Chapter 249: Five Bodies in Seconds! Mysteries of Three Skills
"That was quick," Sylvia said with a smile as they slowly floated back down to the ground, fully strengthened. "But it gave a whole level."
"Yes. Rifts are great for leveling up," Caelus agreed. He stepped forward and quickly extracted the beast’s essence along with Sylvia.
However, as soon as they tried to do it, an error appeared.
[Entity not found. You cannot extract essence.]
"???" Caelus’s expression turned upon seeing this. "Entity not found?!"
"Entity... is it referring to the monsters here?"
"Most likely," Caelus said with a frown.
"It doesn’t matter. We will continue leveling up here. Even if ’Entity is not found,’ we can still level up."
Sylvia readily agreed with Caelus.
Then, he began disclosing what happened earlier.
"Now, about what happened outside," Caelus said, turning to Sylvia with a serious look. He scanned the barren, rocky landscape of the rift. "When the portal opened, my Origin Sever activated on its own. I saw a node staring at us. It felt like a living entity was watching everyone."
Sylvia’s expression turned worried. "Do you think it was an Ender? Or maybe one of those gods from the Abyss?"
"I am not sure." Caelus shook his head. "But I destroyed the node. We just need to stay alert. We also have other pests to deal with."
He gestured toward the distant rocky hills. "The Shadow Halberd Guild members are definitely going to target us. They looked at me with killing intent right before we entered."
"Let them come." Sylvia’s eyes flashed with a faint red light. "I will make sure they regret ever crossing our path."
"We will handle them together." Caelus smiled, holding her hand tightly. "Let us explore this place and find the Transcendent boss."
Caelus and Sylvia continued their journey through the barren, rocky landscape of the rift.
The environment was desolate, with jagged stones and dark earth stretching as far as the eye could see. Danger lurked in every corner, but with their combined strength, they felt at ease.
After walking for a while, they spotted a familiar figure ahead. It was Fedrick from the Golden Light Guild.
Fedrick noticed them and waved his hand with a friendly smile.
"You two managed to survive," Fedrick said as they approached. His tone was light and welcoming, completely matching the friendly demeanor he showed outside the rift. "I thought you might struggle since you are navigating this without a guild party, but it seems you can hold your own."
"We get by just fine," Caelus replied with a polite nod.
Fedrick came across as a likable senior. He did not have the arrogance that James or the Shadow Halberd Guild members displayed. They exchanged a few friendly words about the terrain and the monsters they had encountered so far.
Before they prepared to part ways, Fedrick turned to them with a serious expression.
"Make sure to stay cautious. The deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets. Do not let your guard down for a single second in here."
Caelus and Sylvia nodded, appreciating the warning.
However, just as they turned to leave, Fedrick stopped and pointed ahead. "Look over there."
In the middle of the dead, gray and red wasteland, a lone fruit tree stood tall. Its leaves were a vibrant green, and it bore several bright red fruits. It looked completely out of place in such a barren dimension.
Fedrick recognized it immediately, and a look of visible excitement appeared on his face.
"Those are HP fruits!" Fedrick explained happily as he walked toward the tree. "Eating one restores a significant amount of health. Finding these in a rift is a huge stroke of luck."
Fedrick reached out to grab one.
At the same time, Caelus stopped in his tracks. A sudden, unexplainable chill ran down his spine. His ascended senses flared up, warning him that something was wrong. He did not know why, but his instincts screamed at him to stay away from the tree.
He did not speak out loud. Instead, he activated his Telepathy.
"Do not eat it, Sylvia. Do not even touch it," Caelus warned her through their telepathy.
Sylvia’s eyes flickered slightly, but she did not question him.
She trusted Caelus completely.
Fedrick picked a fruit and offered one to them. "Do you guys want one?"
"No thanks, we are full," Caelus said smoothly.
"I will pass as well," Sylvia added with a polite smile.
Fedrick shrugged and tossed the fruit into his inventory. "Suit yourselves. More for me."
