Chapter 282: 282:Escape.
Silver stepped backward and the worms followed. The queen’s enormous body entered the tunnel.
He continued retreating regardless. He knew if he stopped it would be over.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
He could feel the entire area.
The route Antony had taken was already collapsing from the vibrations which meant he needed to buy them more time. If she hit the wall the two had entred, it might accelerate the collapse.
The queen suddenly accelerated.
Silver’s eyes widened.
He moved.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated]
The queen’s jaws snapped shut where he had been. Silver appeared several meters away. His head throbbed from the strain. He could feel it deep in his body.
The system warning returned.
[Mental strain increasing.]
He gritted his teeth.
"Not yet."
He couldn’t stop. The queen attacked again, silver dodged.
He fired.
[Phantom Draw Lv3 Activated]
The bullet struck its eye. The queen roared, it’s sound causing more vibrations. Silver immediately turned and ran. He needed it angry and focused on him. It worked perfectly.
The queen followed. The tunnel behind Silver began collapsing. He looked toward the passage where Antony had escaped. The distance was increasing.
Good. They were getting away.
Silver turned back.
The queen was almost upon him. He raised his sword.
[Space Slash Lv2 Activated]
The attack struck its face and the queen recoiled. Silver stepped backward.
Then another section of the cave collapsed. Stone crashed down behind him and the passage disappeared.
Silver stopped.
He looked around.
There was nowhere left to run. The queen filled the tunnel ahead and the remaining exits were sealed. His Spatial Sense mapped the surrounding space.
Every path was blocked and every route had collapsed. He could no longer feel Ravenna or Antony. They were gone; safe, at least for now.
Silver exhaled slowly.
"Good."
He tightened his grip around his sword and looked up at the enormous queen.
’I just need to survive.’
The queen opened its jaws.
Silver activated his Spatial Sense one final time.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
The entire cavern appeared inside his mind. He could see the cracks, the unstable rock, the queen, the blocked tunnels, and the tiny spaces between them.
His eyes narrowed.
He had one ability left that might give him a chance. A skill he had barely used. A skill designed not merely to cut space... But to distort it. Something that would definitely fully affect his mental status.
Silver raised his hand.
The air around him began to tremble.
[Spatial Distortion Lv1]
Spatial Distortion manipulated the geometry of the space immediately around him, allowing him to distort trajectories, create temporary spatial barriers, and make an attack travel through warped space instead of reaching its intended target.
It was a defensive ability, but the problem was that knowing what a skill did and actually having enough power to use it effectively were two very different things.
[Spatial Distortion Lv1 Activated]
The instant the skill activated, Silver felt a tremendous portion of his reserved power disappear.
His vision blurred for half a second and the space around him warped.
The queen’s enormous jaws came crashing toward him, but instead of reaching him directly, the space between them twisted. The trajectory of the attack bent slightly to the side, causing the queen’s teeth to slam into the cavern wall beside him rather than through his body. The impact was still terrifying. The entire tunnel shook, and fragments of stone struck Silver’s face and shoulders, but he remained alive.
Silver immediately moved.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated]
Space folded beneath his feet, and he appeared several meters away. His breathing was becoming heavier.
He could feel the difference.
Spatial Distortion was consuming far more of his reserves than he had anticipated. Even with the enormous improvements he had made since obtaining the skill, his reserves weren’t enough to maintain it continuously.
He couldn’t fight like this. He needed to escape.
Silver looked toward the passage behind him. His Spatial Sense was already active, and the entire cave unfolded inside his awareness.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
The tunnels appeared within his mind.
There was a passage approximately twenty meters behind him. It sloped upward and connected to another tunnel that eventually reached the surface. Unfortunately, a large portion had already collapsed, leaving only a narrow route.
Silver’s eyes narrowed.
That was enough. He didn’t need a perfect escape, only needed an opening.
The queen roared and attacked again.
Silver raised his sword.
[Spatial Distortion Lv1 Activated]
The space directly in front of him warped.
The queen’s massive head slammed against the distorted barrier. For a fraction of a second, the attack seemed to stop, then the barrier began cracking.
Silver’s expression changed.
"Too much."
The spatial distortion shattered.
The force of the queen’s attack still reached him and Silver was thrown backward. His body struck the ground and rolled several meters before he managed to stop himself.
Pain spread through his ribs as he pushed himself upright.
The System immediately responded.
[WARNING]
[Mental strain detected.]
[Spatial Distortion and spatial abilities are placing significant stress on the user’s mental capacity.]
[Continued excessive usage may result in severe cognitive fatigue.]
Silver gritted his teeth.
"I know."
He didn’t have time to stop. Silver looked toward the queen. It was already advancing.
Its massive body scraped against the cavern walls as it moved forward, crushing eggs and smaller worms beneath itself. Its eyes remained fixed on Silver as it had recognized him as the remaining threat.
Silver raised his sword.
He didn’t intend to kill it, that wasn’t realistic anymore, he simply needed to survive.
He moved.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated]
He disappeared as the queen’s jaws snapped shut where he had been standing. Silver reappeared several meters to its left.
He immediately ran.
His sword remained in his right hand while his left hand steadied himself against the wall. His body hurt; his head was pounding and his reserves were dropping rapidly,but he continued.
The queen followed.
Silver could feel it beneath the ground.
He activated Spatial Sense again.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
The cave became a three-dimensional map inside his head. He could feel the queen’s position, the cracks in the surrounding rock, the unstable sections and even the empty spaces beneath the floor.
Silver’s expression changed.
The path ahead was worse than he thought. The tunnel he intended to use was collapsing and he could still make it, barely.
Silver accelerated.
Behind him, the queen burrowed into the ground. The sound made Silver’s heart tighten.
It was coming, fast.
He didn’t turn around cause he didn’t need to. Spatial Sense told him everything; the queen was approaching from beneath him.
Silver jumped.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated]
He appeared farther ahead. The ground behind him exploded and the queen emerged. Silver kept running on the unstable ground escaping the reaching worm.
He reached the narrowing section of the tunnel. There was a gap ahead, a small opening between two collapsed sections where he could fit through, the queen probably couldn’t, it would have to dig before it could even reach anywhere.
Silver’s heart lifted slightly.
"Finally."
He moved toward it, then the ground beneath his right foot cracked.
Silver froze.
His Spatial Sense screamed a warning. The entire section beneath him was hollow.
"No..."
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