Chapter 76: The Fall of a Frozen World(11)

To learn your weakness, to know yourself and your limits. That was the first floor’s intention: only those worthy of knowing that can march forward into the second floor. It gave him a different view on The Two, because he had thought that he would use these trials to try and protect himself, so he would make powerful enemies guard him. But he was very wrong, as his ways seem to only let those worthy challenge, not those weak, nor those powerful.

So he had expected something like that, too, coming onto the second floor. But now that he was inside it, it was anything but a test.

The walls crumbled around him, the room constantly changing. The ceiling became the floor. It seemed as if it was being destroyed and redone over and over again. Walls rose and declined, the floor was broken into pieces and reattached together. It was chaos, pure chaos; he had to watch his surroundings constantly; that way, he didn’t fall into a hole or a piece from the walls or ceiling didn’t fall onto his head.

He also had to keep his balance, which proved harder to do than anything else. He had to move around, as everything around him was falling down around him. As the world trembled, his feet had to stay on the ground. It was moments like this he had to thank Praise, as if it weren’t for it, he would have come here with his wounds, he would have never lasted a second.

But the worst part was neither how hard it was to keep himself on his feet, nor having to watch his surroundings. But having to do so while fighting these damn monsters.

Aether backed up slightly, looking at a beast approaching to bite him. It wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to; it was the same beast he had seen while trying to kill The Ace, and it was also one of the most common monsters inside the outskirts.

Which meant it was easy for the Abyss to create it, maybe because it was weak, well, not for him, but for most. A reader fragment isn’t a threat, maybe to those in places like The Withered, without and Praise, and potential. It was hard to imagine someone from the Blue Rose having any problem with this kind of beast.

But it wasn’t the only beast here. No, there were two.

The other was bigger, much bigger, standing on four legs, those being its main legs, with many other sticking out of them too, like the roots of a tree. In total, it had more than twenty, ones small enough that they didn’t even reach the floor.

Its scales looked impeccable, unscraped, untouched. They looked to be hard and durable, meaning they were going to be a nuisance to pierce through, but his blade was able to cut the skin of a Seeker; it shouldn’t be such a big problem to cut some scales.

But what would be hard to pierce was its carapace, as not only was it made out of pure iron, but it had many sharp spikes growing on top of it, making it impossible to try and climb onto it.

Some of its spikes even grew on its head, but the main focus was its mouth. It was strong enough to bite and crush chunks of concrete without a care. And in usual Abyssal fashion, it had teeth, which made its bite even more horrifying. There were even some growing on its carapace.

But it wasn’t important at the moment, since he had another annoying beast rush to him. The canine jumped forward, making Aether use his blade to protect himself, the monster biting into its black steel. But a reader monster, no matter the wielder, could not destroy a Seeker blade.

As much power as he used on his bite, it wouldn’t break, but it did leave it vulnerable. Aether clenched his muscles, moving his blade around, the beast sticking to it like it was glued. But as he gained momentum, he tossed it to the side for the last time, this time letting go, and being thrown into the wall, the ceiling falling on it.

But it wasn’t over, as while the second beast was slow, the other gave it time to come and attack. If he thought about it, the floor did have a purpose.

The canine was fast, really fast; he had a hard time reacting to it before, but now, in this terrible environment, it was harder than ever. But it was fragile, very fragile, one pierce could kill it, even with its ability, it was weak against his blade. But the tortoise was slow; it was easy to run away from it, to predict its attacks and evade them. But it was durable; he could pierce it, but it took more power.

But it was hard to do with the other.

They filled each other’s holes. The canine was fragile and fast, so the tortoise was slow but durable; they fit the other perfectly, which was hard to do. They were the extreme opposite, but that just meant they attracted each other. But for that same reason, it was harder to adapt; he had to learn and fight two exactly opposite opponents.

The beast opened its mouth to bite him, but because of its speed, he was able to escape just in time, the sound of its jaw biting the air echoing through the room. But as he was about to take a breather, from the remains of the ceiling, the canine jumped out.

“Why can’t you just die?”

He pulled his blade back as it approached him, but as he tried to pierce it, he missed, only grazing its cheek. The world paused as it jumped and attached its teeth to the skin and muscle of his arm.

He cursed in pain as its teeth dug deeper, blood spilling out of the gaps. But he didn’t fall; as much as it hurt, he kept it inside. He grabbed his blade, handing it to his other hand to stab the monster, but as he was about to do so. He felt a powerful force run into his back, sending him forward, and almost shattering his spine.

He had forgotten about the other monster. The pain was horrid, but he felt as Praise started to try and calm it. But it wasn’t enough, not as this damn monster was constantly biting his arm like it was a chew toy. But he couldn’t kill it, not in this state, and while running from the tortoise, so he had to kill the other first.

He raised his arm holding the blade above him, which was hard to do with the extra killograms from the canine. But he couldn’t falter. As the other monster approached, he waited until the moment when it opened its mouth to bite his head off, and pierced it right into its throat.

While having the canine dig its teeth until its arm was painful, it left the other without someone to fill its holes. Which made things easier.

[You have killed a Reader Fragment, Spike Tortoise]

[Your knowledge grows stronger.]

But not even a second after the Codex announced his kill, he took his blade out, grabbed it with his left arm, and stabbed the first monster right into its stomach. He would have normally gone for the head, but if he did, he would have stabbed his arm.

[You have killed a Reader Fragment, Two-Headed Canine]

[Your knowledge grows stronger.]

But even after dying, the damn rat didn’t let go, its body biting him on its own, like it was muscle memory. He cursed from the pain, thrusting over and over again into its body, until finally, the stubborn brat let go.

He fell to the floor, cursing. He took off his cloak, using it to try and stop the bleeding coming from his arm. But while the fabric wasn’t being stained, that didn’t mean he wasn’t bleeding. Just like for humans, while they look to be clean, that doesn’t mean their hands aren’t dirty.

…

Why did he randomly think of that?

…

No matter the injuries, he had done it. He had cleared the second floor. But knowing that there was also a third before he had to face The Two, made him want to retreat. But he couldn’t, as it would mean having to do this floor again. So he just had to rest as Praise did its work.

When it was finished, he would ascend to the third floor. Where he knew nothing of.

It was hard to make an idea of what it was going to be, not after how different the first and second floors were. But he did know it had to serve a purpose, one to emphasize. One that only those worthy would figure out, or be able to handle.

And he was going to find it and destroy it with his own two hands.

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