Blink... Blink...
I blinked as my eyes slowly adjusted to the sunlight, penetrating through the morning mist that enveloped the island
"It's morning already?"
I quickly checked the Corruption contained in my abdomen, trying to assess how much time I had left before my Mana Layer suppressing it would burst.
Fortunately, it seemed like everything was still under control.
I gathered my bearings and slowly emerged from the crack in the ground, which I used as a shelter during the night.
My gaze swept across the surroundings and I saw many remnants of battles that had taken place while I slept.
I saw many claw marks and blood stains that weren't there before.
It seemed like during the night, the island had become a battlefield.
"..."
I stretched my back, letting out a growl as I felt stiffness in my muscles from sleeping on the hard ground.
"Time to find that fucking Boss..."
I muttered to myself, unsheathing my Katana and slowly moving down the slope. I avoided the platform where I'd fought the Corrupted Spider and headed towards the smaller mountain in the west.
Today, I planned to search through the west side of the island. Whether there be the creature I was searching for or not was dependent on my luck.
"..."
I walked through the rocky terrain, avoiding crevices and cracks that would sprain my leg if I was not careful enough.
I've also encountered some weak creatures, but it took me only a single swift slash to kill them. They were normal G Rank Monsters.
Although they possessed no cores, I had a chance to use my sword without using Mana, allowing me to sharpen my Sword Proficiency.
The Skill was stuck on F Rank for a while now, and I needed to improve it as fast as possible. My Strength was already lacking, and I didn't have time to waste, since the Shadow Dungeon raid was rapidly approaching.
Swish...
I beheaded a Fox with dark fur and three tails. Its body slumped to the ground, but I didn't even bother checking if it had the core or not.
At this point, I knew that I wouldn't be able to reach the west side of the island at this pace. I needed to just ignore the monsters and avoid unnecessary battles if I wanted to search the vicinity until sunset.
With that in mind, I quickened my pace and started running, leaping over rocks and dodging trees in my path.
As I ran, the wind started to pick up, and I felt my hair whipping around my face.
Growl...
After a while, some monsters started to chase after me, but I continued to ignore them since none of them could catch up to me.
It was like playing cat and mouse, but the mouse was faster and smarter than the cats.
Thud...
Kicking the ground with my foot, I leaped off a small cliff and landed gracefully on the other side.
Some monsters followed and others didn't but the majority of them decided to give up the chase and retreated to their territories.
Surprisingly, everything up until now had gone smoothly, but I became even more cautious, because of it.
It was simply too good to be true...
Boom...
Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet shook, causing me to lose my balance and crash onto the ground.
"What the hell?!"
My eyes quickly scanned the area, and I noticed a hand or rather a claw emerging from the ground.
The creature slowly rose from the soil, revealing its enormous size and black fur.
It was a gigantic mole with red, glowing eyes and razor-sharp claws.
I quickly stood up, unsheathed my sword and entered into a battle stance.
Cleek...
The monster let out a scream that caused my eardrums to vibrate, but I managed to remain calm and focused.
Whoosh...
I dashed at the mole, maneuvering around its attacks with precision and slashing its legs with my Katana.
However, although my Katana's blade was sharp and dug into the mole's flesh, it barely seemed to phase the beast.
It was a tenacious monster!
Cleek...
For a moment, I felt my feet leave the ground as the mole's claws suddenly struck me in the side, sending me flying.
Boom...
I crashed into a nearby tree, causing it to splinter and break upon the impact.
"Sh-it!"
Cursing, I quickly cleaned the blood from the corner of my mouth and got up to continue the battle.
Just to make sure, I checked if the Corruption was still suppressed and luckily my Mana Layer was still holding on.
However, I could see multiple cracks beginning to form, signaling that I needed to end this battle quickly.
The battle was too intense for my body to handle, I needed to end it before my Mana Layer completely shattered.
Creak...
