just before I hit the ground and was squished like a bug, I summoned the headpiece, pouring innate spirit into it, allowing my body to take flight.
With a sigh of relief, my body touched down on the ground safely. However, just as I did, I quickly checked around the surroundings—my face darkening.
"No way…."
I quickly summoned the mission log.
Distance to next Level: 10.9Km.
'I'm back to where I started.'
I gritted my teeth in frustration. Just how bad will my luck get? It can't get any worse than this, right?
I shouldn't have said that. As the familier voice announced….
[Player 40,345,678 has ascended to the Third Level!]
[As per Player 40,345,678's decision, time will begin reversing….]
My face just grew darker and darker with each word said.
I looked back, watching as the sun started moving backwards in absurd speed, suddenly dipping into the horizon instantly. The sky darkened, the crimson moon replacing it.
'Why?'
[The Crimson Moon rises….]
[The Monsters grow stronger!]
I laughed broke out of me. A hysterical laugh filled with nothing but despair and resentment, as I fell down on my back, staring up at the sky with a crazed look in my eyes.
"This is just great!"
Time until Daybreak: 30:00 minutes.