Chương 37

In his delirium, Ethan was half-aware that this could be an illusion and wouldn't really harm him if that was the case. Then again, it could also be real with just some details skewed in his mind. Running away in this condition would only attract more trouble. He knew he didn't have any choice but to fight. When he made up his mind, he saw that the scorpions had gotten even bigger. Normally they were a bit shorter than him, but now they had become twice his size.

Looking at his tiny hands gripping the daggers tightly, he realized that he was the one who had gotten smaller; he was in the body of his 10-year-old self. A mad laugh escaped his mouth.

''Is this supposed to scare me!? Did you think my battles were ever easy!?'' he screamed at the beasts before charging at them without a shred of hesitation. All of a sudden, the scene changed. He found himself running toward a group of children inside the sewers. As he got close, everyone stopped talking and made a path for him. In the center of the crowd, three adults were watching him with interest.

Their identity was clear from their armbands; the gang members of the Diablos, which had recently taken over a big tire shop near their hunting grounds, officially controlling two neighborhoods. The tall and skinny man looked at the reaction of the kids before letting out a loud laugh.

''What is this? Some kind of a joke?'' he asked, amused.

''Are you all really listening to this brat?'' When no one spoke, the gang member continued, looking at Ethan, half amused, half annoyed.

''Kid, we are here to recruit. We'll pick out some pretty girls and strong boys. You'll still have your crew to do scavenging. Are we clear?''''I think there has been a misunderstanding, sir. We don't do scavenging anymore,'' he replied, looking up to catch the others' eyes with his own cold eyes.

''These days… we prey on the strong.'' The gang members' faces fell.

'' Do you, now?'' One of them reached for his gun, but other shots rang out before he could touch his weapon, as more than five children in the crowd started shooting. All three of them died with wide eyes, not expecting these street urchins to have a gun, let alone so many. Once it got quiet, Ethan's grave voice announced, ''Change of plans. We raid their base tonight!'' He turned toward a boy with a shotgun.

''Dean, pick five more guys and fill the carriage with all the alcohol we got. Start transporting them in front of the tire shop this afternoon. Make sure that all of the Diablos see the haul when they seize it from you.'''' Charlie,'' Ethan called again, turning behind. Instead of Charlie, he found himself staring at a cactus-like plant. He looked at the plant for a few more seconds before looking at his body. Covered in blood, still holding his daggers. I'm losing my shit, he thought and checked his health.

It was more than half, but his mana was almost depleted. After looking around and finding nothing but four scorpion corpses, he sat by the cactus and started to cultivate. Once he felt that a few hours had passed, he leaped back to his feet and noticed that his location had changed yet again. Jagged canyon walls stretched before him, his hands crimp-gripping small protrusions. The sharp wind licked his neck as his hair fluttered along with his cloak.

Looking down, he saw three scorpion corpses more than a hundred yards below. With his [Mana Sense], he was also able to detect the beasts above the cliff. While he was trying to understand the situation, the stone he was holding started to roll down. Frightened, he immediately extended his hand to grasp another rock and caught sight of a small hand that was also trying to reach him. Ethan grasped the hand and let it pull him up.

As he climbed up from a manhole, the scene that welcomed him was the somber backyard of a tire shop. The gang members were dozing off everywhere, and there was a smell of booze, cigarettes, and piss in the air. He strolled toward the main building while the sound of music reached his ears beforehand. He remembered the tune: it was the Rolling Stones–Dancing with Mr. D. –playing. The kids of the Drains were getting into their positions as Ethan walked toward the building with a revolver in his small hand.

He passed the dogs that were sleeping on the ground, heavily drugged. It was the middle of the night, but some of the lights were on. The song was much louder when he reached the center of the building, surrounded by the knocked-out criminals. He wondered how someone could sleep in this noise before giving a look toward the kids who were encircling the entire compound. The moment Ethan cocked the hammer and the revolver made a click, the scene changed. The gang members turned into giant scorpions at once.

