Seducing the Guideverse With My System — Raising an Anomaly [BL]

Chapter 187: _Gone Into Thin Air

"Whoa..." Ambrose’s jaw slacked moments after crossing over to the other side.

His pulse stuttered, every reasonable cell in his body screaming immediately for him to turn back. But his mind begged him to stay put.

Stretched before him was a vast open valley covered in mist. Mountains stood so high they touched the clouds. And creatures?

Walking ahead of him like literal behemoths were beasts so huge he couldn’t even see their heads from this angle.

Each step their tree-like feet made onto the earth sent tremors strong enough to make his footing falter. They kinda reminded him of long-neck dinosaurs... except ten times bigger and taller.

[MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.]

[Rewards loading...]

’Hold your horses, Aura.’ he stopped the system before it could switch screens. ’What was the meaning of that shit you pulled in my suite?’

[What do you mean?]

’Don’t play dumb. The system screen glitched like crazy then switched colours to a freaky looking dark purple.’

[...]

’Hello? Don’t you dare try ignoring me now.’

[In all honesty... I’m as confused as you are.]

Ambrose felt like he’d just heard a terrible joke. "You? Confused?"

[What I do know is that when your emotions became erratic, the black mask... sent a signal. I picked that up and automatically generated the daily quest.]

His brows furrowed underneath the mask in question.

Wait a minute...

’The same mask that nearly made me go insane after showing me some visions...’ It was less of a question and more of an observation.

Suddenly he recalled the figure he saw in those visions. And the words the person told him before he came back to his senses.

"... You’re still far from ready... other worlder." That ominous voice echoed in the back of his head.

’Aura,’ he called. ’You still have no idea if that masked man I saw in my dream has something to do with you? The system?’

[I’m not sure. If you remember, all my functions shut down temporarily the last time you wore the mask.]

’My point exactly.’ He gradually tilted his head. ’What if this has been the whole point all along? The black key and black mask... what if the guy somehow has a piece of his consciousness in these artefacts?’

[Now that sounds—]

’Crazy?’ he shook his head. ’No, what’s crazy is being a transmigrator in a world where everything and everyone is out to kill you. We’re way past the boundaries of what’s defined as crazy.’

A deep silence followed his words. Even the titanic creatures in the distance seemed quieter somehow, their thunderous stomps fading beneath the thick mist curling around the valley.

[WARNING.]

The system screen burst open violently before him just then.

Except this time it wasn’t blue.

It wasn’t even purple.

The interface glitched between colours so aggressively that static crackled across Ambrose’s vision.

"What the fuck now?" His chest tightened instinctively.

[EMERGENCY SPECIAL MISSION ACTIVATED.]

The words slammed onto the screen one after another like they were being forced into existence.

[OBJECTIVE: Survive S-Rank monster attack for 01:00:00.]

Ambrose froze.

"... S-Rank?"

No rewards appeared.

No penalties either.

Just the timer.

[00:59:59]

Then it started counting down.

Fast.

"Hold on—WAIT!" Panic clawed into his throat as he spun around sharply. "Aura, what the hell does that mean? What S-Rank monster?!"

No response.

A terrible feeling dropped into his stomach.

Slowly, his eyes swept through the misty valley again. The giant long-necked creatures still wandered around in the distance, their colossal bodies shaking the earth with every movement.

His blood ran cold.

"You’ve gotta be kidding me..." he whispered. "One of those things is S-Rank?"

Instantly he backed away, pulse hammering beneath his ribs. There was no way in hell he could survive against creatures that size for an entire hour.

Not unless the system wanted him dead for real this time.

One of the titans suddenly halted. Then another.

Ambrose’s breath hitched when the beasts—creatures large enough to flatten mountains—began moving backwards.

No... not backwards.

Away from something.

The earth quaked harder now. The titans let out low, horrified cries as they lumbered through the mist with surprising speed.

Like prey fleeing from an apex predator.

"What the fuck?"

His spatial awareness screamed.

Ambrose whipped around just as the mist parted. And then he saw it.

The creature stood atop a jagged cliff hundreds of meters away.

Massive wings folded against a lean black body. Its elongated skull resembled a prehistoric pterodactyl except far more monstrous, lined with rows of teeth sharp enough to shred steel.

Two glowing crimson eyes locked onto him.

The timer in front of Ambrose ticked down.

[00:59:12]

Then the beast screeched.

The sound exploded through the valley so violently that Ambrose nearly collapsed. Blood trickled from one of his ears as the mountains themselves trembled.

"Oh, FUCK this!"

The creature lunged off the cliff.

BOOM.

The ground cratered beneath its landing.

Shockwaves ripped through the valley floor, blasting apart rocks and sending cracks racing toward Ambrose at terrifying speed.

His survival instincts finally kicked in, making him bolt.

Wind lashed against his face as he sprinted through the mist, nearly slipping on uneven terrain. Behind him came another deafening screech followed by the thunderous boom of the creature crashing down again.

It was fast. WAY too fast.

"Aura!" he shouted breathlessly. "A little help would be nice right about now!"

[Suggestion: Run faster.]

"YOU ABSOLUTE BITCH—"

A shadow swallowed him whole.

Ambrose glanced upward and immediately regretted it.

The beast soared overhead with monstrous wings spread wide enough to blot out the sky. Its crimson eyes glowed through the mist before it suddenly folded its wings inward.

Diving straight toward him.

"Shit!" Ambrose hurled himself sideways just as the creature smashed into the ground behind him.

The impact erupted like a bomb.

Earth and debris blasted through the air while violent cracks split across the valley floor. One nearly swallowed Ambrose whole before he stumbled past it, lungs burning violently.

The creature screeched again.

Closer this time.

Way closer.

★★★★★

Phoenix Flight HQ

Devon stood motionless in Ambrose’s bedroom, his phone pressed as he looked through every corner again.

No signs of him anywhere.

Only the lingering traces of strange aether still hang in the air.

" He’s gone." Devon finally muttered.

The silence at the other end of the call lasted barely a second.

Then:

"What do you mean gone?" Viktor’s voice sharpened instantly.

Devon dragged a hand through his hair, staring at the space in front of him.

"I mean Rose vanished into thin air." His jaw tightened. "And judging from whatever the hell happened in this room..."

A pause.

Then he lowered his voice grimly. "Viktor—we have a problem."