abcnovels
Chapter 293: Rawkshawn
Chapter 293: Rawkshawn
Chapter 293: Rawkshawn
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Through the auditorium's door, the tutorial-takers swarmed in and took their seats. Several groups had already formed within this specific tutorial group, and some were large while others were small.
In the front of the auditorium, Dakota entered with stacks of papers in her hand and a stern, teacher-like expression on her face.
"Welcome to your first lesson." Dakota said. "You all just finished with the first floor, and I am sure all of you are exhausted, but there are some important things all of you need to know!"
However, before she could continue, one person raised his hand.
"What is it?" Dakota asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Who were those guys that came through the door?" He asked. "I talked with other groups, and none of them seem to know."
"They're mercenaries, here to do a mission." Dakota said, and before she could move on from that topic, another hand was raised.
"What kind of mission are they here for?"
"A secret kind." Dakota scratched the back of her head.
"Are they strong? They looked strong." A young man asked without raising his hand.
"Yes, they are." Dakota said. "In the vastness of the Mortal Online, it is hard to find a stronger party of players than that one. You all were lucky to catch a glimpse of the top of the mercenary hierarchy."
The new recruits exclaimed in surprise and whispered with each other in excitement.
"Cough, cough!" At that moment, one of the new recruits coughed uncontrollably before looking normal again.
She didn't seem to think that there was anything wrong with coughing.
"Are you alright?" Dakota asked with a serious look.
"Yes, just a cough!" She smiled.
"..." Dakota stayed silent.
"What if they fail the mission?" A person asked. "I assume it is quite important for sending such a strong party to deal with it."
"Oh, there is nothing to worry about it. This mission is nothing to them, and the party is strong for security reasons, to protect all of you."
"Oh, is there a chance we might be attacked?"
"A small, but we also don't know." Dakota said. "However, that's why they sent the strongest possible party they could gather on such short notice. You all will be fine."
"B-but, what if they fail the mission?"
"They won't."
"What if they do?"
"Hmm..." Dakota paused, contemplating the possibility.
She then shook her head and smiled. "No need to waste your breath on thinking such things. This mission is not that dangerous for you to worry about."
That gave some relief to the worried people.
However, Dakota knew that if that party encountered a foe that they couldn't defeat, there was nothing they could do as well.
They could run, but they would not be able to escape.
'Well, luckily there is nothing to worry about.'
...
The party of eight made their way up the long, never-ending stairs.
The sunless, mist-shrouded landscape stretched out before them-a barren wasteland that seemed to go on for eternity.
Adam and Sepheron kept their gazes fixed on the air above them.
Since they couldn't sense the Mist Vultures using their Kiryoku, for some strange reason, they had to use their other senses, such as hearing, eyesight, and even smell.
They noticed that the Mist Vultures had a strange scent-a scent of decay and sulfur.
While paving the way forward, Lionel squinted his eyes and saw something beyond the mist.
"I think I see something!"
Mikael looked forward and, like Lionel, was able to see something amazing.
With his banjo in hand, Oldman started strumming a soft melody, and soon, the mist cleared ahead of them.
In the distance, they finally saw something other than endless sets of stairs.
A landscape — a floating landscape-hovering in the sky like a heavenly palace.
It was unclear how it was floating, but it looked like an island. Its ground was covered in lush greenery and colorful flowers, with sparkling waterfalls cascading down its sides.
The mist gathered under it in a thick blanket, as if it were holding the island up in the sky, and the ground of the island was soft and spongy.
"What a beautiful place..." The First Sister exclaimed.
"There was indeed something..." Mikael thought out loud.
"Look!" Akuji pointed beyond the island. "There're more stairs. Are there more places such as this one?"
"Let's focus on this place at first." Mikael said. "If we're lucky, we might be able to discover the source of the sickness!"
With their steps becoming faster, they soon left the stairs and stepped into the soft ground of the island.
It felt like they had entered a whole new world with its own gravity, air, and sounds. "Something is weird here." Lionel touched the Mana Air around him and said, "The Mana Air is very thick here. However, all of that air is also flowing in one direction. To the center of the
island."
"Well, let's go see where it leads us." Mikael said and nudged his chin forward.
Thus, they all started heading to the center of the island.
...
The Door of the Sickness.
The three chains stayed firm, wrapped around the door handle. However, the fourth chain
started slowly cracking more and more.
It looked like glass, as if one tap of a finger was enough to shatter it completely.
Somewhere in the world of the mist, the sound of chains clinking kept echoing throughout the
dark place.
