Chapter 179 First Trial [Rain]
-(Past || On the day of last leviathan remaining; Location: [Singularity] 1st Trial)-
Phash-
"Haaaa... it"s hot"
I shoved the sword onto the ground and sat down to rest.
Today, higher in the sea, only a single leviathan was remaining.
The tension of what was coming was enough to drive me crazy.
"I"ll practice for a bit"
Phhzzzzzzzt-
Concentrating for thirty seconds an enormous spear materialized in the air.
The spear was 50 meters long and 5 meters thick. It had been carved into a beautiful pattern. It wasn"t exactly like the one that I"d seen before. The shaft was made from unknown metal and there were some other differences as well. But in terms of form, it was very similar.
The tip of the spear had been sharpened to a fine point.
The spear was emitting an unknown power. The s.p.a.ce around its edges was distorted by this power. And then those distortions started to spread outwards from the center. They looked like waves crashing against each other.
It didn"t look like much now but I could feel its incredible destructive potential.
I fired the spear.
Boom-!
Dust rose up, and cracks appeared on the ground.
The spear covered over a thousand meters in one second and wasn"t showing any sign of stopping any soon.
I used the ability of the spear I had discovered a few days ago.
"Return"
The spear"s path suddenly curved, and it turned around.
Boom-!
My ears rattled, and the spear kept speeding up as it flew toward me.
Finally, it stopped in front of me and levitated.
This was an ability I discovered in the G.o.d-Killing Spear. As long as the spear hadn"t disintegrated into the ambient ether, it will come to me at my command.
I could also command the spear to go faster or slower. I didn"t need to worry about being blown away when I call it back.
As for how I discovered it.... Ahem, some things are best left unknown.
I continued training with the spear and flying too.
Using the [Sticky Boots] I bought in Underworld, I didn"t have to worry about falling off amidst the flight.
Splosh-
"A failure again..."
I dusted my clothes and stood up.
Flying wasn"t difficult nor was speeding up, the difficult part was slowing down safely and landing without injuries.
Splosh-
I was firing weapons at a slower velocity than the one riding and jumping on them to slow down until I can land safely. However, I had yet to land safely even once.
Splosh-
"...what is this?"
The ground was wet.
Water splashed every time I walked. But I could swear the ground was rock-hard dry until a few hours ago.
"The weather changed too. Is it because the last leviathan is about to disappear?"
Winds picked up, and the light was dimming. At this rate, the night would come for the first time in 15 days.
Something was about to change.
"I should return to the tunnel"
I flew back to the tunnel. The wet ground made falling while flying less daunting and was perfect to practice flying.
The water seeping out of the ground was increasing at an alarming pace.
By the time I reached the tunnel, it was submerged underwater.
It didn"t take the water long to cover every part of the ground. The water was now reaching my knees when I stood on the ground.
I constructed a blunt sword and stood on top of it. Levitating in the air, I watched with apprehension as the water kept increasing.
"Leaderboard"
The leaderboard popped up and I focused on my stats.
======
Rank - Meta(Lvl.5) (Suppressed)
Extra Stats - 20
>>>Stats:
Strength - 5
Agility - 5
Const.i.tution - 5
Ether - 10
Intelligence - 5
Luck - (-13)
======
[Ether - 10 --> Ether - 11]
[Const.i.tution - 5 --> Const.i.tution - 11]
[Agility - 5 --> Agility - 11]
[Extra Stats - 7]
The ether inside my core increased along with the core itself.
A gentle warmth wrapped around me, and I felt my body grow stronger. My ability to take damage and recovery rate got a tremendous boost too.
My vision sharpened and my motor muscles were enhanced. The world turned more fluid to look at and I could tell that my reaction speed had increased by another notch.
I saved a few stat points. I did not know what was going to happen, and as such, it was best to have a backup to respond to sudden changes.
Contrary to my belief, nothing else changed.
The night arrived swiftly, and in a few hours, the last leviathan would vanish.
Plop-
A blob of water rose from the ground and flew to the sea.
Plop- Plop-
More b.a.l.l.s of water formed and soared higher.
The scene was ethereal. It was like....
"I"m watching time flowing back"
Droplets of water took off from the earth and rained into the sky.
The surface of the water rippled and mist appeared.
The drizzle grew in size and magnitude, and finally...
Splash-
A drop of water struck me.
My body became lighter. My weight decreased by half.
Splash-
It decreased by another half.
Splash- Splash- Splash- Splash- Splash-
I became weightless, and the rain took me higher into the sky.
The situation changed so suddenly that I didn"t have time to react.
My body turned lighter with each water droplet, but that wasn"t the only danger.
I was being taken toward the sea!
Like a balloon being hit from below, the rain pulled me along with it!
Phhhzzzzzt-
The noise of rain striking the sea covered the static noise of my art.
Channeling ether to my legs and, using my sticky boots, I stuck to the sword. My body stopped mid-air, and I was now standing on my sword.
