46: Walking through the Tunnels

In the depths, the tunnels were completely dark but spacious. The memory of the Fallen Light that Grey kept in his soul couldn't be used continuously, as it would quickly deplete his soul's essence.

Even though he now possessed two cores and his natural essence reserve had doubled, it was still that of a dreamer, far inferior in capacity to that of an awakened.

For this reason, Grey walked in darkness relying solely on his sharp ears. Though his bodily enhancement wasn't active and his senses were those of a normal human, something else aided him.

And that was the natural adaptability of a human when losing one of their basic senses. Deprived of sight, his auditory, tactile, and olfactory senses had sharpened out of necessity.

Thanks to his heightened senses, reinforced by two soul cores, he could navigate the underground passages with relative ease.

He didn't know where he was going or if he was walking in circles, but he had no choice but to keep moving through the tunnels, letting them guide him.

Although he couldn't see it, the walls of the tunnel he was in branched into hundreds of other paths, hollows at least half the size of the one he occupied to walk.

Perhaps some underground abomination once inhabited these caves and dug the tunnels, or maybe it was the work of a higher-ranked or class worm.

His steps echoed faintly throughout the place, which also helped him detect walls and avoid potential falls into an abyss.

"Damn it, this path seems endless. I haven't even found more worms to hunt for a while now."

During his days underground, Grey had killed at least fifty of those worms, but recently, he hadn't encountered them as frequently.

"Maybe I've wiped them all out. It would be a real shame… I would've liked to kill more and obtain a third core."

His mouth was dry and his stomach demanded food, so Grey extended his hand, letting white sparks surround his palm, weaving a bottle of water into reality.

He took a long sip, quenching both his thirst and hunger. The memory he'd received was quite convenient, and Grey had already pondered the likely culprit behind it.

"[Fated] must have done this. Should I be grateful or angry? It might as well have been this attribute that put me in this situation..."

Shaking off those thoughts that could lead to despair, Grey continued walking, alert for any sign of an enemy or obstacle in these tunnels of earth and stone.

And as expected, soon enough, enemies appeared.

This time, however, they were somewhat strange. They weren't deep worms like the ones Grey usually found, but more humanoid.

They were tall, perhaps reaching two meters, with slender bodies and four arms. Their hands were armed with powerful claws that gleamed with a metallic sheen. Their legs were disproportionately thick compared to the rest of their bodies, as if designed to bear weight or to propel them at high speed. Their eyes burned with a dark malice, making their corrupt nature evident.

Grey invoked the Fallen Light and raised Odyssey, preparing himself. He leaned slightly on his knees, holding Odyssey in front of him and making it glow with a deep darkness.

His body shifted to its beast form, as did his armor, which adapted to the claws growing from his fingers, creating a double layer and bestowing him with ascended claws.

In total, Grey counted ten of those creatures, all ready to pounce on him at any moment. And they did, a second later, charging at him like a black wave.

The creatures' claws met a sharp spear tip. Odyssey sliced through the first one as if it were butter, and the monster recoiled in pain, momentarily losing its head in the midst of the attack.

Grey didn't waste the opportunity. He lunged directly at the wounded creature, slicing its slender body in two with a quick and clean movement.

[You have killed an Awakened Beast, Deep Scavenger]

[Your souls strengthen]

He paid no attention to the spell's words. His eyes were fixed on the remaining nine enemies, who surrounded him and lunged simultaneously.

Grey smiled calmly, confident in his armor. 'It doesn't matter, they won't be able to break through,' he thought, but he knew that letting himself get hit unnecessarily was a mistake. So he prepared to dodge any attack that could break his focus.

The creatures attacked with surprising coordination, aiming their claws at different points of his body. Grey moved his spear fluidly, deflecting some blows, and turned his torso to avoid others. Though some claws struck his armor, they failed to penetrate it.

Taking advantage of a moment when the creatures were close enough, Grey made Odyssey shine and launched a horizontal slash, decapitating three of them in a single stroke.

[You have killed an Awakened Beast, Deep Scavenger]

[Your souls strengthen]

The remaining creatures hesitated for a moment, bewildered by the speed and strength of their enemy. Grey gave them no time to recover. With his body still spinning from the slash's momentum, he kicked one of the nearest creatures, sending it several meters back. The creature crashed into the tunnel wall and fell to the ground, where Grey quickly finished it off with a precise strike to the neck.

The other creatures regained their determination and attacked again. Grey dodged a claw aimed at his head, ducking and spinning on his heels. In a single smooth motion, he pierced the attacking creature with his spear, lifting it into the air before hurling it towards another coming from his flank.

The sound of flesh and bones breaking echoed in the tunnel, and Grey felt a brief moment of satisfaction as he saw two more enemies fall, defeated.

The remaining three glanced at each other, assessing their chances. They seemed to communicate wordlessly, and two of them tried to flank Grey while the third charged head-on. But Grey had already anticipated their strategy.

He focused and, instead of retreating, advanced. The scavenger charging head-on didn't expect Grey to come towards it, and before it could react, Odyssey had already pierced its chest, sinking to the hilt. Grey twisted the spear, tearing the creature's insides apart and pulling it out with a swift yank.

The remaining two attempted to exploit his apparent opening, but Grey let the spear drop to the ground as their claws closed in. Instead of defending, he met them directly with his ascended claws, intercepting the attacks and seizing his opponents' wrists. A flash of dark light ran down his hands, and with a brutal motion, he tore the creatures' arms apart.

With both enemies incapacitated and writhing in pain, Grey raised Odyssey once more and executed a clean strike, finishing them off with a single sweep.

[You have killed a Deep Scavenger]

[Your souls strengthen]

…

"Ten Awakened Beasts, eighty fragments in total, not bad."

A slight pain began to tingle at Grey's side. Though no claw had pierced his armor, the impact of an Awakened Beast was still painful, especially when taken directly.

"I should heal myself with the water of Fresh Summer," he thought as he stored the Fallen Light within his soul and returned to his normal state.

It was strange, really. A sleeper should never be able to kill an Awakened Beast, or at least it would be very rare for a dreamer or awakened to defeat beings one or two levels above them, but Grey had just killed ten at once.

Not only that, but even before this, he had slaughtered groups of hunter worms, which were likewise Awakened Beasts.

"Is it because of being a divine aspect?"

But no, while his abilities were a significant reason, the reality was something else. The true reason he could perform such feats was primarily due to his memories.

Odyssey was ascended rank, and so was his Kalictis armor, making him almost impenetrable to awakened creatures. Odyssey also made him extremely lethal, adapting to the modes of his aspect.

"If I'm so strong, then why couldn't I save Sara?"

The thought invaded Grey's mind, and he suddenly felt gloomy and dejected. He kicked the carcass of the scavenger in front of him and kept walking. Although it should have seemed strange to find other creatures besides the worms here, it didn't really feel that way.

After all, the worms were called underground hunters; it made sense there would be something to hunt in this place. It wasn't such a far-fetched idea.

Though he wasn't certain, Grey believed he'd spent several days in the tunnels. His sense of time had distorted due to the lack of a clear reference like the sun.

As he moved forward, he invoked Fresh Summer and drank eagerly. Soon, a feeling of calm and healing spread through his body as his wounds slowly healed.

The water of his ascended memory was truly incredible.

Then, something strange in the tunnel walls caught his attention.