Chapter 158

Words : 1146 Updated : Oct 7th, 2025

Chapter 158: Chapter 158 Cornered and out of options, Clayton reacted slower than the beam of light streaking toward him. Panic set in as he braced himself for whatever consequences awaited him—there was no way he could dodge the strange light in time. But seconds passed... and nothing happened. His body felt completely normal. Confused, Clayton glanced around, unsure of what had just occurred. Unfortunately, his confusion didn’t last long—Marloka’s next attack was already upon him. Clayton snapped back to his senses, narrowly dodging the incoming strike and quickly launching a counterattack. Marloka, still dazed from Clayton’s poison, couldn’t see clearly and failed to notice that he was under attack. Clayton’s strike landed cleanly, while Marloka’s completely missed. Eyes wide in disbelief, Marloka stared at Clayton, his expression filled with regret. He had thought the momentum was his—but provoking someone as dangerous as Clayton had become his downfall. Seeing his enemy badly wounded, Clayton let out a breath of relief. But Marloka, driven by desperation, wasn’t about to give up. With trembling hands, he pulled a magic scroll from his dimensional pouch and activated it using the last of his mana. Clayton instantly sensed something was off. When he saw the scroll, his eyes widened—he had no idea what kind of spell Marloka was about to unleash, but his instincts screamed at him to run. Marloka, of course, had no intention of letting him escape. In a pitiful state, he chased after Clayton. Realizing he was being followed, Clayton began zigzagging erratically, hoping to lose him. But Marloka was relentless—he kept the distance close. To Marloka, this was enough. The scroll in his hands glowed brighter and brighter until it finally activated. A twisted grin of grim satisfaction crossed his face as he shouted: "I’ll be waiting for you in hell!" But Clayton didn’t panic. He launched a black marble ahead and activated his wave-riding spell. In one fluid motion, he began surfing swiftly away on a rushing current of water. "Haha! I’ll be there—but not today!" Clayton shouted back with a smirk. Marloka froze. If Clayton had this much speed all along, why hadn’t he used it sooner? He could only feel foolish and full of regret. That was the last thing he felt before the explosion consumed him. Meanwhile, Clayton was pleased with the deception. He had completely turned the tables. Relaxed, he looked back to assess the aftermath— —and his pupils narrowed in horror. A colossal explosion surged through the area, moving as fast as light. Even worse, it was completely silent. That eerie absence of sound left Clayton unaware of just how dangerously close he was to the blast. He immediately sped up, trying to outrun it. But in his focus, he hadn’t noticed that the black marble—the anchor guiding the wave—had stopped moving. As a result, Clayton came to an abrupt halt—while the wave of destruction kept rushing toward him. Panicking, he tried to reactivate the ride, but it was too late. All he could do was form a high-pressure water dome around himself in a desperate attempt to survive. Above, a massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky. Chaos reigned. The entire area was swallowed by blinding light and debris. Then came silence. Eventually, everything settled. Amid the wreckage, a lone young man lay sprawled on the ground, battered and broken. "Cough... cough..." Clayton wheezed dryly, his chest heaving. His face was twisted in pain, his skin pale, and his body covered in wounds. He was in terrible shape. Two surviving skeletons rushed to his side. As they propped him up, Clayton looked around at the devastation. His eyes narrowed as he muttered under his breath: "Damn it... You played pathetic, yet your explosion was that powerful? Even a top-tier One-star mage apprentice would’ve had trouble surviving that!" At first, Clayton thought he had tricked Marloka. But now it felt like he had been tricked instead. If Marloka hadn’t seemed so hopeless, Clayton would’ve been more cautious—and might have avoided such serious injuries. With help from the skeletons, Clayton started treating his wounds. He wanted to leave right away—surely someone would have been drawn by the explosion. But his body wouldn’t allow it. For now, all he could do was rest. Fortunately, no one came. Once he regained some strength, Clayton began exploring the area. Where Marloka had stood was now a massive crater. Other parts of the battlefield were relatively intact, but littered with corpses. Clayton used Scroll four eight on one of the bodies to extract its memories. After learning who they were, he sorted through their belongings, looted anything of value, and buried them in a simple, respectful ritual. Once finished, he left the area with his two skeletal companions. Two hours later, a group of people arrived. They looked around with suspicion—until one of them spotted a torn piece of clothing on the ground. Their expressions turned grim. Without a word, they began combing the area before heading quickly in a single, determined direction. Later that afternoon, in an open clearing, Clayton sat resting. His body was still recovering, so he took things slow. His skeletons were busy setting up camp and handling the basics. To ease the loneliness, Clayton summoned his familiars from his dimensional space. As they emerged, the creatures were overjoyed—until they saw the state he was in. Worry quickly replaced their excitement. Clayton quickly calmed them down. Gemma, the most anxious of the bunch, immediately emitted a warm, healing light. Clayton felt it flood through his body—soothing his wounds, yes, but also comforting his heart. He felt cared for. Surrounded by his companions, Clayton relaxed and rested. By nightfall, he had improved enough to do light chores. He cooked dinner for himself and his familiars. It took effort, but after the intense battle, the simple routine felt grounding and peaceful. After the meal, Clayton recalled the memories he had extracted earlier. One of them contained knowledge about how to operate an invisibility array. Eager to learn, Clayton began experimenting. He quickly understood the fundamentals: the array used magical crystals to bend light, making objects invisible from the outside. The concept was similar to a one-way mirror—but enhanced by magic. After a few trials, he managed to activate the array successfully on his first real attempt. However, since it was late and setting it up consumed energy, he only tinkered with it briefly before putting everything away. He then ordered the skeletons to keep watch while he retired to his tent with his familiars. Exhausted, Clayton fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. He didn’t notice the strange symbols that had appeared on his skin—symbols glowing faintly in rhythmic pulses. They shimmered in a hauntingly precise pattern, as if controlled by something—or someone—far away. Just imagine—a tattoo on your body that’s actually a tiny computer someone else can manipulate remotely. Now that’s terrifying.

Chapter 158

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