Chapter 20: | Existence
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Time passed slowly as stalks of jade grass waved gently in the current.
This place was eerily quiet.
No clashes.
No monstrous brawls.
Just stillness, like the entire world had been frozen in time.
My eyes fluttered open.
My gaze tracked the rustling leaves of the tree above, each subtle movement like the breath of the abyss itself.
How rare it was to find peace like this.
Blinking once… then twice… I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight before me.
Liora was no longer asleep on my back.
She was now hanging from a branch like a sloth.
If this place weren't so dark, I might've believed we were back on the surface.
Was it because this area felt familiar?
Yes.
That had to be it.
This place… it resembled the surface far too much.
A secluded expanse, stretching several thousand meters wide.
At its center stood a solitary tree, surrounded by jade grass, bioluminescent fungi, and vines drooping lazily from the cavern walls like serpents at rest.
Still.
Peaceful.
Beautiful.
Then a soft moan echoed through the cavern.
Liora stirred, stretching as she hung upside down like a cat waking from a nap.
She yawned, slid down the tree, and landed on my back like I was her personal mattress.
Pointing halfheartedly toward a dark cavern that looked like the gaping maw of some ancient devil, she muttered sleepily.
"That should be the place."
Then, like a true sloth, she promptly fell back asleep.
I couldn't help but laugh.
Hahaha... Just like a sloth.
Liora really loved to sleep.
Yawning, I pushed off from the ground and surged forward.
A low growl rumbled in my throat as my body cut through the current.
That cavern... it had to contain something worth the journey.
My blood simmered with anticipation.
What kind of monsters waited in the dark?
What kind of skills would I devour from them?
I couldn't help but notice the aura radiating from Liora.
It was unmistakably Tier 5.
Her progress was steady and slow, probably because she went out to fight now and then, not out of need, but simply out of boredom.
Minutes passed.
My body drifted deeper into the cave.
Vines of unknown origin clung to the walls, strange and unnerving.
Something about them made me feel as if I were being watched.
And the energy they emitted, gentle… yet suffocating.
Still, I pressed on.
They weren't a threat.
Not yet.
Hundreds of miles passed.
The cavern grew more intricate.
Passages branched, from one, to, two, to five, and more.
Like a vast web, meant to trap something. Or someone.
This was no ordinary cave.
It was a labyrinth.
And I began to wonder...
Was this truly the path fate intended for us?
Or was this place destined to become our grave?
I couldn't help but sigh.
To explore this place thoroughly, to map every corridor, every fork, would take months.
A single wrong turn could mean death.
This wasn't the kind of challenge I was suited for.
After all, I wasn't a cave explorer.
From what I recalled.
Elara used to despise those hole-crawling bastards more than she hated the elves.
I was a mercenary.
My work was war.
Subjugating ancient ruins.
Doing the dirty jobs others couldn't stomach.
I'd lost count of how many humans and monsters I'd killed.
But those numbers were meaningless compared to what still needed to be done.
And yet, I remembered Elara's words, sharp and true.
"Caverns are deathtraps. Perfect for monster swarms and bottlenecks. Limited mobility. A guaranteed massacre."
The mortality rate of cavern subjugations?
Was extremely high.
Still… a small smile tugged at my lips.
Then.
A sound.
Breathing.
Faint, but unmistakable.
It came from just a few meters ahead, hidden in the shadows.
An ambush?
Accel Dash.
Phantom Shift.
Then.
Accel Dash.
I blurred through the water, lunging toward the source.
My jaws snapped shut.
CRACK!
A grouper?
Damn!
Pain shot through my jaw.
What I bit into wasn't flesh, it was armor.
Made of stones.
My gums bled.
This thing... its defense was insane.
Then.
CRASH!
Its tail slammed into me, launching me backward.
I smashed into the cavern wall with a thunderous boom.
The impact left a crater.
Lucky.
If Liora hadn't dodged, she'd be crushed.
That tail…
It was strong.
Strong enough to breach my defenses and send me flying like driftwood.
Then.
It vanished.
Melted into the currents.
And reappeared.
BOOM!
It slammed into me, pinning me into the wall.
The cavern shook from the impact.
Above, Liora hissed.
"That must hurt."
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
Its tail whipped across my face, again and again.
Blood burst from my mouth.
It manhandled me like a toy.
Blooming Wrath.
Activated.
My body blurred.
With a roar, I struck back.
