I swallowed in anticipation as I directed my will into the ornate silver ring. I took a deep breath and summoned the vengeful writer's gift.
A whirl of ethereal white sparks shot out of the ring, slowly forming a luminescent, elongated outline in my hands. It reminded me of a spear. Maybe it was an ancient treasure Raxon had used to slay many mighty Fracturebeasts? Or maybe a family heirloom used to slay the most indominatable of Fracturebeasts from the time Bloodfiends were hailed as one of the most powerful and terrifying races to grace this world?
I felt a chill run down my spine at the thought of potentially having found a cheat code! This was more like the webnovel's I had read back on Earth!
The outline slowly solidified, taking a scarlet hue. A sharp tip clearly refined with hours of blood, sweat and tears sat at its end.
A wide smile crept onto my face.
And finally, the swirling white sparks ceased their dance.
The weapon Raxon had left for me, coalesced into a magnificent, grand and enormous...
Stick.
Raxon had left me a big stick.
My face fell.
'...'
Well, it was sharp at least and shaped like a spear. Not to mention very well polished.
Still...
It was a well-crafted and sharpened stick.
I furrowed my brows as my claws slid along the length of the scarlet stick. I felt strange grooves running along the stick, which I hadn't noticed immediately.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed thin, smoothly flowing engravings running along its scarlet surface. The lines were fluid and delicately carved, running along the entire length of the mighty spear, forming intertwining, elegant patterns. Looking even closer, all the lines covering the spear were carved from even smaller engravings, reminiscent of strange runes.
I quickly plastered a smile back onto my face. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover!
I mean, look at me! I look like an absolutely annoying, pain-in-the-ass, little, short, small, dwarf-sized, scrawny red piece of shit, but I'm not that bad. I'm only slightly annoying, mostly a pain-in-the-ass, and relatively tall compared to my previous height, red piece of shit. Not to mention the might my tiny body is hiding!
Maybe this piece of fine craftsmanship is the same? Maybe it can split through mountains if I give it a good swing!
I took a look down the hallway, barely hearing Tessa's and Lumina's echoing footsteps. They were far enough not to come running back immediately once they heard the trembling might of the long-lost ancient artifact. I took a couple of steps back, then firmly gripped the rudimentary spear and, with all my tiny might, flung it at the tough onyx walls.
The spear whistled and cut through the air in a blur of scarlet, swiftly approaching the onyx wall.
I watched in anticipation as the smile on my face grew even wider.
As the spear made contact with the wall, a shockwave spread-
No.
The well-polished, sharp stick anticlimactically bounced off the wall with a dull clang like any stick should, somehow still managing to hit me in the face.
I picked up the stick while rubbing my nose.
'Maybe an ancient master's soul is hidin- Yeah, let's face the music. It's just a stick.'
I let out a deep sigh.
Although it wasn't a God-slaying spear or anything like that, the stick still somehow felt special. It had a certain kind of aura to it, not to mention the runes were a dead giveaway that this stick had some kind of use.
Luckily, I now had someone to ask my burning questions to! Although I wasn't sure how likely I was to get an answer.
'System~!'
The System surprisingly graced me with an answer.
[You are holding a Counter]
'A Counter? Like a clock?'
[No, a Counter is a weapon, which was crafted with the sole purpose of slaying only one being and nothing else]
'One being?' I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.
[Yes, it is useless against anything other than its designated target]
I fell into thought.
The unassuming piece of ornate art was, in fact, quite deadly, as I guessed, just not in the way I had expected. A special weapon meant to slay one being...interesting.
The System's claims raised some questions as well. What was this spear meant to kill, and why? Why did Raxon have something like this, and why did he leave it at the cabin? If it served the sole purpose of slaying only one being, then it was clearly valuable to him if he had it in the first place.
Did he make it himself?
'Hmm.'
As per usual, I was lacking information, but based on how Tessa was treating these objects from the Records, they all had to be valuable in the current situation, my extraordinary stick included.
'Maybe its meant to slay the Guardian at the Core?'
There was no correlation between the two, yet what else in here could possibly require a weapon distinctly crafted for the purpose of slaying it? There weren't exactly many options, at least none that I was aware of.
I also came up with another idea. Since I was used to constantly being in the dark about most things by now, I hadn't thought to do this earlier. Having a walking encyclopedia at hand is in fact a great boon!
'System, who was Raxon?' I asked. There was no anticipation in my tone as I didn't expect to get an answer.
[I will not answer questions about specific individ-]
Just as I was expecting to get shut down, the System fell quiet suddenly, almost as if it was thinking. Something was clearly wrong.
The System spoke up in an alarmed voice.
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Why do you know this name?]
