Chapter 267 264: To safety (2in1)

Chapter 267 264: To safety (2in1)

The tense situation Val found himself in had escalated to a perilous point, yet not a single wave of fear washed over him, thanks to his Unfeeling Trait.

But something else happened; something so unexpected that it left him deeply disturbed.

The moment their breath touched his skin, an overwhelming sense of fatigue surged through his body.

This sensation was unlike anything he had felt before.

It was as if his vitality, which was extremely abundant, was being drained away, leaving him teetering on the edge of physical and mental collapse. It was a weird sensation, and he was certain that the weird entities were the cause of it.

Suddenly, the system notification rang in his mind.

[System Notification: "You have been touched by the Breath of the Withering Spirits. Your Stamina and HP have decreased significantly."]

The name "Withering Spirits" was exactly suitable for these ghosts for their breath seemed to hold the power to wither away one's very life force, leaving them drained and weakened.

With the help of the notification, Val realized that their breath could sap his stamina and life force.

He didn't bother looking at his status screen to determine his condition; the mental and physical exhaustion he felt was proof enough that his stamina and HP bars were nearly depleted by their insidious attack.

If he was touched by their breath again, he would die!

A droplet of sweat trickled down Val's sickly pale face. Death had never felt this close.

Val's mind shifted into overdrive.

Since these haunting entities resembled humans in form, he speculated that their breathing patterns might be similar to humans as well.

In a state of relaxed and normal breathing, a human typically takes three to five seconds to complete one full breathing cycle, which includes both inhaling and exhaling.

Half a second had already passed since they exhaled a breath. That meant he only had approximately two seconds left to make it to the cave and hang the talisman, or else he would certainly die!

He had to use these two seconds efficiently.

He didn't bother attacking them as it was already tried and tested that the soul power of a wizard, which was effective against the devil, doesn't work against them. On top of that, there was no guarantee that his strongest offensive skill, the Hellfish Fist skill, would work against them. The chances were high that these eerie figures were impervious to any attack he could muster. There might be no way to forcefully kill them.

Thus, he had never entertained the idea of using his last bit of strength to launch another assault on them. Actually, if he was confident about winning against them, he wouldn't have started running away from them in the first place.

The only thought in his mind was using Marshall's strategy to survive the ghosts' certain kill strike.

Val's eyes suddenly snapped open. He was in a grievous situation, but not a hint of panic could be seen on his face. Rather, an unprecedented amount of determination was reflected in his eyes.

The ghosts needed 2 seconds to breathe again. He would use these 2 seconds in the most efficient and effective way to secure his life.

A small cave was so close it was in his sight, its mouth gaping open as if inviting him to safety.

If he reached it and hung the talisman at its entrance, while there was a 50% chance he would die at the hands of the Witherings, there was also a 50% chance he wouldn't. It all depended on whether the power of the talisman was effective at keeping them at bay or not.

The cave was separated from him by a distance of 20 meters.

With his strength and speed, he calculated in a fraction of a second that he should be able to make it within the 2 seconds he had if he gave it his all. It was risky; he could very well collapse from exhaustion once he reached the cave, but it was a risk he had to take as he had no other method of overcoming their certain kill strike.

Stomp!

Val's foot hit the ground so hard that it cracked open, sending out a shockwave that launched him airborne and propelled him at breakneck speed straight into the safety of the cave.

Eerily, at that same moment, the Withering ghosts vanished as if they were mirages dissolving in the wind. Their disappearance was so eerie it would send chills down one's spine if they were to see it.

Meanwhile, after landing inside the cave, Val's muscles were crying out in agony, and his stamina was practically depleted. He was on the edge of collapsing, but he had a very important thing to do. So he didn't give in to the feeling.

With the speed born of sheer necessity, he took off the mystical talisman that hung around his neck. Then, without wasting a second, he hung it at the entrance of the cave in a fluid motion. All of it happened in one-tenth of a second.

