NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63: Escape!
'Even with all my efforts I still failed...'
Ethan gritted his teeth hard, jaw trembling with the pressure.The pain in his body roared, but the bitterness in his chest was even louder.
What use was Fate-Breaker if he couldn't even use it when it mattered most?
He was an Awakened, yes— But two of his so-called skills were so damn hard to use they felt like a cruel joke right now.
'Maybe I should've just killed beasts to get enough Fate-Breaking points…' He nodded stiffly at that useless thought. Mocking himself. 'As if that was even an option.'
He was a smart guy—
Sharp enough to know when a path was a dead end. Choosing to fight now, to rack up points while surrounded in this nightmare...
That wasn't a plan.
That was suicide. While racking up points he could easily get surrounded by beasts of unimaginable strength and ability.
His mind scrambled through options— fight? Dead end. Break free by force? Against this many? Another dead end.
Had it been earlier… Had he kept to his route, avoiding this cursed territory of the Stonehide Basilisks— Maybe. Just maybe, he would've stood a chance to make it to Valeron Cross alive.
But now?
With this obstruction— With the paralyzing gaze from multiple Savage-level Stonehide Basilisks locking his body down like chains…
His chances had dropped to near zero.
No. They were zero.
A bitter sigh escaped him. 'Maybe I should've just stayed in the Drakethorne Labyrinth Accumulate strength slowly and avoided this whole mess entirely...'
He had a bit of regret but it was useless now
His gaze blurred.
The world wavered around the edges. His knees threatened to buckle. It felt like he could faint at any moment— Slip into the darkness and let it all end here.
But then— A flicker of rage burned inside him. 'No. I shouldn't despair. This is exactly what that bastard Loki wants.'
His thoughts sharpened, cutting through the fog.
'He wants me broken.To give up. To collapse here like a weakling…'
'No.'
Ethan clenched his fists until his nails dug deep into his palms, drawing blood.
His faltering will—
It suddenly steadied.
Solid like iron.
'I should keep pushing...To the very end. There must be a way.'
His heart thudded louder. His breath grew rough, but steady.Even as his body bled and his vision blurred — His spirit, the thing they wanted to break, burned even brighter.
But then—
Suddenly, out of nowhere, foreign mana started making its way into his system. In normal circumstances, Ethan would've resisted it without hesitation. But right now, he couldn't. He was too weak. Too drained. He wasn't in any position to resist anything.
But then he noticed... that mana wasn't hostile. It was trying to help him.
It moved through his mana circuits, slowly circulating, weaving itself into his body like it belonged there.
Ethan's blurred eyes widened slightly—he could feel it. That mana, red and condensed, brimming with power far beyond what his blue mana could ever hope to match.
Circulating it… would give him a boost beyond his wildest imagination.
His heart pounded harder, filled with desperate joy at this sudden chance at survival. Gritting his teeth, he gave it the support it needed, guiding it as best he could.
The next second—
The first circulation was complete.
At that moment, it felt like the first breath after suffocating. Like dawn breaking after endless night. Like the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders. Like a dying flame roaring back to life. Like life was being poured back into his veins. It felt... great.
A wide grin spread across Ethan's bloodied face. He had finally broken free—free from the paralyzing gaze of the Stonehide basilisks.
He didn't know who or what was helping him... but right now, he felt nothing but raw, burning gratitude.
Sure, the blue-hide ferrets still clung to him. He wasn't free from their gnashing teeth and claws yet. But now that the Stonehide gaze no longer chained him— They were nothing.
He had an idea.
Fueled by this newfound power and determination, he manipulated mana to his legs, forcing it through. He pushed it out from the tiny mana pores on his legs—pores even tinier than sweat pores, invisible but real.
And then—
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[Mana Boots Achieved — Level 1]
[You have unlocked the ability to channel mana into your lower limbs, weaving it into the shape of ethereal boots. These boots amplify your movement, allowing you to dash with fluid grace and strike with explosive bursts of speed. The swirling mana around your feet also reduces ground friction, making your steps lighter and your reactions sharper.]
[Skill Effect:]
[When activated, your Speed stat receives a 50% boost, with an additional 1% boost for every complete mana rotation within your mana circuit. Skilled users can stack multiple rotations, compounding their speed to overwhelming levels.]
[Additional Info:]
[Mana Consumption: Moderate per minute, increasing with more rotations.]
[Note: Prolonged use without stable control may lead to circuit strain or loss of balance.]
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A wild grin stretched Ethan's lips.
He leaped— Pouring every ounce of pressure and force gathered from the Mana Boots and his own strength into that jump.
The unawakened ferrets clinging to him were flung off by sheer force, sent tumbling away like ragdolls.
A few, stronger ones still managed to cling on with their claws, but as Ethan landed atop the hard back of one of the Stonehide basilisks, he simply yanked them off with brute force.
The Stonehide basilisks remained still—massive and motionless. Even with Ethan running and leaping from one to another, agile like a shadow, they didn't move an inch.
Because as long as Ethan didn't carry earth affinity, they wouldn't attack him.
Their paralyzing gaze was their warning, their wall— But that wall was useless now.
The foreign mana circulating in Ethan's body granted him resistance.
And the next second— He was out.
Out of their territory. Out of the death trap, the chance was extremely low but with a stroke of luck, he was actually able to escape.
His current speed… If before he ran like a cheetah— Now, he moved with a speed that rivaled the upper limit of supercars. It was simply unimaginable.
In the blink of an eye, he crossed great distances, tearing through dangerous zones and bypassing beasts that once would've spelled certain death.