Extra's Descent
Chapter 363: An Unfamiliar Burden [2]

Brandon's complexions were pale due to the amount of blood he had lost.

He had managed to stop the bleeding in his chest somewhat, blocking the drain with his mana.

But still,

It hurt.

A lot.

The effects of his binding vow were still there. It would take a lot of consumption just to drain all the abundance of mana he currently had.

For that reason, gritting his teeth, Brandon traversed the floors, blending within the mist.

Each floor's expanse varied. On average, efficiently conserving his mana, it took about five minutes to completely envelop a single floor

Brandon didn't want to expend too much mana, in the off chance that he would have to face another foe.

Thud!

Oftentimes, he would stumble.

And oftentimes, he would get back up on his feet.

He had to leave this deathtrap before the floors were reconstructed.

WHIII—

Portal….

WHIII—

After portal.

WHIII—

After portal.

He was getting nauseous due to the instantaneous traveling.

"Uekk…!"

He would even gag, a retching sound echoing, but he held it in.

Head spinning, his body stumbled slightly.

He had reached even the lower floors.

Floors he had never tackled with Raven.

They were completely empty, some with unique looking terrains, some completely plain. Much to the point where he thought he would go insane—seeing the emptiness the floors had.

He had to pause on the 16th floor due to motion sickness.

Stumbling down, his vision grew hazy and his entire world was a blur—spinning.

And,

"Blergh….!"

Unable to hold it in any longer, crouched down on the ground, he puked.

As soon as he finished, he wiped his face with his clothes and stood up. Pulling his gloves tightly, Brandon reassessed his thoughts before continuing.

WHIII—

"Uek…!"

WHIII—

Thud!

His eyes bulged, and the only sound he could make was a painful cough as he stumbled down on the ground.

His stomach felt like it was twisted in knots. Much from the nausea, and from the starvation.

He hadn't eaten a single meal in a day.

But still, he persevered, lifting his head up from the ground, propping his body up.

WHIII—

He couldn't make sense of the floors anymore. Just that, he was aware it was all cleared.

Questions filled his mind one after another; 'Who cleared the floors? How were we thrusted in the higher floors? How….'

If he didn't flood his mana over the brim, it would probably take a whole week to venture down, knowing how vast the floors were.

Each time he fell, his hands fumbled the ground, the dirt staining his gloves.

There were puke stains on his clothes as well, but once more he continued.

WHIII—

Stay connected with m-v l|e'-NovelFire.net

"Haaa…."

WHIII—

"I'm tired…."

WHIII—

"Fucking annoying."

WHIII—

He had continuously traversed the floors, using the same strategy of immediately teleporting to the other side of the room using—[Phantasm].

There were certain floors where it wasn't possible, and he needed to cross certain paths for the portal to be reachable.

It was only until the sixth floor, when things got a bit shaky.

"Ah."

Swoosh—!

Darkness.

Complete utter darkness.

Furthermore, he couldn't feel the solid ground, and from the sound of wind whistling in the air, he was most probably….

"Fuck."

….Falling.

It was only when he realized the state he was in, when he turned his head down, staring at the ground.

There was water, and it seemed like the ground was illuminated. From the looks of it, the water was shallow.

"Shit, shit…."

His voice came out hoarse—mouth parched.

He had about three hundred yards before his body hit the ground.

There had to be a way to stop the fall.

The air whipped past Brandon's face as he continued falling.

Two hundred yards.

Time was running out.

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

He clenched his teeth, his heart pounding in his chest, each beat echoing in his ears.

"Think…. think….!"

He muttered, forcing his clouded mind to focus.

The wind roared around him, the ground rushing up to meet him.

Could there be…. a wall?

With those thoughts in mind, Brandon outstretched his arms wide. A magic circle materialized in his palms, and chains erupted, piercing the left, and the right side.

However,

"Fuck!"

The chains hadn't managed to strike anything solid at all as it flailed downwards uselessly.

Nothing to latch onto.

Panic surged within him.

"Damn it!"

He cursed, heart hammering harder as the ground rushed closer.

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

His chest felt tight.

He needed another plan—fast.

"Come on…!"

The shallow water glinted in the dim light below. He had one last chance.

Gritting his teeth, Brandon summoned every ounce of mana he could muster, his body igniting in amethyst flames.

"Slow—down…"

He twisted his body mid-air, the flames erupting below him.

Voosh—!

The flames pushed against the air, attempting to slow his descent.

The heat seared through his body, agony ripping through him.

Five hundred feet.

Three hundred feet.

One hundred feet.

Thirty….

Ten….

CRASH—!

Brandon hit the shallow water, the flames flickering out on impact.

Despite the leaking mana tempering every fibers in his muscles, pain shot through every bone, his body folding, and the water erupted around him.

"Kh…!"

He gasped, struggling to breathe, his chest on fire, his vision blurred.

He had survived.

Barely.

Brandon dragged himself out of the water, his limbs heavy, and collapsed on the wet ground.

"Haaa…. H-haaa…."

Each breath was a struggle.

His body ached, his bones throbbed, but he was alive.

That had to be enough.

He needed to move.

Slowly, painfully, Brandon pushed himself up, his hands trembling.

He stumbled forward, his eyes fixed ahead.

"Get…. out…. Cough!"

One step at a time.

He couldn't stop now.

The shallow water soaked his body, his limbs aching, his vision blurring.

He tried to stand, but his legs buckled. He fell to his knees, coughing, tasting the metallic tang of blood.

He whispered, dragging himself forward, his hands trembling.

Every breath hurt. Every muscle screamed in pain.

But he couldn't stop.

Not here.

Not like this.

He pushed himself up, his eyes fixed on the faint light ahead.

"Fucking hell…."

He muttered, his voice almost a whisper.

His legs shook, his body swaying, but he moved forward.

The light grew brighter each step he took, dragging his body and gritting his teeth—fighting off the pain.

Until finally,

WHIII—

He had entered the fifth floor.

Just a bit more.

"A bit more…."

He could finally go back home.

Who knows how much time had passed?

He had lost all senses of time.

In any case, light finally engulfed his vision.

The darkness that seemed to creep behind him had almost made him mad.

So much so that he felt most of his senses numb by now.

But this floor—the fifth floor….

"...."

His body froze, steps halted as he stared in horror.

"What…."

A sudden chill ran down his spine as a memory triggered.

Memories he had mostly put in the back of his mind—memories he never needed to remember.

But…. he stared at the scene.

He could've just traversed the entire floor instantaneously, engulfing it in mist.

But he couldn't peel his eyes away.

He couldn't make sense of it either. What the hell happened here!?

There shouldn't have been anyone else besides him and Raven inside the tower.

"...."

Corpses.

Corpses of humans lay strewn everywhere.