Chapter 29: Snow Lotus Cave. [Bonus]
[5/10 Of Castle Mass Release! Shout out to Dragonman009128 for the gift!]
Creed followed the four girls out of the Adventurer Union building, his mind sharper than his calm expression suggested.
As they walked toward the shuttle pick-up area, Ivy, the ever-stoic leader of their squad, had already ordered a transport to take them directly to the Bastion Gate.
She didn't waste time with unnecessary chatter, and her focused stride set the tone for the entire team.
The twins, Rin and Rai, flanked her, their silent, synchronized movements giving off an intimidating, battle-hardened aura.
Meanwhile, the small and bubbly Mia bounced along beside Creed, practically radiating sunshine with every word that left her mouth.
But Creed's focus wasn't on her—at least, not completely. Instead, his thoughts kept circling around one crucial subject: combat potential.
From the information he had pieced together so far, Ivy wasn't just some pretty face leading a squad of adventurers. She was a Stage 3 Awakened.
That alone made her the most dangerous member of the team by far.
Each stage in the Awakening process brought an exponential boost in power, granting new abilities and making old ones stronger.
The twins were no pushovers either; both of them had reached Stage 2, which meant they were powerful enough to fight off most threats that roamed the outer edges of the Bastion's protective zones.
The only exception seemed to be Mia—adorable, pink-haired Mia—who was still at Stage 1.
Yet, despite her rank, Creed had a strange feeling she wasn't someone to underestimate.
'Overall, they're strong enough to survive outside the Bastion... but thriving? That's another story.'
His eyes flicked briefly toward Ivy. 'No doubt she's the backbone of this team. If she goes down, the rest will crumble under real pressure.'
Just as his thoughts began contemplating suitable battle strategies for the squad, a sleek shuttle pulled up in front of them.
It wasn't anything fancy, but the simple design still had that sharp, modern feel with smooth black metal, clean angles, and faintly glowing blue lines tracing the edges.
The doors slid open with a soft hiss, and without any words exchanged, the team filed inside one by one.
The seats were very comfortable, the cushions molding perfectly around Creed's sore muscles as he settled in.
The moment the shuttle began moving, Mia, seated way too close to his personal space, launched into a rapid-fire conversation.
"So, Creed! When did you awaken? Are you new to the Union? What's your favorite food? Do you like cats? You seem like a cat person. Or maybe dogs? Wait, no—you're definitely a dog guy, aren't you?!"
Creed nodded occasionally, wearing an expression that screamed polite interest while his thoughts drifted somewhere entirely different.
He wasn't ignoring her; it was just that more pressing matters were on his mind.
His free stat point.
'I should invest in speed now,' he thought as Mia's cheerful voice faded into background noise. 'A faster body means quicker reactions, better dodging... but...'
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling the dull ache that had been plaguing him since last night's 'Primordial Exchange'.
His muscles still felt like they'd been through a meat grinder, and every small movement sent a ripple of pain through his body.
'No, not speed. Not yet.' His jaw clenched. 'I need to patch up my endurance first.'
He couldn't believe he would ever say this, but apparently his stamina wasn't enough! He was lacking!
The decision seemed obvious now. He navigated his system interface quickly, pulling up his stat panel.
Without hesitation, he dropped the stat point into Constitution.
The effect was immediate. A cool, refreshing wave spread through his entire body, like someone had poured cold water over heated metal.
His aches dulled, his muscles relaxed, and even his mind felt clearer.
More importantly, he somehow felt his stamina reserves grow—like a fire that had been burning low was now suddenly roaring back to life.
But the best part? His Empowerment Duration must have definitely increased. Afterall, his constitution directly affected how long he could use it for.
Longer empowerment meant staying stronger for more extended periods, and in life-or-death battles, even a few extra seconds could mean survival or victory.
'Perfect,' he thought, his lips curling into a small, satisfied grin.
The shuttle ride was surprisingly short. In what felt like minutes, the vehicle slowed to a stop in front of the massive Bastion Gate, the final barrier between civilization and the chaos outside.
Creed's eyes widened slightly at the sight before him.
Compared to the small-town gates back at Moonlake Bastion, this gate was something else entirely.
A towering black wall stretched as far as the eye could see, shimmering faintly with layers of energy barriers stacked on top of each other.
The surface of the wall was dotted with watchtowers, each bristling with advanced weaponry and guarded by elite DMA Officials—all of them patrolling with military precision.
The tension in the air was thick, heavy with the unspoken understanding that beyond this gate lurked creatures that could tear through tanks like wet paper.
"This... feels different," Creed muttered under his breath. "This isn't some outer-tier backwater. This is the real front line."
Getting through the gate wasn't as simple as strolling out with a bracelet. Unlike the lax security of Moonlake, the officials here ran their checkpoints like clockwork.
First, there was the identification check—scanning their Adventurer Badges against the massive, glowing terminals to verify their team's clearance level.
After that, a biometric scan made sure no shapeshifting beast had slipped into the group undetected.
Finally, their bracelet was scanned and tagged, ensuring that any one who went out could be accounted for if they didn't return.
Every official's eyes were sharp and unsympathetic, like they were already counting the number of fools who wouldn't be coming back through these gates alive.
Clang!
The sound of heavy locks disengaging echoed through the air as the giant metal doors began to slide apart, revealing the endless wasteland beyond the safety of the Bastion.
The moment Creed stepped out of the Bastion Gate, his breath hitched. The air was colder, heavier, like invisible chains wrapped around his chest and pulled tight.
Before him stretched a vast ruin, a shattered landscape of broken stone pillars, crumbling archways, and shattered buildings that had been reclaimed by time—or something much worse.
