Chapter 235: Chapter 235 - Brilliantly Reckless
[You have level up]
[Level 90]
[Exp: 96,507/577,658]
Atlas collapsed onto the ground, his breath ragged, his body feeling as though his very soul had been drained from him. Exhaustion pressed so heavily over him that he wished he could sleep for a week straight.
Damn it! Fighting monsters that relied on mental attacks cut deeper than any physical blow. They clawed at his mind until every ounce of willpower felt raw.
Serenith sat beside him, her cheerful presence a sharp contrast to his fatigue. She leaned her face close to his, smiling and giggling softly as the first rays of morning light spilled over the horizon behind her.
"My Lord... you look completely drained. I cannot help but think it would have been better if we had brought Lyrassa along," she teased, her giggle light and playful.
She slipped an arm under his shoulder, helping him rise and guiding him toward their resting spot near the island’s edge. From there, the forest stretched in clear view. Its trees bleak and skeletal, its air heavy with dread, oppressive even under the touch of sunlight.
Atlas leaned against a tree, trying to steady his breathing while the others gathered nearby, preparing breakfast.
Tessa’s prediction had been overly optimistic. Instead of eight kills, Atlas had only managed four in total. Each fight had wrung his mind dry, leaving him so drained that even standing felt like a monumental task.
He could block the illusions, yes. But that did not mean he escaped their toll. The mental attacks still carved into him, leaving a lingering ache like invisible wounds. And with the level gap being so immense, the drain was overwhelming.
"If only you could transform into this kind of monster, Kate," Atlas muttered, glancing at the cat girl as she sat cross-legged, munching on freshly grilled fish.
"Nyaa!" Kate jolted, nearly choking as her fur bristled. She shook her head wildly. "No... no way I’m transforming into something like that! Nooo!" she yowled in protest, her voice breaking into hysteria.
Tessa folded her arms, answering calmly. "That is because you are still under level one hundred, Atlas. Once you pass your next class advancement, the effect of mental attacks will be far less severe."
"Is that so?" Atlas sighed, leaning his head back against the bark. "Even so, I doubt I’ll ever choose to fight monsters like these again."
Luna joined the conversation with her usual calm tone.
"But, I think you endured those mental attacks quite well, Atlas. I am curious about the talent combination you possess. Because honestly, I doubt that amulet you used was much help. With your level still below one hundred, its effect should have been greatly diminished."
Atlas did not answer right away. Instead, he exhaled slowly and turned his gaze toward the eerie forest.
"Wouldn’t it be easier to fight them during the day?" he asked.
"No," Tessa replied flatly. "They are cowards in the daylight. They will scatter, hide, and avoid combat. It would be nearly impossible to lure them out one by one, unless we stormed their lairs and wiped them out in one swift strike."
"Woah!" Serenith suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone turned toward her.
"Can I destroy them all at once?" she asked, her voice bright with mischief. "If they gather in large numbers, it will be easier to strike them together."
Atlas frowned deeply.
"Are you sure your damage is enough to wipe out a horde of monsters around level one fifty, Sera?"
Serenith giggled at the doubt in his voice.
"I am not sure, my lord... but I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be fun to disturb their rest? Exhaust them in the daytime, so by nightfall, they will be too worn out to fight properly."
Atlas sighed, unsure whether she was playing the fool or being secretly clever. The idea sounded absurd. Yet somehow also made sense.
"You can do that, Sera," Tessa answered without hesitation.
Atlas turned his head sharply toward her. Even Tessa was encouraging this nonsense?
"Monsters are no different from us," Tessa explained. "They need rest to recover their stamina. If you disrupt them during the day, even just enough to drain their energy, their attacks at night will lose much of their power."
"Yeay!!!" Serenith cheered. "I will blast and burn the forest, scatter them, and make them lose their home, hahaha!"
"Do not destroy everything!" Tessa quickly interjected. Then, after a pause, added in a calmer voice, "Well... the trees here are sturdy enough. They should withstand explosions."
Atlas could only listen as these "brilliant women" debated strategies that started as ridiculous yet somehow ended up plausible.
He turned to Edrik, who was quietly and gracefully eating in the corner, completely unfazed by the chaos.
