Chapter 27: A Hundred Awakened
Kresha led his cohort through the forest on foot, slow and alert, as they knew the weight of the mission and had their goals clear.
Everyone stayed as silent as they could, careful not to alert anything perceived dangerous within the vicinity.
Thanks to the earlier premonition that the crater was a strange occurrence—and could very much be a portal to monsters—this was a needed precaution.
Drake kept his hand on the hilt of his sword at all times, scanning through the ALCRAN forest, not for the sake of finding a strange beast but because of the sights.
This was the first time he had entered a forest since he had been reincarnated, and it certainly felt strange. The trees, the bushes—all looked odd but unique.
The group continued to move through the forest until finally stopping at the base of a small hill. Climbing over it, Kresha was the first to stop. He didn’t move or say a word; he simply watched from the hill’s top.
The others behind him waited for a reply from their leader—whether to come up or not—but as none came, the group started to move, each person taking a side of the hill to stand upon and stare at the spectacle.
Drake reached the top and finally saw the reason for Kresha’s frozen stance.
Before his eyes was the vast expanse of what seemed like a hole, dug deeply into the ground and into the heart of the forest. The hill they had stood on instantly gave them a chilling feeling of foreboding as they realized what it truly was.
It wasn’t a hill—but a pile of debris created from the crater when it formed.
It was about eighty feet wide, and as far as one could see, there was nothing in the cave but utter darkness despite the reach of sunlight, which made their hearts fall a little.
"Wha—how the hell did something this big form?" one of the cohort members exclaimed.
Kresha shook his head. ’I knew it was big... but not this big.’
While the others worried about the depth and what caused it, Kresha was lost in another world of his own, clearly sweating. None of them could feel what he perceived down in the crater—it was a deep, dark intent that made him question...
’Is it really a beast that’s down there?’
Drake, staring down the tunnel, felt his draconic sense spiraling more than usual, which meant something was awfully wrong with this strange phenomenon.
"I don’t think this is a Plague," Luna muttered beside Drake, her face blank but her tone full of worry.
"No, it isn’t. And there’s something strange about it—that’s why we were hired for this, wasn’t it?" Drake patted his sword a few times. ’This might actually turn out to be something we all might regret—’
{Ding}
{Quest has arrived}
{Type: Title Quest}
The difficulty of all Title Quests are unimaginable. Proceed with caution.
{Quest: Kill all monsters alive}
{Estimated number... Still counting}
Drake furrowed his eyes at the system, seeing new types of information he was not fond of. It was another quest, and more importantly, it stated that the beings in the crater were monsters.
For some reason, having this small piece of information that outlined what his enemies actually were calmed his nerves. It was weird for him to feel like this—even after all the years living as Drake Drakon. Unlike his first life, when he had been powerful beyond imagination, he was weaker here, and that weakness caused him to feel... fear sometimes.
Taking his hand off his hilt and raising it up to his gaze, Drake could see his hand shaking slightly. ’It’s surely been a while—’ he recalled his first hunt in his first life. This had a similar feeling to it.
The fear of the unknown.
After a while longer, Kresha finally broke from his daze, clearing his throat and turning to the others. "We’ll proceed into the crater now. Everyone be ready for anything that comes—we might get swarmed the instant we step in."
Hearing that, the other Awakened prepared themselves, placing their hands around their weapons firmly and mentally preparing for the worst.
Then the arrogant Lord Kresha took the lead, skidding down the slope of the hill and slowly descending the steep walls of the crater.
The others slowly but surely began to follow down the crater, skidding right behind Kresha with their alertness at its peak.
Many of these Awakened were older—some men having children, others young with dreams—and with the presence of things they cared for came doubts. Those doubts caused them to falter every now and then as they slowly slid into the crater.
It was as though they were immersing themselves into the depths of hell.
Soon, there was no one left outside the crater. Every Awakened had made their way down. Then something very strange happened in the next moment.
To all of them in the crater, for a brief instant, it felt as though they were submerged in a pool of azure-cold water for what felt like a split second. And what occurred next left them bereft of cognition.
"What the hell is this?"
"How come?"
"How are we here?"
"Where are we?"
One after the other, gasps began to rise from the crowd of Awakened, each one more panic-stricken than the last as the strangest thing had just occurred.
Drake stayed calm, knowing fully well what had happened the moment he appeared... here.
Just as they had been descending into the crater, most of them had felt an absurd sensation—one which he recognized from entering the portal during his first hunt. All of a sudden, they had appeared on solid, even ground, in a dark place only dimly lit by small blue rocks that glowed on the roofing of wherever they were.
They had been teleported—just like in a dungeon—to somewhere unknown.
Kresha turned his head quickly, scanning his surroundings and feeling the sense of foreboding increase drastically.
Well, soon enough, his suspicions were confirmed.
"KRIEEEEK!"
A loud shriek echoed through the entire expanse, causing the entire Awakened army to fall silent in dread as they realized... they weren’t alone.
"Get ready, Luna," Drake said in a low tone only a few could hear as he slowly pulled out his blade, catching the attention of many Awakened—especially Luna, who pulled a dagger from its sheath in response.
"They’re here."
At his words, as if the deity of fate was answering him, an uproar of cries, shrills, and growls came from all around them. The ground trembled with each step as the terror that approached closed in—or more appropriately—descended.
All around the cohort, as far as the eyes could see—or as far as the blue glows could shine—was a countless number of what seemed like monsters. Ravenous beasts oozing with killing intent that could be smelt from a mile away.
Large, small—every size of grotesque beast raced forward, insanity driving their charge toward the small cohort of humans.
At that number, Drake felt his heart drop, and his grasp on his blade almost loosened as he faltered. "An army of bastards... how expected."
The faces of all the other Awakened held terror—one worse than the next. Even Kresha’s hard resolve had been broken at this moment, and all he could mutter at the deathly racing mob was—
"Death."
This was their death.