The Villain’s Perspective

Lucifer had been climbing for 5 minutes in the state of blending with the darkness, but he hadn't even ascended 1/10 of the cliff. And that he was even climbing at a faster pace than usual.

It could be said that the height of this cliff could be compared to one of the tallest mountains in the world.

Lucifer didn't dare to turn his head back to take a look because he was afraid that he would lose balance due to nervousness. He had somewhat understood why people often said that they never glanced down while they were on a high mountain.

Since he was merged with the shadow, Lucifer wasn't too anxious about falling. But it would be a different story when he returned to his normal state because of the time limit for the Ability. When that moment arrived, Lucifer would have to use everything he had to cling to the protruding parts of this cliff to avoid falling down.

'I wonder if that bear down there has left yet?'

5 minutes later, the duration of Shadow Movement had ended. Lucifer was forced out of his shadow state. Luckily, there were some small protrusions of the cliff nearby.

Lucifer quickly grabbed the two protrusions with both hands. Strong winds continuously blew at Lucifer, if it wasn't for him holding onto those protrusions, he would have been blown away long ago because of his skinny body.

Ignoring the bear below, if Lucifer let go now, he would die from falling to the ground instead of being killed by the bear.

Lucifer prayed for Shadow Movement's cooldown to be quicker while trying to resist the powerful gusts that continuously blew towards him.

Even nature didn't want Lucifer to survive.

'Damn it!'

Lucifer gritted his teeth. For him, the time of 20 minutes even passed slower than a century. Lucifer began to feel angry and regretful. He was angry at his useless body and regretted his decision to climb this cliff.

19 minutes had passed, only a few seconds left until Shadow Movement's cooldown ended. Lucifer counted every passing second in his mind carefully.

[Shadow Movement can now be used again.]

After the system notification appeared in front of him, Lucifer immediately activated his Ability. He became one with the darkness once again. Lucifer felt lucky and joyful. He had somehow survived those 20 minutes of hell.

But suddenly Lucifer recalled that he would have to go through the same situation a few more times. He paused for a moment to ponder whether to go down or continue climbing.

'I'll continue ascending.'

In the end, Lucifer chose to keep on conquering this vertical cliff. He continued to climb this cliff at a rapid pace.

***

Another 10 minutes passed, and Lucifer still couldn't see the top of the cliff from here. But there was a silver lining, the protrusion he was holding onto this time seemed a little wider than the last time. Thanks to that, Lucifer felt a little more relaxed.

Lucifer tried his best not to stare down because he was afraid that he would lose his grip due to the terror.

The powerful breezes continuously hit Lucifer's body, trying to push him down. But Lucifer wasn't someone who would give up that easily. He tightly held onto the protrusion, pressing his body against the cliff and trying to brace himself against the power of nature.

'I won't die! I'll get out of here alive!'

Another 20 minutes passed, and Lucifer immediately used Shadow Movement again and to keep on climbing.

***

After a few pauses and continues, it seemed that Lucifer had gradually gotten used to his current situation.

Although having to hold on to the protrusion for 20 minutes had cost him quite a bit of stamina, the good thing was that when he entered the shadow state again, not only would Lucifer not lose any stamina, he would even recover his stamina.

Lucifer was also able to search for and hold on to the protrusions more easily. It seemed that climbing this mountain had strengthened Lucifer's endurance, stamina, and reflexes a lot.

If he encountered the strong breezes from the natural, Lucifer would simply press himself against the cliff and hold on to the protrusion harder. That way, no matter how frail he was, he wouldn't be pushed away by the force of the wind.

Currently, Lucifer had ascended 2/3 of the mountain. He was steadily getting closer to the top.

After the Shadow Movement time ended, Lucifer instantly held on to 2 overhangs. But it looked like these 2 overhangs were quite small this time. With no other choice, Lucifer dug his nails into both overhangs to keep himself from plummeting down.

10 minutes passed without anything happening. Everything was still tranquil. Nevertheless, this didn't make Lucifer felt better, instead, a shiver ran through his spine.

Suddenly, Lucifer felt his nose getting a little wet.

'Huh? No way…'

Just as he feared, the weather started to rain. It was not a gentle drizzle but a huge storm with extremely strong gales.

A series of gusts much stronger than before attempted to push Lucifer off the cliff, forcing him to drop down. To avoid that scenario, Lucifer used everything he had to hold himself up.

Suddenly, the overhang he was holding on the left suddenly separated and fell down below. Lucifer had lost a place to hold on to. Now, he could only rely on his right hand.

Despite the increasingly strong gales, Lucifer still had to hold on to the protrusion on his right side. It was too small for both of them to hold on to, so Lucifer could only use his right hand to keep himself from falling.

'I have to find another place to hold on to.'

Lucifer hurriedly glanced around but couldn't find anything that could help him in this circumstance. He also couldn't dig his nails into the cliff because it was made entirely of rock.

After about 5 minutes, the storm finally disappeared. Nonetheless, Lucifer couldn't be happy because his right hand felt like it was melting. He was gradually losing strength. Every muscle in his right hand felt like it was about to explode at any moment.

Lucifer gradually fell into despair.

Lucifer had never believed that failure would lead to death like everyone said, but in the current situation, he had to accept that they were right.

'Only 5 minutes left! Hang in there!'

Lucifer tried to calm himself down. He counted every single second in his head.

'How could time pass so slowly!'

Lucifer was almost about to cry.

'10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds, 7 seconds, 6 seconds, 5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds…'

'Almost there…'

Lucifer felt like he was going to die. His right hand had completely turned into a pile of scrap. He could no longer feel it or control it. There were only 3 seconds left before Lucifer could use Shadow Movement again.

But when there were only 2 seconds left, Lucifer's right hand suddenly slipped. He immediately fell at a terrifying speed. Lucifer was in hopelessness.

[Shadow Movement can now be used again.]

Without hesitation, Lucifer regained his composure and activated Shadow Movement right away. He merged with the darkness on the cliff once more.

'I'm still alive…'

Without delay, Lucifer immediately rushed up. Because of the fall just now, he had fallen behind, but not too far from where he had been. He had no time to waste.

***

Finally, after more than 3 hours, Lucifer had successfully conquered this cliff. But in return, his spirit was completely worn out and his right arm still showed no signs of recovery.

'Yes…'

Lucifer did not feel proud or happy after conquering the mountain. He simply felt like he had been liberated.