Chapter 65 Alone

I gazed at the ominous mist as it crept along the forest floor, consuming everything in its path.

It seemed as though anything that came into contact with the fog lost its vibrancy and life. Even the tree I perched upon had patches of bark slowly being devoured by the darkness below.

I couldn't help but worry that the jungle sapling I was sitting on wouldn't be able to withstand the onslaught of the 'Storm'.

Shhhh...

The whispers were beginning to invade my mind, making my thoughts jumbled and hazy. I constantly bit my lip to resist the strange mental assault brought on by the 'Storm'.

Pain was my only distraction, a tool to keep me grounded and prevent me from accidentally killing myself.

Pluck...

Drops of blood trickled down my chin as I continued to chew on my lip, not stopping until the whispers began to fade.

The mist still lingered on the forest floor, but the whispers were now quiet and distant. It was as if the being spreading them had moved further away from me.

Shhhh...

A bolt of dark lightning suddenly emerged from the crackling clouds, zigzagging towards me.

At first, it seemed as though it would miss its mark, but it curved mid-flight and hurled towards my chest.

Whoosh...

I narrowly avoided the bolt. It struck the tree behind me, splitting the trunk in half and sending the branch I was perched on tumbling to the ground.

My heart stopped for a second as I fell, but I quickly unsheathed my katana and drove it into the trunk to halt my descent.

"..."

As I clung to the hilt of my katana, I glanced down to see another bolt of dark lightning hurtling towards me. This time, it flew in a straight line, aimed directly at my chest.

Time seemed to slow as I weighed my options.

I could release my grip on the katana and plummet into the storm below, or I could try to withstand the blow and risk being torn apart.

However, none of these options suited me.

Swish...

I swung my left hand towards the incoming bolt, golden threads forming in my grip.

Clank...

My Golden Aura Blade collided with the dark lightning. The two energies crackled as they fought for dominance.

My aura blade was still relatively weak, its strength directly proportional to my sword proficiency, but it was above average compared to a normal sword one could buy in a shop.

Whoosh...

The dark lightning crackled a few more times as it tried to engulf my golden blade, but it dissipated a few seconds later.

I wanted to sigh in relief, but I knew I couldn't afford such a luxury.

Swinging onto the nearest branch, I ran through the trees, leaping from one to the next and never staying in one place for more than a second.

At first, the dark lightning darted across the vicinity like heat-seeking missiles, missing me by mere inches. However, after a few minutes of intense pursuit, the accuracy of the projectiles dropped noticeably. Some bolts even struck the wrong trees or collided with each other.

"..."

All the while, I silently begged for the fog to dissipate. Glancing at my watch, I realized that the Academy bus had probably already left and the fog showed no signs of receding.

At this point, I had given up on making it in time. There was no way I could complete the dungeon and run five miles before the deadline. All I could do now was survive and finish the dungeon. Since it was night outside, I decided to take my time before facing the boss.

I would much rather spend my time inside the safety of the dungeon portal than outside, where abominations roamed in the night. Even for third-year protagonists, these creatures were a serious threat.

The chances of me surviving outside was absolute zero, minus one, in fact.

Whoosh...

A strong gust of wind blew from the north, clearing the fog and revealing the ground below.

The greenery, once tinged with purple, was now stark white, as if all color had been drained from it.

Even the tree bark was half-dead and white. It looked as though a wave of white paint had engulfed the jungle rather than a dark fog.

"..."

I noticed several skeletons lying on the jungle floor and shuddered. The bones were mangled and torn apart as if some creature had chewed on them. I could even see strange teeth marks on their surface.

Thud...

As I descended onto the white grass, I noticed that the shadows were still there, unaffected by the fog. They roamed the forest floor freely, unattached to any object.

"What the hell..."

One shadow, resembling the Winter Wolf I had slain, suddenly tried to climb onto my shoe. But it froze as if blocked by an unseen force. It tried again and again until parts of its silhouette began to wither away and it dissipated before my eyes.

"..."

I had just witnessed a shadow dying. A fucking shadow!

In the game, these shadows weren't supposed to do anything, but in reality they were creepy as hell. At this point, I didn't even know if they were dangerous or not.

But considering that one of them had died trying to get onto me, I figured I was pretty safe, right?

"I hate this dungeon…"

Muttering under my breath, I moved away from the shadows and continued my journey through the white jungle.

Although the silhouettes began to follow me, I didn't give them a second glance. I kept my guard up, circulating mana around my body and spreading it densely around me. If they tried anything funny, I would know.

Tap... Tap...

The jungle was now silent, the only sound my footsteps echoing through the air. Despite the disaster of the 'Storm', it had its benefits. One of them being that I wouldn't need to fight the monsters hiding deep in the jungle, beneath the cover of plants and leaves.

If the storm hadn't occurred, most of the monsters would still be roaming the jungle, forcing me to face them. The monsters killed by the fog, on the other hand, would eventually respawn, but by then I should have already left the dungeon.

However, not all the monsters had died. Some could climb trees or fly.

Screech...

A screech pierced the air as a massive purple bat suddenly dove towards me like an eagle hunting its prey. The creature resembled a normal bat, except for its huge mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth that took up most of its face. It also had no eyes or nose, making it look like a nightmare from a bad dream.

"..."

I unsheathed my katana and waited for the creature to approach. Just as its claws were about to pierce my chest, I thrust my sword forward, driving the blade straight through the monster's heart. With a single move, it was dead.

Thud...

The bat-like creature had been moving too fast and was too weak to react to my attack. Its lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud, its bird-like claws twitching.

I knelt down and used my katana to cut open its chest. But when I looked inside, I cursed under my breath.

"Damn it..."

The monster had no core.

Frustrated, I wiped my bloody hands on its fur before standing up and tossing the lifeless body into the bushes. Even though it didn't make sense, I felt a small sense of satisfaction after doing so, since I didn't receive a core from the monster.

"I'm turning sadistic..."

I thought to myself, giggling under my breath. I swung my katana and watched blood trickle down the blade before I sheathed it once more.

"..."

I glanced back to see that the shadows on the ground were added with another being, a silhouette resembling the bat I had just slain.

The Shadow neither cried nor smiled, but simply stood there, its gaze fixed upon me. A palpable tension emanated from the mysterious figure.

This new shadow was beginning to intimidate me.

Huff...

In the end, I just shook my head, breaking our 'eye contact'. I couldn't be bothered by every shadow I see anyway. If that was the case I wouldn't be able to finish the dungeon this year.

Pushing aside the white leaves that obstructed my vision, I accidentally stepped on some creature's skeleton. To my pleasant surprise, I saw a white core left for me to collect.

"Don't mind if I do!"

I thought to myself as I bent down to take the white sphere. However, suddenly, I felt a sense of danger ringing in my mind.

For a moment I was confused, but then my Mana detected one of the shadows leaping at me.

For some reason, this time it felt like the silhouette could touch me.

Whoosh…

My katana's blade traveled through the air, slicing through the shadow's arm. However, instead of passing through the shadow as it normally would, I felt slight resistance - as if it had cut through flesh.

"..."

I looked at my blade, now covered in dark blood.