My Skill Creation System

Chapter 127 A Silver Lining

"Robert," Olivia said firmly, her tone drastically different from before, "evacuate all the injured and prepare those who can still fight. This is an emergency!"

Her expression shifted to serious, her brow furrowed, and she unsheathed her sword. She stood tall even as the layer of ice beneath her feet trembled.

The night air reverberated with the sound of loud roars, and most of the people around were struggling to keep their footing as a colossal wall of ice crumbled and came tumbling down with an earth-shattering crash. In certain places, the ice sheet was split apart as if the ground had abruptly ruptured with a massive explosion, resulting in an enormous fissure.

Most of the people scattered, while the majority congregated at a single spot, unsure of what kind of enemy they were to confront.

"Scout! Scout! Discover where our enemies are!!" someone shouted.

"The monsters seem to be invisible from all sides; it appears the monsters are lurking beneath the earth!" another voice declared.

Olivia clenched her sword tightly, her senses alert to the presence of her adversary. Suddenly, she shouted out, "Everyone, come with me!"

Olivia Aveline, a renowned student of the CEHA, was celebrated for her remarkable ability to lead battles of any magnitude. She could be as gentle and accommodating as the situation demanded, but if necessary, she could also be quite commanding.

Olivia was sprinting swiftly and gracefully, jumping between the cracks in the ice below her feet. Several people were trailing behind her. She jumped with immense power between the frigid walls of the crumbling stronghold, and after skillfully landing on the plains, she raced toward the source of the tremors.

Olivia stopped and raised her sword, signaling to the others. "Shoot fire!" she shouted, and soon there were bursts of flames shooting in the direction she had indicated.

Finally, under the dark night sky, where the moon had yet to reveal itself, everyone's eyes widened as they saw a monster with nine snake-like heads towering as tall as a ten-story building. It slithered through the air with its three pairs of legs and landed firmly on the ground with an explosion.

[General Ice Hydra Lv. 100]

A giant white serpent with nine heads and a body made of solid ice. Its breath can freeze anything it touches, and its icy touch can cause an extreme cold.

They gasped in awe as they beheld the creature before them, a monster of General grade, so rare that even in New Earth, they could be counted on one hand. Its strength was exponentially greater than the Elite grade's, and its level was an intimidating 100.

Lily walked to Olivia's side, her face illuminated by the distant fire explosion. "Olivia?" she asked.

James, a mage who had come with Olivia, said softly but firmly, "Our chances of defeating this monster are zero, even with all the forces in this place combined."

"Are you so pessimistic, James? If this makes you nervous, just run away with your tail between your legs!" Lewis raised his sword and shield and spoke sharply to James, then marched to the front towards the monster.

"Lewis! What are you thinking? Olivia is our leader here! Please show her the respect she deserves!" Lily chased after Lewis, shouting at him.

"What can our leader do in this situation? Is there a way to escape this place? I didn't become a hunter to cower against my enemies!" Lewis exclaimed with confidence, his voice reverberating through the silent space, the other hunters attentively listening.

The dark clouds slowly shifted away at that moment, unveiling the tightly hidden moon. The moonlight rushed in, washing away the dark soil. In the distance, Lewis's small figure was illuminated by a gigantic nine-headed monster swaying freely in the air.

All eyes that laid upon the huge, monstrous figure were filled with a mixture of awe and terror. It was as if they were looking upon the Angel of Death. Piercing cries, echoing across the land, reverberated in accompaniment to the bursts of blue energy being emitted from the creature's gaping maws. Screams shaking the ground were heard.

"We can take down that creature by slitting its throat one by one!" Olivia yelled. But before they could even catch their breath, they were met with another catastrophe: the monster readied a massive ball of energy to launch at them.

Most of the injured people were still attempting to evacuate, yet it was evident that if the attack reached them, there would be more casualties. "Brace for the impact!" Olivia shouted. "All Hunters with tanking roles, cast protection shields!"

"What a waste!" Lewis clicked his tongue in annoyance, his expression conveying his frustration. His right hand shot out, and, with a flick of his finger, a crystal appeared, its bright blue light glittering in the darkness. He clasped his fingers around the crystal, and a blue aura immediately surrounded him.

A massive blue energy shield materialized in front of Lewis. It was so large that it seemed to encompass all the Hunters standing behind him.

"You Hunters are hopeless!" he bellowed. "Don't blame me if any of you still get killed after I shield you like this!"

The giant energy balls from the hydra's mouth shot out and rapidly flew toward them. Instantly, dozens of other protective shields were erected, forming an additional layer over Lewis's shield.

The first energy ball collided with the dozens of layers of protection shields, melting them instantly and pushing up against Lewis's shield. This caused a huge explosion, causing the air temperature to abruptly drop.

