Bab 17: Stalking Mantis
Chapter 17 Stalking Mantis
(Have not been proofread)
…
A century after the Spirit Mana or Ether energy entered the world; a group of surviving scientists was given a task to study the changes that has devastated half of the world's population at that time. With this task, they built many laboratories and did a lot of experimentation.
However, since many things are new and have evolved to a large degree, there are many laboratories that have gone out of their way and created many abominable things due to the depraved minds of some scientists.
Although there are ethical groups, there are also those that are unethical groups that also produce results using unconventional means.
At first, they were ignored as their research has given hope to mankind and somewhat has given many a chance to regain humankind's footing in this world.
However, as time goes by, these people began to go beyond the boundaries more and more and have created one devastation after another making them more threatening than the now naturally evolve creatures of the world.
And because of this, the governing bodies at that time decided to stop supporting these institutions which created conflict.
This conflict was called… the Purge.
It was a brutal battle between many newly evolved monstrosities from those laboratories and highly evolved humans.
The battle rages until the mad scientists were all imprisoned or purged.
That war lasted for half a century before the last remnants of those mad scientists were told to have been destroyed.
After many years have passed the danger has finally arrived as some of the secret laboratories of those mad scientists began to emerge one after another. Although it is not causing that much trouble for each country, it still causes some commotion.
It is said that although these laboratories, which are now called dungeons, are dangerous; it also provides an opportunity to those who successfully raid them.
Large amounts of different-sized Ether crystals could be harvested from the denizens inside the dungeons. What grabbed the attention of the many explorers raiding these dungeons is that the source of the Ether crystal inside is almost unlimited as long as they did not purge it completely.
Hence many people like to explore these dungeons when discovered them. Some would even secretly hide it from the masses and secretly farm it for themselves.
…
After reading the writings on a book I have found on one of the dust-covered desks, I slowly closed it.
It is not a diary of some sort but a book covered in ether energy.
I decided to read it because I thought it was some kind of magical artifact or something. But to my surprise, it is actually some record of what happened a few millennia ago.
We've been searching this place for a while now and have already entered the 3rd floor underground.
We have encountered a lot of denizens inside this place and some of them posed danger to us.
However, with the strength and fighting ability of those two, they could deal with those weird creatures.
I also discovered that the burly young man could actually use Ether's energy to cover his body in battle.
It was something that I did not expect to see and so I become interested in it.
"Hey, blind boy…" the handsome young youth whose name is Han Fey called me after looking a bit bored.
"Check what that buffoon is doing outside…" he commanded.
I did not say anything and just followed his command.
I walked outside of the room and entered a place with many dirty glass objects.
I found the burly young man sitting in one corner while on his side something is boiling.
"Senior Jong… Senior Han is looking for you…" I said in a low voice.
The burly man did not move and just grunted.
"Tell him that if he has nothing better to do… then go and continue exploring this place," he said in a grumpy tone.
I nodded my head with a slight smile on my face.
Actually, I too am feeling a bit bored after waiting for some time now.
So after I walked inside and told Senior Han about what Senior Jong has said, the both of us walked outside and decided to explore deeper independently.
For some weird reason, I noticed a sinister smile appearing on the face of Senior Han.
I began walking down the stairs following Senior Han and soon we arrive at the fourth floor. This floor is a place that we have not fully explored.
As we entered the 4th floor, I could feel that something seems weird.
My Spirit Eyes noticed that the creatures we have killed are now actually missing.
I'm quickly alarmed as I could tell that someone or something is watching us from somewhere.
I have already spread my Spirit Eyes and extended my senses but I could not find who or what is watching us.
"Alright, I will explore the room… you go play somewhere else…" Senior Han suddenly said while he turns around and enters a dimly lit hall.
This whole place still has some kind of dim bright coming from some sort of light on the ceiling. I could tell that those lights are self-sustaining and seem to be… somewhat biological in nature.
I turn towards a place where I have already found some old books sitting on some kind of old metal shelf.
Entering that room, I could hear a loud creak coming from the old wooden door.
Somehow, the wooden door still looks sturdy even after many years have passed.
Although the books are dusty and the whole place is dirty, I did not care as I know that this place might contain a mountain of knowledge that could help me identify what really this place is.
…
…we have finally found the right solution! With this, my fellow researchers have finally discovered a way to become stealthy while also causing more fear…
We failed again… but this time, one of the lab assistants was killed right in front of us. I truly lament what has happened as that assistant is somewhat useful. But we could not stop, we must gain victory! We must!...
It has been almost 2 hours since I entered this place and has read almost every book on those shelves. My knowledge of this place has expanded deeper and my understanding expands.
Right now, I am reading some kind of a diary I found under the desk.
The person who wrote it is some kind of a head of one of the research facilities in this place.
According to what I have learned, this place not only researches mutations, but it also does research on herbs and Ether energy.
For some reason, this group of people was considered as the most intelligent in their time.
They are actually involved in the military at that time and have gained a lot of merits. But for some reason, the person who wrote this diary has gone insane after he lost his son who is a soldier.
He and his group did some research and discovered some kind of smoke camouflage for the soldiers.
He has bowed that the death of his son will be avenged and that those beasts would die.
Using a beast's fog ability, it could hide the soldiers within the fog while the soldiers will have the power to see their opponent.
Everything went well until I read on the last page about a colonel entering the laboratory and taking the research away.
In his desperation to save his research, the man decided to activate the mist and use it to kill the soldiers which it was supposed to protect.
After reading, the diary and closing it, I now have a vague feeling about what that dark mist was.
While musing, I suddenly felt the same sensation that someone or something is watching me.
I did not move and pretend not to have noticed it.
Then from the dark wall, I noticed it changing.
A creature that looks like a man but not a man emerges from the shadows.
I now know why I could not find it using my Spirit Eyes. That is because… its body is actually covered by a thin black mist aura.
I suddenly recalled in the diary some kind of tuning.
This tuning is a process for the scientist to locate the test subjects with the mist in their body.
I don't know how to do that kind of tuning yet, but I discovered and realized something about the creature closing behind me.
Although I could not see it while covered in the black mist aura, I now knew that once exerted an amount of effort, it would actually reveal itself.
With this discovery, I now felt confident to fight against this thing.
As it drew closer and closer to me, my hand also drew nearer my knife from my back.
I could not hear any footsteps and could not see it. But because it is concealing a part of my Spirit Eye range, I could actually detect its presence which is now about 5 meters away from me.
My heart began to pound really fast as I waited for the inevitable.
Suddenly…
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone