Earth Kingdom
Luca's POV
….
If you were asked to name one thing that all Transmigrators were afraid of, what would be your answer?
Well, from experience as a Fanfiction author, one wasn't enough. Frankly speaking, It could be summed up to five.
In fifth place, the fear of getting thrown into a shitty, deadly, grim dark world and right into a danger zone on the spot.
Transmigrations that place you in hell difficulty right from the start, like being thrown right into a zombie apocalypse were honestly troubling to think of.
And that was just the world.
Taking number four would be the fear of getting thrown into a shitty character.
Now those tropes were everywhere.
Trash of the Count's Family
Counterattack of the Useless Son In Law
The Life Of An Extra
Especially the ones where you start as the trashy young master of an ancient family with zero talent, trashy reputation, missing parents and low family favor.
They took the majority.
Then they were similar novels where the MC started off as some sort of corpse demon, skeleton, demon beast, spirit, ghost, or ghoul. The list is extensive.
Moving on. I would put the fear of not having some sort of Power up in third place.
The horror of fourth place would simply be infinitely magnified.
Firmly occupying the second spot and leaving third place in the dust for me was the fear of having my gender crossed.
It makes me shudder just thinking about it.
But that was for me, and I'm not sure about others. But all transmigrators had one fear, they all shared.
And that's number one. Identity reveal.
In the novel industry, it had become some sort of unspoken rule that once you're writing a transmigration story from original earth to wherever the beloved Truck Kun takes you, the main character automatically decides to carry the secret of his existence to the grave.
Or …. At least until when he's strong enough to ignore the vast majority of threats that may come his/her way.
Breaking this rule in the early stage would immediately cause any novel to lose lots of followers.
I should know. I did the same for one I once read.
Being particularly prominent among those who weren't reincarnated but crossed over through soul possession, the reasons for such a decision varied.
However, it could be agreed that revealing your true identity prematurely could invite unnecessary trouble and interest from unwanted parties.
So hiding it was the best choice.
Of course, not everyone wanted to hide it and not everyone could even if they wanted to.
As there were world's that played with the mind.
DC Martians and their ability to read minds.
Immortal cultivation worlds with experts who could peer into the soul.
The Yamanaka Clan and Uchiha clans from Naruto with their creepy mind reading arts, suspicious nature and scary Genjutsu.
That last one left a very deep impression.
Famous saying, Only the dead can keep secrets.
In Naruto? Think again.
The world of the hot-blooded Hokage Anime practically told everyone that there was no such thing as 'Rest In Peace' for the dead.
From resurrection of old fossils to the searching through someone's memories ….
Basically,
Information could be pried from anywhere and even corpses couldn't remain tight-lipped. (I'm shuddering while writing this)
All Transversers carried many secrets.
I was no exception.
Which is why at the moment, I felt completely cold all over in more ways than one.
'It … It was all an Illusion'.
My eyes widened in horror as I stared at the cave before me.
The Dark Spirits, the battles, the injuries …. None of it was real.
It had never happened at all. All of it in my head.
I didn't doubt it. After what I just went through, I couldn't.
It would be stupidity to try to do so.
But .....
'How long was I caught ….'.
When exactly did it start? When did it happen?
'Was it when I came up here?' I speculated. But soon that possibility was rejected.
'No. It can't be. The rain hadn't started then, and the skies were just too cloudy. Now it's nighttime. That would mean I've been standing here for hours'.
With the above factors, I didn't ..... rather wouldn't believe it. Not because there was no possibility, but because, I didn't believe that I could be caught in an illusion while on alert so easily.
This was The Avatar World. Not Naruto, where an Uchiha's Genjutsu could incapacitate someone with a single look.
Not even Dark Spirits had that capability. After all, It was one thing to create a false image, and it was another to trap someone within an imaginary world.
'The only thing in this world that can achieve that should be the Fog of Lost souls. But that's in the spirit world. And there's no fog ….'.
My thoughts moved rapidly while I sported a heavy frown on my face.
However ….
'Huh?'
My eyelids shot up at what I saw next as the changes in the environment didn't go unnoticed.
And here's a question I never thought I'd ask.
Have you seen the shadows move?
Not like the way it is when the body takes a step and the shadow does the same.
Instead, real, actual movement that makes it seem like an actual living being.
Well. … Have you? Because I have.
The darkness at the entrance of the cave began to twist.
Pure, pitch-black shadows emerging from within and extending across the floor. Its movements were slow and steady, reminding me of a silent snake at night.
And under my watchful eyes, it stretched towards my legs a distance away.
Shiing!
It happened then.
It didn't even register with me the moment I drew my sword and slashed at the floor.
Crack!
A deep, horizontal slash mark was etched a few feet in front of the rock I stood on, leaving a noticeable gully in the process.
The twisting shadows halted in place.
It stayed that way for several seconds, until it receded back into the cave at a faster pace than its emergence.
Everything played out right before my eyes, by did little to sooth the panic previously rising in my heart.
It was basically confirmed. I had located my target.
And from the looks of it, there was no way it could directly influence me into a fantasy world without me noticing. Unless I wasn't focused at all when ….
