(Nico POV)
A few minutes earlier….
The upper world of the blood river.
'How long has it been?'
I didn't remember. Ever since everything went downhill the moment The Storm arrived, my mind felt numb. My thoughts were filled with pure hatred towards Morgan and at myself for underestimating me. I will never do that again.
Any normal person would of lost all motivation and succumbed to despair after losing all their progress, while at the same making the crimson moon rise. However, I didn't. My determination didn't waver despite the anger and despair in my heart. It was the one thing keeping me going.
I wanted power. I needed power to achieve my future goals. If I fail here now, I will be losing something extremely precious. Morgan may not know it yet, but Movarathos is truly one of a kind even compared to spirits. I can't let Morgan get Movarathos, I simply won't allow it. So, despite everything that had happend, I never gave up. I continued making my way towards the next level without looking back.
I fought, ran, killed. It was just a repeated process. After spending so much time with the Bloodroot Stranglers, I have practically memorized all their moves and started adapting. Sure, during the crimson moon, I can't quite keep up with their physical strength or speed. But I was able to predict them now, by following their attack patterns.
At the same time, I didn't get close to the blood river and sticked mainly to the trees. When I have enough innate spirit, I used the headpiece of the chain-mail armor and use it to fly. Luckily, Vilthar didn't show himself again or try to attempt in grabbing me out of the air. It was mainly due to the fact that The Storm must have did a number on his body, the raindrops was like bullets.
Perhaps The Storm would of given the Bloodroot Stranglers a boost when it was day, but during the crimson moon, The Storm can be as dangerous as the boost it could give. Because of this reason, I managed to avoid Vilthar. If I saw him again, there would be no escaping his clutches like I managed to do so luckily back then.
And for the last hour, all I did was run, chase and fight back. There was nothing else I could do. Somehow, despite all the setbacks, I managed to survive.
Now here I was, the sun beaming down on KY face, as I limped towards the next level. Corpses of the Bloodroot Stranglers lay beneath my feet, my body terribly mangled and inquired. I was missing an arm, there was a gaping hole in my chest. If anything, I was about to die any moment now. There was no way i could survive with these injuiries.
"Respite…."
I murmured, my thoughts jumbled and chaotic, filled with thoughts of murdering Morgan and everyone he cares for. Luckily, even with these injuries, as long as I reached the next level. There was no need to worry about dying.
There was less than a kilometer left. There was no more Bloodroot Stranglers to attack me out of nowhere and kill me while I was in this vulnerable state. Yet, even so, I didn't let my guard down once. Even as my innate spirit was bordering on the point of hurting me with backlash, I kept all my equipment on and ready to pour any innate spirit into a blessing ability of necessary.
Thankfully, I didn't have to.
As i took another limping step forward, I felt a strange aura envelop my body. An involuntary gasp escaped my lips, as my eyes instinctively closed at the feeling.
'I made it.'
[You have ascended to the Third Level! Congratulations, Player 789,776!]
The familier voice announcing it just basically comfirmed it. At that moment, my tense muscles relaxed for the first time in hours, as I fell to my knees.
By the time I opened my eyes, I was inside a pure-black void of nothingness. The familier voice sounded inside my ears again.
[Welcome to the Respite Zone!]
My eyes fully snapped open as my body started feeling a little strange.
[Repairing damage done to body….]
I looked down and saw the gaping hole in my chest magically closing by itself, the bleeding stopped completely. Even my arm was regenerating, first came the bone, then the nerves and veins, then the flesh. It was quite the sight.
[Alleviating exhuastion….]
[Alleviating mental strain….]
My once filled with hatred mind was replaced by a sense of peace and serenity, my eyes becoming half-lidded as my rapidly beating heart calmed itself. This was a feeling I haven't felt in a long time before. All negative emotions just vanished out of me.
[Replenishing innate spirit….]
[Alleviating Hunger….]
[Alleviating Thirst….]
[You're back in Shape!]
I sighed softly. This was exactly what I was needed. I felt a sense of triumphant and pride welling up inside me, looking down at my palm and clenching—unclenching my fists, trying out the newly renowed vigor coursing through my body. It truly was a miracle.
[10 minutes of Respite remains.]
Those words snapped me out of my unnecessary thoughts. That's right, this Respite Zone isn't forever. There was things I needed to do here—I began recalling everything Movarathos told me about the Respite Zone's.
"The shop,"
That was the first thing which appears in the first Respite Zone. It should have very useful consumables, equipment, shields and weapons. However, I wasn't interesed in it. With my remaining Abyssal Fragments, im fairly close to gathering just enough to evolve my blessing ability. Wasting an unnecessary amount here isn't ideal.
However, that doesn't mean I'll run around without a weapon. Fighting Morgan has made me realize that I relied a bit too heavily on being able to touch my opponents and imploding them. These Implosions can't be spammed, either. I can only use a set amount of it every day. This limitation really held back the potential my blessing had and also my combat ability. It's great for surprise attacks, but not when facing an enemy that knows I have to touch to activate it.
