Chapter 5: | The Rocky Canyons
---
Rib-like spikes of an unknown mineral jutted from the cavern floor and pierced the very walls, their razor tips reflecting no light.
No plant life dared to thrive in this eerie, lightless expanse.
As I moved, only the treacherous, shifting terrain and the endless emerging spikes were visible through the oppressive gloom.
The silence was shattered by the guttural roars of wharks.
A brutal brawl erupted, their fight growing more savage with each passing moment as whark after whark plunged into the fray.
The once-clear ocean currents churned, tainted crimson with blood, and I could taste the metallic ichor, hot and bitter, on my tongue.
These creatures were proving too much trouble to engage.
A fight now would gain me nothing of value, so I pressed deeper into the abyss, my form a shadow.
More wharks materialized from the gloom, but my senses were fixed on the palpable presence of a Stage 1 whark, coiled and hidden in a shadowy crevice like a coiled predator.
A primal chill snaked down my spine as its predatory gaze, sharp as a spear, locked onto me for a fleeting moment before shifting, drawn to the chaotic brawl in an open clearing.
Blood, a spray of dark crimson, splattered across the cavern floor.
I felt it, the raw, desperate fear of that Stage 1 whark, weaker than the unseen predator lurking just out of sight in the fray.
From my vantage point, well-camouflaged within a narrow crevice in the cliff face, I watched, unseen.
They had teamed up against another whark, one caught in a terrifying frenzy.
It was a whirlwind of destruction, indiscriminately tearing through everything in its path, its razor-sharp maw ripping through their Obsidian armor as if it were mere parchment.
I was utterly intrigued by their brutal dance.
The whark they ganged upon was far from normal.
This creature emanated a raw, potent mana, a trait exceedingly rare for a 3-star monster, typically found only in 4-star or Lord-class beasts.
Yet, some 3-stars acquire it through sheer, improbable luck, a chance gift in their evolutionary path.
I licked my lips, a predatory hunger stirring within me, as I waited for the gruesome brawl to conclude.
My pupils contracted into a sharp, predatory slits.
The number of the Obsidian wharks plummeted at an alarming rate.
Their previous headcount of four was now brutally halved to two in less than a few minutes.
Gaping, brutal wounds marred their carcasses, and their rich, dark blood diffused, swirling like crimson smoke, into the churning currents.
Quite impressive, indeed, but your fate ends here.
My form distorted into a predatory blur, and in a single, explosive burst, I shot through meters of water, appearing silently behind it.
My maw, a vice of sharpened bone, clamped down on its thrashing tail with bone-shattering force.
CRASH!
I reeled my body, leveraging my full momentum to yank it with brutal force, slamming it against one of the jagged, protruding spikes.
A geyser of blood erupted from the impact, painting the rock in grotesque crimson.
Where it struck, a small, raw crater had formed, obscured almost immediately by a cloud of churned sediment.
The two remaining Obsidian wharks, startled by the sudden violence, flickered in and out of existence, melting into the swirling, inky fog.
RIP!
SNAP!
An icy wave of dread washed over me as a torrent of blood, dark and hot, gushed from the swirling fog.
I swallowed hard, the sound loud in my ears, as a being of pure, wrathful insanity burst forth.
Its maw, a cavernous, fanged abyss, was already wide open, primed to strike.
RIP!
A searing, tearing pain exploded across my gills, as if molten lead had been poured over them.
In an instant, I was utterly disoriented, my body thrown violently off balance as the creature reeled back and, with a brutal surge of power, sent me hurtling through the water.
CRASH!
A firestorm of pain racked my entire body as I coughed up a sickening gush of blood, thick and metallic.
CRASH!
Another wave of agonizing pain flared, my flesh contorting, tearing from the sheer concussive force of its tail smash.
But it wasn't over.
My vision blurred, eyes dilating wildly, flickering into darkness as consciousness slipped away for a desperate, fleeting moment.
Even then, through the haze, I heard it.
CRACK!
A bone-deep shudder ran through me.
Tears, hot and stinging, welled in my eyes as I clawed at the water, gasping for breath, but there was no air, only the crushing pressure of the deep.
Cough!
Cough!
This creature... it was impossibly strong.
Its mana-infused form was a suffocating weight, an overwhelming force I couldn't possibly bear.
It wasn't just defeating me, it was toying with me, a cruel game.
Its massive tail swept again and again, each brutal impact pressing me deeper into the jagged confines of the crater, grinding my battered body into the rock.
My eyes, wide with pain and a terrible realization, dilated them further.
This... this was it.
The chasm between us...
The crushing, undeniable difference between our races, our tiers, our very stages of evolution.
I had thought those Obsidian wharks might wear it down, might at least leave a mark...
But perhaps I had expected far too much from those utterly useless, pathetic creatures.
One fatal miscalculation...
That was all it was.
Both Samantha and Elara had warned me, their words carved into my mind, repeating again and again, one miscalculation, and all is over.
But I, Alister von Fai, a man of undeniable genius, of monstrous intellect, a survivor capable of escaping any situation, had dared to forget.
While it was interesting to be beaten black and blue, to feel the raw edge of defeat, it was utterly tasteless to simply endure it.
No, there was only one path left.
My only option, ascend to the next tier.
With a surge of defiant resolve, I called forth the shimmering, translucent hologram.
My eyes scanned the options, a slow, predatory smirk spreading across my battered face as I pressed 'Yes'.
---
[You have ascended to the next tier.]
[You may choose.]
• [Fuse all of your skills into one.]
• [Ascend one of your skills a tier.]
• [Obtain a new skill.]
---
A low, guttural chuckle rumbled in my chest, a sound of grim satisfaction at the revelation laid bare before me.
My finger, trembling slightly from the pain but unwavering in its intent, tapped one of the options, confirming my choice.
A triumphant, chilling laugh escaped me.
You're dead now.
I snarled, a promise, a threat.
---
[Your skills.]
• Bronze Stomach
• Enhanced Teeth
• Scaled Hide
• Blood-forged Resilience
• Elastic Tendons
• Hardened Bones
• Keen Predator's Eyes
• Stone-Bound Muscles
---
[Have successfully fused into a unique skill.]
[...]
[Due to an unknown force interfering your skill nature has shifted.]
[You have gained.]
• Grotesque Physique [Unique]
---