“Void and Darkness. Creation and Light. Death and Knowledge. Time and Space. Chaos and Destruction. And finally, Power. Each of those is an aspect of a much wider multiverse. Are there more of them? Yes, definitely, but those eleven will always be at the core of the matter.”
–Central Academy, Ger
Leo blinked, watching as more and more Eaters fell to the ground. Some exploded upon impact, while others flailed where they landed. Who would have guessed. Dumb luck, as they say.
The little red sun he had created sailed far, bouncing off a wall in the distance and illuminating most of the chamber. Plenty of Eaters were still hanging in various places, but at least now, the path inside was somewhat clear.
He shook his head, the shock finally leaving his body as a System notification decided to jump out of nowhere.
Multiple enemies slain | Experience awarded | 3 Ether gained
Multiple? More like tens or hundreds if even half of them died from the impact. I wonder if they count toward the kill count. They definitely didn’t have much experience for me. Leo quickly brought up his evolution menu and frowned. Yep, zero progress. Not surprising.
He wasn’t disappointed, not really. Those monsters didn’t even have a rank, so expecting a wave of levels or Ether would have been stupid, to say the least.
I will take what I can. Leo shrugged and reignited his arms as he slowly stepped into the chamber. His boots squelched with each step as one Eater after another died the further he moved. They had no chance against him once they were on the ground, and he didn’t dare to approach the few areas where they were still waiting.
No exit. He sighed, stopping in the middle of the chamber. As vast as the room was, it had only one opening. The one from which he had come from.
Yet, as he cast his gaze across the chamber, his eyes caught an almost unnoticeable glint in a massive pile of bones. He made his way toward the heap, his eyes narrowing at the now-obvious green glow.
Carefully stepping around a horde of twitching Eaters, Leo leaned toward the bone pile, his gaze searching between the gaps.
There, he murmured without a sound, his eyes finally falling on the glow’s source, or at least on a small part of it. In appearance, it looked similar to a thin, green-colored chain, yet it was anything but one.
The item definitely wasn’t made with standard metal, for the chain looked almost transparent, as if it wasn’t even there.
What are you? The question rang in his mind as he got a bit closer, squinting his eyes.
Now that the item had his complete focus, he finally noticed the long, curvy lines running along the chain’s entire surface. They created symbols not dissimilar to the ones he saw on the Void Gate.
One way to find out. Identify.
Spectral Inscription: Valron Coverage (Common):
A Spectral Inscription item made by a skilled craftsman. Created using Valron ore and Runic Essence. Due to years of unuse, the item’s quality deteriorated.
Effect: Chosen body part becomes slightly harder to damage.
Active: Valron Endurance – Channel Essence to create a protective layer of spectral skin over the chosen area.
Area of Use: Any single place on the user’s body
First SI item found. To use it, the user needs to attach it to their body using Essence. SI-type items can be removed at any time at the risk of being destroyed. Warning! Only one SI-type item can be applied to a single area.
Another item type? His eyebrow rose as Leo slowly moved the bones. Normal physical items. Install items. And now, Spectral Inscription. I wonder if there are more types.
Also, Valron ore? Runic Essence? Like always, with every new discovery, I have even more questions. He sighed as warmth rushed into his cursed hand when he picked up the arm-length chain.
At least, it seems useful. Now, where do I bind it?
It had to be one of his limbs, probably an arm. Still, the question of which one to choose remained. His human arm seemed like an obvious choice. Yet, the longer he thought about it, the opposite started to look like a better idea.
Despite all the points in Grace, Leo still favored his right arm to attack in a prolonged fight. Additionally, he mainly used the cursed arm as an opener or support. Giving it another defensive tool to help couldn’t hurt.
All right then. How do I do it properly? He mused, wrapping the chain around his left forearm. I really hope some Essence is all you need.
As he took a deep breath, he let his energy flow, and the moment it touched the chain, the item moved.
Like a snake, it slithered across his arm until it barely touched his wrist and shoulder with its opposite ends. The item squeezed the limb, and just when he thought this was the end, the unimaginable happened.
What the…
Every chain link broke open, releasing waves of illegible symbols. They seized every empty space on his arm, filling them with odd green lines, much like the chain before. No skin was left untouched, and the symbols only stopped when they flooded his entire vision as he looked upon his arm.
Is… is it done? As if to answer his question, the symbols pulsed once, then twice, before disappearing like they were never there. Even the chain vanished.
Yet, when Leo raised his arm a bit higher, he could still feel the item tingling across his skin as it covered the limb. It wasn’t much different from a standard sleeve, only invisible.
Spectral Inscription. He chuckled. How fitting.
He stretched the arm, flexing it as much as possible, trying to find any issues with the movement. Only there were none; it truly seemed like the item had disappeared.
Fitting indeed. Now to activate you.
