NOVEL WEB Chapter 74: Regretting Lack of Aerodynamic Knowledge
Flames surged up like pillars from the ground, wrapping around Adam and Lord Varos in a spiraling vortex of power.
Then everything changed.
Adam's boots slammed onto solid ground, but it wasn't the same eerie, dead space he'd just been in.
Instead, he was now in the middle of a battlefield.
The air was thick with smoke, blood, and the stench of rot.
All around him, Stream Hunters were locked in brutal combat against hordes of undead.
Skeleton warriors clashed with armored fighters, zombies swarmed across trenches, and necrotic magic danced through the air like fireflies from hell.
Adam blinked once.
It worked!
He didn't have time to celebrate.
But deep inside, there was a small flicker of satisfaction.
'Was it because that isolation space was just teleporting me somewhere else within the Tower?'
He quickly re-evaluated what he knew about the Tower of Yxthar's mechanics.
The so-called "isolation chambers" used by high-ranking bosses weren't separate dimensions, just sealed arenas created through spatial locks.
It made sense now why Cael's ability could bypass it...
His power was based on marking targets and pulling them through space, regardless of magical barriers.
So it's not that the mechanism was weak… it's just that Cael's teleportation breaks the rules entirely.
Still, Adam frowned.
For a floor boss, that kind of isolation is pretty brittle.
[DaoisteRJTzL has donated an F-tier gift]
[You have received] A coin bag : A bag of coin containing 500 coins
[DaoisteRJTzL wonders if the system functions of the Tower of Yxthar can be abused this easily...]
[5th Style Sword Master] : That should not be the case. But perhaps the Tower of Yxthar does not care as much?
[Disciple of Ice] : That's true. I heard from my master that as long as it's not from an external influence then the Tower of Yxthar doesn't really care what happens internally.
[VacantSoul has donated an F-tier gift]
[You have received] +5 Soul Core
[VacantSoul] : What kind of external powers could there be aside from the Tower of Yxthar?
[Prankster of Kingdoms says he heard a rumor of Temple of Wishes existing far outside]
Before he could continue analyzing and reading the chat discussion, a new system message popped up in front of his eyes.
[Lord Varos <True Body> has descended upon the real world]
[Necrotic Energy around Lord Varos has increased due to the high number of deaths nearby]
Adam exhaled slowly.
Never mind... this is bad.
He didn't need the system to tell him that Lord Varos had gotten stronger.
He could feel the undead energy radiating off the creature was now twice as thick as before, wrapping the area in a choking fog of decay and death.
Without wasting a second, Adam activated [Crimson Dominion].
A burst of blood-red energy exploded from his feet, launching him backward as a protective shield formed around his body.
The Blood Cocoon shimmered briefly before hardening into a reflective surface, letting him gain some distance before the Bone Tyrant could strike.
But Lord Varos wasn't chasing.
Instead, it lifted its body off the ground with a slow, unnatural levitation as it began to rise, higher and higher into the air.
It hovered above the battlefield like a king observing his domain.
Its glowing green eye sockets scanned everything below.
Its broken staff pulsed faintly, reacting to the mass of corpses piling up across the land.
Adam narrowed his eyes.
'What's it doing? Preparing an area-wide spell?'
He was still trying to figure it out when a familiar voice shouted his name from behind.
"Adam!"
He turned to see Leila, sprinting through a trail of smoke and undead corpses.
Her armor was stained with ash and blood, her face pale from the chaos she had just pushed through.
"The Stream Hunters from the undead faction are coming this way!"
She said, panting.
"What?"
Adam asked, brows tightening.
"When you and the boss disappeared, a huge wave of undead started pouring out of the ground... and I think the undead faction's Stream Hunters sent them in advance! They were probably planning for this exact scenario!"
She was right to be alarmed.
Dozens of armored undead warriors were marching in from the eastern ridge, accompanied by liches and skeletal mages.
Their formation was too clean and too organized to be a random spawn
It was definitely a strategic wave.
So they were prepared for the possibility that someone might try to kill Lord Varos while they were defending the other strongholds.
Adam glanced at Leila again.
Honestly, he wasn't surprised.
If the undead faction hadn't come up with backup plans like this, he would've started questioning their intelligence.
"Have the others used the holy bombs I told them to prepare?"
He asked.
Leila shook her head.
"No, not yet. I saw a few explosions that looked like holy energy, but those were probably last-minute panic attacks from someone trying to survive."
She paused, scanning the battlefield briefly.
"I think most of the teams still have theirs. They're waiting for the signal."
Adam nodded once.
"Good. Tell them to hold position and wait until our mages have locked Lord Varos down. Only then should they unleash the bombs."
"Understood."
Leila opened her system interface, her fingers moving fast as she sent alerts and quick commands to multiple team leaders through the friend function.
Adam didn't wait around. He activated [Temporary Copy] again.
