Chapter 782: The Lurker
The chain of lightning from Izroth's Call of the Thunder God's First State: Heavenly Descent spread throughout the crowd of Blighted as the two entered the crevice.
Not too long after arriving at the crevice, the Blighted quickly converged on the path's entrance; however, they were unable to fit through as they grouped up and became entangled with one another.
As for the handful of Blighted that managed to slip into the crevice, they were swiftly taken care of by Sychia, who protected the rear.
"There is a dead-end ahead. I also do not see anything that stands out. Are you certain this is the place?" Sychia inquired.
At the end of the short path was nothing but solid rock. And, needless to say, there were no other trails available in the crevice. Currently, their only choice seemed to be to head back towards the direction they had just come from.
"This crevice is not what I'm interested in. Just wait." Izroth said calmly as he closed his eyes, leaned against the rocky surface, and channeled his Source Chant.
'I've used up a lot of essence. I should take this time to recover a bit.'
Izroth used most of his essence maintaining his Energy Vision Sense and occasionally deploying it to cover a vast area. However, this much was necessary as it provided much-needed information about a place he had little to no knowledge about.
'Thanks to the Perfect Source Compatibility trait, my Spirit Source has been growing at a frightening pace. The amount of essence I can use now has nearly tripled. Still, I can't afford to be careless. There are still more than twenty hours left until the Secret Realm closes. Since it is uncertain when I may run into trouble, I should always be prepared to face the worst possible outcome.'
Trait Name: Spirit Source
Source Stage: 1 -> 5
Essence: 1,000 -> (1,921)2,700
Essence Regeneration: +100 per hour -> +270 per hour
Trait Effect: The user has unlocked the mysterious Spirit Source that raises their overall strength. When the user reaches Source Stage 10, they will unlock an additional effect and their source will evolve.
...
Originally, Izroth had consumed more than half of his essence along the way when exploring the Secret Realm. Though a good portion of it was recovered thanks to his natural essence regeneration.
'I am five stages away from the next evolution of my Source. But, as I thought—even with Perfect Source Compatibility, I need a stronger Source Chant.
Perfect Source Compatibility allowed Izroth's Source to grow stronger even without him doing anything. However, his progress speed may double or even triple if the trait was paired with a more reliable Source Chant.
In addition, if he could find a better Source Chant, Luna, Zi Yi, Halls, Guan Yu, and Valentine, who also possessed Sources, would benefit immensely. This was even more so considering they lacked the Perfect Source Compatibility trait that Izroth acquired.
...
Several minutes passed by as Izroth suddenly stopped circulating his Source Chant and opened his eyes.
Sychia had been silently keeping watch over the surroundings. Though she was still in disbelief at what she had just witnessed.
A Source! He actually had a Source! How was this possible?!
Everyone knew that one must require a Domain before a Source. This is how things had always been. So, then, why was it that this person in front of her eyes lacked any form of domain energy, yet possessed a Source?!
"In the Mortal Realm, only those of the true dragon race who are born with an innate Source can achieve a Domain before a Source. But... He is clearly not someone from the true dragon race. Just what tricks did he use?" Sychia internalized.
As Sychia tried to comprehend things, Izroth inwardly frowned as he looked over at the bundle of Blighted struggling effortlessly to get into the crevice.
'Could it be that I was wrong?'
The reason Izroth stopped in the crevice was to confirm something rather abstract.
From the moment Izroth stepped foot into the Mountain of the Blighted, he felt as though they were being watched.
Although it was a vague and distant feeling at first, the deeper they ventured into the mountain, the clearer that feeling became.
There was something else that bothered Izroth as well and that was the first encounter with the Blighted.
For some reason, his Soul Sense went off to inform him of danger, but it ceased soon after Sychia made her move.
However, it did not add up. The Blighted were relentless, but they lacked strength outside of numbers. Though even when surrounded by hundreds of Blighted, more than twice that of their first encounter, and fighting their way out, Izroth's Soul Sense did not go off a single time.
Nevertheless, that feeling of being watched never entirely went away.
Since it may be something or someone capable of avoiding the detection of his Energy Vision Sense, Izroth figured it was best to confirm it with his eyes. But...
'Perhaps I was too cautious.'
"Let's continue-" Just as Izroth was about to inform Sychia that they were continuing their journey, the sky suddenly darkened as everything fell deathly silent.
At the same time, the numerous Blighted outside the crevice disappeared without a trace. Not a single one of the hundreds of Blighted remained. If not for the Evil Cleansing passive and his natural resistances, Izroth would have believed it was an illusion all along!
Izroth swiftly made his way out of the crevice with a single stride, jumping over Sychia in the process.
He quickly scanned the area and noticed that not a single Blighted remained.
Izroth turned his gaze to the sky as the sight caused him to narrow his eyes.
'I see... It's not that the sun has abruptly set. It's just that this thing is too massive. How can something this big go undetected for so long? No... Even now—I still can't sense its presence.'
In the sky was a creature whose body spanned well over one hundred meters. It had a pair of massive wings, a long tail, and ghastly white scales.
'?!'
Out of nowhere, a heavy pressure descended onto Izroth that caused the ground beneath him to fracture and his blood to boil.
It was just a split moment, but Izroth's gaze met with the creature's. A casual look from its crimson eyes alone was enough to crush most individuals from the pressure alone.
However, Izroth stood strong and did not lift his gaze. The following moment, the creature seemed to show no interest as it turned its gaze ahead and continued onward.
In the blink of an eye, just as quick as it appeared, it vanished.
Swoosh!
Sychia arrived next to Izroth and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Izroth replied as the pressure around him disappeared and the blood in his body calmed down.
'What was that creature? Though I suppose the more important question is why did it erase the Blighted yet chose to ignore us? Also those scales and its eyes... Is it also one of them?'
Izroth had numerous questions; however, there was no time to search for answers. Right now, he still had a quest to complete.
'It's possible Astratis may know something about it. I'll have to ask him when we meet again.'
"This Secret Realm is full of dangers. It is possible we just witnessed one of the apex predators of this place. It saved us some trouble by clearing the mountain pass. But, I would rather not encounter it a second time." Sychia said as she released a small sigh.
"Let's increase our pace. If it is clearing all the Blighted on the way, we should take full advantage of it." Izroth stated.
"Most people would run as far away as possible in the opposite direction from a creature like that. Yet, you want to take advantage of it?" Sychia was amazed by Izroth's boldness.
"It is impolite to turn down a free meal when it is offered to you so readily," Izroth responded in a carefree manner.
"I am unable to read him. It is troubling." Sychia thought to herself.
She was uncertain whether or not it was actual confidence or false bravado that Izroth displayed. Regardless, as long as she was by his side, Sychia did not plan on letting any harm befall him. After all, the fate of her master rested in his hands.
...
Approximately 25 minutes later...
The rest of Izroth and Sychia's journey through the Mountain of the Blighted was smooth thanks to taking advantage of the creature that cleared the path ahead.
Due to that, the two made great headway and reached the other side of the mountain much faster than anticipated.
The first thing that greeted their sights was a long great valley filled with a vibrancy of life that expanded further than the eye could see.
〈System Alert: You have left the «Mountain of the Blighted»!〉
〈System Alert: You have entered the «Sunstone Valley»!〉