Chapter 209: Drowning

Alex listened carefully to the noises while keeping his expression calm. After a few seconds, he realized something strange about them because the sounds were not getting closer.

They were moving away.

’The monsters are running away? From what?’ he wondered.

Alex could not understand what had frightened the monsters enough to make them flee, but before he could investigate further, another strange phenomenon occurred. The light from the two moons suddenly disappeared, and the bright night became completely dark in an instant.

"What is happening?" Sarah asked nervously.

Alex raised his head toward the sky instead of answering her. His expression became serious as he looked into the darkness above them.

"Look above," he said.

Everyone followed his gaze, and they soon saw something that none of them had expected. High in the sky, between the two moons, another moon had appeared.

It was completely black.

The third moon was pitch black, yet Alex could somehow see it clearly despite the darkness surrounding it. However, the fact that it was visible was not even the strangest part of what they were witnessing.

The third moon was pulling the light from the other two moons toward itself. Streams of white light stretched across the sky as the illumination from both moons seemed to flow toward the black moon, creating a bizarre scene that Alex could not explain.

He could not understand how he was seeing the light being absorbed when the light should have been moving toward the third moon instead of his eyes. If the light was being taken away before reaching him, then there should have been no way for him to see its movement in the first place.

Alex immediately powered up the Advanced Battle Instinct to observe and record everything he saw. Despite the spell, he could still feel goosebumps spreading across his skin as he stared at the impossible sight above them.

"Stay calm. This is the Land of Origin, a different dimension, so the laws of physics might be different here. That could be the reason we are seeing these strange phenomena," Alex said in a steady voice.

He used his fireball to light the area, and looked toward the dungeon entrance before adding, "However, we need to move to higher ground. If a third moon has appeared, its gravitational pull could increase the water level, which means..."

Alex did not need to finish his sentence because water began flowing out of the dungeon entrance. It spread across the ground and quickly reached the soles of their bare feet and Alex’s footwear, making it clear that the flooding was no longer limited to the inside of the dungeon.

"I’ll carry Frank," Sarah said as she moved toward him.

"No, I will do it," Alex replied before quickly picking Frank up, leaving room for no arguments. Frank’s consciousness was still on Earth, so his body was completely helpless, and Alex placed him on his back before using mana threads to secure his arms and legs around his body.

Thanks to Superior Body Reinforcement, Alex barely felt Frank’s weight. Since Sarah was now free, she picked up Petra and held the little girl securely before the group started moving.

Everyone quickly stored their belongings in their inventories. Alex also hardened the Life Element Rune with Will. The quick work would dissolve after about an hour, but that was enough for now. He could harden it more later.

He then began recreating the Fire Element Rune from the Wild Orc Leader’s Wand. The rune was difficult to recreate and would take considerable time, but once completed, it would allow him to create a much larger amount of fire and should also make it easier for him to compress Fire Element Mana.

The water had already reached their shins when Joseph looked ahead. "I know a place with higher ground, so follow me!"

The group immediately followed Joseph and began moving through the forest. Alex created several fireballs, using their light to illuminate the path.

As they ran, Alex noticed something surprising about Joseph. Despite having only one leg and using a wooden stump, the former Navy SEAL was moving almost perfectly, and his speed was only slightly below Alex’s.

Alex suspected that Joseph was using kinetic mana to compensate for his missing leg. Whatever spell he was using, it was clearly effective because Joseph was not slowing down despite the difficult terrain and rising water.

They had barely covered any distance when the water reached their knees. Everyone became more desperate as the current began pushing against their legs, making it harder to maintain their speed.

A short while later, the water reached their thighs.

"How far is it?" Alex asked while continuing to run.

"Still quite far! We need to keep moving!" Joseph answered.

The broken castle walls scattered throughout the forest made their escape more difficult. The ruins made the forest look like the remains of an ancient castle, and Alex would have found the sight interesting under normal circumstances, but right now, he had no time to think about it.

The water reached their waists, and Alex’s expression became increasingly serious. He was not too worried about drowning yet, but he was concerned about what might come with the rising water, especially after hearing the monsters howling and fleeing earlier.

Whatever had frightened those monsters could not be something good.

’This must be what Xithali was warning us about.’

Alex wondered if everything they had experienced until now had only been the preparation for the ’true’ Hell Difficulty. If that was true, then the real danger might have just begun.

"Stop!" Alex suddenly shouted.

He moved toward a nearby tree and created a mana sword before striking the trunk. The tree was much harder than the ones he was familiar with on Earth, but its toughness was still not enough to resist Alex’s strength.

After several strikes, the tree finally began to fall. Alex pushed it with all his strength and redirected its fall, causing it to crash toward an open area where they could use it.

"Yes! We can make a raft with this!" Joseph said, realizing what Alex planned to do.

..

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