260. Advancing

[Evolved Centinel - Lvl. 113]

[Evolved Centinel - Lvl. 121]

[Evolved Centinel - Lvl. 135]

Three Centinels stood before me. Each of them were a departure from the ordinary undulating body of a Centinel. They’d evolved. Become different. Become more.

They were distinct from each other, too. The lowest-leveled of them was rather large and bulky with an inflated abdomen and a dozen spindly legs. It was like someone had made a model of a giant spider and accidentally gave it too many limbs.

The Level 121 [Evolved Centinel] had a hunched body. It seemed to roll forward rather than crawl, and its back and front was literally covered in spikes. Barbs that jutted out in all directions. However, despite their sharp appearance, they seemed to flop around as they carried the Centinel forward.

The last and highest-leveled Centinel had the typical segmented body-type of a regular Centinel. About the size of a [Junior Centinel]. But the upper half of its body bent upwards, morphing into a grotesque form that lacked legs. The carapace grew thinner as it took on almost a Human-like form. With hands. Actual arms that had opposable thumbs. And a head that resembled that of an armored knight.

I stared at it. I waved at it uneasily.

“Um, hello?”

It peered at me with an intelligent gaze. I knew that it was studying each small movement I made. It knew that I was trying to communicate with it. I could tell. However, that didn’t mean it could talk, unfortunately.

I heard a muffled click as its mandibles snapped together beneath the carapace covering its mouth. The other two Centinels at its side moved. The first leapt into the air as the second barrelled forward with a deep screech.

I scowled.

“Ugh, are you seriously going to fight me? Can’t we talk?”

Apparently not. I leapt to the side, and the second Centinel crashed into the rock wall behind me. The first Centinel intercepted me mid-air, but I simply flipped around it and kicked it back. However, before I could land, the last Centinel slithered up to me. It wasn’t that fast. I’d say that it moved slower than a [Senior Centinel] at its level would.

Well, it definitely moved slower than the [Senior Centinel] I’d just fought. However, when it struck out at me, its hands were wreathed in a yellow energy. Magic. Some kind of acid strike.

I raised my Nebular Scythe, barely parrying the attack as I was knocked back. Behind me, the rolling Centinel lashed out. It was faster than its two companions, and it chomped its terrible maw down at me. The Breastplate of Alexander flashed, protecting me as I growled.

“Stop it! Stop trying to eat me!”

All three Centinels halted, and my eyes flickered. I was faced with far too many powerful enemies. Each of them seemed to have their own abilities. The highest-leveled Centinel had some sort of magic, the spindly Centinel looked like it would tear me apart if it got to me, and the rolling Centinel was incredibly quick.

I didn’t want to take this fight.

At least, not all three of them at the same time. I had to get out of here— either separate them and beat them one by one, or escape entirely. First of all however, I had to get the rolling Centinel away from me.

It regained its senses as I tried to fly off into the air. It quickly crawled up the ravine’s walls, hissing and leaping after me. I dodged out of the way, grinning.

“Hah! You can’t hit me from down there!”

The rolling Centinel picked itself up as the highest-leveled Centinel spread its arms wide. There was a glimmer of yellow light from above me. I blinked, looking up. And a deluge of acid fell on me in raindrop-like shapes.

I exhaled, unleashing blue fire all around the crevice. It was bright enough that it could probably be seen from all the way at either end of this ravine, and maybe even from the intersecting ravines nearby.

“Stupid Centinel magic—”

I started, but was cut off as the spindly Centinel crashed into me. I tumbled down, tangled in a brief battle with it as it continued trying to snap its jaw at me. I glanced up for a moment as the thought to use [Long Range Teleport] crossed my mind.

But I decided against it. Instead, I grabbed onto a nearby ledge with [Mystical Projection] as [Faux Limbs] protruded from my sides. With the flaming arms, I pushed the spindly Centinel off me, and pulled myself back up into the air with the invisible hands.

I flew back up into the air as the Centinels gathered themselves for another attempt to intercept me. But before they had the chance, I pointed at them. [Temporal Distortion]. The world around the Centinels slowed. They perceived me speeding away from them far faster than they could even react. I sent a final wave of blue flames back at them, blotting out their vision as I finally managed to escape.

—--

“What… was that?”

I panted, leaning against the wall. I managed to escape from the [Evolved Centinels] and hid myself away at an alcove I located with [Planar Navigation]. Sure, I could’ve continued fighting them. Baited them to come at me one after another. Maybe even use up my best Skills to defeat them.

However, I wouldn’t have been able to handle what came next. I peeked out of the alcove as a rumble washed over the area I was standing. Hundreds of Centinels skittered their way down the bottom of the ravine, heading to where I’d been fighting the [Evolved Centinels].

They weren’t attracted by the sounds of fighting. No— the Bloodied Gulf had an incessant, constant background noise ever since I came here. Fighting, shrieking, and killing. Even now, I could see several Centinels battling with each other for no ostensible reason.

What they were attracted by had been the bright light I sent to the sky. My brilliant blue fire attracted a lot of attention, especially when I used it at a scale as large as I did earlier. But that rain of acid would’ve done significant damage, and while my Breastplate of Alexander still worked, I didn’t want to waste its protection.

I sighed.

“Ok, I get that they were [Evolved Centinels]. But why were they all so different from each other?”

They were all… distinct. With their own shapes and abilities. Sure, Centinels weren’t uniform in what they looked like or what they could do. However, they were similar enough that they were pretty much the same. Like different rocks on the ground.

