BXBX NOVEL Chapter 232 230: Forced into the dungeon
Chapter 232 230: Forced into the dungeon
The Nameless was a threat that existed beyond the grasp of understanding. In this aspect, it was quite similar to the Unknown.
Ironically, they shared another similarity.
They both liked to play with their food like naughty children or sadistic bastards.
The proof of that was that it was deliberately approaching Val at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow. But it was consistent.
Its actions were enough to drive an average person to insanity. If not for Val's traits that blocked fear and decreased the intensity of the other emotions he felt, he would have been terrified to the point of trembling in fear.
The worst part was that the creature was mocking the limits of his perception. He couldn't tell where it was coming from or what it was like despite the usage of the Heavenly Eye.
Anyway, every situation have two sides. This one also had two sides. Its tendency to play with its prey before finishing them off was actually quite helpful to Val. After all, it provided him with much needed time, which he used to come up with a life-saving plan that had the highest rate of success.
One must understand although the Nameless hadn't be categorized into levels like bloodline users, wizards, and devils, there was still the example of the Unknown.
The Unknown was mighty enough to kill a person in the present from the future, but it couldn't exhibit its might in the Forest of Dread. In other words, it could also be said that forests were a big part of its weakness.
In a forest, much less harm a person, it couldn't even deal with an ant directly.
At best, it could only play tricks on people such as showing them terrifying illusions.
The Unknown had used this very method to fool and force Alaric out of the forest, bringinf him to a place where it could deal with him.
Val's guess was that the Nameless might also be bound by some strange laws. Maybe it couldn't break the rules of the altar, aka the dungeon entrance.
'Maybe entering the level 2 dungeon through the altar is a legit way to escape its relentless pursuit.'
Thinking to that point, Val took a deep breath and made a decision.
He knew he had no choice but to bite the bullet.
The Nameless was closing in, and it was now less than 50 feet away from him. Time was of the essence; he couldn't afford to hesitate any longer, or else he would be risking his life.
Val took a deep breath to steady his nerves and jumped back into the ditch. Reaching out, he placed his hand on the palm-shaped indent on the altar. As soon as his hand made contact, the altar sprang to life, projecting a portal in front of him, its edges shimmering as if woven from threads of space and time.
'Let's just hope it can't follow me into the dungeon.'
This thought crossed his mind before Val, without a second thought, leapt into the portal.
The sensation of being teleported enveloped him immediately. His surroundings turned into a dizzying blur, as if his world had been tossed into a spinning vortex. His consciousness felt submerged in darkness, like diving into an abyss, devoid of sound and light. A strange feeling of weightlessness pervaded his being, as if he had been untethered from reality itself. It was an experience that was both disorienting and unsettling.
When the disorienting darkness finally lifted, Val realized he had been transported to an entirely new setting.
Gone was the familiar ditch and the tense atmosphere created by the presence of the Nameless.
In its place was a forest, unlike any he had been in before.
The air was dense and heavy, filled with the rich, musty aroma of damp earth and scented wood.
Towering trees with thick and twisted trunks surrounded him. A pleasant scent wafted off of them. And the forest's canopy was so lush and densely packed that only the faintest trickles of pale yellow light managed to seep through, leaving the forest floor in near darkness.
Patches of poisonous mushrooms and thorny bushes were spread sparsely throughout the forest.
The more eerie part was that the forest floor beneath him was uneven, covered in a mixture of soil and decaying leaves. It felt as though the forest was trying to reclaim every inch, pulling it back into its bosom.
"The Nameless seemed to have not followed us. It looks like we're safe." Voidslayer said suddenly, garnering Val's attention.
Such a simple truth, he had also realized it. A smile converged on his face. Unable to control himself, he spoke his thought out loud, "My gamble paid off."
It was exactly as he said. Val wasn't sure that the rules of the altar applied on the Nameless. If his gamble hasn't worked, he didn't even want to think about what would've happened then. He had no means of escape left. Even his Return Scroll was on cooldown.
Thankfully, everything turned out to be fine in the end.
Voidslayer heard he was gambling with their life and scolded him to be more careful in the future. However, he didn't hold it against him. After all, In that situation, getting out alive was more than enough.
It should also be mentioned that from his recent encounter, one crucial fact had become abundantly clear to Val.
'Creatures from the abyss are not to be trifled with.'
Voidslayer took in his surrounding with his spiritual sense. Then, it spoke, "This place... is similar to the Shadow Valley in the sense that it's difficult to discern the time of day or even the passage of time itself."
"Yeah, I noticed." Val said.
Just then, a system notification popped up in fromt of Val.
[Ding! Host, you've landed in the first layer of the Deranged Land.]
[Complete the following tasks to clear the first layer]
Task 1: Kill the Thunder Wolves.
Task 2: Destroy the Sentient Thorned Vines.
Task 3: Slay Gorgoroth, The Acidic Overlord.
Task 4: Find a way to proceed to the second layer of the dungeon.
Awoo! Awoo! Awoo!
Just then, suddenly, a few low roars came from the front, snapping Val out of his daydream.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Four small and burly beasts rushed out from behind the trees and pounced towards Val fiercely.
They were the Thunder Wolves.
'I have been scammed.'
Val felt odd when he looked at them.
Except for their fur, which was a delicate mix between black and blue, there was nothing about them that honored their name.
They didn't look like wolves at all.
At best, with their sluggish face and saggy skin, they resembled bulldogs.
The beasts looked funny and even resembled a man's best friends, but Val wasn't going to show them mercy. With rapid movements, he stepped out of their way, kicking two in the process with such force their bones shattered and organs ruptured. They dropped dead to the ground with a dull thud, their tongue sticking out of their mouth as they whimpered in pain.
Stab!
The piercing sound of blade entering flesh echoed through the air. Instantly, the moans of the beasts died out. In a moment of mercy, Val had stabbed them to death. They would've died tortuously if he hadn't.
As for why they were shown such mercy, it had to do with something from his previous life. It was the memory of a dumb dog that licked the wounds of a kid with dead fish eyes and took a bullet for him, whimpering in pain before death claimed it. They resembled it too much so he gave them relief from pain by killing them.
The scent of blood filled the air. Seeing the dead bodies sprawled on the ground, the eyes of the remaining thunder wolves flashed with intense murderous intent. Immediately, their mouths opened wides. Electric arcs could be seen dancing inside. Their heads jerked forward. With a resounding roar, lightning bolts were released towards Val.
But none of them touched him despite him not trying his hardest.
As he hadn't used his stat boostings bloodline skills, he wasn't fast enough to dodge them. Yet he still did it. The reason was honestly simple.
He had moved before the lightning bolts were launched. His every step was precise, just allowing him to move out of the way of the lightning move. And it became possible due to his Heaven Defying Detect Trait.
Seeing their most potent attacks dodged by a man who could casually yawn and put a hand in his pocket in the midst of battle, the Thunder Wolves felt completely demoralized.
Their lightning bolts were their trump cards, their fastest and most lethal attacks. Since Val had effortlessly dodged them, it also meant that they had no way of dealing with them.
One by one, the wolves seemed to communicate amongst themselves with low growls and barks.
"Why are we still here?"
"This is pointless. He's too strong."
"We should retreat before he finishes us off."
"Okay, retreat at full speed!"
Swallowing their bruised egos and their burgeoning desire for revenge, the remaining Thunder Wolves quickly turned tail and bolted, vanishing into the dense foliage. They vowed to themselves that this wasn't the end; they'd live to fight another day.