A sudden roar sent shivers down Vale's spine. Rocks shook and debris flew as the sound rattled the world around him.
It had been over an hour since he saw the devilish creature, yet the roar still felt like it was just behind him.
He spun on his heel, turning to check his surroundings.
But there was nothing there. Even the two flying creatures that had once circled the dead remains were gone.
"Did it finish eating?"
The thought did not bring him any peace. With nothing left to munch on, what else would captivate the monster's attention, if not a lone human wandering around the Demon Realm?
Vale didn't linger. He went from cautiously walking to running, then sprinting. He frowned as his soles occasionally burnt against the ground, but he kept pushing forward. He needed to leave this damn place—now.
His surroundings blurred as he sprinted. Time stretched, and for what felt like an eternity, nothing stood out. But just as he was nearing the end of his stamina, he saw something.
A tall figure loomed in the distance, piercing through the thick fog. Its dark structure stood out, even against the vast expanse of black rock.
Vale adjusted his direction toward it. Whatever it was, it couldn't be worse than the devilish monster he had just seen. With a new goal in mind, his exhaustion seemed to fade as he pushed forward.
His surroundings grew denser, with large rocks blocking many paths. Soon enough, he found himself surrounded by towering rock walls, as if he had plunged into a canyon.
The cold he had once felt disappeared, replaced by sweat running down his body as he battled the immense heat.
Vale stopped sprinting and began walking cautiously.
There weren't many places to hide or escape to, so he decided to remain silent and alert inside the narrow passage.
Although still far off, he could make out the shape of an object in the distance—a tower, stretching far above, higher than any building on Earth. He felt captivated by the sheer size of the structure as he continued striding toward it, between the rocky walls.
He doubted the massive structure would be abandoned—in fact, he was almost certain it wouldn't be. But the tower itself wasn't his goal. He wanted to reach it in hopes of finding his group. With its enormous size, anyone would be able to spot it easily. He could only hope the others had also made their way toward it.
The temperature rose with every step. If he had any extra layers of clothing, he would have likely stripped them off by now.
The passage between the rocks narrowed the deeper he went, forcing him to retrace his steps multiple times. Many paths were either blocked or led him in the wrong direction. But after nearly an hour of walking, he finally saw a huge opening and a vast empty space behind it.
There stood the enormous tower, adorned with dark bricks along its exterior. Multiple openings stretched up its walls, resembling windows. At the front, a large door stood, decorated with some type of shiny white metal.
He saw no sign of life outside the tower. Nothing stood out besides the ominous structure as he carefully scanned the surroundings.
Vale wasn't sure how to proceed. Should he enter the tower and see what lay inside, or wait around in hopes that some of his groupmates would arrive? Unsure, he lingered for a moment, studying the tower for any signs of danger.
Then, in the near distance, he spotted a creature crawling out from behind one of the smaller rocks. Its size wasn't impressive—at least compared to the monsters he had seen so far. It resembled a jaguar, but with two heads and dark grey fur. One of its legs was injured, dragging uselessly behind, scraping against the ground and creating an unsettling noise.
A slight smile appeared on Vale's face as he watched the creature.
"I should end its misery," he thought. But his intentions weren't rooted in mercy—he simply wanted to kill the damn thing. And if it was injured? Even better— it meant less trouble for him.
Vale dashed forward, summoning his weapon.
The Ordinary Katana materialised into existence, but just as it did, the injured monster became aware of Vale's advances. It turned to face him, but with one of its legs injured, it was far too slow.
He effortlessly sidestepped the creature's desperate lunge and swung his katana across its torso. Dark red—almost black—blood spurted from the wound as the jaguar-like monster collapsed. Although still breathing, it struggled to stay alive.
Vale watched for a moment, then stepped forward, slowly pressing the blade into the creature's chest.
[ You have slain a D-Rank, Awakened Monster, Fire Hound ]
"Awakened...?" He lingered on the word.
There was a huge difference between Dormant and Awakened. It was extremely rare for someone with a Dormant Core to kill an Awakened monster, regardless of rank. The gap between the two core types was simply too vast. Normally, even a single Awakened monster would require a fully prepared group of Dormant Core fighters to even stand a chance.
If the creature hadn't been injured, the fight would not have been this simple.
But he didn't have time to dwell on his decision-making, as the familiar voice wasn't done speaking.
[ You have received an Artifact: Fire Cloak ]
"An Artifact! And it's an armour type, no less!"
Unable to contain his excitement, Vale instantly shifted his focus and summoned the Artifact.
A white cloak materialized around his naked body. Almost immediately, he felt the intense heat around him diminish. As he examined the cloak, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.
Not only had he been completely exposed, with no protection against attacks, but he also had to traverse the Demon Realm completely naked. Now, even though the cloak didn't appear particularly strong, it was still an Awakened, D-Rank item. Its protection would be effective against most Awakened and all Dormant creatures.
Realising he hadn't even checked the item's description, he summoned the Status Window and focused on the Fire Cloak.
Fire Cloak Attributes: [ Moderate Heat Protection, Moderate Fire Protection ]
Fire Cloak Description: [ Worn by a wanderer of the Demon Realm, the cloak protects those who venture into the Land of Fire…]
"...Land of Fire? Is that what this part of the Demon Realm is called?" He lingered on that name for a moment.
"Well, can't say it's not fitting," he said as he watched a bubble of magma spurted from the ground just in front of him.
Then, His eyes shifted toward the ominous tower.
"Let's see what that tower is all about."