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Return of the Fallen Volume 6 Chapter 43

Author: Blue_Rat

ch43

“DAMN IT!”

(To actually leave my black ruler behind inside that ugly beast.)

Kazuki was once more lost on what to do. If he had his broken ruler and he was able to enter Tilly’s storage ring and pull out the Golem’s Magic core, all of his problems would seemingly be solved in one fell swoop. However, things don’t always go according to plan. Thinking about further, there were a few problems that blocked his path from the get-go.

Forst, he had no clue where the monster was. It to had fallen through the ground with him and had been washed away down this enormous fast pacing river. Not only did he not know where the monster was but even if he found its location it would not be an easy feat to take back his ruler. Kazuki’s body had transformed and he had gained incredible strength but he was still no match compared to the beast. He was now faster, yes but he was not tougher and he was not as strong. If Kazuki didn’t use the nameless technique, he also wouldn’t be able to go after the monster relentlessly.

The opposite didn’t necessarily make things set in stone either. If Kazuki used the nameless technique, this same technique that he didn’t have a deep understanding of and as well took control of his body, things could lead him down a path towards his own destruction. In a bad case, the creature could fly him to someplace that’s inescapable or in the worse, Kazuki not being in control could wind up on the Titan’s doorstep. Were the nameless technique to lead him directly to the cave that repeatedly releases that dangerous crushing aura, Kazuki would have no cognitive way to counter. What’s more, if the nameless technique makes him enter the Titan’s lair, why wouldn’t that Titan find Kazuki entering its home without permission beyond disrespectful and kill him immediately.

The technique was absolutely incredible but it clearly had many drawbacks, namely the user not being in control of their own actions.

To use something so risky just to retrieve his black ruler was already something difficult to choose. The fact that Kazuki had no clear direction in the first place made all of this shit mute.

As soon as his thoughts reached this point, Kazuki felt like an absolute fool. Grabbing his golden compass from around his neck, Kazuki opened it.

(This compass my father passed to me long ago has held far too many mysteries to count. With a little energy, it guided me to Ryuta Asuna and Sam. Like a faint whisper in my mind, it showed me exactly where and when the three would be summoned from. It has a godly aura that has protected me on numerous occasions and as far as I can tell, there is no evil from it. This thing, I don’t know how it knows the way but it helped show me the way before.)

Kazuki’s first thought was to try and use his ki. Sending a small amount into the compass thought resulted in no reaction whatsoever. He then sent more and more but found no response.

(This thing used magic energy back on Earth to lead me. AT that time my Mage core had been stolen and I could only use the ancient hand symbols but down here.)

Kazuki flashed several ancient hand symbols. His fingers curled and flexed in odd manners but he could feel no energy gathering in his hands.

(The ancient symbols still don’t work down here. My own aura is blocked by the godly aura and is prevented from entering the compass so lastly is my own magic from my core.)

Kazuki first gathered his ki and made a barrier inside of himself to block out the pure dark energy suppressing everything. With the small amount of magic he had access to, he slowly and carefully guided it into his barrier of ki. With this small wisp of magic energy, he led it to his golden compass. Surrounding the compass as well with his barrier of ki, the energy, and the compass made contact.

*SHINE*

A faint arrow of light dimly floated a few inches above the golden compass. It spun in circles for a moment as though it was in search of something before finally settling in a single direction.

Kazuki had barely a second to take note of the arrows point before the light dimmed completely and vanished.

(The energy is already used up but it clearly was pointing west. My compass, it really is showing me the way.)

The question repeating constantly in his mind he repeated out loud.

“Is this direction one that will lead me out of this dark abyss or to something else entirely? Is it leading me to the monster so I can retrieve my ruler or what?”

Kazuki had placed his fate in his golden compass long ago in a time of desperate hopelessness. It did not fail him then and he hoped beyond hope it would not fail him this time as well.

For Kazuki though this was a hard task. To leave his fate up to something he did not fully comprehend. It was difficult taking the reigns out of his own hands but at the moment things were not looking so good.

After falling into this underground river and being washed away to who knows where, the map that he had spent a few months working on was now completely useless. Not only that but the rubber rope, foot coverings, gloves, and clothes he had, all were lost in the acid and Kazuki was now walking around commando-style.

He could care less about losing all of his clothes and being nude. Down here there was darkness as far as the eye couldn’t see. Not only that, there wasn’t a person anywhere nearby, and even if there were who cares. Especially when survival was the number one concern, clothes weren’t even on his radar at the moment. No, the real loss was the equipment made from the rubber rocks. Seeing as how he had yet to find more of those special rocks, the goal of climbing out making rope, and other useful coverings for his hand and feet were put on indefinite hold until he could procure more of those odd rubber rocks. Being lost made that idea difficult as well, seeing as how he would need the acidic water to morph the rocks in the first place.

Running into that monster had been the worst possible outcome for Kazuki. Every single one of his pans had been turned upside down and scrambled. This caused Kazuki to cling to his compass even more. Its value skyrocketed now. It was the only real hope he had.

Before the arrow above his compass had faded, it pointed towards the west and so Kazuki followed that direction. Cradling the coast, every few hundred feet, Kazuki would carefully guide the little magic energy he could tap into and direct it into his compass. Doing this kept his course from shifting too much and allowed him to follow a steady and true path. After several miles of this, the beach ended and the terrain changed from sand and water to a smooth stone.

Kneeling down, Kazuki felt the smooth texture of the stone beneath him.

(How odd, this doesn’t feel like something made from nature. Not only that, I don’t know how long this flat smooth stone has been here but for it to not have been damaged or warped by the water.)

Using his sense of hearing, he got an image of his surroundings. The image of one large slab of smooth stone stretched out as far as his echolocation like hearing could go.

(Just how far does this one piece of stone go.)

The stone itself was a few hundred feet wide but its length was unknown.

Reaffirming his direction, the arrow followed along with the smooth stone.

(If the arrow says to go this way then that’s what I’ll do.)

Following along this stone pathway, Kazuki walked for dozens of miles, yet the stone slab never came to an ending, causing Kazuki to become more and more curious about it.

(There’s no way such a large and smooth piece of flat stone was naturally made. Does this mean it was manmade then?)

As Kazuki walked along this path, he felt an awful rumbling in his stomach.

(How can it be, I’ve only walked for a few hours and my stomach already feels close to empty. Even after consuming all of that shit, It feels like I haven’t eaten for 2 months.)

Kazuki searched in his surroundings and found a forest not too far from the smooth path. Unleashing a bit of the Azirian blood inside of him, he left a scent marker on the path. Now even if he was 20 miles away with his enhanced senses, he should be able to smell the Azirian blood from that distance.

Walking off into the forest, Kazuki was met with those weird grey carnivorous trees with the reeking meat fruit at the top of them. Kazuki could hear small wings flapping in the air, as some weird creatures circled the top of the trees. It was those same weird looking lizard-bat-like creatures. Kazuki had no interest in their taste before but now sensing them a few hundred feet up, he couldn’t help but become curious about their taste.

(They should make an interesting meal.)