Chapter 214 — The Peak Ruler
Deep within the valley of SkyPeak Mountain, lightning continued to descend from the heavens.
Again.
And again.
The violent flashes illuminated the valley in intervals, striking the same area with relentless fury.
At the center of the devastation lay a battered figure.
Fragments of broken Bone Armour were scattered around him.
Smoke still rose faintly from his charred body.
Yet despite his miserable appearance...
A strange grin remained plastered across his face.
It was Evan.
After more than ten hours of continuously fighting against the lightning above, he had finally exhausted almost every drop of mana and nearly all of his health reserves.
And just moments ago...
Seventeen lightning strikes had descended directly upon him.
Seventeen.
Once, a single strike had nearly left him on the verge of death.
Now?
He was still alive.
More importantly, his resistance to the lightning had been steadily increasing as he continued provoking the mysterious existence above SkyPeak.
The first few strikes had been terrifying.
Later ones had become painful.
Now...
They were simply something he had learned to endure.
Evan wasn't nearly as fearful as he had been when he first entered the valley.
More than ten hours had passed.
And his goal was finally within reach.
His suppressed strength had climbed all the way to 47%.
Only a little more.
Just a little more...
And he would have enough confidence to leave this place.
As if responding to his thoughts, a System panel appeared before his eyes.
[Curse Effect Subjugated: +1%]
Evan's eyes immediately brightened.
He quickly calculated the number.
Forty-seven percent.
Plus one.
48%.
A satisfied grin spread across his face.
"Finally..."
He slowly crawled out of the crater beneath him.
His body was recovering far faster than before.
The green and golden radiance of his talent covered his wounds, rapidly closing the burns and injuries left behind by the lightning.
His HP and MP bars were slowly climbing as well.
At this rate, they would probably return to their peak within an hour.
But Evan wasn't paying much attention to his recovery.
His eyes were fixed on the peak.
Because something had changed.
The clouds surrounding SkyPeak had been growing quieter with every passing hour.
At first, Evan had welcomed the silence.
Now...
He didn't like it.
Not at all.
Every time the sky became silent in this place, something terrible followed.
Evan had already learned that lesson more than once.
He stretched his body.
A faint tingling sensation still crawled through his bones, remnants of the countless lightning strikes he had endured.
Fortunately, his talent continued suppressing the lingering effects, making the sensation bearable.
Evan looked toward the silent peak.
"Maybe my endurance finally scared you."
His voice echoed through the valley.
"You're not even attacking anymore."
He grinned.
"So should I consider this my victory?"
He deliberately raised his voice.
He was expecting another bolt.
Another thunderous response.
Anything.
But nothing came.
Evan's smile slowly faded.
'Huh?'
He waited.
Still nothing.
'Did it finally get fed up?'
That possibility sounded almost ridiculous.
Evan wasn't convinced.
He cupped his hands around his mouth.
"Hey!"
No response.
"You hiding up there?"
Silence.
"Come on. I thought you were stronger than this."
Still nothing.
Evan narrowed his eyes.
Something was wrong.
If the creature had truly been angered by his provocations for the past ten hours, there was no reason for it to suddenly stop.
He decided to push it further.
Mana gathered within his body.
Evan raised his hand.
The earth beside him trembled.
A small spike of stone emerged from the ground.
It was barely the size of a ball.
Evan compressed the earth as tightly as he could.
Then...
Whoosh!
The stone spike shot toward the peak like a bullet.
It vanished into the thick clouds surrounding the mountain.
No explosion.
No thunder.
No reaction.
Nothing.
Evan waited.
A few seconds passed.
Then a minute.
Then several more.
His connection to the earth spike gradually weakened.
Eventually...
It disappeared completely.
Evan stared at the clouds.
Nothing moved.
Not even a spark of lightning.
The entire peak had become eerily silent.
Evan's expression gradually turned serious.
'Something is wrong.'
He couldn't explain it.
There was no obvious threat.
No beast.
No movement.
No sound.
Yet every instinct inside him was screaming.
Danger.
Evan slowly looked around.
The valley was empty.
There wasn't even an insect crawling through the grass.
No birds.
No beasts.
Nothing.
'Am I imagining things?'
He frowned.
'Is something really about to happen?'
His gaze slowly returned to the peak.
And then...
His pupils contracted.
The clouds weren't still.
They were moving.
Not like ordinary clouds carried by wind.
Something was moving inside them.
Evan stared intensely.
The clouds twisted around something massive.
For a moment, he couldn't make out its shape.
Then a terrifying pressure descended from above.
Evan's entire body stiffened.
His breathing stopped.
