Ascenders Rift

Chapter 138: Sudden Danger

It has been over half a day since Evan and the others entered the oceans of Qeodreona, though their journey was a safe one thus far. No one took their circumstances lightly; they each knew that one simple mistake would be enough for them to fall into a drastic predicament. The evening hours in Qeodreona was a similar sight much like Earth; the only exception was that the green sky took on a darker purplish hue before descending into darkness.

Currently, Rick, Joe, and Breya were on the deck of the invisible ship that cruised over the oceans at a steady and stable rate. Their eyes were sharp, staring at the waters and the distance for any possible changes. 

Though they had only been traveling for a short while, they had already been attacked a few times. However, as they acted rapidly, they had been able to repel the previous threats.

Suddenly, a few bubbles had begun to rise from three separate corners of the ship. The moment they sensed this, their faces grew stern as they rapidly summoned their weapon's, Joe grasped his shield tightly as Rick held his spear with sharp eyes, Breya stood on top of the ship's highest point with her palms spread wide.

At this moment, the waters around the ship burst upwards, sending a geyser into the air. Following this change, three rapid silhouettes darted towards the ship's surface, acting as if they could see it despite it being cloaked.

If one paid close attention to these creatures, one would notice they were odd-looking scaly blue snakes with golden pupils. Each of them was almost ten meters long, with a diameter of 1 meter, and had sinister-looking fangs that gleamed in sharp lights.

[Indigeinous Water Snake - Level 7]

[Race - Water Snake (Common) | State - Lesser Tier Lifeform (Stage 1- Early)]

[Health - 700]

[strength - 72]

[Vitality - 72]

[Agility - 75]

[Defense - 75]

[Skills:]

[Water Control - The ability to control water in its surroundings using it to bolster its attack or defense tactics.]

[Posion Smog - Spew out a highly toxic water vapor from its mouth that can immobilize all waker lifeforms.]

Having recalled the stats many times, Joe and the others didn't need to view it again; they promptly prepared to take action.

The two snake's eyes shone in a bluish light as green water rose from behind them; it blasted towards the duo like a wave fired by a water cannon with unstoppable momentum.

Joe stood in place with his shield raised before him; the water merely acted like a high-pressure cannon that forced him back by one step when it hit his shield. However, Rick's eye's blue eyes left behind trailing lines of light as his body twisted around the attack, easily swaying around it like a flexible snake as his body refracted from its surface.

The water snakes were a bit surprised, but their bodies had already made use of their previous attack to get close to the duo. At this time, they made slithering noises as their bodies rapidly slide around the deck, when they attempted to constrict both Joe and Rick.

They were moments away from accomplishing this task, but both Joe and Rick made sneering looks as they attacked once more at an even faster rate, far beyond the speed the water snakes had expected.

Swish! As if moving like the wind, Joe and Rick blurred and appeared in front of the two water snakes; Joe smashed his Arc Shield towards one of their heads while roaring as Rick aimed for the large golden eyes the other with his spear.

The two snakes had begun to conjure a large amount of energy at their mouths, causing a slight amount of poisonous vapor to leave their maws, destroying the area around their bodies.

However, Joe's shield that moved through the wind smashed the head of one water snake to bits and pieces, causing its headless body to wriggle about on the deck, sending blood everywhere. 

On the other hand, Rick's spear had direct precision; it struck right through the eyes, crushing even the brain in one blow. The snake's body also lifelessly fell onto the deck while twitching a bit.

Though their battles finished quickly, in truth, the fastest was none other than Breya, who stood one place as her water snake fell into an invisible web of threads that sheered it to pieces instantly.

"Whew! Not good, I'm going to lose weight with all this fighting, what number is this? How do they even knew where we are?" Joe said, while wiping his forehead.

Rick stared at the corpses carefully before he spoke, "These are creatures of the ocean, so it's best to assume that they are capable of sensing things more keenly in their habitat. That, and the fact that our ship might similarly be leaving ripples that they can sense... how troublesome..."

Joe nodded at those words and spoke in agreement, "Hmm, if it's as you say, then this won't be a pretty trip."

Breya looked at the two and spoke, "Well it may not be easy, but let's just treat it as training, we are still getting EXP, though not as much due to these monsters being weak; eventually we'll see more progress."

"Ha, you're right, all danger has its rewards..." Joe said with a smile as he looked at his stats.

[Joe Goldsmith]

[Race - Human | State - Stage 1 Lesser Tier Ascender (Early) ]

[Class - Arc Bearer | Apex Tier Class - 1st Blessing (+1 stat)]

[Total Stat increase +4 stats per Level ( 1st Blessing + NSB)] 

[Title:]

[Belanore's Conquerors - Stat Boost | +2 All base stats]

[Tusalon's Heroes - - Stat Boost | +3 All base stats]

[Level - 8]

[Next Level -32000EXP]

[Total EXP - 109]

[Health - 500] 

[Battle Energy - 49]

[Strength - 78(51+3+12+12)]

[Vitality - 62(41+2+4+5+10)]

[Agility - 70(40+6+14+10)]

[Defense - 105(69+12+10+4+4+4)]

[Stat Comparison:]

[Previous: S - 70| V - 45| A - 53| D - 94]

[Current: S - 78| V - 62| A - 70| D - 105]

[Talent:]

[Toughness (+4 Defense and +1 Strength per Level)]

[Overburn - Host can temporarily burn essence spiritual fat and transform it into temporary strength.]

