Chapter 270: The Vasta Waterfalls (1)
Before long, something floated to the surface.
A long, charcoal-black body slowly rose from the depths, carried upward by the current. It drifted limply across the water, spinning slightly before coming to a stop.
It was one of the Gloomeater Salamanders.
Its lifeless eyes stared blankly toward the sky. The glowing azure veins beneath its skin had already begun to dim, their radiance fading with every passing second.
A second later, another corpse surfaced several meters away.
Then another.
Now, three Gloomeater Salamanders floated motionlessly upon the river, much like dead fish washed to the surface after a violent storm.
"..."
Silence fell over the squad.
No one spoke for several seconds.
The blond-haired boy slowly lowered his weapon, his eyes fixed upon the drifting corpses.
"...They’re dead?"
Disbelief filled his voice.
"The hell?"
No one answered him.
Even Emily’s expression lost a fraction of its composure. She carefully studied the floating Voidspawns before narrowing her eyes.
"...Stay alert," she said, her voice immediately grounded everyone. "If they’re already dead... then something must have killed them."
Whatever had hunted the three Lesser Voidspawns beneath the water could very well still be there.
Noelle unconsciously swallowed.
Her gaze drifted back toward the nearest corpse as it slowly floated closer to the riverbank. The Gloomeater Salamander’s abdomen had been torn open.
She leaned in for a closer look.
It was then she realised something was wrong.
Noelle frowned.
If it had been attacked by another predator, why weren’t there any claw marks? Or bite marks? Any deep slashes?
Were those three Voidspawns really killed by another kind of monster?
Then, she noticed it.
Near the centre of its torso was a small, almost perfectly circular hole, no wider than a clenched fist. The surrounding flesh had collapsed inward, while fine fractures spread beneath the black scales like shattered glass.
Noelle blinked.
What kind of attack was that?
The opening was simply too small.
Yet judging by the amount of blood clouding the water around the corpse, whatever had pierced through that tiny hole had utterly ravaged everything inside.
As though something had pierced straight through its body before tearing everything apart from the inside.
Noelle’s expression slowly darkened.
"I think... we should move away from here while whatever killed these things is still feeding on its prey," Noelle said, forcing calm into her voice as she searched for a reason convincing enough to make her teammates leave.
Emily studied her for a brief moment, immediately recognising the unease written across her face. Truthfully, she agreed.
Something about those wounds didn’t match any beast she knew.
Emily gave a firm nod before turning to the rest of the squad. "Pack everything up. We’re relocating from here."
One by one, the others nodded.
As they began moving, Noelle cast one last glance at the drifting carcasses. Then, for some inexplicable reason, a thought surfaced in her mind.
’Weird... for some reason... those wounds look like they were caused by a certain spell...’
She froze for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
’Wow... I’m thinking about Ruvian again...’
Indeed, the first thing that came to mind was his [Magic Missile]. She had witnessed the spell enough times to recognise the distinctive damage it left behind.
But the thought quickly fell apart.
The logic simply didn’t make sense. Why in the world would Ruvian be here, beneath the river, hunting the Gloomeater Salamanders? How was that even possible?
’Yeah, what a ridiculous thing to think.’
She let out another quiet sigh before following after the rest of the squad.
*****
[Ruvian’s POV]
[You have received +500 Plot Points!]
The roar reached him long before the light did.
A deep, thunderous rumble rolled endlessly through the water, so overwhelming that it swallowed every other sound. It pressed against his ears, vibrating through his skull and chest alike, as though the river itself was growling.
Kicking himself upward, Ruvian chased the faint light above. The pale glow intensified with every stroke until he finally broke through the surface.
Splash.
He inhaled sharply, drawing in a long, ragged breath that tasted of damp stone and river mist.
Water streamed from his hair and down his face as he blinked the droplets from his eyes.
"Fuck... I’m alive."
He muttered between heavy breaths.
The roar behind him became deafening.
He turned instinctively. Barely an arm’s length away, an immense curtain of white water crashed from the cliff above.
A victorious grin spread across his face.
He did it.
He finally did it!
He had finally reached Vasta Waterfall.
’Anyway, let’s get away from the water first!’
Without wasting any time, Ruvian quickly paddled toward the rocky wall.
His fingertips brushed against rough stone slick with moss. He searched until he found a protruding ledge.
Then, planting both hands against the rock, he pulled himself upward. Water poured from his clothes as he climbed.
His boots scraped against the damp stone before finally finding purchase. Muscles tensed across his arms and shoulders as he hauled himself onto the narrow shelf hidden behind the waterfall.
For a brief moment, he remained crouched.
Water continued dripping from every fold of his clothes, splashing softly onto the stone beneath him.
’Haaa.... I would never do this again.’
Ruvian let out a long sigh as he glanced back at the river he had just come from.
He had been lucky.
Those had only been lesser Voidspawns. Had they been anything stronger, he would have found himself in a far more desperate situation. Then again, fighting underwater was an utterly insane thing to do.
Still...
At the very least, it had achieved exactly what he wanted. He had reached this place without being discovered by anyone.
To him, that alone made the risk worthwhile.
"Anyway..."
Ruvian pushed himself to his feet.
With a flick of his hand, he cast a water spell to strip away the moisture clinging to his clothes, then followed it with a wind spell to dry the remaining dampness.
He had already accomplished his first objective — reaching Vasta Waterfall without being noticed.
Now, only one task remained; finding the hidden pathway that led to the secluded cave where the Crystal Pond lay.
With that done, Ruvian began his search.
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[Chapter 270: The Vasta Waterfalls (1)]
Plot Points= 43,000