"Emerald Krait!" Crunch...crunch...crunch. Noah jumped over a large branch jutting out of the soil as he finally responded to Ethan's question. Ethan was momentarily stunned by Noah's voice, not expecting him to speak.
He frowned slightly. An emerald krait? Surely, the system couldn't have given Noah killing an emerald krait as a quest. Emerald kraits were high E ranked reptilian monsters. They had two fangs, symbolic of snake royalty, and could be considered the kings of the reptilian monsters of the three lowest ranks. The chances of Noah killing one was close to zero. Was Noah assigned a punishment quest he was doomed to fail on purpose?
Noah studied at Ethan's face. "Follow me. We'll reach the monster's lair in a bit. Now's your chance to help." Noah looked at him with an almost disdainful gaze. Ethan's face stiffened. Noah was challenging him. He believed that Ethan would back out in fear after hearing the monster's name. It was practically written on his face. He could almost hear Noah say 'or turn back'.
Ha! A challenge? Ethan had a reputation to maintain in front of the protagonist. He puffed his chest proudly. "Killing an E rank monster? Sure! It'll be easy." He held his head high, trying to impress him.
Noah expression didn't change. He nodded slightly. "Alright. Do as I say if you want to live." Noah's eyes became slightly darker as he stared at Ethan. "I've got plenty of reasons to kill you anyway." Gulp! Ethan was instantly reminded of Noah's ice-cold temperament once again as his face paled slightly. "Got it!"
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Ethan could feel the soft soil beneath his feet as he walked through the dark forest. Pash...pash...pash. The mud sunk slightly beneath his feet as he trudged forward. All traces of dead branches and leaves had ended 5 minutes ago. All that remained beneath him was the moist, black soil, devoid of any vegetation.
Pash...pash...pash. Large trees covered them from above, though not as densely as before. Their large, mesh-like branches were covered with few leaves, while their tall, black trunks looked less alive than before.
Ethan took a deep breath as he took in his surroundings. He could smell the lingering scent of monsters in the air. Large and heavy, and putrid, pressing down on him, as if it were trying to drown out the existing smells in the forest.
"This...Where are we?" This place felt wrong. It completely clashed with the ordinary environment of Hydragyros that Ethan had just travelled through. Sure, Ethan could steel feel the dark forest he'd just crossed in this place. But it felt corrupted. Defiled. Ruined.
Ruined. Yes. That was what Noah had called this place. The ruined planet of Hydragyros. He looked around, completely embracing the oppressive nature in the air as he tried to study it. Before, he'd just taken 'The Ghost System' to be a generic novel with a random setting. Monsters came in gates. Gates came from another dimension. And the protagonist had a system. But now, he was actually curious. What was 'Hell'? What was this mysterious corruption. Who and what ruined Hydragyros? And why were they targeting Earth?
Pash...pash...pash. Ethan could hear Noah's footsteps in the distance as he continued to walk without looking behind. "Shit!" All he needed was a minute of distraction to get left behind. He started running forwards, trying to catch up. Whoosh! The wind whistled past his face, now carrying much less moisture than before. Pash...pash...pash!
Ethan slowed down as he Noah trudging through the forest. "Huff...huff...huff!" He breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. "It's time!" Noah turned around, looking at Ethan's hunched figure bent down with his arms resting on his knees.
He stared at him coldly. "You're already tired?" Ethan could see the disdain in his eyes, not believe how weak Ethan was. "You...huff...you...!" "Alright. There's no time to argue. Can you see that sphere over there?" Noah pointed ahead. The floor of the forest started sloping, forming a crater. The centre of the crater contained a small pillar-like structure with a small, white sphere placed on top. "Yeah. What's that," he asked. Noah ignored him. "Go over there and pick it up." He placed his palm on Ethan's shoulder, pushing him forward.
Ethan felt uneasy. Surely, there was some reason why a Noah was making him pick up that mysterious white sphere. Pash...pash...pash. The soil squished underneath his feet as he walked towards the crater. Crack! A small layer of dried soil lined the entrance to the crater, completely devoid of any moisture. A feeling of disgust creeps into his body as he stepped forward.
"Ugh!" He shook his body, trying to get rid the tingling sensation accumulating between his shoulders. The invasive feeling was getting stronger and stronger. Where had Noah sent him? He glanced behind. Noah stared back at him indifferently, arms crossed as if he was expecting Ethan to return empty-handed. Ethan scowled in annoyance. Alright. He'd do this.
