Once again, Somnu was running.
It wasn’t instinctual, he was getting better at handling the enhanced active fears being boosted by the System every time he was faced with a Nightmare Creature.
He was running with a purpose, he had a plan.
BLOORRRGHHH!
Behind him, the Dreadbeast was moving much faster than it ever had, vigorously chasing its prey through the narrow and humid cave. It was stretching its slimy figure forward, attaching itself to the walls and ceiling and covering as much mileage as the speed runner in front of it.
Its behavior was completely different than when the tank had used [Taunt], and Somnu knew exactly why.
He had taken off Grudgekeeper knowing full well the fear of his enemies would be enhanced, that’s what the [Naked Prince] Personal Title had described. Not only that, but the more fear enemies felt of the scarecrow, the more terrifying he seemed with his other Personal Title, [Fated Terror].
That’s why his [Hollow Gaze] skill was currently off the charts, making the Nightmare Creature feel something it never had before.
Terror.
And just like any moving, feeling creature, even nightmare monsters were given the instincts of fight or flight when faced with that feeling.
Considering Somnu’s level was still yet to reach 85, the Dreadbeast of a higher rank chose to fight for its life against him, no matter what.
I didn’t expect it to become like that… I’m running at my top speed here, how is it even keeping up with me?! Somnu tried to hold back his panic, repeatedly jumping over forming whirlpools of rock and quicksand.
Now that he was running in his bathing suit, Somnu could feel the peeling skin getting ripped off at his current speed.
He was still being affected by the aging fear restriction the Nightmare Creature was exuding. Somnu had constantly kept leveling up with his reserved Terror Cores, but even those were quickly running out now.
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[...]
[Your Grudge grows stronger.]
[Hollow Core Level: Level 89.] {With 10 more Cores to the next level up.}
[Available Terror Cores: 100.]
[Would you like to consume available Terror Cores now?]
10 more levels, that’s all Somnu could rely on now as the monster kept getting closer, and the restriction kept getting stronger.
And even after he consumed those, he was missing exactly 10 Terror Cores, just 1 more level to rank up his Hollow Core. At least, that’s what he guessed would happen based on what happened with Grudgekeeper at level 100.
“Fala! You know what you need to do, right?”
“Caaw!”
“Good, because we’re just about to reach the end of this cave now.” Somnu saw the opening in the distance. He gritted his loosening teeth and resisted the pain of his rotting skin for as long as possible. “It will only take me a few seconds after that to jump in the lake… assuming I don’t get cold feet…”
“Caaw! Caaw!”
“I’m really hoping that meant something like ‘You won’t, you can do this.’ That would be really encouraging right now-”
“Caaw!”
Before he finished his thought, his crow companion seemed to give him confirmation.
“Well, thank you…” The corners of his mouth curled up a little. “Let’s do our best, as dangerous as this is!”
“Caaw!”
BLOOOOOORRRGHHH!
A brief moment later, all three of them were out of the cave. They weren’t far from where Somnu and the party had spent the last couple of weeks, but they were even closer to the cursed subterranean lake spanning as wide as the eye could see.
In fact…
“...”
Somnu had stopped right at the edge of the nearest small cliff. He looked down at the waters which had almost swallowed him whole, even sending him on a cloudy trip for a month and a half.
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Dammit! I’m not looking forward to what comes next, but I don’t have time to hesitate now! Just as that thought passed through his mind, he didn’t allow himself to second guess his plan any longer.
He jumped.
And just to make absolutely sure, he turned around mid-fall and gave the Nightmare Creature, having just missed him again, a parting gift it couldn’t refuse, the finger.
“Come and get me, slimy!” He called out, still making sure his [Hollow Gaze] was active. I’m getting a sense of Déjà vu here, but whatever!
However…
The massive blob of distorted oozing faces suddenly stopped right at the edge of the cliff. It waited, leaning forward and then back, as if hesitating.
Crow-Shit! You have to follow me! Otherwise… Somnu panicked as his descent continued once more towards the lake. He hadn’t missed that feeling.
And if the monster didn’t follow him, he just jumped to his doom for nothing.
“Caaw!” His crow companion alerted him, descending along with him.
