All around the adow, patches of the ground transford into quicksand, and from their unfathomable depths, dozens of jet-black hands reached out.
The intent behind these hands was unmistakable; they sought to grab, to clutch, to drag their prey into a hellish abyss.
Their inky fingers writhed with a desperate hunger, and with their vast numbers, annihilating an entire army would be child's play.
Yet, astonishingly, they struggled to ensnare two young n.
Val, with his sharp senses, had detected the threat before it manifested, allowing him to take appropriate action to save his and Oliver's life in ti.
To avoid their grasp, he tossed Oliver into the air before taking to the sky like an agile sparrow himself and employing the anti-gravity technique to stay afloat and out of the hands' reach.
Words weren't needed for Oliver, who was shocked as he was suddenly tossed to the sky, to do the sa. When the sight of the hands flailing around in the adow entered his eyes, he also used the anti-gravity technique to stay afloat.
As Oliver found himself floating in the air, a flurry of thoughts coursed through his mind.
"That was too close," he mused, still feeling the lingering touch of the cold, shadowy hand that had grasped at his ankle. "These hands... what are they? Spirits? Cursed souls bound to this adow?"
His gaze darted down to the writhing mass of black hands reaching out from the quicksand below. The sight was enough to send chills down anyone's spine, and Oliver felt the sa.
"Thankfully, Val was quick to react. I would've been dragged under in seconds to who knows where if it weren't for him," he reflected, gratitude swelling within him.
He then looked over to Val, who was also using the anti-gravity technique, positioned next to him.
"Like him, I need to master more techniques that can detect danger," Oliver determined. "The world is full of dangers, and one can never be too prepared."
Shaking off his reverie, he focused on the situation at hand.
The adow below, once a picturesque vision of serenity, now resembled a nightmarish battlefield. Being suspended in the sky provided both him and Val only a montary reprieve. They didn't have the soul power to fly all the way across. Before they cross it, they would run out of soul power and drop straight towards their death. Moreover, staying still was also rapidly consuming their soul power as anti-gravity was a heavily taxing skill to maintain.
"We need a plan," Oliver thought anxiously, watching the countless hands stretching to reach them. "We can't stay up here forever."
But that's where Oliver was wrong. The situation was escalating rapidly, and there was no ti for them to sit and contemplate a strategy. The hands were stretching longer and longer, trying desperately to drag them down.
Nervousness gnawed at Oliver's insides. The sheer number of hands and the relentless nature of their pursuit left him feeling trapped and cornered, like a prey desperately trying to escape from its predator. His heart pounded loudly in his ears, each beat echoing his rising panic.
Val, on the other hand, seed to be in an entirely different realm. Contrary to the fear and anxiety one might expect from soone in such a predicant, Val appeared relaxed, almost nonchalant. The countless hands inching ever closer to him didn't evoke fear. Instead, they seed to irritate him.
"Hmph! You're aiming for an unattainable goal.".
With a cold, disdainful snort, Val waved his hand. Out of thin air, waves of flas appeared one after another, seeming to escape from the Void itself. They surged downward with an intensity and purpose that was hard for any mortal to ignore, reminiscent of divine punishnt ted out from the heavens.
Every single one of the dark hands was instantly engulfed by this fiery onslaught. The intense heat caused them to burn away rapidly. They were burned until not a trace of their existence remained. Then the fire also vanished.
In the aftermath of Val's display of power, the adow returned to its tranquil state, as if the terrifying incident had never occurred. The calm beauty of the place now stood in stark contrast to the chaos that had just transpired.
[System Notification]
Enemy Defeated: Abyssal Shadow Hands x100 Reward: Shard of the Core of Chaos
Description: The Shard of the Core of Chaos is an enigmatic item that holds a dual nature. It brims with the potent force of corruption, threatening to engulf those who dare to approach it. Yet, hidden deep within this tumultuous force lies its counterpart – the power of creation. For those with an indomitable will, who can resist the temptations of corruption, the shard offers imnse benefits. Upon absorption, the user's vitality and core will be elevated to the next tier.
