Chương 59: Second Wave

Gray surged through the treeline and came to a halt at his destination. Just like the first Astral Rift his guild had cleared, this one sat in the center of a wide, grassy field. The dimensional tear hung in the air beyond the core, its warped edges rippling faintly. Ten HydraCrawlers circled the glowing sphere, guarding it like protective parents around a nest. Why are they so devoted to that thing? Gray wondered. He pushed the thought aside and charged with Tobari drawn. Three Hydras moved to intercept him.

This time, he had no intention of relying on his abilities. He needed all the sword practice he could get. The lead alien snapped its head forward and lashed out with its forked tongue. Gray ducked beneath the strike, but one of the barbed tips grazed his shoulder, carving a shallow line through his skin. The sting barely registered compared to the relentless rain torture he had endured during his Soul Blade Trial. Planting his lead foot firmly in the grass, Gray swung Tobari in a broad horizontal arc.

The blade cleaved through the predator's neck, severing its triangular head cleanly and sending gray blood spraying across the field. Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +100 GP | +100 CP Two more Hydras rushed him. Gray lunged toward the creature on his right and thrust his sword into its chest. The blade sank barely an inch. Gray immediately recognized the mistake.

He had rushed the follow-up and failed to reset his footing after the first kill, turning what should have been a clean thrust into a sloppy strike. Rather than pull back and recover properly, he decided to cheat. A sliver of mana flowed into Tobari, and gray haze ignited along the steel. Gray slammed his palm against the pommel, forcing the blade forward. This time, it passed effortlessly through the creature's chest and pierced its heart.

A second later, the edges of the wound blackened as decay spread outward through the surrounding flesh. Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +100 GP | +100 CP He ripped the sword free and immediately brought it down on the next charging beast. The smoke-coated blade sheared through its flesh without resistance. Dark mist spilled from the gash in the creature's skull and raced downward across its head and torso until it reached the waist, leaving blackened, rotting tissue in its wake.

Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +100 GP | +100 CP The effect perfectly mirrored what had happened when Gray slashed the tree near the beginning of the fourth level. Why the same decay hadn't affected Nabi during their battle still baffled him. He was obviously relieved she hadn't crumbled into a pile of ash, but the inconsistency continued to gnaw at the back of his mind.

Abandoning the sword-training exercise, Gray maintained the smoke armament around Tobari and tore through the remaining seven HydraCrawlers. Their lashing tongues managed only shallow cuts, but the toxic gas they spewed proved far more troublesome. Even with his Choking Resistance maxed at level 999, the poisonous smog constricted his breathing and raised searing blisters wherever it touched exposed skin.

By the time the clearing finally fell silent, Gray was forced to down a health potion just to purge the toxins from his system. Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +100 GP x7 | +100 CP x7 The core was ripe for the taking, but the enormous rift looming behind it drew Gray's attention. Curiosity won out. He approached the spatial tear and studied the distorted darkness beyond its surface, searching for any hint of what might exist on the other side. You cannot enter Gray recoiled from the sudden prompt.

"Okay, okay. My bad." He raised both hands in surrender. He turned back toward the pedestal and reached for the core. A gunshot-like crack erupted behind him. Second wave incoming…

"Second wave?!" Gray shouted, drawing his blade. He backpedaled from the rift and leveled Tobari at the tear in space. Sparks crackled along the edges of the portal as its bright violet glow darkened into a deep crimson. A hooked leg emerged first. Then a triangular head pushed through, followed by the rest of the creature's body. It resembled the HydraCrawlers almost exactly, only larger, with several luminous green sacs bulging from its back.

Gray lunged before it could fully orient itself and dispatched the beast with a clean slash. Luckily, his proximity to the spawn gate gave him the perfect opportunity to isolate the newcomers as they emerged. Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +120 GP | +120 CP From there, the process became almost embarrassingly simple. Forced to squeeze through the rift one at a time, the creatures could manage little more than clumsy lunges before Gray intercepted them.

He repeatedly stepped to the side and drove Tobari through their skulls, effectively spawn-camping the monsters before they could spread across the field. Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +120 GP x5 | +120 CP x5"Well, that wasn't so bad." Gray wiped a smear of alien gore from his blade with the hem of his shirt.

