Chapter 37: Monstrous Power

Chapter 37: Monstrous Power

While having some difficulty staying conscious Zac finished off the other three beasts that had arrived due to the noise of the fight. Luckily the surge of energy soon dissipated.

He quickly retreated after the kills, not wanting to keep battling any more barghest for the moment. After running for a few minutes he reached one of his hideouts, another construction high up in a tree.

As he sat down on the bedding on leaves he could finally focus on the new things in his head. Just as he suspected he had completed the quest for Axe Mastery with his last kill. His speed of killing had far surpassed his expectations. He had given himself a 10-day deadline but had finished it in just below a weeks time. It was mostly thanks to the high density of monsters in the central part of the island. The monsters were everywhere, and he didnt have waste a lot of time traveling looking for his next target.

Zac closed his eyes to go over his new skill and was surprised to suddenly find himself standing on the edge of a cliff. Jolted by the change in scenery he immediately opened his eyes, only to once again see the familiar sight of his hideout.

It had only been an illusion or something created in his mind, but it had felt so real he had thought for a second he had been teleported somewhere. Zac calmed his breathing and slowly closed his eyes again.

He once again found himself to be standing on the desolate cliff. As he looked around he found that the cliff was a part of a seemingly endless canyon. It stretched further than Zac could see and the bottom was shrouded in a thick mist, giving the impression of being bottomless. The illusory world itself was a dull grey, as though all life had been sucked out of the area.

The most shocking sight wasnt the canyon however, it was the enormous axe that was embedded in the ground a few hundred meters away from him. It was at least 50 meters tall and exuded a pressure that almost made Zac collapse just from standing in the vicinity.

The axe itself was simple and unadorned with a straight wooden haft. It was a double axe made in seemingly ordinary steel with curved edges. Even though it looked simple Zac felt that he was gazing at a supreme treasure just from the towering aura it exuded.

As soon as Zacs eyes landed on the edge of the axe he stumbled backward, his face turning a ghastly white. It had felt like he was being split in two from just looking at the edge.

After regaining his bearing he tentatively looked up at the axe again, careful to avoid looking at the edges. But as he did, his vision once more changed.

The bleak dead world changed to one that could best be described as a paradise. Golden clouds hung in the sky, and there were fantastical buildings upon them. A network of translucent bridges connected the sky cities, and flying contraptions could be seen gliding about.

Zac himself was floating far up in the sky, seemingly unencumbered by gravity. Facing him was a vast celestial army. The army shone in a splendor of white and gold, and the generals radiated a terrifying power that Zac wouldnt even be able to begin to grade. A few groups of the army were circling pillars as large as skyscrapers, and it took Zac a moment to realize the huge structures were actually supersized array flags, like the ones he had in his camp.

There were even titans among the ranks of the humanoid army, the shortest standing being at least 100 meters tall. Their muscular frames looked strong enough to carry mountains.

Zacs emotions were in turmoil after the battle. He had become steady as a rock after over a thousand battles on the island, but he wasnt prepared for what he had seen. Who was that man, and why was that army trying to fight him?

Was that how a war in the multi-verse looked? If so, then earth was well and truly screwed. If someone arrived on earth with only a fraction of the power of the man with the axe, then there was nothing the earthlings could do. It would be like ants trying to stop a tank.

Furthermore, he didnt understand why he was shown this vision. He had just gotten the skill Axe Mastery and suddenly was transported here.

As he was pondering what it all meant the gigantic axe started emitting a blinding light. When he turned his eyes over to the weapon the light intensified and suddenly the axe was gone.

In its place was a large fractal that shared the same general outline as the axe. It also emitted extreme pressure, making Zac feel as though he could somehow be cleaved in two from this pattern as well.

The fractal didnt stay still for long, and suddenly started to shrink. When it had shrunk into the size of his palm it suddenly shot toward him like a bullet. Aghast Zac tried to dodge. It truly felt like the monstrous axe was charging at him.

It was to no avail however, and it slammed right into his forehead. Zac froze, not daring to move an inch.

Luckily the release of death didnt arrive, and he found out he was completely fine. The fractal hadnt cut him but somehow entered his head instead. He could now sense its existence in his mind, and it hovered there now seemingly inert.

Finally, he bit his finger making a small bleeding wound, and willed himself back to reality. He opened his eyes, still sitting in his small hideout. He was shocked to notice that he was completely soaked in sweat and drained of cosmic energy. It also seemed that hours had passed, rather than minutes as it had felt like, since the suns had moved quite a distance in the sky. But as he looked down on his finger it was whole and without any wound.

It seemed that the experience had truly been an illusion. He was already somewhat sure of that but had cut his finger just to be certain. He knew the System was no stranger to teleportation from how it sent away Hannah and her friends, and needed to know if he was in actual danger if it happened again.

For a final test, he tried to enter the mystic space once more, but nothing happened. It seemed it was a one-time opportunity he had received. He was at least happy to notice that the mysterious axe fractal actually had remained in his mind, as he could still perceive it outside of the illusion.

He was quite sure that the new fractal was the axe mastery skill that he had received, but he had no idea how to utilize it as of yet. He had initially planned on heading back to camp to finish his Chop quest as well, but he changed his mind.

He believed he saw those scenes for a reason and wanted to go over it while the memories were still fresh. So instead he rested his back against the tree trunk and once again closed his eyes.