B4 - Chapter 10: Voiceless Vale

Seth sprinted across the wasteland with Colossus, Nightmare, and Lumi.

Ahead, three Skeleton Knights were waiting for them. They were identical to the Undead creature Seth had faced multiple times in Trogan Academy's training chambers. For the past day, he and his companions had slain this type of creature relentlessly.

Skeleton Knight

Potential: Silver Tier Rank: 70 (Low-Silver)

Affinity: Undead

Strength: 259 Arcane Power: 171

Toughness: 245 Well Capacity: 129

Agility: 164 Regeneration: 132

Skeleton Knight

Potential: Silver Tier Rank: 65 (Low-Silver)

Affinity: Undead

Strength: 245 Arcane Power: 150

Toughness: 234 Well Capacity: 129

Agility: 159 Regeneration: 133

Skeleton Knight

Potential: Silver Tier Rank: 63 (Low-Silver)

Affinity: Undead

Strength: 246 Arcane Power: 152

Toughness: 222 Well Capacity: 131

Agility: 148 Regeneration: 131

The Undead creatures' polished bones gleamed beneath the Rift's gloom, their body encased in full black plate armor. Ragged capes drifted behind them in the mist, and each one of them wielded the same greatsword as violet flames burned within their eye sockets. All three of the creatures prepared to meet the charge.

Colossus barreled forward with Scorpion Charge, then unleashed Chitinous Taunt to force the attention of the foes on him. Simultaneously, he coated his exoskeleton with Quartz Armor before casting Desert Aegis to surround himself, Seth, Nightmare, and Lumi in hazel barriers.

Nightmare closed the distance and activated Dreadful Shroud.

A wave of suffocating darkness swept across the plain and rooted the three Skeleton Knights in place for half a second while also lowering their attributes. The moment the effect took hold, the direwolf lunged at the closest creature.

Seth used Huntbound Overflow right behind, and aether surged through the spell's grooves to flood his limbs. He deliberately refrained from using Beastmaster Rage for the moment.

One of the Skeleton Knights reacted despite being pulled toward Colossus' taunt and lashed out at Seth.

Its greatsword carved through the air in a slash while teal aether crackled around it, forcing Seth to slip beneath. The blade whistled inches from his face. Chitinous Taunt might force the target to head in a direction, but it couldn't stop them from attacking other enemies who happened to be within their reach.

As Seth ducked under another sweeping strike, he caught a glimpse of Sylvaren in the distance.

The dark elf was fighting her own group of three Skeleton Knights alongside her Luna Moth. Pitch-black flames surged around her slim body as she danced across the dark plain.

Unlike when she had slaughtered the bandits the previous day, Sylvaren now fought with the same bright, carefree energy she had displayed most of the time.

Her technique wasn't as ruthlessly efficient in this state, but it was still exceptional.

Seth forced his attention back to the Skeleton Knight before him.

He began imitating the dark elf's style. Each of his dodges became more precise as he focused on avoiding unnecessary movement and predicting the next attacks, relying purely on instinct.

As a result, he flowed between the knight's sweeping slashes. The strikes gradually grew easier to read, and a clear opening appeared after a wide swing.

Seth ignored it. Instead of ending the fight with Dusk Scythes, he pivoted around another slash and forced the undead foe to overextend itself once again.

'What are you doing?' Nightmare complained through Link. 'She and that bug are going to kill their skeletons before we do!'

'This isn't a competition,' Seth answered, sidestepping a brutal overhead cleave.

'It is!'

With an indignant growl, Nightmare teleported behind the wounded Skeleton Knight that was engaging with Colossus and pounced.

The direwolf and the giant scorpion lunged in perfect synchronization, jaws and pincers tearing through the creature's plate armor so they could rip through the bones beneath.

The skeleton shattered into a cloud of glowing dust.

Fine, Seth thought as he cast Armored Phantom Fists. Guess I'll finish this.