"I wonder if the others will get a special instance like this one." A wet pop interrupted his thoughts. One of the glowing green sacs attached to a dead HydraCrawler's back ruptured, splattering viscous fluid across the grass. Inside, three scaly reptilian forms lay tangled together in a tight knot. They slowly unfurled, revealing narrow heads lined with tiny fangs and four stubby legs sprouting from their lower bodies. Hatchling Lv. 5 They stood barely two feet tall. Their size, however, was hardly the problem.

Squish. Squish. Squish. Squish. Squish. Squish. The remaining sacs burst one after another. Each adult carried roughly seven of the swollen pods, and every one spilled another two to four hatchlings onto the field. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Within seconds, dozens of the oversized serpents rose from the gore, slick with green fluid that dripped from their scales.

Rather than attacking Gray, they immediately sank their fangs into the corpses of their dead mothers and began tearing strips of flesh from the bodies. Gray stared at the feeding frenzy. Okay. That's horrifying. He slowly backed away, placing each foot with deliberate care so he wouldn't draw their attention. Naturally, his heel found what appeared to be the only fallen branch within fifty feet. Snap. Every hatchling froze. Their heads whipped toward him in unison.

A piercing chorus of shrieks ripped across the clearing before the entire swarm stampeded in his direction.

"You can't be serious!" Gray barked, dropping into a fighting stance and leveling Tobari at the miniature Hydras. He flipped the sword into a reverse grip and drove the blade straight through the crown of the lead hatchling. The creature collapsed instantly, its body dissolving into gray sludge around the steel. But by the time Gray ripped his weapon free and prepared another strike, the rest of the swarm was already on him. The hatchlings flooded around his legs, snapping and clawing with frantic hunger.

Tiny fangs sank into his calves and tore away chunks of flesh while others scrambled over one another, climbing higher in search of softer, juicier meat. Gray let out a visceral cry as searing pain flared through his calves. He hacked wildly at the little shits, but it was futile. There were too many. At this rate, they would eat him alive long before he could thin their numbers. Shroud Domain A dome of smoke swallowed the clearing as Gray's body dissolved into its ethereal form.

He had chosen his Signature ability rather than attempting Wraith. He'd already learned how unreliable Wraith could be as an emergency escape tool. Its true strength lay in prevention—triggering it before a lethal blow ever connected. Timing it properly was another matter entirely, and overconfidence had a nasty habit of clouding Gray's judgment whenever he tried to wait until the last possible second. Thankfully, he had another "oh-shit" button up his sleeve.

Gray soared high above the field and surveyed the chaos below. The miniature Hydras scurried blindly through the smoke, darting across the grass like headless chickens. He could easily escape now, but the glowing orb atop the pedestal practically seemed to wag its little tail at him. I can't just leave without reaping the rewards, can I? He propelled himself toward the pedestal. By now, Gray had finally found his footing in his airborne smoke form. The transformation no longer felt awkward or disorienting.

Moving through the air had become almost instinctive, granting him fluid control over every turn, rise, and sudden shift in direction. Gray pressed a smoky palm against the core. The orb flared with blinding white light before steadily dimming, its luminous center fading into a hollow black. Gray Kim's guild has claimed Astral Rift +5, 000 GP"Huh. Guess it doesn't need actual flesh to establish a connection," Gray muttered. A beat later, a series of heavy thuds sounded across the clearing.

Gray whipped his head toward the noise. The hatchlings had collapsed across the field, their bodies twitching through their final death throes before falling completely still.

"So that's why they were so hell-bent on protecting the core." Gray dismissed the domain, but not before indulging himself with a midair backward somersault. His physical body reformed as he descended, and his shoes struck the grass just as another notification appeared in his vision. Gray Kim's guild has claimed Astral Rift +5, 000 GP"Nice. Guess somebody else cleared theirs." Less than a second later, a shrill alarm erupted from Gray's back pocket. He immediately reached inside and pulled out the navigator.

Its screen flashed red, displaying an arrow angled toward the upper-left corner. Beneath it, the distance read 312 feet. Gray broke into a sprint. He followed the arrow through the trees as the number steadily dropped—two hundred feet, one hundred, fifty—until it finally reached ten. A shadow swept over him. Gray glanced up just as Eugene descended through the canopy, hanging one-handed from the underside of his drone. The machine carried him effortlessly toward the ground.