So, I needed a weapon if I wanted to make up for this weakness. A weapon I know how to decently use, atleast.
I decided to take a look at the shop.
Getting up on my feet, I started walking downwards the direction of the shop.
"A cheap, decent sword would do."
I murmured to myself. The skills being good wasn't necessary. All that mattered was just having a sword itself. It would give me a decent amount of range and ability to defend myself when I'm unable to touch my opponent. If a sword wasn't available, I'll just take the cheapest weapon around.
Eventually, I arrived at the exact spot. Tables with white cloths over them lined up perfectly in rows. On these tables there was items ranging from swords, shields, items and various consumables scattered on them. I knew that getting close meant being able to buy them—though, the most surprising bit was that two tables were empty.
'Morgan?'
The very name made me seethe, but under the effects of my mental strain being alleviated, the anger evaporated like water and was replaced by a rational calmness. I took a closer look at what he had took with him—coincidently, Morgan took the cheapest and more expensive item here.
'How interesting.'
It was a shame i couldn't get information on what he purchased here. It would of helped significantly with my future plans of murdering him.
Hm.
I let these thoughts flow to the back of my head for now. I couldn't linger on this, as the Respite Zone had a set Time limit. Staying here forever wasn't an option. As if something like The Mulligan would ever offer such bliss, anyway.
So, without wasting anymore time, I continued wandering the tables, taking in the sights of each one, even ones I wasn't planning on buying. They all seemed interesting. I even checked the prices of a few. Like Movarathos said, armor these days seemed to have skyrocketed in price. I couldn't afford to spend more than 50 Abyssal Fragments here.
I already set thay budget before even entering the Respite Zone, which I was certain is enough for me to get a decent weapon to protect myself using.
Eventually, my eyes caught a weapon that interested me.
It wasn't a sword, spear or even an axe.
It was an arrow.
I already bad a bow, but i ran out of arrows in the attempt at killing Morgan and his group back inside the dungeon during the Dreadful Tunnels. It was one of the worst maneuvers and miscalculations i ever made. It still haunted me to this day.
So, seeing this single arrow here, it could only mean one thing. There wasn't a group of arrows, there was only a single one here.
"This better not be a scam…."
I grumbled under my breath as I pressed a finger to the arrow. The log appeared instantly after I did so.
[Would you like to purchase 'Bone Arrow' for 50 Abyssal Fragments?]
'It really does look like it's made up of Bone.'
I mused thoughtfully.
[Yes] [No]
I clicked yes without much hesitation.
[Purchase successful!]
[You have recieved new equipment!]
Immediately, I had called upon my Screen. The blue light illuminating my face in the darkness. My fingers working to scroll down to where exactly the equipment log was.
Equipment: [Void's Warbow] [Chained Mantle] [Bone Arrow]
I clicked on 'Bone Arrow.'
Bone Arrow: [Purchased from a Respite Zone]
Skills: [Infinity]
I grinned. Just as expected. Who would of thought I would come across the one skill I needed the most for my damn arrows?
Infinity: [The arrow is endless and eternal. Even when it breaks, or is lost. Another one will replace it. The skill can only be kept active with the use of innate spirit.]
I wasn't surprised by the last bit. It's not passive. To use the skill itself, I have to pour innate spirit into it. The skill isn't always activated the moment I use the arrow. So, there will always be a chance of me actually losing it, if I don't pour enough innate spirit into the skill. These limitations are to be expected considering the arrow itself was quite low-level compared to what I can come across later on inside The Mulligan.
I didn't regret buying this. I was originally looking for a sword, even with a bow, I didn't have arrows to replace it. But with this, it changes everything. I have no use for a sword, axe, spear or even a shield anymore. I can make these endless arrows a ticking time bomb.
Of course, it won't work against Morgan. He knew about this already, but it would be a great way of overwhelming the frustrating foresight he seemed to have. I almost killed him several times by simply overwhelming his foresight. It's not omniscient, I knew that much.
With a wave, I dismissed the screen and then sighed, waiting for the Respite to be over. There wasn't anything else for me to do here. As if answering my thoughts, the familier voice sounded inside my head.
[Respite is over!]
The screen appeared before me again, lighting up my face. At the top, it read;
[Choose a setting.]
It was the blood river, but the right side had the crimson moon and the left side had the sun. With the 'advice' Movarathos gave me, this decision was a no brainer. My finger immediately pressed the sunny side.
[You have chosen to start the next level at Daybreak!]
[Time will begin reversing in accordance to you're decision shortly….]
I felt the world around me crumbling. Slowly but surely, it came undone. Then, I felt a warm heat hitting my face and skin. By the time I opended my eyes again. I was inside….
"A desert."
It was just as Movarathos said.
Blood River:—
Current Location: Level 3.
Location Monster: [Sun-Cursed Worms]
Distance to next Level: 15km.
Time until Nightfall: 30:00 minutes.