The moment Izroth and the 9th Division stepped across the border, they received a stream of alerts from the system.
〈System Alert: You have left the «Land of Unity»!〉
〈System Alert: You have entered into the fourth kingdom, «Tempest»!〉
〈System Alert: Warning, the kingdom «Tempest» you have crossed into is hostile territory!〉
〈System Alert: You have entered into the «Cave Mortem Monsoon»!〉
As Izroth led the 9th Division into Tempest, there were met by strong winds that changed directions at random and unpredictable intervals. There was also some light rainfall, and the sound of rumbling thunder could be heard as lightning flashed in the distance.
The deeper they headed into the territory, the more vicious the winds became. In addition, the light rainfall abruptly turned heavy as it poured down with no end in sight. And, due to the vicious nature of the wind, each rain droplet was like being struck by tiny prickly needles.
Even though the rain did not cause direct damage to their HP, it made it increasingly challenging to keep moving forward at a fast pace.
In the end, they had no choice but to slow their progress in order to prevent themselves from being separated. It also did not help that communicating had become rather difficult because of the heavy rain, roaring thunder, and strong winds.
‘My Energy Vision Sense is still functioning; however, there is too much interference around us. I can’t sense anything beyond twenty meters. Fortunately, I gave everyone a Five Cycles Pill and Ocean Spring Pill before we entered this place; otherwise, it would have been troublesome to make this journey.’
〈System Alert: You have been invited to a Conference Voice Chat by Player Niflheim. Do you wish to accept? [Participant(s): Niflheim…]〉
A system alert suddenly popped up for Izroth and the other members of the 9th Division.
“Accept it,” Izroth confirmed.
As Izroth joined the voice chat, the other members of the 9th Division also started to join one by one.
〈System Alert: This Conference Voice Chat has restricted user speech.〉
〈System Alert: You have been granted overriding permission to speak by Player Niflheim Conference Voice Chat.〉
〈System Alert: Player Menerva has been granted overriding permission to speak by Player Niflheim Conference Voice Chat.〉
[Voice Chat Has Started]
Niflheim, “Unless anyone under the rank of Lieutenant has something important to say, keep the voice chat clear. It’s becoming hard to manage without, but there are too many of us for casual conversation.”
Including Izroth, Niflheim, and Menerva, there were a total of 42 players in the conference voice chat. If everyone started speaking at once, it would not take long for things to become chaotic. That’s why Niflheim granted himself, Izroth, and Menerva overriding permission to speak. This feature would temporarily silence anyone that did not have the same permission and prevent a flood of voices in an emergency situation.
Izroth, “It was a good call.”
Niflheim, “I knew the weather in this place wouldn’t be welcoming, but it’s getting worse the deeper we venture in. At this rate, it’ll take us longer than expected to make it out of this place.”
Menerva, “We may have a more pressing matter.”
Niflheim, “What makes you say that?”
Menerva, “The kingdom of Tempest avoided utilizing this path for a reason. Of course, we are already well aware of this fact. But, I suspect the name of this place is not merely for show. Cave Mortem is a Latin phrase that means Beware of Death.”
Niflheim, “That’s quite an eerie name. Wait, you know Latin?”
Menerva, “Among many other languages.”
Izroth, “This path may be dangerous, but it is still better than our other option. We don’t have enough support-type players to cross through that part of Malentansium that’s riddled with poisons. Even if we did, we’d also have to deal with the curses gained by setting foot on that land.”
Niflheim, “Yeah, it really is the best of two bad options.”
Menerva, “I agree. However, it will be problematic to implement any of the battle formations we have come up with under present conditions.”
Izroth, “Then, let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that. Everyone, be sure to keep your guard up. I have not detected anything, but there is still a chance that we may run into monsters.”
Niflheim, “Any monsters that can survive under such extreme conditions won’t be easy to deal with. We’ll also be fighting in an environment they’ve likely thrived in. You should all focus on…”
‘Hm?’
As Niflheim spoke, Izroth suddenly sensed something in front of them with his Energy Vision Sense at the very edge of detection range; however, it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.
‘What was that just now?’
Izroth only managed to catch a glimpse of the “flame” that emerged on his Energy Vision Sense’s radar, but he knew that he was not simply seeing things. And, one thing was for certain—that flame did not belong to a player or any humanoid being.
‘The fact that it didn’t rush to attack could mean that it is not hostile. There’s also a high chance that we may have just not entered its aggro range yet. Or…’
Izroth knew that there was also a third option that would make whatever lived inside the Cave Mortem Monsoon even more dangerous than it was given credit for.
‘…It has a high level of intelligence for a monster.’
A monster with high intelligence under normal circumstances was already troublesome to face. However, one that could survive under such extreme conditions and understood not to attack a large group head-on, if they did not handle it with some caution, things could potentially spiral out of control.
Izroth, “There is something close by.”
When Izroth spoke, Niflheim halted his speech mid-way.
Niflheim, “How far out?”
Izroth, “At least twenty meters.”
Niflheim, “Should we alter our course?”
Izroth, “No. Taking a detour will consume too much time that we don’t have. If it comes to it, we’ll just have to face whatever it is.”
Bzzzzt! BOOOOM! Rmmmmble!
Out of nowhere, an ear-piercing thunderclap sounded as a giant bolt of lightning struck out less than ten meters away from Izroth and the 9th Division.
The emergence of the lightning bolt was powerful enough to scatter the rain and cause the ground to tremble under everyone’s feet.
At the same time, in the exact location where the massive lightning bolt struck, a deep crack roughly five meters in length appeared.
Niflheim, “Everyone, halt!”
Niflheim unsheathed his sword as his shield appeared in his other hand as his gaze locked onto the crack in the near distance.
Following Niflheim’s orders, everyone halted their steps. And, without missing a beat, they prepared for a possible confrontation.
Niflheim narrowed his eyes as the crack pulsed with a bizarre dark blue energy that emitted a faint light.
Even though Niflheim did not possess Izroth’s Energy Vision Sense, his gut was telling him that whatever it was, they could not afford to be careless.
Everyone silently held their position as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. If not for the raging storm taking place around them, one would be able to hear the beat of their hearts in the silence.
Izroth, “It’s coming.”
Izroth warned as he broke the silence and unsheathed his Sword of the Storm.
All of a sudden, something flew out of the crack created by the massive lightning bolt and unleashed a terrible cry.
Grwaaaaaak!
It was hard to make out the features of the creature under the endless downpour of heavy rain; however, one could make out its dark blue glowing eyes as its location shifted from one place to another in the blink of an eye.
But, that was not the biggest of their concerns.
Grwaaaaaak! Grwaaaaaak!
Not long after the first creature emerged, a stream of similar creatures erupted out of the crack en masse!
One, Three, Ten… Twenty—there were too many to count!
“Everyone, prepare yourselves!” Niflheim roared as he activated his skill Maw of the Devouring Beast.
CHOMP!
As the ancient and fierce energy beast closed its maw on one of the creatures, it immediately dissipated.
“Assimilate!” Niflheim called out as the shield in his hand underwent a drastic transformation.
It morphed into a long kite-style shield that was pitch-black with golden trim on its edges. At the shield’s center was a translucent mystical crystal embedded with a mysterious aura.
Not long after Niflheim used Assimilate and the creatures started to move in on their position, the crystal began to pulsate with a bright golden light.
This golden light rushed out of the crystal and split into numerous lines of energy that attached themselves directly to the creatures that emerged from the crack.
It was at this point that the system information for the creatures finally revealed itself.
Name: Monsoon Death Shade(Elite)
Level: ???
HP: ??? (100%)
