NOVEL NEXT Chapter 122 - Only one option
Pain.
Everything felt as though they were on fire, yet he felt as though he was drowning. It was confusing.
Was he dead?
Archie released a choked grunt from his throat and attempted to open his eyes, but to no avail, but it did confirm one thing: he wasn't dead. Why would he need air if he was dead?
He tried to flex his fingers, to open and close his palms, but there was no response; only pain. His legs fared no better, completely unresponsive.
Archie felt his heart start to beat rapidly against his chest, further confirming that he was not dead, before he took in a deep breath to calm himself.
Okay, Archie, let's think this through, Archie calmly thought to himself. Why can't I move? And why the hell can't I see?
Archie held his breath as he attempted to open his eyelids; they twitched, but they refused to open more than a millimeter wide—something was keeping them in place.
Thank goodness, Archie thought in relief, releasing a deep breath. I can recover from whatever has got me in this situation, I still have enough resources stored in my stomach for Vital Metabolism to do its magic.
Now that he knew he wasn't paralyzed, he could focus on escaping whatever was keeping him trapped. He just needed to remember what the hell had gotten him into this situation in the first place.
A dull rumbling from above him shook the area around him, causing stray grains of dirt and small stone pebbles to bounce off the back of his head, rolling down his headdress and creating a tingling noise as they bounced off his armor.
So, I'm somewhere underground, Archie reasoned with himself, judging by the shockwaves of a battle above… Battle? How did I know- Archie questioned himself before his breath stilled and memories rushed to the front of his mind.
Archie's breath stilled before he steeled himself once more. Reacting now would be bad, he reminded himself, forcing down the surge of erratic, irrational emotions that attempted to crawl their way into his mind. Instead, he focused on the steady rhythm of his heartbeat pounding within his chest.
After a few calming minutes, Archie attempted to open his eyes once more but was once more met with the same resistance and aching pain across his skull.
How fucked up am I right now? Archie wondered.
And to his surprise, his status page appeared within his mind, reflecting the same screen he'd normally see with his eyes.
Archie Gracefield
Race: Human E-Grade Lv 86
Class: Nature-Attuned Pugilist Lv 90
Profession: Novice Forgesmith Lv 84
Health: 6514/11880
Mana: 654/4849
Stamina: 4537/10682
Stats:
Vitality: 897 (1210)
Strength: 1133 (1699)
Endurance: 788 (1103)
Agility: 462 (600)
Wisdom: 375 (487)
Willpower: 202 (282)
Perception: 477 (620)
Free Points: 71
General Skills: Identify (Initiate), Nature's Meditation (Epic), Vital Sight (Radiant), Spirit Link (Epic), Botanokinesis (Initiate)
Class Skills: Leeching Strikes of Fury (Uncommon), Savage Charge (Rare), Adrenaline Rush (Legendary), Vital Metabolism (Epic), Retaliation (Uncommon), Relentless Flurry (Rare), Primal Roar (Radiant), Thornscourge Expansion (Epic), Spirit Bond (Rare), Last Stand (Rare), Earthen Grasp (Uncommon), Sixth Sense (Uncommon), Hyper Impact (Uncommon)
Profession Skills: Forgesmith's Flame (Uncommon), Mana Smithing Mastery (Common), Advanced Runic Mastery (Uncommon), Material Insight (Rare), Gaze of the Forgefather (Radiant), Core Resonance Forging (Uncommon), Runic Amplification (Rare), Whispers of the Forge (Radiant), Runic Archive (Epic), Elastic Sizing (Rare), Runic Mending (Uncommon)
Bloodline: Adrenaline Junkie (Unique) [+10% to Strength and +10% to Willpower]
Affinity: Greater Nature Affinity (Epic)
Blessing: Blessing of the Forgefather (High) [+10% to Strength and +10% to Endurance]
Titles Collected: Bloodline Progenitor [+10 Vitality and +5% Vitality], Flawless E-Grade Evolution [+10 all Stats], Legendary Innovator [+20 to all Stats and +10% to all Stats], 72nd Universe's Harbinger [+20% to all Stats]
So, I'm fucked up, but not that fucked up, Archie chuckled - though what came out was only a groaned huff, thanks to the curse and his raw, hoarse throat.
Focusing on his vital energy, Archie's confusion deepened as he saw numerous vital energy-less circles that were scattered across his body, varying in size and location. His eyes, legs, arms, torso - everywhere, it seemed.
But something that he also realized instantly was that they weren't harming him. To say it was weird would be an understatement.
Compared to when he'd gotten undeath mana injected into his vital energy and felt his entire body screaming at him to cut off his own arm, nothing really told him to do anything about the vital energy-less circles around his body.
As Archie's brows managed to furrow themselves as he wondered what was going on with his body, the battle between the Dinomyrmex Gigasi and the Netharim Sovereignty Border Guards looked no different than five hours ago when it started.
Thousands upon thousands of ants continued to pour out of the Greenpatch Forest, charging forward with a singular purpose: to destroy and kill at the behest of their Twin Queens, uncaring for their own lives and the lives of their brethren.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Their single purpose in life was to serve their Queens; dying for their goals was simply a natural part of their existence.
The Netharim Sovereignty Border Guards stood defiant against their insectoid attackers, refusing to let them pass even halfway toward the wall. Their honor and loyalty refused to settle for anything less.
Their magics rained down fireballs, glacial spears, lasers, and many other magical attacks at their attackers, mowing the ants down in droves, all the while avoiding their fellow guard.
Their blades ripped and tore through their exoskeletons with relative ease, unhindered and unbothered by their larger numbers and larger bodies, especially those who'd come after the initial wave.
