Chapter 149- Bleed (Part 1)

Chapter 149: Chapter 149- Bleed (Part 1)

Chapter 149- Bleed (Part 1)

After absorbing the monster, Rize gained quite a few points, as it was a very powerful enemy. His body felt as if it had undergone another change, gaining more speed and strength than ever before. He clenched his fist before he nodded his head.

’This is already a huge step forward. I feel so much stronger.’ He thought to himself. So far, Rize’s progress has been nothing short of amazing. He had grown so much in the past two months that he could confidently say he was several times stronger than he was before. He knew his progress was going to be fast, but he never expected it to be this fast.

He had taken a huge step forward into reaching the next tier. In fact, at this rate, Rize was certain he would become Tier 7 by the end of this test.

"I think we are good here," Rize said as he walked back to the group. "I don’t think we can stay here any longer since other monsters probably heard the noise."

"Yeah." Venera nodded. "That monkey is probably not alone either. Let’s go."

Rose stared at Rize for a second before she shook her head and finally started walking after them. The group continued walking through the forest in silence while their eyes wandered left and right.

The deeper they went, the more they felt the sense of unease creep into their hearts. It was as if the forest was pulling them in, only to never let them out ever again. However, that sense of threat was explained by the fact that they knew monsters were nearby, and they simply hadn’t appeared yet.

However, what Rose and Venera didn’t notice, and what Rize felt the entire time, was a completely different feeling.

"Bleed..."

"Hm?"

A very faint voice whispered in Rize’s ear for a split second, which made him stop and look around him.

"Did you guys hear that?" He asked.

"What?"

"No? I didn’t hear anything."

Rize frowned as he looked left and right. "Something just whispered in my ear. It was very faint."

"..."

The two girls looked at each other before they looked at the boy. "What did you hear?"

"It said ’Bleed’ I think..." He said.

"Bleed?"

"That doesn’t sound very reassuring," Rose said. "I didn’t really sense anything approaching us. Maybe you just thought you heard that?"

"Maybe..." Rize muttered as he sucked in a deep breath before he started walking again. He had been experiencing some weird instances ever since he laid eyes on that mountain, so he assumed that had to do with it.

For a while after, Rize didn’t hear a single other whisper. However, the sensation he experienced a few days ago was growing stronger and stronger. His eyes kept wandering to the mountain, tracing every detail on it almost as if he was admiring its beauty. He found himself staring at it for longer and longer periods of time as minutes passed.

For a while, the group didn’t face any real monsters. However, by the time a few hours had passed, they finally encountered another beast. It was far weaker than the monkey, so they were able to deal with it quickly and then several other monsters that came in succession.

The trio was completely impenetrable against any enemy, and it made everything far easier. Even though they had to share the points and exp they gained from each kill, they all gained quite a bit of points from all the monsters they killed.

By the time the sun was setting, the group finally found an opening where they could set up their tents for the day.

"We have walked a good distance today. We are so close to the foot of the mountain." Rose said as she stretched her arms and looked around them.

"According to the map, we will reach it tomorrow," Venera said. "If we keep the same speed and we don’t encounter anything."

"Yeah," Rose replied.

Venera scanned the map before she looked up when she noticed Rize putting the logs down and then sitting down silently.

"Are you ok, Rize?" Venera said. "You’ve been quiet the entire day."

It was very odd for Rize to be this quiet. She had never seen him behave that way before. Rize is usually cheerful and excited, even in serious situations like this. However, today, it almost felt like he wasn’t fully with them and his mind was somewhere else.

"Hm? Oh, I’m fine, yeah." He nodded. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

Rize exhaled before he looked at the fire. ’I don’t know why I’m feeling this way right now. Something is very odd about this forest and that damn mountain.’

His mind felt clouded and uneasy the entire time and the whispers he kept hearing since he came here didn’t help with that. It was as if someone was trying to talk to him through his own head, and it wasn’t a very comfortable feeling.

’Maybe some sleep will get me to feel better.’

With that, Rize focused on the matters at hand. He can’t just keep worrying Venera for nothing. If anything weird happens, he was certain he could rely on her and Rose to help him out of that situation.

That night, they all had dinner and then went to bed as planned. The true climb starts the next day, and that alone will take several days even if things go as planned. The weather was cold that night, and it only kept dropping, to the point where they decided to keep the fire on for warmth.

The world around them slowly died down, and the sounds disappeared except for the flickers of the flame. Everyone fell deep asleep while keeping a part of them alert for anything weird.

Hours passed silently with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Until...

"Nnnn..." Rize suddenly woke up from his sleep, disturbed by one of his nightmares, as he exhaled. He looked left and right, his heart racing a bit, and he was sweating visibly. ’These nightmares... Are really pissing me off.’

He thought to himself as he rose from the bed. ’I need some water.’

He rummaged through his belongings until he found a bottle and chugged it down. The cold water helped refresh him a bit. Then, he put it down and lay down, ready to sleep again. However, just as he was about to fall asleep... He suddenly heard a noise coming from outside.

"Hm?" He squinted his eyes as he instantly grabbed his weapon and spread his senses everywhere. However, he didn’t really sense any presence outside. Still, to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating, he opened his tent and got outside.

The weather was freezing cold, and it was completely dark. The fire had died down at some point. Exhaling a steamy breath, Rize looked left and right with his sharp eyes. He didn’t really need any light source to see in the darkness, as his eyes were quite strong now.

He stood there for a few seconds before he sighed. "I’m really losing it..." He rubbed his hair as he turned around to head back inside.

At that moment, his entire body suddenly froze in place.

"Bleed till your eyes see..."

A voice whispered in his ear, this time far stronger than ever. If the first few whispers were distant and barely audible, this one felt like someone was truly standing behind him and speaking into his ear.

"Huh?!" He instantly turned around and looked left and right in a hurry. "Who’s there?!"

However, there was no one, and even when he spread his senses again, he didn’t feel anything. Rize instantly clenched his hand around his sword as he turned around to go and wake Venera and Rose up.

However, just as he was about to move, he suddenly noticed something moving beneath his feet. A dark, blinding mist started forming around him rapidly. He instantly jumped out of the way, trying to dodge it. However, the black mist kept growing as it spread everywhere around him.

’What the hell is going on?!!!’

"Bleed till the black moon eclipses on the mountain’s mighty peak." The voice spoke. "Bleed till you can see the revelations."

Rize clenched his teeth as he summoned his Endless Hunger. Then, he quickly wrapped it around his arm before swinging it at one of the branches and pulling himself up.

"Venera!!! Rose! Wake up!!" He yelled as he landed on the branch and looked down. The mist was spreading rapidly as it started wrapping around the tent.

’What the hell is going on?!’

Rize knew that he had to somehow get the two out of there.

"VENERA!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!!!" He yelled again and yet received no reply. His heart sank as he realized that he was completely surrounded by the mist as it kept creeping up the tree trunk, trying to reach him.

"Bleed, Rize."

"Bleed..."

"Bleed for us..."

"Bleed your pain away..."

The whispers grew in intensity.

"Bleed."