Chapter 161: High Level Otherworlder
The descending figure completely ignored the others after locking onto Uhtred, charging straight for him. Uhtred set his face in a hard line as he ran. How had this strange otherworlder deciphered that he was the strongest with just a single glance?
On one hand, he was slightly relieved it wasn’t Zara the figure had gone after. Although she was powerful in her own right — especially with her control over spatial magic — she still hadn’t reached the Nascent Realm yet.
On the other hand, there were powerhouses like Krijn and the female ancient variant present, Level 25 Nascent realm ascenders like him. Even if he had used an inspection skill, why hadn’t they been targeted instead of him?
Uhtred wasn’t one to shy away from a battle or a challenge, but there was a limit to what anyone could reasonably call a challenge. The descending otherworlder was not a challenge; he was death itself.
Just from his aura alone, even at a distance, Uhtred could tell he was completely outmatched. The otherworlder had to be at least ten, maybe even twenty levels above him!
Uhtred charged straight into the treeline, moving unpredictably to break line of sight, hoping the forest canopy would provide enough cover for him to escape back toward the border.
He didn’t know for sure, but he had a hunch that there was a boundary to where these otherworlders could operate.
The fact that the third trial had been active for several hours without any of them breaching Zone 2, even to probe the area, told Uhtred that the System had likely restricted their range. It was the same setup the ancient variants had back on the main continent.
I might actually make it...
Uhtred barely had time to entertain the hope after diving beneath the dense leaves before it was utterly shattered.
The otherworlder on his dark unicorn descended right ahead of him, smashing cleanly through the canopy. Despite Uhtred’s erratic path, the trees had failed to provide any cover against a powerhouse with an absurdly high perception attribute.
The moment Uhtred caught sight of the dark angel otherworlder crashing through the branches, he reacted instantly, switching directions without missing a beat.
The otherworlder followed right after, his dark mount galloping across what looked like thin air. He closed the distance with terrifying ease, his speed completely outclassing Uhtred’s.
The expression on the otherworlder’s face was unreadable, but there was a distinct trace of boredom in his eyes, as if he simply wanted Uhtred to give up and stop running.
Uhtred, however, wasn’t going to quit that easily.
Even though his situation looked completely hopeless, he continued weaving through the thick trunks, changing direction every time the otherworlder cut off his route.
Why isn’t he killing me, though...?
The thought kept spinning in Uhtred’s mind as he fought a losing battle. His escape routes narrowed by the second as the otherworlder began reading his patterns, cutting him off before he could even make a move.
It was strange. Even if the otherworlder didn’t want to kill him, but only intended to capture him, he still could have done it already. The gap between them was just that vast.
Was this just a cat playing with its food before going in for the kill?
A sharp glint flashed in Uhtred’s eyes as he began piecing together a plan in the few seconds he had left. He estimated he had twenty seconds at most before he was cornered for good.
He had deduced that the otherworlder’s goal wasn’t to kill him, but likely to take him alive — whether out of curiosity about the native population or some other reason, Uhtred didn’t care.
The fact remained that the otherworlder was severely underestimating him right now. And he wasn’t about to let that slide.
Uhtred locked his focus onto the dark unicorn, specifically targeting its hooves.
Although the creature appeared to be galloping on empty air, a closer look revealed a faint, subtle layer of energy beneath its hooves, likely some form of air magic.
That was his target.
.
.
The otherworlder watched the young local with a flicker of genuine curiosity. The human — that was what the natives were called, apparently — was still moving with relentless energy despite how obvious his capture was.
Surely the boy could feel the massive level difference between them. So why keep pushing?
He could tell the young human was already within the Nascent realm, which was commendable... in fact, more than commendable. It had only been a month since this world’s integration. Back on his home planet, this level of cultivation speed would make him a world-tier talent that every clan would fight to have.
However, the reality was that he was still only Level 25. Even if the boy tried something unexpected, the moment he took things seriously, the chase would be over.
The otherworlder closed in once more, tightening the circle around his target.
Suddenly, Uhtred ducked behind a massive tree trunk and failed to emerge from the other side where logic dictated he should have.
