[06: 23: 01: 04]
...
A low, distorted voice slithered through Cassian’s mind, thick with malice.
{"Zzz… you are the pest that’s running around… killing my children…"}
The creature’s mouth did not move, yet the words echoed inside his skull, crawling through his thoughts like venomous tendrils.
Then came the pain.
[DING! YOU HAVE BEEN HIT BY A [MENTAL TYPE ATTACK]]
[DING! NO DEFENSES OR RESISTANCE FOUND… ATTACK SUCCESSFUL]
[DING! YOU ARE AFFLICTED WITH [MENTAL DOMINATION], YOU LOSE [5] HP/SECOND, YOU ARE PLACED UNDER A DEBUFF [MENTAL CHAOS], UNABLE TO CONCENTRATE]
Cassian clawed at his head, breath ragged as agony speared through his brain like hot needles. His knees buckled, body trembling as the creature’s voice sank deeper, twisting into something worse—something primal.
{"So fragile… so desperate to survive…"}
A dark, rasping laugh filled his mind, not spoken, but felt—a crawling sickness wrapping around his thoughts.
{"You scurry deeper into my domain, thinking yourselves hunters. But you are prey."}
Cassian gritted his teeth, forcing his body to move, but the searing pain crashed over him in another wave, sending him sprawling to the floor.
{"So you are the one Heavens choose… A little boy…"}
The corpse tilted its head, its decayed lips curling into something resembling amusement.
{"You are thinking what is this vile creature look at me… you vile humans turned me into these”}
The words made Cassian’s stomach twist, but he fought past the suffocating mental haze. He had to act. The creature chuckled again, voice syrupy, coaxing.
{I’ll absorb your powers and ascend to even greater highs and those false gods will kneel"}
{"Why make your life harder, boy… surrender. Let go and I’ll reforge you into a higher being…"}
Cassian’s fingers dug into the blood-slick floor, his breath ragged. His heart pounded, but his grip on reality was slipping. He mentally reached for the [Rock Golem] card with his essence, yet holding that concentration to activate the card was difficult. Then, before he could act, he saw the creature’s bindings snap.
An even greater pressure slammed into his mind like a sledgehammer.
[DING! YOU HAVE BEEN HIT BY A [GREATER MENTAL TYPE ATTACK]]
[DING! NO DEFENSES OR RESISTANCE FOUND… ATTACK SUCCESSFUL]
[DING! YOU ARE AFFLICTED WITH [GREATER MENTAL DOMINATION], YOU LOSE [10] HP/SECOND, YOU ARE PLACED UNDER A DEBUFF [MENTAL CHAOS], UNABLE TO CONCENTRATE]
[DING! HP POOL 192/305]
[DING! DUE TO NOT HAVING ANY DEFENSES AGAINST MENTAL ATTACKS, YOUR MIND IS IN A CRITICAL STATE. PROLONGED DAMAGE MAY CAUSE IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES.]
A greater wave of torment crushed him, drowning his thoughts in raw, unfiltered agony. Blood poured from his nose, his ears, his eyes. The pain blurred his vision, but something inside him—something buried deep—snapped.
It wasn’t his mind-breaking. It was something awakening.
Like a shattered glass wall, the pain recoiled, suppressed by a surge of power and clarity. His thoughts cut through the haze like a blade through flesh, the fog lifting in an instant. Cassian pushed himself up, eyes locking onto the creature.
For the first time, it hesitated.
The corpse’s dead, glassy stare widened as if recognizing something in him—something it didn’t understand.
Then it screamed.
A rasping wail split the air, shaking the room. Cassian’s ears rang, but he could barely hear it over the notifications flashing before his eyes.
[DING! ?TRUTH: "I'LL BURN THE WORLD IF IT MEANS THAT YOU WILL BURN WITH IT"? TRIGGERED]
[DING! ?IMMOLATION PACT? ACTIVATED. TARGET: MOTHER OF KALRACHS]
[DING! ?BOUND BY ASH? TRIGGERED! THE TARGET: MOTHER OF KALRACHS WILL TAKE 50% EXTRA DAMAGE]
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{"HOW?!!"} The creature’s voice turned to shrieking static. Cassian smirked bloodied, flipping it the middle finger.
{"I’ll KILL YOU!!"}
BANG!
The corpse’s head exploded, sending chunks of rotting flesh splattering across the room.
