Chapter 20: 20 Forces From Afar
In another location far and obscure from the pry of the eyes was an enormous snowy mountain range.
Hundreds of mountains stood in a well-ordered pattern, the top of each mountain coming together to form a fold that eventually gave rise to a cylindrical elevation.
These hundreds of mountains reached thousands of meters in the sky, and they all circled a single mountain.
The mountain was tens of times taller and larger than the other mountain, and it stood alone, with the tip of the second tallest mountain touching its side to create what seemed like a bridge.
The mountains' formation was as if someone layered rocks from the smallest to the biggest, which eventually formed a cylindrical staircase to connect with the biggest rock in the centre.
This region was freezing cold, and thick snow covered every mountain.
One peculiar thing about this snowy mountain range, though, was the orange lava that flowed through every valley despite the bone-chilling frost.
The streams of lava flowed quietly, and their colour gave a stark contrast to the white, snowy landscape.
The tallest mountain seemed to pierce the grey, cloudy sky. However, that was not the case. As tall as the mountain was, the sky still felt unreachable.
On the very top of the mountain was an old man in a white flowy robe, with skin so pale that it would make one believe that he didn't have blood.
The man was sitting in a meditative pose, eyes closed, and palms pressed together, allowing the soft breeze to caress him.
His wrinkled face spoke of his age alongside his long white hair, beard, and eyebrows.
Not only was his white beard touching his thighs, his eyebrows too, extended to his shoulder.
The man's breathing was barely noticeable, and so was his faint heartbeat.
If one didn't observe carefully, one might even think that he had ceased living.
Snow kept falling from the sky, but they all avoided him like a plague, as even the wind blew with caution around him.
Suddenly, the man opened his pitch-black eyes and a grim aura enveloped the entire mountain range.
The mountains all shook, and some even cracked, but with a wave of his hands, they reformed back to normal.
There weren't many lifeforms here, to begin with, yet, all the ones present fell on their knees to that aura.
'' The seal has broken, '' the man muttered in a hushed tone.
His face showed no emotions, except for his eyes that beamed with wisdom and the intricacies of time.
'' E-eh? '' Another figure had appeared after sensing the man's aura. His facial features showed that he couldn't have reached his mid-twenties.
Shock was evident on his pale face, as it turned even paler, hearing what the man just uttered.
His long dark hair swayed in the air as he knelt, waiting for the old man's command.
'' Go. '' It sounded almost like a whisper, and the old man closed his eyes again, back to his meditation.
***
Woosh!
Jerouch jumped high in the air, evading a thick acidic spit launched at him.
The acidic spit landed on the dark passageway ground, and Jerouch heard the sound of something sizzling.
Turning his head backwards, he noticed that a thin surface had corroded.
' Such a potent venom. ' He squinted his eyes and did a backflip, landing backwards on his left foot.
Using his left foot as a spring, he pushed forward and landed a ground sidekick on the closest snake.
The snakes from his observations were all E rank monsters, and they amounted to ten. Although he was sure that there were more powerful ones deep in what looked like a narrow cave.
' I wonder how potent the venom of the stronger ones is.' He thought.
'' Wind blades. ''
Sharp, compressed, invincible blades of air propelled forward, and sliced five snakes into minced meat.
Each snake reached five meters in length, and their silver skin illuminated the dark surrounding.
Jerouch kicked the ground and jumped forward, arriving before the last snake.
The snake was ready to spit out its hot corrosive venom, but before he could do that, he saw his target in mid-air and the next thing…
The environment turned upside down from the snake's view as Jerouch pulled its tail and slammed it on the wall covered with the sanguine liquid.
Bam!
The snake's bones fractured with a loud 'crack' and the sanguine liquid splashed everywhere.
' I need to conserve my strength, I don't know what's ahead. ' His face appeared to be blank, devoid of any feeling.
However, his eyes soon had a sharp glint in them as his greed for what could be calling on to him increased.
Since he wanted exp points, he didn't allow the roc to interfere in this fight,. After all, they were weaker monsters.
The roc was also amazed, seeing the human's strength. And his desire to keep him by his side rose.
Of course, Jerouch was oblivious to the roc's thought as he advanced, using a little fireball to illuminate the surroundings.
As they went deeper, they encountered several monsters of the same species, and even the roc had joined the fight.
The roc was swift, powerful, and had an aerial advantage. It was as though, he was born to battle.
His wings seemed to be covered in a silver aura which increased his speed in multiple folds as he entered the enemy ranks, and ripped them apart.
Jerouch's level was still low, if not, he could have known what that silver aura portrayed.
As they walked further, Jerouch's heartbeat got louder as his chest rose and fell.
Never in his wildest imagination would he have thought that he had long stopped being under his own influence.
They were here to hunt and increase his power as quickly as they could, but it seemed that both he and the roc had forgotten about that already.
All that was on Jerouch's mind was to see that thing that was now pulling him even stronger.
Eventually, the passageway split into two. However, Jerouch was unfazed, he knew from which passage did the feeling grow more intense.
Entering the left one, the roc also followed him, and they both disappeared into the darkness.
A/N
Plot thickening!
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