Super Regeneration (3)

Bellebagora's massive body crumbled and slammed into the earth.

The shockwave nearly knocked me off my feet, but I managed to keep my balance. I stared down at the fallen beast, feeling as though I had barely crawled back from the threshold of hell. It had died with its eyes wide open, not so much as a twitch left in that colossal frame — as if its soul had simply vanished, leaving behind nothing but an empty husk.

That was way too close...

The size difference was so extreme that comparing us to a man and an ant wouldn't even have been much of an exaggeration. If that thing had so much as flicked its tongue, I would have been sent flying and died a thoroughly undignified death. I had no choice but to call it luck.

When I had finally made contact, the rush of exhilaration had been so intense that some nonsense had even tumbled out of my mouth. To still have that kind of composure one step from dying — Emperor's Soul had definitely knocked a few screws loose in my head.

"Aagh... uh..."

At the sound of that feeble groan, I turned toward the other two. Khan had collapsed onto the ground, looking as though his soul had been sucked right out of him. Ashel stood frozen with her eyes wide, staring blankly in my direction. She seemed to have finally shaken off the Fear.

The silence hanging over us was so thick I tossed out whatever came to mind.

"Not the kind of monster you'd expect to find in a place like this."

"..."

No answer came back. Khan was practically exhausted from the shock of the Fear, so I decided we would rest a while before continuing on.

"I apologize."

I was sitting on a rock, looking over Bellebagora's corpse, when Ashel spoke up out of nowhere. I turned to look at her. Her face was typically expressionless, making her emotions hard to read — but this time, a distinctly downcast look had settled over her features. I wondered for a moment why she was apologizing, then it clicked.

She's beating herself up for not protecting me properly?

This had been a disaster completely beyond anyone's expectations. It was so far outside her capabilities that I had no reason to blame her. How was she supposed to fight a monster that even a Lord of Calderic would have to personally step in to handle?

And yet she seemed unable to forgive herself for failing in her assigned duty. That was just the kind of person she was. Ashel was the living embodiment of that kind of rigidity — earnest in all things, and endlessly, unforgivingly strict with herself.

Ah... or maybe it's that?

Perhaps the shock of being unable to put up even the slightest resistance in front of Bellebagora had hit her harder than I thought. I opened my mouth.

"Some monsters and races possess a rare ability called Fear."

Ashel blinked. She clearly had no idea what I was talking about. So she really hadn't known. Fear was an obscure kind of ability — the monsters that possessed it were few and far between, and it had no visible form to speak of. On top of that, at her level, even if she had encountered a Fear-emitting monster before, it almost certainly wouldn't have affected her at all. So it wasn't unreasonable that this unfamiliar experience had wounded her pride.

"It's an ability that induces especially intense terror in those weaker than the user. Most people lose all will to fight and fall into a panic."

"...Ah."

Only then did Ashel turn to look at Bellebagora's corpse, as if startled.

"You've never experienced it before, I take it."

"Yes, sir."

"That creature was powerful even by Demonic Realm standards. It wasn't a failing of your spirit, so don't let it weigh on you."

I had meant it as comfort, but Ashel's eyes flickered with something like confusion. She bowed her head without a word and lapsed back into silence. She really was a hard one to talk to.

Before long, Khan had more or less come back to his senses.

"If you're not feeling well, rest a while longer."

"Ah, no. I'm truly sorry for the trouble."

Khan still looked completely drained, but he seemed recovered enough to move. Considering he had been fully exposed to the Fear of a Level 90 monster, it was impressive he hadn't fainted outright. This mountain trek would probably go down as the shortest yet most unforgettable adventure of his career.

"If something like that had come down to the city... it would've been reduced to rubble..."

Khan muttered blankly, still staring at Bellebagora's corpse as if he couldn't quite believe it was real. Then he turned his head this way, met my eyes, and flinched so hard he immediately bowed his head.

...Hadn't that look just now been the same one he'd given Bellebagora?

So now I'm a monster now.

Not that I couldn't understand the reaction. From their perspective, it would have looked like I had killed the thing with a single tap. Ashel was pretending otherwise, but she kept sneaking glances at the corpse too.

Anyway, we had made it through the crisis. Time to finish what we came here for.

"Let's move."

The dense darkwood trees had already ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠begun to stain the forest in shadow. The place where the Mystery was hidden was close.

Just as Khan had said, it didn't take long to reach our destination.

A massive boulder sat alone in the middle of the forest. Its form — thick at the top and bottom, cinched in at the middle — looked like an hourglass no matter how you looked at it.

We're finally here.

Now that we had found Hourglass Rock, all that remained was locating the entrance. Not far from the boulder was a cliff — lower than the one we had climbed earlier.

