Chapter 234: We Bring That Beast Down
When Ruvian’s consciousness finally returned, it felt as though someone had knocked a hammer straight at his face.
A dull, relentless ache pulsed through his head, blurring his thoughts for several long moments. He remained sprawled across the ground, struggling to separate reality from the lingering haze of unconsciousness.
How long had he been out? He didn’t know. But judging from the pitiful amount of Mana Essence that had recovered within his Spellcore, it couldn’t have been long.
The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth.
"...Ugh."
A pained groan escaped his lips as he forced his battered body to move. Slowly, he pushed himself upright.
His mind immediately returned to the attack.
Honestly, what in the world had hit them to destroy their shelter in a single attack?
He didn’t know.
Everything had happened too fast.
The island had been swallowed by darkness, and the ambush had descended without warning. Before he could even catch a glimpse of his attacker, all he had managed to do was cast [Wind Barrier] and [Body Enhancement] before the overwhelming impact.
Fortunately, those two spells had reduced the damage to his body. Otherwise, the outcome might have been much worse.
Much, much worse!
’Damn it hurts!’
His expression became grim.
But what about his teammates? Were they alright? And that creature... was it still hiding somewhere within the darkness?
’Who am I kidding? Of course it is still here!’
That monster had attacked them without making a sound. So there was no reason for it to simply leave after scattering all five of them with a single strike.
’Anyway, I need to regroup with my team first.’
Without further delay, Ruvian cast [Night Vision].
The moment [Night Vision] took effect, the absolute darkness before Ruvian’s eyes began to recede.
At first, he could only make out vague outlines. The endless black slowly gave way to faint shades of gray, allowing the surrounding forest to emerge little by little.
His vision was still far from perfect as everything appeared dim and lacking in detail, but it gradually became distinguishable as his sight adjusted to the spell.
Even so, it was not enough.
Ruvian let out a resigned sigh.
’The range is still too short.’
But at the very least, he was no longer blind.
His gaze swept across the dim forest — everything beyond a small radius remained swallowed by darkness. [Night Vision] allowed him to see, yet only within a limited distance. Anything farther away faded back into a sea of black.
He clicked his tongue.
It seemed the unnatural darkness covering the island was suppressing its effectiveness far more than he had expected.
’Yeah... this won’t do.’
With such limited vision, there was no way he could locate his teammates. Nor would he be able to find the enemy before it found him.
Then, an idea suddenly flashed through Ruvian’s mind.
’Ah, right...’
Without wasting another second, he activated his Editorial Skill: [Foreshadowing].
Then, something new quietly entered his vision.
Scattered throughout the darkness were three barely visible tags hovering above every one of the human-shaped silhouettes nearby.
Though, what was displayed was not what he was hoping for.
[Alive]
[Alive]
[Alive]
Because he only saw three.
Ruvian frowned.
’Where’s the other one?’
The fourth tag was nowhere to be found. Judging by the limited range of his [Foreshadowing], the remaining person — whoever that was — had most likely landed beyond his proximity.
His gaze settled on the nearest silhouette, and so, he went to that person first.
As he got closer, he realised that it was Shima. The silhouette was noticeably smaller than the others, making it the most likely possibility.
Keeping his breathing steady, he carefully made his way through the scattered rubble, taking slow and cautious steps as he closed the distance.
"Hey, Shim—"
The instant his voice shattered the silence, the silhouette reacted with terrifying speed.
Whoosh!
Without the slightest hesitation, it pivoted on its heel, a falchion tearing through the darkness in a ruthless arc aimed directly at his neck.
’—!?’
Fortunately, Ruvian’s body responded just as fast. Almost entirely on instinct, his hand shot forward and clamped firmly around the blade, stopping the slash. (+500PP)
’That was close.’
A slight frown formed on his face as he tightened his grip on the blade. "Shima," he said, his voice calm despite what had nearly happened.
"It’s me. Ruvian."
The moment those words reached her ears, the murderous intent in Shima’s eyes disappeared. Her pupils abruptly contracted, and her entire body froze where she stood.
’Ah shit.’
She inwardly cursed.
A surge of shock washed over her.
In her panic, she had attacked first without even confirming who the approaching figure was. Had Ruvian reacted a fraction of a second slower, it might have ended terribly for him.
"Don’t scare me like that, you idiot!" she hissed, glaring at him through the darkness. "I could’ve accidentally killed you."
Ruvian quietly released the falchion from his grasp.
Only then did he notice the faint sting spreading across his palm. A thin line of blood slowly trickled down his hand where the blade had grazed him.
