Chapter 54 Second Pulse
"...RIGHT NOW!!"
Just as Nial was done shouting in the direction of the huge being, the distinct light transmuted mana that had shackled him down disappeared.
It was almost as if the mana had never existed in the first place, but Nial didn\'t seem to realize this fact.
Instead, what Nial noticed was that his Odyssey seed pulsated just once, releasing the natural restrictions of his body, and allowing him to release every single bit of his strength at once.
At the same time, his control of the mana within his body, and perception of the immediate surroundings increased several times over, and by instinctively activating the [Mana Perception(poorest)] ability, Nial could visualize everything in the room.
This change that happened out of nowhere should have shocked him, but Nial was eerily calm as his entire demeanor changed, making everyone believe that he was the overlord of the dungeon, instead of anyone else.
Upon seeing a human standing confidently in front of it and even dare speak to it, the huge being that had just been summoned halted in its tracks, forgetting the orders it had received for a quarter of a second.
Yet, it was just a moment later that it roared out, making the entire cave tremble, alongwith the deepest part of the Originals\' conscience that had been unable to stop themselves from helping Nial.
Even Jack felt himself to be incapable of rescuing Nial, even though the young man had given his all to defeat the Horned Earth Ratour.
After all, everybody would prioritize their own lives over that of others and Jack was no exception to this no matter how much he liked Nial.
He hoped that Nial would survive, but the chances were nill…or so Jack thought.
Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to look back, guilt-ridden by the fact that he had left behind someone to die, someone with an even greater natural combat talent than he possessed.
Jack knew it very well that his combat prowess was mostly owed to his Innate ability and without it, he wasn\'t that good of a fighter.
Meanwhile, not only did Jack feel incapable of looking back, everyone else including Shana was unable to look back, let alone return and help Nial.
Their mind was shut off, and their body was just running away from the ghastly being that had been summoned, knowing that they had no other choice but to run as fast as possible and save themselves.
Being trapped in the cave for days had already shaken their confidence and even the slightest danger made them jumpy.
As such, when they spotted the summoned being, their survival instincts took over as they ran for their lives knowing that even a single glance backward could lead to their doom.
And that was not only the case because the petrification rats could petrify them, but also owing to their morale that was already crumbling.
Seeing the huge beast that looked like a cross between a four-armed ape and a rat from up close would be the final straw to make their morale shatter completely.
On the other hand, Shana was not sure why, but despite the fear that swept through her entire body, she was sure that nothing would happen to Nial.
There was no reason for her to think so, and it was close to insanity to believe that Nial, the blind young man, who was already struggling to stand on his feet after the overly exhausting fight with the Horned Earth Ratour, would be able to somehow escape the summoned beast unscathed, but Shana was sure of it!
Because of that, her mind was clearer than that of anyone else, sure that it would be a nuisance for Nial if she and the other Originals would be nearby because they would simply turn into a burden, instead of being of any help!
Yet, when some minutes passed in silence, Shana and the other Originals couldn\'t help but feel odd, and a few more minutes passed before they reached the surface and safety, which was much faster than any of them had expected.
Only then, Jack dare to look back and took a relieved breath to see that not a single petrification rat, let alone the huge gray furred beast had followed them.
Not only did they hear complete silence from the inside of the cave that had a giant beast and a large horde of petrification rats, but it was even weirder that not a single beast had followed them.
However, it was just at this moment, that the entire cave began to violently tremble again, followed by the ground below the Originals\' feet that shook as well, before a gloomy and ominous aura began to emit from the ground all around them.
At the same time, the purest essence of darkness seemed to be released from the depths of the cave as everything turned dark, causing Jack to swallow nervously as his legs gave in the moment the aura came in touch with it.
Meanwhile, the others had already slumped to the ground, unable to stay conscious as they fainted on the wet ground, while fat raindrops poured on them.
Luckily, new military units entered the two-element dungeon that was sent as reinforcements, who felt their mana being drained at a rapid pace, the moment they stepped in.
It was followed by a dark, gloomy, and ominous aura that severely affected them.
Yet, they were able to handle the situation better and did not faint immediately, they were able to spot Jack, who was slowly losing his consciousness, followed by the others.
The military returned to the shelter with the Originals they rescued from the dungeon, leaving Nial and the beasts of the dungeon alone in the darkness….without actually realizing that he was still inside.
However, in fact, it was only Nial who was left alive, because he was the origin of the darkness that had been released.
The moment the Originals had left the tunnel he, the flood of petrification rats, and the huge summoned beast had been inside, many things changed.
First, Nial\'s entire body began to control the mana around him as if it was an extension of his arm, which made it possible for him to prevent any kind of mana-based attack directed at him.
One could also say that he even nullified the attacks that came from the huge beast, which realized that it had found a tough opponent.
Neither of the Originals would believe this fact if someone were to tell them as the summoned beast had overwhelmed all of them.
The Originals were not sure what rank it had attained, but it was certainly the strongest existence that inhabited the dungeon.
In fact, it should have never been able to enter the dungeon to begin with.
Yet, owing to the mission it had received, the beast was forced to do various tasks, irrespective of its will to perform them.
However, the moment Nial\'s Odyssey seed had pulsated for the first time, it and the petrification rats had sensed a unique presence that was radiated by Nial.
This was already enough for them to believe that they should leave him alone or risk their lives, and instead of acting rushed, ignoring their mission for the moment was the best they could do.
