Chapter 24. The dark crystal.

When the corpse of the scorpion-tailed wild bull hit the ground, the queen emitted a loud, insane shriek that pierced the sky.

The aftermath of the fierce battle was evident everywhere, with blood splattered around and the bodies of hundreds of silverhead spiders littered across the field, along with the massive, still form of the scorpion-tailed wild bull. Amidst the carnage stood the queen, the sole survivor of the massacre, its eyes wildly scanning the surroundings.

It appeared that even defeating the scorpion-tailed wild bull hadn't quenched its thirst for killing, which had only grown in the last few moments — a change Li Chen attributed to the strange fog.

Li Chen had observed that with each healing from the fog, the queen seemed to lose a bit more of its sanity. Initially, the queen had been cautious in battle, calling its pack for protection when threatened. However, as the fight with the scorpion-tailed wild bull progressed, it had lost all sense of reason, charging at the bull wildly, without restraint.

If the queen had first behaved like a crazed beast, now it was more like a devilish fiend from the depths of the underworld.

During the battle, Li Chen also learned more about the fog and its peculiar healing properties. Now he felt confident that he could defeat the queen.

Without hesitation, Li Chen climbed down from his rocky vantage point, drew his sword, and started moving toward the queen.

As he approached, the queen, still scanning crazily, detected his presence and turned its bloodthirsty, frenzied gaze toward him.

Undeterred, Li Chen knew the queen was greatly weakened and without its pack. All he needed was to test his theory; if the dark fog's healing could be halted, victory would be simple.

The moment the queen's eyes fixed on Li Chen, it unleashed a piercing sound wave at him, but he stood firm.

The queen charged at Li Chen, closing the gap swiftly.

Li Chen watched the beast's approach, a ball of condensed flame forming in his hand. He didn't launch the attack immediately but waited for the queen to draw nearer.

As the queen leapt toward Li Chen, aiming for his head, he reacted instantly. He hurled the ball of flame at the airborne queen, targeting its belly.

The flame ball hit the queen's belly, just as Li Chen intended.

BOOM!

The explosion sent the queen tumbling through the air, its belly ripped open as blood scattered in all directions.

The queen screamed in fury, and just then, the dark fog appeared again, attempting to repair its shattered body. But this time, Li Chen watched intently, a smile spreading across his face.

'Well! Well! Well!, what have we here?' Li Chen mused.

Watching the battle from afar earlier, he had noticed something about the dark fog — it seemed to emanate from the queen's belly. Li Chen had guessed the queen must have swallowed the ancient artifact or whatever it was that caused the healing dark fog. From a distance, he couldn't see exactly what it was, but now, up close, he could finally discern the truth.

Inside the queen's belly was an orb, dark and dense beyond compare. As the queen suffered injury, the orb began to glow with a dark light that enveloped the creature like a mist, mending its wounds.

Li Chen, having confirmed his suspicions, now faced the challenge of separating the queen from this dark orb. The task was daunting; the dark fog possessed not only regenerative powers but also a defensive strength, guessing from how it had devoured his earlier attack making it difficult to reach the orb while the fog was active.

A spark of inspiration struck Li Chen, and he couldn't help but grin broadly.

"I seem to know exactly how to extract that troublesome orb from this wretched spider and end its suffering," he murmured, charging toward the fully recovered queen.

As he advanced, the queen let out a shrill scream and launched two silver threads at him. Unperturbed, Li Chen dashed forward. When the threads drew near, he deftly bent downward, sliding on his knees. The threads flew overhead, missing him as he smoothly rose to his feet, his momentum unbroken. He then conjured another flame orb in his hand and flung it toward the queen.

Strangely, the orb narrowly missed its target. It seemed as if Li Chen's aim was off, but this misdirect was a calculated part of his plan.

BOOM!

The flame orb detonated just in front of the queen. Though not directly struck, the force of the blast knocked it back. Seizing the moment, Li Chen summoned another two orbs of flame and hurled them at the queen, one after the other.

The orbs sailed through the air and struck the beast squarely in the belly, causing it to burst open. But Li Chen wasn't finished. With a gesture, he summoned a fiery claw that appeared out of thin air and slammed into the queen's belly, right where the dark orb was.

BOOM!

The impact of the flame claw shattered the queen's body into fragments. Yet, the primary target was the dark orb. As the claw struck, the orb pulsated with energy, vibrating violently but still clinging to the remnants of the queen. It began emitting a dark glow as if about to heal once more.

Li Chen, undeterred, released another barrage of fire claws. This time, however, he didn't aim for the orb, knowing the fog would simply absorb the attack. Instead, he targeted the ground beneath the queen, intending to disrupt the dark fog.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of explosions echoed as the fiery claws pounded the earth.

The forceful blast of the explosion battered the dark fog, causing it to falter and reveal a fleeting gap.

Seizing the moment, Li Chen hurled his sword with all his strength. The blade surged forward, cutting through the air toward the momentarily unstable dark fog, which was struggling to reform itself.

