--
Cedric's senses were limited in this plane, but it still covered a decent distance. However, he just wasn't able to see where this plane begins or ends. It's like he was just dropped in the middle of it and was left to make sense of it all.
All he could see here was blood—murky blood. The kind that never dries up and was also corrosive. It didn't hinder him too much, of course, but it was uncomfortable to look at.
As soon as the tutorial ended, the voice of the system left him, and the barriers that isolated him disappeared. Cedric already had his sword out, just in time to slash at whatever jumped at him.
Spurt!
Whatever that thing was exploded like a zit, spewing blood everywhere. Cedric frowned and shielded himself from the bloodsplatters. He knew that his clothes would inevitably be stained with blood, but for now, he doesn't want it to happen this early.
Surprisingly, whatever that creature he just killed was completely escaped his senses. He only noticed it as soon as it entered a certain distance away from him, and that's certainly something.
'Must've come from below then,' he guessed.
His senses couldn't penetrate this sea of blood for some reason. Each attempt he made failed; his senses just bounced off like it's being repulsed.
'Beep!'
[Blood Specter killed, gained 5 Blood Crystal Shards]
Cedric blinked after reading that notice.
'Blood Specter? Ah, it must be referring to whatever attacked me just now.'
Cedric shifted his attention to the Blood Crystal Shards he gained. They look like ruby shards that released a sanguine sheen and bloody scent. The system AI informed him that this was the currency of this plane, and of course, it is gained through slaughter.
Blood Crystals come in several forms: Blood Shards, Blood Stones, Blood Chunks, and Blood Slabs. Each form corresponds to a certain value, which could be exchanged after leaving this place. If the participant dies, they lose half of these, which is certainly a huge loss.
Of course, each participant in this killing field had a certain value of blood crystals. The value is based on their cultivation base and their kill streak so far. How much exactly wasn't made clear by the AI during the tutorial since the only thing that matters here was killing.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
This time, Cedric saw them clearly. His guess was indeed correct; they came from underground. Their appearance was accompanied by a tiny ripple from the blood sea, a sign that they're coming.
Blood Specters looked like apparitions made of blood. Their forms seemed ethereal, making them a little difficult to sense. They also don't make a lot of noise when they move; they're like a gust of wind, a harmful gust of wind.
'Come to think of it...'
'Yeah...it's just the sea of blood that's different. Other than that, this is just another Hell Dive for me.'
'Ah, really. Old habits, die hard.'
'Now, I'd like to see what kind of plot twists this place will throw at me.'
Cedric kept paying attention to his surroundings as he walked. Because he could only see a sea of blood wherever he went, he nearly thought that he's just walking in circles since it's all the same.
But the change he was anticipating happened at some point during his ventures. No, he didn't see land, though he did see a new creature to kill.
Roar!
'Is that...huh? Is that a tree?'
The new creature sure did look like a blood-soaked tree from where he stood. It seems to be in pain from its roars.
'A Treant?' He guessed, but he immediately shook his head in denial. 'No, it can't be. This thing sure looks like Morning Wood, but there's a few key differences.'
Morning Wood, a fellow challenger of the tower, is the first person from the Treant Race he met. He had seen him a couple of times, enough to know that whatever this thing was in front of him certainly wasn't one of Morning Wood's people.
Moreover, Morning Wood did say that he too was the first one from his race to make contact with the alliance through the tower, so it's very unlikely for him and this one to be related.
More importantly, it doesn't really matter whether this one was related to Morning Wood or not, because in this place it could only be one thing. An enemy.
Swoosh!
One of Cedric's golden swords turned into a streak of light in an attempt to stab whatever that thing was. But to Cedric's surprise, the sword just passed through it like it wasn't there, and then a surprising development occurred.
That...tree, or whatever, suddenly swelled in size. It became ten times taller and wider than before, forcing Cedric to look up at it.
All of a sudden, it became the only thing he could see. Its dried-up branches seemingly pierced the skies, the blood stains on its body turned into blood streams that gave the tree a sinister look, and the face on its body multiplied by a hundredfold; some were wailing, some were furious, some were laughing, but most were crying tears of blood.
"Holy fucking shit! I didn't see that coming."