Varian sprinted towards the Core Zone.
He wasn't sure why but his instincts were screaming at him. An ominous feeing filled his mind.
'Am I going to face some danger again?' He was troubled, but couldn't stop.
Core Zone was the most likely place to find a solution, if any.
'I… can just run back to Inner Zone if trouble arises, right?' Varian tried to reassure himself.
But the more he tried, the worst he felt.
'System, come out! Explain this dreaded feeling.' Varian yelled inside.
The feeling was akin to having a blade on his neck and he was moving his neck towards the blade.
[Host, survive. Equal danger gives equal reward.] The System answered.
'So there's a huge danger after all.' Varian wanted to bang his head.
From the System's words, the danger wasn't a normal one.
'By my estimate, the Core Zone magic beasts should be around high Level 4. The strongest is peak Level 4.' He thought as he went further and further from the safe Inner Zone.
'Peak Level 4s should be living at absolute center. I can run away from high Level 4s. So what's the problem here?' He wondered and crossed the halfway point.
The increase in aura concentration was much higher than between Outer and Inner Zone.
After all, there was bound to be a huge difference between the powers of Core and Inner Magic Beasts.
'Level 9 vs Level 8, the gap is as big as Level 8 and Level 1.' Went a saying.
Varian didn't know if it was the truth, but the power difference between each level kept increasing.
As the aura's concentration spiked, he finally stopped. In front of him were lush plains.
The Core Zone didn't look different, but it surely 'felt' different.
He focused on all his senses and perceived his surroundings. He didn't want to be attacked by rabbits or rats or something else this time.
'Lets get to a deserted place.' Varian thought and cautiously searched the nearby mountains, caves and valleys.
To his dismay, he could find traces of magic beasts everywhere. There was no safe location.
Finally, he found a mountain and climbed it up. There was a cliff at the end. Looking down, Varian realized plain itself was an elevated plateau.
As he glanced down, there was only mist. He couldn't see the cliff bottom.
'There is not a single deserted location.' Varian clutched his forehead and tried to think of a solution.
If he rested in the open, he'd be found. If he kept moving, he would run into an aggressive beast and that'd be the end of the story.
Every single beast was a High Level 4. More importantly, there was no place to 'quietly' hunt. Even if he hunted one successfully, he'd be found out.
'I thought I could hunt like in Inner Zone. But now, going back to Inner Zone is a better option.' As he was about to leave, his back chilled.
"Graa~" The growls prompted him to turn back in an instant.
Sweat rolled down his forehead as ten purple panthers rushed towards him.
They didn't run. Instead, lightning covered their bodies, and a lightning board appeared under their legs.
This lightning board rushed at him at a speed beyond his current limit.
'Were they patrolling or something?!' Varian cursed and looked back.
If he ran back and fell down the cliff, he'd dead for sure.
Then what if he ran forward?
'Ten high Level 4… dammit.' He cursed.
He was in a deadlock, but not for long. One was a death sentence, and the other had a slight hope of living.
Varian gritted his teeth and dashed forward.
If he could just escape the first round of attacks, then maybe…
Dozens of lightning bolts shot in front of him, cutting off any chance of easy escape.
Varian stopped in his tracks. 'Their attacks are too fast and too lethal.'
If he took even one attack head on, he'd be gravely injured. Then his speed would drop and he would not be able to dodge the next attacks.
'What should I do?' He racked his brain.
The lightning board under purple panthers vanished, and they slowly walked towards him.
With each step they took, dozens of lightning bolts shot at Varian.
Varian kept backing off.
"Re" A stone dropped down the cliff and Varian was aware of its fall.
As he kept backing off, he wanted to hear how long it took for the stone to hit the ground.
He couldn't hear any sound.
Varian's heart raced as the panthers approached him.
As death seemed inevitable, only one thought reverberated in his mind.
'If I'm going to die anyway, I'll at least bring one of you down.' His eyes turned bloodshot, and he was about to pounce on the purple panthers.
At that moment, a cute voice sounded directly in his mind.
'Hey, are you an idiot to attack them? You will die.'
It was as if cold water was poured on his hot mind. Varian quickly asked.
'What should I do?' He didn't ask who it was or what it wanted. Just what he should do. To survive.
Zap!
Zap!
The final bolt of lightnings, the ones that would kill him or thrown him down the cliff, were hovering in the air.
'Tell me!' Varian asked.
'Jump down the cliff. You can live.' The childish voice said.
Zap!
Zap!
The lightning bolts shot at him. Varian wouldn't survive facing them. So why not try the other way?
"Here goes." He flipped into the air and jumped down the cliff.
The lightning bolts exploded in the air, and Varian felt a chill down his spine.
As he fell, the air hit him and his clothes rustled.
Varian could only see the white fog and his heart turned restless.
Not even a few seconds passed, and he was already questioning his sanity.
'Hehe. I thought you wouldn't dare.' The cute voice sounded, and it seemed to enjoy itself.
'Are there any dangerous beats below?' Varian quickly asked.
Since he was already falling, he should do his best. He blocked the space around him and slowed down his descent.
'Good presence of mind.' It complemented his actions and continued 'There are no beasts below. You'll survive if you try hard enough, though you'll break most bones.'
Varian chose to believe it for now. He couldn't fly with his lightning level. But he could shield himself a bit.
Space block, on the other hand, would prevent him from accelerating to dangerous speeds.
'Why didn't I think of this?' He face palmed and continued to space block.
He couldn't stay in the air forever, he would sooner or later run out of space power.
So his goal was to block the space and decelerate whenever his descent speed went past a certain threshold.
And thus, Varian continued to fall. His space power was also slowly running out.
'Where are you?' Varian asked in the midst of the fall.
'I'm in the center of the Core Dungeon. You can find me if you cross all the peak Level 4 beasts around me.' The voice answered.
'I don't know when I can even go there…' Varian sighed.
'I can help you get out of this Lost Dungeon.' The voice said.
Varian thought he was hearing things, but after asking again, his heart stopped for a moment.
'I will get there in 20, no 14 days.' He vowed.
'Won't work. If you don't come in 5 days, both you and I will die.. The Abyssals are coming.'