He recognized that pressure immediately.
It was the same presence that had been watching him all this time.
But this time...
It was different.
Far heavier.
Far more oppressive.
The pressure didn't merely make Evan feel threatened.
It felt as though something above the mountain was trying to crush him with its very existence.
Evan's eyes widened.
He instinctively stepped backward.
Toward the valley entrance.
Then he saw it.
A silhouette moving within the clouds.
Large.
Massive.
And slowly descending.
Evan's heart tightened.
'It's coming down.'
The pressure suddenly disappeared.
Just like that.
Gone.
Evan stood frozen for a moment.
His mind raced.
Why had the pressure vanished?
What was happening?
Then...
The sky went completely silent.
No thunder.
No wind.
No crackling lightning.
Nothing.
And in that absolute silence...
The clouds beside the peak erupted.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive burst of lightning exploded from within them.
But it didn't descend toward the ground.
It shot directly toward Evan.
His eyes widened.
'That's not normal lightning!'
He knew immediately.
This wasn't the same natural lightning he had been enduring for the past ten hours.
This attack carried something else.
Intent.
Purpose.
It was coming from that thing.
Evan immediately raised his hand.
Mana surged through his body.
The earth around him violently erupted.
Several thick earthen serpents rose from the ground and rushed forward, colliding with the incoming lightning.
BOOOOOOM!
The two forces collided.
The explosion shook the valley.
For once...
The lightning was stopped.
The earthen serpents managed to block the attack completely.
But the resulting shockwave struck Evan like a hammer.
"Ugh!"
His body was launched backwards.
He slammed heavily against the mountain wall.
Bang!
Blood spilt from his mouth.
Evan dropped onto the ground, his expression twisted from the sudden impact.
"That bas*ard..."
The green and golden radiance of his talent immediately began spreading across his body.
Warmth flowed through his wounds.
The pain gradually eased.
Evan slowly lifted his head.
His eyes locked onto the peak.
He waited.
Was there another attack?
Would it strike again?
But then...
Evan's face suddenly lost all colour.
His pupils shrank.
His breathing became shallow.
Because this time...
He could finally see it.
The creature that had occupied the peak.
The sole living existence that ruled this entire mountain.
The reason why everything else avoided SkyPeak.
Something was slowly crawling down from the clouds.
Its body was enormous.
Blue skin covered its entire length.
Dark scales layered parts of its body, glistening faintly beneath the lightning-filled sky.
There were no visible limbs.
No legs.
No arms.
Only a massive serpentine body tightly coiling around the mountain peak.
It slowly descended.
One coil at a time.
And because of the clouds still covering parts of its body...
Evan couldn't even see its complete form.
At least twenty-five meters.
Perhaps more.
A gigantic blue-skinned serpent.
It was finally revealing itself.
The creature lowered its head, on which, he noticed, a single dark blue horn on his head.
Its eyes fixed upon Evan.
Then...
Hissssss...
The sound echoed through the valley.
Evan's expression became solemn.
The serpent's body suddenly flashed with lightning.
Electricity crawled across its blue scales.
Its mouth began glowing.
Something was gathering inside.
Evan's instincts screamed.
'Move.'
The next instant...
The serpent opened its mouth.
BOOOOM!
A massive blast of lightning erupted.
It tore through the air toward Evan.
The attack looked almost identical to the lightning that had struck him earlier.
But Evan could feel the difference.
This wasn't merely lightning.
It carried the creature's intent.
The intent to erase him.
Evan's expression hardened.
"Sh*t."
He immediately raised both hands.
The earth beneath him erupted.
One.
Two.
Three.
Walls of solid earth appeared in front of him.
Then another.
And another.
The lightning crashed into the first wall.
BOOM!
It shattered instantly.
The second wall.
BOOM!
Destroyed.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Sixth.
Seventh.
All of them collapsed beneath the terrifying force.
Only when the lightning struck the eighth wall did its power finally begin to dissipate.
The remaining sparks scattered through the air.
Evan stared at the ruined walls.
His expression became increasingly serious.
Those weren't thin barriers.
Each wall had been constructed with thick, compressed earth.
Yet the serpent's attack had destroyed seven of them before finally being stopped by the eighth.
'This power...'
Evan narrowed his eyes.
'It can definitely be compared to a Tier 1 beast.'
But then he noticed something else.
The aura surrounding the serpent wasn't completely stable.
There was a faint fluctuation hidden beneath its overwhelming presence.
An instability.
Evan's eyes sharpened.
'It's close.'
Very close.
The serpent possessed power comparable to Tier 1.
But it hadn't completely stepped into that realm yet.
