Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 864: Gate Warden [2]

Threads filtered through the sand, shooting downward before spreading in every direction beneath the surface. They moved like veins through the earth, quietly branching out as the grains shifted and sank around them.

Having lost my sense of hearing and sight, the threads were the only thing I could rely on to navigate through the sand.

’...I haven’t lost my sense of touch. I can still feel the vibrations. I should be able to tell what is happening through the—!’

My thoughts came to an abrupt halt as I felt something shift beneath me. But by the time I realized what was happening, it was already too late. The sand beneath me suddenly gave way, and something shot upward and drove straight into me.

"Ukh!"

Pain shot through my back as I was hurled through the air, my body smashing violently against what was most likely the city wall. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs, a dull shock rippling through my spine as stone scraped harshly against my back.

"Huek...!"

Forcing a breath, I pushed myself up as I continued to expand the threads in every direction, trying to feel for something. Anything.

But—

BANG—!

A powerful impact slammed into the side of my body, sending me hurtling away. The world spun as I crashed into the sand, grains exploding around me as my body skidded violently across the ground. The rough sand scraped against my skin and clothes, the force of it dragging me several meters before I finally began to slow.

’Shit...’

I lingered on the sand, its warm surface pressing against my body as darkness surrounded me on all sides. In that moment, everything seemed completely quiet as my hand grasped the coarse grains beneath me.

For a brief second, time felt like it had stopped completely. Almost as if I had suddenly been brought to a completely different place.

Feeling the texture of the sand shift, growing rougher and damp beneath my fingers, I began to hear voices whisper in my mind.

Almost like distant cheers...

For some reason, I found myself reaching forward, as if grasping for something. But there was nothing.

Only sand met my touch as I blinked in confusion.

’What is...?’

No, now is not the time!

I punched the ground and forced myself up.

At the same time, I instinctively looked around, only to quickly realize that everything was still dark.

Silence lingered alongside the darkness, offering no hint of what surrounded me.

’Calm. I need to remain calm.’

Judging from the impact and the force behind the attack, the monster I was dealing with probably wasn’t very strong. If it had been something more powerful, I would most likely have been in serious trouble. At the same time, I was certain that if a stronger monster had appeared, the city would have already raised an alarm.

’Where is it? Where is it...?’

Seeing as [Mana Sense] wasn’t working, the monster was most likely in the sand beneath.

Waiting.

I sank myself deeper into the darkness around me.

The silence was absolute.

The threads had now branched out, spreading across a significant distance. My ear twitched as I slowly sank into the sand, keeping my body perfectly still as I waited.

Every second felt like an eternity.

Trapped in darkness and silence, it felt as though I was completely alone. As though I were standing in the middle of a vast ocean, slowly sinking deeper while invisible predators circled from every direction. And just as the suffocating pressure began to close in around me, I suddenly felt something.

’There!’

I slammed my foot into the sand, sending it spraying in every direction as the threads shot upward, weaving into a net around me. The moment I felt something brush against one of the threads, I immediately lunged in that direction.

Everything happened in an instant. As my hand grazed what felt like the outer layer of something incredibly hard, I activated [Outer Hand]. In that same moment, the mana inside my body drained rapidly, and the sensation vanished as the creature slipped away from my grasp.

But that was enough.

THUMP!

Feeling the vibration coming from beside me, I immediately rushed in that direction, reaching out again to touch its body as I activated [Outer Hand] once more.

Although the skill had changed compared to how it once was, it was still a powerful [Curse] spell. In fact, it felt even stronger now. The moment my hand touched the monster’s rough outer shell, I felt its body jolt and squirm violently beneath my grasp, as if the curse had burrowed straight into it.

I didn’t waste the opportunity.

Clenching my hand, I held tightly onto the monster’s body as I continued to activate [Outer Hand], pouring the curse into it again and again.

At the same time, the threads surged around it, tightening and slicing through its body as they cut it apart piece by piece. A moment later, I felt something warm and wet splash against my hand.

The monster squirmed once more, but its resistance merely lasted a few seconds before it stopped.

"Haa... Haa..."

Once I was finally certain it was dead, I stumbled back, taking deep, steady breaths as I tried to regain my balance.

Even then, I didn’t forget to sink my threads into the ground around me, spreading them through the sand to make sure nothing could ambush me again.

’That was a lot harder than I thought.’

Reaching ahead to touch the blood, I tried to sense anything related to the Rune that it contained. It was faint, but I did feel something, and in that instant, I started to absorb whatever was present.

A notification flashed across my vision.

■| EXP + 0.001%

It wasn’t anything exceptional.

However, the more blood that I absorbed, the more notifications like these appeared. I wasn’t just limited to one notification.

’I can feel it. My strength is slowly increasing. But that’s not all. I can feel the Rune as well. If I can just grasp the outline of its structure, I might be able to use it myself.’

But what sort of Rune was this?

What did it do?

...And why did it exist in the monster’s body? Are the monsters creations of the Outer Beings? Yes, this would make sense. Or is there more to it that I don’t know?

"Hm?"

Just then, I froze, raising my head as my entire body tensed.

For a moment, I thought I had felt it.

A presence.

However...

’Nothing?’

The sensation vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. Still, I remained tense as I began scanning the surroundings with [Mana Sense], while at the same time spreading my threads even farther through the sand, probing the area in every direction for any sign of movement.