He glanced at it before letting out a helpless sigh.
’Luckily, I managed to wrap a thin amount of mana around my palm just in time.’
Ruvian looked at Shima.
"That wasn’t my intention."
Shima was avout to apologise, but before the guilt could settle, another thought struck her just as hard.
’Wait, did he just—’ (+500PP)
She stopped midway.
That slash had been fueled by pure instinct. She had swung with almost everything she had, yet Ruvian had stopped it with nothing more than his bare hand.
The fact left her momentarily stupefied.
But before Shima could give a proper respond, Ruvian’s expression suddenly stiffened. Through the faint range of [Night Vision], an enormous silhouette was closing in on them.
He clicked his tongue.
"We’ve got to go now. Hold on."
"What—?"
Shima barely had time to utter the word, but Ruvian already grabbed her by the wrist and threw himself sideways with all his strength, dragging her along as the two of them leaped away from where they had been earlier.
BOOMM!
Something unimaginably heavy crashed into the ground behind them!
The earth erupted as the impact blasted a crater, sending a violent shockwave racing through the surrounding trees.
Ruvian rolled across the ground before forcing himself back to his feet. His gaze immediately locked onto the colossal silhouette standing amidst the settling dust.
His heart skipped a beat as realization came.
Despite a body that should have shaken the ground with every movement, he hadn’t heard a single footstep.
"...What was that?" Shima asked, unable to hide the uneasiness beneath it.
She couldn’t see anything.
The darkness surrounding them was so complete that it had robbed her of every sense of direction. The only things grounding her were Ruvian’s touch and the solid earth beneath her feet.
Ruvian kept his eyes fixed ahead.
"We’re ambushed by something big."
Shima clicked her tongue in frustration.
"...Shit. How am I supposed to fight against something big in the dark!?"
Ruvian didn’t take his eyes off the enormous silhouette moving in the distance, looking for them.
"Don’t worry, just stay close to me... and hold on tight."
Shima frowned.
"...Wait, you can see? In this darkness?"
"Yeah. Sort of, but not so much." (+100PP)
Ruvian’s gaze continued sweeping across the dim terrain. Then, his attention quickly shifted elsewhere. While activated [Foreshadowing], he searched for the familiar tags hovering above his teammates.
Though now, there was only one.
The other had disappeared.
Ruvian immediately understood why.
The distance between them had widened after the earlier impact, pushing the remaining person beyond the limited range of his Editorial Skill.
Without another word, he reached out and grabbed Shima by the wrist.
"Follow me."
He immediately started moving, leading her through the darkness.
"Shima, I need you to do something."
"...What?"
"Wrap your lightning spell around your falchion. For as long as you can."
Shima frowned.
"...Why?"
"It’s for light."
She immediately shook her head.
"Huh? That... It won’t help. The darkness here is too strong. Even if I wrap my falchion in lightning, it won’t brighten our surroundings by much.
True.
Shima wasn’t wrong.
The darkness covering the island was anything but ordinary. It devoured light so thoroughly that even [Night Vision] had its range drastically reduced.
Thus, the same would happen for a faint lightning enchantment which would only illuminate a small area around the blade.
Ruvian didn’t slow his pace.
He also began to see the rest of the tags around him within the darkness. They had entered his proximity now.
[Alive]
[Alive]
[Alive]
"I know, but I’m not asking you to illuminate the surroundings for us."
Shima blinked.
"Then what?"
Ruvian smiled shrewdly.
"It’s to tell the others that we are here." (+200PP)
Only then did she fall silent.
Trying to illuminate the forest was pointless. The darkness was simply too overwhelming for such a small source of light to compete against.
However, that same darkness worked in their favor when it came to signaling.
Against a world consumed by blackness, even a modest, continuous glow became remarkably conspicuous. It didn’t need to reveal the surrounding terrain. It only needed to remain visible long enough for anyone nearby to recognize its position.
Realizing Ruvian’s intention, Shima gave a small nod.
"...Got it."
Without another word, Shima cast [Lightning Infusion]; mana flowed into her falchion, and thin arcs of lightning began coiling around the blade, bathing it in a steady pale-purplish glow.
Then, she raised the falchion high above her head.
"Done."
She glanced toward Ruvian.
"So, what’s now?"
Still holding Shima’s wrist, Ruvian suddenly stopped and turned toward the enormous silhouette.
Then, a fearless grin slowly spread on his face.
"Now..."
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[Chapter 234: We Bring That Beast Down]
Plot Points= 19,120