[Select Viewer Skill to Copy]
Bird Hunter
[Temporary Copy has been activated...]
[Due to low level and low rank, skill picking will be randomized...]
The system beeped again.
[Temporary Copy is successful!]
[Temporarily Copied: Hunting Zone!]
[Reducing Hunting Zone to its F-tier version...]
[Hunting Zone has been reduced to Territorial Advantage.]
[Temporary Copy] : Territorial Advantage (30 Second Duration)
[Territorial Advantage] : The surrounding environment feels like familiar territory. Movement speed and terrain awareness are enhanced. Attack Luck increased by 10%.
Adam felt a small surge of confidence as the skill took effect.
The environment around him seemed to click into place.
The cracked ground, the twisted rocks, the pools of black ichor... they all felt familiar now.
Like he belonged here.
Without wasting time, he activated [Surreal Creation], blending into the shadows with his camouflage.
Next, Adam slashed both of his wrists.
Blood poured out quickly. It stung, but he had to push through the pain.
Then, he activated [Crimson Dominion].
The blood didn't spill and instead hovered in the air, twisting into patterns around his arms.
It moved like it had a mind of its own.
He was going to cast the chant ability of [Crimson Dominion]!
Knowledge filled up his head as though the chant process was already something he had done numerous times before
"In the age before names, power had no price...
But now, blood is the currency of gods.
I offer what is mine... willing flesh, faithful pain."
The blood began to gather beneath his feet, swirling around in circles, connecting together like a puzzle.
Each drop seemed to pull the others in, making the spell stronger.
"This wound is no wound, but a gate.
Through it, I call the forgotten hunger.
From sinew and sorrow, from marrow and wrath,
Let a form take shape in my shadow."
[Ovanni has donated an F-tier gift]
[You have received] +5 Soul Cores
[Ovanni] : Is it just me, or if you look closely on the Streamer's mouth, it looks as though he's chanting in a really complicated language...
[Bird Hunter] : I'm guessing you don't have a caster-ability? Casters use languages that trigger a response from your universe's authority.
[Devil_Debi58 has donated an F-tier gift]
[You have received] +1 Soul Core
[Devil_Debi58 asks what that means.]
[Bird Hunter] : I don't know the principle behind it, but I do know that if you're up against an S-tier user who holds one of the authorities of your universe, try not to use your chant ability...
[Nalyd has donated 15 coins]
[Nalyd says he is unsure of what to feel about the edgy chanting...]
Just as Adam was about to continue, a loud whistling sound interrupted him.
He spun around and saw a massive bone axe flying toward him.
It was moving fast, aiming right for his head!
His instincts kicked in.
He almost stopped the chant, but then he saw one of the Stream Hunters beside him raise a shield made of hollow bone.
The shield absorbed the impact of the axe, blocking it just in time.
The Stream Hunter shot him a quick nod.
Adam gave a small nod back.
'Teammates... always good to have.'
He returned to his chant, ignoring everything else.
"Bound by pact, sealed in scar,
Beast of blood, awaken beneath my will.
You are no demon. You are no man.
You are mine... born to tear, born to kill."
"So rise from the red,
And answer the thirst.
Crimson creature, forged from body!"
The last words hit him with a rush of power.
The blood beneath him surged.
It didn't just pool... it started to rise!
Pulling itself up from the ground, a shape started to form.
It was a monstrous, blood-soaked wolf.
Its size was terrifying, towering over Adam.
It had muscles rippling with blood and bone spines sticking out of its back.
Its fur was blood, dripping down its body in streams.
The creature's glowing eyes locked onto Adam.
It growled, a deep, rumbling sound that shook the ground.
[Crimson Dominion has analyzed the sacrificed blood]
[Blood Summon: Crimson Hound – Active (10 Minutes)]
[Bonded Creature – Follows Combat Intentions]
'It seems the amount of blood I've sacrificed can only amount to a crimson hound...'
He thought.
'But that's good enough.'
"Charge towards Varos."
Adam ordered, his voice calm but firm.
Without hesitation, the Crimson Hound obeyed.
It crouched low, its powerful muscles coiling, and then, without warning...
Massive, blood-red wings sprouted from its back.
The wings flapped once, sending a gust of air through the battlefield, and the Hound launched itself into the sky, soaring towards Lord Varos.
Adam stood there for a moment, watching the creature ascend.
He couldn't help but wonder.
'Does that mean I could technically fly too?'
The thought hit him, and he felt a wave of confusion.
He had no idea how the wings worked, how they supported the weight of the Hound, or how they could even support his own.
He tried to calculate the wing structure in his head, thinking about the strength-to-weight ratio, the anatomy required to lift his mass into the air.
But before he could go any further, he stopped himself.
'I should've studied aerodynamics before...'
He grumbled, a little annoyed at his own lack of creativity.