Chapter 17: A Second Chance at Life
Noah crouched. He had to sidestep the Diamantis’s attack at the last second, evade it somehow, and sprint back the way he came. It was a desperate, Hail-Mary plan, but his options were shot.
The beast loomed up before him. It raised its claw, poising to strike.
And strike it did.
Now! Noah jumped to the side, feeling the claw just graze against his skin.
He had successfully dodged it! Now to—
“Oof!” Noah gasped as one of its huge legs kicked out, catching him in the side. He slammed into the wall, hitting his head hard against the stone. Stars swam before his eyes. A flash of pain shot through his thigh, causing him to cry out. The Diamantis had stabbed its claw down, piercing straight through his leg.
His Vitra flashed red, matching the blood erupting from his wound.
—
WARNING
LOW HEALTH
—
He glanced up at the Diamantis. Its other claw was about to deliver the finishing blow.
Pinned to the spot, Noah shut his eyes. So much for being given a second chance at life.
“Hey!”
His eyes flew open. Could it be?
Both he and the Diamantis turned to the source of the voice.
There, standing behind the monster at a distance, was Kiera. She was hunched over, panting heavily.
“Over here!” she yelled, throwing a pebble which thunked against its side.
The Diamantis shrieked, turning its attention to her.
Kiera threw another rock. "Come get me!"
The creature hissed in annoyance. It started lumbering after its new target, which promptly took off.
Meanwhile, Noah quickly inspected his leg. A deep, angry-looking hole was punctured right into his thigh, spilling blood all over.
But he was still alive, and Kiera… she hadn’t abandoned him after all.
However, as he watched her attempt to flee from the Diamantis, he noticed that something was seriously wrong. She was hobbling on one leg, desperately trying to build a gap between herself and the creature. Had she sprained her ankle?
This was bad. She probably had about thirty seconds before the Diamantis caught up.
Quick! Was there anything he could do?
An idea came to mind.
Wait, was it even possible? It was a shot in the dark, but he had to try it. If he could lower an enemy’s statistic to zero, surely he could lower their speed as well? Most mobs in video games were programmed with a movement speed stat, weren't they?
There wasn’t any time to waste. He aimed at the mob and activated his Talent, praying with all his might that it would slow to a stop.
But just as he cast the ability, the Diamantis disappeared around a corner.
Did it work?
His Vitra flashed once again. Noah impatiently opened it, intending to skim through the alerts.
—
Level Up!
Level 5
—Skills upgraded:
TS1 : Void Suppression(Level 1) -> Void Suppression (Level 2)
TS1: Void Vitality(Level 1) -> TS1: Void Vitality (Level 2)
—
Skill unlocked:This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
TS1: Void Shackles (Level 1)
—
Class: HumanLevel: 5XP: 1160 / 1460HP: 301 / 2000MP: 52 / 62Attack: 420Defence: 330Rank: FTalent: 0
—
Global Skills:• GS1: Echolocation (Lvl 1)• GS1: Consume (Lvl 1)
—
Talent Skills:• TS1: Void Suppression (Lvl 2)• TS1: Void Vitality (Lvl 2)• TS1: Void Shackles (Lvl 1)
—
So he did level up! He had been so distracted by the earlier encounter that he had missed all the alerts. But wait, why didn’t he get the full HP reset from the level-up? Noah quickly put the pieces together. He did get the full reset, but he had levelled up right after the two Diamantises affected by Zero had died, and more importantly, before he had gotten stabbed through the leg.
Still, there was one particular notification that had caught his eye. Void Shackles. He blinked, almost in disbelief. So he did get a new Talent Skill, and it sounded exactly as he’d hoped. It also seemed like it had consumed 10 MP. But would it work in time?
Noah cursed, struggling to even get to his feet. Blood continued dripping out of the wound like water from a ruptured pipe. He wanted to chase after Kiera and the Diamantis. The hunter and the hunted.
But first he had to do something about the bleeding. He tore off his shirt and quickly wrapped it tightly just above the wound. It wasn’t a proper tourniquet, but it was the best he could do. At the very least, it should slow the blood loss.
Gritting his teeth, Noah forced himself up. He brushed the pain aside and limped after them. It took some effort, but he finally reached the corner where they had gone out of sight. However, there was no sign of either of them.
He continued onwards until the Echoband on his wrist suddenly vibrated. He scrambled to pick it up.
