Faraam wanted to laugh; he wanted to laugh so hard that his lungs burst.
Well, even if he did, his lungs wouldn't burst, as he was a sleeper.
Well, he couldn't laugh, let alone talk, since his throat was as dry as that cursed land.
'I need to find something to drink...'
Using every last remaining energy he has. Faraam stood up and walked to the top of the hill.
And what he saw made him hold his breath.
A somber gray sky where no sun was visible. Black earth filled with a vibrant crimson sea of twisting coral blades creating a twisted, horrifying forest.
The sea of coral blades spread endlessly without an end.
Looking far away, Faraam noticed something.
'Is that... water?'
He wasn't sure since the coral blades blocked his view.
'W-What?!'
The "water" was coming toward him. No, to be more precise, it's rising.
'First it was shadows that wanted to kill me, and now a fucking water?!'
He clenched his teeth, and spoke in his mind, 'To hell with this!'
He hadn't felt desperate since the time he was about to be discovered by the Revolutionary Army as the one who started their hell.
The sea of dark water slowly reached his hill, and after reaching half of it. It stopped rising.
Faraam took a breath of relief and sighed.
He looked at the dark sea for a while...
'Should I drink it...?'
He was thirsty. No, even the word thirsty is an underestimation for what he was feeling.
He was literally dying.
No matter how many he looked at it. It looked like nothing but poison.
'What should I do?'
His body is barely functioning.
It has been around six days since he last drank or ate something. A normal human should've already died.
'Let's wait for few hours...'
***
The few hours turned out to be half a day.
Underneath him the dark sea moved again. This time returning from where it came from.
But Faraam didn't care about it.
'What the hell is this place?!'
The cursed land where he was summoned was at least... normal.
Well, not really normal, but compared to where he was right now, it can be considered normal.
The sun just appeared from nowhere. It's just existed suddenly.
No sunrise or sunset. It popped out of nowhere.
And with the appearing of the sun, the dark sea returned from where it came.
'Since the time it took for the sun to appear was twelve hours, the dark sea should also emerge in around twelve hours too.'
Nodding his head, Faraam descended down the hill.
'In that time I should find something to eat...'
***
The sea of crimson coral blades was like a maze.
Every route he went from was a dead end. With no path to walk on, he returned to the beginning and went through another route.
While doing this, Faraam noticed something changed in himself.
He somehow gained a memory that was close to a photographic memory.
He remembered every route he went through and how they ended with 100% accuracy.
He might have gained this ability when he gained Caelia's memories.
Though Faraam wasn't sure, since he might have gained it when he unlocked his aspect.
Well, that wasn't really important since Faraam finally saw his first nightmare creature.
Standing in the distance was a creature with a head that resembled a human—except it had no eyes or mouth. Its limbs were massive scythes with an incredible attack range. It stood on eight short legs; its skinless body was a grotesque mass of moving flesh.
'An Awakened nightmare creature. Either a beast or a monster.'
Faraam looked at the sword in his hand.
Could he do it? Could he really kill an Awakened beast or maybe a monster with his tired mind and body? Faraam didn't know, but he knew he must do it.
Sighing, he walked toward the abomination stealthily.
The scythe abomination was giving his back to Faraam, and Faraam hoped to kill it in one single strike.
Of course, and as usual, fate would never allow it, as the scythe abomination stared back at him.
Although it lacked eyes, it looked intently at Faraam.
Taking a deep breath, Faraam raised his sword and took a stance.
Before Caelia was forcefully infected by the Spell, she was a dancer. Since she was a child, she loved dancing, and this love reached her sword.
Caelia's battle art was like a dance. A terrifying dance that can cut anything in its reach, and her battle art was massively posted by her aspect.
Not only can she see the "path" where her enemy will attack, but she also can see the best counterattack "path".
This made her a monster in a one-on-one fight.
Unfortunately, Faraam couldn't use her aspect, but the experience was still there.
To understand her aspect very well, Caelia studied the anatomy of the human body, be it the muscles or bones.
Faraam focused on the scythe abomination in front of him.
'A down-ward slash aiming to cut my body in half...'
Faraam quickly dodged to the right. The scythe abomination with its other limb tried to behead him, but he ducked down before it reached him
Using the opening, Faraam struck upward, cutting the left limb in half, and jumped back quickly.
'How disappointing... It seems I can't use her battle art.'
The male physique was vastly different than the female physique. Males have more muscle mass, making them stronger and sturdier, unlike females, who have less muscle mass and are more flexible and balanced.
This flexibility made it quite hard for him to use Caelia's battle art.
When he attacked the scythe abomination, he intended to cut both limbs, but he couldn't, thanks to his body limits.
Faraam sighed and raised his sword. Unlike last time, his grip was more powerful.
Even though he couldn't use Caelia's battle art, it didn't mean he couldn't use the others in her memories.
Valor's Knight battle art. A battle art learned by those chosen by the Valor clan themselves.
The scythe abomination lunged toward him. Its right limb slashed toward his head, intending to cut it.
Faraam put his sword in front of his right arm, blocking the scythe and making it stop.
He then quickly ducked down, letting the scythe pass above his head. With enough force, he kicked the knee of one of the scythe abomination's legs. With his head down, the sword slides on his back, reaching his left shoulder and then his left arm. Faraam took the sword with his right hand and slashed upward, cutting the scythe abomination's chest.
The scythe abomination jumped back trying to escape, but Faraam quickly ran after it.
Using its last remaining limb, the scythe abomination thrust the scythe at Faraam's head.
Faraam moved his head to the left, dodging the scythe. He then shifted his waist to the right and, with his two hands, sliced up, cutting the other limb.
Using his momentum, he turned 180 degrees and ran toward the scythe abomination.
Losing its two limbs, the abomination suddenly stopped moving.
The moving flesh stopped, and then its chest opened wide, revealing a pair of sharp teeth that could pierce his body like nothing.
The scythe abomination lunged toward Faraam, and he did the same.
With the advantage of his long sword, Faraam slid down, cutting three of its left legs.
He quickly stood up, and with momentum he circled around it and cut toward the abomination's chest, cutting it into two halves.
[You have slain an Awakened monster, Scythewretch.]
Faraam took deep breaths.
'Aghh... I'm so tired.'
He glanced at the Spell and sighed.
He didn't get any memories... Faraam really wanted an armor memory.
He was still naked with nothing covering his body.
Shaking his head, he looked at the Scythewretch.
His mind stopped working for a second. He was about to jump at its body and eat it raw; thankfully, he regained his senses.
He walked toward the body and took the two shards.
No matter how much he tried to absorb it, he couldn't. It was like his soul was refusing completely.
'What a picky eater.'
Throwing away the shards, he took the dead body with him and walked back to the hill.
***
The sun was disappearing, and the dark sea rose again.
Faraam sat on top of the hill, his stomach full, and his face regained some color.
He looked at the fire beside him and then stepped on it, extinguishing it.
He wasn't stupid to light a fire in the middle of the dark in a place where nightmare creatures were everywhere, was he?
Even though his mind was begging him to sleep, he didn't.
He looked aimlessly at the surroundings.
'Where should I go now? Should I continue east or go to another direction?'
Well, till now, east hadn't let him down once, so he was planning to continue east until he met something he shouldn't go near.
'Well, to the east then!'
***
Author Note:
A piece of advice from a writer. If you want to write a fight scene and you don't know how, go read "The Regressed Mercenary's Machination." The choreography is fucking peak.
Leave a review on this fanfic and chapter and some power stones so more people can read it.
And see you again tomorrow.