Chapter 252 - The Third Skill

As Wain killed the white serpent, the counter on his hand began to change rapidly. The number '55' gradually increased and became larger with each passing second. It stopped at the number '10,055.

"What?" Wain was shocked. A few minutes ago, he had only one hour, however now he had several days to spare, and this after killing one monster.

'I see, it seems to be one way to increase the time, but ten thousand... Why so many?' Wain pondered, looking at the floating red book in front of him.

[You get Ascendant Skill Book.]

Wain didn't wait and immediately put his hand on the book. He hadn't received a Skill Book in a long time, and he still didn't have a decent third skill. He hoped that things would change now and his arsenal would be enriched with powerful weapons.

Whooooooosh.

The book opened, and hundreds of characters from the pages flew into Wain's glabella. His eyes glowed brightly, and an information window appeared in front of him.

[The Serpent's Step: Tail (Fist Chronicle, Ascendant Rating)

Use the serpent's power with a tiny part of the original beast flowing in it. When you activate the skill, a silhouette of a tail appears, attacking fiercely in the direction indicated. 

This skill can be used to eliminate a single target as well as for large-scale battles, destroying dozens of enemies at once.

Phantom Tail's length, size, and power depend on the amount of energy invested. It has a neutral attribute, so it's equally effective against all types of creatures].

'Hmm, not bad, but we need to test it in practice.' Wain thought and jumped high up.

He saw several weak monsters in the forest and decided they would be his punching bags. Wain ran up to them and activated the skill. His eyes became like a snake's for a second, and a large amount of white as snow energy appeared around him.

A massive silhouette of a snake's tail appeared behind Wain, and he waved his hand.

Whoooooosh.

The tail moved with lightning speed like a white flash. Five monsters were sliced in two, as were a hundred small trees around them. The phantom tail disappeared, and several white souls flew into his body.

The clock on Wain's hand changed again, '10, 059. This time he only got five minutes. It was no more than a drop of the sea compared to the Ascendant Rating monster.

'I see. The stronger the monster, the more time I get. For one, it's ten thousand, for others, it's only one minute. Most likely, with each Rating, the number is multiplied by ten, then it all adds up.' Wain thought and headed for the huge tree.

He wanted a few minutes to rest and regain some of his strength. He didn't use any of the forms or a Beyond. However, he had to use his entire arsenal to defeat the serpent.

Wain did not want to waste his trump cards until he knew what the purpose of this island was. He had two powerful expendable items, three useful potions, many pills, and five unique forms giving him amazing abilities.

'The message said we had an advantage of ten minutes, three to go. What's going to happen?' Wain pondered, looking down at the island from above.

He climbed the tree's highest branch and had a perfect view of most of the island. 

Unfortunately, Wain didn't see anything remarkable. The areas were unusual and dangerous. Formidable opponents inhabited them, but Wain did not see this as something that would help him recognize the target.

Soul Essence was living energy, and if this island appeared, then it had a purpose. Obviously, there was some mystery and great reward behind it.

Wain waited. Now he had plenty of time.

'Hmm, the voice said that time is always short, but that doesn't seem true considering I got so many minutes for killing one monster. The serpent was strong, but it seems enough to kill a few dozen Rare Rating monsters to get a few hours or days.' Wain pondered.

...

Nine minutes and fifty seconds passed. The island suddenly shook again, and the howls and roars of hundreds of beasts and monsters were heard. It was like the beginning of the apocalypse. Then dark pillars rose from the ground, and space began to shake.

In the island area, cracks began to appear in the air from which dozens of silhouettes jumped out. They were members of other races, mostly from the Pillars.

Wain frowned. This situation was strange, he didn't understand why the other races could get here so easily, but then he noticed that there was nothing behind the island.

'What? I definitely saw land in the distance a moment ago, was the view blocked by a special barrier?' Wain wondered.

He began to understand what had happened gradually. The Island had become a separate, isolated zone, which could even be called a small world. Despite the fact that the Island was in the planet's territory, it was almost another dimension.

Wain took a closer look at the figures jumping out of the cracks and felt an aura of a map emanating from each of them.

'I see, so the map didn't just appear in Overion or this world, the others were no exception, but doesn't that mean we're finished...?' Wain was alarmed.

He realized that if a Second Chronicle or Third Chronicle creature came to the island, the humans didn't stand a chance of survival.

"Damn." Wain uttered with horror, watching then as the Second Chronicle Elf appeared in the passage. Wain could sense it by the aura emanating from the Elf. He couldn't be wrong.

The Elf jumped down with a confident face, but suddenly black chains appeared next to him. They twisted the Elf, and his strength began to decrease gradually. Wain thought that the same rules worked on the island as in the Purgatory or Voids zones, but they didn't.

The chains squeezed the Elf with tremendous force and tore him to pieces. It was not a weakening. The world would not allow anyone stronger than First Chronicle to be present on the island. 

The reason was that none of the inhabitants of this world had yet reached that level. The world was protecting itself and its inhabitants.

"Holy shit..." Wain cursed as he watched the chains tear dozens of figures apart.

The other races did not expect the space they were invading to have such power. They were terrified and didn't know what to do. This island turned out not to be a mountain of treasure as they had assumed, but a brutal place where life was worthless.

"AHAHAHAHA, goodness has shrunk into the world of humans, ruthless, immoral, and merciless."

Wain was amused by this scene when hundreds of insolent and cunning people who dared to invade their world died without even realizing what they had done wrong. It was a power the world possessed.

However, although the chains destroyed those who exceeded the First Chronicle, there were plenty of representatives from the Pillars. 

A few minutes later, another message appeared in front of everyone.

[Time is always short. No matter how much time you have, a second, an hour, a day, a year, or even a century. However, perhaps you should look on the bright side and see if there's a limit.]

[Your Time: 10,052/1,000,000

Past: 0/9]