The First One Of The Cosmos -OLD VERSION-

Chapter 5 - Trek Through the Ravine

About a kilometer into the ravine, the increase in monsters was apparent. Many of the beasts I saw had made nests in the cliffs on either side of me, waiting to swoop down when I wasn't looking.

If I had both of my arms, I probably could have climbed up the side of the ravine, but defending my back would've taken too much energy out of me anyway.

The only way was the straight path forward.

After walking for another hour, I noticed that the path that I was taking was slowly veering further and further away from the kingdom.

I was starting to feel worried about whether I would make it out or not. Only the first hero from over a hundred years ago would have been able to go this deep in, and he had people with him as well.

I looked back in the direction I had come from, but the trees were already past the horizon.

Well, I can't turn back now, can I?

As I was about to start walking, I heard intense flapping from above.

A flock of gigantic beaked creatures blocked out the sun, casting a shadow over my body.

I used my Eye Of Truth to analyse the data on the predators around me. They were all above level 50. This would be tough.

I attempted to shoot a fireball at the one closest to me, but with the power of its wings, a rapid gust of wind was all it took to snuff out my flame. Using blades of air didn't work either, though rather than cancelling each other out, the monster's wind tore through my Cosmius like paper.

Luckily, I had one thing left that might be able to damage the winged menaces.

I had been experimenting with Cosmius, seeing what new powers I could draw out with a large amount of cosmic power. One of those things was lightning. Sparks of electricity arced between my hands. When I put a leaf in the path of the lightning, it burnt to a crisp.

I could lengthen the curve of electricity to hit objects further away and the force behind the attack did not dwindle either.

Not having used it in combat before, this was a risky move, but it was all I had left.

I charged up the sparks around my hands, the sharp glow of the lightning illuminating my face.

When I discharged the electricity, a flash of bright light reaped the birds of their lives. It took only an instant for me to halve the amount of enemies around me. Startled by the attack, the monsters left themselves wide open for me to finish them off.

They tried to flee, seeing the difference in power, but I showed no mercy. Firing off another bolt of lightning I struck down the rest of my foes.

Level up:
50 -> 52

Even with the increased experience I gained from fighting higher level monsters, it still took longer to level up than before.

After taking what I could from the charred corpses, I continued on my trek through the ravine.

I hoped that I wouldn't have to take on any more large packs while my cosmic power was still regenerating, but I wasn't so fortunate.

That first attack was only the beginning, swarms of countless monsters streamed from all directions, even some leaping down from the forest above.

I pulled my sword from my floating pile of belongings and cut down my challengers, with my crude weapon.

It wasn't the best swordsmanship, but I probably could have won against quite a few of the students at the academy.

I thought that monster bone was the toughest material I would ever see, but that was until my sword struck the hard plating of a group of reptilians.

Not only did it not leave any scratches, but my sword snapped clean in two.

Panicking, I lunged towards my equipment stockpile, just barely avoiding the charge of another monster.

But that also allowed me to see a weak point in their natural armour.

In the creases of the skin, the plates looked a lot thinner than the ones surrounding its torso and head.

As if it read my next move, the monster went into a defensive position, covering it's weaknesses.

I took a step towards the lizard.

Bad move.

A pink tendril shot out of its mouth hitting me in the stomach, winding me. Gasping for air, I stumbled back trying not to get hit again.

But I couldn't handle it anymore and fell to my knees before collapsing. I had been defeated.

Or at least that was what the lizard thought.

Putting its defenses down, it walked towards my unmoving body. Just as it opened its mouth to feast on its fallen prey, my arm gripped the bone sword and rammed it straight down the monster's throat.

It fell with a thud, blood filling its mouth and dripping onto the rocky floor.

I checked my status before any of the other monsters realised what had happened and was elated to see that my CP was almost at full capacity.

To my luck, the other monsters had turned their backs on me. I prepared my next attack and fired a blazing hot wall of flames at the remaining monsters, turning their flesh to ash.

Some of the more resilient beasts still clung onto their life but were hastily ended by a flurry of air blades, dicing them up into small chunks like a professional chef.

The sun was already going down when I finished the last one off. It didn't look like any more monsters were coming to fight me, so after a short rest, I set up a bed of monster fur and slept through the cold night in the cozy warmth of the monster leather.

I woke up around midday, feeling refreshed, but I couldn't stay in bed forever. I was almost at level surface.

Seeing the verdant leaves of the jungle on the edge of the horizon, I was more motivated than ever.

I ran over to the brush and breathed in the fresh air of the forest, free of the particles of rock and dirt. The feeling of the blades of grass on my bare feet was incomparable to the coarse ground I had hiked across fow the past day and a half.

With a smile on my face, I weaved in between the trees and the bushes, going further into the Jungle of Wrath.

I was one step closer to home.