Chapter 251 - Uncovering

Holding the greatsword with both hands, Jack remained standing in wait.

He carefully surveyed his surroundings, wary of what might pop up. His senses warned him of something out there in the snowy tundra. But, whatever it was, it didn't want to make itself known.

Nonetheless, Jack stood ready.

Jack's eyes dotted around the place, ready to strike at a moment's notice. All the while, the holes around him spread like wildfire. They popped up at a rapid pace. It was as if they were closing in on Jack, trying to swallow him whole.

'Is this even going to work?'

As he doubted himself, Jack's senses kicked into full throttle. His instincts after spending years in the Ark City military and the missions he's gone through before were as sharp as his sword. Jack trusted his guts as much as any soldier, but something about this doesn't feel right.

Instinctively taking a step back, Jack barely got his foot away in time. A hole popped up where his foot was, nearly taking Jack out.

'Screw this.'

Jumping from the ground, Jack got some good air. From the sky, the holes multiplied by the dozen. And, at that moment, Jack had enough of what was happening and pulled another stone from his Inventory. At that moment, Jack didn't hesitate and threw it to the ground below.

Accurately predicting where the next hole would pop up, Jack managed to time his attack perfectly. The nondescript stone he had thrown to the ground was at the spot where a hole had appeared. The stone fell into the hole and, not two seconds later, it exploded violently.

After which, the explosion caused the ground beneath him to crumble. As the snow fell, Jack descended too. He eyed the crumbling tundra attentively, watching for what might appear underneath the surface. Whatever creature was down there, Jack had a feeling that the fight wasn't going to be easy.

And, from the looks of it, he was right.

Underneath the surface, an insect-like creature soon revealed itself to Jack. Only this thing wasn't some tiny insect. It was big, much bigger than the average-sized-sedan. Or, from what Jack figured, it was akin to the size of a commercial plane.

What's worse, despite the explosion and the crumbling ground, the creature was unaffected. It didn't even faze the creature. With the creature's hard exoskeleton, it didn't even feel a thing.

Nonetheless, Jack knew he couldn't stop. Using the momentum of his descent, Jack stabilized his sword on his side. The sharp, bladed tip of the heavy greatsword fell first.

Crunch!

Just like that, the creature's thick exoskeleton shattered under Jack's heavy blade. But, even so, the damage wasn't extensive. All the attack did was make a small crack in the back. And, as a result, it had barely done anything to the creature aside from pissing it off.

Without skipping a beat, Jack ran up the creature's back and ran straight to its head. Thinking that it would be the best idea to strike its head, Jack didn't hold back. With his blade clad in a cold blue hue, Jack slashed as he jumped down from the creature's head.

Jack looked up, trying to figure out what he was up against. Unfortunately, he didn't realize how much more horrifying the creature was from the front.

It was like looking at a millipede but its size was infinitely larger than the actual one. Jack was now the insect compared to the creature before him.

The beady black eyes of the creature stared at Jack with an overwhelming pressure behind its gaze. Jack, on the other hand, didn't back down and planted the sword on the ground to his side. He then gritted his teeth in anticipation, pulling two nondescript stones from his inventory.

Crack!

The two stones shattered in an instant, enveloping Jack with an alternating green-red aura. The stones were none other than Enchanted vessels containing Enchant spells. They were spells that boosted his Attack and Defensive prowess, respectively. Now, with the slight increase of his combat ability, Jack readied his stance.

Sword in hand, Jack rushed forward and swung. He slashed his sword in a single fluid motion, attempting to make a clean cut at the creature's head.

Unfortunately, even with the buffs he had, Jack barely made a scratch. He couldn't easily deal damage against his opponent as its toughness was nothing Jack had easily dealt with before. He had to think of something that would have bypassed the creature's natural defenses.

But Jack knew just as well that it was easier said than done.

While Jack considered his options, the creature finally established Jack's presence as a threat. It took quite some time for the creature to reach that conclusion and subsequently charged at Jack.

It was only then that Jack realized something. The creature was slow, with its massive body and all. The sizable worm-like monster charged at Jack like a steamroller flattening gravel. But Jack easily outran the pace at which it moved.

Jack moved around the sunken earth, using tight corners and small gaps to his advantage. But, that advantage meant nothing to the creature as it barreled through everything like some unstoppable force. Nonetheless, Jack got away from his pursuer, creating a considerable distance between him and the creature.

As he kept running away, Jack thought of a plan that would defeat the creature once and for all. Despite his best efforts, however, nothing would even scratch the creature, whose shell had the toughness of enhanced steel.

That meant Jack had only one solution left — run away.

This wasn't his fight, nor did he have to finish it. Jack's goal first and foremost was to find the marooned elves in this dimension. Anything else would be secondary. Jack's priorities were clear even before coming here and fighting a creature certainly wasn't it.

What's the point of dealing with a monster he could barely lay his hands on?

With that in mind, Jack threw the [Frozen Teardrop of Mist] back into his Inventory. The heavy greatsword was slowing him down, and Jack needed every ounce of movement he could muster.

From there, he ran away from the creature at full speed. Jack even used the terrain to his advantage, making the most out of the cliffs from the collapsed ground to head upwards. It didn't take long for Jack to reach an insurmountable ledge the creature couldn't reach.

'That's that, then. I guess.'

Turning his attention to another path laid out in the snow, Jack made up his mind and followed. The path went beyond the creature's den and deeper into the tundra. Jack knew that what he was looking for was over there, even if the locating spell had already worn off.

As Jack moved deeper inland, the harsher the weather got. Even with his natural affinity with the cold, Jack could feel the temperature dropping with each step. Soon, even his own resistance to the harsh climate was not going to be enough.

Regardless, Jack knew he had to keep going. Not stopping to take a break, Jack decided to adjust to the shift in temperature more welcomingly. He pulled a thick cloak from his Inventory, putting it on without any trouble whatsoever.

'Nice fit. Very snug. I should thank Bee when I get back.'

The cloak on his back, Jack kept moving and only stopped when something caught the corner of his eye. There was a pulsating crystal not far from where Jack was standing. It pulsed with a bright light at irregular intervals, making for an interesting find.

Jack moved towards it in a calm and cautious manner. He knew better than to approach a suspicious object without any preparation beforehand.

'Hold up. Is that what I think it is?'

From afar, Jack wasn't sure what it was. As he got to the shining object, though, Jack recognized what it was and immediately took it from the pile of snow it was sitting on top of. Unfortunately for him, the reality was a lot worse than Jack first thought.

He scooped up a handful of snow. Then another. Then another. Jack didn't stop until he saw what was underneath the pile of snow. Jack wouldn't dare to stop, now that he had an increasingly clear view of what was beneath his feet.

'Shit,' Jack cursed as he took a step back, appalled, 'This isn't what I had in mind.'

What Jack saw horrified him without fail. What he had uncovered from the snow pile was nothing alive. Dead beyond recognition, a hand from an elf's corpse held up the stone. The worst part was that the corpse wasn't alone.

There were four elf corpses, exactly the number of elves Jack was looking for.

Jack collapsed to the ground, confused and outright dumbfounded. He was speechless as there were no concrete thoughts filling his head. He just sat there, looking at the bundle of corpses in front of him.