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Return of the Fallen Volume 6 Chapter 17

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Author: Blue_Rat

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ch17

As Kazuki ran along the wall he found an interesting way to mark his path. The chance of him actually getting lost, running in one direction was almost nonexistent and laughable to even imagine but the possibility, in the end, was not zero, merely close to it. Were he to run in a situation that caused him to get turned around for even a moment, he could completely lose his way. So in order to prevent this, he came up with a cheap trick.

Inside his water bottle, he separated it into three chambers. One chamber held acid, the second chamber held water for thirst and the third held some Azirian blood, Kazuki had previously purged from his body. Bringing out a single drop of Azirian blood, Kazuki flicked it around 10 feet high onto the wall. He did this for a few reasons.

One, so that if a group of clackers became attracted to the blood, at the height he left it, they would not be able to reach it and the dry blood would remain untouched. Secondly, leaving this unique type of blood ten feet up on the wall, Kazuki could sniff it out from a great distance. When it came to Azirian blood, Kazuki could catch its scent from nearly a mile away, and that was just a single drop. As long as he was within a mile of one of these drops he could find his path and follow it back to base.

He had thought about using just his regular blood but his blood didn’t have a particularly strong smell like Azirian blood did. Kazuki’s blood smelled slightly of metal but down in this trench, there were many strange ores that gave off a similar smell. He would not confuse the two easily but were he not in the right state of mind, who knew what could throw him off. It was better to stick with the foul-smelling Azirian blood. He also considered the separated water or the acidic water and even the clacker’s blood but decided not to.

The three did have a strong smell but Kazuki couldn’t be sure if there were other sources of acidic water down here. He could be led astray by an entirely different source of water, not to mention how many clackers were down here. They could bleed anywhere and that as well would throw him off. No Kazuki found the best option. With this simple idea, Kazuki flicked out a single drop of Azirian blood up on the cliff wall, every few hundred feet.

As he ran deeper and deeper, every so often…

*Click Clack Clack Clack Clack*

Kazuki came to a stop and quickly pulled out the pair of clacker legs tied to his waist. Listening quietly he discovered their position and direction.

(There still far off. I won’t need rocks here.)

Kazuki remembered the sound the clackers made when danger was near. Rubbing the legs together in a particular manner, clacks and clicks echoed out.

*Clack Click Click Clack*

The sound reverberated off the wall and echoed into the distance. Barely a moment later, the sound f clicking came back.

*Click Click Click Clack*

A few seconds later, the sound faded into the distance.

(Good, they ran off. Having these legs really comes in handy.)

Kazuki retied the pair of bug legs to his waist, before continuing his exploration.

Every once and a while, Kazuki would discover peculiar rocks, gems, and ores, he’s never before seen. Gathering a few small samples as he ran by, he’d stuff them into his pockets.

(I really should invest in making a net. Carrying all this shit in my pockets makes my pants weigh heavy and they start to fall.)

Kazuki recalled an earlier incident where he had stuffed his pockets full of rocks and other things that took his interest and it caused his pants to fall while he was running. Kazuki almost face planted because of this and made some rubber rope to tie his pants properly the very next day. The problem though was not completely resolved and his pants would start to sag after too much weight. At this point, Kazuki knew he would need a net or face his pants slipping again and again.

Sensing more weird-looking rocks and other things along the ground, Kazuki could only sigh in his heart as he had no more room in his pockets.

After several miles along the wall, Kazuki was forced to stop. Just as he had discovered a large cave going the other way, he had now found another large cave in his path. A large hill sized hole expanded far in front of him. Grabbing a rock, Kazuki threw it a few hundred feet away.

*Tak ak ak ak ak*

The rock bounced off the ground in the distance and an image of the surroundings flashed into Kazuki’s mind.

(It’s exactly the same size as the first hole. Are these spots connected? If they are, doesn’t that mean there’s something in this hole that can scare off that large monster that’s been stocking me. Should I cross in front of it or go back. I’ve yet to find more of the rubber rocks I use and I’d also like to find something edible but to cross in front of this cave…)

Kazuki weighed his options. He needed more rubber rocks so that he could make more rope as well as footwear and gloves to protect his hands and feet while he climbed up. Without those special rocks, Kazuki would not be able to climb out of the Abyssal trench. Not only that, his physical state was growing weary. It had been well over 2 months since he’d last eaten. He could go another month, a maximum of two if he conserved his energy and did nothing but lay around all day but he couldn’t sit still. If he were to just lay down and stop moving forward, he would just die in a hole.

