NOVEL NEXT Chapter 62: At the Edge of Death! (3)
And then — the gazes hit him.
All at once.
A wave of paralyzing force slammed into him, and immediately, his speed dropped drastically. His legs, so fluid a second ago, turned heavy like lead and wobbly as well.
His teeth clenched as he frantically manipulated mana within him, trying to resist, trying to fight off the paralysis.
But it was futile.
Two or three Stonehides? He could've resisted. But this… this was multiple dozens or more, all focusing their gazes on him at once.
No amount of willpower could fight that.
But Ethan persisted, gritting his teeth so hard his jaw ached, manipulating the mana within him in desperate, shaky circles...
His mana felt stiff, sluggish like mud, but he was stubborn. Too stubborn.
He had no choice. This was the only way.
First mana circulation... a small boost and release...
"NOT ENOUGH!" he roared through clenched teeth, his voice raw.
Second circulation... his veins felt like they would burst, but he pushed through the pain.
Third circulation...
Ethan's eyes turned bloodshot, his vision swimming, but he refused to fall.
Then—
Whoof-!
A bark echoed around him, sharp and cruel.
Then another.
Then three.
Then five.
Within seconds, it multiplied—more than fifty savage, echoing barks shaking the air.
A drop of sweat trickled down Ethan's temple, cold despite the heat burning in his body.
Then they appeared.
A dog-sized blue-hide ferret slinked from the shadows, eyes gleaming with madness.
Behind it, a wave—over a hundred more, every single one barking and snapping their jaws as they closed in like a living tide.
Their eyes were wild, rabid, feral in a way that sent a cold shiver racing down Ethan's spine.
His limbs felt heavy. His speed had dropped to a crawl—mere stumbling steps now.
In this state, he couldn't outrun them.
Couldn't even fight.
He was dead meat.
A bitter, choking thought clawed its way into his mind—
"No... am I going to die here?!"
His heart pounded against his chest like a war drum. His breathing turned ragged, harsh.
"NO!!" Ethan roared, his voice tearing from his throat as he forced his trembling hands to move. He poured every ounce of will, every last drop of strength, into his mana circuits—
Adrenaline flooded his veins, the raw instinct to live taking over.
Right now, right here, this was even harder than when he fought Gareth.
This wasn't about pride.
This was survival.
If he failed now—he dies.
Every part of his body screamed in pain.
His muscles cramped. His lungs burned.
But Ethan clenched his fists tighter.
"HIYAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
His roar split the air, wild and desperate—his last gamble against death.
┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
•──────────────────•
[Mana Sensing Leveled Up —> Level 4]
[Your ability to sense ambient mana in the surroundings and track the flow within other living beings has increased.]
[Range increased to 100 meters]
[Your ability to gauge strength and detect hidden presences has increased.]
[Mana Manipulation Leveled Up —> Level 3]
[Your ability to manipulate ambient mana in the environment has increased — boosting attack power and expanding your control range.]
[Range increased to 50 meters]
•──────────────────•
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛
┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
•──────────────────•
[Mana Sensing Leveled Up —> Level 5]
[Your ability to sense ambient mana in the surroundings and track the flow within other living beings has increased.]
[Range increased to 500 meters]
[Your ability to gauge strength and detect hidden presences has increased.]
[Mana Manipulation Leveled Up —> Level 4]
[Your ability to manipulate ambient mana in the environment has increased — boosting attack power and expanding your control range.]
[Range increased to 100 meters]
•──────────────────•
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛
A surge of power shot through him—violent, raw. His speed at manipulating mana spiked, his senses sharpened.
The paralyzing grip of the Stonehides cracked—he resisted, broke free.
His body, though battered and near its limit, sprinted forward once more.
Every nerve screamed. Every step felt like tearing muscle from bone.
But he ran.
He dodged, barely—narrowly slipping past the snapping maws and claw strikes of the lunging blue-hide ferrets.
But even as hope flickered—
The Stonehides' pressure surged again, stronger this time.
Their gazes locked on him once more, heavier than before.
His legs faltered.
His lungs burned.
His mind screamed—
"I'm not done yet!"
But deep down, Ethan knew—
He was at his wits' end.
One more second. One more slip—
And death would finally catch up.
Five more ferrets leaped at him from the large group...
The few he had dodged earlier growled in anger, their eyes bloodshot as they pounced again—biting, clawing, tearing at him like rabid beasts.
Ethan gritted his teeth hard as pain exploded through his body—
Their sharp fangs sank deep into his thigh, sending a burning jolt through his nerves.
Claws raked across his calves, leaving deep gashes, his skin torn open like paper.
Blood trickled down his legs, warm and wet, staining the ground with every faltering step.
His legs felt heavy... each movement stung like fire.
But worse than the pain was the cold.
The chill that crawled up his spine—the warning that if this kept up, he'd bleed out before the ferrets even finished him off.
Fortunately...
They were mostly unawakened and half-awakened beasts.
Wild and aggressive, but still weak compared to true Awakened threats.
But even now, among them—he could feel it.
The weight, the pressure.
The stronger ones were here too—
Feral beasts.( Rank 1)
Their bites weren't just painful—they could cripple.
And then there was the Savage beast...
(Rank 2)
The leader of these blue-hide ferrets.
Its killing intent pressed against his chest like a mountain, making it hard to even breathe.
Ethan's situation was beyond dire.
If care wasn't taken—if he slipped even once—
He wouldn't just fall.
He'd die. Right here, in this cursed place.
Torn apart and left as nothing but meat for these beasts.
His pulse hammered against his skull, loud and desperate. His vision blurred, darkening at the edges.
But the cruel truth—
He couldn't even run if he wanted to.
His speed had already fallen to mere footsteps…
Because he was still under the paralyzing gaze of the Stonehide Basilisks.
Their eyes—
Cold. Unfeeling. Unrelenting.
Locking him in place like invisible chains.
Even as the blue-hide ferrets ripped into him—he couldn't move freely.
He was trapped.
Surrounded.
And dying by the second.
'Even with all my efforts I still failed...'