Stepping inside his opponent's reach, he raised his forearm and parried the descending greatsword to the side. At the same time, he felt the surrounding Undead affinity surge into the spell. For an instant, he wanted to seize it. To grasp the nearby aether and bend it to his will. But he didn't have an Undead affinity.

Abandoning the thought, Seth rotated his hips and drove his armored fist into the Skeleton Knight's jaw.

Nearby, Lumi chimed softly. The little otter channeled her healing spell and bathed Colossus' chipped carapace in a restorative glow. As soon as the spell ended, she spun through the air and fired a concentrated beam of blue light at the Skeleton Knight fighting Seth.

Over the past month, Seth had deduced the nature of the spell Lumi had first used during the battle against Jaz. It was a powerful debuff similar to the one Krystel of the Champions of Chaos had used to weaken the colossal Keeper golem during their expedition half a year prior.

The Skeleton Knight raised a hand to shield its face from the light, then undead aether surged across its frame and condensed into a dense mantle around its ribcage.

Its defensive spell made no difference.

Seth's spectral fist smashed straight through it and cracked the osseous sternum beneath. The sheer penetrating power and overwhelming strength boost of the Flawless spell easily overpowered the Rank-64 Silver creature's protection. Seth slipped past the desperate counterattack that followed, then drove his second punch upward.

His aether-clad fist blasted through the creature's elongated skull, shattering it into a shower of bone fragments.

At that exact moment, an unnatural chill swept over the area.

Seth felt the Null affinity saturating it instantly. The ripple pulled at the ambient aether, destabilizing the surrounding energy in a way that resembled a distortion field—yet felt different. It was only the second Null Ripple he had encountered since entering the Rift yesterday evening.

Seizing the moment, Seth dismissed Armored Phantom Fist and cast Ravenous Arrow.

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The bow of condensed light materialized in Seth's palm as his gaze settled on the lone remaining Skeleton Knight struggling against Nightmare and Colossus.

Aether rushed through the grooves of Ravenous Arrow, following the usual pathways to converge within his free hand.

But Seth wasn't focused on the spell.

He expanded his senses to the Null Ripple around him. He studied the current brushing against his armor—its density, its instability, and its urge to unravel every trace of aether it could reach.

Instead of resisting it, Seth embraced the sensation and let it guide his channeling.

He subtly altered the spell's established grooves, and allowed some of the ambient affinity to seep in. The pale arrow that formed in his hand felt less stable than usual, yet it was somehow hungrier.

He nocked it, then drew and released it in the same motion.

The projectile streaked through the air and pierced the Skeleton Knight's eye socket, causing the undead to stagger backward.

The two violet flames burning inside its skull flickered violently as the arrow's aether tore through its inside.

Nightmare lunged in and the direwolf's jaws clamped around the Skeleton Knight's neck to crush the bone with the dark smoke of Gloom Fangs. The moment the Undead creature collapsed into a heap of lifeless remains, he spun toward Sylvaren.

'Ha! We finished—'

The dark elf was crouched among the charred remains of her Skeleton Knights, cheerfully humming to herself while picking up the foes' beaststones.

'This is your fault,' Nightmare growled, glaring at Seth.

'I told you it wasn't a competition,' Seth replied with a mental sigh.

'She is the strongest Iron-tier Wielder we've ever met!' Nightmare retorted as his fur bristled. 'We should be proving we're far superior to her... and to that ridiculous moth.'

Seth glanced at the direwolf. 'Is this because her beast has Platinum potential?'

'No.'

Seth rolled his eyes, fully aware the direwolf was lying through his teeth.

Ignoring Nightmare's bruised pride, Seth walked toward the jagged slab of dark stone jutting out from the dead earth a few feet away.

Embedded in its center was a pale green crystal that faintly illuminated the surrounding mist. Seth cast Intermediate Identify.

Hollow Shard

Resource

Tier: Silver

Grade: Epic

It was the second one they had found in the last few hours. At this pace, gathering the twenty shards required by the contract would take a little over two days. One hundred gold coins for such a short expedition felt almost absurd.