Evan slowly clenched his fist.
So this was the monster hiding at the peak of SkyPeak Mountain.
A creature standing on the boundary between Tier 0 and Tier 1...
A Pseudo Tier 1...
And apparently...
It had finally decided to come down.
But still, it was too much for even him to face off against.
Fighting this thing with only half my strength is beyond his limits.
Unfortunately...
He wasn't.
His current strength had barely reached half of what he once possessed.
And the creature before him was already displaying power comparable to Tier 1.
'Fighting this thing with only half my strength is beyond my limits.'
Evan's expression turned solemn.
'I've got to run.'
There was no shame in recognizing an opponent he couldn't defeat.
He had already achieved what he came here for.
His strength had recovered.
His goal was within reach.
There was no reason to throw his life away fighting a monster he wasn't prepared to face.
'I can deal with this thing later.'
Evan's eyes flickered toward the distant peak.
'First, I'll finish that settlement.'
His decision was made instantly.
Lightning surged through his body.
His muscles tightened as he circulated the lightning attribute through himself, instantly accelerating his movement.
Whoosh!
Evan shot toward the valley's exit.
But the serpent wasn't about to let its prey escape.
The moment Evan moved...
The creature reacted.
Lightning suddenly erupted across its enormous body.
Blue scales glimmered beneath the flashing electricity.
An intense chill crawled down Evan's spine.
His instincts screamed.
He looked over his shoulder.
The serpent was staring directly at him.
Its entire body was glowing with terrifying electrical energy.
'Oh, sh*t.'
The next second...
The serpent opened its mouth.
A concentrated mass of lightning began forming between its jaws.
The surrounding air distorted.
Electricity gathered tighter and tighter until it condensed into a brilliant orb.
Then...
BOOM!
The serpent spat it out.
A sphere of lightning shot through the valley like a cannonball fired by the heavens themselves.
Evan's pupils contracted.
For the first time in more than ten hours...
He felt genuine danger.
Not pain.
Not exhaustion.
Danger.
The kind that made every instinct inside his body scream that death was approaching.
'That thing will kill me, if I got hit with it.'
Evan didn't dare hesitate.
His hands moved.
Mana erupted from his body.
RUMBLE!
The earth beneath him violently surged upward.
One wall.
Then another.
Then another.
In the blink of an eye, twenty enormous walls of earth appeared behind one another.
Evan's mana reserves dropped sharply.
Nearly forty percent vanished in an instant.
He didn't even look back.
He turned and continued running.
He already knew what was going to happen.
BOOOOOOM!
The lightning orb collided with the first wall.
It disappeared.
The second.
Destroyed.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
The orb continued forward.
Twenty walls.
Twenty massive barriers.
All obliterated in seconds.
Evan's expression remained calm.
He kept running.
'As expected.'
The lightning orb tore through the final wall.
Then accelerated again.
It caught up.
Evan gritted his teeth.
He had already put considerable distance between himself and the serpent.
Nearly a mile.
Yet the orb was still following him.
It wasn't stopping.
It wasn't slowing enough.
And there was no way Evan could continue running forever.
However...
He noticed something.
The lightning orb was weakening.
Its radiance had dimmed slightly.
Its speed had decreased.
'It's losing power.'
Evan's eyes narrowed.
'But I can't run anymore.'
He abruptly stopped.
His feet dug into the ground.
The lightning orb was already approaching.
Evan turned around.
Bone Armour instantly formed around his body.
Ice spread across the bones.
Lightning began circulating through his body and into the frozen armour.
His hand tightened around Crimson Edge.
The crimson blade ignited.
Flames swept across its surface.
Evan stared at the approaching orb.
He had no idea whether this would work.
But he had no other choice.
"Let's see if you can take this."
He swung Crimson Edge.
BOOM!
A massive crimson slash tore through the air.
Flames surged forward like a burning wave, crashing directly into the lightning orb.
The two attacks collided.
For a moment...
Neither side gave way.
Then the valley erupted.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion tore through the mountain path.
Rock shattered.
Earth collapsed.
The walls of the valley cracked and broke apart under the tremendous force.
Evan's body was thrown backward.
He spun through the air before forcing his feet against the ground.
Bang!
He managed to stabilize himself.
His eyes immediately returned to the collision.
The crimson flames were disappearing.
His attack was losing strength.
Just as he expected.
'It isn't enough.'
But then his eyes sharpened.
The lightning orb had changed.
Its enormous mass had been reduced drastically.
What had once been a terrifying sphere of lightning was now barely a fraction of its original size.
Roughly twenty percent remained.
Evan's eyes widened slightly.