With hopes that the obvious would work again, Leo channeled some Essence into the phantom sleeve. He blinked when the green symbols came back, shining brighter than ever.
Entire arm covered, and only the claws are free. Convenient…
He unsheathed the military dagger and stabbed lightly into the green shroud.
Nothing. Nice.
He pressed harder, yet the barrier never gave out, and not once did he feel a pull on his Essence. The item stopped his average strike with only a bit of energy.
Okay, then. Time to kick it up a notch.
With that thought in mind, Leo stabbed again, ready to pull away at a moment’s notice in case the barrier broke. He really didn’t need any more injuries, especially self-inflicted ones.
Not that he needed to worry, as the barrier held again. Only this time, when his knife struck, the symbols cracked in multiple places, losing some of their glow.
Interesting. Leo pushed a little harder, and the barrier shattered, raining small green particles onto the ground, just as he had predicted. Much stronger than I thought a common item would be. Oh well, all the better for me.
He fed another burst of Essence into the item. Only to frown when nothing happened.
Right… That explains a lot. It has a cooldown. Honestly, I should have expected this.
He sighed and took a look around the chamber. His orb of light died out some time ago, and while the path was still clear, he should probably get away from this place.
After one last glance at his left arm, Leo departed from the chamber, hoping to never return. In those few minutes, he had killed enough Eaters to last a lifetime, and he wouldn’t mind if they were also the last ones he ever encountered.
I hate leeches…
Five minutes. Valron Endurance had precisely five minutes of cooldown between uses. Not long enough to make the item useless, but also not short enough to use it more than once in a single fight.
Leo received a chance to time it perfectly during his next break, when he had to recover most of Essence. Like before, Rock Eaters swarmed him the moment he dropped stealth. Although, he only had to face four of them this time.
Nonetheless, he decided to use that encounter to test his item. Especially as he still needed to know how durable the barrier was in a fight.
In the end, he wasn’t disappointed as he managed to slap away three monsters with the back of his hand before killing them. The shield broke during the fourth strike, and even though the meeting between his skin and the rocky hide hurt like hell, at least he knew what to expect from the barrier.
Fast-forward an hour, and Leo once again found himself sitting next to an entrance to another chamber. It was smaller—much smaller than the last one—but no less dangerous. Quite the opposite in fact, as in his humble opinion, the creature waiting inside could end him with one well-placed strike.
Guarding Rock Eater (Voidling) | Rank: F+ | LVL: 10
Race: Voidling | Subspecies: Guarding Rock Eater
Expected Potential: F+ to E-
Arsenal: Jaws, bladed limbs
Known Weaknesses: Vision, legs
Special evolution in the World Eater line. Found only in Rifts or Nests of Eaters. They guard the entrance and exit to their domain with their life. Quick on their feet, Guarding Rock Eaters can tear their prey apart with the blades attached to their frontal limbs. Although it’s a special evolution, their hide is barely stronger than that of a normal Rock Eater.
The monster waiting inside was easily larger than him. Even though its body resembled a normal Rock Eater, he could guess that with its six spidery legs, the beast could move faster than its weaker kin. Then there were the two thin arms attached to the monster’s front, both finished with razor-sharp blades.
At least the exit is behind it. He chuckled bitterly, running a hand through his dirty hair.
The way out of this place wasn’t anything special. Just another, much smaller Void Gate, only this one had a colorful portal inside the arch. Truly a magnificent sight of a hundred exploding stars pushed into a small image. Yet, he couldn’t be bothered to care, not now.
It has two more levels than I, but I’m also rated F+ after the last level. I have Reinforcement and Limit Break, so if things go to shit, I can always make a run for the portal. That is, if it even allows me to pass.
Leo groaned, letting his head fall against the rocky wall. If his stealth worked against those worms, he wouldn’t even need to ponder such things. Although, he couldn’t deny that the Guarding Rock Eater seemed like an excellent target to test his current abilities.
If only I could somehow get a free hit before it realizes I’m here. I’m a fucking assassin, after all. I really shouldn’t start any fights on equal ground.
And yet, the question remained. What could he do to give himself an edge and finish the beast before it could ramp up.
Minute after minute passed as he sat there with his eyes closed. Dozens of scenarios ran through his head, each making less sense than the last one.
Hold up. Leo froze, his eyes snapping open as he resisted the urge to smash his head against a rock.
How did I even forget about this? It happened only an hour ago. He grumbled, his gaze falling to a small ball of light forming in his human palm. I just need to distract it long enough to get close and cut it once. A few seconds is all I need. Eaters fell for that; maybe this one will too.
He nodded. Yeah, that could work. And I can place Kiss of Death on everything, maybe even my claws. Plus… With a grin in place, he reached for one Crystallized Essence hidden in his pocket. I have this if all else fails.
The wide grin didn’t fall off his face even as Kiss of Death failed to stick on one claw after he placed it on the next one.
One way or another, I’m getting out of this hellhole.