Thus, instead of letting its instincts overwhelm its mind, the huge beast used the little intelligence it had to stare at Nial in vigilance.
How could the beast know that this was exactly what would cause its own end, and that of the petrification rats as well as the Ratmen.
The few seconds of standstill gave Nial the necessary time to follow his instincts thoroughly.
He had no idea what he was currently doing and only knew that his body was moving of its own accord, as if it had acquired a mind of its own.
But, that was not the case for the Odyssey seed causing all of this.
It was also the Odyssey seed that was currently forcefully pulling every single trace of mana that was in the range of Nial\'s [Mana Perception(Poorest)] ability towards him.
After being activated and amplified several times owing to the first pulse, the activated ability enveloped the entire room they were in, absorbing more than enough mana within a single second that something huge happened.
In fact, Nial\'s entire body was currently filled with mana, but every single particle was slowly moved towards the Odyssey seed that was fully prepared for the second step
As such it issued the second pulse, for the first time in Nial\'s life.
When it pulsated the second time, Nial felt as if his entire body was torn apart.
His pores had suddenly closed, preventing mana from entering his body.
But that was not the issue, because the darkness the Odyssey seed had released within Nial was unable to be released from his body!
Thus, he opened his pores without knowing how he did while a pained groan escaped his lips. Meanwhile, the beasts opposite him that were frozen in place just a moment before had started to act.
It was as if the darkness he released made them take action, and Nial knew why that was the case causing him to smile subtly as he pushed his feet off the ground.
This seemingly simple push towards the back allowed him to cross a distance of over ten meters, reaching a distance even the huge being required a second to catch up to.
Owing to that, the darkness his Odyssey had released got enough time to expand explosively and envelop Nial in a protective layer as it spread further, slowly encroaching forward and reaching the beasts that cried out in fear the moment the darkness aura reached them.
Nial was not sure what exactly he was feeling but it was certainly not an affinity as he had sensed one from the fire affinity wielder earlier, and his best friend was able to wield the lightning affinity.
And whatever he was feeling at the moment mirrored neither of them.
Because of that Nial was pretty sure that the darkness the Odyssey continued to release by draining the surroundings of its mana was something different to an affinity.
It was more like the darkness was nothing but that…simply darkness.
Unable to sense anything about it, Nial, who was blind, couldn\'t even perceive it properly.
Because of that, he had to rely on his other senses to understand that the darkness was ice-cold, causing great pain to everyone who came in touch with it, with the sole exception being Nial, himself.
He was not sure what exactly this meant but owing to him being the origin of the darkness, he presumed to be immune to the effects it caused.
However, that was also not something Nial could be absolutely sure of.
In fact, the Odyssey seed was something that didn\'t belong to him, in the first place!
Nial was certain that the Odyssey seed was something that had been forced upon him when he was three years old and had been trapped inside the dungeon that had held him for an entire week, only to release him afterward.
No matter how hard he tried, the memories of that fateful week eluded him which is why Nial couldn\'t be sure of anything.
However, after considering that his mana senses had been sealed off and that the Goddess\' energy was what had been required to awaken his origin and the Odyssey seed, he became even more confused.
Everything was questionable, including the second time the Odyssey seed had pulsated.
Neither did he know what requirements he had to meet in order to make the Odyssey seed pulsate, or what functions these pulses had, let alone if they were harmful if they occurred too often.
His knowledge about this was simply abysmal, but all of this took a backseat when compared to the rather astonishing realization that he could control the darkness and that it changed according to his will.
Feeling the unparalleled power in his grasp made him feel euphoric and the beasts began to sense that Nial was slowly comprehending how to wield the power.
As such, they wanted to attack him, but it was just a moment later that Nial lifted his hand, which caused the entire darkness to shoot in the direction of the huge beast and the petrification rats.
Nial had to simply think about what he wanted to do, but that caused his mind to feel like it was being pulled apart in opposite directions, which was not a great feeling.
It was at this moment that Nial realized that his mind and body were not prepared for the Odyssey seed or any of the functions it caused.
Rather, Nial was scared about the issues the Odyssey seed could cause just after he had awoken his origin a few weeks ago.
Yet, just at the moment, he was distracted, Nial perceived that the huge beast was devoured by the darkness that swallowed it whole, killing it mercilessly as it struggled in vain to save itself while being deprived of every single trace of mana within seconds.
Meanwhile, a large crystal dropped from its body that dispersed into countless particles, nurturing the darkness that expanded all of a sudden, devouring the remaining petrification rats that had been paralyzed with fear and thus were easy prey to the ever-increasing darkness.
As they were being devoured, the rats supplied the darkness with enough energy to expand further and further, and the power Nial gained all of a sudden, made his senses go numb as he seemed to blank out.
As such, he hardly noticed that the cave was collapsing.
However, it was just at this moment when the Odyssey seed stopped releasing more darkness.
On the contrary, everything was retracted in a matter of seconds, leaving behind the corpses of thousands of mana drained beasts, and hundreds of origin crystals!
**
If you want to support me use your golden tickets and powerstones.
You can also visit my pa treon: Pa treon.com/HideousGrain
More character images and nice chats about the HideVerse:
https://discord.gg/EdsDgFVWwZ
Link also in my description.
Do you like it? Leave a review and add it to the library!