Looking at the dozen beasts circling him, he gritted his teeth in frustration. And, of course, like a joke, he wasn't able to feel his teeth at all, while the same song from the tire shop was still blasting ever loudly. Without caring what was real and what wasn't, he yelled, ''Come!'''' Come!'' His voice echoed in the abandoned warehouse, and the dozen people armed with all kinds of cold weapons attacked him at the same time. Fifteen-year-old Ethan dodged the incoming arrow with a tilt of his head.

He took a step back and put his dagger under the spear that was aimed at his throat before lifting his hand up. As the spear passed his head by a small margin, he took a step forward and stabbed his other dagger into the man's heart. When he pushed the spearman away, someone with a sword made a stabbing move. He spun around to avoid the sword and changed the dagger to a reverse grip, stabbing the swordsman's arm.

Without leaving the grip, he pulled the man toward himself, and the hammer strike that was intended for him bashed the swordsman's head. His other dagger was already going for the man's kidney with the hammer. After the stab, he ducked the elbow strike and changed the man's direction to the incoming arrow, making a hole in his throat. He pushed the body of the dying man to someone else with chains. The man got rid of the body quickly, but Ethan appeared in his blind spot, giving him a kick in the knee.

The sound of shattering bones mixed with the blood splashing from the neck of the guy next to them. Like the grim reaper himself, he danced around the room, dealing death to anyone who tried to touch him. Finally, the song ended when he pulled his dagger from the archer's head.

'Congratulations, you finally diiid iiitt! Dooo yooouu wiisshh–' Ani's voice after the training session sounded like it was coming from the inside of a deep well, from far away. Glancing around at the bodies of the people, he saw that the bodies of dead scorpions also started to appear, all mixing together. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Standing both inside the ruined warehouse and on the seventh floor of the dungeon, Ethan wanted to focus on Ani's voice, but he saw the scene that he was unable to forget, no matter how much time had passed: his father's body hanging from a tree, rotting after staying under the sun for too long. Not expecting to see this, he was stunned for a time. He didn't move when the human corpses lying on the ground started to change shapes, growing horns, getting muscles, and looking more… vile.

Because he knew what this was about. Ethan thought about getting revenge for his father. A lot. Most of the people who participated in his murder were still living even after Animus entered their lives and changed the nature of things. He knew that Ani would never help him with something like revenge, but if he really tried, he could've found a way. The day that the bombs went off, thousands of people rushed to the streets in panic, fear, and anger.

Many of them lost themselves in the euphoria of venting and did absolutely ridiculous things. Among the people were housewives, school teachers, and even teenagers who were just looking for some excitement. Against the vile nature of the humans, his father stood in the wrong place at the wrong time and became a target. Since everyone believed it was the AIs dropping nukes all over the world, the developers of the AIs must have seemed like a good scapegoat. What should Ethan have done?

Seek justice for his father when there was no justice? Fight against evil when his hands were already covered in blood? He knew that his father would've hated him if he'd seen how hypocritical he was being. His parents hadn't raised him to kill in the name of so-called justice, satisfy his cravings for a short time, and create a cycle of endless tragedies. He had to break his stare because the human corpses had already turned into demons, and now they were coming for him.

Now, he had to kill his demons whether he wanted to or not, because he still didn't know if they were just illusions or the beasts themselves. However, before the demons got close, this time he saw the face of his mother up above, smiling at him like an angel. Like telling him that he was not evil, that everything he did was to survive, and that he shouldn't be too hard on himself because she was proud of him. His sweet and precious mother, the one he wasn't even able to find the body of.

He was never able to figure out what had happened to her. Even Ani had no idea, but it was still able to confirm that she wasn't among the people who were alive. Looking at her face that was disappearing slowly, Ethan's [Mana Aura] activated without him intending.

''I think I have enough mind games for today. Now… I'm starting to get pissed.'' Two [Shadow Spikes] appeared at the foreheads of demons as Ethan solemnly looked at his dagger, spinning it with his fingers. When he lifted his head, two more [Shadow Spikes] pierced through the hearts of other demons.

''You don't want me pissed.'' And the massacre picked up pace even more so. Time lost its meaning; the more he killed, the more of them appeared. In a trance, he did what he always thought was right: survive at any cost. Without thinking any other thoughts or distractions, he killed and killed. Only in the absence of things to kill, Ethan's vision slowly deteriorated until he found himself in total darkness.

