Ascension of Chaos - Book 3 - Chapter 34 (Patreon)

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Table of Contents

Click the following link for the 1374 word chapter 34:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZpFfERbRXtkD-UMBqvX6sX6c3WLB11yh0Nt1yk8X9P0/edit?usp=sharing

Or you can read the unformatted version below:

Ashley

It’s dark.

That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I enter the Void Rift.

There isn’t even a spec of regular light inside of it. Not even a scrap.

It’s to the point that I can only see my body and nothing else. And even that’s only because of the tiny amount of light radiating from my veins and my eyes.

Light that doesn’t extend more than a couple centimeters from my body.

I frown before waving my hand, activating a few destruction magic skill to flood the rift around me with lava and ash. Finally lighting up the area a little bit thanks to that.

And the moment I get more light, I feel a pinching sensation in my mind. Almost like something is attacking me.

My eyes narrow at a tiny little creature a couple dozen meters ahead of me. One in the form of some sort of skinless hybrid of a bird and a hamster.

The thing is staring at me with glowing black eyes that give me an instinctive feeling that it’s attacking my mind right now. It’s just that my new passive defense skill is protecting my mind enough that its attack is only at the level of a pinch.

Of course, the black fog filling this Void Rift isn’t helping either. But that’s being blocked by Chaotic Source. So it’s not doing any real damage.

This thing is making me feel some pain because its attack isn’t True Damage, meaning it’s not countered by Chaotic Source.

That aside, the little hybrid creature doesn’t last very long before it’s killed. Simply due to my staring at it with Gaze of Destruction.

But the pain doesn’t go away even after killing this one monster, making me look around to find several others scattered across the Void Rift around me. With each one just staring at me with their creepy gazes.

I was wondering how a single monster was able to get past my new Successor Skill.

It wasn’t just a single monster after all. It was numerous monsters.

What’s worse is that the pinching pain gradually grows worse as I see more and more of these monsters appearing one after another.

Just how many of these are there…?

I don’t waste any time as I immediately begin eliminating them en masse. Throwing around volcanic surges to burn these things in lava and ash, along with blizzards to freeze them. Turning this Void Rift into a hell of ice and lava in the process.

And yet, no matter how many of them I kill, they just keep coming back.

After several minutes of this, I finally get tired and begin moving around the Void Rift in search of a potential source for these things. Since they just keep coming.

As for if I can’t find a source? Then I’ll just find whatever I need to do in here to clear the Void Rift.

If it isn’t related to killing all of the monsters in the Rift, then I don’t want to bother wasting my time killing all of these. Not when I’m already at the level cap and can’t level anymore.

And the fact that these void creatures have half traumatized me into not Assimilating their Skill Trees at this point, I’m not getting anything at all from killing all of them. It’s just a big waste of time.

So I begin my search before eventually finding a large crystal just floating in the middle of the Void Rift after following the black fog to its source.

Core Fragment of the Void God

Description: A broken off piece of the Void God’s core. This fragment is incredibly dangerous and will shatter the minds of any who touch it should they be less than one entire Class above the Void God. It will also create a special Void Rift around it and expel the Void God’s fog throughout the rift.

Affects: True Death to those below Class A upon exposure for too long. The length of time a user can be exposed varies depending on their personal resistances to True Damage and mental attacks.

I guess this is some sort of upgraded, superior version of the totems?

Well, whatever. More ways to fight against the Void God are always welcome in my eyes.

With that thought in mind, I reach out to grab the damaged looking crystal orb. Only for my mind to go blank the moment my hand touches it.

Then a blinding pain rushes through my head as I let out a hoarse scream. One louder than any scream I’ve ever made before in my life.

The pain goes away not too long after it arrived, though, leaving me panting in exhaustion with the core fragment in my hand. Just staring at the thing with more than a little trauma filling my gaze.

I put it in my storage alongside the totems before taking a moment to calm down. Pulling in deep breaths before letting them out again. Then repeating the process a few times.

Of course, the Void Rift seems to have other plans. Since everything around me begins to crack and fall apart, revealing the rest of the floor outside of the Void Rift.

And not long after that, I get a message from the System with an update about my mission. One telling me that I have now cleared one out of the twenty-five Void Rifts.

Instead of feeling satisfied with this, however, I feel sheer horror from it.

Does… this mean I’m going to have to experience that pain every time I clear a Void Rift? Just to extract these core fragments…

A shiver runs down my spine at that thought.

I seriously hope that was a one-time experience…

A large part of me doubts it, but I can hope.

Until I manage to find another Void Rift, deal with the mental attacking monsters inside of it, and arrive at the next core fragment. After which I find myself screaming in pain again until the pain vanishes and the Void Rift crumbles once more.

Fucking dammit. I can tell these core fragments aren’t actually doing any damage to me. Every time I grab them, I get a message about Chaotic Source. So this pain must be a secondary effect of touching the cores while the main effect is a True Damage mind attack.

This is practically just torture. All to gather these damned core fragments.

And what’s worse?

I have to experience this twenty-three more fucking times.

Genuine anger begins to flood me at this.

Normally pain doesn’t really bother me much. But pain directly in my mind from mental attacks is a completely different story. These are attacks on the mind itself, which causes far more pain than any physical injury could ever do. Even if the actual damage is blocked completely.

How on Val could any normal person without True Damage defensive skills ever even get a fourth of the way through clearing this Unique Domain?!

Then again, I guess there’s a reason almost no one ever manages to clear Unique Domains. And the people who kill the Unique Monster after it breaks out of its Unique Domain are always vastly overqualified. All to stop the Unique Monster from rampaging and creating its own faction in the universe to cause more harm.

Like the Empress of Twilight, who is still at large and not stopped.

I scowl as I make my way through the Unique Domain in search of the third Void Rift. Even though a large part of me is screaming in my mind to procrastinate doing so just because of that pain.

Unfortunately, I don’t really have a choice.

Not unless I want the Unique Domain breaking, releasing the Unique Monster and its restrictions along with it.

At least it’s limited to Class C while it’s in the Unique Domain. Once it leaves the Unique Domain, it won’t be long before it hits Class B. At which point it would probably make every single being on Val go insane.

I let out a pained sigh at the thought of the consequences.

There’s no choice in this matter.

I’ll just have to deal with the pain and continue.