Desper approached the last pair of beetles, his swords in their sheaths. The unharmed one snapped its jaws at him. He took a quick step back and caught them closed.
The monster struggled to free itself, but it was too weak.
Desper pulled it away from its paralyzed companion. Then he twisted the beetle's head, forcing it onto its back, and pressed his foot against its head, pinning it to the ground. Unsheathing one of his swords, he easily slashed its neck.
The other beetle went mad and tried to attack him, but it couldn't even stand.
Desper ignored its rage and walked toward it. Flipping it was much easier since it had no legs on one side. Black disgusting blood gushed from its neck after he slaughtered it.
After collecting their cores using his token, flames ignited on the monsters' corpses under the effect of the Beacon's arrays.
Clap… Clap… Clap…
The sound of applause approached from behind.
"That was very impressive," Eland said as he stood beside him. "How do you feel? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Desper stared at the sky for a moment and said, "I feel like I've just killed six M-2 monsters."
Eland was stunned for a moment. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I didn't know you could joke sometimes."
He paused briefly, then added, "By the way, I want to inform you that you can officially join our team after your six-month period."
Desper was surprised. "Isn't that a bit fast?"
When a team wanted to take a mission, the sect would assign one based on the overall strength of the official members, excluding new disciples. When it came to choosing an official team member, the leader had to be patient and wise. It was a matter of life and death; there was no room for friendships or emotions.
Eland deciding to recruit Desper after only two days was too strange.
Eland shook his head. "Your fighting skills are very good. Your cultivation talent is amazing. I don't want another team to take you."
Desper nodded. "I will consider it."
Deep down, he was still skeptical.
Eland smiled. "You have six months to decide. Take your time."
Truth be told, Desper didn't want to join the team as a new disciple in the first place. Instead, he wanted to join Varik's team since he was a Svikari like him. However, Varik had stated that he didn't have a team and preferred individual missions.
Another reason for him to refuse Eland's offer was that Silas was suspicious of him after the lizardmen incident, which might cause problems in the future.
'I will think about that later.'
He pushed these thoughts aside and entered the Beacon. He took a shower to wash off the black blood and changed his clothes.
Sitting on his bed, he blindfolded himself and started cultivating.
After two hours, he opened his eyes and looked at his token.
"Still in the Third Stage," he murmured, feeling downcast.
Then he sighed. "I need to stop being greedy."
Soon after, he lay on the bed and slept until the next day.
…
In another place… perhaps another time.
'What is… going on?'
A young man knelt amid burning wreckage.
His half-closed eyes reflected a beautiful blue light. His black hair was burned in several places, and a fresh wound on his left cheek oozed clear fluid.
The area was silent. The aroma of roasted flesh filled the air.
The young man stared at the blue flames devouring everything around him.
"So… beautiful…" he murmured weakly as his consciousness was fading.
"Des… per!"
A faint cry came from a short distance away.
"Desper!"
'Who is this?' the young man wondered, looking toward the voice.
A distorted figure crawled toward him, blue flames consuming its flesh.
'Who…?' The young man narrowed his eyes, trying to recognize it.
The figure continued crawling until it reached him.
"Desper… remember, you must stay alive!" the voice of an old man shouted as he grabbed his left hand.
Moments later, the blue flames engulfed the figure, leaving nothing behind.
Not even ash remained.
"You must stay alive…"
Only those words echoed.
…
"Arghhhh…"
Desper woke up, clutching the left side of his face and groaning in pain.
"This dream…"
A year ago, after waking up in the village, he had started seeing this dream from time to time. It was the only thing he could remember from his past. The strange part was that every time he woke up, the burn mark on his cheek would ache intensely, as if it were still burning.
"Are you okay?" a voice said beside him.
Desper turned and saw Zen. "I'm okay, thank you."
Zen nodded and returned to examining his bow for any cracks or tears. Desper was a bit confused by his coldness, but he didn't forget how he had tried to help him with the lizardmen.
Desper got up from his bed and noticed Silas and Taros cultivating on theirs. After taking a quick shower, he left the Beacon.