The ground was cracked and uneven, littered with jagged rocks and pools of black liquid that bubbled ominously, like the earth itself was sick.
The wind howled through the desolate wasteland like the cries of something ancient and forgotten, sending chills down Creed's spine.
But that wasn't what made his stomach twist into a tight knot.
No, it was the forest looming in the distance.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary stretch of twisted trees and thick vines, but the longer Creed stared, the more wrong it felt.
The shadows were too dark, the branches seemed to shift ever so slightly with every blink, and strange, guttural roars echoed from deep within.
The trees weren't just trees—they were alive in a way that had nothing to do with nature and everything to do with nightmares!
Creed swallowed hard, forcing down the lump of dread building in his throat. 'Please, for the love of everything holy, don't let us go near that forest...'
Thankfully, Ivy had other plans. Without a word, she began moving swiftly across the ruins, cutting a sharp path toward the east.
The rest of the squad followed in tight formation, their eyes sharp and weapons at the ready.
Creed fell into step beside them, doing his best to stay calm.
As they moved, the oppressive silence of the wasteland was occasionally broken by low growls or hissing sounds from the shadows—dimensional beasts.
Most of them were Stage 1, with the occasional flicker of Stage 2 lurking deeper in the ruins. But none dared approach their group.
It wasn't luck.
The reason was clear: the pressure Ivy and the twins radiated was like a wall of sheer dominance, an unspoken signal to the beasts that said, "Come closer, and die."
Even Mia, despite her cheerful, bubbly nature, carried an aura of strength that kept weaker creatures slinking away into the darkness.
After nearly twenty minutes of silent marching, Ivy finally broke the quiet with a sharp voice that cut through the heavy air like a blade.
"Creed." Her tone left no room for small talk. "You know anything about the rift we're hitting today?"
Creed blinked, pulling himself out of his own thoughts. "Not much. Enlighten me."
Without slowing her pace, Ivy launched into an explanation as if reading from a mental dossier.
"It's called the Snow Lotus Cave. High-Level Low Rift. Most of the dimensional beasts inside are ice-element types."
Her eyes didn't leave the path ahead, but Creed could feel the weight of her experience in every word.
"The rift has five layers. The deeper we go, the stronger the creatures get. Expect to see Stage 3 beasts by the third layer. Fourth and fifth layers?"
She finally glanced back at him. "Stage 5 at the very least. If you're not ready, don't push forward. You'll just get yourself—and us—killed."
Creed's heart skipped a beat. 'Stage 5? Already? And this is just a 'low' rift?'
Ivy seemed to read his mind. She glanced at him but didn't say anything.
Dimensional rifts were categorized by both the strength of the beasts inside and the level of it's taboo.
Low rifts generally cap out around Stage 5 beasts, but a high-level one like this wasn't something beginners usually touch.
Creed nodded slowly, absorbing the information. But then something Ivy hadn't said earlier nagged at him. "You haven't mentioned it's taboo?"
Every rift had a taboo. It was a rule you can't break. And it could be anything: don't speak, don't bleed, don't look directly at something. Some are obvious. Others? Not so much.
Ivy's expression darkened slightly. Her voice dipped lower. "The taboo of the Snow Lotus Cave is simple—don't fall asleep. Ever. If you do, you won't wake up."
This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.
Creed felt a chill that had nothing to do with the icy beasts they'd be fighting. "That's... horrifying."
"It's worse than it sounds," Ivy said, her voice hard as steel. "The deeper layers sap your energy faster, make you feel like every breath is too much effort. Staying awake becomes the real battle."
"And here I was worried about the monsters," Creed muttered, half-joking, though the weight of the information made his stomach twist again.
Just as the anxiety of Ivy's words settled into Creed's mind, she suddenly stopped, raising a fist to signal a halt.
"We're here."
Creed's eyes snapped forward, and his breath caught in his throat.
Before them stood a three-story building, cracked and weathered by time but still eerily intact.
Its walls were made of dark stone, etched with strange symbols that pulsed with a faint blue glow.
Vines crawled up its sides, yet they seemed to stop just short of the massive black crack hovering a few feet in front of the entrance.
The rift itself wasn't large, no bigger than a doorframe, but its presence dominated the entire area.
It pulsed like a heartbeat, slow and steady, and the shadows around it seemed to bend unnaturally, warping reality itself.
Wisps of dark mist slithered through the air, disappearing before they could drift too far.
'That's it... That's a dimensional rift.'
It was Creed's first time seeing one up close, and for a moment, he was completely mesmerized.
There was something hypnotic about the way the crack twisted space around it, like it was both alive and somehow impossibly ancient—older than time itself.
"Snap out of it," Ivy barked, snapping Creed back to reality.
Without hesitation, she raised her arm and pressed her bracelet against a scanner embedded on the side of the building.
The device let out a soft chime, confirming their registration.
"We're officially in," Ivy said, lowering her arm. She glanced at each member of the team, her eyes hard and unwavering.
"This isn't a training exercise. Stay sharp, follow my lead, and remember the taboo. No sleeping, no matter what."
Creed swallowed hard and nodded, clenching his fists tightly. The playful thoughts that had followed him earlier were gone now, replaced by an icy focus.
This wasn't a game anymore.
They were about to walk into a place where reality itself could turn against them.
And if they weren't careful, none of them would walk back out.
_____
Anyone excited?
_____
Power stone Goal!
20 PS - 1 Bonus Chapter
50 PS - 2 Bonus Chapter
100 PS (Quite an achievement as of now) - 3 Bonus Chapters.
Castle - 10 Bonus Chapters! We