If anything, the arrival of the larger Dinomyrmex Gigasi from the Greenpatch Forest made the fight even easier. Their bulkier forms and massive limbs gave the guards better openings, allowing them to maneuver more fluidly.
Using the comparatively smaller ants as stepping stones, they leaped atop the larger ones, striking with precision to cut them down before they could become a threat to the mages above them. This normally allowed them a brief moment of reprieve before they leaped back into the fray with a much clearer head.
Not to mention, reinforcements were continuously arriving; either teleported or flown in from neighboring wall sectors and the main barracks in the northernmost sector of the wall.
The wall wouldn't fall to their attackers, regardless of the Dinomyrmex Gigasi's peak D-Grade Guards. They had Border Commander Victor, the Protector of the West, and his three lieutenants, the four of them being peak D-Grades.
Archie let out an exhale as he exited Nature's Meditation and attempted to move his limbs.
Nothing, Archie sighed despondently. But at the very least, regenerating my health, mana, and stamina pools took a lot less time than normal…might have something to do with me being underground.
Not wanting to give up, Archie looked back at his status page and took notice of his Free Points. Wanting to make the most of them, he allocated 35 points into Wisdom and 36 into Willpower, bringing his stats up to 533 and 333, respectively.
Larger mana reserves and increased magical resistance would go a long way, especially given his current position, buried beneath two and a half kilometers of dirt and stone, not to mention the active battlefield raging above him.
With his health and stamina reserves now full and mana reserves at 91%, from Nature's Meditation, he was now comfortable with experimenting around to see what he could do to get to the surface.
Recalling a skill he had upgraded a month ago and had used to find his way home after killing the Verdant Serpent, Archie activated Material Insight, sending out a pulse of mana that splashed everything around him.
With his brows only furrowed slightly as they splashed harmlessly against the bleach-white sandstone brick wall that was still in front of him, revealing that it was simply just a normal sandstone brick wall.
Epipremnum aureum (Uncommon):
A fast-growing, underground, evergreen vine native to the Greenpatch Forest on the planet of Coriandras.
***
Human:
An unconscious D-Grade human female born with Cybernetic Sockets due to her birth within the 23rd Universe.
So that's where she is, Archie thought as he spotted Aoife's unconscious form curled beneath his hunched-over body, which was pierced by the roots created by Earthen Grasp.
When the ant had suddenly grown wings and lifted the equally strong humanoid figure into the air, only to smash their head into the ground and collapse the tunnel they were in, he had shielded Aoife with his own body. All the while, he had activated Earthen Grasp, using himself as the target and manipulating the roots with Botanokinesis.
Honestly, both he and Aoife shouldn't have survived this.
Archie had less than fifteen seconds after the impact of the humanoid figure's body slamming into the ground to activate Earthen Grasp, flooding it with as much nature mana as possible while making himself the focus of its entrapment, and using Botanokinesis to control the roots, shaping them into a dome-like cover around both himself and Aoife.
Even at his best, his Botanokinesis was lackluster and inefficient, which made sense as he hadn't had much to use the skill often nor raise it higher than Initiate rarity. He could only manipulate plants while giving them his full attention, and even then, the fastest he'd ever managed took just over three minutes.
So, for him to do what he did in seconds shouldn't have been possible, not with his current skills.
Which left him with only one answer. The only skill that was still on cooldown and would remain so for a long time.
Sixth Sense.
Sixth Sense (Uncommon):
Through countless battles, the body cultivates an uncanny awareness - an instinct beyond sight, sound, or logic. When faced with extreme danger, the body moves before the mind can process the threat, slipping past attacks as if guided by an unseen force.
He still remembered the shrill alarm ringing in his head mere fractions of a second before the thunderous explosion above, and his body just moving on autopilot as it activated.
This was the reason both he and Aoife were still alive. 150000 Tutorial Points, Archie coughed. If he had skipped over it or just closed the Skills–Class shop list after a few minutes of scrolling down and getting bored, they both would have died.
Archie let out another heavy breath. No use in getting lost in what-ifs or hypotheticals. It won't help Aoife or me to get out of our current situation. I can think about what-ifs later. For now, just think about what's ahead.
Now that he had the resources to experiment with, Archie began to immerse himself in the roots that pierced through the joints of his armor and several other weakened places.
Ah… that's why I can't see, Archie thought, his tone laced with calm shock. I've got roots in my eye sockets.
Archie directed his nature mana into the Epipremnum aureum—the roots he had carelessly lodged into his own body to accelerate the construction of the root sphere, shielding both him and Aoife from the hundreds of tons of dirt and stone above them.
Makes sense, Archie reasoned. He could regrow limbs and eyes without much issue so long as he had enough to eat, so having a couple of roots rip through his body wasn't really that big of a deal, he'd do it again in a heartbeat to save his and Aoife's lives.
Metaphorically scratching his chin, Archie contemplated on what he could do at the current moment.
Aoife was knocked unconscious from what happened, and until she could wake up, she couldn't help him get loose. And while he wasn't a doctor or anything of the sort, he was pretty sure that forcing someone awake after having their head slammed against the floor by a tunnel collapse seemed like a stupid thing to do.
It'd be in his best interest to just let her wake up normally.
He couldn't and wouldn't attempt to manipulate the roots that pierced his body because that would be an incredibly stupid idea to do so.
They were the only things keeping the root sphere up and actively protecting both of them from the hundreds of tons of dirt and stone above them from crushing them.
Which left him with only one option: wait and see what the vibrant, red vital energy outlined figure standing within the root sphere before him and Aoife would do.