He found the darkness familiar and felt comfort in it, but he also knew there was something wrong with it, like he knew he shouldn't accept this comfort. As he struggled to find a solution, he heard a vague sound of a song coming from afar. When he tried to focus, it became clear the voice was his, and the song was called 'Send Me an Angel' by Scorpions. Ignoring his irritation with the name of the group, he closed his eyes and listened with intent.

Wise man said just raise your hand And reach out for the spell Find the door to the promised land Just believe in yourself Hear this voice from deep inside It's the call of your heart Close your eyes and you will find The way out of the dark Here I am (Here I am) Will you send me an angel? Here I am (Here I am) In the land of the morning star Along with the solo riff, after what felt like an eternity, he opened his eyes and saw everything with clarity. The effects of the damned poison were finally over.

He was sitting on the ground and playing his runed guitar. The guitar had scars and claw marks on it. His hands and nails were covered with dried blood. Disregarding his haggard appearance and the need for water, he first checked his resources. His mana and stamina were at the bottom, while his health was barely at a fifth. Looking around, he saw that right next to him there was a body of a demon, or at least that was his guess.

The creature had purple skin, a build full of muscles, two curved horns on its head, and Ethan's dagger was stabbed between them. As he kept looking, he noticed that in the small area around him, there were dozens of the same kind of creature, some male and some female. Wasn't that a dream? Where the fuck am I? His question was answered when he saw the door to the ninth floor, not much further from him, close to the magma lake with more demon corpses floating in it. Apparently, he was on the eighth floor.

'Ani, how much time passed since the first scorpion poisoned me?'

'About two and a half days.' Ethan frowned as he couldn't tell if it felt shorter or longer. He checked the inside of his ring and saw that his potions were still there.

'How am I still alive?'

'Command unclear.'

'Did I take breaks to cultivate while I was poisoned?'

'Yes, whenever your mana depleted, you stopped to fill it.' He felt amused as he didn't stop to heal himself, but stopped because he wasn't able to kill any faster. Shaking his head, he looked at the underground dwelling and the demon corpses that looked around level 47. The land of the morning star, huh? Too bad I didn't get some of that scorpion poison. It would be useful on the other floors. A headache started to show itself as Ethan took out his water flask.

His sore throat burned as the water passed, and he planned his next steps, trying to forget the weird experience he'd just had. Two and a half days is not bad at all. The others should be taking it slow. I'll see what I can do for them once I clear the rest of the floors.

'Show me the notifications.'

'DING! You have leveled up.'

'DING! You have advanced the [Mana Aura] to rank 2.'

'DING! You have leveled up.'

'DING! You have gained the skill [Mana Connection].' Ethan raised an eyebrow.

'Show me the status.' Tier 3 - Level 35 Health: 255/1400 Mana: 17/1200 Stamina: 64/1000 Vitality: 140 Strength: 92 Endurance: 100 Agility: 150 Intelligence: 120 Perception: 60 *Available stats: 40 Skills(Rank 1): [Blink], [Fabric Tear], [Mana Sense], [Shadow Spikes], [Long Jump], [Mana Conceal], [Mana Connection] Rank 2: [Void Wrap], [Mana Aura] He distributed half of the stats to AGI and the other half to INT, noting that his leveling speed at least doubled when he was grinding monsters alone.

'Explain the mana connection.'

'[Mana Connection]: Send your emotions to others through your mana. You can also vaguely sense others' emotions from the mana leaking around them. The range is connected to your domain.' The corner of his mouth slowly curled upward. My songs will make others cry now.

'And the mana aura?'

'[Mana Aura] Rank-2: Suppress others with your killing intent and mana pool while evoking fear in enemies for a short time. You can also choose specific targets in your domain with your will.' Next to the demon boss, he lay down on his back and closed his eyes.

''Hmm, I'm gonna need to test that fear effect, and I also need to fucking eat something at some point, but first, I'm just gonna...'' he mumbled to himself as the tension left his body and drifted into the darkness once again.