Waaaooooooooo-
Before I could understand what was happening, the leviathan roar came from... below me!
"Dammit!"
The monster was out of the sea and flying in the rain!
"This is much more dangerous than I predicted!"
My yells were drowning in the down(up)pour and I looked around hastily.
The mist and the rain were hiding the enormous body of the leviathan.
"Eth!"
(On it)
Waaooooooo-
The roar was a lot closer.
The leviathan was nearing me.
My heart pounded against my chest.
My breathing became heavy.
I wiped the salty rainwater and kept my eyes peeled open.
It was coming.
Waaaaooooooooo-
I scanned the surrounding, trying to find the monster.
(Above!)
Waaaaoooooo-
A giant maw appeared in my vision.
The enormous jaws opened wide, and the creature"s tongue shot out to get me.
The leviathan"s mouth was bigger than three people combined.
Fwosh-
The sword shot out of the monster"s path, and I was pulled along with it.
(Tail incoming!)
A tail covered in thick sharp black scales suddenly appeared out of the mist, hurling toward me.
"[Golden Turtle] !"
Bam-!
Sparks flew in the air and the tail collided against the golden shield.
My feet came off the sword, and I was blown away.
My body spun in the air and I couldn"t tell if I was thrown to the ground or the sea, however, the monster didn"t leave me alone.
Waaaaooooooo-
As if possessed by a vengeful ghost, it followed after me with fearsome speed.
The enormous monster tore through the rain, its scales scantily shining in the moonless night, and its soulless eyes fixed on me.
Construct
Phhhhzzzzzzzzzzzt-
The air buzzed, and I burned my ether without delay.
I twisted my body and stood on a sword.
Behind me, a 50-meter-long spear started flickering into existence.
Waaoooooooooooooo-
The monster"s white eyes locked on me, guided by the golden light shimmering in the sky.
Without delay, I shot the sword I was standing upon.
I whizzed past the monster"s scales with the spear following behind me, still being formed.
It all happened in a split second.
Two colossus fins ripped the air and attacked me.
Phhzzzzt-
I jumped to another sword, to change my direction, and shot it out.
The sword pulled me in one direction while my body was moved in another. My ankles felt like they were being torn open. Blood dripped from my clenched jaws and I tried to stop my body from being ripped apart by the inertia of my movement.
My body changed direction, and I was out of the monster"s attack range.
The monster followed behind closely, using the spear"s light to find me in the rainstorm.
Phhzzzt-
My speed increased by another notch when I jumped to a new sword.
10 seconds.
I needed to escape the monster"s clutches for 20 more seconds, and the G.o.d-Killing Spear would be completed.
(Look Behind!)
I heeded Eth"s advice.
The monster"s jaw was open wide. Over its mouth, an enormous amount of water was gathering.
The leviathan shot out a gigantic water sphere.
"[Golden Turtle] !"
The water sphere was too large and too fast to jump out of its way or flee from it.
A thundering explosion ensued when the water sphere struck me and I was flung away.
My head spun, and my ether reserve was emptied by 1/4th in one go.
Phzzzz-
I crashed against the flat surface of a large sword and came to a halt.
Waaaaoooooooo-
Blood dripped from my orifices and everything stung from the salty rain.
The leviathan roared from somewhere far away as if challenging me to battle.
Pitter- Patter-
I heard the sound of rain falling onto the sea and looked above.
A chill ran down my spine.
I had stopped only a dozen meters below the sea. If I had been a moment later, or hesitated to create the sword to stop myself, I would"ve been plunged into the sea.
Waaoooo-
A monstrous roar shook me out of my thoughts.
Far beneath me, perhaps almost on the ground, the leviathan roared again.
I looked at the gargantuan spear that was floating beside me.
The G.o.d-Killing Spear was complete.
Waaaaaoooooo-
The leviathan rushed higher, seemingly ready to devour me, and I...
"f.u.c.k it! If I can"t outrun you, then I"ll kill you!"
...flew toward the ground.
Booom-!
The leviathan whizzed upward.
I dived with the G.o.d-Killing Spear in tow.
Thundering explosions echoed, and both of us flew past our limits.
"Go!"
The spear shot out.
The monster fired the colossus water sphere.
Boooom-! Boooom-!
My body was blown away by the shockwaves.
"Guhhhhhhhhh-!"
I was sent rolling several hundred meters across the air.
The impact was so strong that I lost consciousness for a few seconds.
My consciousness flickered in and out of darkness, my body was shaking uncontrollably.
Eventually, my vision returned.
There was no sign of the monster.
A few seconds later, a notification appeared.
[You have defeated a Strand]
[Strand killed - 1/15]
"I did it"
My whole body was screaming in pain.
Every muscle in my body ached and I could barely move.
I struggled to stand up.
Eventually, I stopped trying.
A sword was floating above my chest, stopping my body from being pushed into the sky.
I closed my eyes and decided to rest.
It had ende-
(Open your eyes!)
(It has not ended!)