'It actually worked.'
His attack hadn't stopped it.
But it had weakened it tremendously.
Still...
Twenty percent was more than enough to kill him.
And Evan had nothing else powerful enough to completely destroy it.
His grip tightened around Crimson Edge.
'Then I'll take it head-on.'
The remaining lightning orb crashed toward him.
His Bone Armour was already crumbling from the previous explosion.
There wasn't enough time to repair it.
Evan raised his arms.
The lightning struck.
BOOOOOOM!
The world disappeared into white.
Evan's scream echoed across the entire valley.
"ARGHHHHHH!"
Lightning engulfed his body.
His Bone Armour shattered completely.
The force tore through him.
His body was swallowed by the remaining lightning as though he had been consumed by a storm.
The earth beneath his feet exploded.
The valley walls cracked.
Boulders broke loose and came crashing down.
Then Evan's figure disappeared beneath them.
BOOM!
A massive crater was formed.
The surrounding rocks collapsed inward.
Dust and debris filled the air.
Silence followed.
Far behind the destruction...
The serpent remained exactly where it had been.
It hadn't moved even once.
Its slit-like eyes stared toward the distant crater.
It waited.
One minute.
Ten minutes.
Thirty minutes.
An hour.
Nothing.
No movement.
No aura.
No sign of life.
The serpent continued staring.
Then, after an entire hour...
It could no longer sense Evan's presence.
The massive creature slowly turned away.
Its body began retreating toward the peak.
It didn't even look back.
As far as it was concerned...
The troublesome creature was dead.
The valley returned to silence.
Once again, nothing moved.
The clouds slowly drifted around the mountain.
The lightning gradually faded.
The serpent had made only one mistake.
It hadn't noticed the faintest trace of aura leaking from beneath the earth.
An aura so weak...
So distant...
That it was impossible to distinguish from the remnants of the destroyed battlefield.
And that mistake would prove fatal to its certainty.
Hours passed.
Nothing disturbed the valley.
The serpent remained coiled around SkyPeak.
It had already returned to its previous position.
Yet somewhere within its mind, it remained prepared.
If that troublesome creature returned...
It would descend again.
It would tear him apart completely.
But Evan didn't return.
The silence continued.
And eventually...
Even the serpent settled down.
Meanwhile...
Deep beneath the rubble.
Something moved.
At first, it was barely noticeable.
A small tremor.
Then another.
The massive boulders covering the crater began to shake.
Dust slipped from their surfaces.
Rumble...
One of the rocks shifted.
Then another.
Suddenly...
BOOM!
The boulders were thrown aside.
A figure emerged from beneath the collapsed earth.
Evan.
His clothes had been burned away, leaving his chest and back completely exposed.
The skin covering his body was red and burned, resembling flesh roasted over blazing coals.
His breathing was rough.
His body was battered beyond recognition.
Yet...
There was not even a trace of fear in his eyes.
No terror.
No hesitation.
Not even anger.
His attention wasn't on the peak.
He didn't even look toward the serpent.
Because something else had captured his attention completely.
A System panel floated before him.
It was the final notification he had received before losing consciousness.
Evan had been buried beneath the rubble while his body slowly recovered.
Now that his eyes were open...
He could finally read it properly.
The panel flickered.
Then expanded.
[Current Effect Subjugated: ...]
Evan's eyes widened.
He stared at the notification.
Then stared again.
His expression slowly changed.
From confusion...
To disbelief.
Then...
Pure joy.
"Wait..."
His voice trembled slightly.
He quickly read the result again.
His eyes widened further.
A laugh almost escaped his mouth.
He had done it.
That final attack...
That terrifying attack from the serpent...
Had given him exactly what he needed.
Evan practically jumped out of the crater.
Despite his half-burned body, he turned toward the peak.
He raised both hands.
Then repeatedly gestured toward the distant serpent.
"Thank you!"
His voice echoed through the valley.
The serpent didn't respond.
It didn't even know he was alive.
Evan's grin became enormous.
Then his gaze shifted away from the mountain.
Toward the forest.
Toward the Goblin settlement.
His expression gradually hardened.
The excitement remained.
But now there was determination behind it.
"Well..."
He glanced at his battered body.
"Time to finish the mission."
He took his first step.
His legs almost gave out.
Evan steadied himself.
Then continued walking.
"And I suppose..."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"...it's time to prove that my words weren't just for show."
His half-burned figure slowly disappeared into the distance.
Behind him...
SkyPeak Mountain remained silent.
And above it, the serpent continued coiling around the peak.
Completely unaware that the prey it had just buried alive...
Had survived.