Dorian appeared from behind, his grip firm as he grabbed Cassian’s shoulder, hoisting him up. Cassian wiped the blood from his eyes and grinned, giving a thumbs-up.
“Exceptional timing.”
[DING! YOUR COMPANION HAS KILLED KALRACH(CORRUPTER)(POSSESSED)]
Cassian exhaled sharply, his breath ragged as the headless corpse fell to the ground. He wiped blood from his eyes, blinking through the lingering red vision and the intense throbbing in his mind.
"It’s dead… Dorian," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "That was… unexpected." He coughed, wincing as his mind throbbed like a war drum. "Help me sit somewhere…I’ll try to heal us."
Dorian gave a sharp nod. "Understood."
With steady hands, he guided Cassian toward the nearest wall, lowering him down carefully against the cold metal. The support was welcome. Cassian’s limbs felt like lead, every movement sluggish, like his body was only just realizing how bad his condition was when he was only attacked with a mental type.
Dorian crouched beside him, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out a half-filled water bottle, giving it a light shake before offering it. "That and the one you have—that’s all the water we’ve got. We need to find more, somehow."
Cassian nodded, taking the bottle and swallowing a few measured sips. The water was lukewarm, and metallic from the container, but it helped clear some of the lingering haze clouding his mind. Leaning back, he let out a slow breath, his eyes drifting shut.
Fuuu~ Focus. Breathe.
His heartbeat slowed, the frantic pounding in his head dulling to something he could ignore. He raised a hand, tracing an infinity symbol in the air, summoning his Soulkeep.
He quickly switched out a random card from the run slots when he stopped and tapped on Preset 2, which was still blank, and equipped both [Heal] and [Creation Attunement] there as the soulkeep entered a few minutes cooldown.
While I wait… System, show me my HP stats.
[DING! HP POOL 182/305]
"Damn… I was almost down half my HP pool…" His fingers absentmindedly tapped against his knee. "Mental attacks are scary as hell and I seriously need to get my hands on some sort of resistance against that."
His mind drifted back to the battle.
It seems there are various stages to this ‘mental dominance’ attack; It started out with lesser, then no prefix, and then straight greater. The DOT also went from [3] to [10] HP/second.
He pushed the thought aside.
Then there was her—the ‘Mother of Kalrachs.’ The Final Boss of this hidden scenario.
Possession, Mental damage, kalrach spawns, and god knows what more abilities she no that monster has.
The memory of her voice—raspy, suffocating, ancient—made his stomach twist.
And yet…
Cassian smiled as he remembered the sudden shift in her when his truth activated. That moment was awesome. Her face and the way she faltered. He could see feel a faint bond connecting him to the ‘Mother of kalrach’.
Rest first. Think later Cassy… Now that she is aware… we better move.
Two minutes passed before the changes in his Soulkeep were finalized. Cassian flexed his fingers, hesitated for only a second, then spoke the command.
"[Heal]."
A warm surge of energy flooded through his veins, soothing the worst of his headache. The relief was almost immediate, numbing the pain like a gentle pulse of light pressing against the darkness.
[DING! YOU HAVE USED RUN CARD [HEAL] ON YOURSELF, GRANTED [5] VITALITY REGEN MODIFIER]
Hmm, that’s a new detail, system show me HP stats again.
[DING! HP POOL 302/305]
okay… +110 HP per cast, huh
That was definitely more than what he was getting pre-ascension, the quantity and quality of heal right now was a lot stronger too. Which meant [Heal] was likely scaling off his stats. Good to know.
[DING! RUN CARD [HEAL] (CREATION INCANTATION) → {15/25}]
Cassian cracked his knuckles. "Alright, let’s get you patched up too, Dorian."
He reached for another cast—this time, for his partner.
…
[06: 22: 24: 04]
It had been twenty minutes since they’d left the Restricted Research Wing behind, the eerie silence of the corridors pressing in around them. Their every step was measured, their senses sharp—expecting, waiting. They had feared the Mother of Kalrach would send more monsters after them, but so far, nothing. No twisted horrors. No ambushes.
Cassian didn’t trust it.
His grip tightened around his shotgun as he swept his gaze across the dimly lit hallway, the flickering overhead lights casting distorted shadows along the walls.
“Dorian,” Cassian murmured, breaking the silence. “I think we should skip the Medical Waste Disposal… Doubt there’s anything useful there. Collecting more Soulsparks should be our priority right now… we have only one right now”
Dorian, walking a few steps ahead, slowed his pace. He gave a short nod, considering.
