Ethereal Ascension

Chapter 3

~ Imminent Danger ~

“Huh? What do you mean?” Alan asked with a perturbed face.

[Did I stutter?]

Alan’s brows twitched, “You sly... Ugh! What’s the point getting transmigrated or reincarnated, only to wake up as the weakest Mage in the realm?”

[Fret not. There are other Myriad 5 Mages in Oratoa.]

“For real?” a glimmer of hope shone in Alan’s eyes.

The System didn’t respond until a few seconds later... [No.]

“What?!” Alan pinched his nose bridge in frustration. What kind of system are you? Why would you put my hopes up like that?”

[I couldn’t watch my host getting depressed.]

“Well, you only made me more depressed. Thanks a lot,” he shook his head.

[You’re welcome.]

Silence.

[No Hunter is awoken as a Myriad 5. The least is Myriad 4. And that’s how it has been until you were born.]

“Wow. I broke the record. Classic,” Alan muttered in sarcasm. He lowered his head, “Why does the rank exist anyway, if no one had been awoken into it?”

[The rank came with your existence, actually, Alan. You’re quite famous for it.]

Another glitch occurred before him, prompting him to raise his head. Another green screen appeared, displaying the newspaper headlines from two years ago.

*Eighteen year old, Alan Monolith has unlocked a new Myriad rank*

*A Myriad 5? Must be tough*

*His mana isn’t even detectable*

*Alan Hermolith, a Hunter or an anomaly?*

He scrolled through several headlines with his pictures attached. That was when he was able to take a good look at his new body. He didn’t look so different from when he was on earth, except for the azure-coloured eyes.

“This isn’t fame. They are mocking me,” he clicked his teeth. “Weakest Hunter... Wait, a hunter? But you just called me a Mage not too long ago.”

[Yes. Every Mage is a Hunter, but not every Hunter is a Mage. There are other types of Hunters, like the Berserkers, Minstrels, and a few others. But Mages are the most populous, taking up almost 60% of the entire Hunter population.]

Alan hummed, taking note, “Why are we called Hunters though? Is there some kind of threat existing in Oratoa?”

[A lot, actually. T-That’s... That’s why...]

The System’s voice began to glitch out for seconds, piquing Alan’s interest.

“Uh... Are you okay?” Alan asked.

At that moment, the System’s voice boomed in his head like a tidal wave. It only spoke one word.

[Run!]

“Huh?” Alan was left aloof.

Boom!

A large tremor erupted outside, shaking the house to its foundations. Alan managed to stagger to his feet, his brows scrunched in bewilderment.

Then came another tremor, this time sounding closer. Sounding too close in fact.

Alan felt his skin crawl, his hair getting taut like needles as the System’s voice resounded in his head.

[Run!]

He backed away from the bed and tried running across the room.

However, before he could take three steps further, a massive hand swatted through the walls of his room, crumbling them to rubble. One of its fingers touched Alan. In a single sweep, the room was completely demolished, with Alan flying out of it.

He yelled at the top of his voice as he flew several metres into the air. He was so high up that he could see the top of skyscraper buildings.

And then, he stopped going upward. Gravity took over his body, sending him back down. The wind slapped against his body as he plummeted with no restraints.

He hadn’t even spent an hour in this new world and he was about to die... Again!

His arms went over his face in reflex as the ground appeared closer. But before he could go splat on the asphalt, something caught him.

Panting heavily for breath, he dropped his hands and looked down to see what had prevented his second death. It was the same hand that had decimated his room less than a minute ago. He looked like a small action figure in the grasp of the scaly hand.

He swallowed, summoning enough courage to behold the body that the scary hand belonged to. It was a twenty-feet tall bipedal beast with scales for skin. Its eyes shone bright red, as though ready to unleash hell on the world.

‘What the fuck is happening? A beast?!’ Alan panicked inwardly, crippled by fear... Not like he could move anyway.

As though his question was a trigger, a subtle glitch flickered over the monster’s head.

[Armoured Tusk]

The name was written in blue.

‘Am I supposed to know what that means?’ Alan would have narrowed his eyes if the Armoured Tusk wasn’t staring into them. He couldn’t move a muscle.

[It’s a beast from a Myriad 4 dungeon. There’s been a gateway break!]

The system warned, its voice apathetic.

“Where the hell did you vanish to?” Alan grunted as the Armoured Tusk squeezed him tighter. “And what do you mean by a gateway break?”

[Gateways spawn all around Oratoa randomly. Its emergence is what birthed the Hunters, and they have been tasked to enter every gateway and raid the dungeons before the monsters could come out. But there are times when some gateways open in hidden places, and if the dungeons aren’t cleared within a specific period of time, the gateway begins to purge the monsters into the realm. That’s the case with this Armoured Tusk.]

In real time, the information dissolved into his memory in just the span of a second.

Alan glanced around frantically. He could see some people running away, while others maintained a safe distance and watched in horror.

Something struck Alan, forcing him to return his gaze to the massive beast, “Why do I get this feeling that this monster is only after me?”

[Because it is.]

Alan’s heart skipped a beat.

The Armoured Tusk opened its mouth, as though to unleash an attack, but it did something odd instead. It talked.

“Ahh... You’ve finally arrived. I see the others failed to seal you away for good. Well, I’ll make sure to finish what they started,” its deep voice reverberated across the entire neighbourhood, quaking the civilians to their bones. Some even passed out in the process.

However, it was only its voice that spread, not its words. Only Alan could hear it.

[It is still too early. You have to get as far away from it as possible!]

The system warned.

Alan took a glance at the gigantic hand around his body, then stared at the beast blankly, ‘Wow. If only I hadn’t thought of that.’

The Armoured Tusk’s eyes began to glow brighter, which was followed by a whir that gradually increased in pitch.

‘Uh... System, do something! It’s about to beam at me!’

The system went quiet.

Alan gritted his teeth, ‘Shit! Shit! I can’t afford to die! Not again. Not again!’

His resolve was nothing compared to the volatile beams that escaped the Armoured Tusk’s eyes, aimed straight at him.

Alan shut his eyes immediately. There was nothing he could do to save himself from a second death.