“What are you doing, you crazy pervert?!”
“?!”
Just then, a figure rushed out of the cave and jumped in the air. Her voice echoed throughout the long cavern, ensuring the reputation spread far and wide.
“Lulu?! What are you…?!” Somnu blurted out.
“Your timing was off, idiot! And It’s Lucy to you! Seismic Stomp!”
CRASH!!
BLOOOPPP?!
At a speed Somnu hadn’t expected from the bunny girl, she plunged towards the ground and shook the entire floor beneath her heavy stomp.
The ensuing shockwaves and tremors broke the stalactites, and along with their fall, the Nightmare Creature began its descent toward the lake too.
And after Somnu.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but this is what you wanted, right?!” Lulu shouted as she watched everything fall around her. “You better survive this, pervert!”
“Stop calling me that!” Somnu bellowed back, then remembered his promise just before he reached the surface of the lake. “You stay back there! Fala, deep breaths!”
SPLASSHHH!!
Somnu made sure to take a very deep breath before he crashed into the water, all the while holding Fala tightly to his chest.
The first thing he immediately did as he opened his eyes was activate another skill.
[Rooted Vigil!]
Instantly, he felt his body sink deeper into the lake, this time, willingly.
SPLAAAAAASSSSHHHH!!
“!”
Above him, the slime creature finally reached the water too, along with the falling stalactites around it.
[Hollow Gaze!]
He reactivated his skill and grabbed the Nightmare Creature’s attention once more.
BLOOOOOORRRGHHH!
Crow-Shit!
As soon as he looked above him, he saw the massive slime creature vigorously descend after him, its countless distorted faces almost matching the rest of the skeletons and dead bodies floating around them.
Thankfully, Somnu’s skill seemed to be keeping any fish creature away for the time being, but it wouldn’t affect the ones he had come here for.
Tightening the grip on his bird companion, the two continued their descent towards the bottom of the lake.
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[...]
[Your Grudge grows stronger.]
[Hollow Core Level: Level 95.] {With 10 more Cores to the next level up.}
[Available Terror Cores: 40.]
[Would you like to consume available Terror Cores now?]
Yes, keep consuming 10 Terror Cores every 5 seconds.
Somnu commanded, quickly getting closer to running through the rest of his reserve.
However, none of that was going to matter soon. The monster seemed faster than him in the water, even with his other skill active.
BLOOORRPPPP!
There was nothing he could do to resist it now, the moment had come. The monster had caught up, latching onto his left arm.
Despite that, he made sure to hold Fala to his right, keeping her as far away as possible.
Both of them kept descending, the scarecrow feeling his nerves being ripped apart, skin and bone, even his blood being instantly consumed to join the rest of the oozing green slime.
“Blergh!”
The sharp piercing pain of losing his left arm drove Somnu to unintentionally open his mouth, the lake’s water immediately flowing in.
It took everything in his being to resist swallowing any of it, he knew what would come after that, he couldn’t allow it.
He needed his mind to be clear, he needed to remain himself.
The slime creature quickly devoured through his arm, erasing the hidden tattoo of his punk days with it, and continued towards his shoulder.
“!”
Suddenly, Somnu finally felt the sensation he had been waiting for.
His feet started to petrify into stone again.
Looking down, he saw them, the invisible Nightmare Creatures that had previously almost killed him.
A cluster of ancient, stone gargoyle statues were lying half-buried in silt and tangled lakeweed. Each figure loomed like dormant sentinels, with thick, jagged scales and sharp, predatory features reminiscent of deep-sea creatures.
The statues’ hollow, sunken eyes seem fixated at the surface of the lake, forever locked in a silent vigil, awaiting to turn the next invader into another stone statue to join the rest of the punished souls scattered around the lake’s ground floor.
Despite the horrifying imagery that would have caused many to freeze in place, Somnu was glad to see a ray of hope. His plan was going smoothly, all things considered.
However, as if to break him out of that hopeful illusion, the scarecrow realized something just while considering the rest of his plan.
He had needed one variable to get out of this lake after the Nightmare Creatures were dealt with, but that variable had been missing when Lulu showed up.
Where is Mathros…?! Don’t tell me…!
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