Chapter 155- Ancient Being

Chapter 155: Chapter 155- Ancient Being

Chapter 155- Ancient Being

"..." Rize bit his lower lip as he fell into deep thought. His options were very limited and it was clear the lava man had given him the only possible way to regain Venera and Rose’s souls. However, naturally, he knew how brutal this task was going to be. Carrying Venera and Rose up this mountain was a task even he knew was going to push him beyond his limit.

He was already injured and weak as it was, and now he had to do this test with two girls on his back while managing food, water, and the monsters that would attack him soon.

"I’m guessing you wouldn’t carry them with me, would you?" Rize asked.

"Unless you want them to burn and die, then no." The man replied. "I cannot touch any living being. I haven’t in... A very long time."

"..." Rize looked at the man as his voice trailed off at the end. He already guessed that the man was still burning, as the lava was still coating his body, and while it didn’t affect him, it would most certainly leave deep burns on their bodies.

’What the hell even is he? He looks like a human, but he said he’d been down there for a very long time. Was he a human that got trapped in lava? Or maybe some other kind of creature?’

Rize wondered if he could even ask such a question, but he decided to not do that. At least not now, when he had something far more important to do. So, he turned to the two girls as he picked them up and put them over his shoulder before he started walking out of the tunnel.

Luckily, both of them weren’t heavy, so Rize could carry them without a problem. At the same time, the man floated behind him in silence, following him. Rize kept instinctively looking behind him at the man, wondering what his goals were.

He had just appeared, terrified him to the core, and now he suddenly wanted to help him. There was also what he mentioned about Rize carrying some sort of mysterious power. Rize suspected that it had something to do with the light that saved his life earlier.

"Um, may I know your name, sir?"

"You may address me as Baragon."

"Baragon..." Rize muttered. ’I’ve never heard of that name before in my life. He wasn’t mentioned in the original story either. Where did he even come from? He was clearly a very strong awakened when he was a human... What could’ve happened to him.’

With the kind of mystery lingering around the man’s identity, Rize decided to ask more questions, but with more care.

"What are you exactly?" Rize asked. "You’re clearly... Um, a very strong individual. What were you doing swimming in lava?"

That was arguably the most ridiculous part of it all. Rize couldn’t wrap his head around a being surviving so long in that hell pool.

"Hm, it is a very long story. One that I do not intend to tell you, human." The man said.

"I see..."

"However, you may know that the time I come from is an ancient time, one that is perhaps... Not mentioned in books anymore. What year is it, human?" He asked.

"It’s the year 2541," Rize replied. "What year did you come from?"

Rize expected to hear that the man was at least a few hundred years old.

"Hm, I’m from the year 2." The man said, making Rize halt instantly as he froze in his place. He then slowly turned around and looked at Baragon.

"Year... 2?"

"Indeed."

"..."

Rize didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at how absurd this creature was. He is at least 2500 years old. Not a single soul in that world was anywhere near that age, as even the awakened have a lifespan of a few hundred to one thousand years. The strongest live to one thousand, but even they will be beaten by time and will die eventually.

Being alive for 2500 years is unheard of. It’s as if a normal human from Earth lived for 250 years. No one had ever done that in history before, and no one will ever do it in the future.

"You do not need to think about it, human. I told you, my story is far from what you expect." Baragon said. "I am equally surprised that it has been 2500 years since I was submerged in that pool. The world must’ve changed completely."

"I would think so. The world now is far more peaceful than back then. I read in books that your time was a time of war and murder."

"It was a time of change." The man said. "Humans were taking their very first step on the path of evolution, and so, the desire for power was stronger than ever. Those whom you must deem as heroes had to walk the path of blood to become the legends they are."

Rize listened to the man’s words carefully as he continued walking down the dark tunnel. His words were accurate, as even in the main story, it was described that 2500 years ago, wars were waged across the entire continent and monsters ran rampant everywhere, feeding off humans.

Sagardia and other empires were still taking baby steps to become the behemoths they are now, and it was a very fragile time that sadly required killing and struggle. People like the Founder of Sagardia waged war for expansion against his enemies, and because he was stronger and smarter, he was able to emerge victorious and create his own legend while the rest fell into obscurity, forgotten by history and people.

Perhaps Baragon was one of those people who died, and people forgot about them, only for him to turn out to be alive. Rize was now even more curious about his identity, but the lava man was clearly not amused or interested in telling his story to a human he had just met.

’At least he isn’t an enemy yet. Perhaps he could even help me more if I’m constantly on my best behavior around him.’ Rize mused as he hurried his steps to get out of the tunnel. He walked for hours to get where he was now, but now that he was certain where to go, he was a lot faster.

So, by the time two more hours passed, Rize already saw the end of the tunnel, and his eyes lit up when he saw the light of day penetrate the hole. Since the moment Rize walked into this place, it had already become morning and almost afternoon.

Reaching the hole, he looked up before he pursed his lips. ’How am I going to get out of here? Oh... wait...’

Rize remembered something crucial. Rose had bought climbing gear before coming to meet them, and while they all thought it was going to be useless, it had come to be handy very quickly and at a very crucial moment too.

Pulling the climbing gear out, Rize planted one into the wall before he started climbing. His impeccable balance and power made it possible for him to do that while carrying two people on his shoulders and not make them fall or slip.

One by one, he climbed the large hole to the top in a few minutes, and when he finally pressed his feet against the surface and he looked around him. The forest was as quiet as ever and the cool breeze made Rize feel a lot better.

’Being stuck in that furnace for hours wasn’t fun at all.’ He thought to himself as he sucked in a deep breath and looked directly at the mountain. While it was still a good distance away, Rize was even more determined to climb it than ever before.

Not just to pass the test, but to save his two friends.

’Please hold on, you two... I will get your souls back.’ He clenched his fists as he started walking toward the mountain.

Today was also a special day because it was the end of the test, and so the influx of candidates that would be arriving soon made Rize rush his steps. He didn’t want to end up in a pointless fight for resources or a race with some idiots while he was carrying his two injured friends.

’I know I can still beat them to the place of the meeting at the peak if I hurry myself. No excuses.’

He had everything stacked against him, and the mist could possibly attack him again, knowing that he was going toward it, but Rize didn’t care. He was going to do it even if he had to pull the impossible. It either takes his soul, and he loses, or he destroys it and restores his friends.

With that, Rize’s journey toward the base of the mountain began. As he walked deeper into the forest, what changed was, naturally, the number of monsters that stopped him on his way.

They were all, luckily, very weak, but dealing with them while making sure his companions weren’t hurt was hard.