The moment he saw the notification of the quest's progress confirming his first kill, an overwhelming pain suddenly surged from his heart.
'Did I run out of Essence? That fast?'
While staggering, he decided to return to the sea and hide beneath it. With his Essence depleted, there was no way he could defend himself, let alone continue his quest.
But moments after he jumped, just as he was about to submerge himself beneath the sea, he felt a stinging pain, something like a tentacle had wrapped tightly around both his ankles.
He turned and saw a hooded figure, far larger than the one he had killed at the cliff.
'When did he appear?'
Two dark tentacles extended from the cultist's left hand as it slowly dragged Rohan back toward the shore.
It took only a few seconds for the cultist to yank his left hand, the sudden pull dragging Rohan straight toward him.
Just as he was about to crash into the cultist, a massive hand seized his neck, holding him suspended above the shore.
Unable to breathe, Rohan gasped for air as he heard the cultist in front of him speak. "Are you the one who killed my brothers?"
However, he got no answer—Rohan kept struggling to free himself, completely ignoring the question.
Just as he was about to ask another question, Rohan's body suddenly went limp as he lost consciousness.
The cultist looked at the limp body, then hurled Rohan with all his might back onto the cliff's edge.
With startling accuracy, Rohan crashed down with a loud thud.
A few moments later, the large cultist also landed not far from him, as if he had leapt all the way up from below.
Nearby, two more cultists stood waiting, before they began to walk closer to Rohan.
As the three cultists gathered around the limp body, they began to notice a strange glove on his hand.
One of them spoke, "The sacrifice has come back to life?"
Another crouched and grabbed Rohan's hair, lifting his face from the ground. "Perhaps our brother made a mistake—the boy was never dead to begin with."
The large cultist nodded. "But what about his strange power? Lightning spells are heavily controlled by the Leviathan Family—"
Before he could finish, he noticed Rohan's eyes snap open as the blue glove began to glow.
BOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking everyone excluding Rohan.
[Emergency Quest Progress: 5/5]
[Quest Completed]
[Armor of Asgard has been added to your inventory]
Rohan didn't have the luxury to pay any attention to the notifications as he felt his heart were about to explode.
Thanks to the cultists falling for his feigned unconsciousness, he had managed to buy himself time, just enough to recover a bit of essence and unleash one final lightning strike.
But even after completing the quest and managing to survive, he was not happy at all. The pain was far worse than anything he had felt before.
His teacher had once warned him about the importance of never depleting one's essence more than once a day. Because the pain would be so intense it could drive a person mad.
He kept writhing on the ground with his face twisted as he clutched his chest. Tears had long since flowed from his eyes as he grunted, hoping the pain would pass quickly.
However, even after minutes passed, and minutes turned into dozens, the pain still lingered.
Only after nearly an hour was Rohan finally able to calm his mind as the pain slowly receded.
By the time he slowly stood upright, he noticed the sky had already turned dark.
He then looked at the three corpses nearby, and the two others not far from him, his first kills.
As the pain faded, he finally smelled it.
A sharp, acrid scent spread through the air, like a burnt flesh and charred cloth.
He hadn't noticed it before, as he was blinded by the immense pain he had suffered.
His stomach twisted as he fought the urge to vomit. While hs hands trembled as he muttered, "This is the only way… it's me or them. I have no other choice."
As he started walking toward a building embedded into the mountain wall, he continued under his breath, "If they brought me here… there must be more."
If he hadn't received such a powerful item just moments ago—the Armor of Asgard—he wouldn't have been confident enough to enter the building.
With a snap of his finger, a faint blue glow gradually spread across his body as dark steel armor slowly wrapped around him, piece by piece, as if it were growing from his skin.
Layered plates settled over his chest and shoulders, sharp and heavy, with faint patterns resembling serpent scales.
The surface was black, yet streaks of deep blue light pulsed beneath it, like lightning trapped inside steel.
A helmet formed last, sealing his face in darkness, leaving only two glowing blue eyes staring through the visor.
He had already read the description of this powerful armor. It could elevate his combat ability to that of an Azure-level mage, one level above Indigo.
However, this armor was more special. It possessed its own Soul Essence, meaning Rohan didn't have to worry about depleting his own essence when using the Lightbringer in the upcoming fight.
The only drawback was that he could only use it for seven minutes a day.
As he felt safe and confident, Rohan quickened his pace as he moved through the hallway, muttering under his breath, "Seven minutes… seven minutes is all I can spare to save anyone inside this building."
He had no time to be mesmerized by the system's bizarre ability to provide him with such powerful armor.
When he entered the dark corridor, his footsteps echoed as his steel boots struck the stone floor with each step.
After nearly a minute, he came out into a large hall.
There were three doors on each wall. Rohan recognized them at once, they were the same doors he had stared at for days while chained inside a chamber.
He quickly checked each one. There were nine doors in total, but to his surprise, most of the rooms behind them were empty.
He also found a door that looked like it might lead outside. When he reached the last door, he expected it to be empty too. But instead, he saw a girl chained and kneeling on top of an altar.
Her long black hair swayed across the floor as she kept her head down, staring at the ground.
With just a glance, Rohan immediately recognized the uniform she was wearing, it was the uniform of Rivia Academy. At that moment, he realized.
'So I'm not the only one from the academy…'
As he slowly moved closer, she suddenly stirred awake and raised her head as her gaze fell on him. "Who are you?"
At her question, his mind went into overdrive, trying to come up with the best response that would benefit him. Yes, he was thinking about benefits, but not because he was opportunistic. The System had forced him to complete a quest about gaining a follower.
That quest had forced him to adapt. He couldn't afford to stay passive, he had to take initiative if he didn't want to be paralyzed for ten days.
Right now, he had the perfect opportunity to gain his first follower.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he decided to keep it short. "Swear your faith to my Lord, and I will free you. Refuse, and you can stay here and wait for your death."
The girl looked at him, a frown slowly forming on her face. "Who is your lord?"
"The Storm God."
"I swear my faith… only to the Storm God."
A moment after her oath, a notification appeared before him.
[Rin Camelia has followed you]
[You can locate each and every one of your followers]
[You can smite your followers with lightning as punishment]
[You can hear and answer their prayers]
[You can bestow your followers with item]
[You can perceive your followers' surroundings]
Behind his helmet, a puzzled look crossed his face. 'That fast? How could she swear her faith so quickly?'
With a slight doubt, Rohan decided to confirm it once more. "Are you sure?"
The girl forced a smile as she muttered, "Do I even have a choice?"
At her answer, Rohan paused for a moment as guilt slowly gripped his heart. But he quickly composed himself and freed her, using only his hands to break the chains.
Seeing how weak she was, as she couldn't even stand despite being freed from the chains. Rohan decided to give her the Ring of Storm.
"A gift from the Lord," he said as he handed her the ring.
Her eyes widened as she took it, feeling the immense power within. Tempted, she immediately slipped it onto her index finger.
Suddenly, silvery-white lightning slithered around her body as she slowly stood up.
Gradually, her blank expression turned into a smile as she looked at him. "How should I address you?"
Without any hesitation, he firmly replied, "The Oracle of the Storm God."
The girl responded with a slow, quiet nod.
But just as he was about to urge her to leave, he noticed someone approaching the chamber.
The two looked at the entrance door and saw a hooded figure holding a pitch-black sword in both hands, staring at them.
"For killing the Lord's servants, I shall exact divine punishment upon you, blasphemers!"