With gritted teeth, I began to channel Mana into my body, empowering my every limb, every cell before darting toward the mole like a bullet.
The mole was caught off guard by my sudden speed, allowing me to jump onto its back and land a powerful strike with my Katana.
My weapon's blade, slashed through the creature's thick fur, drawing fountains of blood and causing the mole to let out another deafening scream.
It tried to shake me off, but I held tightly onto its fur, raking my Katana across its back until it decided to bury underground, trying to escape.
The mole was very confident about winning before I started using Mana, but now, it tried to run as fast as possible.
I could only sneer, looking at the hole it created as it dug deeper into the ground.
"..."
Although I acted tough, I was spent. Breathless and weary, I sheathed my Katana and fell to the ground.
It was time to address the issue of my deteriorating Mana Layer and dissolve the Corruption.
Huff...
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and started absorbing Mana from the surrounding environment to make a small hole in the Layer I've created.
I was planning to dissolve the corruption slowly, rather than doing it abruptly, to avoid it getting out of control and going haywire.
Swish...
My Golden Mana Layer gradually began to morph as I focused on creating a hole within it. I needed to be very careful, so it wouldn't accidentally explode.
Tap... Tap...
The rain started to fall lightly, dampening the ground and creating a soothing rhythm that helped me concentrate.
After what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes, the hole in my Mana Layer was finally large enough to allow me to dissolve the Corruption gradually.
Swish...
The Corruption tried to escape instantly, but I managed to restrain it, making sure it wouldn't spread.
I've created a Mana tunnel of some sort, that would slowly lead the corruption towards my skin and out of my body.
It was a delicate and exhausting process, and very painful as well, but I was able to firm it with ease.
"Finally..."
As the last particle of Corruption left my body, I collapsed onto the purple grass, stupidly grinning to myself.
Finally, I got rid of the poison that made me feel like there was a blade pressed to my throat at all times.
I circulated Mana throughout my body to see if everything was truly cleared, when my muscles began to tense and my vision blurred.
Suddenly, a strange heat rose from my stomach, coursing through my body and traveling to every limb. The temperature climbed higher and higher until it became utterly unbearable.
It was a familiar feeling, it felt like molten metal was flowing through my veins.
I was breaking through!
I gritted my teeth and bit my lips, but I managed to remain conscious until the heat finally subsided.
I have to say that the pain wasn't as bad as the last time.
"Status!"
I muttered under my breath, waiting for an Azure Hologram to appear.
≈≈≈ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 ≈≈≈
𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: [ 𝗔𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻 ]
𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤: [ 𝐅 ]
𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡: 𝐅-
𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝐅+
𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮: 𝐅
𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚: 𝐄
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦: 𝐅+
<-- 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 -->
[ 𝗦𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 --> 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐄 ]
eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ 𝗔 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.
[ 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐦 --> 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐀 ]
𝐁𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐨𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝟏𝟓%.
[ 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 --> 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐁 ]
𝐀 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲.
<-- 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 -->
[ 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 [ ★★ ] --> 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 ]
𝐀 𝐒𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝.
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
Unknowingly a smirk appeared on my face as I saw my new and improved stats, I was happy with my progress. Now, I was only a whole Rank behind the protagonists!
With a satisfying nod, I weaved my hand, making the Status Window disappear and turned my attention towards the tunnel Mole had dug.
"I could use this..."
I suddenly had a thought, realizing that the Mole's tunnels could be a useful route for me. While they might be dark and cramped, they provided me with a hidden and unconventional way to navigate through different locations undetected.
If I chose to travel through them, I was confident that I could avoid any unwanted attention from the monsters lurking above ground.
Thud...
I leaped into the hole, sliding down the soil and landing on the damp ground with a soft thud.
As soon as I entered the Darkness all sounds seemed to disappear, even the sound of rain was muted.
It felt like I entered a new world, where silence was the norm.
I quite like it.
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