Lewis stood his ground, his feet sinking into the ground. Lily, Olivia, and the others attempted to support him, helping him to keep upright.

"What an asshole!" Lewis screamed in frustration, his teeth gritted together so tightly his jaw ached.

His skin was beginning to feel icy as a layer of frost spread across his body. Shouts and screams echoed around them but abruptly stopped as everyone became encased in a thick layer of ice.

A powerful explosion resounded as another energy ball collided, pushing Lewis's enormous Shield a few meters back. Astonished, several people were thrown into the air, only to find their bodies immediately turned to ice. The frozen figures shattered into fragments as they fell back to the ground. "What's happening?" someone exclaimed.

The explosions continued as the energy balls crashed into the ground, each one causing an eruption that sent ice high into the air, shifting the ground beneath them.

Lewis's shield was not spared; it was destroyed along with several other unfortunate souls who were thrown away in the chaos. It was undeniably a devastating night, with a huge number of victims left in its wake.

***

Anonymous Rat: "This is insane! It's a catastrophe! If this keeps up, there will be nothing left! We have to put an end to this test now!"

Anonymous Hippo: "Even Olivia and the other three had a difficult time combating the monster. This is a real-life thriller story."

Anonymous Crocodile: "I can't even fathom what would happen if a monster like that appeared in a city. How large an area would have been ruined from one of its attacks?"

Anonymous Fox: "Where is Master Nathan?! Hang in there, Master Nathan!"

***

Olivia thrust her sword into the ground with determination, barely able to remain standing as the explosive wave passed her. With a flick of her blade, she sliced through the earthen blast scroll.

"This is terrible! What kind of exam is this? Did the CEHA higher management seriously choose this type of exam? I mean, really?" she questioned.

Olivia stood alone, gazing at the menacing nine-headed monster that bobbed in the air, its feet pounding the ground with a thunderous sound that seemed to shake the earth.

Suddenly, Lily, James, Lewis, Robert, Gaem, and several others were standing beside her, each of them determined to do their best to face this challenge and hoping for the best outcome.

'A pocket dimension of this size and complexity cannot be disrupted in the midst of its primary scenario without risking a high number of casualties.'

"Those were the words Mr. Rang Hyonu had said,'' Olivia murmured softly, "when I asked to send help to this place." She was trying to make sense of all that was happening, searching for answers to her questions.

"Don't tell me, that..." she whispered quietly.

"Olivia?" James whispered, trying to gauge her thoughts.

"The difficulty in this pocket dimension shouldn't be this high," Olivia said, frowning in confusion.

"There's no way this exam was deliberately designed to exterminate all the participants — it's impossible. There must be a reason behind it all." She had felt strange ever since her presence here when she had faced monsters with extremely high levels of strength. Even the monsters she had faced would certainly make it difficult for all participants to defeat.

And then, another monster with a General grade appeared. "Don't tell me that the level of difficulty in this pocket dimension will depend on the participants who are involved in it?" Olivia asked, her brow furrowing further.

Lewis sighed in disbelief, shaking his head. "Ch!" he said sarcastically. "I can't believe it took you this long to come to this conclusion after everything we've been through, Olivia!"

Lily cast a worried glance at Olivia and inquired, "If the pocket dimension can adjust the difficulty level to match everyone's abilities, do you think we can defeat that monster? We have to take this seriously; I'm willing to give it a shot!"

Olivia muttered to herself, "Who are the people who aren't here? Is there anyone who should be here but isn't?"

"Nathan Oppa," Lily said quietly. "He should be with us."

"Don't say such nonsense!" Lewis scoffed harshly. "What could someone with such a low level and being a novice do?"

Olivia glanced back and heard a loud, shrill scream. She could make out the sight of numerous dead bodies on the ground. She knew it was her fault - her stubbornness had led them to this nightmarish place and caused even more destruction.

"Yes, it is my fault," she said, her voice heavy with guilt. She then whirled around, her sword clenched tightly in her hand.

"Olivia, we must act quickly," James urged.

Olivia closed her eyes and sighed, expressing her regret. "If we hadn't ventured into this place, perhaps the number of disasters wouldn't have been so high. It's all my fault; even more people have perished because of me. I won't allow this to go on any longer," she said solemnly.

At that moment, an explosion of bright white energy illuminated the area from around Olivia, radiating its powerful glow.

People were astonished and stumbled back when they saw what had happened to Olivia. Unaware of the danger, the creatures were quickly approaching.

"What happened to her? A sudden power up?" Lewis said mockingly.

At the same time, everyone on New Earth who had witnessed the event directly or seen it transmitted live, especially those who had never been awakened, experienced something extraordinary for the first time that night. It was a transparent screen, something that had only been visible to the awakened ones before.