Chapter 37- The World Inside (Part 2)
"How?" Akio asked in clear confusion.
"Hahaha! Well, it's a long story, youngster. This isn't the place nor the time for such tales. Anyway, let's leave."
"Where?" Keth stood up and questioned.
"Obviously to where I live…" The man said as he rubbed his caveman beard a few times and then turned around and continued walking.
"S-Should we follow him?" Toru asked in a whisper to the other two with him.
"... That man, he could've killed us all if he wanted to." Squinting his eyes, Keth revealed what he discovered.
"WHAT?!" Toru almost choked on his own saliva from sheer shock.
'He is definitely an abnormal person. I remember it clearly.' Closing his eyes, Akio recalled what happened a minute ago.
At that time, Akio technically had no way of escaping the Lizard's attack. In fact, Akio couldn't move at all because of the strong pain he felt in his chest. However, that man suddenly appeared in a flash and pulled him away. The speed at which he moved was so quick that Akio only realized that he had been pulled away after they got far away from there.
'That's not something any of us could pull off.' Touching his chest slightly, Akio shook his head.
He had recklessly used Bloody Slash without knowing what kind of repercussions would affect his body. That almost cost him his life. However, for some reason, he didn't regret doing it at all. In fact, the urge to keep experimenting with these powers and revealing new uses for them was more intense than ever.
In his head, he can one day become like that odd man, a strong individual that can do things deemed impossible by normal people. However, the journey was still long.
'That aside, I don't think he is lying. There is some truth to what he said, at least.'
No prisoner would be able to gain such strength in one day, or even in 100 days. A power that was cultivated through years and years of hunting and leveling up. Whether it sounded impossible or not, Akio was starting to believe that this man might actually be an inhabitant of the Serenity Abyss for the past 30 years.
"What are you waiting for? The exit from this hole is this way." Norma turned around and pointed at North with his finger.
"Tsk…" Keth clicked his tongue and started walking slowly.
The pain from his bones was still as intense as before if not more. However, he didn't try to show any signs of pain on his face. It was as stoically serious as ever.
Akio was the second one to follow him. There was no reason to stay here, after all.
"Wait for me!!" Toru was last to shout and run toward the group.
[You have participated in killing a level 25 Lizard Mother.]
[You have gained +4 Holem Spirit.]
[You have gained +3 Health.]
[You have leveled up from level 13 to level 16.]
[You have gained +6 points to allocate freely.]
Finally having the time to check his notifications, Akio felt satisfied with the improvement. Killing that creature was the most dangerous thing he did since he came to Holem. Even though he only needed to hit it once.
'Participate? So, if a group kills one target together, the Holem Essence is divided between them. Huh, well, that's fair.' Not giving it much thought, Akio looked ahead of him, particularly at the old man.
"How did you end up escaping the shackles and staying here? No, wait, how can you even see us, in the first place?" Toru suddenly asked curiously.
"Hahaha! I lost my sight a long time ago. Since then, my other senses became my eyes. If you live long enough, you would realize that the eyes are nothing but tools of deceit. More often than not, what you feel with your heart is more truthful than the sharpest of eyes." Norma's reply made the three Crusaders raise an eyebrow.
As unexpected as it may be, Akio did indeed find himself understanding where the man was coming from. The eyes are indeed a double-edged sword for those who don't know how to use them.
"I see… and ho-"
"As for your first question, the shackles simply broke down by themselves."
"Huh? That's possible?"
"Yeah, in fact, I'm not the only one that had this happen to him."
"There are more people?"
Smiling slightly, the man didn't reply and continued walking.
The group's journey was long. They marched in the darkness, not knowing where they are heading exactly until they reached a very inclined hill that led them up.
'We have to climb this?' Akio looked up and assessed the hill. It was almost inclined enough to be a wall. There was barely any room for their legs to grab into the surface.
However, Norma didn't seem to be bothered by that fact at all as he stepped forward and started climbing up… without using his hands.
Step by step, he made his way up and then stopped right in the middle.
"Be careful, it's quite slippery."
'Slippery isn't the first of our concerns.' The trio thought of the same thing.
However, even if they wanted to turn around and leave, there was nowhere they could go. This place was extremely dark and desolate. Going back is pointless.
*Crack* *Crack*
"Fuck it! I'm going." Keth said as he cracked some of his neck bones and then stepped forward.
He put both of his hands on the surface and started climbing slowly.
Akio and Toru looked at the two men silently before moving in to start the climbing.
'This is somehow not that hard.' Akio thought to himself.
For a moment, Akio had forgotten that he had the strength of three men combined in his body so something that should've been impossible for the old him was now nothing more than a small challenge.
"Good, good! You three aren't bad! I haven't met people that can climb this hill in years." Norma praised them as he looked down from high above.
However, neither of the three answered him as they were completely focused on the task at hand.
The climb took almost 50 minutes before they finally reached the peak. Or in other words, they reached the surface again.
"Fuuh…" Breathing out a long sigh, Akio wiped the sweat from his face.
'That took some time.'
Climbing this much was exhausting no matter how he looked at it. Even when he looked back at the steep abyss behind him, he could only be impressed by it.
"The village is close by." Norma, who made this climb look like a breeze, continued walking as if nothing happened.
"I-Is he even human?! I can't breathe! Hah… Hah…" Toru clicked his tongue with a helpless smile as he stood up again.
"I can see it…"
"Hm?"
"There is indeed a village." Akio pointed out as he stared at the horizon.
He was sure of it, the familiar forms of primitive houses, the smell of dirt and old wood. They were all things he smelled before.
Having said that, it still amazed him that some kind of society had developed in the depths of this hellhole. To be able to survive in the Serenity Abyss is a thing, to live long enough to create a society is a totally different thing.
'How odd…'
Shaking his head, Akio walked ahead as he had the most vision out of the three.
The group approached the small village. The closer they got, the more human noises they could hear. There weren't one or two people in there but at least 30 or 40 merely from the sounds Akio heard. It was a sizable village.
"Welcome to our humble village, young Crusaders."
(A//N: Thank you everyone for supporting the book with power stones, golden tickets, and comments. I'm deeply grateful. Let's all keep it up :) )