[System Notification 1: Conditions to activate the talisman's effect have been met.]

[System Notification 2: A barrier that denies unauthorized entry to devils and lowers the strength of all devils inside of it has been erected around the cave.]

This happened before they could reappear.

The system notifications were followed by an event that filled him with a sense of triumph: the Withering ghosts reappeared, but this time they were on the outside of the cave. It was as if they had collided with an invisible wall.

"They can't breach the protective barrier generated by the talisman!"

Val took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh of relief.

"My gamble worked. It netted me a fortune."

Val grinned. There was no greater wealth in the world than one's own life.

Then the inevitable happened.

Thud!n/)o..v-.e-/L--B--I)/n

Val's legs gave way, and a dull thud sounded as he collapsed to the ground butt-first

As he sat there inside the cave, his eyelids started to droop, feeling as if they were made of lead and his consciousness blurred at the edges, teetering on the edge of oblivion. His stamina bar had emptied to nothing, making even the act of staying awake feel like an exhausting marathon.

"I can't just yet."

Val went against the immense desire to fall asleep that was like a mountainous waterfall crashing down on him with sheer willpower alone and kept his eyes from closing, as he wasn't completely safe.

The ghosts were standing outside the cave, staring at him in deathly silence. It seemed like they were planning something. Anyway, he couldn't sit around and do nothing.

Val immediately came up with a simple plan.

Before they could breach the defensive barrier set up by the talisman and reach him, he had to gain a better understanding of them using his Detect, to know their strengths and weaknesses.

Once he had that knowledge, these beings would become less intimidating, less of an unknown, and easier to deal with.

However, they had already displayed an uncanny ability to evade his attempts at scanning them. If he made it too obvious, they would teleport out of his sight before the skill could work its magic. He had to be clever this time around.

He had to catch them off guard by fooling them with what he knew best, a skill he had honed to perfection back in the Ironspire Stronghold under the torturous guidance of his sick and twisted father.

Acting.

Summoning the image of absolute fear into his mind, he allowed tears to flow from his eyes, simulating the appearance of absolute terror. He pulled his legs toward his chest and buried his face in his knees, mimicking the posture of someone completely paralyzed by fear. For a few moments, he just stayed like that, letting the ghosts think they had broken him.

To his relief, the ghosts seemed to buy his act as their guard lowered just a notch, but it was enough.

It was the moment Val had been waiting for. While maintaining his defeated posture to keep them fooled, he stole a furtive, sideways glance at the creatures. It was a brief moment, barely a fraction of a second, but it was all he needed to make his Detect skill work as intended.

And this time, they were caught off guard. For once, they didn't disappear before his skill could take effect.

His plan to better understand them immediately bore fruit as a semi-transparent screen appeared in front of him. Information flooded Val's senses, providing him with invaluable insights about the creatures.

[Detect Successful!]

[Detected Entities - "Withering Devils."]

[Danger level: 3]

[Origin: These entities are born from the collective hatred and regret of a fallen civilization.]

[Abilities: The Withering Devils possess the capability to designate an individual as their target. After successfully teleporting five times around this target, they acquire the ability to reap the target's soul.]

[Immunities: The Withering Devils are completely impervious to harm, whether it be soul-based, physical, magical, or spiritual.]

[Weaknesses:

1: They are vulnerable to elements designed specifically to grasp the soul.

2: They are susceptible to being sealed or confined by barriers created through high-level ancient rituals or talismans with similar properties.

3: If they fail to reap the soul of their designated target within a set time limit, they will suffer death due to the backlash of their own power.]

A grim smile spread across Val's face.

Now he knew what he was up against.

He had to admit these Devils were formidable, no doubt about it, but they were not invincible. They had weaknesses that could be exploited to kill them!

'All I need to do is fight this intense urge to sleep, stay awake, and ensure they don't break down the talisman's barrier until their power backfires on them and they perish.'

Val thought.