The otherworlder’s face remained completely unbothered, though. His high perception gave him a full, broad view of every angle Uhtred could have taken, and he had a tight lock on the small area where Uhtred was trapped.
Disappearing behind the trunk could only mean one thing.
Up.
The otherworlder tilted his head upward, and just as expected, Uhtred was already mid-air, leaping down from a high branch.
A shimmering, unstable orb of compressed magic vibrated between his hands. Within it, air, water, fire, and earth elements churned violently against one another.
The otherworlder’s pale gold eyes narrowed slightly.
A quadruple-elemental.
Still, it was useless. The spell was in complete chaos and would likely backfire on the boy before it even left his hands. And even if it didn’t, an attack of that scale couldn’t hope to scratch someone at his level.
The faint boredom returned to the otherworlder’s face, accompanied by a touch of disappointment. He had expected anything other than a futile, last-ditch strike.
He raised a single hand calmly, just in case the boy somehow managed to release the volatile spell.
As he raised his arm, his eyes locked onto Uhtred’s in that final, stretched second, and caught a sharp smirk spreading across the human’s face.
Suddenly, the ground directly beneath the dark unicorn split open. The mount let out a pained, furious neigh, dark smoke billowing wildly from its nostrils.
A massive pillar made of compacted ice and stone, nearly the size of a full-grown man, surged upward out of the earth.
It shattered the air-stepping construct beneath the unicorn’s hooves and carved a deep gash along its leg.
The unicorn seemed high-leveled enough, a nascent realm creature too, though nowhere near its rider in levels. Its high level quick reflexes was the only thing that saved it from suffering a fatal stab through the stomach, only suffering a deep gash as it dodged.
Still, the impact sent it into a violent tumble, crashing hard into a nearby tree and throwing its rider into the air.
The black-skinned powerhouse twisted in the air, his outstretched hand still raised up to block Uhtred’s strike that was also coming from above.
That, he was able to deal with easily. Uhtred simply hadn’t gotten the hang of the unification technique yet, and the low level version he used just wasn’t enough to cause any damage at all.
But the aerial strike hadn’t been his true attack anyway. It was merely a distraction to mask the strike from below.
"Shit!" Uhtred cursed under his breath as he landed on the ground from the height he’d jumped from.
The otherworlder was fine and dandy.
Of course, Uhtred’s primary target had been the mount, but he had hoped the sudden tumble would at least throw the rider off balance. Instead, the otherworlder had simply glided through the air, spreading his massive black wings to stabilize himself effortlessly.
He hovered a few feet off the ground, looking down at his palm where Uhtred’s failed spell had fizzled out. Then he looked at Uhtred, and finally turned his gaze to his mount, which was scrambling back to its feet.
He then parted his lips and spoke for the very first time, his voice smooth and cold in his alien tongue:
"So I wasn’t your target at all..."
A slow smile broke across the otherworlder’s face, making Uhtred’s eyes narrow.
"I thought you were a bumbling fool when you came charging at me from above, but it seems you are well aware of your limits," he paused, his golden eyes scanning Uhtred. "You knew nothing you cast could hurt me, so you targeted my mount instead. That was the only way you could accomplish... anything."
The mount in question had stood up fully, shaking its head and billowing a cloud of black smoke from its nostrils in fury, its glowing eyes locked onto Uhtred.
"It was still completely futile, but at least you didn’t go down without landing a strike," the otherworlder said, looking at Uhtred with meaning.
"I can see now, why he is so invested in your demise."
Uhtred’s eyes narrowed even more.
"And who exactly would he be?"
The otherworlder said nothing in response. He gracefully descended from where he hovered in the air, his large grey wings tucking in behind him smoothly.
"You must pardon me, Uhtred," he said, striding forward calmly, his golden eyes beginning to glow slightly brighter. "But this is where I knock you out."
Uhtred didn’t even know exactly what happened. All he saw was a blur even though he immediately became hyper-alert after the otherworlder’s words.
The next thing, the world was spinning around him as he blacked out with a last, puzzled thought.
He even knows my name...?