There was a lot of dark sand on the floor that covered some of the dark brick floors. Every step Spring-Autumn took made a strange scratching sound.
He jumped on top of one of the walls and activated [Stealth]. It was more of a safety precaution more than anything. He could not hear any lifeforms around. The danger was unknown.
Up in the sky was the ceiling he fell from. It was high up in the sky but he was confident in his ability to escape through it.
This ruined place he was in extended as far as the eye could see. He could not see much due to all the broken walls that blocked his vision.
The bricks were dark in color with a hint of dark green. Spring-Autumn picked a piece up off the ground and it turned into the dark color sand that covered most of the ground.
He searched for a long time before finally spotting a clue. It was a piece of armor on the ground. A shoulder guard.
There were some mild scratches on it that showed traces of a battle. He was now sure that there was an invisible enemy nearby.
--
Loti was running away with all his might. He was the only one left of his party. His only source of security was his meticulously crafted spear.
He was not sure where his enemy was. The enemy made no sound. It came soundlessly and left like a demon. Its appearance could not be seen.
It was a terrifying experience to have each party member struck down one by one. The only trait he knew about his enemy was that it had scales.
His long blue hair was flowing behind him. With a sudden jerk of his body, his head dodged an attack. A bundle of his long hair was chopped off.
"It's still following me!"
Loti was terrified beyond belief. It was an incredibly dumb decision on his part to break away from the main group to do his own searching.
There was a wall in front of him and to the sides of him. He had reached a dead-end at this maze.
Loti did not look back. His body began to liquify. A moment later, he transformed into what appeared to be a waterman. He did not stop but continued to run straight into the wall. It was his last hope.
Bam!
Unfortunately, life was not so easy. The wall was not fragile like he imagined. His liquid body bounced back off the wall. However, he did not give up. He ran into the wall on his left.
Bam!
He bounced back. He ran to the wall on his right.
Bam!
He bounced back. It was truly a dead-end for Loti now. He had his back face the wall and stood his ground. He was going to fight!
His hand gripped his spear firmly while his eyes focused intensely, looking to locate his invisible enemy.
Whoosh!
An attack came at the side of his head. Loti was able to avoid it by a hair's breadth with his extreme senses.
The attack left a deep hole in the hard wall that he was not able to phase through with his body. However, it was not time to be paying attention to such a thing.
Loti had never been more focused in his life. If he was to die, he was going to die fighting!
Whoosh!
Another attack came and he dodged it again. His liquified body enlarged and shot forward like an ocean wave.
He could feel his body clinging onto his opponent's. Finally, the identity of his enemy was revealed.
[Lizardman]
It had a humanoid appearance with distinct features of a lizard. The head of a lizard with deep yellow serpentine eyes and green scales. The tail was huge, bigger than its legs. It was holding a wooden spear in hand.
Loti distanced himself away from the lizardman. The lizardman did not go back into its invisible state.
He could feel that this was the true test of ability. Could he win against another spear user?
His spear swung forward.
"Come!"
The lizardman came. There was no need for it to answer because it could not answer. It swung its wooden spear down.
Loti brought his spear up to block it.
Clang!
He could feel the immense strength of the lizardman. The lizardman did not give Loti any time to react and lifted it spear up before bringing about a barrage of attack.
Loti had no time to react. Despite his body being in a half-water state, he was knocked to the wall. By the time he lifted his head up, the lizardman was already upon him.
The wooden spear was aimed straight at his head. Loti no longer struggled. "Why… Why am I so weak?"
That was the last thought on his mind before he closed his eyes. He waited for his death.
He recalled his life so far. He was just an ordinary civil servant who practiced sports as a side hobby. When the world changed, he immediately picked up a broom to defend himself. Eventually, he awakened his ability and his status climbed. That broom became a stick, and eventually a spear.
He was recruited by the mayor who promised him wealth. He was given his wealth but he did not stop getting stronger. He trained every day. There were many regrets he had left. And so, he closed his eyes and waited for his death.
He could see the darkness that came with closing the eyes.
One moment passed by. His eyes remained closed. Death did not come.
Loti opened one eye at a time.
The terrifying figure of the lizardman was frozen like a statue. Slowly, a long slit began to appear horizontally on its neck before it was decapitated. The lizard head rolled on the floor. Behind the decapitated figure of the lizard, he could see the face of his savior.
"Winter… No, who are you?" Loti asked slowly. He could feel his heart trembling when he looked at those glowing green eyes.
Spring-Autumn did not answer but placed his transformed Attribute Cloak sword to Loti's neck. "I looked around for almost a day and I only found one person. Hey fucker, where's the rest of you all?"