When Asher killed the Vialmir, using Alyssa's gravity magic as a boost to his strike, he was about to rush and kill the Kirons caged behind the long Ice Rods.
[ Host gained 5000 EXP ]
[ Host has leveled up ]
Although this was not a good outcome for Asher as he had used quite a bit of his mana, the cost was considerably reduced due to Rank A Mana Flow. If not for this ability, it would have been impossible for Asher to even move after killing the Vialmir.
*BOOM*
Asher saw the Ice Rods fall, and he could immediately deduce that another Vialmir had come. But he was proven wrong when he saw two of them together.
He wanted to save this card for the boss monster, but knowing that he only needed to wait for a one-hour cooldown, he decided to use the skill finally. Asher was really skeptical about using system-given abilities until now, even his bloodline ability.
For him, it was weird for anyone to help him, especially a god. A goddess helping a man like him? When he first saw the message that took him back in time, he laughed, thinking that his time had come.
When he actually regressed, he laughed.
But he knew that whatever actually helped him had a motive or something that only he could give. Or that was what Asher thought.
"Time Dilation," the moment he muttered those words, time seemed to slow down for him.
The ratio 5:1 sounded too good to be true for a skill with a simple one-hour cooldown.
This meant that his speed would increase five times what he could reach right now. Currently, Asher's speed was what he could achieve when he reached the peak of A Rank in his previous life. But this was only what others who could see him would feel.
For Asher, it was not him that was fast, rather everything else other than him had grown slower.
Asher's eyes wandered as he looked at all the monsters running towards him with their jaws open.
Asher dashed past the Kirons and killed the second Vialmir first. It was the first time he had used this ability, and only five seconds had passed for Asher when he channeled his aura and sliced through the shell of the Vialmir, beheading it.
[ Host gained 5000 EXP ]
Not minding the Kirons, Asher turned his body as he dashed again towards the remaining Vialmir. The Vialmir could not even see Asher right now.
[ Host gained 5000 EXP ]
Ten seconds had passed when Asher turned towards the Kirons. One or two of them died to Alyssa's Ice Lance, but the rest of them were killed ruthlessly by Asher.
Asher could feel that something heavy was placed on him. It was almost as if the weight of his soul had increased rather than his body. He could move normally, but he was feeling more and more burdened by the moment.
Asher immediately dashed towards Alyssa and stood beside her.
[ Host gained 500 EXP ]
[ Host gained 500 EXP ]
[ Host gained 500 EXP ]
[ Host gained 500 EXP ]
[ Host gained 500 EXP ]
...
A total of seven Kirons were killed by Asher. He was watching the notifications with an indifferent face.
He could see some words coming out of Alyssa's mouth, but they sounded weird to him.
Seconds kept passing, and Asher stood still.
[ Time Dilation is ending ]
The duration of the skill ended and Asher felt weak all over his body. It was not as if he was injured, but his body failed to handle the transition when the skill duration ended. Asher fell to his knees as a terrible headache and sudden pain ran rampant near his mana core. Asher spurted out blood, but the heaviness he felt was still there. He clutched his heart not because the pain was too much for him to handle, but he was feeling as if his mana core would explode.
"Are you fine?" Alyssa asked, grabbing Asher.
But right now, he was not exactly in the state to answer.
[Host should not use Time Dilation until your body gets used to it]
[Right now, your body is holding the burden of using a power too great]
If this was a simple agility boosting skill, Asher would have been fine. But what he used just now was him delving into a realm that was under the rule of only one entity.
"When can I use it next?" Asher in his mind, still suffering from the terrible headache.
[Host should not use it for a week, but if you can use it one more time]
[But it is highly likely the Host would lose consciousness the next time you use it]
"I am fine," Asher muttered.
Alyssa removed her hand when she saw Asher could sit normally on his own. She was confused about what had happened just now.
'Is it his bloodline ability?' This was the only possible explanation for Asher's action.
"How much mana do you have?" Asher asked Alyssa.
"Not enough, but I can protect you until you recover," Alyssa said. She was almost out of mana, so the most she could do was protect Asher from a mid-D Rank monster if any appeared.
She knew her current limits very well, and she would rather not give false hope in such situations.
"We will rest. If any mid-D Rank monsters come, try to kill them," Asher said as he closed his eyes.
Alyssa saw Asher meditating in a dungeon and recovering his mana.
'Greville,' Alyssa thought, standing up.
Asher was not simply a genius. If what she saw right now was true, he was also capable of defeating the Top Rankers of the Second Year students and some rankers of the third year as well.
"Why is he helping me?" doubt arose in Alyssa's mind.
From the strange connection she felt from Asher to all these strange abilities he was using, she got curious about him.
At first, all Alyssa wanted was to somehow use Asher as a shield while she fulfilled her revenge, but questions started arising in her mind.
Alyssa's eyes went dull thinking about her revenge. She looked at the corpses of the monster and thought about how much she needed to increase her strength if she wanted to catch up to people like Asher.
All the blood and corpses around her managed to bring out some memories she didn't want to recall. The moment she left Asher, similar thoughts that had haunted her for years returned. Strange voices that had impacted her so much throughout her life began to resurface once again.
She felt rather calm around Asher, just as Asher felt near her.
Asher was meditating when he used his mana sense to probe inside him. His mana was all over the place inside him. His core was almost empty, but he was regenerating his mana quite fast.
Two hours went by as Alyssa killed a few Kirons that came their way. It was hard for her, but she was getting a hang on how to reduce her mana consumption. It was not on the level of Rank C Mana Flow, but she was learning from her battle experience.
*********************************
Outside the Dungeon, 7 hours ago, Farnus had arrived, and the Professor was kneeling in front of him.
"I-I am sorry, we didn't know that the Dungeon Gate was fresh," he repeatedly apologized.
Although it was not his fault, the man he was kneeling in front of was the strongest human in this world.
In the current situation, pointing fingers and making justifications could have dire consequences for him. It was not his fault but it was the way that the world worked.
"How much time has passed?" Farnus's words made all the people present tremble a bit.
"An hour has already passed," a staff member replied.
Farnus stood up and went near the gate. When he touched it, the gate repelled him similarly to how it had repelled the others.
"Make sure nobody gets the news about this. If any student asks about them, tell them their dungeon exploration was delayed so they are still in the middle of their exams," Farnus said, turning around. All of the people nodded quickly, not daring to go against his order.
Farnus touched the white robe he was wearing as he thought about something.
In a second, he disappeared from his place and arrived at his office after a short while.
He touched the metal engravings behind his seat, and a majestic golden spear got revealed as he released his mana on the engravings.
"Let's hope the worst does not happen," Farnus said as he looked at his spear and took it inside his spatial ring for now.
A weird blue pattern around his right shoulder started glowing as Farnus disappeared again from his office.
***********************
Inside the dungeon, very far from where Alyssa and Asher currently were, a huge beast was sleeping. Lines of lava were running around its body like they were its veins.
The monster opened its eyes as a Vialmir came into its sight.
The Vialmir tried to flee from the strange beast, but it only took a second for the beast to rip the Vialmir in half.
The strange monster revealed its jaw as lava started to drool out of its mouth.
The powerful C-Rank Vialmir, in an instant, was turned into food for this strange monster.
After a few seconds, the monster noticed a strange amount of mana, but it was too small for him to care about it. The monster turned as it went back to the Dungeon Altar, where a strange yellow-colored portal was.
