Chapter 28: The Nether

Chapter 28: The Nether

The [Nether Devils] were terrible news. Emphasis on terrible. Zenakris memories painted a rather condescending image, but Tom wasnt a trained magical supersoldier with a Noble powerhouse for a father. The first shocker was that well, they were aliens in a world that was already alien to him. The concept was hard to digest and the more Tom ruminated upon it the more he realized that the English language didnt even possess a word to describe such a phenomenon. Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

No, dont think about that. Dont think about how miserably out of your depths you are.

So, Tom kept running, spraying a mist of warm air mixed with spittle each time he gasped and wheezed from the exertion, his pace having ratcheted to near athlete levels, if he had to venture a guess. The second, crucial piece of information that had made him break into a desperate sprint had to do with the [Nether Devils] or rather, the [Phantasmal Beings] powers. They were fundamentally different from the monsters he had encountered up until this point, that had been native to Artezia in the sense that they subscribed to a completely different power system. The analysis in Zenakris memories had been too jargon-heavy for Tom to completely grasp its meaning, but he got the gist of it- The [Nether Devils] didnt possess cards of their own.

In fact, the reason for their invasion partly had to do with their desire for [Soul Cards]. Or atleast, Zenakris seemed to think so. At this point, Tom wasnt sure if the difference between those two suppositions held any relevance to his current situation. Either way, the [Nether Devils] were not only stronger, faster and far more cunning than the monsters that he had encountered up until this point, but they also had their own arcane abilities to draw upon. Abilities that the [Divine System] categorized as [Phantasmal Skills].

[Nether Gaze] and [Miasma Claw] werent especially powerful skills in Zenakris eyes, but Tom found them on a different league compared to the beasts hed encountered so far. [Nether Gaze] seemed to be some sort of madness inducing skill, forcing the target to gaze upon the dimension these creatures hailed from. Or maybe it was something else, but that was the leading theory Zenakris recalled from his lectures, which made it good enough for him. Fighting creatures without being able to directly gaze upon their visage was. tricky.

As if that wasnt bad enough, he still had to find a way to deal with [Miasma Claw]. A single blow would take weeks to heal, completely negating any additional recovery boost his physical stat provided him with. All it would take was a few deep cuts, and he would bleed out before he could even reach help. Not that Zenakris had to worry about any of that, considering his higher physical stat and the fancy armor he wore underneath his robes but his own remained an illusion and Tom wasnt sure how willing he was to test out the durability of his rags against [Nether Devil] claws.

The third and final piece of information he had was the glittering gems hed noticed lying next to a [Nether Devil] corpse that he encountered every couple of minutes. [Corrupted Gems] were an integral part in forging artifacts, much like the [Card Gauntlet] Zenakris used. They might be worthless for the noble scion, but for Zenakris it was a veritable fortune that he was being forced to leave behind.

Run. Run. Run, damn it!

His legs felt like they were on fire. His lungs hurt, it fucking hurt to even breathe and his heart rate was going haywire but somehow, his legs kept carrying him forward.

Twenty minutes. That was his best estimate.

Please consult an Artificer for more information]

Tom had never recalled this particular weapon in Zenakris memories, but he supposed that it was still a far cry from the [Uncommon] rarity weapon he used.

But for Tom though, it could be the very difference between life and death.

Less than eight minutes were left, and his gut already told him what he had been ignoring for a while now.

He wouldnt make it.

Blast it all, Tom muttered under his breath, reaching for the stygian blade. The moment its cold steel brushed against his skin, a notification popped up.

[The Fool has detected a foriegn mental influence upon your soul.]

[The Fool has successfully eliminated foriegn mental influence.]

Huh, Tom muttered, as he broke out into a sprint towards the exit. The closer he got to the cave exit, the greater the density of the [Nether Devil] carcasses would be he didnt know how, but the group that had come before Zenakris had lured them close to the entrance in waves before dispatching them.

That meant the odds of him getting a [Corrupted Gem] were very high, but the addendum was he got there before the dungeon reset.