Before Fedrick could pull out another fruit, the ground beneath them erupted.
A massive Rift-Born Ironhide Bear burst from the rocky earth. It was an Apex-Tier monster, towering over them with thick metal plating covering its fur. Its red eyes locked onto the trio, and it let out a deafening roar.
Caelus reached for his weapon, but Fedrick stepped in front of them.
"Stay back. I will handle this one," Fedrick said confidently.
This was Fedrick’s time to shine.
A red aura flared around Fedrick as he activated his first skill.
[Charge activated.]
[Combat Score +2.]
The following second, Fedrick raised his left hand. A blazing sphere of fire materialized and shot forward. He cast Fireball, striking the bear squarely in the chest and forcing it to stagger back.
Finally, Fedrick gripped his sword with both hands. "Holy Sword Surge."
Glowing golden runes spread rapidly across his weapon. The air around him distorted as his movement speed and attack speed increased dramatically.
Fedrick vanished from his spot. He became a blur of golden light. Within moments, dozens of slashes appeared across the thick armor of the Apex monster. Sparks flew as the sword cut through metal and flesh alike.
With a final, clean strike, the massive bear collapsed to the ground, dead.
The fight was over in a matter of seconds.
Caelus and Sylvia stood there, visibly surprised.
Charge.
Fireball.
Holy Sword Surge.
That was three skills.
That should not be possible!
Players only had two skill slots. He quickly ruled out the possibility of it being a trait because none of what Fedrick displayed fit the mechanics of a trait.
Caelus then checked Fedrick’s status. They were both level 9. Yet, Fedrick had a Combat Score of 29.
Well, now he was level 10 with a combat score of at least 31 thanks to killing the Apex monster.
Earth was filled with powerful beings, after all.
It was a stark reminder that the world was vast, and there were monsters among humans who possessed unimaginable strength and secrets.
However, before anyone could celebrate the kill, the sound of footsteps echoed from behind the rocky hills.
Five members of the Shadow Halberd Guild stepped out, completely surrounding them. Their weapons were drawn, and their faces twisted into sneers.
"Look what we have here," the lead guild member said, his eyes locking onto Caelus. "The brave kid who thinks he can mess with our guild."
They completely dismissed Caelus as a threat.
"You got lucky outside because we couldn’t do anything there," another member mocked. "Look at you. You are just a kid. Did you think you could just walk free after messing with our guild?"
"Our guild has decided not to let you both go for eliminating members of our guild!" one of them spoke as a green arrow shot from him.
Sou!
Sylvia’s eyes flashed crimson. She immediately raised her hand, and thick blood poured out, forming a protective shield around her and Caelus.
Fedrick frowned and stepped forward, raising his hands to calm the situation.
"Hey, let us talk this out. We are all humans here, and the rift is dangerous enough without us fighting each other..."
Fedrick did not get to finish his sentence.
Caelus snapped his fingers. A golden circle rippled in the air beside him, and a star sword dropped directly into his grip.
He moved.
He was faster than Fedrick. Faster than the guild members could even comprehend.
Caelus appeared in front of the lead guild member in a flash. He swung his sword in one clean, fluid arc.
Splurt!
The blade sliced cleanly through the man’s neck. A fountain of hot blood sprayed into the air as his head separated from his body and thumped onto the rocky ground.
Everyone, including Fedrick, froze.
One move? He killed the guild member in one move?
A person with no guild backing him?
Before the remaining four guild members could even raise their weapons, Caelus blurred into motion again.
He moved like a phantom. A stab through the heart for the second man. A horizontal slash across the chest for the third. He spun around, dodging a frantic spear thrust, and drove his star sword straight into the fourth member’s skull.
The last remaining member dropped his weapon, his eyes wide with pure terror. He opened his mouth to scream, but Caelus was already there, severing his throat in one swift motion.
Five bodies hit the ground, surrounded by pooling blood.
Caelus stood in the center with a calm look on his face.