[Skills:]

[Arc Crusher - A power that allows for the user's shield to transform in an offensive weapon. This power is only useable by an Arc Shield.]

[Arc... : Sealed]

[Weapons:]

[ArcShield - Rank 1: High-Grade (Upgradable)]

[Defense - 12]

[Damage - 12]

[Durability - 10]

---

[Sheild Ability:]

[Arc Barrier - A power that forms a barrier of pure Earthen Mana power around the user's shield, allowing for the shield to expand by a minimum of two meters. This power is only useable by an Arc Shield.]

---

[Newest Weapons:]

[Tusalon Band - Rank 1: High Grade]

[Agility - 10]

[Strenght - 10]

[Durability - 10]

....

Joe smiled as he saw his stats; he glanced at Rick and Breya, causing theirs to appear before his eyes.

[Breya Meadows]

[Race - Human | State - Stage 1 Lesser Tier Ascender (Early)]

[Class - Thread Master | Superior Tier Class - 1st Blessing (+1 stats per level)]

[Total Stat increase +4 stats per Level (Blessings + Average Stat Increase)]

[Title:]

[Belanore's Conquerors - Stat Boost | +2 All base stats]

[Tusalon's Heroes - - Stat Boost | +3 All base stats]

[Level - 8]

[Next Level -32000EXP]

[Total EXP - 1654]

[Health - 500]

[Battle Energy - 49]

[Strength - 68(43+7+6+12)]

[Vitality - 59(44+5+10)]

[Agility - 84(61+5+6+12)]

[Defense - 78(43+12+5+4+4+10)]

[Awareness - 61]

[Stat Comparison:]

[Previous: S - 61| V - 42| A - 75| D - 61| AW - 54]

[Current: S - 68| V - 59| A - 84| D - 78| AW - 61]

[Talent:]

[Superior Sense - The ability to sense things more acutely with uncommon awareness and perception.]

[Higher Awareness (+3 Awareness per Level)]

[Light feet (+2 Agility per Level]

[Skills:]

[Thread Slicer A conjuring of unbreakable threads that can not only bind but cut apart its foes.]

[Thread????? : Sealed]

[Newest Weapons:]

[Tusalon Earing - Rank 1: High Grade]

[Vitality - 10]

[Defense - 10]

[Durability - 8]

---

[Rick Rayfield - True Name - Ivan Erickson]

[Race - Human | State - Stage 1 Lesser Tier Ascender (Early)]

[Class - Holy Spearman | Superior Tier Class - 1st Blessing (+1 stats per level)]

[Total Stat increase +4 stats per Level (Blessings + Average Stat Increase)]

[Title:]

[Belanore's Conquerors - Stat Boost | +2 All base stats]

[Tusalon's Heroes - - Stat Boost | +3 All base stats]

[Level - 8] 

[Next Level -32000EXP]

[Total EXP - 2320]

[Health - 500]

[Battle Energy - 49]

[Strength - 70(43+12+3+12)]

[Vitality - 50(44+2+4)]

[Agility - 98(74+6+14)]

[Defense - 61| (39+10+4+4+4)]

[Stat Comparison:]

[Previous: S - 57| V - 43| A - 87| D - 54]

[Current: S - 70| V - 50| A - 98| D - 61]

[Talent:]

[Second Step - The ability to increase speed by +5, talent will advance with Host's Life Standard.]

[Divine Speed (+4 Agility per level)]

[Skills:]

[Holy Spear Light An attack of pure holy power, wieldable by only the noblest of souls, a single thrust can pierce through the evil of all things.]

[Holy????? : Sealed]

[Newest Weapons:]

[Tusalon's Breaking Spear - Rank 1: High Grade]

[Damage - 12]

[Durability - 8]

...

A gigantic shadow had appeared when everyone else felt pleased with their current rate of progress, unaware to them far below the depths of these oceans. It slithered underneath the water as if it was a snake on land, pushing aside any insignificant lifeforms in its boundaries, including those of the tiny and weak water snakes race that had assaulted the strange ripple above it.

Suddenly, this creature lifted his humongous head, glaring at the surface with massive blue eyes that shone in a strange light, which caused the invisible ship to reveal itself to its eyes.

Whoosh! As it moved, it rose at incredible speeds ready to show its enemies, just who was the ruler of this domain.

While Joe, Rick, and Breya stayed an alert on the ship's deck, Layla and Emilia were currently playing cards in a room as it was not their turn to join the others.

Suddenly, Evan who was resting on a couch opened his eyes to the scene before him, he felt a little bit lightheaded, but he pushed the feeling away as he knew that they weren't in a position for idleness.

With a jump, he got onto his feet startling Layla and Emilia, who looked at him in surprise as they spoke.

"Evan, are you feeling better now?" Emilia asked with puzzled eyes.

"Yeah, based on your previous state, it wouldn't do good to move about just yet. Why not rest some more?" Layla suggested as she was worried about his health.

Evan shook his head, replied, "No, I can't let my guard down, not in these oceans. The sooner we get to land, the better."

"Hm, why? Is there something that can threaten us even more than those snakes?" Emilia asked with confusion.

Evan was about to say something, but right at this moment, an alarming sense of danger arose around him. He shockingly exclaimed, "Not good!"

The moment Evan said this, he hurried outside of the room, but as the door opened, he and everyone else found it was already too late.