Going Deeper

[*Dodge master*]

Brandon didn't need Luzbel's warning as his own body bristled. He took a big jump back and spread his wings to flap harder.

*Bzzz*

*Bzzz*

Brandon saw a large area still covered in miasma and small electric discharges in the air.

"Luzbel report."

[Reporting: The lightning, mixed with the energy of the miasma and became harmful even for its own summoner]

[The lightning expanded under the influence of the thick miasma, making it more destructive]

Brandon had an idea of what had happened, but hearing it again made him feel scared. "This miasma is quite chaotic," he thought.

Brandon continued flapping in place as he contemplated whether or not to go to where the Druid and the others were.

He gritted his teeth and flapped above the area where the electric bomb had exploded. There, he saw five bodies lying motionless.

Brandon looked at them and, to make sure they were not pretending, took out the bow he had bought. Stretching the string as far as he could, he shot an orc.

*Woosh*

The arrow flew from the bow and pierced the orc's head through the miasma.

Brandon saw that there was no reaction from the body, so he loaded more arrows and shot them at the other bodies.

Almost all of the arrows hit their target except the one aimed at the Druid.

Large roots emerged and covered the Druid's body as they dragged him underground.

Brandon saw what the Druid was trying to do and decided to shoot many energy arrows at the trunks, not wanting to let the Druid go.

But the arrows barely grazed the trees, and the Druid slowly sank into the ground.

"Shit!" shouted Brandon. This Druid had escaped him and would be a headache for him in the future.

Although he had the advantage that the Druid did not know who he was, and the hunting dimension was enormous. The only possibility of encountering each other was in the refuges.

Brandon looted the bodies that were carbonized and took their cores. The miasma was so thick here that it corrupted the cores in a few minutes.

A mountain could be seen in the distance that seemed to pierce the sky and the clouds.

The spectacular view of a mountain like this that seemed indestructible and immutable.

Brandon continued flapping, but lower and lower. It's not that he didn't want to fly to the mountain, but he couldn't.

The closer he got to the mountain, the more pressure he felt, and he gradually fell to the ground.

The gravity in this place was quite high. He understood why many races preferred to travel for years to other hunting areas and not venture into the wasteland.

Brandon continued walking, not being affected by the miasma but getting stronger.

[Your miasma has increased by +1]

[Your miasma has increased by +1]

[Your miasma has increased by +1]

[...]

*Swoosh*

Brandon swung his back to the right while turning his body in the same direction.

*Chii*

An ant was decapitated and lay on the ground, spitting green blood.

"Ant? Ant!" Brandon thought. He ran in the opposite direction from where the ant had appeared. Ants are territorial, and those who separate are always explorers.

Brandon ran, but soon he heard a noise, a small tremor.

*Crack*

A tree was split in half and fell to the ground. Brandon turned his body, and what he saw made his skin bristle. A large number of ants, enough to swallow a whole refuge, were chasing him.

"Damn it," he shouted. He kept running, using his thunder element to propel himself forward. But this was a double-edged sword.

The lightning's brightness in a dark place was like a candle in a dark room.

As he ran, he had to use more and more energy to keep going because the deeper he went, the more pressure he felt.

Eventually, he would lose mobility to face the ants, so he stopped and made a decision.

He focused all the miasma he had gathered and loaded it into two electric balls that lit up the entire area within a kilometer radius.

Brandon used all his strength to jump and throw the balls towards the massive wave of ants.

*Bzzz*

*Bzzz*

Brandon saw the balls fall and expand to such a level that before they hit the ground, he himself had been covered by the massive discharge that was released.

*Aghh*

"Little Brandon, you're growing up nicely. Come and hug your ****. Look at the gift I brought you." This was an older man around 40 years old, but Brandon couldn't see his face.

"Who are you? Where are my parents?" asked a small version of Brandon. It was clear he was less than eight years old.

"Of course, you don't remember me. It's been a while since I saw you; you were just a baby."

"I don't have much time, but I brought you a gift. Look." He took out a multicolored crystal that made Brandon fall in love with it.

"Do you want it?" the man asked.

Brandon nodded without taking his eyes off the crystal.

The man smiled, and before Brandon could react, he appeared in front of him and placed the crystal on his forehead.

Brandon felt his consciousness fading, but at that moment, he heard a small whisper.

"Forgive me for bringing this into your life, but it's the least I can do to ease that tumultuous fate behind you."

Brandon opened his eyes, feeling his body burning in some areas. "Lucifer, my condition."

[Report: The master has 10% burns all over his body. While he was asleep, I healed the other 90% because he still had all his energy saved.]

Brandon stood up and looked around. He could see corpses all over the area.

His clothes had many burns and were torn. "I'll have to change soon, but let's not waste the loot."

Brandon approached the ants and placed them in his dimensional space. This space was quite large, but he could still only manage less than 70 bodies.

It was disappointing to have to leave all those bodies, but he couldn't do anything about it.

He couldn't skin them one by one to get their cores because he didn't know if more ants were coming or if the blood would attract the attention of other beasts.

"Now, where can I change my clothes?" he said.

Without thinking, he moved further inside, deeper into the mountain. His steps were slow and heavy, but he still kept walking inward.

He didn't know why, but his heart was beating faster the deeper he went into the mountains.

Entering a wooded area, Brandon looked up at the tall trees that were more impressive than those in the deadly forest.

Grabbing onto one of these trees, he began to climb and landed on a branch as spacious as a room.

Brandon looked around for any movement or any animal that might attack him, but strangely, none appeared.

"Come to think of it, why haven't I encountered any beasts again?" This place was becoming more and more eerie.

Brandon changed his clothes and put on a new outfit. Meanwhile, the unnamed vest allowed his system to begin a repair.

[Saturated Miasma]

Brandon received this notification, so he opened his database to see what happened.

════════Data Panel════════

Name: Brandon Sanchez

Race: Human

Lower Class

Awakening: Digitized (73%) [...] Thunder (28%)

══════════Attributes══════════

Health: 40 (2,000)

Strength: 10*

Agility: 65

Resistance: 50

Energy: 90 (1,800)

Miasma: 100

Control: 60

Attitude: 430

Free Points: 9 + 0.4*

══════════Skills══════════

Cold Mind Level 5 (93%)

Lightning Manifestation Level 3 (23%)

His miasma stat had reached 100 and was not increasing. This was a relief for Brandon as he did not want to have his aptitude solely in miasma and end up with a mediocre base of 600.

Next, Brandon took out the corrupted orc cores he had killed.

"What will happen if I consume these cores? Whatever, let's see."

Brandon melted the cores, but with more difficulty than any other. They drained his energy like a key simply to melt them.

"Here we go." Closing his eyes, he drank the potion and waited for some reaction.

[DING]

[Obtained Orc DNA base. +10%]

[Get more DNA to complete the Orc lineage.]

"What?!" Brandon screamed and covered his mouth. He was in a dangerous place and the noise could alert enemies, but what this informed him was too shocking.

[You have consumed a tonic made from corrupted orc cores +60 corrupt points.]

[Saturated Miasma]

"60 points" Brandon's heart raced. This was enough to allow him to ascend to the next dimension.

It had not even been a year inside the hunting dimension, and he could already ascend.

"Calm down, Brandon." He took a deep breath and tested his theory.