When Edrik noticed Atlas’s gaze, he simply bowed his head lightly, as if to say, this is a brilliant plan, my lord.
Atlas nearly groaned. Of course. Even Edrik is in on this.
Maybe it was fine. After all, Edrik deserved his moment of peace after managing so much back in Gacha Haven. If all he wanted here was to sit quietly in a corner and eat without speaking, then good for him. He would need his strength later anyway, because soon enough, Atlas knew Edrik’s responsibilities would become heavier than ever!
After finishing their morning meal, they carried out the plan. Serenith was the first to move, springing into the sky before vanishing into the canopy above.
Kate had already marked out where the monsters likely hid during the day, and it did not take long before the first echoes of destruction shook the island.
Explosions rippled one after another, booming through the forest until it sounded as if the very trees were screaming in protest.
The ground shuddered beneath their feet. Blast after blast made the island tremble faintly, like a beast groaning in pain.
"Nyaa!!" Kate yelped, clapping her hands over her ears as her body shook with each detonation.
"She certainly seems to have plenty of explosives," Luna remarked, glancing at Atlas with a sly smile. "You never fail to impress me with the kind of power hidden among your team, Atlas."
"Yes," Atlas admitted with a faint grin. "Even I am impressed that Sera actually pulled off this so-called brilliant idea."
Another violent explosion rattled the clearing, followed by a guttural chorus of roars rolling through the forest.
Edrik, silent as ever, calmly set his plate down on the ground. The cut of meat atop it vibrated violently with each shockwave, nearly hopping off the dish as the island quaked under Serenith’s relentless bombardment.
"Do you think Sera is seriously targeting the monsters, or is she simply trying to reshape the surface of this island?" Luna asked.
"I would say... both," Atlas sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "She has probably been holding back the urge to unleash a barrage like this for a long time. She has brought up this idea more than once. Honestly, I think she just loves explosions. We are lucky she never tried it back in Gacha Haven."
"I would very much like to see Mira’s reaction if Sera ever did that," Luna said with a playful giggle.
"No," Atlas replied firmly, shoulders slumping in resignation. "That would be a terrible idea."
Time dragged on, and still the blasts thundered across the island. One after another, relentless, until their ears felt numb, buzzing with the constant roar.
They sat in uneasy silence, each wondering the same thing—when will this end?
It was not until four, maybe five hours later that something finally streaked down from the sky, crashing toward them in a shaky descent.
Serenith landed hard, her body swaying as though she might topple at any second. Her hair was a tangled mess, her frame trembling with exhaustion. Yet her lips curled into a cheeky grin, and a laugh still bubbled from her throat.
"Hehe," she giggled awkwardly. "I might have gone a little overboard and... killed more than a few."
Atlas’s brows knit together. "How many did you kill?"
"Uhm..." Serenith scratched her cheek, looking almost confused. "I used up all my stamina, but I gained a pretty big level boost. About... ten levels."
"Ten levels?!!!"
Every single one of them gasped, jaws dropping at her words.
Atlas’s sharp eyes caught the sudden falter in her stance, the way her knees buckled forward. In an instant, he dashed to her side, catching her just before she collapsed to the ground.
She fell into his arms, eyes fluttering shut, her breath soft and uneven.
"You even burned through all your stamina boosts from leveling up... just to make those explosions bigger, didn’t you?" Atlas whispered.
It was Serenith’s Rank-SS talent at play, dangerous yet perfectly fitting her nature. That gift let her convert her stamina directly into raw explosive damage, amplifying every blast far beyond its natural limit.
Whenever she leveled up, the system restored her stamina in a surge. Serenith, in true reckless fashion, chained that recovery over and over, pouring all of it straight back into her detonations without pause.
Foolish? Perhaps. But also undeniably brilliant.
Yet, as heavy as her recklessness weighed on him, the truth was undeniable. His elite subordinate growing stronger was strength for him as well.
Serenith had carved her way forward, climbing levels with frightening speed. And that was power Atlas could rely on.
"But my lord..." she murmured faintly, her voice fragile. "I have already weakened most of them," she whispered weakly. "You will level up quickly tonight."
With those last words, her strength gave way completely, and she drifted into a deep, exhausted sleep in Atlas’s arms.