Redo: Grimoire System in the Apocalypse

Geth continued to dive into the earth. Many minutes had passed since he'd left the stone room far behind him.

Even so, the Mana in his surroundings was still being pulled back towards the ever-strengthening vortex.

He was surprised at how long he'd been holding his breath. Albus informed him that a mixture of his Wisdom and Defense Attributes made it possible.

Geth was using much less Mana now that he was swimming through mud rather than the liquified stone above. It was to a point where his recovery was greater than his expenditure.

'It feels like the pressure has stopped...'

Geth stopped pulling himself downward and focused on the surrounding Mana and felt that it had gone stagnant rather than pulling upward.

There was something off. He could feel that something was happening above him.

'What is it..?'

Geth spread his senses as far as he could before realizing what was going on.

'Dive!'

He drove himself further downward, propelling himself quickly forward. After so many more feet, he ran into an almost solid material that was excessively difficult to liquify.

'Fuck.'

Geth looked at his Mana pool to find that he was still sitting just over 3000. Immense pressure was rushing down at him from up above.

'I only have six seconds. Seven with my Mana recovery... I'll have to time this perfectly!'

Geth had no vision so deep into the earth. He was relying on his touch and Mana senses to guide him.

He sat and waited, trying to let his MP recover enough to buy him an extra second. His senses extended upward as he felt the rapidly encroaching mass of Mana.

'Not yet...'

It was still five or six yards above him. The thickness of the earth was buying him precious time.

'Three yards... Two yards... Three feet... Now!'

Geth activated his Osmosis Skill and sank quickly into the firm earth below him. 

The feeling was awkward, or rather... the lack of feeling. None of Geth's senses were available to him.

If it wasn't for his ability to sense the Mana, he wouldn't even know if he'd moved.

'I'm definitely inside of the rock.' 

He could feel the destructive Mana pressing against the stone above him. It didn't seem like it would be able to get through.

'Just what kind of rock am I in? Bedrock?'

Geth attempted to move but to no avail.

'How the hell am I supposed to get out of this shit?'

He focused on his rapidly depleting Mana bar. 1500 Mana had already been consumed.

He flailed his arms, attempting to get a reaction. Or at least, he thought he did.

Nothing happened. No amount of movement in this state affected his body.

Finally, he sensed himself forced upwards when he focused a bit of Mana beneath his feet. The Mana was still tearing into the dirt above him. It wasn't time to move yet.

'Hurry up!' Geth shouted in his mind.

He had four seconds left in that state. Any longer than that, and he was as good as dead.

'Two seconds.'

Geth was about to risk the danger above anyway when he sensed that it had subsided.

'Yes!'

He propelled himself upward quickly by controlling the Mana to push him upward. Just in time, he broke through the surface as his body became physical.

His eyes were still closed, and he attempted to turn the dirt around him into mud... only to find that there was no dirt around him.

'What the hell?'

A light breeze gently touched his skin. The smell of fresh air mixed with the stench of sulfur that surrounded him.

Geth slowly forced his eyes open. A blinding light made it difficult for him to focus.

As his vision finally ceased to blur, an unimaginable scene appeared before him.

He was standing in the middle of a massive crater! It wasn't just some hole in the ground.

It looked as though a nuclear warhead had been dropped where he was standing. 

Red fumes constantly floated in the breeze. Areas of molten earth sizzled and hissed all around him.

The size was incredible. Geth had to be at least a few dozen yards below what had once been the surface.

'I... Survived this..?'

Geth dropped to his knees. Since coming here, he had been through many rough battles and tons of pain.

But this... this was too much. Some of the walls that hid his emotion melted while taking in his surroundings. He finally broke down.

Tears began to stream down his cheeks. Geth reached up with one hand and touched the watery substance.

He looked at his wet fingertips in surprise. It had been many years since he'd last seen his own tears.

A mocking smile showed on his face as he ridiculed himself.

"What would your children think?" He muttered. A man had to be strong. He couldn't break down now.

After all. He'd won!

Geth saw two scorching hot gems lying nearby. He attempted to stand up but fell back on his knees.

'Well...'

Geth crawled over and picked up the two gems. He felt himself falling and managed to store the gems away, just before he finally lost consciousness.

***

"Man, what do you think that was? It looked awesome!" A chubby young man walked through the forest with his friends.

"I don't know, but I hope that it's a really big monster!" Another young man spoke excitedly. This was very fit and carried a large sword on his back.

Sigh

A girl with long black hair sighed and shook her head. She carried a tall shield and wore a gleaming set of heavy armor.

"That's easy for you guys to say. You aren't the ones that have to let it hit you!"

"Quit complaining. You always get the first choice in rewards." A thin young man said quietly while adjusting his glasses.

"So what. That wasn't some normal explo-." The girl started to talk again but was cut short as they left the woodline.

As wide as ten football fields, an enormous crater stretched out before them. A foul stench filled the air as red wisps occasionally escaped the crevice.

"There's something down there...." The boy with the glasses whispered while pointing directly to the middle of the destruction.