"You've gotta let me ride that thing sometime," Gray said, a grin tugging at his mouth.

"I'm guessing you weren't the one who triggered the alarm?"

"Nope." The drone's propellers slowed to a stop, and Eugene released his grip, dropping safely onto the dirt.

"It has to be Andre. Let's get over there." Gray nodded, and the two immediately took off through the forest.

"Did you get hit by that second wave too?" Gray asked as they sprinted between the trees. Eugene nodded.

"Those hatchlings were intense. Luckily, area-of-effect abilities are my specialty, so they weren't much of a problem." Gray jerked his head toward him, one eyebrow rising.

"Wait. You were the one who cleared the second Astral Rift?"

"Mhm," Eugene confirmed.

"I thought for sure it was Delilah. I guess she abandoned her rift to help Andre the instant her tracker flashed red." Gray shrugged.

"Let's rendezvous with the rest of the party." Eugene nodded. After trekking through the woods for a couple of minutes, the duo reached the base of a steep incline. At the summit, another Rift Portal loomed against the horizon. They had barely begun climbing when a visceral scream tore through the air above them.

"Hurry!" Gray shouted, waving for Eugene to follow. Gray charged up the hill, pumping his legs with every ounce of strength he could muster. Upon reaching the summit, he found Andre sprawled across the ground, desperately thrusting his greatsword at a swarm of hatchlings gnawing at his legs. Nine of the runts had sunk their fangs into his flesh, bypassing his steel-plated greaves entirely. The armor itself was corroded beyond repair, pitted with deep acid burns that hissed beneath wisps of purple gas.

Gravity Well Gray summoned the localized vortex directly behind the beasts. The sudden vacuum ripped the shrieking hatchlings off Andre and hoisted them into the air, trapping them helplessly within the swirling current. Gray lunged toward his own creation and drove Tobari into the eye of the tornado, skewering multiple of the hatchlings in one thrust.

Gray Kim's guild has slain [Hatchling] +80 GP | +80 CP x4 He ripped the blade free and repeated the process, systematically impaling the suspended aliens one after another. Gray Kim's guild has slain [Hatchling] +80 GP | +80 CP x5 As the vortex dissipated, Gray registered a crucial detail about Gravity Well: its pull didn't affect the caster. He filed the discovery away for later. Right now, guilt smothered any satisfaction he might have felt. He turned back to Andre.

The warrior sat with both legs stretched across the grass. His calves and feet were mangled, strips of flesh torn away to expose bone in several places. Sickly gray decay lined the edges of the wounds, while toxic vapor curled from the cavities. Gray dropped to his knees beside him.

"A potion," he murmured.

"A potion should help."

"I… I don't… have any," Andre rasped.

"Don't worry. I've got you." Gray withdrew a flask from his ring, supported Andre's head with one hand, and pressed the vial to his lips. After several gulps, the gray discoloration slowly receded from the wounds. Torn muscle began knitting itself together, crawling back over exposed bone as Andre's breathing gradually steadied. He released a heavy sigh of relief.

"That tingles." Gray lowered his gaze to the grass.

"My greed clouded my judgment. I almost got you killed." His grip tightened around the empty vial.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you." Andre clapped a heavy hand onto Gray's shoulder.

"It's alright. It worked out in the end, didn't it? Your timing was immaculate, too. I couldn't even trigger the alarm, but you guys cleared your rifts just in time to rescue me." Gray and Eugene snapped their heads toward each other.

"What… what do you mean by that?" Gray asked, his blood running cold. Andre rubbed the back of his neck and gave an embarrassed chuckle.

"The tracker slipped off my belt during the fight. I accidentally kicked it, and it went flying down the slope over there." He pointed toward the far side of the hill.

"I'm really sorry, Eugene."

"Andre…" Eugene murmured, his voice dropping an octave.

"Have you seen Delilah?" Andre's expression tightened. He slowly shook his head.

"No. Not since we split up." A shadow crossed Gray's face. Without another word, he bolted toward the edge of the summit and threw himself down the slope, shoes skidding through loose dirt and grass as he raced toward Delilah's location.