Ellie, the giant sea serpent hell-bent on eating me, had me finally caught me. She held her prize up for all the other monstergirls to see. But unfortunately, her triumph exposed me to the scout mecha girls and, worst of all, King. For once, I was at a loss for what to do. Ellie's enhancement kept me well within her grip, and even as other monstergirls buzzed around Ellie, they weren't brave enough to get close. Then there were King's words.
I was supposed to be dead; what did that mean. Had King tried to kill me, heard that I died, or was I overthinking things?
Ellie opened her mouth wide and prepared to devour me. The sea serpent didn't give a damn about a few scouts or King. Is that why the system sent me here and gave me the mission? Was I just a stand-in for my other self?
"You've weakened, something like this shouldn't faze you," King said.
That was even more confusing was the other me stronger somehow. Did he know me from a different timeline, or are there other versions of me running around the cosmos? I hoped it wasn't time travel.
"You should invest more into your strength attributes," King said.
My system had no attributes to speak of. So were their other systems.
Ellie pulled me to her mouth and opened wide. Her enhancement technique was just as good as my own but with a larger, stronger body to work with. My cultivation hadn't recovered from integrating the water core; that much was certain. Yet, even in her hand, I cultivated at an extraordinary rate, regaining what I lost at a breakneck pace. In minutes, I would be at full strength again, but I didn't have minutes.
She stopped just before I touched her lips. "Well, a little snack, this is it. I'm going to eat you up." Ellie said.
The sea serpent opened her mouth wide and threw me in. I used flight for the first time in what felt like forever and stopped myself just before her teeth clacked. Then, without a second thought, I flew upwards with all my might. A sonic boom erupted as I gained altitude.
Down below, the water rippled, and Ellie glared up at me with a pout on her face. I sucked in a breath and coughed my lungs' worth of water. Once the water was out of me, I cultivated what little qi mingled in the air. My strength began to climb as the completed 5 primal elementals set fully integrated with my cultivation. I could tell that if I had focused solely on cultivating only the 5 primal elements, I would have easily been able to break through the wall. Instead, I had been too greedy and sought more power. My cultivation is out of balance without the light core to balance the dark. At that point, I might as well go all the way and absorb order and chaos. Once that happened, my ascension was assured.
A smile spread across my face as I felt sure about my path forward. Once I ascended, even those demons in the dark dimension wouldn't stand a chance. Saving Dani would be possible. I sucked in a breath and felt my power skyrocket. Completing the primal set had given my cultivation base weight and balance. It was something that sang to my spirit vessel and synergized with my skill and humanity.
My body blurred as I dodged a frigid beam from Ellie. The sea serpent looked a little sore after losing her meal. Then the dungeon rumbled, and the pond's bottom opened up. Ellie's eyes widened comically as she fell through. I shot through the water and snatched up the orca girl from before. She looked surprised but quickly wrapped her arms around me.
I flew back into the air relishing in the freedom of flight. Before achieving the primal 5, this kind of flight would require spirit stones to maintain. However, lifting an orca girl out of the water wasn't too challenging with my improved cultivation base.
King made his presence known soon after. "You've changed Red and not for the better. Before, you wouldn't have lifted a finger to save a monstergirl. To you, they were entertainment." King said.
"Really, how is that a good thing. Look at all those monstergirls falling into that pit. They're food for the dungeon." My poor orca girl wiggled her large black and whitetail. I used a little wind control to sit her on a buffer and distribute her weight. Unfortunately, at this point, she was practically beached.
While I saved this one for my own desires, other monstergirls fell into the pit. So many other orca, dolphin, and shark girls fell in even as Ellie hung on.
Qi moved to my palm as I channeled it into a highly condensed ball. I had tried to be lenient, but she tried to eat me. That wasn't something I could allow. In moments, the qi ball in my hand took on a bright, glassy appearance.
"Cataclysm," I said, giving a word to the built-up qi in my hand. My qi had much more weight than it had before. Putting my words to an attack might just influence it. What once was just a ball of qi could become something more meaningful.
A ball of crimson qi descended just as Ellie fired another ice beam. My cataclysm flew through the Blue, almost whitebeam, throwing multicolored light everywhere. The attack struck, and Ellie's face rippled. For the briefest of moments, she pushed back. My cataclysm stopped its progress, and for an instant, I thought she might turn it back at me.
"Fighting while resisting the pull of the tide is like talking while juggling chainsaws," King said.
Long grey tentacles emerged from the deep and wrapped around Ellie's arms. She tried to resist but splitting her focus again was the straw that broke the camel's back. My attack struck and exploded, ravaging her face with crimson light. Sparks of lightning blasted out from the epicenter, one of the few remaining cabins exploded as one of the bolts hit it before bursting into flames. Ellie's body shook as she struggled to throw her hands up.
I watched the tentacles tug her beneath the brackish whirlpool. More monstergirls sunk with her, and the orca in my grip cried mournfully. This was all the dungeon's fault and mine. To make things right, I needed power. As I was now, winning wasn't possible.
"What are you going to do about this?" I asked.
"The dungeon can't be allowed to fulfill its plans. For example, Lilium can't allow a dungeon to rank up; it would compromise her power. Do you know what dungeons evolve into?" King asked.
I shook my head. "You shouldn't know, then you'll sleep better that way. It was good seeing you alive, Red. I really mean that." King said.
"Sir, he is an unclaimed human male; leaving him to his own devices is not an option." One of the mecha girls said.
"It's fine. I'm in charge of this mission. Besides, we have bigger fish to fry than one Red. I don't think you're the Red, I remember. The system doesn't show your level at all. Do you even have any stats?" King asked.
"My system doesn't have stats. All I have is a single skill and a mission." I said.
"That's so limiting and a better deal. The gifts the system grants us are cursed. You have a brother out east named Blue; you should go visit him when you have the time." King said.
My life before felt dull. I had a brother, and we did get along, but I wasn't sure if he would want to see me. Then there was the fact that I wasn't the same Red. We didn't even have the same system. The difference between having stats and skills and only one skill was night and day. I didn't know whether I should feel jealous of King or pity him. He felt like a collection of screaming spirits. I gripped my head; being near him gave me a headache.
What was I going to do? I turned to the mansion and began to descend. The mouthy mecha girl from before flashed in front of me.
"I didn't give you leave to go, male. So by order of the dark lord Lilium, I'm placing you under arrest." The mecha girl said.
"Enough, Terra; if you want to guard him so badly, then just go with him. I'll take care of this dungeon in no time. Just guard Red; it will be the easiest job you've ever had." King said.
"You shouldn't be able to boss me around. Why is lady Lilium allowing a male such freedom?" Terra asked.
"That's a great question. You can ask her yourself while facing charges of noncompliance. I'm sure she'll be all ears while you're being decommissioned." King said.
Terra shook, and her body blurred as runes appeared all around her, bound in magic circles. For a second, I thought this would really end in a fight. So, I continued landing to get my orca girl out of there.
"Alright, I'll babysit the human and make sure to escort him to the tower when this is over," Terra said.
Grey tentacles burst up from the ground smashing through old slave quarters and dragging werewolves into the depths. Parts of the ground caved in, and residents sunk into the dungeon. Pink light emerged from the dungeon's depths as monstergirls fell inside. This situation felt familiar; after all, it was the second time I witnessed the end of a world.
"Are we going to make it?" The Orca girl asked.
"He will, but you won't if you don't shut up. Where are we going, male? If it's somewhere stupid, I'll knock you out and take you to the tower myself." Terra said.