NOVEL NEXT Chapter 162
When he finally came back to his senses, Nova's nose twitched. He shook his head and said, "It reeks in here."
He tried to move his hands to scratch his nose but quickly discovered they were bound together.
Surprise flashed across Nova's eyes and he finally looked around. 'What the hell happened, and where am I?' he thought as a thin wind blade sliced through the ropes that held him firmly in place.
He stretched his wrists and stood up, but a splitting headache assaulted him. He immediately grabbed his head with both hands and stuttered, "Urgh... what now?"
The pain soon intensified, so much so that he bent forward, his fingers clenching so hard they dug into his skin. His teeth gnashed together as groans escaped his lips and he fell to his knees.
"Aaagh!"
The noise woke Letto, who had been sound asleep barely a meter away. He stared at Nova as if seeing a ghost. But he didn't say a word and simply watched as Nova endured whatever he was going through.
Half an hour later, Nova stood in place, gasping heavily for air as his sweat-soaked body trembled. When he finally caught his breath, he sensed a gaze on him and turned to the side.
"What are we doing here?" His voice was raspy, as if he'd just climbed back from hell.
Letto gulped and began recounting what had happened over the past month, especially the daily tortures Nova's body had endured during the last three weeks.
"…They got more and more heavy-handed as time went on," Letto said, his eyes fixed on the cell floor, which was about to turn dark red.
Knowing what happened Nova grimaced and thought, 'In short, I've taken two losses: I've been unconscious for a month, and I even had that splitting headache that nearly knocked me out again. I hope the wind core is worth all this or I might just lose my mind.'
Turning to Letto, he asked, "When are they going to come and torture me again?"
Letto glanced at the now dark sky through a small opening in the cell and replied, uncertainly, "About one or two hours, it depends on that creepy old man's mood."
"Mhm."
Letting out a sound of acknowledgement Nova put on one of the many sets of normal clothes stored in his Inventory. Sitting back down in the chair, hands behind his back, he said coldly, "When they come, act like nothing happened. Today, we're leaving this place."
He closed his eyes and leaned his head slightly forward, adopting the same position he'd kept for the past month.
Letto stared at him for a moment before nodding, thinking, Alas, it's finally time. Without another word, he lay back down and closed his eyes as well but couldn't manage to fall back asleep.
As the wait stretched on, Nova thought, 'Status.'
[Status]
Rank: 0
Name: Nova Grey
Species: Human
Affiliation: None
Level: 27 (170/500)
Mana: Mana Core (Medium) (299,631,548/10,000,000,000), ??? Spinal Node, ??? Perception Node, ??? Pulse Node, ??? Voice Node, ??? Vital Organs Node, ??? Power Node, ??? Stance Node, ??? Manipulation Node
Class: None
Titles: Goblin Exterminator, Kings Slayer, Survivor, Spear Advanced, Troll Exterminator, Orc Exterminator, Rune Novice, Mana Intermediate, Lord (Giants), Hunter, ???, Sword Novice
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Stat Points: 1,547
Attributes:
Strength: 232 (+6,044)
Vigor: 205 (+5,361)
Dexterity: 255 (+9,193)
Speed: 215 (+7,751)
Intelligence: 171 (+1,907)
Wisdom: 215 (+2,397)
Will: 19
Luck: 10 (+10)
Skills
Active: Spear Thrust (27) (63,989,039,946/67,108,864,000), Spear Jab (27) (2,546,518,045 /67,108,864,000), Spear Sweep (27) (1,806,045,989/67,108,864,000), Spear Lunge (27) (47,199,032,999/67,108,864,000), Spear Overhead Strike (26) (5,780,335,762/33,554,432,000), Sword Slash (15) (1/16,384,000), Sword Stab (15) (3/16,384,000), Sword Chop (15) (1/16,384,000), Sword Sweep (15) (0/16,384,000), Sword Parry (14) (2,030,197/8,192,000), Sword Block (14) (1,997,701/8,192,000), Blacksmithing (5) (6,472/16,000), Woodworking (0) (54/500)
Passive: Regeneration (22) (1,701,651,156/2,097,152,000), Keen Reflexes (14) (6,011,226/8,192,000), Momentum Streak (18) (97,988,801/131,072,000), One with the World (Spear) (MAX), One with the World (Footwork) (MAX), Aura (Second Stage)
'Why is there nothing about the wind core?'