’Still nothing?’

I frowned.

To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I had imagined it.

Unable to see or hear, the only thing I could rely on was my sense of touch. It was true that I had become far more sensitive to my surroundings after losing two of my most important senses.

’I shouldn’t let my guard down.’

Standing up, I turned toward where the other Wardens were. Their location was clear, as [Mana Sense] picked up their presence without any trouble.

But just as I had taken a single step forward—

Something beneath me stirred.

"Ah."

Something else jumped up at me.

***

Signing up for the Ranking Battle was not easy. In fact, the process was a lot more difficult than originally anticipated. One couldn’t simply challenge a Ranker because they wanted to. There was a process that one had to follow.

BANG—!

A pair of fists collided, the sheer force of the impact sending out a circular wave of pressurized wind.

The two figures staggered back from the clash, the ground shattering under their steps.

Leon stared ahead, his breathing steady as he looked down at his fist, still red from the sheer force of the collision. Then he lifted his gaze toward his opponent, whose hulking figure towered several meters above him.

Unlike Leon, the man’s breathing was rough and uneven, his chest heaving as bruises covered nearly every part of his body.

’This is tough.’

Leon loosened his fist.

It felt weird not to fight using a sword.

However, in order to avoid giving away his identity, he had no choice but to go this far. He had changed his appearance completely. To better fit the role, he had deliberately shaved his once lustrous hair into a rough buzz cut, while his entire body had been darkened by a deep tan.

At the same time, he also changed his facial structure.

After everything he had done, he was confident he wouldn’t get caught.

"Kurak tualm sirek!"

Lifting his head, Leon looked at his opponent. The man seemed to be saying something, his lips moving as he spoke, but Leon couldn’t quite understand what he had said as he briefly glanced around him.

Unlike the Ranking Battles, there was no arena here.

No crowd, no noise, and no towering stands filled with spectators.

The place was closed off and dim.

The floor beneath them was cracked and stained with layers of dried blood, the marks of countless previous battles etched into the stone.

At the edge of the room sat the overseer, watching the fight with clear disinterest. His body lounged lazily in the chair, one elbow resting on the armrest as he propped his cheek against his fist, his eyes half-lidded as if the entire scene barely managed to hold his attention.

Leon tore his gaze away from the overseer and focused back on his opponent. For a brief moment, the two simply stared at one another. Then, as if they had silently agreed on the same thing, they both burst forward at the same time.

BANG—!

Their fists collided once more.

The impact cracked through the room like a thunderclap, a ring of pressurized wind blasting outward and kicking dust and dried blood from the floor.

Leon moved immediately after the clash. Twisting his hips, he followed with a sharp kick aimed at his opponent’s side. The man shifted his weight and slipped past it with surprising ease, the kick cutting through empty air.

In the same motion, the opponent swung a hook from below.

Leon’s eyes flickered. He tilted his head just enough for the fist to whistle past his face, feeling the rush of air brush against his cheek.

Without giving the man a moment to recover, Leon drove his knee forward.

The entire exchange lasted less than a second. The two moved without hesitation, striking at one another with relentless speed and no regard for restraint.

At first, Leon controlled the pace of the fight. His eyes followed every movement, reading his opponent’s attacks and slipping past them with precise, efficient motions.

But after a while, the rhythm began to change.

His opponent grew increasingly desperate, abandoning all semblance of caution. Blows came wilder and heavier, the man disregarding his own body just for the chance to land a single strike against Leon.

Sweat gathered along the side of Leon’s face as he struggled to adjust to the sudden change in his opponent’s rhythm.

His opponent lunged forward again, drawing another attack. Leon shifted his stance and prepared to counter—

But then his eyes widened.

Instead of defending, the man deliberately raised his shoulder, exposing himself and allowing Leon’s strike to land. At the same time, his own fist crashed into Leon’s shoulder, the two blows landing almost simultaneously.

’Shit!’

BANG!

Leon staggered back, clutching his shoulder as a faint ’crack’ echoed from within it. Pain shot down his arm, forcing his grip to tighten as he struggled to steady himself.

His opponent wasn’t faring any better. Leon’s strike had clearly landed cleanly, the man’s body twisting slightly from the impact.

But Leon barely had time to register it.

In the next instant, the man was already rushing toward him again.

He wasn’t giving Leon even a moment to breathe.

As Leon stared at his opponent, he quickly realized the difference between them. Despite the gap in their strength, Leon lacked the same hunger burning in the man’s eyes. Unlike his opponent, he wasn’t desperate to win.

He already had a home.

He had money.

He had food.

He wasn’t like his opponent, who fought to live.

Leon’s teeth clenched tightly at the thought.

’Damn it!’

Staring at his opponent, Leon surged forward once more. This time, he refused to flinch beneath the man’s desperate attacks. He met them head-on, enduring the blows as he answered each one with a counter of his own.

The rhythm changed once more.

Leon began to gain the advantage. As the two exchanged blows once more, Leon fixed his opponent with a sharp glare and raised his fist to strike again, only to stop when the man suddenly stopped.

At the same time, the overseer raised a brow as Leon’s opponent began to wobble on his feet.

Then—

Thump!

He fell face-first against the floor.