[System Notification: You've killed a level 45 Man-Eating Winged Tiger. You have gained 9k EXP.]
Val ignored the notification and went out of the cave to get Oliver.
As soon as he stepped out, a crease ford between his brows, his eyes widened slightly, and his lips tightened in a thin line as he didn't spot Oliver anywhere near the cave.
"Damn, where did he go?"
Without wasting a mont, Val used the Heavenly Eye skill to scan his surroundings in a desperate search for Oliver.
His gaze pierced through the dense foliage of trees and underbrush before finally settling on a lean, muscled figure standing near a pond.
The figure was adorned in clothing identical to what Oliver had been wearing. When his face appeared in his gaze, Val beca certain it was Oliver.
Val scrutinized him thoroughly.
Oliver didn't have a single wound on his body. But there seed to be sothing wrong with him as he was standing eerily still next to the pond, just staring at its shimring surface that reflected the sky above, showing no sign of acknowledgnt to the world around him.
There was sothing about his behavior that scread of unholy forces being at play here.
A sinking feeling gripped Val's heart as he felt that sothing had gone terribly wrong.
With quick, determined strides, he sprinted towards Oliver. The distance between them shortened and his hair fluttered in the wind as he raced past trees and obstacles, reaching him in re monts.
"Oliver! Can you hear ?"
Val called out, his voice echoing with urgency, but Oliver remained unresponsive.
Val sprinted all the way up to him and frantically waved his hand in front of Oliver's vacant eyes, trying to snap him out of his trance, but to no avail.
Oliver's eyes didn't, not even for a mont, follow the movent of his hand. His gaze remained fixed on the pond.
Even a sudden jolt, which Val administered to Oliver with growing desperation, elicited no reaction from him.
A chilling thought crossed Val's mind.
'It's as if he has been spirited away!'
Val couldn't help but feel frustrated. He had only looked away for a brief mont, and yet, Oliver had already been victimized. It was as if he had a unique constitution that attracted all sorts of danger to him and made him susceptible to harm!
Val cast a wary glance at the pond that Oliver was staring at with bloodshot eyes without blinking.
'This has to be it.'
In Val's heart, he had no doubt that the pond was the culprit behind Oliver's odd behavior.
While staring intently at the pond, Val cast the 'detect' spell.
In response, a semi-transparent screen materialized before him.
Upon it, the following information was displayed:
[Na: Pond of the damned
Description: This pool does not show the reflection of a living entity. Instead, if an individual looks into it, their consciousness will be dragged into an unending nightmare of their worst fears, where they can be driven mad if they're unprepared.
Caution: When encountering such a pond, it's advised to avoid direct eye contact with its surface.
Escape chanism: To release an ensnared individual from the pond's clutches, the water's surface must be disrupted. This can be done by throwing a stone or any object into the pond, causing ripples to distort the reflection. Once the surface is disturbed, the trapped individual will be released from the nightmarish grip.]
Val took a mont to process the information. The pond before him was so still and pristine that it reflected the night sky with an unparalleled clarity. It was deceivingly beautiful, disguising the insidious trap it held beneath its tranquil surface.
"Who would've thought that such a serene pond would harbor such a dark secret?" Val muttered.
Interestingly, even though he had also gazed upon the pond, unlike Oliver, he hadn't been ensnared by its curse. He deduced that the pond had no effect on him due to his unique nature. Since birth, Val lacked the capability to feel fear, so he held no fear in his heart. The pond that used one's fear against them was thus naturally useless against him.
"Let's save Oliver first before anything else," Val muttered, concern evident in his voice. Without wasting any ti, he bent down to pick up a smooth stone from near the pond's edge. Positioning himself, he threw it with precision. The stone skidded gracefully across the pond's surface, creating a series of expanding ripples that disturbed the water's deceptive stillness.
As the ripples spread, the hypnotic hold the pond had over Oliver began to weaken. With a sharp gasp, Oliver blinked, his glazed eyes regaining focus.
The color drained from his face. His face beca as pale as a ghost, and not only was he unable to breathe properly, but he also felt so weak he couldn't stand properly.
He staggered back, taking in deep, ragged breaths, each one sounding as if it were tearing at his insides. The mories of the torturous nightmares he had just experienced seed to linger, playing out in his mind, torturing him endlessly.
"It was... it was so real," Oliver whispered, a shudder running down his spine.
Val, realizing the emotional turmoil his friend was undergoing, quickly stepped forward, placing a steadying hand on Oliver's back. With gentle pats, he tried to comfort him, attempting to bring him back to the present.
"Oliver, breathe," Val said, "What you saw, what you felt, it was all an illusion created by the pond. It wasn't real. Can you hear ? It wasn't real."
In the very next mont, Oliver's eyes, clouded with fear and confusion, t Val's, and tears stread out of them as if a dam had been loosened.
"But it felt so... so real. The fear, the pain... It was like I had returned to the days when I was at the rcy of others, being tortured day and night."
Val sighed heavily, "That's the nature of such cursed places. They draw upon your deepest fears, making them seem tangible. But you're out now, and you're safe. Don't let it sit in your head rent-free. That's the way you can get one up on it."
After his encouragent, Oliver took several more deep breaths, each one steadier than the last, as he tried to regain his composure. Soon, he looked okay. At this point, it would not be wrong to say that Val's presence and support were instruntal in helping Oliver feel more stable and centered, allowing him to co back to his normal state after the unsettling event.
After what felt like an eternity, Oliver finally managed a weak smile and looking at Val, said, "Thanks, man. I... I don't know what I would have done without you."
Val returned the smile, his eyes warm with genuine concern, "That's what friends are for. Just rember, no matter what you face, you're never alone. I'll always have your back."
"The sa goes for ," Oliver said.
They were like two good brothers. Support and care were mutual between them. But in this relationship, Val was definitely the more cooler one as he had saved Oliver more tis than Oliver had helped him, like an elder brother looking after his younger brother!
Oliver reflected on his turbulent past, feeling as though he was born into a living hell.
From the start, his family seed to despise him, which culminated in them selling him off to Lord Lucious for so personal gain.
However, in Lord Lucious, Oliver found a fatherly figure. And he has now found an elder brother in Val. Who could be as lucky as him? Oliver felt like all the difficult ti he had to go through was worth it. In the end, he had everything that mattered!
These positive thoughts overwheld him so much that the recent nightmare he experienced, where he felt like he was living through a personal hell, seed distant. The trauma had nearly shattered him, but thanks to Val, who ca to his rescue in the nick of ti, he was pulled back from that dark abyss. A profound sense of gratitude for Val welled up in him, and he thanked him again.
****
"I've cleared out the cave of any threats. It's safe to occupy now. We should head back, share our findings about this dinsion, and rest until dawn," Val said to Oliver.
Oliver nodded.
As they began their journey back to the cave, Val's hand flicked backward discreetly.
The Hellish Fist skill was activated so silently that its activation escaped Oliver's notice, and the target of this skill was none other than the deceptive pond.
A hellish fireball erupted from Val's fist, barreling towards the pond and sinking into it.
The water began to boil and bubble vigorously, and within monts, it started steaming and evaporating, transforming into a thin, ghostly mist.
[System Notification: Congratulations, Host! You have successfully eradicated the primary trap of the dinsion and have been rewarded with the 'Droplet of Guidance'.]
Curiosity piqued, Val inspected the Droplet of Guidance, which had appeared inside the notification screen.
The droplet of guidance was a crystal-clear droplet, shimring with an inner light that pulsed gently. After Val cast 'Detect' on it, he found out that the droplet held the unique ability to show its possessor the way but the way has to have appeared and he must be looking for it.
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