At first, he only wanted to check if the wind core had changed anything, at least a title or something, but the more he read, the more his expression tightened. That was, until he saw: Will: 19.
'Why is it 19? I'm sure it was 17 before I passed out. That means either the wind core gave me two points, or it somehow increased while I was unconscious. It doesn't matter. When I form the next elemental core, I'll have my answer. For now, I'm happy with this.'
His lips curved slightly as he remembered Melissa, the wind mage. 'Before I leave this place, I need to bring that woman with me and learn as much magic as possible while I'm still in this portal. Although… her strong desire for revenge against me makes it hard for me to leave her alive.'
An hour later, two guards and the creepy old man walked toward Nova's cell and opened the door.
The old man didn't look back as he stepped inside, while the guards remained outside with their backs against the cell.
"Another day of pleasure. These three weeks have been some of the best in my entire life. I must've done some really good deeds to earn this." The creepy old man laughed and dropped the box he was carrying, skillfully opening it. "Let's see… what shall I do to him today?" he wondered aloud, his eyes roaming over the tools inside.
While he was lost in his own world, a voice rang out, sharp enough to make both the old man and the two guards snap their heads toward its source.
"You're the one who tortured my body, huh? You must be pretty weak if my body's still perfectly fine after all this time."
The old man shouted, "You?!" He instinctively stepped back, but then noticed Nova hadn't moved at all, his hands still resting behind his back.
Noticing he'd just stepped backward due to a prisoner's words his anger replaced his surprise. He stepped forward and sneered. "I can't believe you're finally awake. Do you know how boring it's been, working on you without hearing any screams for so long? But now that's going to change hehe. Let's not waste time, let's get right to it!"
He grabbed a knife from the box and strode toward Nova. Staring straight into his eyes, he said, "Don't hold yourself back, or you'll only suffer more. Got it?" Without waiting for an answer, he thrust the knife forward.
Nova didn't move but the blade also never touched him. Wind swirled at the blade's tip, locking it in place. He smiled. Under the old man's widening eyes and reached up, taking hold of the knife.
"W-What are you doing?" the old man stammered, his hands trembling in fear and panic. From what he'd heard, this young man had killed several knights. How could he possibly compete with him?
Nova didn't bother to answer. He glanced at the knife, then shook his head. Tossing it aside like trash, he muttered, "That bandit leader must've been an exception to have owned something valuable."
His gaze returned to the old man. With a thought, several wind blades, each the size of a finger, began swirling around him. "I'm not familiar with torture," he said, smiling, "but I'll wing it."
Sensing danger, the old man frantically waved his hands. "Why are you targeting me? It was the King who ordered it!" he shouted.
The guards outside, realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, burst into the cell.
"Stop!" one of them barked.
The shout fell on deaf ears.
'But you were the one who obediently carried it out, have some dignity,' Nova thought, too lazy to explain himself to a dead man as the wind blades shot toward him. They slipped into his body in razor-thin slices, slowly shredding him from the inside out, making him feel the agony of every nerve severed, every muscle cut, every cell obliterated.
It wasn't long, a matter of mere seconds, before the old man collapsed to his knees, wailing uncontrollably.
Seeing things take a disastrous turn, the other guard unsheathed his sword and shouted, louder this time, "STOP THIS NOW!"
Annoyed by the noise, Nova glanced at them and casually waved his hand. Two thin cuts appeared across their necks before their heads slid off and hit the ground, they will never know what caused their deaths.
From the side, Letto stared, mouth agape. I knew it. Retribution is befalling these people for daring to mess with a demon. His belief burned brighter than ever. Never cross such an entity as a mere mortal.
Meanwhile, Nova was muttering to himself, "The wind core has strengthened my wind element, and I no longer need to gather elemental particles. I feel like I could cut through these buildings like a hot knife through butter. I must say, I'm very happy with it already."
Without looking back, he said, "We're going to pay a visit to the king, this time, uninvited."
With a faint smile, he stepped out of the cell, Letto nodded and trailed behind, while the old man lay sprawled in a growing pool of blood.