“Hmm. Understood.” He glanced toward the corridor map on his interface. “We’re almost at B2’s exit gates.”
Cassian frowned. A gut feeling twisted in his stomach.
“Dorian… I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” His voice was low but firm. “We’ll probably be facing an elite there. Stay behind me. Try not to draw its attention.”
Dorian exhaled slowly, adjusting his stance, but his tone remained calm.
“Understood.”
…
[06: 22: 19: 44]
Cassian’s gaze was fixed on the exit gates of B2.
Okay, let’s do this…
Cassian exhaled slowly, steadying his breath as he double-checked his Soulkeep, ensuring he had the right presets loaded. A glance over his shoulder found Dorian a few paces behind, his stance tense but disciplined.
Cassian stepped forward and tapped his ID card against the scanner. A faint beep echoed in the empty corridor, followed by the quiet hiss of hydraulics, as the heavy doors began to part.
Cassian did not step forward.
Instead, he took two deliberate steps back, his instincts honed by the card [A knight’s squire] were on high alert. He kept his shotgun readied as he used his other arm as the base for the gun to rest on.
Biting his lips, he stayed still for a few seconds, taking small calm breaths and his shotgun trained at the gates, yet nothing moved.
No movement. No sound. No immediate threat.
But the feeling was there. Someone… or something was watching him but from where?
Fuuu…
Taking a breath, Cassian reached into his essence and used [Mana shield] card. This was a neat trick he recently figured out; if he channeled his essence into his heart, he could use any card without speaking out loud, however, Cassian was not yet proficient in this, so this process took quite a bit of his concentration.
[DING! DECK CARD ?MANA SHIELD(KNOWLEDGE SPELL)? USED, IT IS A CONTINUOUS CONCENTRATION TYPE SPELL, CASTING COST: 5 ESSENCE, GAINED 10 DAMAGE ABSORPTION]
[DING! MANA SHIELD CAN BE ENHANCED BY FEEDING MORE ESSENCE, 1 ESSENCE/ (10) DMG ABSORBTION]]
[DING! CURRENT SATURATION: LVL 1 SHIELD (10) DMG ABSORBTION]
[DING! ESSENCE WELL: 37/42]
A faint shimmer pulsed around him—subtle, nearly invisible—but Cassian could feel it. A sphere of essence formed a thin barrier around him. Faint threads connected him to the shield.
He studied it carefully.
okay so [5] essence is the casting cost… I can manage and I can overload this spell… let’s put in a few points, just to be safe.
He tapped into the threads, feeding more essence into the shield. The surrounding air shimmered again.
[DING! YOU HAVE FED 5 ESSENCE POINTS TO YOUR MANA SHIELD SPELL, CURRENT SATURATION: LVL 5 SHIELD (60) DMG ABSORBTION]
Fuuu… Need to figure out later how much exactly one point of essence translates to. But for now… let’s move in.
Cassian lifted one arm and pointed forward as he moved. Every movement was deliberate. Shotgun raised. Posture firm.
The feeling that someone was watching only intensified as he reached the stairs going down, yet there was no sign of movement. The stairwell leading down came into view. The air here felt… thick.
Still no movement. Nothing stirred, but then Cassian’s instincts screamed as he heard Dorian’s shout.
“Cassian Dodge!”
He dodged to the right an instant before something lunged at him. A blur of writhing limbs and snapping jaws crashed into the space he had occupied seconds ago, its guttural hiss cutting through the air.
Without hesitation, Cassian whipped his shotgun up and fired.
BOOM!
The creature’s head exploded, chunks of flesh and bone splattering across the ground.
[DING! YOU HAVE KILLED A KALRACH (FEEDER)]
Cassian barely had time to process before two more shots rang out from behind him. He twisted, catching the sight of Dorian, his pistol raised, the barrel still smoking.
[DING! YOUR COMPANION HAS KILLED A KALRACH (FEEDER)]
[DING! YOUR COMPANION HAS KILLED A KALRACH (FEEDER)]
Cassian’s breath came fast. Where the hell had they come from?
His stomach twisted as a single, horrifying thought struck him.
Still reeling from the sudden attack, Cassian’s eyes darted upward. His heart skipped a beat as he saw multiple dozens if not hundreds of eyes reflected in the light of his torch.
And then…
They dropped.
...
A/N : So I tried a chapter without boxes, I'm thinking I'll only use those for important system messages and the status.
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