"Urgh..." A deep sound shook the walls, the ceilings, and the ground itself.
Within the depths of the darkness, a person breathed, chains rattling around him, but they
were not binding him to anything.
They were only wrapped around him, and whenever he moved, they clinked together loudly.
With his enormous right hand, he grabbed a brown, big-bottomed bottle and took a long swig of the liquid inside, feeling the familiar burn as it traveled down his throat.
"Ah, the Alcoholy of the Gods." He smacked his lips together in satisfaction.
The bottle was now empty.
"Is there any left..."
With an annoyed groan, he stood up, standing tall and mighty, then made his way up the
stairs till he made his way back to the surface.
The light of the mysterious origins touched his face-a face that had seen countless battles
and defeats.
A rough face hardened by time and experience, yet still bearing the scars of past victories.
It was clear that he was over ten meters tall, as the trees around him looked small. The biceps
of his massive arm were bigger than most boulders, and his shoulders were as wide as a barn
door.
The chains draped over his figure, looking like mere accessories.
"There is nothing here!" A shout came from some distance away.
"Huh?" He cleaned his ears. "Did I hear a voice? That didn't sound like one of my brethren,
but who else could it be?"
"Go look further there!"
Another shout sounded.
"Strange..."
Through the rustling of leaves and cracking twigs, a woman that looked like a midget in his
eyes appeared from behind the trees.
She slowly raised her head and locked gazes with him. She looked frightened and truly
shocked.
"A-ah..." She let out a small gasp, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Humans?" He smirked. "No, could these be the players? The same kind as him..."
The First Sister turned around and started running away, but then he grabbed her body as if
she were nothing but a doll.
She tried to break free, but it was impossible.
He moved her closer till she was right in front of his face, looking directly into his eyes.
"How did you get in here?" He asked. "Could it be that the seal is that weak already? Haha, I
am soon free!"
The breath was disgusting and almost made the First Sister puke out her breakfast, but with her incredible willpower, managed to hold it in.
"The First Sister, where have you gone off to?!" Mikael walked through the forest, but at that
moment, he saw the giant.
"Mikael, save me!" The First Sister screamed, and as the giant squeezed harder, she could feel
all of her bones breaking.
She had never felt so powerless before, maybe when she was just starting as a mercenary, but
she was now a powerhouse among the mercenaries, and she didn't think she would feel
powerless ever again.
It felt like she was just an ant.
"Shit!" Mikael drew his sword and swung it. "Sky Splitter!"
The ground got split in hand, and the cut went through the giant, ending up splitting the mountain behind him in two, and the mist that had gathered across the skies also got cut in
half.
"Hmm?"
However, the giant looked perfectly fine, except a few hair strands dropped.
"Thanks for the haircut; can you cut my nails too?"
'Impossible!' Mikael thought in shock.
The other members of the party heard the commotion and came to check it out. They could
barely believe their eyes.
"Chaosbeing?!" Akuji asked.
"Maybe, but he looks very human; don't you think so?" Oldman said with a frown.
"It seems very intelligent. If he is Chaosbeing, he is a very high ranked one." Lionel said with
a serious look.
'I have a bad feeling about this.' Adam thought with cold sweat gathering on his forehead.
"What is your name?" Mikael said.
"My name?" The giant laughed. "My real name is too much for your mortals to bear. However, you can call me Rawkshawn."
"Rawkshawn..." Mikael frowned. "Are you hostile or friendly?"
Rawkshawn used his eerily long tongue to lick his own tongue and smirked. "I haven't eaten
in a very long time, y'see. This place had wild animals, and they were tasty, but all of them
have gone extinct.
"I can't eat those mist creatures either!
"However, now all of you are here, and you all look very tasty."
'What the fuck? It wants to eat us?' Mikael's expression turned serious.
"Save me!" The First Sister screamed.
"Shh, little lady." Rawkshawn said. "I don't like when my food is misbehaving!"
At that moment, the air turned cold around Rawkshawn-a freezing cold.
"Ice Mortuary!" Sepheron shouted.
Rawkshawn's arm turned stiff as it got encased in a block of ice. It made him loosen his grip
on the First Sister, who managed to break through the grip.
She quickly jumped away to safety, gasping for air.
Rawkshawn rolled his eyes and flexed his muscles slightly. It was enough to shatter the block
of ice and free his arm.
"I see how it is." He scratched the back of his head. "A fight is what you all want? Then a fight
is what you get."