Jump! Crack! Sliiiiide! Ethan's fingers grazed along the edge of the crater as he slipped downwards, moving further inside. Crack! He stood up as he dusted his suit, glancing above. He could barely see Noah's face from here. If he was abandoned, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
He turned back towards the white sphere in front of him. There was no point in worrying about that for now. If Noah wanted to kill him, there were more surefire ways of doing it. Crack...crack...crack. He moved forwards, making his way towards the sphere. Crack...crack...crack.
"Huff...huff...huff." Goddammit. The corruption was too great. The scent of monster mana got heavier and heavier as Ethan drew closer to the sphere. "Arghh!" Suddenly, a slight pain ran down Ethan's spine. His eyes widened. Overload. His mana circuit had overloaded at the place where his Mana Sense skill was located. He had overused the skill too much.
What Ethan was feeling wasn't the 'smell' of monsters, but rather their mana that had pervaded the atmosphere. It was nothing like the small amount that was present in gates. And all of this corrupted mana had originated from this sphere. "Huff...huff...huff" Crack....crack....crack. His footsteps grew heavier and heavier as he stretched his arms towards the sphere.
"Huff...huff...huff" Ethan's hand started shaking as his fingers grazed the sphere. "Huff...huff...huff" "Urk! Shit!" His fingers wrapped around the sphere, preparing to wrench the sphere from its position. "Huff...huff...huff" He gripped the sphere tightly as he pulled with all of his might, trying to separate it from the pillar. "Huff...huff...huff...Almost...there..." CRACK!
A loud crack resounded as the sphere finally separated from the pillar. "Huff...huff...huff...Damn." Ethan stared at the opaque white orb in his hand as he tried to catch his breath. This little orb was the source of all the discomfort that he was facing. But now that it was in his hand, it had stopped emitting that oppressive mana, as if it were an ordinary rock. He eyed it suspiciously.
Who knew if it had stopped temporarily. It might suddenly wake up and start blasting its corrupted mana at any moment. Whatever. He'd just have to hope it didn't do anything for the next five minutes. He'd hand it over to Noah. He'd have to deal with any unwanted effects himself. Crack.....crack.....crack. He started walking towards the edge of the crater as he prepared to leave. He didn't want to spend another moment in this unsettling place.
Crack...crack...crack. "Don't move!" Suddenly, the ground started quaking. Ethan froze. He shouldn't have picked up the sphere. He should have known it wouldn't be so easy. Something as dangerous as it would definitely have a guardian of some kind. "Hissssss....." A loud sound echoed from far away.
Dammit! It was the Emerald Krait! There was no way he could fight against such a terrifying monster. Crack..Crack..Crack..Crack. Whoosh! The wind started whistling past Ethan's face as he started running on the dry soil. "Hissss...." The emerald krait grew closer as it headed towards the crater.
"Fucking hell!" Bzzz! Whoosh! Suddenly, a pulse of mana shot through the air, knocking Ethan off his feet. Crash! "Ow!" He groaned in pain. The emerald krait was too far away to attack him right now. So who had sent that pulse of mana? Was it a subordinate of that monster?
Ethan's eyes met Noah's. A shiver ran down his spine as he realised what had happened. Noah- he had betrayed him! "HISSS..." Ethan clenched his fist in anger. Was all of that a show? Had Noah been provoking him on purpose, just to use him and throw him away. Apparently, sucking up to the protagonist came with its own risks.
"Noah, you bastard! Get me out of here!" Ethan screamed at him in anger. Noah didn't respond. His arms were crossed as he observed Ethan coldly, his face devoid of any emotions. "Fucking hell!" Ethan pushed himself off the ground as he tried desperately to get away. Bzzz! Another pulse of mana descended on him, much stronger than the last one. "HISSSSSS!"
Ethan could feel a hole in his gut, sucking out all traces of emotions from his body, replacing them with one singular instinct. Fear. The purple eyes of the emerald krait glowed as it stared at Ethan from the other side of the crater.
Huff...huff...huff. The world seemed to slow down as Ethan could feel his surroundings with extreme clarity. He stared into the dark purple eyes of the monster. Ba-dump.....ba-dump.....ba-dump. Ethan was terrified.