Chapter 22: This Is a Nightmare!

Chapter 22: This Is a Nightmare!

'What kind of hellish world is this?'

After being killed for the Nth time, Alex sat silently by the campfire, utterly speechless.

He had now fully felt the deep malice this world had in store for him.

Initially, Alex thought this was a seemingly ordinary world, but now he no longer thought so.

If being killed by the knight the first time could be chalked up to his carelessness, the subsequent times, even when Alex was fully prepared, he was still ruthlessly beaten down.

However, these efforts were not in vain. After several attempts, Alex found that the "parry" skill he previously thought useless was unexpectedly effective.

After mastering this technique, he successfully blocked and countered the knight's attacks, then seized the opportunity to stab the knight in the chest.

Alex initially thought it was over, but before he could pull out his sword, a dark, eerie liquid suddenly emerged from the knight's back, twisting and condensing into a massive snake-headed monster that lunged at him.

At that moment, Alex's spirit was crushed. At first, he thought this was a normal, post-apocalyptic world.

Then, he thought it was a world with formidable combat. But now... what on earth was this monster?!

Did he really have to fight these enormous, inhuman creatures with just a sword and shield? This world was too despairing!

Though the dark world also had monsters, at least it had protective skills!

But here, all he could do was roll, block, and slash? No skills, no magic, no artifacts, and not even any teammates?

His mentality was instantly shattered! This was nothing short of a nightmare!

Fortunately, Alex remembered that his purpose in coming to this world was to train his swordsmanship and awareness.

Otherwise, he might have chosen to end it all. Surviving in this world required more than just a strong heart.

Luckily, in this grim world, there was at least a small sanctuary. After arduously defeating the knight, Alex passed through the gate and entered a place called Flame Shrine, where he met a blindfolded girl who called herself the Flame Keeper.

From her, Alex learned about the situation in this world.

This world was originally chaotic, but one day, a flame called the First Flame was born. People found Lord Souls near the First Flame and used the power of fire to defeat the ancient evils.

After that, the Age of Flame began, and humans built a glorious civilization. However, flame eventually fades.

To keep the flame burning, powerful heroes used themselves as kindling, prolonging the flame's life.

Now, everything was coming to an end.

The inherited flame had gone out, the bell had tolled, awakening the ancient Lords of Cinder from their slumber.

However, they had forsaken their thrones. His duty was to defeat these Lords of Cinder and rekindle the dying flame.

After talking with the Flame Keeper, Alex finally understood the general "setting" of this world. It was like a bonfire that had once burned brightly, bringing light and warmth.

But now, it was just a pile of ashes. His task was to find enough kindling to rekindle the bonfire; otherwise, everything would be over.

This was indeed a world filled with despair.

But luckily, at least there was the gentle Flame Keeper to soothe Alex's tormented soul. She was far better than the muscle-bound blacksmith and the old crone.

Compared to her, those two were like trapped undead—oh, and the guy sitting on the steps, muttering to himself all day long, with a sword in his lap, who knows what he's talking about.

After the previous tough battle, Alex felt he had finally grasped how to survive in this world.

Confidently following the Flame keeper's guidance, he used the bonfire to teleport to Drakemoor's walls, ready to begin his next adventure. Initially, the monsters on the walls posed no threat to Alex.

Even the undead wielding massive axes were easily parried and executed by him.

This inflated Alex's confidence immensely... Well, perhaps not that extreme, but at least he believed he had mastered the essence of combat.

That was until he encountered a Drakemoor Knight.

This knight, like the previous one Alex had faced, was impeccably armored but completely uncommunicative. As soon as the knight saw Alex, he charged with a roar.

Alex was no longer surprised by this. He had realized that, aside from the few people in the Flame Shrine, everyone he met outside was like a mindless beast, attacking on sight.

So, Alex readied his shield to parry and execute the knight once more.

But things didn't go as planned. The Drakemoor Knight charged forward, raised his shield, and bashed Alex, stunning him.

Before Alex could recover, he saw the knight's sword swing down… and with a swift cut, it was over.

Alex realized he was still a novice in melee combat.

Previously, his victories, like defeating Stone, relied on the Royal Cross Swordsmanship and the special effects of his skills.

Although Stone had pointed out that Alex lacked a deep understanding of swordsmanship, Alex had been somewhat dismissive.

He thought he had other battle techniques at his disposal. For instance, he could have used invincibility and then unleashed a Holy Storm on Stone, which would have ended the battle quickly...

Not to mention, if he ever faced a strong enemy in the future, couldn't he just rely on his soul stones?

But now, in this world, Alex realized how powerless he truly was.

Without the soul stones and unable to use Paladin skills, he was surprisingly weak!

From the moment he arrived at this wall until now, how many times had he died?

Sitting by the bonfire, Alex frowned deeply. If he had any confidence in his strength before, this experience had shattered it.

Reflecting on his past battles, he realized that in his first fight after transmigrating, he had only survived thanks to the power of the soul stones.

In the Dark World, he had also relied on them to defeat Medusa. These were all gifts from the system, not his own true strength, but rather a crutch.

Had he already begun to lose his way?

If his initial goal upon arriving here was to train, now Alex was seriously reconsidering his previous mindset.

Should he rely on the system's help for his entire life? While the system indeed provided great support, if he didn't grow stronger himself, what was the point?

"I was too careless..."

Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Alex stood up. Before his transmigration, he wasn't a warrior, although he had received some training.

Alex had never experienced the bloodbath of a battlefield, so face-to-face combat was unfamiliar to him.

Originally, he didn't see this as a problem, but now, he realized what he was lacking. Perhaps, this was why the system chose this world for him.

With this in mind, Alex gripped his sword tightly and walked to the edge of the platform, gazing down at the ruined city below.

He could hear the howling wind, the hoarse, chilling growls, and the heavy footsteps of those wandering, zombie-like creatures, still roaming the city, wielding weapons, attempting to kill any life they encountered.

Alex didn't know who these creatures originally were, what they had done, or why they fought. But now, one thing was clear to him.

Anyone standing in his way was his enemy.

With this resolve, Alex tightened his grip on his sword and marched down the stairs.

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