He saw Eland reading his book, with Bron and Arkan sitting beside him. Bron looked much better today, as his wounds had completely healed.
Arkan instantly noticed him and ran over.
"Hey, do you want to warm up?" he said, grinning.
Unlike Zen, Arkan was very proactive. He loved training with the other members, even if they were much stronger than him.
"Let's do it." Desper didn't mind as he had nothing to do right now except train or cultivate.
They stood ten meters apart, Desper wielding his dual swords while Arkan held his spear.
"Will you give me the honor of making the first move?" Arkan's smile widened as he spoke.
Desper shivered as he remembered how he had provoked Silas yesterday. He said firmly, "Hey, I see how excited you are, but remember: this is just training. There's a seven-level gap between us."
Arkan shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not Silas. I'll match your speed and strength. I only care about your skills."
Desper was about to charge, but suddenly—
Peeep… Peeep… Peeep…
A loud sound echoed through the area, coming from both the Beacon and the Detection Desk.
Desper recognized the sound from when he had first arrived here.
"A Spatial Crack," he murmured, quickly sheathing his swords.
The sound was clear, so Eland didn't need to shout this time. All the team members abandoned what they were doing and rushed to their horses.
They followed Eland's horse and headed west.
…
Unlike last time, the beeping didn't stop until they reached their destination, which took fifteen minutes.
From about a kilometer away, Desper could see a compressed distortion in space. Staring at it for too long would make a person nauseous. However, the Crack had not opened yet.
"What is its class?" Silas asked Eland.
Staring at the Detection Desk, Eland answered, "A Medium Class-1."
Spatial Cracks were divided into classes, each further categorized as Low, Medium, or High.
Desper asked, "How strong is a Medium Class-1?"
"The last one—the lizardmen—was probably a Medium Class-1," Silas replied, then added, "You should know that the class of a Spatial Crack isn't the most important factor."
Desper nodded. "Don't worry. I know the most important things are the rank and the number of monsters that come out of the Crack. It's also why we're keeping our distance."
Spatial Cracks could be unpredictable. For example, five hundred B-Rank monsters might emerge from a Low Class-1 Crack. They would be numerous but weak and easy for the team to handle. However, in rare cases, the same Low Class-1 Crack might produce a single O-10 monster. In that case, the entire team could be wiped out.
Keeping their distance gave them a chance to retreat and request support from the sect if necessary.
Soon after, a small dark crack began to form at the center of the distortion. It branched out and grew larger, spreading across the distortion.
"Here it comes," Silas muttered.
As he spoke, the first monster stepped out of the Crack. It was relatively small, less than a meter tall, and moved on four legs. Desper couldn't see it clearly from afar, but he noticed that its front limbs were much thicker than the rear ones.
"A B-Rank," Eland declared.
However, no one in the team made a move. They had to wait until all the monsters emerged.
Following the first, more monsters appeared, each one identical in size and shape. After about a hundred of them, larger creatures began to emerge. These stood around two meters tall, with much thicker front limbs, and could walk on their hind legs.
"M-5 monsters," Eland announced.
The team waited until around forty of these M-5 monsters had emerged. So far, the monsters were weaker than the lizardmen, which wasn't a good sign.
"What… is this?!" Desper's eyes widened as the next creature stepped out.
Even from a distance, he could see it clearly. It was a massive brown bear, about five meters tall. Its arms were thick with muscle, and so long they nearly touched the ground even while standing.
Eland grimaced. "O-4 monsters."
The other members frowned as well when they saw fifteen of these O-4 monsters emerge before the Crack began to shrink.
Compared to the previous Spatial Crack, the overall power of this one was lower, yet it was more dangerous. The main issue was the presence of stronger O-Rank monsters, and more of them.
"Let's go," Eland said with a sigh as he dismounted his horse.
The rest of the team followed, except for Zen, who leaped onto the Azure Horse.
Desper was the only one who remained on his horse, watching as the team rushed toward the monsters.
He exhaled deeply. "Let's hope nothing goes wrong this time."