Special Note: If the Host absorbs this shard, his HP bar will increase in size and his Core of Darkness will advance to Level 2!
Val's eyes widened in surprise and elation as he read the system notification.
The shard was exactly what he needed! One of the essential requirents to ascend from a low-rank wizard to a level 2 mid-rank wizard was to upgrade the core. And this shard was the key to that upgrade.
He could barely contain his excitent.
"It's safe now. Let's get down," Val said with a tone of authority, glancing at Oliver.
Oliver, still rattled by the previous events, nodded obediently. "Alright," he replied, his voice shaky.
They both started their descent, and their feet soon touched the soft grass of the adow.
As they walked, the atmosphere felt eerily calm.
The once treacherous adow now seed tranquil, with no signs of any impending threats.
But this serenity was short-lived.
The sudden sound of a whistle pierced the silence. Acting purely on instinct, Val stretched out his hand and pulled Oliver forcefully, shoving him behind. A beam of nacing black light shot past, exactly where Oliver had stood monts ago.
Oliver gulped audibly, his face pale. "That... that was close," he whispered.
If it weren't for Val's quick reflexes, he would have been annihilated by that deadly ray!
Another whistle echoed, its shrill tone chilling them to the bone.
Once again, Val reached out, his hand moving with lightning speed. He caught an arrow in mid-flight, stopping it rely an inch away from piercing Oliver. The arrowhead, imbued with a dark aura, humd nacingly, threatening to break free from Val's grip. But to no avail.
"There are two of us here, but it's only targeting . Could it be that they're...?" Oliver wondered aloud, his eyes darting anxiously.
Val's brows furrowed, his expression turning grim. Oliver being targeted twice wasn't just a coincidence. It only confird what he had suspected.
"Yeah, the assassins are behind this," Val said before his eyes narrowed and he continued, "They've finally caught up to us. You need to focus on protecting yourself. I'll handle drawing them out."
"No," Oliver said, "We'll face them together."
Val was going to protect, but he hadn't even said a word when another whistle rang out, and the arrow in his hand heated up. Trusting his instincts, Val hurled the arrow he still held with all his might.
It flew forward and hit the ground.
For a mont, nothing happened.
And then...
Boom!
A violent explosion ensued. Fiery tendrils shot upwards, fanned by the night's wind, quickly turning the way forward into an inferno. Their forward path was consud by fire, and their retreat was cut off when dozens of nacing figures erged from the shadows.
Each of them had a cold, emotionless expression. Dressed in dark cloaks, they ford a semi-circle behind Val and Oliver, effectively trapping them. The moonlight glinted off the sharp edges of their weapons, making it evident that they weren't there to negotiate. They were there to kill.
An imdiate confrontation with them seed inevitable for the two youngsters as the wildfire was expanding towards the adow
Val and Oliver knew that ti was of the essence. Their options were limited, and they needed to act swiftly.
Three of the cloaked figures charged at them with lethal intent, but their advance was unexpectedly halted. Their faces contorted in shock as they felt a sudden tug at their feet. Glancing down, they found their own shadows rising from the ground, coiling around their ankles like dark serpents. They tried to pull away, to wrench themselves free, but it was in vain. The shadows were unyielding, binding them with a force that was impossible to counter.
Val watched them coldly. Without uttering a word, he released one-tenth of his soul power, directing it towards the immobilized assailants.
Ugh!
They grunted in pain as an imnse pressure, crushing and relentless, bore down on them. It felt as though the very weight of the world was pressing against their chests, squeezing the life out of them.
There was a montary silence before...
Crack~
...the chilling sounds of bones snapping echoed in the adow.
The once formidable assassins, now overco by Val's formidable power, saw the light fade from their eyes. The shadowy tendrils, having served their purpose, retreated into the ground. With nothing to support them. the lifeless bodies of the three cloaked figures collapsed to the ground with resounding thuds.
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