It was around here, I think... or was it? That way, maybe?

I surveyed the surroundings, trying to get my bearings. But my memory was fuzzy, and seeing it in person only made things more confusing, so I decided to just put in a little extra work. The trip here had been easy enough as it was.

I wandered back and forth along the base of the cliff, examining the rock face closely. The other two trailed silently behind me, looking thoroughly bewildered as to what I was doing.

After maybe a few dozen minutes, I found a faint vertical fissure in one section of the wall, about as tall as I was. A faint chill seeping from within the crack was enough to make me reasonably certain.

"Ashel."

"Yes, sir."

"Break this gap open. Make it reasonably wide."

Ashel looked at the fissure I had indicated, then raised her hand without a word. I casually stepped back.

BOOM!

The moment she pressed her palm to the wall and unleashed her power, the rock face came crashing down. The space behind the crack was hollow like a cave, forming an entrance wide enough for one or two people to pass through. This was the place, all right.

Ashel and Khan's eyes went round at the sudden appearance of a hidden passage.

"Wait here."

I left the two of them at the entrance and carefully stepped inside alone. The air was cool. The passage continued as a gently sloping descent, and after going a little farther, the light from outside no longer reached. I quickly couldn't see an inch in front of me.

That was when I pulled out the luminous stone I had brought along. Unwrapping the tightly bound cloth, a bright white light spread out and instantly illuminated the interior.

"...Ugh."

At the same time, the insects clinging all over the cave walls came into view. Cockroaches, centipedes — quite a lot of them. I clicked my tongue quietly and kept going.

The slope of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠descent gradually steepened, and I grew more careful with each step. By the time I reached a point where I couldn't go any farther without using my hands, I was starting to break into a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cold sweat.

If I slip even a little, I'm screwed.

Was the slope originally this steep? How much deeper did I have to go? I clamped the luminous stone between my teeth and planted both hands on the ground. At least the floor was rough and uneven, giving me plenty of places to plant my feet. As long as it didn't get any steeper than this, I wouldn't fall unless I did something stupid like missing a foothold...

Thud.

"Ah."

The foot I had planted slipped, and my center of gravity collapsed. Fuck — it wasn't even a death flag, and the second I thought it... I desperately tried to catch myself with my hands, but it wasn't enough. My palms were shredded raw as my body tumbled down the slope like a wheel, rolling into the darkness below.

CRASH!

A dizzying impact rang through my head and arm before the fall finally stopped. I twitched on the ground, unable to collect myself for a moment, then barely managed to sit up. My whole body throbbed, and a metallic taste filled my mouth.

"Ugh..."

Something was streaming down my cheek. I wiped it, half-dreading what I would find, and my hand came away soaked in bright red. Blood. Grimacing, I wiped the blood from my chin as well and looked down at my left arm. It was equally painted in blood, so mangled I couldn't move it — it looked like it might even be broken.

"...You've got to be kidding me."

I had never been this badly injured before, and a wave of bewilderment hit me — but it settled into cold composure just as quickly. The searing pain stabbing through my arm was filthy, but my reason remained as unshaken as ever.

After catching my ragged breath, I staggered to my feet and looked around. The descent had ended, and a small passage branched off to the side. So I had stopped because I had slammed into the corner wall. It was a pretty lousy consolation prize for getting my body wrecked, but at least I had made it down the slope in an instant.

I picked up the luminous stone with my good arm and started walking into the passage. My ankle seemed to be sprained as well — a sharp pain shot up every time I put weight on my right foot — but it wasn't enough to stop me from walking. The passage gradually widened, and a faint green light began to seep from within.

"Oh."

When I finally reached the end, I let out a short breath of wonder at the sight that unfolded. A wide, empty cavern. At the very center of the floor, a green pattern was inscribed, radiating a gentle glow. Forgetting the pain entirely, I broke into a bright grin and limped toward the pattern. I knew exactly what it was, so I felt no caution whatsoever.

I had finally found it.

It's bigger than I expected.

The Mystery's pattern was roughly circular, like a magic circle, and large enough that its diameter spanned several meters. I approached until I was right in front of it, then simply stared down at it for a moment. I had found it, sure — but I had no idea how to actually acquire this Mystery. In the game, once you discovered it and got close enough, a message would pop up saying you had obtained it automatically.

Do I just... touch it?

I didn't have any other options, so I dropped to one knee and reached toward the pattern.

I nearly pulled my hand back in surprise, then stopped. The light was climbing up my hand from the point of contact, beginning to be absorbed into my body. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Before long, all the light had been drawn in, and the pattern vanished without a trace. The cavern sank into darkness.

"..."

Feeling a little dazed, I lifted my hand from the floor and looked down at my left arm.