Chapter 57: Reaching The Barrier

Elias stared at Dark Thorn’s corpse, and as he watched the blood slowly spread across the grass, a curious thought suddenly appeared in his mind.

"Would that work?" he wondered aloud.

He crouched beside the enormous beast and placed one hand against its black, leather-like hide before mumbling, "Store this."

The next instant, the corpse disappeared as if it had never existed.

Elias’s eyes widened, and then a grin slowly split across his face.

"Just when I think I cannot praise this Inventory enough, it does something even more absurd."

He chuckled before turning his attention toward the severed head lying several meters away. After walking over to it, he placed his hand against the thick fur and mentally issued the same command.

’Store.’

The head vanished as well.

Elias straightened and looked at the empty patch of grass where Dark Thorn had been lying.

He then sheathed Lastbane and grabbed the sheath while the blade remained securely inside it.

’Store.’

The sheath and sword disappeared together, leaving Elias with nothing in his hands.

He smiled faintly.

’It is extremely useful.’

With that thought, Elias lowered his body and rushed toward the shimmering barrier.

His increased Speed made the forest pass around him in a blur, but the terrain quickly became more troublesome. Large rocks that had once been part of the ruined city’s outer wall were scattered throughout the forest, and Elias had to leap over several while climbing across others that blocked the narrow path.

One particularly large stone had fallen directly across his route, forcing him to place one foot against its uneven surface before pushing himself over it. He landed on the other side with barely a sound and immediately accelerated again.

As he ran, his thoughts returned to Dark Thorn.

According to the system, the creature had been a Warrior.

Yet its physical strength and speed had been considerably greater than what Elias expected from an ordinary Warrior-level monster.

Its claws had shattered a tree trunk with a single strike, while its movements had been fast enough to force him to remain completely focused throughout the battle.

’If all the monsters inside this rift are that strong, then this place really is abnormal.’

Elias narrowed his eyes as he continued running.

The creature had possessed enough strength to overwhelm an ordinary Warrior, and if there were countless monsters like it scattered throughout the forest, even an experienced expedition team would have difficulty surviving.

However, there was another possibility.

’If the monsters are stronger than usual, their numbers should also be lower.’

Those were among the rules governing rift spaces.

The stronger the individual creatures became, the fewer of them would generally exist within the rift, maintaining a strange balance between the danger posed by each monster and the overall population.

’As long as there are not too many of them, I can deal with it.’

He continued forward, weaving between trees and jumping across broken stones while keeping his attention fixed on the shimmering barrier ahead.

Then his expression changed.

Something moved between the trees.

Elias slowed down and immediately reached toward his empty waist before remembering that he had stored Lastbane.

’Take out Lastbane.’

The sheath appeared at his waist instantly.

Elias drew the silver blade as he stepped into a small clearing.

Another Dark Thorn stood several dozen meters ahead.

It was almost identical to the beast he had killed earlier, although its body was slightly smaller and its crown of black spikes wasn’t quite as large.

The creature’s head snapped toward Elias.

Its blood-red eyes narrowed, and it growled.

Elias didn’t wait.

He pushed off the ground and charged.

Dark Thorn lowered its body and prepared to lunge, but Elias reached it first. He swung Lastbane vertically, and the silver blade tore through the beast’s side.

Slash!

A long, harrowing wound opened across its black hide, beginning beneath its front leg and extending almost to its abdomen.

Dark red blood sprayed from the wound, splattering across the grass as the beast staggered sideways.

"ROAAAR!"

The creature swung its massive claw toward Elias.

Instead of retreating, Elias stepped closer.

His eyes narrowed as he suddenly remembered something.

’I should test it.’

He slipped beneath the sweeping claw and placed his palm against the beast’s abdomen.

Dark Thorn’s enormous body twisted toward him, and its jaws opened as another claw rose above Elias’s head.

"Store," Elias mumbled.

Nothing happened.

The beast’s claw came crashing down.

Elias immediately jumped backward.

BOOM!

The claw smashed into the ground where he had been standing, tearing apart the soil and sending dirt and broken roots flying through the air.

Elias landed several meters away and stared at the creature.

Then he smiled faintly.

’So I cannot store living beings.’

His curiosity had been answered.

Elias tightened his grip around Lastbane.

"Now, let’s finish this."

Dark Thorn roared and charged.

Its paws hammered against the earth as it rushed forward, crushing patches of grass beneath its weight. Elias waited until the last possible moment before shifting sideways.

The beast’s jaws snapped shut beside his shoulder.

Elias twisted around and swung.

Slash!

Lastbane carved across its neck, opening another deep wound.

Blood sprayed across Elias’s armor and splattered against the ground.

Dark Thorn staggered, but it refused to fall.

It spun around and lashed out with its tail.

Whoosh!

The thick, flat tail swept through the clearing and struck a nearby tree.

CRACK!

The trunk split down the middle, and the upper half crashed into the vegetation.

Elias ducked beneath the attack and stepped forward.

He drove Lastbane into the beast’s neck.

The blade pierced through flesh with almost no resistance.

Dark Thorn’s body convulsed.

Its crimson eyes widened as blood flowed from its mouth.

Elias twisted the sword before pulling it free.

Blood sprayed across the grass.

The beast stumbled forward, its legs giving way beneath it, and then its enormous body collapsed heavily against the earth.

THUD!

Elias waited several seconds before approaching.

He crouched beside the corpse and placed his hand against its hide.

"Store."

The second Dark Thorn disappeared.

Elias stood again and sheathed Lastbane before storing the sword as well.

Then he resumed his journey.

The terrain continued becoming increasingly difficult to traverse, and the remains of the ruined city grew denser around him. Broken walls, collapsed towers, and enormous stones forced Elias to repeatedly climb, leap, and weave through the debris.

Along the way, two more Dark Thorns attacked him.

Neither managed to slow him down for long.

The first lunged from behind a collapsed wall, but Elias stepped aside and cut through its throat before storing the corpse. The second attempted to ambush him from the trees, yet Elias sensed its approach and met it head-on, driving Lastbane through its chest before storing it as well.

After dealing with the two beasts, Elias continued running.

His breathing remained steady despite the battles, and the shimmering barrier gradually grew larger in front of him.

Finally, after several more minutes of navigating the broken terrain, Elias emerged from the forest and stopped.

The enormous shimmering boundary stretched before him, its surface rippling like liquid glass while faint light moved across it.