Chereads / VESTAGES : extra's fate denial / Chapter 25 - 24: The other ones (7)

Chapter 25 - 24: The other ones (7)

Alec, who was hiding silently and was already a master at it due to his experience in the forest, stayed completely hidden until only the boss monster was left in the underground cave. It took a few hours but he managed himself. 

[ Alert an E-rank monster presence is near you. Advise to not engage in battle. ]

Alec looked at the notification that popped up and these notifications were what he was paying attention to. These notifications were his way of gauging the monster's strengths, but the system cannot gauge the strengths of beings that were not monsters.

Although it was already advised to take the monster of the same ranks as yours with a party, Alec was confident in himself and it was clearly not overconfidence. 

He silently made his way towards it, after reaching a distance where Grimwrith sensed him, he quickly jumped over him to attack his vitality at the back of neck. 

Feeling a sense of danger Grimwrith quick phased through the land and came out of a different angle on Alec's blind spot. 

However Alec's senses warned him, he moved behind and threw the pebble that he had on his hand towards the monster.

The monster phased once more to avoid the incoming object, and continued his ponce on Alec. 

A smirk formed on Alec's face, he with full power swung his left hand on which through a very thin rope a log was attached. The log with a high velocity went straight towards the Grimwrith. 

Grimwrith a species which have a very cautious personality to dangers always avoid remaining on their toes while fighting an opponent which can be a threat to him, and this was their one of the biggest weakness. 

Alec who knew this, took its advantage by using non lethal objects to use up the number of phasing the boss monster could do and as Alec had guessed the monster once more phased through the log in order to avoid the attack. 

Alec continued to dodge its attack and made the monster use the last two of its phasing chances. Seeing that the monster was only avoiding attack instead of phasing through them, Alec engaged in brute strength close combat. 

The thing quickly got bloody as Alec was tanking the attack and recovering them little by little but for the poor monster, he became a punching bag. 

With only 9 bones remaining unfractured in his body the monster went into a feral state, his whole body got bigger and his stat got 1 level up in all areas. 

With the eyes completely red and ready to make a meat paste of the human in front of him, he pounced with his full speed ignoring all the pain. 

On the other hand, who saw the boss monster going into feral state sensed imminent danger to his life and had no other option than using his generis. 

Alec closed his eyes and muttered a few words, the surroundings went silent and the time slowed down for him as he clad the changes in his body. 

His dark purple hair started floating on his own as his black eyes got a red spark in it. All injuries healed in an instant and the movement he opened his eyes, his generis had already worked wonders. 

Within a second of time everything happened which greatly shocked the monster, the thing in front of him looked extremely dangerous but wasn't a second ago. 

Before the monster could wrap up anything, he died by the punch that made a hole through head. Alec was mercy less in this state and thus quickly finished his job in one punch. 

The state wore off soon after and the red spark also went down, the things left behind were the dead body of monster and a tired body of Alec. 

Alec rested for 30 minutes and after killing the last three Grimwrith Lynx started his search for valuable things. 

His senses played a vital role in it as it gave him an advantage over sensing mana around him in dark environments very effectively. 

Alec removed the core from the boss monster's body and checked for anything present in it but alas he got nothing. 

Storing it for future use Alec went to the next place where his sense was pointing out from the beginning. 

***

Deep inside the underground cave, Alec finds a whole room entirely different from the dungeon setup. This was very odd but the hidden rooms of dungeons were always like this. 

Although it wasn't this easy to find them, Alec strangely found it very easily as if it was in the open to begin with. 

"Whatever, let's get it over with. I am already feeling very hunger"

Alec touched his stomach and felt growling sounds from it. He moved into the hidden room to deal with it and closed the dungeon entirely. 

Although he could have gone out with the exit crystal that dropped from the boss monster's body but from the knowledge that he acquired during his time in the temple, he knew that completing the dungeon will give him a lot of experience and stat boosts. 

Alec no way would let go of this opportunity thus he fearlessly moved inside. 

The chamber inside the underground cave was vast and enigmatic, the air thick with an ancient, almost sacred energy. 

The ceiling arched high above, lost in shadow, giving the space an endless, cathedral-like feel. The pond at the heart of the room radiated a soft, mysterious glow, its waters shimmering in hues of deep blue and violet, casting undulating patterns of light across the stone floor. 

The light from the pond seemed alive, almost sentient, as it rippled gently, illuminating the room in a quiet, ethereal brilliance.

The walls of the chamber were intricately sculpted, covered in detailed, swirling patterns etched deep into the stone.

 Ancient symbols written in a forgotten, rune-like language pulsed with a strange energy, glowing faintly in rhythm with the pond's light. 

Each rune seemed to hum softly, their meaning long lost to time, yet they emitted a sense of importance, as though they held forgotten secrets of the world. 

The patterns danced like a flowing script of stars, running along the walls from floor to ceiling, with each line more elaborate than the last.

At the far end of the chamber stood three humanoid statues, looming over the room with an imposing presence.

They were carved from a dark, polished stone that absorbed much of the pond's light, making their features harder to discern, except for their glowing eyes and the balance scales each one held.

The statues were arranged in a perfect line, standing still and silent like ancient sentinels.

The leftmost statue face was not covered, its expression warm and full of emotions. 

It held its scale with one hand, but the balance was clearly shifted toward the right side, as though the weight of its judgments leaned heavily for others' benefit. 

Despite its humanoid appearance, there was something unsettling in its proportions—its limbs too long, its posture too loose, making it seem less human the longer you stared.

The middle statue stood perfectly upright, its balance scale even, held precisely in the center. It was blindfolded, yet it seemed more neutral, its features stone cold, more balanced in its design.

The statue gave off an air of cold, impartiality, as though it was a symbol of absolute fairness, unwavering and untouched by bias.

Lastly, the rightmost statue was the most disturbing one. Its face was fully covered with bandages, only revealing hollow eyes that seemed to glow faintly in the dim light. 

Its scale was shifted to the left, giving the impression that the judgments it represented were skewed. 

Its features were twisted into a grotesque semblance of a human face, its mouth slightly open as if caught mid-whisper. 

This statue radiated an aura of unease, and its presence felt far darker than the others, as though it embodied a force of corruption or imbalance.

As you moved from left to right, the statues became increasingly eerie. 

The uncovered one seemed almost serene compared to the covered, haunting gaze of the rightmost figure, which appeared to watch you despite its motionless form. 

The progression from the left to the right felt like a descent into madness—each statue a step further into something ancient, dangerous, and unknowable.

The entire room thrummed with a quiet, vibrating energy. The statues, the glowing runes, and the mysterious pond all seemed connected in some way, part of a ritual or judgment long forgotten by time, yet still potent and waiting. 

The air itself was thick with mystery, as though the chamber was a space where the boundaries between worlds blurred, and the balance of things—both seen and unseen—was constantly being weighed and judged.