"Fuck, the academy really wants to kill us!" Leonel cursed, fearfully glancing at the towering volcano looming ominously over their heads. "We first years shouldn't be part of this competition at all!"
"Get your act together," Noah's cold voice cut through the tension, calming the trio down. "We should be able to find shelter from the lava."
His confidence stunned them, making them inwardly wonder what kind of past he had to be unfazed by the scene before them. But despite his words, their anxiety shot through the roof—the high temperatures were already straining their defensive measures.
Noah didn't speak further, only looking ahead with his glowing silver eyes. The world before him faded, replaced by a dark dimension filled with silver lines and dots scattered around. These lines and dots were Spatial nodes, the hidden phenomenon behind his teleportation. His Spatial Flicker allowed him to tap into these nodes, opening a path from one node to another, granting him passage through the spatial dimension.
The thicker lines indicated greater difficulty in traveling due to elemental interference from the surroundings, which would burden his body and cost more Essence to protect himself. Thinner lines, by contrast, made travel easier. As for the near-transparent lines in his sight, Noah didn't even consider them—one second in those spatial tunnels would tear his body apart. Even if he survived, he might reappear anywhere in the world—or beyond it.
Seeing the abundance of thick lines around him, he sighed and turned to his teammates. "I'll handle our passage through this round, but I'll need any Essence Cores you have on hand. Also, make sure to protect yourselves."
The three were surprised but chose to trust him. They roused their Essence, coating their entire bodies, even though it meant their Cores would drain quickly.
"Fuck!" A loud curse snapped their attention to the right, where the volcano seemed to be growing more active.
Lava began to burst from the crater, falling toward the students below. The group immediately started moving—they could only run forward, hoping to cross the perimeter of the volcano's base and reach the safe zone of this stage.
"Let's go. And make sure to stay in contact with me as we run," Noah ordered, sprinting ahead. The three obeyed, keeping a hand on his shoulder as they dashed side by side.
As they ran, the volcano finally erupted, spewing an unending stream of lava that rained down. Unlucky students who couldn't dodge in time were buried beneath the molten rock, but their tokens activated, teleporting them away before the lava could kill them.
"Careful!" Noah shouted. His Essence surged as he tapped into one of the silver lines in his sight, simultaneously coating his and his team's bodies. In an instant, his vision shifted—they reappeared seven meters away, narrowly avoiding a glob of lava that incinerated the ground where they had been moments earlier.
Leonel, Argos, and Emery gritted their teeth, their bones shaking and skin cut from the brief exposure. They had only been in that dark dimension for a second, but the spatial winds and pressure had been enough to injure them. Without their preparation, they were sure their bodies would have been completely shattered.
Emery had it easiest, thanks to his Shadow Steps, which was somewhat akin to Noah's Spatial Flicker, but even he felt a deep fear toward that eerie dimension. Yet, seeing the concave crater where they had stood moments ago, the trio quickly calmed themselves, realizing that Noah's flicker was their only chance of survival.
Noah gasped lightly for breath. This was his first time teleporting with others, and it wasn't easy. Because he was the one guiding all of them through the Spatial dimension, his body had endured nearly three times the usual pressure, and the Essence drain was no small matter.
The only way he had survived the intense pressure was by using a remodeled version of the Limit Breaker technique—a method he hadn't used since the Devilsoul Master's inner world event. It didn't drain his life force like the true Limit Breaker, but it devoured his stamina.
He grasped at his pocket, pulling out an Essence Core and quickly swallowing it, allowing the stored energy to restore some of his depleted reserves. Though, in his haste, he could only absorb about 60% of its total Essence. Still, he didn't care and swallowed another before circulating his Essence once more.
"Fu—" Leonel cursed as his vision warped again. The four appeared a few meters away, dodging yet another spray of lava. Their faces were pale from the mounting pressure they had to endure.
"Dodge the smaller ones, even if it means separating from me for a bit," Noah instructed between ragged breaths. "I need time to acclimatize to the increased pressure."
The others noted his fatigue and nodded, keeping an eye on the sky. They continued their sprint, dodging smaller patches of falling lava, only reuniting with Noah when a larger amount descended toward their general area.
Noah narrowed his eyes, assessing the distance between them and the supposed safe zone, and frowned. 'The only way to go through this is to use the thicker spatial tunnels, this is going to be a lot of work.'
Sorry for the long delay guys. My novel was unable to get contracted so it kinda hit me hard a bit. Still I'm now working on a new one which I'll release once I've created more chapters