CHAPTER 67: A DAMNED EXPERIENCE

The flames hover above my palm, crackling and flickering with feral intensitym

I crush the flames as I clench my fist. Then I loosen my fist.

Wong!

A red runic glyph forms and hovers above my right palm,

Wong!

Another one forms and hovers above my left palm as I jump high into the air.

Up in the air— just before gravity kicks in, I outstretch my two hands like I’m about to hug someone.

Boom!

With that momentum, I clap my palms together, and the glyphs on my two palms glyphs merge.

And a larger glyph forms in front of me

"Fire Tempest!!!" I yell out with all my strength.

Honestly, I don’t need to call out the spell name, but it just feels right at this moment.

Whoosh!

Fire erupts as the crimson mana in the air burns from the flames of the fire mana.

The fire surges, taking the shape of a swirling tornado.

As it swirls, it moves around the area like a natural disaster.

The large glyph melts away, leaving the raging fire to move on.

Water splashes as I land on the ground, and tiny rocks prick my feet, sending a slight pain through my nerves which I endure.

"Screech! Screech! " The ants screech as they burn inside the ferocious fire that spares none of them.

The tornado of fire moves, melting all the hills in this area, and burning the ants in them.

I never expected this. How is it that my flames still blaze under this rain?

"They don’t feel like my usual flames.." I whisper.

"Screech! "

That disgusting sound rings in my ears again.

I look up.

One’s crawling toward me with careful speed. It’s body is blazing with flames, and it’s almost fully burnt.

How’s that thing still moving? Is it an ant or a cockroach?

It jumps— heading toward me. The fire from the tempest eating at it, but it widens its mandibles, and green acid shoots out.

Tch.

I side step, dodging the acid. I outstretch my right palm, placing it at an angle where the jumping ant would land on.

And as planned, its lower body lands on my palm.

I coat my palm with fire— melting the stomach of the ant. Green goo drips out, trickling from it’s open stomach down on my palm.

I throw the corpse of the ant to one corner, and I push it with wind that I control with my left hand.

I wipe off the green goo on my right hand, and I form a glyph red runic glyph just above the ant, and a fire arrow spawns— stabbing the already dead ant.

The fire arrow was unnecessary. But, whatever.

The ant burns with the rest of the surroundings, dissolving in the blazing inferno of twirling flames.

Immediately, I walk away from the sight of the burning ants.

As I walk away, the crispy scent of burning meat flows into my nose.

Like roasted crabs..

It smells delicious. I wonder how they’d tas–

"What am I thinking? Move! I think I see something there." I whisper.

I quicken my pace, running away from the raging fire tempest that threatens to burn the entire area to the ground, and toward that..

"It looks like a Pirantroph!"

My heart beats wildly as I run faster toward the vague image of the black creature that I see.

I’m just a few inches away from it now, and I’m getting a better view.

It’s outside a cave that’s formed by large, piled stones.

Wait. That’s not a Pirantroph?

As I arrive, my pace slows down, and I take calm and cautious steps.

I squint my eyes. Narrowing my gaze to get a better view from this distance.

Yes, that’s not a Pirantroph. That’s.. I’ve never even seen something like that before.

It’s large. Larger than an A-rank Pirantroph. Larger than me. It’s lying on a stone, just outside the cave. Its eyes are closed, and its face is tucked in-between its wide arms.

The black creature has one long, brown horn that’s as long. It’s as long as K’s sword.

I turn on my mana sight, to know the scale of this beast.

"What?" I almost scream, but I block my mouth with my two hands, sealing the rising gasp.

The creature’s core is colorless, very different from a normal beast’s core. Too different. And.. the core is large, as big as a basketball— hovering above its head.

"This thing is S-rank.." I whisper, moving backward slowly, taking careful steps.

My knees tremble, but I straighten them and continue moving, and my eyes never leave the sight of the sleeping beast.

Crack!

Shit.

My gaze flickers downward. Just behind my leg, It seems I hit a small rock that clashed with another small rock.

Hopefully that wasn’t enough to wake the–

I turn my neck slowly, my eyes peering at the direction where the beast was lying.

"Huh?"

My back straightens, and my heavy, and tense breath stutter in my chest.

I turn left, then I turn right again, "Where’d it go–"

My eyes meet with the glowing, multi-colored eyes of a strange beast.

My breath hitches, and I hold it unconsciously.

My entire body freezes at this moment as my eyes and its eyes lock.

I view my tattered reflection in those beautiful multi-colored eyes.

My heart contracts— pumping blood at an unnatural speed as the sweat on my forehead mixes with the rain drops rolling down my cheeks.

I blink.

And I open my eyes.

It’s gone.

It disappeared. Like it was never there.

My heart frees up, and I exhale the long breath I’ve been holding.

–Huff– –Huff–

I catch my breath slowly as I hold my chest with my hand.

"What the hell was that? –Huff– –Huff–"

That thing.. that strange thing, what?

I’ve never heard of–

"Kruuunk!"

"Huff.. isn’t that.. Huff.. Isn’t that the pig-like sound of a Pirantroph? Finally?.. Huff.."

The location of the sound is not too far from here— so I trace it slowly, and cautiously.

As I exit the muddy, and sandy area of the terrains, I head deeper into the rocky area.

At the distance, the looming tips of mini mountains lie.

Both the mud under my feet that was getting too sticky due to the rain, and the squelching feeling under my feet that if caused fades as I head to an area surrounded by pure rocks.

I reach an area where some rocks form small enclaves, and the enclaves are vast.

Inside all the enclaves..

There are Pirantrophs.