For the first time, the System was questioning me now. I felt like I had done the equivalent of asking a pregnant woman if she would like a smoke by the way the System was talking to me. I was left a bit stunned by the sudden question, but I chose to answer honestly.
'I found a ring back in the cabin, which had Raxon inscribed on the inside. I mean, you even translated it for me, no?'
A tense silence filled the dark, onyx hallways as I awaited the System's response. I was genuinely a bit weirded out.
[Correct. I will check more carefully what I translate from now on]
'Uh-huh.'
Does the system make mistakes? Weird.
Another question onto my ever-growing pile of mysteries, followed by one already in the pile expanding. Yeah, not like I was already overwhelmed or anything, go on.
I pinched my brows.
Just who the hell was Raxon for the System to react like that?
I had no idea, and I didn't have the time to ponder anymore either. I had to catch up to Lumina and Tessa before I completely lost them.
I began running down the dark hall in the direction they had headed in earlier. It was a nice brisk pace compared to what I had gone through back in the Forest of Forsaken Souls.
As I ran through the dark hallways searching for the duo, I had a thought run through my head.
Why was I even going after them at this point?
I didn't need blood from them anymore. Did I necessarily have to leave this place with them by defeating the Guardian? No, of course not. But...
I looked down at the engraved spear-like stick I hadn't bothered to put back in the ring yet. I was already somewhat dreading the process just looking at it.
'...'
'They would probably die without this, right?'
I was in a bit of a dilemma.
I really, really disliked everyone's attitudes in that group and the whole setup.
Justin was an arrogant prick who would apparently kill his own parents for money.
Tessa was a haughty, somewhat decent piece of human shit.
Lumina was probably one of the most ruthless, manipulative and scheming people I've ever met.
Don't look at me like that. I'm still somewhat better, I'd say.
And Justin... All things considered, he seems like the most reasonable of the bunch. Yeah, killing Lumina's not cool and all, but at least he felt bad about it, right?
Yet, Lumina's and Tessa's circumstances seem more complicated than I had at first thought. For one, Lumina had betrayed Tessa and not lightly. It seemed she or her Clan had somehow hurt someone close to Tessa. Maybe even killed them.
Tessa was definitely not in the right state of mind. She was apparently planning on getting everyone killed here at some point to get her revenge. Knowing your life was coming to an end in exchange for revenge would make anyone act differently.
I sighed. Who knew what she was really like, and for how long this has been hanging over her?
I was definitely too rash in who I sided with.
Based on what I've seen of her and my own experiences with such people, I can see more than enough reasons why someone might want Lumina dead. I could definitely see where Tessa was coming from and didn't really blame her for it.
Lumina wasn't someone helpless. Hell, I'd bet that there's a slim chance she was never in any real danger at all at first. It seemed the circumstances had somewhat changed now, however. This place is apparently quite special and deadly, so maybe she can't handle it anymore.
Even back at the camp. It's not like she knew of my existence. To keep up her lie, I have a feeling that one way or another, even if I hadn't helped her that time, someone would have been slaughtered regardless. Lumina was terrifying, and not someone I wanted to really mess with.
So I was shocked.
How had Tessa not realized this?
She clearly knows her, so why the hell did she choose to try to take revenge so directly with such a psychopath!?
I shook my head as I analyzed the dark hallway.
Regardless, I felt that I should continue to observe the situation and see how things turn out. Maybe I could even land the killing blow on the Guardian, and letting that bunch die would be meaningless. I would like to get something out of their deaths at the very least.
After a couple more minutes of running, I came to a halt. I was at another crossroads, where dense scarlet laced the ground of one of the passages. Except this time it was...soil?
I picked some of the scarlet up and rubbed it between my claws.
It was the familiar scarlet soil from the forest. It lined the floor into the depths of the hallway. It was strange that it was here, but I chose not to question it. I had seen plenty of strange things by now, and finding this was actually a good thing.
Where else would the hateful duo go?
I took a moment to catch my breath, then dashed forward.
My feet swiftly patted against the soft soil for a couple of minutes before the tunnel opened up into a large room.
I heard human voices in the distance and looked over.
My brows lifted in a pleasant surprise.
A familiar orb of light illuminated the open area. I saw Justin, Carl, Lumina and Tessa within the domain of light discussing something. It seemed they had found one another at some point. It was nice. The gang was finally back together!
I made sure to stop at the end of the hallway to avoid getting caught and analyzed everything from a distance.
I shifted my gaze across the room before stopping and staring with a dumbfounded look. What caught my attention was the familiar giant pillar of crimson freely flourishing its branches in the middle of the room.
I felt my jaw slacken slightly.
Why the hell was there a Bloodtree here!?