The Guardian

Chapter 237: A Scary Place

Everything was dark and she couldn’t see anything.

There was no way to stabilize her movement... It was like she was plummeting with no way to fly.

However, she didn’t panic and kept her sword in her hand without letting go.

Darkness and more darkness with a disgusting sensation that if she had to define it, it was like going through the Cosmos Portal only more unpleasant.

Then, space distorted, and she was spit into a wasteland.

Aurora prepared.

She rolled on the floor as she fell, feeling her stomach churn from the space travel.

Her senses were unfocused, but not her instincts.

“GRaahh!”

And it was thanks to the warning of her instincts that she jumped to the side, rolling on the ground to dodge an enemy’s attack, then getting up she cut to where she had been before.

Growls sounded all around her and she focused her gaze, realizing the place she was in.

It was a wasteland of dry, dead, gray-colored earth, and around her stood five monsters that could only be described as grotesque creatures.

Four-legged creatures with an enormous mouth capable of swallowing a child in one bite had no fur, but a gray skin with cracks tainted by Chaos.

Surrounded by enemies, in an unknown place, and in a dangerous situation... The first thing Aurora did was to finish off her enemies.

Her green-colored aura surrounded her sword, and she moved swiftly, cutting the heads of three of the five dogs and before the last two could growl to warn of the prey, she swung her sword, throwing two green slashes that eliminated them.

She then activated the stealth of her still functioning combat suit.

Those enemies were B-Rank, but just as she expected, other growls came from nearby and Aurora ran to escape, trying to diminish her presence and not make noise.

Such dexterity aided the stealth functions of her combat suit, allowing her to escape the wasteland unseen.

The sky was dark, filled with clouds, some light was passing through, but everything felt like those rainy, dreary days.

She knew where she was and realized what had happened.

Testing the communication system and her holographic watch without detecting anything, Aurora took a deep breath and climbed to the top of the first tree she saw.

In her vision was revealed the wasteland from whence she had come, stretching away into the distance and then dead, dry forests, devoid of any life.

Most terrifying were the creatures and monsters that roamed the surroundings.

At the place where she had come out of the portal were the corpses of the creature she killed and those corpses attracted more monsters that gathered and fought each other

The number kept rising until they became fifty monsters fighting each other... In just a brief moment that she had fled.

It was the same in other areas of those wastelands where large groups of monsters could be seen, and if one looked even further, one could see traces of blurred figures moving as well.

The atmosphere was gloomy and there was a fearful feeling that oppressed her, but also a feeling that refreshed her.

The first came from afar, where a tall pillar of darkness descended from the sky, striking the earth.

It was visible from far away and came from high in the clouds, where it was difficult to observe.

It was far from her position, but that alone showed how huge that pillar of darkness was.

No communication, no nearby presences, and stranded without preparations... Aurora took a deep breath, trying to keep her nerves in check.

Something was still missing and...

“System?” Aurora asked in a shaky voice.

It was hard to control herself because she had so many worries.

She wondered about her sister and what happened with the abyssal portal, or what happened with the goblins.

How did the mission go and where were the others?

The constant danger in which she was surrounded was just icing on a cake of worries.

—I’m here.

That was why, at her system’s response, Aurora breathed a sigh of relief.

Her self-styled ‘system’ was mysterious but exceptionally reliable at certain times.

Maybe when she was a child and wanted to train, it was wrong to give her dangerous objects like a sword and it was even wrong to send her to a strange old man, but all in all it was reliable.

—I think I’m losing the signal.

The words of her system filled Aurora’s mind, and she laughed, knowing it was a retort to her shallow thoughts.

At the same time, it was a joke to try to relax her.

Noticing a group of monsters approaching, Aurora jumped back to the ground and advanced through the middle of the trees, avoiding the presence she could sense.

As an S-Rank, she had good senses, so avoiding some monsters that weren’t hiding was easy.

Reaching another tree, she climbed another thick branch.

“Are you all right?” Aurora asked curiously.

From what the expert analysis was saying, it was possible that the place where she was now was the world where the goblins came from... If she focused on the words of the expedition, it was a very dangerous world.

She didn’t know what her system was and right now she had no desire to know, but her concern was sincere.

After all, she was possibly in another world!

—Yes, most of the functions are active.

The answer made Aurora’s expression quiver strangely.

That was the best way her system could respond to say ‘it was fine’ and it made Aurora find it amusing, even though she was in an uncertain situation.

Functions?

Her system was so versatile that it never explained its ‘functions’ and would surely never explain them because it was quite possible that it didn’t have them.

It was that kind of strangeness that gave objects to a girl and supposedly had an ‘inventory’ and helped her with any task she asked for.

Taking control of information networks, cameras, or her holographic watch and even using functions of her combat suit or even activating functions to help her in emergencies.

—The only thing that is not possible is to visit your masters... They are in Africa.