(Still, to simply walk out in the open in front of this cave. The last time aura barely spilled out but it was enough to crush me. My breathing stopped and I felt my innards being forced to the ground. If that aura remained on me for a minute, no, 30 seconds of it and I’d probably die from it. But I can’t go back empty-handed.)

Kazuki picked up a rock and thought about throwing it into the cave. With his heightened sense of hearing, he figured he could get some kind of idea as to how far the creature maybe within the cave. As soon as he picked the rock up though, his heart began to race and he screamed inside.

(FOOL! I can’t just throw a rock into this creature’s home. Am I stupid? Who would not see that as disrespect or something else. Even if it sees me like an ant, this ant still dared to peep into its territory. Why wouldn’t it crush me to death as soon as it discovered my presence?)

Kazuki couldn’t bring himself to toss the pebble and dropped it on the ground. He couldn’t take a look inside with his hearing and yet at the same time he didn’t dare just walk in front of the mouth of the cave. He was stumped momentarily before he decided to stretch out his ki.

(Nothing’s been able to discover my ki up to this point. Even Degra’s eyes that can see anything could only recognize that I had something different within me but he could not see my ki itself. Maybe I could just…)

*WHOOSH*

As Kazuki was lost in thought, a large gust of wind came flying out from the cave. The wind was not particularly strong but following with it, a strange aura began to seep out. When it came close to Kazuki, Kazuki immediately felt a crushing force and he fell flat on his stomach. His breath was stolen from him and he felt his blood pooling towards the ground.

(This feeling, it’s the exact same aura from before. So the caves really are connected.)

Kazuki felt his organs shift and his bines start to creak. The pain was excruciating and Kazuki felt his consciousness starting to slip away.

(No, at this rate I’ll die. I can’t…I can’t…I can’t die here.)

Kazuki took control of the godly aura seeping from his compass and covered his entire body with a thin layer of this energy. As soon as he did, the heavy pressure covering every square inch of his frame, lessened by a small factor.

Kazuki felt a small yet noticeable difference. His body was still being crushed under the aura escaping from the cave but his mind cleared just enough for him to control his ki as well. Kazuki then thought about how he first tried to deal with the azirian blood in his mind and began to add layer after layer of ki over his body. He did this dozen’s of times until his ki was running thin. The aura pushing down on him had been reduced more but Kazuki still couldn’t move a single finger. He was starting to black out when an idea hit him.

(If I can make layers with my ki, why not with the aura as well?)

Kazuki shifted the aura around the compass and his body and began folding it overtop of itself like a blanket. One layer became two and two became four. As soon as he made four layers, he could make no more but there was a slight relief from the pressure. Kazuki’s hand began to twitch.

(If I can just pull myself away from the cave, I can leave that aura’s range.)

Kazuki grabbed desperately at the ground in front of him. Using his strength as well as the pressure crushing down on him, Kazuki’s fingers sunk into the hard ground.

(Now Pull!)

Kazuki dragged himself forward a few inches before his strength completely gave out. A small movement began to spread from within his Mage core.

The pressure from the aura was simply too much to bear.

(No, I have to move…I have to…)

Kazuki’s mind was slipping from him. Just as he was about to pass out.

*Whooosh*

The wind retreated back into the cave and with it, the aura as well. The crushing force surrounding Kazuki vanished as though it never existed in the first place, and Kazuki inhaled as deeply as possible.

*HEUUUUUUUUU Cough cough hack cough*

Kazuki couldn’t even care about the state of his body and simply rolled over on his back, inhaling deeply like a fish out of water.

Had he passed out from the pressure, he would then immediately lose control over the godly aura, and his ki and the layers that were just barely protecting him would have dissipated. Once that happened, he’d have been crushed completely and would have awoken no more. Kazuki heaved heavily. He had just come to an actual breath away from death but the look on his face would betray that experience. Right now, he smiled like a madman as he recalled what he had just done with aura.

Inspecting his Mage core, he discovered something faint within him. Like a tiny seed, it slowly started to expand and grow.

(Aura!)

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