Extra's Descent

Indeed, there was a chance Brandon could ascend if he killed Raven now.

It's not like he was going to die. It was nothing but a simulation.

Furthermore, it was an examination.

One man for himself.

—Do it.

The image of Lumian urged, standing before him, his features visible.

Brandon was about to consider it when…..

"Brandon."

Raven's voice reached his ears. Raven looked at him with an expression that seemed to say he had just figured something out.

"Look."

Raven pointed at the sun. Brandon followed his direction, standing up.

Brandon's eyes narrowed and shaded his face. The sun was too bright. But he couldn't tell what Raven was trying to sa—

"Huh?"

"You see it?"

"The sun."

It was hovering up and down slowly.

From this, Brandon came up with three conclusions.

Firstly, there was a bug in the simulation and the sun is glitching out.

But he was well aware who was behind the simulation. There was no way they would make a mistake in coding a simple sun cycle script.

Secondly, the sun cycle is different in the simulation. But that wouldn't make sense, there was no way this detail wasn't intentional. In any case, the sun hovering up and down would make for an unusual cycle.

And lastly,

"The surface is moving."

Maybe, it wasn't the sun that was moving.

"But us."

Raven finished Brandon's words for him.

Immediately, Brandon crouched down and scrutinized the ground. Tracing his fingers on the hot surface, a dust of sand stuck to his fingers.

Amidst the cluster of sand, the ground looked rocky, with rough cracks and a shallow fault line spreading across, interconnecting with each other.

As Brandon scanned further, he had come to realize that the cracks and shallow lines formed a distinct pattern, not random but almost… alive.

The texture wasn't just rocky. It had an organic quality, a pattern resembling scales, each overlapping slightly, all part of a larger whole.

Brandon quickly backed away, his hand still brushing against the surface.

It could only mean something. But Brandon took the chance, this detail was definitely intentional.

"This whole area…." Experience tales at m v|l e'm,p| y- r

Brandon spoke up, voice laced with urgency.

Raven glanced around before nodding.

The ground beneath them shifted subtly. A barely perceptible movement.

The "surface" rippled, revealing its true nature. They weren't standing on ordinary land. They were on the back of a massive, camouflaged Ash Drake.

The landscape itself was the creature.

Then that meant it was an easy kill.

[Time Remaining: 18:33]

They had wasted nearly six hours already on just the first floor itself. To think the hardest difficulty didn't only need strength, but also perception and observation skills.

Around them, lay dead bodies of all kinds of creatures residing within the plain.

They had killed each and every creature that got too close. It wasn't that difficult. But now it made sense why that was so.

Because it wasn't the main objective. It was never the focus in the first place.

Then, a sudden cold water poured over Brandon as the realization washed over him.

If Raven weren't here, and he had completed the floor's objective, most probably, he wouldn't come to realize the entire floor was an Ash Drake itself.

"Raven."

"Yeah."

Raven turned towards him and nodded his head. Extending his hand forward, a dagger materialized. Striking down, a metallic sound echoed. It was too dense, they needed more power.

Brandon stepped back and considered their options. They needed to strike hard, and they needed to do it fast.

"Not enough power."

Raven muttered upon realizing his dagger barely scratched the thick scales.

"Stand back."

Brandon ordered. Between the two, he had the most strength. It was ironic, considering his body was initially built like a mage.

In any case, siphoning mana his hand, he focused, channeling the energy into his blade.

With a burst of mana, Brandon lunged forward, his sword glowing brightly. He aimed for a crack between the scales, thrusting with all his strength.

CRACK—!

The blade sank in and the surface shuddered violently. The landscape beneath them shifted as a deep rumble echoing from the creature.

Raven followed up, attacking the same point. Together, they forced the blade deeper until the ground gave way beneath them. A roar erupted, and the entire landscape began to move.

—Hieeeeek!

In contrast to the previous Ash Drakes, the roars were guttural and deep, almost unnervingly so.

As Brandon continued forcing the blade deep inside, blood seeped from the surface and sputtered.

With the blade in his hand, Brandon drew a circle on the surface. Blood started gushing out profusely, staining their figures.

Pulling his sword back, Brandon scanned. He had managed to open up a hole on the surface, revealing the gruesome innards of an Ash Drake.

"...."

"...."

The putrid smell of rotting flesh hit them, causing both to recoil slightly. Brandon held his breath as he observed the opening they had made.

"Fuck."

Brandon cursed under his breath as he scanned the entrance.

Raven nodded, clearly hesitant. But they had no choice. It was their only option. The Ash Drake was massive, and the portal could be anywhere within its body.

Brandon took a deep and heavy breath.

"Huu…."

Then….

Plop!

….Dove straight in the bloody innards.

Swinging with no aim, Brandon started hacking away, blood smeared his features, drenching his entire figure with its putrid stench. His body felt all sticky, but Brandon had no luxury to even care about it.

Slash– Slash— Slash—!

"...."

Then he paused upon realizing he was now stepping on a rough white surface. He had made it deep inside the Ash Drake's innards, standing on most probably its ribcage.

Light shone down from the hole he made and Raven's familiar figure descended down.

Raven landed beside Brandon, taking in the grotesque sight. The air was thick with the stench of rot.

"Any idea where you think the portal might be?"

Raven asked, peering out for any clues of the portal.

"No, but….."

Brandon could only rely on his instincts.

"It could be the heart."

"Isn't that too obvious?"

"Got any better ideas?"

Brandon and Raven exchanged glances, and then both nodded in silent agreement. They didn't have much time to figure this out, and the heart was as good a guess as any.

"Let's go."

Brandon took the lead, cautiously stepping forward across the slippery ribcage.

Squelch. Squelch.

Each step made a squelching sound as they trudged deeper into the drake's body.

The pulsating flesh around them seemed to be alive with a rhythm, making it feel like they were moving through a living maze.

"Do you feel that?"

Raven asked, glancing at the rhythmic vibrations coming from deeper within.

Brandon nodded.

"Yeah. It's getting stronger."

Thump… Thump…!

The vibrations grew more intense, a steady thump echoing through the creature's insides. They were getting closer to the source.

Suddenly, they were met with a large, pulsating mass in the center of the hollow, buzzing in a dim red glow.

There was no mistake.

It was the heart of the Ash Drake. Veins crisscrossed all around it, and the heart pulsed rhythmically.

The two nodded their heads and brandished their weapons forward.

SHIIING—!

Without hesitation, Brandon charged forward, channeling mana into his blade. The heart beat faster and faster.

Swoosh—!

With a swift, powerful strike, Brandon's sword cut into the massive organ.

Raven joined in, attacking from the other side with his dagger, each strike causing more damage.

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

The heart began to rupture, and the drake's body convulsed violently in response.

—Hieeeeek!

A shrill scream echoed through the chamber, and a blinding red light suddenly erupted from the center of the heart. The two closed their eyes and looked away.

Rumble… Rumble…!

The entire vicinity shook and blood sputtered from all sides.

For what felt like an eternity, finally, the system's message finally popped up.

[Floor 1 Cleared.]

The next moment, they found themselves standing on solid ground, the suffocating heat replaced by a sudden cool breeze. The surroundings had changed entirely.

Drip.

A liquid sensation suddenly trickled around Brandon's body. Opening his eyes, it was….

Drip. Drip….!

….Raining.