Her system gave another comment that made Aurora give a smile at those cheeky words.

It had long been clear that her masters were not in Africa and, more than once, they didn’t even know where Africa was.

Still...

“It’s a pity. It would be a good trick to run away to them or ask for help,” Aurora replied, giving a teasing smile.

In truth, she wouldn’t ask her masters for help, for while it was possible for them to help her, it was like stirring up a hornet’s nest of truths.

Now it was just a mere joke following the idea her system was giving.

No matter how mysterious her system was, right now she was trying to calm her anxiety and fears with pleasant conversation... Something very rare, as it had been rather quiet lately.

“What’s the situation?” Aurora asked, after checking the surroundings.

She had been talking to her system, but she had also been looking around, sensing the presence of those monsters and checking the terrain.

—The oppressive feeling comes from that pillar and the cooling sensation comes from the high density of magical energy. That will allow you to keep your body energized, but at the same time, it means that the creatures may be stronger than expected.

Magical energy reinvigorated the body and generally, all professions that used ‘magical energy’ could feel it and use it in different ways.

A fighter strengthened his body by means of it as did a swordsman, but they also formed the basis of the ‘sword aura’ and ‘combat aura’ of the swordsman and fighter, respectively and mages tried to create a source of magical energy to use spells.

When they reached Rank S they would change and the sword or fighter aura would gain some quality or ‘concept’ that might simply be incomprehensible or explainable... Terra nova connoisseurs thought these were the rules by which ‘Earth’ was guided.

Quite unlike them, where to strengthen themselves, they would level up, but their auras were related to their ability and understanding being independent.

However, on both Earth and Terra nova, that the magical energy was high meant that the creatures that were born could have high strength or their numbers were greater.

Either was not good news.

The problem was...

—Chaos is extremely strong. While it has not totally corrupted these lands, it has caused all life to be lost.

Aurora agreed with those words.

The trees were dry, and it wasn’t just as if they lacked water; it was more about the vitality they were losing.

On the ground, the earth was dry and dead, coloring this world gray.

“If I have made it to safety, the others have too and if I have to choose a direction, then... I would choose that pillar,” Aurora muttered, looking down from the top of the tree.

On every side, everything was visible and seemed to have no end, but among all the signs, the pillar stood out the most.

Clouds covered the view and let in a faint light, but beyond that, everything was slightly dark.

Monsters roamed the ground as well as the sky, the whole place was dangerous.

It was possible that this atmosphere was the ‘day’ of this world and that meant that the ‘night’ could be left in complete and total darkness.

In this kind of place, that pillar was the only signage, which generated the most curiosity.

The ones she mostly knew of the group that were close to her and who was possibly inside were her sister and Urfin.

The former would not think so hard and move directly, the latter was a Terranovian who surely had the means to contact his team.

The problem with heading for that target was the danger of flying or walking.

Aurora could sense hidden presences in the forest and low-ranking monsters traveling through the area.

They were all affected by Chaos and sometimes fought each other, but she was sure that, if she revealed herself, she would be the main target.

That meant she couldn’t travel directly by land or air, unless she wished to have constant battles, and that in this kind of environment was insane.

She was an S-Rank, but if she was surrounded and attacked from all sides, it would be the end of her.

—I’ve checked the rings and inventory. You have potions and healing scrolls, you also have a private two-person tent stored and you have food, being bags of chips, mostly.

Her system gave its analysis and Aurora began to carefully check her space ring and then her inventory.

She just had to plug in, so her senses could explore the interior and her inventory was the same.

In both, she had everything from clothes she kept randomly, emergency bags of chips for Alice, spices, and condiments for food, some randomly stored fruits and vegetables, and the extended space tent she used frequently.

Lastly, it was the scrolls and potions, the latter in greater quantity because she replenished her stock.

Of course, clothes and all other personal items were stored in the ring and she even had some books stored.

Like any normal person with a space ring, she liked to keep all her things in that artifact and more so for her, who usually traveled a lot in Africa.

Time did not affect the space rings and everything was kept in the best condition and it was certainly the best way to store everything she used.

On her other space ring where she kept the creatures she killed was empty, as she had sold all the materials she had.

These rings were very expensive and the space inside was huge, so it was normal to have useless things or things she never used again.

“The tent has all the amenities, but it is big enough to set up and be a problem. The normal food is plenty and if I add the bags of chips with magic energy, then I’ll last a few months if I ration everything with the idea of not weakening myself by eating too little. As for if I meet up with others...” Aurora muttered, sighing at the analysis.

Having a strong body meant spending on nutrients and while mages, swordsmen, or fighters could assimilate magical energy into their bodies, the matter was changed for someone like her sister

Alice had an innate ability that came from her own body.

There were different types of innate abilities.

Some that caused transformations and others related to ‘lineages’ and even ‘constitutions’.

Her parents were two clear examples.