“Noah! Thank Eryndra you answered. Kiera hasn’t been answering my calls, so I thought…” Carter cleared his throat. “Anyway, how’s it looking for you? Is Kiera with you?”
A wave of dizziness crashed through Noah’s head. “It’s… not looking good. Kiera’s on the run and I… I don’t know if I can make it back out alive…” he answered, spitting out more blood in the process.
A gasp emerged from Carter’s end. “What happened? Hang on, okay? I’m coming back in. I got the attention of some of the merchants by the Pit, and they’re here with me treating the man with some of their health potions. I’ll bring some of the potions in with me. Are you still in Layer 3?”
“Yeah…” Noah croaked. “I’m kinda lost though.”
“Try to hold out while I look for you. Also, Sophie’s nowhere to be seen, so I assume she’s run off to the guild. The Echobands are acting weird today for some reason, so she probably couldn’t reach them from up there as well. Fortunately, looks like you’re still close enough for me to get a call through,” he rambled. “Anyway, don’t hang up ti—reach—part of—you—”
Carter’s voice was being distorted. They were losing connection.
“Carter?” Noah called.
“—on—soon—”
The call cut off. Talk about jinxing it.
Come on… but at least Carter was on his way with some healing. All he had to do was hold out. He had already survived something like this once—surely he could do it again? Besides, he had already taken down three Diamantises since then!
Another wave of nausea washed over him. He leaned against the wall, forcing himself to stay conscious. He wasn’t particularly squeamish, but anyone would’ve been put off by such an injury.
Okay, gotta move on.
“—oah—?”
Another voice pierced through the silence. It wasn’t from his Echoband this time, and the voice was softer and more feminine.
Noah listened closer.
“Noah?” the voice called again.
It was Kiera. Relief washed over him.
“Kiera? Are you okay?” he called out.
“The Diamantis is… frozen, for some reason. Where are you?”
Noah clenched his fist in triumph. It really had worked. “I think I’m just around the corner or something,” he replied.
“Hold on, I’m following the sound of your voice,” she said.
She was close. “Could you say something again?”
“I’m over here!” Noah coughed.
A few seconds later, Kiera stepped into view. Her expression shifted from relief to horror when she saw his leg.
“Gosh, Noah, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” she hurried over as fast as she could on her good leg. “I wish I could give you some healing, but I kinda ran out myself…”
“It’s fine,” he managed. “Carter’s on his way here with some more healing from the merchants. Do you know the way to the exit?”
“I—I think so. Oh no… I’ve only been here once before, but I think it’s this way.”
The two of them cautiously navigated their way around, both wincing with every step.
“Were you the one who froze the Diamantis?” she asked.
“Yeah... new power,” he replied.
“That’s so cool.”
“I’m not sure how long the effect will last though.”
“Hopefully until we get out of this layer. Monsters can’t pass through the gates… but then again, these creatures aren’t even supposed to be here in the first place.”
A screech interrupted their conversation.
“It’s moving again,” Noah whispered.
“Come on, I think we’re almost to the exit.”
As they stumbled through the darkness together, Noah found himself once again being hunted by a Diamantis. The situation had reversed yet again, just like when Anna had dropped him into the Archario Trials. What a cruel twist of irony.
The footsteps were getting closer. Just as they spotted the gates, Noah caught sight of the beast, rapidly closing in on them. Its six legs caused the floor to tremble as it stampeded its way towards them.
“Don’t give up, we’re almost there,” Kiera gasped.
Noah could feel his vision starting to fade. He fought the strain enveloping his body as they powered down the final stretch.
They finally reached the doors.
“Open!” Kiera didn’t waste a second. “Come on!” she hurried Noah along as he staggered through.
“Close!” she commanded. The doors materialised just as the last Diamantis slammed into them. They flickered under the impact, but thankfully, they held firm.
The two of them collapsed to the floor. Blood still seeped from Noah’s wound, pooling underneath him.
—
WARNING
HEALTH CRITICAL
—
He barely caught a glimpse of his HP before his vision started to fade. 67/2000.
“Noah!” Kiera cried, huddling over him.
Something wet dripped on Noah’s face, but he could feel himself disconnecting. Was this what dying felt like?
“Carter, over here! Hurry!” Kiera yelled.
The last thing he heard was the sound of hurried footsteps before the world faded to black.