The fog seemed to come alive, writhing towards the incoming sword in an attempt to obliterate it. Yet, it was too late. Although the fog managed to damage part of the sword, rendering it unfit for further use, the hilt continued its trajectory and struck the dark orb, which had been in the process of reattaching itself to a fragment of the queen's flesh. The impact of the hilt sent the orb flying through the air before it landed in the swampy ground of the Shadow Grove.

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

Congratulations! You have slain a Low-level wild beast – A silverhead spider.

Reward – You have gained – 10 unallocated stat points.

┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

Cough! Cough!

Li Chen spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to his knees.

Using the fire claw, a skill of immense power had caused internal injuries due to his current level and the strain of repeated use. Despite the pain, a smile spread across his face.

"I did it! I finally did it," Li Chen whispered to himself, feeling a surge of pride.

He had accomplished what a mid-level Wild beast could not. While it might seem boastful, Li Chen didn't care. He savoured his moment of triumph but quickly gathered himself, retrieving three vials of healing potion and consuming them in one swift motion.

The potion's effects were immediate, and Li Chen felt vitality return to his body. With no hesitation, he stood and walked toward the dark orb.

Upon reaching it, Li Chen bent down to inspect the now inert orb. Separated from the queen, it resembled an ordinary black crystal, devoid of energy or presence. If not for witnessing its potent effects earlier, Li Chen might have dismissed it as a mere stone.

"What are you?" Li Chen murmured, reaching out to pick up the orb with a mix of caution and curiosity.

The moment Li Chen's hand made contact with the orb, an explosion erupted in his sea of consciousness, severing his awareness of his surroundings. He found himself in a vast expanse of cold, enveloping darkness.

A chill ran down Li Chen's spine, and then a sinister voice echoed around him, a cacophony of ghostly wails and a woman's melodic laughter.

"Where exactly am I?" Li Chen pondered aloud.

As his question hung in the air, a powerful, masculine voice boomed throughout the space, "You yearn for strength, the desire to stand at the top, to look down upon everything from the heavens. A power I shall grant you if you but kneel and serve me."

Li Chen was taken aback by this sudden turn of events. He spun around, trying to locate the source of the voice, but all he could see was an endless expanse of darkness.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Li Chen called into the void, yet no answer came. Instead, a chanting akin to a vast crowd's reverberation filled the space around him.

"KNEEL AND SERVE THE KING! KNEEL, AND ALL POWER SHALL BE YOURS TO COMMAND!" The chants echoed, overwhelming him.

A tremendous pressure bore down on Li Chen, compelling him to kneel as if he should submit and serve the 'king.'

As he began to succumb, lowering himself to kneel, a familiar voice cut through the chants. "WAKE UP, NOW!" it commanded.

FLUFFY!

The environment shifted, the illusion shattered, and Li Chen found himself back in the Shadow Grove, still holding the dark orb, now glowing ominously. Unbeknownst to him, during the illusion, he had almost brought the orb to his lips.

"Damn!" Li Chen cursed, releasing the orb. It dropped to the ground, its appearance reverting to that of a mundane crystal.

"You were out of it for a bit there," Fluffy's voice emerged, pulling Li Chen from his thoughts.

"Oh?" Li Chen responded, startled by the sudden voice. Before him floated a white, fluffy cat. "Did you say something?" he inquired, having missed Fluffy's earlier words.

"I asked what happened. You were gone for a bit there," Fluffy repeated.

"Oh, it seems I was caught in some kind of illusion," Li Chen explained, his voice dropping to a murmur, laden with a tinge of fear, "It felt so real."

"Well, you can thank me. If I had been even a moment later, you might have ended up like the queen, controlled by whatever force is behind that dark orb," Fluffy declared with a note of pride.

Li Chen scoffed. "Well, I suppose I did you a favour as well," he retorted, ungrateful. "You wouldn't want to serve a possessed master, would you?" he teased.

Fluffy scoffed at the remark. "Cocky bastard," he muttered before vanishing from sight.

With Fluffy gone, Li Chen exhaled deeply, pondering what might have happened without Fluffy's intervention. He had truly believed he was transported to another realm; the sensations had been so vivid.

He eyed the dark crystal warily. Carefully wrapping a piece of cloth around his hand, he touched the orb again. This time, it remained inert, confirming his suspicion that direct skin contact was needed to activate it. With that knowledge, he wrapped the orb thoroughly in cloth and placed it securely in a pouch at his waist.

He then turned his attention back to the battlefield. The corpses of silverhead spiders were strewn across the area, along with the body of the scorpion-tailed wild bull. Li Chen looked at the bull with a tinge of regret, knowing its tail would have been valuable if it hadn't been destroyed by the queen.

Seeing no more worth to salvage, Li Chen began to leave the area. It wouldn't be long before other beasts arrived, and there was still the possibility of an ancient ruin to explore.