Lucen opened his eyes slightly.
The world looked hazy and blurry, probably as a result of the stress.
"Where am I?" Lucen muttered. His voice came out hoarse, barely louder than a breath. His back stung against the cracked ground.
You fool, Azarith snapped. The panther attacked you with the black mist, and caused your system to weaken. You could have died.
"Really? Then why am I alive?"
I rescued you, obviously. And for that, you owe me 100 additional void cores. With the previous one, your debt is 130 void cores.
"That much? Just to save me."
"You also know that if I die, your body would also be destroyed," Lucen said trying to convince him.
Hahaha, a loud laughter filled his head. You don't know anything about me, do you? If you die, i would only return to the bonding floor, there is nothing like destruction for me.
When Lucen heard this, he rolled his eyes.
"Are you serious? I thought all bond entities were tied to their host."
Your knowledge of this world is too little, Azarith said with a smug tone.
Oh, you remember the panther's last howl from earlier, I think it may have attracted some friends.
When Lucen heard this, he bounced off the floor.
"Don't tell me," he said as he turned.
Several void beings were behind him, staring at him with ferocious expressions.
Some looked like lizards, some like birds, and some were even like humans.
They looked at Lucen with ecstasy.
No, this is too much for me to handle now, I need to escape.
He looked at the space, the ability of his eyes kicked in as he calculated several outcomes.
Without a thought, Lucen ran in the opposite direction, his body clearing the mist.
Clank, a shoe suddenly appeared on his legs.
Boom! His next step propelled him faster.
Mph, a loud sigh escaped from Lucen's mouth as he finally escaped the void beings.
That was dangerous, he thought, his breaths ragged.
He rested his back on the huge skull behind him, and raised his head slightly to look at the sky.
The sky was dark, with a crimson moon that hung over it.
I need to leave this place, but I don't know where the check point is.
Even if I reached there, I don't have the required void cores to activate the portal.
Lucen checked his system space, and discovered something.
Fuck! I didn't harvest the void cores from those ones, now I have to start over.
You seem to be forgetting me, you owe me your first 130 void cores, Azarith said, his voice laced with chill.
"I know, I would give you your share before I leave here."
I guess my rest is over.
Lucen stood up from the floor, and continued in his path.
"Earlier, you said you rescued me, how was that possible?" Lucen asked as he walked.
That was simple, I used error pulse to collapse all the mist in your body, then collapsed the ones surrounding you.
I see, no wonder there was no mist around me, he thought.
"But how were you able to use it? I was unconscious."
You ask too much questions. You will know what you are meant to with time.
"Okay," Lucen replied, not wanting to stress things out.
"Wait!" Lucen suddenly stopped.
"If you used error pulse to clear the mist… then I should be able to do it too." Lucen said with excitement.
Error pulse, he said immediately.
A grey energy spread out, then collided with the mist.
But instead of the required effect, nothing happened.
"What is wrong? Why isn't it working," Lucen asked with confusion.
It isn't that simple, Azarith said with a sigh.
Using error pulse on tangible things was what I granted you, to use it on intangible things, you need to learn to control its essence.
"Control its essence," Lucen echoed, confused.
You just need to learn to command it, rather than just blind usage.
Why am I even explaining it, not like you can ever understand it fast enough to use in a place like this.
"You mean this way," Lucen asked, the grey energy coiling around him, and sucking the black mist into it.
You...You actually commanded error on your first try, Azarith screamed in disbelief.
""What, is it?" Lucen asked with a nervous tone.
Nothing, just continue.
This boy... I was not sure about it before, but I have to let him live, he might be the only chance to that, Azarith thought silently.
You know what? You don't have to pay me now. Pay when you are ready, just remember, Azarith said after some thought.
"Are you sure about that?" Lucen asked surprised.
Don't make me change my mind.
"No...No, thank you," Lucen said.
Thank goodness, now I can focus on escaping this floor, Lucen thought.
I can't lose someone with so much potential, at least not now.
Lucen walked deeper, his vision now better due to the reduced mist around him.
I hear voices nearby, they could be my classmates, Lucen thought as he ran faster.
When he finally reached the source, what he saw terrified him.
Several void being had encircled them, with the corpses of some class mates shredded on the floor.
Lucen looked carefully, trying to see if David was among them.
Luckily, he found David among the surviving people.
Good thing David is safe, that gives me enough time to plan, he thought.
"Azarith, can error pulse be materialised," he asked tensed.
Why are you asking me that? you are the one with the power, you should know how to use it.
"Alright... I would find out myself."
I can't just give him easy tips, he should also struggle a little. The best gems are forged through extreme heats.
Lucen tried to command error pulse the same way he did while he cleared the mist.
The grey energy converged on his palm, and Lucen tried to mold it into an arrow, but it dissipated.
"What happened? it already started to form," Lucen asked Azarith.
Azarith didn't respond, and left Lucen to himself.
Lucen sighed when he saw this. "He is a hard nut to crack."
Lucen did not give up, and continued.
After continuous tries, he finally gave up.
"I need to help them, this thing is not leading me to anywhere."
As he thought, a spear materialised in his palm.