Then again, the danger likely justified the reward.

Only Copper- and Iron-tier Wielders could enter the Voiceless Vale, yet nearly every beast they had encountered had been Silver.

Seth could easily understand why most parties never returned.

A Null Ripple preventing the use of artifacts and spell-scrolls while one had to face three beasts from a higher tier was practically a death sentence.

Well... not for everyone.

Seth cast Intermediate Identify on Lumi, since she was the only one in their party not yet at the peak of the Iron tier.

Luminous Otter

Potential: Gold Tier Rank: 49 (High-Iron)

Affinity: Light

Strength: 30 Arcane Power: 106

Toughness: 62 Well Capacity: 131

Agility: 104 Regeneration: 153

Nearby, a loud crunch shattered the silence.

Nightmare had crushed a beaststone between his jaws. Aether rippled through his body as he absorbed it, yet the direwolf didn't look any happier than he'd been before.

'Don't be like that, Big Brother Nightmare,' Colossus rumbled through their bond as he lumbered closer. 'We'll prove ourselves inside that tower in a few days once we're out of here.'

The direwolf snorted. 'That assumes Seth actually decides to climb it.'

Colossus tilted his large head. 'If he refuses, we can simply tell Uncle Vorath.'

'Uncle Vorath?' Seth looked up from the Hollow Shard he had just tucked into a pocket—his Endless Pouch was useless with the lingering Null Ripple. 'Are you trying to blackmail me, Colossus?'

'No! No, I would never do that!' the giant scorpion blurted out, his mental voice climbing several pitches.

'It certainly sounded like it,' Seth replied, narrowing his eyes.

'Nooo... um... Oh look!' Colossus exclaimed as he swiveled his head toward the left. 'What is that strange light?'

Seth dragged a hand down his face. 'Do you honestly think that will work?'

'No, I'm serious! 'Colossus insisted.

Seth let out a breath and followed the giant scorpion's gaze, peering through the mist.

A distortion wrapped the air in the distance above what looked like a crater. The haze bent unnaturally around it, as if both aether and ambient energy were drawn toward its center.

Null affinity, Seth realized.

There were probably Hollow Shards near the source. He turned toward Sylvaren.

"Sylvaren, there is—"

"Oh, that's beautiful!" the dark elf exclaimed, cutting him off. She was now mere inches away from his shoulder, her violet eyes locked on the distant spatial ripple. "Do you want to go over there?"

"Yes," Seth answered, leaning away to reclaim a bit of personal space. "But there are probably stronger beasts than these guarding it."

"It's fine." The dark elf flashed him a carefree smile. "Neither of us has had to fight seriously yet."

Seth blinked, because she was right. Which also meant she had been paying attention to him.

Pushing the thought aside, Seth began to head toward the distortion. Nightmare, Colossus, Lumi, and Sylvaren fell into step behind him.

*****

Over the next several hours, the number of undead increased dramatically. Seth, Sylvaren, and their beasts cut a path through wandering packs of Skeleton Knights and Giant Ghouls. Before long, Skeleton Elementalists began to be part of the clusters.

The robed undead remained at the back of the formations, firing bolts of condensed Undead aether with their staffs, which caused Sylvaren to complain about having to dodge.

That ended the moment Colossus used Sandstorm Dome to block the spells before they reached the group, and in no time, they dispatched yet another batch of undead.

"That was amazing, Colossus!" the dark elf exclaimed, patting the giant scorpion's armored side as one would do with an oversized pet.

"Thank you!" Colossus replied proudly. "You fought really well too!"

A short distance away, Seth and Nightmare finished harvesting the beaststones of two Giant Ghouls while Lumi hovered nearby.

As Seth straightened, his gaze settled on the heart of the distortion, now less than fifty yards away.

The cracked earth seemed to rise and fall away into a vast, jagged crater, as if an enormous meteor had slammed into the Rift long ago. Its steep walls prevented Seth from seeing what lay at the center.