These [Evolved Centinels] were like carvings. As though someone had picked up a set of three pebbles and molded each into unique shapes like a cross, a star, and a circle.

“Do they relate to Sal’s dumb cryptic assignment?”

I really just wished he would be clear with what my goal here was. I sat there, waiting for the cooldown on the Skills I used in the earlier fights to run its course. Outside, the rumbling abated slightly.

I could still hear the clicking feet of Centinels as they passed the alcove. But it wasn’t as intense as before. And their footsteps kind of faded into the background noise that was the death zone of the Bloodied Gulf.

“Now that I think about it, is this place really a Diamond Ranked area?”

I wondered to myself as another wave of Centinels passed. They had a number of [Senior Centinels] amongst them, too.

“That [Ancient Centinel] was an Elite Ranked threat. And with all the Diamond Ranked threats lurking around, shouldn’t this be an Elite Ranked area?”

I had a lot of questions. Unfortunately, I didn’t have access to many answers. Well, if I really wanted to figure out the truth, I had to go find it myself. The only problem was that it was kind of dangerous. Even hiding in the alcove was risky, just less so than wandering around the open ravines.

I was about to step out of the alcove to continue scouring the crevices for whatever I was looking to do when I suddenly had an idea.

“Actually, I don’t have to go out on my own, do I?”

I snapped a finger, and golden flames formed before me. [Salvo of Vanity] activated— an exhausting Skill. One that used up a lot of mana to create a clone, before using a minor amount of mana and concentration consistently to persist.

“I’ll continue my [Rest] here. Go scout the are around me, will you?”

My clone nodded and left the alcove. The moment she stepped out, she drew the attention of several lower-leveled Centinels. It didn’t matter to her. She just flew off after burning them to ashes.

It would be hard for her to remain discreet. However, that didn’t matter. Even if she were attacked by a dozen [Evolved Centinels]. Because she was my clone. So, she didn’t try masking her presence at all, which also meant that she could move as quickly through the network of ravines as possible.

I had her map out the area, even as she was chased down by a horde of Centinels. I mentally took notes of where everything was around me, keeping everything in relation to where this alcove was. There were quite a few Lairs around the area, which was odd since this wasn’t considered a ‘Dungeon’. Maybe it was because they were all Lairs of the same Species of monster?

I wasn’t sure.

My clone stumbled into one of the larger ravines as she tried to lose the Centinels chasing after her. However, it seemed she strayed too close to a familiar location. The entire network of ravines trembled as something dug its way out of the shadows.

The [Ancient Centinel] rose out of a cavern, eyeing my clone with sheer rage. I pursed my lips.

“Well, i guess it’s time to end it.”

I sent my clone to blow herself up on the [Ancient Centinel] once again. But before she could even get close, something flashed. Her gaze snapped to the side. My eyes grew wide as I saw the same thing she did.

An [Evolved Centinel]. No— it was the same one as before. At Level 135. It unleashed a powerful blast of acid at my clone, snuffing out the golden flames before she could attack the [Ancient Centinel].

And my senses cut out.

“Huh. Well, that was rude.”

I tapped a finger on my chin.

“So, I definitely shouldn’t be flying around like an idiot. That attracts way too much attention.”

However, I was definitely going to employ this tactic with my clone to map out more of the ravine. Not right now, though. I both couldn’t and didn’t want to.

For now, I let [Rest] restore the rest of my abilities. It took a few more hours until I was at a hundred percent. When I was ready, I got to my feet and grinned.

“Ok so I just have to go here and—”

I exited the alcove, sticking close to the ravine’s walls as I retraced the steps my clone took here.

“The Lair should be here somewhere…”

I kicked away a [Junior Centinel] and paused right before a crack on the wall. My lips curled up as I stepped inside.

“There it is.”

I walked down a rather long stone hallway that grew narrowed and narrowed until I had to crawl my way through it. Then it opened up into a chamber with a large pit at the bottom. A notification resounded in my head.

Now entering [Lair: Centinels Camp]!

Over a dozen [Senior Centinels]. A small Lair in its own enclosed space. I could fight here without worrying too much about attracting the attention of other Centinels. And what was more was that these Centinels were barely even my level. They were definitely not as strong as the first [Senior Centinel] I fought.

[Senior Centinel - Lvl. 107]

...

[Senior Centinel - Lvl. 113]

I clapped my hands together, activating [Mystical Projection] as the [Senior Centinels] stirred. They turned their gazes towards me and screeched. I just used my invisible arms to pull them towards me, bringing them my way faster.

“Now, who wants to help me advance my Class?”

I bared my teeth at them. They broke free from [Mystical Projection], of course. But it didn’t matter much, though. After all—

Cleared [Lair: Centinels Camp]!

Experience is awarded for clearing a Lair!

Defeated [Senior Centinel – Lvl. 105]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

...

Defeated [Senior Centinel – Lvl. 112]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

Subspecies [Daeva Cambion] Level Up!

[Daeva Cambion – Lvl. 112] -> [Daeva Cambion – Lvl. 113]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points!

Subspecies [Daeva Cambion] Level Up!

[Daeva Cambion – Lvl. 113] -> [Daeva Cambion – Lvl. 114]

Gained 5 Stat Points and 3 Skill Points!

Class [Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus] Level Up!

[Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus - Lvl. 64] -> [Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus - Lvl. 65]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

[Advancement Available]

I didn’t need much to get my advancement.