It hit me then.
There was a time when I wasn't paying attention. When I wasn't at my most vigilant.
'This thing attacked me when I was sleeping'.
This was the conclusion I settled for. I was spot on.
'If the illusions started when I was asleep, then that means that the shadow creeped down the mountain into my cave. Trapping me in an illusion while controlling my body to climb the mountain ….'.
'It was luring me here. Wanting to bring me into this cave for God knows what. But what exactly is this place?'
The more I thought, the more frightened I grew.
I was being manipulated the whole time. All to bring me back here ….
I didn't know who …. Or rather what was behind this. My best bet, a dark spirit. And not just any dark spirit.
At that moment, my curiosity was somewhat piqued. Unfortunately or fortunately … …
"Ugh". The splitting headache returned, causing me to hold the side of my head and groan.
The cave within my line of sight began to blur.
'..... Whatever's down there, I'm currently in no position to take it on'.
In the current situation, only a fool would think otherwise.
Just an illusion could put me in this state. Who knows what I'd face if I went head on.
Acknowledging my weakness, I sheathed my sword and turned around immediately.
Crack — Boom!
Thunder flashed again, and I froze.
'You've gotta be kidding me'.
There was nothing in front of me that was blocking my way, but my face hardened immediately.
Because while there was nothing before me, something had definitely appeared behind me.
The moment the thunder flashed, I noticed immediately.
My back was turned, so I couldn't see it, but something was currently at the cave entrance. I didn't even need the restless Spirit Chi to serve as a warning.
I could feel its strong gaze fixed on my back, causing the hair on my skin to stand on end. Strangely however, it stood still at the foot of the cave and remained unmoving.
This blatant appearance ... It wanted me to know it was there. Basically, announcing its presence.
I knew this trope all too well. Here, I was supposed to slowly turn around, make eye contact and come face to face with the cause of my current problems.
All before either going into a lengthy discussion or immediately starting a lengthy battle.
The former was more likely than the latter.
Unfortunately, I wasn't going to play this game. I had zero interest in either possibility and my desire to leave this place as soon as possible far outclassed the curiosity to turn around.
So I did what any Transmigrator would do.
Continue walking without looking back.
And so I walked, and walked ..... And it watched until me disappear. I could still feel its gaze, though. Watching me intensely.
But the further away I got, the weaker it became. Upon reaching the cave I had made, I didn't go in, but simply walked past it. And after walking a few more feet, the feeling disappeared.
Meanwhile ... I was right.
Just when I turned around, a figure did appear at the entrance of the cave. Only, this didn't look like dark spirit in the slightest but an old man in his seventies.
His complexion was slightly pale, his face carrying wrinkles and a large white beard hanging on his chin. Old robes and a walking stick in hand, he stood there while watching Luca disappear.
Not uttering a word when the boy clearly heard his voice, yet until didn't turn around.
"Interesting .....". He uttered in a low voice while stroking his beard. ".... Yes. Quite interesting indeed".
Those were his last words before disappearing into thin air once again.
....
General POV
Luca didn't need to be warned.
The appearance of …. Whatever was behind he said it all.
This area wasn't safe.
Hence, ignoring the rain, he packed up his belongings and left immediately.
He was drenched either way, so it didn't matter. The storm outside began to show signs of calming down.
It would still take some time, but he couldn't afford to wait.
Without taking a second look, he descended the mountain and ran off into the distance at the fastest speed.
Human beings always feared the unknown and Luca had theorized that this particular mountain harbored a powerful dark spirit.
With no information on its strength and comprehensive abilities, he wouldn't rashly step into that cave and deliver himself on a silver platter.
'Luckily, for some reason, it couldn't come out of the cave'.
Luca felt this way.
It had been like this ever since the time he turned his back to the cave.
From the moment he realized that everything was an illusion, he could deduce that something was wrong.
Such tricks like illusions had to be mobilized. If it could, why didn't it just walk down the mountain?
That was further confirmed when it didn't say a word or try to stop him when he wanted to leave.
His conclusion was simple. Whatever was down there, couldn't leave. Hence, why it had attempted to lure him into the cave.
Perhaps ..... Even its abilities were limited.
Unfortunately, Luca wasn't going to take that risk. The splitting headaches he felt hadn't disappeared, but he pushed himself on regardless.
Only after leaving the place far behind did he feel the slightest bit relieved.
'Alright ..... Now I need to ….'. His thoughts were interrupted by yet again, another sharp pain.
Inexplicable throbbing assaulted his head.
'Argh ..... Ugh ….'. It took a while for the pain to recede.
Luca took a deep breath and reopened his eyes.
'I …. wait …. What?'
However ..... He was surprised to find that his vision was blurred deeply.
Under his eyesight, regardless of where he looked, it always seemed like he saw triple.
'What's happening …'. It happened then.
His stat panel that had been dead for weeks now suddenly released a notification directly in his line of sight.
[Fatigue has exceeded eighty points]
[Your movement is being is restricted]
"...". Silence.
After a while ..... "Well, that can't be good".
....
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