CRACK!
I managed to bash it away, barely.
My exoskeleton?
Wrecked.
Shattered.
I cracked my imaginary neck and unfurled my fins.
Dazzling Display.
A wave of killing intent bursts from me.
The grouper roared in response and charged.
Accel Dash.
Phantom Shift.
I vanished.
Reappearing above it, spinning violently.
My tail struck.
SHATTER!
CRASH!
The exoskeleton wrapped tightly in my tail exploded on impact.
The grouper was slammed into the ground.
The room shook.
The currents twisted.
Before it could recover.
Accel Dash.
I blurred again, hammering it into the seabed over and over.
It screamed as its rocky armor cracked.
I could feel its bones splintering under the impact.
It howled.
A fair fight?
I grinned.
A fair match, huh?
But didn't you play dirty first?
I lunged again, relentless.
Its armor splintered, fractures spreading like spiderwebs.
Then.
CRASH!
Its armor gave way.
At that moment, my fins twisted, converging into a blade.
I cut through the water.
Like lightning.
Then.
Pink lines bloomed across its body.
Thin.
Silk-like.
They glowed faintly, as it spiderwebbed across its armor.
Seconds passed.
It stood there.
Still.
Lines traced across its hide.
I hovered above, eyes closed.
Fae Sword Art — Sixth Form: Scattered Flower.
BOOM!
Its armor exploded, shards scattering across the seabed.
Blood sprayed through the water.
But…
It wasn't enough.
The cuts were too shallow.
Sixth Form hadn't finished the job.
The grouper staggered, bloodied.
But standing.
It roared.
Maw wide.
Rage igniting.
I sighed.
It would've been best if you'd just died.
Accel Dash.
I pushed it.
Harder than ever.
My muscles tore from the strain as my body disappeared.
A heartbeat passed.
Then.
I reappeared behind it.
Eyes closed.
I sheathed my mental blade again.
A thin pink line etched itself across its body.
Then I whispered.
Fae Sword Art — Eighth Form: Severed Petal.
The line turned crimson.
SPLASH!
Blood burst from it, drenching the currents.
Then.
THUD.
The grouper collapsed.
It didn't even realize…
It was already dead.
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Seconds passed.
Then.
Pain surged through my body.
The aftershock of pushing myself to the limit had struck.
My heart pounded like a war drum, erratic, violent.
I gasped for air as waves of pain coursed through my muscles, every nerve screaming.
Liora's voice cut through the haze.
"Slowly inhale… then exhale. Deep breath in, now release it."
I obeyed, drawing in the cold, bitter water and letting it pass through me.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Again.
Minutes passed before my heartbeat slowed.
My body eased.
My mind followed.
I closed my eyes, gathering mana from the surrounding atmosphere, slipping into light meditation.
But then, Liora sighed.
"How primitive."
I cracked one eye open.
She sighed harder.
"You're gathering mana too crudely. Draw it through your skin, channel it to your core, then refine it. Don't just collect it one particle at a time."
I tried. It was harder, but undeniably more efficient.
A moment later, she leapt from her perch and laid across my back, already half-asleep.
"Practice that. It's how mages do it. Probably the only thing your small brain can handle."
…An insult? Probably.
Still, I couldn't argue.
Even this technique was hard to maintain.
And if this was basic…
Liora likely knew far more advanced methods.
Ones she couldn't perform.
Because she had no core.
I let out a bitter smile.
I was improving at a monstrous rate.
But at the same time.
I was fading.
In just a few months…
What would be left of me?
I'd noticed it days ago, when I tried to recall something trivial.
And failed.
My memory had once been perfect.
So perfect I could remember life in the womb.
Every breath.
Every heartbeat.
So how could I forget now?
Something was interfering.
The dimensional record?
Or something even greater?
I chuckled bitterly.
Maybe it's better this way.
Better to forget…
To forget the years of abuse.
To forget being raped at thirteen by
women three times my age.
To forget Samantha.
My first love.
How she was violated.
How she died before my eyes.
No middle name.
No noble blood.
Just a girl.
Just… her.
Part of me was glad.
Glad this wretched life would soon vanish.
But another part…
It grieved.
I bit into the grouper's flesh, mechanical, hollow.
And I sobbed.
Silently.
I was truly pitiful.
A coward.
I used to drink until I blacked out, just to forget.
The sorrow.
Elara knew.
But she…
Never mind.
Forget it.
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