73 Mind Can't Keep Up

As the grinning face disappears from the ball, I knew we were in deep s**t. The ball rolled out of the tunnel and down the slope in our direction. Although I planned to escape through the tunnel, the tunnel closed up before I could even put my idea to the test. As I didn't have enough Qi recovered to use {Ghost Emperor's Voyage}'s void form, I immediately pulled the Fatty and dodged to the side letting the ball roll past us.

"B-bro Pro, is that what I think it is?" the Fatty asked with chattering teeth.

"Yes, it's the f**king ball again, careful that it will roll back-" I replied while being vigilante that the ball would roll back towards us; however, I was surprised by what the ball did next.

I watched as the ball kept picking up speed before I continued rolling up the slope. Then, in some unknown way, the ball kept rolling and rolling, all the way to the top of the room before rolling to the other side. What the actual f**k?! That's defying gravity! Also, what's the point of doing that when you can simply roll back in the other direction?!

Of course, I understood the point not long after. As the ball rolled down from the ceiling on the other side, the ball's speed somehow increased at least twice. The ball then zoomed at us so fast that I barely had enough time to react. I could only punch the Fatty in the other direction as hard as I could while I leapt out of the way myself.

Although I heard the Fatty's howl in pain, I had no time to pay attention to that as I could only focus on the ball that was heading for the slope once again. If it's speed keeps doubling every time it comes down, my mind won't be able to keep up! I fearfully watch it climb the slope, but I breathed as sigh in relief when I noticed that its speed slowed back down when it was climbing the slope. That means that was the fastest speed it could go.

However, I know that if we keep dodging like this, eventually we will perish due to lack of stamina as that ball seems to have infinitely. I'm so jealous- *cough*. Although I wanted to scrap that ball, I know I did not have the strength to do it. Although I wanted to charge an attack, it wasn't possible to do so with the ball constantly disturbing me.

So, I decided to recover my Qi to see if I could phase through the wall and escape through a tunnel. I had the Fatty stand apart from me so that the ball could only target one of us. Then, I dodged if the ball came my way and instructed the Fatty to dodge if it went his way. Although the ball was fast, it was easy to predict its path after seeing it roll a couple of times. Of course, the ball tried to confused us by alternating randomly between its target by quickly changing its direction using the circular design of the room; however, after a narrow dodge on my part, I summoned a clone, with the limited Qi I had recovered, to stay next to the Fatty in order to quickly pull him out of the way if needed.

I thought I could continue like this and allow my Qi to recover enough to find an escape, but unfortunately, I forgot that I was dealing with a 'smart' ball, a ball I didn't understand completely yet.

My mind could not keep up with what happened next. The ball went up the slope like usual, and I predicted its next path to be targeting the Fatty so I paid it less attention as I was sure my clone can warn me in time if the ball changed its direction while rolling. Maybe it was my lax attitude from thinking I was the one in control after merely being able to predict the ball's path or maybe it's because I got too used to using {Ghost Emperor's Voyage}'s void form to escape situation last minute which put my mind in a "I can always easily escape" mode. In any case, I didn't notice the ball stopping at the top of the ceiling. I only noticed after a bit as the ball didn't come rolling down as usual when it was supposed to. Hence, I looked over to the Fatty's side queerly only to see my clone running in my direction with fear written on his face. Huh? Your duty was to protect the Fatty, why are you running in my direction?! Then, I saw a shadow on the ground near me, and it was too big to be my own. I had an ominous feeling, and when I looked up, I saw a ball with an evil grin already closing up on me.

I didn't have time to dodge. Although I tried to last minute, I only managed to escape with my life as the ball landed on my legs.

[Ding~ Host's leg has suffered extreme damage and has been crippled.]

My mind blanked out in pain as I felt like something was cut out of my soul. I lost all my feeling to my legs not long after as the ball sat on top of it. The demonic grin on the ball struck fear into me as it faded away, signaling the start of the ball's rolling in order to crush me.

I didn't know what exactly happened because my mind blanked out. Fortunately, my clone made it in time to pull me out and threw me in the direction of the Fatty. Unfortunately, the clone was sacrificed as it could not escape in time after throwing me, but the pain from the clone feedback jolted me out of my stupor. It was then that I learned that the ball could launch itself off the ceiling like a cannonball in order to hit its target, which was much less predictable as the time it takes for it to reach its target was much shorter.

I regretted not being vigilant myself and leaving my safety to others, but it was too late. I saw the ball begin to roll in my direction without taking the full loop path. It seemed to understand that I could no longer escape and that it needs no extra speed to hit its target. I didn't have the Qi to make another clone to get me out of the way as I haven't recovered much Qi in the short amount of time after I summoned the first clone. Although I tried to move myself with my one arm, my speed was like trying to get out of quicksand without arms, legs, or external assistance.

Hence, I could only fearfully watch as the ball rolled at me, waiting for my impending doom.