CHAPTER 222: CH 222

(Weekend Mass Release 3/5)

***

The twenty beasts had barely emerged from the ground when they began to collapse, their bodies crumpling to the floor with a dull thud. Dave’s gaze followed the trajectory of their fall, and his eyes landed on the intermediate beast standing behind them. Its eyes seemed to gleam unnaturally as it plunged its hands into the chests of the fallen beasts, hoping to extract the crystals embedded within them.

The sound of ripping flesh and the beasts’ lifeless bodies slumping to the ground filled the air. The intermediate beast’s movements were swift and efficient, its claws digging deep into the chests of the fallen beasts.

He pulled out their crystals and then proceeded into placing them into his mouth. As it swallowed the crystals, a strange phenomenon began to unfold. A sudden sensation had overcame the beast all at once. Its body had let out a bright glow, which lasted about two minutes before it eventually went dim, even the fire on its mane had went off.

And while this occured, the beast won’t stop roaring and growling in pain. That was until all of a sudden, the ground beneath its feet started to shake with increasing force, and then the beast’s body began to transform.

Its limbs had started increasing in length, and its muscles had started bulging as it grew at an alarming rate. The beast’s size doubled, its presence filled with a great sense of command and fear. Dave watched in awe as the intermediate beast underwent its transformation, its newfound size and strength radiating an aura of power.

As the transformation reached its climax, a notification echoed in Dave’s mind, providing him with insight into the unfolding events.

[The Ignarok beast is currently undergoing an evolution]

The message flashed briefly, followed by a second notification.

[The Intermediate Ignarok has successfully evolved into an advanced level beast]

As the notification flashed in his mind, Dave’s gaze remained fixed on the Ignarok as he took in every notable details in its body. He wondered just how formidable it would be now. Its enhanced abilities were a mystery waiting to be unraveled. But despite the uncertainty, Dave’s confidence remained unwavering. He was certain he could handle the beast.

"An Advanced level beast, it is? That’s new," Dave said, his voice laced with a mix of fascination and calculation. "But I won’t be able to tame it, so it’s basically useless being alive. At least for now to me." The words hung in the air, a testament to Dave’s pragmatic approach to the situation.

As he observed the beast, Dave’s mind wandered to the peculiarity of its evolution. How had consuming the crystals of its own kind enabled it to transcend its intermediate form? Was this the same mechanism that allowed the beasts to evolve from basic to intermediate? The questions swirled in his mind, but he couldn’t dwell on them for long.

The mother crystal’s ability to produce beasts continued to astound him. Even now, more basic tier beasts were emerging from the sand, their tiny forms wriggling free from the earth. But Dave’s focus was soon hijacked by the advanced beast’s thunderous roar. The ground shook beneath his feet as the beast unleashed its fury, the sound waves rippling through the air with enough force to make Dave stumble.

Though he regained his footing quickly, Dave’s gaze remained fixed on the beast. He noticed that the heat emanating from its manes had intensified, the flames dancing with a ferocity that seemed to match the beast’s newfound strength.

The air around the beast seemed to ripple and distort, as if the very fabric of reality was being warped by its presence. Dave’s senses were on high alert, ready to respond to whatever the beast had planned.

The advanced beast charged towards Dave with a burst of speed, its massive body propelling itself forward with deadly intent. But Dave didn’t flinch, his eyes fixed on the mother crystal as he spotted an opportunity.

Without hesitation, he sprinted forward, his feet pounding the ground as he closed in on the crystal. The beast watched in frustration as Dave dodged past it, its roar of anger echoing through the air. In the beast’s mins, it was like, "Hey human, where you going? I’m here for fucking kill you!"

But Dave had other plans. He had successfully made it to the middle of the crater where the mother crystal was. And as if he could read the thoughts of the beasts, he had turned around to reply.

"You should have just stayed at your position and protect the mother crystal like you’ve been doing. Maybe then, I would have been scared of approaching you." Dave said, a hint of amusement dancing in his voice as he glanced at the beast.

The advanced beast was already turning around, its eyes blazing with fury as it gave another chase at Dave. Instantly Dave had turned his attention at the basic beasts that were standing guard around the mother crystal.

They were newly born, yet they seemed determined to protect the crystal at all costs. "Sorry lads, but I’m going to need this specific crystal," Dave said, his voice laced with a mix of apology and bit of sarcasm.

With swift precision, Dave hit three of the beasts standing on his path, he sent them flying into the distance, their bodies crashing hard against the sand.

Meanwhile, the rest of the basic beasts had started charging forward, but Dave was already in motion. He pulled out the mother crystal from its resting place, the crystal’s glow illuminating the surrounding area.

Then, without wasting a moment, Dave dashed away from the middle of the crater. He got to the edge of the crater where the intermediate beasts stood, blocking the way. But he wasn’t going to let them stop him, so with a readied fist, he punched everyone of them that stood in his way, and eventually, he was out of the crater.

As he emerged from the crater, Dave continued to run, putting as much distance between himself and the beasts as possible. Finally, he stopped in a nearby corridor, the mother crystal was still clutched in his hand. "Phew, that was so cool," He said, a hint of exhilaration in his voice.

He sat down, his eyes fixed on the mother crystal as he pondered the challenges others might have faced in obtaining it.

"I wonder how everyone that has come before me been able to obtain the mother crystal. It must have been so hard," Dave said, a thoughtful expression on his face. But then he remembered that some people had powers like his, and the odds might have been different for them.

Now that Dave had the mother crystal, he was eager to claim his reward. What would it bring? Would it grant him new abilities or enhance his existing ones? Or maybe it might even give him sword or weapons. The anticipation was palpable as Dave prepared to unlock the secrets of the mother crystal.

Dave had once noticed this before. He recalled the one time the system had responded to his question, and it had seemed almost... conversational. But he had never pursued it further, unsure of what to expect.

That was until now. As the system’s voice echoed in his mind, it was no longer robotic but instead it has a sultry, alluring female tone that seemed to soothe his very soul, Dave found himself instinctively asking the question that had been lingering in his mind for so long. "Who are you, or what are you?" The words tumbled out of his mind, and he waited with bated breath for a response.

And then, before him, a figure began to take shape, emerging from the thin air like a specter. It was a woman, her presence both captivating and ethereal. Her skin was a pure, unblemished white, and she wore a delicate sky-blue gown that seemed to shimmer brightly in the surroundings. But it was her eyes that truly caught Dave’s attention - deep, ocean-colored eyes that seemed to draw him in, hypnotic and irresistible.

Dave’s gaze was transfixed on the woman, his eyes locked onto hers as if mesmerized by her beauty. He couldn’t look away, he couldn’t tear his gaze from the being standing before him. Her beauty was almost otherworldly, and Dave felt himself becoming lost in her eyes, drowning in their depths. The world around him seemed to fade away, leaving only the woman and her piercing gaze.

As Dave’s gaze remained locked on Erin’s, he suddenly heard her voice, melodious and smooth, breaking the silence. "Who am I? I’m Erin, a servant of the war goddess," she claimed, her words hanging in the air like a declaration. Her voice was like music, and Dave felt himself drawn to it.

But then she continued, her words taking on a more personal tone. "And what am I? I’m a demigod, a half-god half-human, born out of a human mother, and a god father."

The words spilled out of her lips like a confession, and Dave’s eyes widened in surprise. "What?" he blurted out, his mind reeling from the sudden revelation.

His brain was still struggling to process the sudden appearance of the woman before him, and her words only added to the confusion. Erin seemed to notice his confusion and was about to start over with her introduction. "I said, my name is—"