Her mother had an innate ability related to her body, which allowed her to use magical energy at will, allowing her to cast her spells, but at the same time transformed her body completely... To the point that it was possible to say that she stopped being human.

It was a great ability that made her mother rejuvenated, which is why she allowed her to be born even though her mother was not of the recommended age to have children, but not everything was pleasant.

As she advanced in rank, her mother rejuvenated even more and the assimilation with the magical energy was so extreme that her mother’s body was affected by the magical energy, leading to her changing.

The last change Aurora remembered was that her mother’s blood had turned blue as it contained an overwhelming amount of magical energy and that was when that woman was a rank SS... That way it could become terrifying the innate ability [Magical Energy Body].

Her father also had an innate ability that caused him to become stronger and taller, with higher vitality when he became stronger.

That was the reason they both retired, or that was the excuse they used to drop everything and enjoy their retirement vacation.

In Alice’s case, Aurora knew that she was an S-Rank and her ability was high, with a similarity of darkness magic and with the versatility of an archmage.

That was why it was called [Darkness Domain] because of its multiplicity of possibilities in use, but that was only the superficial part and what was revealed in public.

The important thing was focused on her ‘devouring’ ability that her sister did not use because of her own thoughts.

As an innate ability, the stronger it became, the more the user changed and that could become frightening for the people themselves.

The problem for Aurora was that her sister literally ran on food.

It was a bottomless pit because her innate ability required too much energy expenditure, which she only recovered by eating... Of course, she was a glutton of her own free will and not because of something external.

Still, she was going to need quite a bit of food if she wanted her sister to remain energetic.

Alice was extremely strong and was at the highest limit among the S Ranks, with an ability that gave her tremendous versatility, but the problem was that she was ultimately flawed by having to eat.

“Okay, let’s get moving,” Aurora muttered to herself.

She knew Alice had replenished the ‘stock’ of her chips, and that meant she was going to have food for quite some time.

Adding that several of those bags of chips were created from ingredients that contained magical energy would make it so that if she rationed them, she could keep going for a while.

Still, she needed to prepare for the future.

She didn’t know how long she would stay in this place and if they took the expedition as an example, then... They hadn’t left, even though it had been over a month since they entered.

About twenty-five ability users came in and the goblins clashed with them, that’s why Zrag upon arriving on the ground brought the head of the expedition leader, but that didn’t mean they had killed them all.

The last example was that individual who tried to leave, but was corrupted by Chaos.

It was very bad news for their group and generated a lot of concerns, with food and water being the vital things to survive.

—You have the resources to survive, and so must she. Especially the two of you having experiences in Africa.

Her system gave a comment, and Aurora agreed.

That she had her tent, the inside of which was a two-room apartment, kitchen, bathroom, and dining room, revealed that she was prepared for cases where she was away from civilization.

“Then let’s get moving. I’ll try to make a detour and avoid the battles,” Aurora said, and putting her sword away in her inventory, she added. “Let me know if you notice anything edible. It’s best to secure everything in our path and avoid future trouble.”

Was she being overly cautious?

Aurora didn’t know, but the proof that no member of the expedition had left was to her the clear mark that, perhaps, her situation was worse than she thought.

All she could do now was focus on her objectives and as for her sister and the others... She had to trust them.

******

Surrounded by corpses of all kinds of monsters, a young woman stood looking around.

Her shadow beneath her feet had spread and no creature could approach because hands were reaching out to trap them all like a sinister swamp.

Finishing a bag of chips, the young woman lifted herself up using her black arms behind her back, and looking at the surroundings, she chose her destination as she spotted a pillar of darkness in the distance.

“Gahh!”

A large monstrous snake appeared among the trees and the snake approached, she noticed that its body had no scales... It was more, it only had the shape of a snake.

It was an abomination created by body parts of different monsters joined together by Chaos in the most horrifying and aberrant way possible.

However, her expression did not change, and descending to the ground, she made the black liquid gush straight out of the darkness and began to cover her.

The warrior form took shape surrounding her body and she, instead of staying inside the body of such a creature, just moved into the interior of the space of her shadow and curled up as the darkness brought her the comfort she needed.

“Gahhh!”

The snake let out a mighty roar as the mouths of the monsters that made up its body opened.

The five-meter tall creature in its humanoid form made its arm turn into a thick black spear and when that abomination approached, trying to tear off a piece of its body, it pierced it through its mouth.

“...”

Piercing deep into the snake, that spear-like arm trembled as barbs shot out from the inside out.

Then the five-meter creature threw that large snake to the side and began to walk to the pillar of darkness that could be seen in the distance, following the shallow commands of Alice, who was inside it.

The creature was large and fearsome, but above all, it emitted no signs of life, which meant that no monster approached or attacked it.

Alice simply closed her eyes, maintaining a low power lethargy to avoid wasting energy... Basically, sleeping while rationing her food in passing.

No monsters got in her way.