Crossrail Mountains.
Aurora and her adventurer party were retreating at full speed toward the outskirts of the range.
About five minutes earlier, Earthrum Cavern, deep within the mountains, had suddenly suffered a violent collapse. The seal at the cave entrance, already under constant erosion from the blood mist, had completely failed.
Some overly bold adventurers even tried to push deeper into Earthrum Cavern, hoping to pick up some easy loot.
But the moment they approached the entrance, a series of heart-rending screams rang out.
Those screams didn't come from humans.
They sounded more like… a boss.
The adventurers were instantly terrified. Overwhelming fear spread through the crowd like wildfire. They couldn't even imagine what kind of existence could make a boss scream like that.
"Run—get out now!"
At that moment, nearly every adventurer in the Crossrail Mountains shared the same thought.
Aurora's group was among the first to flee. But just as they escaped the outer perimeter of the mountains, the ground tremors suddenly intensified by dozens of times in an instant!
They were thrown violently to the ground, their bodies like small boats caught in a raging storm, unable to regain their footing.
"Look—Crossrail Mountains… they're disappearing!"
"What about the adventurers behind us? Why can't I see anyone at all?!"
"Look over there—what is that?!"
Aurora stretched out her arm in terror, pointing toward the center of the Crossrail Mountains.
Before their very eyes, the mountains were sinking into the earth inch by inch. The once-towering range was transforming into a bottomless, pitch-black abyss.
Inside the enormous pit, countless adventurers—tiny as ants by comparison—were struggling desperately, crying out for help.
But no matter how hoarse their voices became, no one could save them.
At that moment, the scene before them looked like hell itself.
"Blood—there's blood pouring out of the pit!"
…
At the same time, disasters similar to the one at Crossrail Mountains were unfolding in different places—Corrupted Marsh, Shimmerlake…
No one had expected that in just a brief moment, the situation would deteriorate to such a horrifying extent.
…
Old Macallen City.
Valdrick's appearance had undergone a drastic transformation.
His entire body was now covered in massive amounts of flesh and blood. Fresh blood mixed with thick plasma bulged across his skin, forming countless swollen blisters of varying sizes. He looked like a grotesque, bloated toad—utterly terrifying.
Both of his eyes had turned completely crimson, and from his mouth came one crazed roar after another.
Caelan stood where he was, trying to understand what exactly had happened to Valdrick.
He had clearly completed the mission. That meant Valdrick had already been killed.
So why was he alive again now?
What kind of secret was hidden within the blood mist?
At that moment, Valdrick suddenly launched another attack toward Caelan.
This assault was clearly far more ferocious than before.
Caelan immediately activated [Flashstep], widening the distance between them.
He didn't rush to counterattack. Instead, he continued to bait Valdrick into attacking first.
"Come on—kill me!"
Provoked by the taunt, Valdrick snarled and charged at Caelan again, claws bared.
After roughly five minutes, Caelan reached a new assessment of the blood-flesh-covered Valdrick.
After fusing with the flesh, Valdrick's overall strength had increased by more than twice. His original skills had undergone noticeable mutations, and the blood-flesh itself carried a corrosive effect.
Perhaps, once he returned, he could use this information to claim a reward from the city lord.
Thinking this, Caelan nodded in satisfaction.
What he lacked most right now was gold coins.
With a sharp snap, Caelan snapped his fingers.
He looked calmly at Valdrick, his gaze growing noticeably more serious.
"Thank you very much for your help. As a reward, I'll grant you release."
After saying that, Caelan sheathed the sword in his hand.
"Thousandblade Rend!"
"Be torn apart!"
In the next instant, the faint Sword Aura marks on Valdrick's body suddenly erupted with blinding light!
Countless cracks appeared across his body, deepening rapidly.
From a distance, Valdrick looked as if he had been sliced into innumerable pieces—an utterly horrifying sight.
In the blink of an eye, his body completely collapsed, and the flesh covering him instantly lost all signs of life.
[You have gained EXP: 3,896,312]
[You have obtained special item: Bloodbound Memory Fragment ×1
(Collect 10 fragments to synthesize Shattered Memories)]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 40. You have gained 10 attribute points!]
Looking at the experience he had gained, a thoughtful expression appeared on Caelan's face.
So monsters that fused with blood and flesh granted several times the usual experience.
If that was the case, then his leveling speed would increase dramatically.
The thought filled Caelan with renewed fighting spirit.
At the same time, his gaze shifted to the Bloodbound Memory Fragment.
Collecting them would grant Shattered Memories.
But whose memories were these?
At present, there were too few clues. All Caelan could infer was that they were likely connected to the blood mist.
As he pondered his next move, a sudden system announcement appeared—issued by the city lord.
[Announcement: All adventurers are to immediately evacuate from the Ten Major Regions.]
Caelan instantly caught the key detail.
Because one of those Ten Major Regions was Old Macallen City.
Which meant—did every one of the Ten Regions contain a powerful boss similar to Valdrick?
With that thought, Caelan made his decision at once.
He would move against the tide.
Such a perfect opportunity to hunt bosses was not something he could afford to miss.
Crossrail Mountains.
When Caelan arrived, the mountains were already gone, replaced by a bottomless abyss.
Most adventurers had evacuated, but a small number were still trapped—completely surrounded by blood-flesh-fused minor monsters crawling out from the pit.
"Damn it! These mobs are way too strong!"
"What do we do now?!"
"We have to break through, or we'll die here. More and more of them keep coming!"
"Help! Someone, please save us!"
Caelan could hear screams and desperate pleas echoing all around him.
Many adventurers had fallen into despair. What they saw was an endless stream of blood-flesh monsters climbing out of the abyss.
Just as hope was fading, someone noticed Caelan's presence.
"Friend! Please save us! Name your price—anything!"
"Hey! Don't just stand there! Call your teammates over!"
Caelan glanced at them indifferently, then spoke calmly:
"I'm enough on my own."