"I'm going to get a closer look," Seth said, glancing toward Sylvaren.

"I'm coming too!"

The dark elf hurried to his side.

Seth gestured to crouch before cautiously advancing up the rocky slope. Just as they neared the rim, a cluster of shattered bones exploded out of the chasm and soared high overhead before falling back a dozen feet away.

Seth's eyes widened. What the hell?

He crept to the crumbling edge and carefully peered over.

A colossal lizard with a body forged from yellowing bones was battling four Skeleton Knights at the bottom of the crater.

Its massive, spike-lined tail lashed out like a whip, smashing two of the undead warriors into clouds of glowing dust. The remaining pair desperately scattered across the uneven rocks, trying to avoid the beast's continued assault.

The crater floor was already littered with piles of bones. Near the center of the area stood an enormous cluster of black ore and pale-green crystals. Well over a hundred Hollow Shards jutted out from the dark stone, their combined glow bathing the crater in an eerie light.

'We're so rich,' Nightmare said through Link, looking at the scene through Seth's eyes.

Seth barely heard the direwolf; his attention had already moved to the very air above the crystal cluster. The mist and even space seemed bent inward.

There was a powerfum distortion that twisted the surrounding aether toward a single point beneath the stone.

A Seed? Seth wondered. Or maybe an Essence?

The skeletal lizard opened its jaws. A concentrated beam of Undead aether erupted from its maw, engulfing the last two Skeleton Knights and reducing them to piles of smoking bones.

Seth seized the opportunity to cast Intermediate Identify—

The monster's elongated skull snapped toward the crater rim.

Seth and Sylvaren threw themselves backward, flattening against the rocks just before the beast could spot them.

The beast's information still hovered in the corner of Seth's vision.

Skeleton Drake

Potential: Silver Tier Rank: 105 (High-Silver)

Affinity: Undead

Strength: 289 Arcane Power: 275

Toughness: 315 Well Capacity: 219

Agility: 194 Regeneration: 149

Rank 105.

He released the breath he had been holding. "Well, let's forget about—"

"Oh, this is going to be fun," Sylvaren whispered eagerly beside him.

Seth stared at her.

"Fun? That thing would kill us."

"I'm sure we'll be fine." She flashed another of her unconcerned smiles. "My mentor always says you'll never become someone extraordinary if you avoid every risk."

"That's not a risk," Seth muttered. "That's suicide."

Sylvaren simply shrugged.

Seth chewed the inside of his cheek. He now knew how Kaelen had felt back in the Cave of Elements when Seth had charged in with Nightmare to fight the Ice Elemental. The creature had possessed three hundred attributes over them.

This Skeleton Drake had seven hundred.

'But we didn't have our Seeds back then, and you hadn't unlocked your Talents either,' Nightmare said, sensing his doubt.

There was no doubt the direwolf wanted to kill that thing, both for its Beaststone and the potential Seed beyond it. If it really was a Seed and not an Essence, it meant they could take on Shenlong's Tower as soon as Seth confirmed with Marcus that there was no way to hide his name from the rankings.

But even if we manage to kill that Keeper, would Sylvaren really let me take spoils like that? Seth wondered, glancing at the dark elf.

She hadn't argued over any of the loot so far, but a Seed or an Essence could easily make allies turn on one another.

"Ready?" she asked, crouching low and tightening her grip on her staff. "We can't give it any more time to recover."

Seth hesitated before nodding. "Fine." He looked at Nightmare, Colossus, Lumi, and Sylvaren's Luna Moth behind them. It would be six against one, which still didn't feel like enough. "But if it becomes obvious we can't kill it, we retreat immediately."

Sylvaren's expression changed in an instant. The scatterbrained and cheerful woman disappeared and gave way to the cold dark elf who had butchered the bandits. Her features settled into perfect composure.

A smile devoid of any warmth curled across her pale violet lips.

"Don't worry," she murmured. "I will kill that thing by myself if I have to."