บท 38: Mischievous Stalker.

Ethan immediately tensed up. It was to be expected—an unknown thing or creature had just flashed past him. The fear of the unknown could be extremely dangerous, especially since he was treading quite literally in uncharted territory. Even though he had encountered all manner of beasts before, this felt different, ominous. He couldn't shake the creeping anxiety that gnawed at him, yet he was still unaware of how dire his situation really was. The creature that flashed by didn't reappear, but its absence raised alarm bells in Ethan's mind. It was too quiet. In a place as hostile as the Beast Plane, he was accustomed to encountering at least one or two beasts every hundred meters, more or less. Yet, for the past fifteen minutes, there had been nothing—no movement, no sounds of beasts rustling the foliage. Only tall trees, dirt, fallen leaves, and himself, guided by the strange calling in his chest.

Despite this eerie stillness, Ethan didn't panic. He moved forward cautiously, trusting the strange pull he felt deep within. There was something about that call—it resonated with his very essence. He couldn't help but feel that it was linked to his growth and his path. Fate and destiny worked in strange ways, and their machinations were often beyond comprehension. He couldn't shake the thought that the source of this mysterious call lay at the very heart of Babel's Hive, meaning he would have to face hordes of gargoyles to reach it. Worse still, the system had only given him three days to complete the task, and he hadn't even fully crossed the first island yet. There were at least ten more islands ahead, each undoubtedly filled with its own unique perils. Just imagining the trials ahead made him tremble with a mixture of fear and anticipation. For the first time, the true danger of the Beast Plane and the sadistic nature of the system began to sink in.

His senses heightened, Ethan followed the tug of that mysterious feeling, though he remained unaware of his invisible stalker. The unseen entity had been tailing him with an obsessive precision. Ethan occasionally felt chills crawl up his spine, as though someone were breathing down his neck, but every time he looked, there was nothing. Unbeknownst to him, his stalker—a Barix Gargoyle—was expertly camouflaged. Not only was it in its home terrain, where it held the upper hand, but its natural abilities made it nearly impossible to spot, even with Ethan's heightened perception.

Time passed, and after walking for an hour and a half, Ethan finally reached an opening in the dense forest—a possible exit from the island. The clearing looked bizarrely out of place. There were gargoyle statues crudely carved from stone, standing like sentinels on either side of the path. It was unsettlingly peaceful, a fact that instantly put Ethan on edge. Nothing about the Beast Plane was ever peaceful, and the tranquility was far more ominous than any beast attack. His instincts screamed that this was merely the calm before the storm. As if on cue, a large rock hurtled toward him from out of nowhere, moving at an insane speed. Before Ethan could react, the rock exploded into a cloud of thick, white smoke, blinding him instantly.

His stalker had finally revealed itself.

Eyes squeezed shut against the debris, Ethan stumbled, disoriented. His perception was at its peak, but even then, he couldn't detect the location of his assailant. With quick thinking, he enveloped himself in a thin barrier of blue energy, pushing it outward to disperse the choking smoke. It gave him a little room to breathe, allowing him to crack his eyes open, but it wasn't enough. His control over his affinity was still lacking, so his efforts only provided partial relief. He spun in a full circle, trying to locate any sign of his attacker, but the smoke was too dense. As he struggled, he felt tremors rippling through the ground beneath him, growing stronger by the second. It was as if an earthquake was approaching.

A low, disturbing sound echoed through the haze—a garbled laugh, almost mocking in its cadence. "Ke ke ke! Graah grah bbjhj! Ke ke ke!" The voice sounded gleeful, like his tormentor was toying with him. Ethan's blood ran cold as realization dawned. This wasn't just any beast. It was intelligent, and from the sounds of it, it was also powerful—capable of manipulating the very earth to its advantage. He guessed it had to be a gargoyle, but not just any gargoyle. It had to be a Barix Gargoyle, a rare and elite variant of its kind, possessing the feared Alchemy affinity.

The true weight of his predicament hit him like a punch to the gut. What was a Barix Gargoyle doing so far from the inner sanctum of the hive? They were usually found in the heart of their territory, guarding the most precious resources. It didn't make sense. Even stranger was the fact that the elders of the hive weren't aware of this particular Barix's presence on the outskirts—it had gone rogue, hiding in plain sight where no one thought to look for it.

Shaking his head to dispel his spiraling thoughts, Ethan steadied himself and assumed a battle stance, hammer in hand. The smoke was finally starting to thin, and any second now, his opponent would reveal itself. A metallic thud resounded in the distance, and Ethan barely managed to dodge a massive, stone fist that came crashing down where his head had been. Had he been a fraction of a second slower, his skull would have been shattered. The thought made him shudder.

Rolling to his feet, Ethan took in the sight of his attacker—a towering monstrosity of stone and metal. The creature stood at least eight feet tall, its body a patchwork of rocks with a sheen of metal glinting across its surface. Its eyes glowed with a cold, silver light. It was no ordinary beast. It was an Earth Golem, its very presence screaming of immense power. Worse yet, it was a Silver Rank beast, and if it was created by the Barix Gargoyle stalking him, that meant his real foe was at least at Gold Rank.

Ethan cursed his luck. He hadn't even reached the inner parts of Babel's Hive, and here he was, facing off against a Gold Rank beast indirectly through its Silver Rank creation. The Barix Gargoyle hadn't deemed him worthy of direct combat, sending its earth-crafted puppet instead. Worse still, the system had locked his aura control skills, leaving him with only his rudimentary hammer arts, flawed martial techniques, and barely passable telekinesis to rely on.

The golem didn't wait for Ethan to regain his composure. It lunged at him with another heavy punch, and this time, Ethan knew dodging wouldn't work. Bracing himself, he gripped his hammer tightly, holding it horizontally to block the blow. The impact was immense. Even though he managed to deflect the punch, the force sent him flying back, crashing into a tree with a loud thud.

Groaning in pain, Ethan picked himself up. He was trapped in a dire situation—facing not just one powerful opponent, but two. The golem served as the brute force, while the Barix Gargoyle controlled the battlefield with its terrifying alchemy affinity. That meant earth, rocks, metal, sand, and even lava were all within its grasp.

How the hell was he supposed to win this?

As if mocking him, the system chose that moment to chime in.

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Battle of Wits

Objective: Defeat the Earth Golem

Reward: Escape from the Gargoyle

Time Limit: None

Penalty: Death (You will die either way if you don't find a way to kill it)

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"Crap!" Ethan muttered under his breath, knowing he was in for the fight of his life.

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