Intermittent loud howling noises of anguish and fury could be heard along the boundaries of the Abyssal Cliff's Level A ground. Tremors occur from time to time, as if something enormous is being thrashed around, followed by a blood-curdling shriek.
All the creatures dwelling on the surface of the abyss watched the excitement with bated breath, anticipating a result that could change the hierarchy of power within the lowest level grounds.
The Snail King ruled over this vast expanse of territory for hundreds of years, and throughout that time, it was able to withstand many invasions. It gradually increased its strength until it became the strongest inhabitant of the Level A ground and remained in that position ever since.
Of course, there would be some occasional attacks from the creatures dwelling on the deeper grounds of the abyss, but it rarely happens. More often than not, only those who are stupidly brave creatures would try to claim the throne but would only be eaten as a nutrient in the end.
Only at this stage do things spiral out of control. Although it is unknown if the enemy who dared to confront the snail king is strong or not, it is nonetheless unusual for the giant to respond furiously. Something should have happened to bring it to this state.
While everyone is ruminating about the cause of the incident, other matters are occurring around the king's domain.
The renowned poisonous swamp in the outer region seemed completely calm, as though unaffected by the unexpected onslaught. It wasn't absolutely at peace since the snail king's wails would occasionally generate waves within the calm waters, but the waves were not large—just small tides rushing in with a little power, only disturbing nothing against the vegetation.
If one would look from this perspective, nobody would think that an event comparable to a siege that could destroy two cities just happened.
Small bubbles began to appear in a certain area of the marsh at some point. It was negligible at first, only one or two would pop out. Then, after a short while, it suddenly doubled, and bigger bubbles showed up.
If there were people around, the movement within the waters may have drawn their attention, and they would have realized that it wasn't just bubbles, but an indication that something — someone is breathing down there. And this assumption was confirmed when a figure of a young man suddenly resurfaced with a loud noise.
The said person was covered with filth—long, green, slimy algae stuck in the person's body, drastically reducing his mobility. He was also carrying a heavy baggage on his shoulders, which surely made swimming difficult.
But Chase could only complain.
Who made him so kindhearted that he chose to save his assassin from death instead of running away? And since he did that stupid thing, he could only continue doing it. Abandoning the assassin would only make all of his sacrifices to nothing. There is no turning back.
The tiny figure thrashed around miserably, paddling the remaining free limbs to keep afloat, struggling to break loose from the filaments of thick algae and other water weeds lodged in their bodies and were tough to remove without assistance. He dragged himself over across the murky marsh till he hit the coast of a large, flat boulder.
Chase pushed the assassin forward till the body was safely lying on the ground, before unsteadily going up and tiredly flopping flat like a dead fish. His chest moved up and down, trying to catch his breath before turning on his back so he could access the air better.
But the natural stench brought by the marsh was not anything pleasant.
The pungent smell of rotten eggs assailed his senses immediately, making him gag reflexively. The concentration was quite heavy as it made his nose and throat hurt. He tried covering his nose with his arms, but it did no effect since the stink had stuck to him when he had fallen into the water.
Anyway, he sat up after taking several deep breaths. His head throbbed with pain as exhaustion seized every portion of his body. Chase gradually recovered his wits and removed the dangling weeds from his body, his hands trembling with every pull.
While he was busy cleaning himself, the system flashed a screen in front of him, prompting a notification.
「The host escaped a monster siege. Congratulations, because of the successful escape and saving a comrade, Chase Laurier earned an increase in body stat.」
Chase came to a halt, his gaze fixed on the screen. A glimpse of the previous soul's memory flashed before his eyes. The first time the system prompted him about the [body stat] he ignored it since he didn't have Chase's memories yet.
Now he saw it again, he felt compelled to ask.
"What is this 「body stat」all about?"
「Answering the host, "Body Stat" refers to the host's physical status. In a more detailed sense, it assesses the individual's strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma.」
"Like a game?" Chase raised his brows.
He somehow already guessed its meaning since it is a prevalent term used by people before the apocalypse happened. He just didn't expect that this world would have a system like this.
Chase recalled that the Old Lady Meng Po required him to toss a die to determine his fate. He never questioned the divinity about it because the immortals each have their own style of performing their jobs, and perhaps tossing a die is the standard.
It seems that there are more things than that. After seeing the 「body stat」 mechanism and knowing its use, he started feeling like he was in a game.
"I was curious how they could measure the strengths of the monsters dwelling within the abyss. The body stat mechanism makes sense," he mumbled. "System, can you show me my body stat?"
The system did not answer but under Chase's eyes, the translucent screen flickered, displaying a kind of interface that is quite common in role-playing games. On the right-hand side of the screen, a model resembling Chase can be seen, while written data was inputted on the left side.
「Presenting Chase Laurier's Body Statistics…」
「Initial score:」
「Strength: 30 ( + 0.1) 」
「Dexterity: 55 (+ 0.5 ) 」
「Constitution: 200」
「Intelligence: 230 ( + 0.1) 」
「Wisdom: 250」
「Charisma: 130」
The data presented were only numbers, and Chase, being a non-native of this world, did not know what they meant, as he was unaware of the ranges of each stat. He was about to ask the system about it when he heard a noise beside him.
Evreux, who lost consciousness when they fell, suddenly made a sound. Chase sat looking at the assassin, waiting to see what he would do. But Evreux only moved a little, as if feeling uncomfortable—err, as if there is anything comfortable in his battered body. Chase waited for the person to wake up, but the assassin remained in position after that single sound.
Chase tilted his head, a frown forming on his brows. He asked the system, "He didn't die now, right?"
The system did not answer. If it has a human form, it would have shrugged its shoulder.
Chase no longer dawdled around as he moved closer to check upon his companion. At first, he only stared at the body that was littered with grime and weeds. He couldn't tell if the assassin's chest was moving up and down, so he opted to remove the dirt first. After that, he could not tell if the assassin was still breathing.
After detecting nothing, he proceeded on leaning to the person's chest and placed his ear close to listen to if there are heartbeats. Only after hearing the gentle thumping sounds did he feel relieved.
"He's still alive," Chase said thankfully.
He was about to move away when he noticed a gash on the assassin's clothing near the shoulder. Examining closer, he saw a long slash of wound. It looks watery and inflamed, probably festering after getting soaked in the poisonous swamp. Chase had a foreboding feeling as he extended his palm to the assassin's head to check his temperature.
En. He has a fever.
It's not a good thing.
Right at this moment, the wail of the snail king reverberated in the air, sending out a force that blew the air outward. It was louder and stronger than before that made longer waves and tremors to the ground. Chase reflexively looked up, his hair swaying lightly from the force, his emerald eyes slightly quivering.
The swamp area is dark, but the light that came from the exploded bugs illuminated a portion of the sky that allowed him to see a shadow of a tall dark wall and some parts of lashing tentacles peeking over it. They were able to escape from the giant's clutches, but they were still within its territory.
It's not safe to stay here any longer.
It would be easy for them to escape if not for the assassin, who is now sporting a fever. Chase has not only to think of a way to cross the swamp, but also has to consider how he could carry the assassin over efficiently. And as much as it pains him to admit it, Chase was not an expert in saving people.
As he was thinking about this, something suddenly caught his attention. A hint of glowing pink hit his periphery, driving him to turn his head around just to see the object clearly. His eyes widened in surprise when he witnessed something incredible.
The marsh that was supposed to be dark and cold was suddenly illuminated by shallow pink lights. These lights were from the large stalks of pink flowers resembling lotuses that were standing tall, probably about seven to eight feet high. They were scattered in clusters and the one that caught his attention must have separated from the clusters by the recent disturbance.
Chase stood up from the ground and walked to the edge of the boulder. From his position, he could see the plant closely, and discovered the large leaf pad near its stem. It should be about ten feet in diameter, just enough for two people to use as a boat.
"It's feasible," Chase said.
Though, he isn't sure if it could carry their weight since it's just a leaf. To test it, Chase checked the leaf personally. He took a couple of steps back, then bent himself in a standing sprint start pose. A gale of wind surrounded his legs, causing specks of dust to form a little tornado with him at the center.
Once the momentum reached the peak, he began running and hopped off when he reached the end of the boulder. His feet left the ground in a leap, swiftly creating a half-circle arc midair, then reaching the end of the leaf pad in a perfect ten. The leaf pad wasn't far, so he was able to reach it in that one long jump.
The leaf shook after he stepped on it, lightly dipping a few inches because of the addition of his weight. But nonetheless, it was sturdy and spacious, enough for two grown men to lie down with more spaces to spare.
Chase immediately worked his way with the leaf pad. He walked around the leaf to search for the joint where the leaf was connected to its stalk, just to find a lotus pod hidden nearby. The lotus pod was right beside the lotus flower, but because of the poor lighting and perspective, he could not see it before. Chase took a closer look.
The pod is the same as the lotus pods he remembered seeing in his previous life. It's just that this pod is larger, estimated to be at least two feet in diameter. There are holes in the face of the pods where green-coated seeds were resting. Chase wondered if these seeds could be eaten.
"System, what is the danger level if ever I will eat these seeds?" Chase asked, pointing at the lotus pod.
The screen flickered a few times as if collecting the data within its folders before showing a cute drawing of a lotus lake in watercolor style. In one of the lotus pods, Chase noticed a tiny figure of a man with white hair and emerald green eyes.
Did the system just pull out a child's drawing of his surroundings?
「Calculating—Consuming the Lotus grown at the snail king's territory. Completed.」
「 Consuming the lotus grown at the snail king's territory will have no effect on Chase Laurier's distress level. However, the lotus plant has healing properties that could heal external and internal injuries, and is good in restoring vital force and body nourishment.」
「Final verdict: Consuming the lotus will benefit the host's body.」