12. Death

Roared can be heard even outside of the dark cave, there is more battle inside that no one ever knows. A silhouette occurred from there, a Knight, lifted a blonde-haired, well-dressed Elf who regains consciousness. She is too weak to walk or speak, Astorn wanted to heal her with some of the elixirs he borrowed from the town market.

"Alright, how do you feel?" asked Astorn worried, putting her down at the side of the cave entrance.

She did not respond but still tried to remember her memories. Astorn kneels in front of her and some of the elixir materialized from nothingness. "Here, drink this. It will make you feel better."

The Elfen stared at him full of alert, don't want to take his kindness for granted. She accepts too much effort to believe someone, but all of that had lead her into this situation. Astorn once more wanted to convince her and said, "Don't worry, I have no reason to make any harm. We want to save you from here."

Astorn delivered his elixir to her hand and stand for an instant. "Stay still, I have to help my friend!"

The brown-haired Knight hurried back to the cave as fast as he can, leaving her alone in confusion. The blonde-haired Elf tried so hard to remember all the things she had been through, what had she done before falling unconscious. But one she knew for sure is, she still comprehends her class very well.

In the darkness with the minimum light from the torches, Liu Han had seen overwhelmed by avoiding every attack of that beast. Its hits alone are capable of making an earthquake with wide AOE. Not to mention the electric effect that stuns for five seconds – if he happened to get a thunderclap it will be his last breath.

The impact of that mace is sure so massive, Liu Han needs to evade it in better range to escape from the scattered rocks. He tried every skill he have to deal with some damage but it was not enough, it was useless, to be honest. None of that can even make hurt the Thunderous Goblin.

That mace was launched downward toward Liu Han with incredible speed and he leaped on the weapon. He drains half of his stamina to make his move speed increase and ran fast enough to jump in front of the Goblin's face. The steam emanated around his clenched right hand, was about to execute his ultimate skill.

"Gale Force Punch!" shouted Liu Han, a destructive action hit the face of that Thunderous Goblin.

An enormous blast was initiated with a rampage scream from the beast, thought it would hurt it but it was not – its HP bar is not even decreased. Liu Han now knows that whatever he does are no match for this boss. Even though the impact still make that Goblin bounced back, the same punch was hurled at Liu Han.

The raw power of the Thunderous Goblin itself is a torment. Liu Han was thrown off so instantaneous to the floor with extreme speed, making him almost die when he ricocheted and ended up on the cave wall. That sight was captured well by Astorn who came back, to take a closer look at Liu Han who was left unconscious.

"Liu Han!" The brown-haired man tried to wake him up but a roar resonated through the whole cave furthermore.

The Martial Artists man opens his eyes, still in blurry sight, he noticed Astorn in front of him. "I have told you to go from here!"

"There is no way I left you behind!" Astorn responded as the earthquake can be felt, the tremendous monster behind him walked toward them.

"Forget it! Save yourself!" Liu Han insisted but Astorn did not even care.

He confronts the Thunderous Goblin with a sheathed sword, formulating to charge his skill. His body emits a bluish aura with sparks of electricity and flames around his weapon. That beast seemed not too concerned, it was still calm and a bit more aware.

When the skill is charged, he runs toward the monster and then does his ultimate move. "Firebolt Wave!"

A wave is full of blasts of flame and thunder slashes through the enormous Goblin without breaking out a scratch. The electric effect does not even work on that monster. It still stood there like nothing had happened. That creature hoisted its spiked mace aloft and tossed it downward toward Astorn.

Caught in disbelief, he was too late to evade and suffered a harsh impact from the mace as it slammed into the ground. He was thrown back a few steps, his HP bar was reduced by more than half. But not only that, this time, the Thunderous Goblin continues to swing its weapon right at Astorn with electricity effects.

If not because of Liu Han's assistance to evade it, Astorn would die in a moment. Had it not been for Liu Han's intervention that helped him dodge the attack, Astorn would have died right then and there. Nevertheless, even though they managed to evade, both of them couldn't escape the electrical AOE attack that stunned them for five seconds, leaving them in a dire state.

"S-Shit!" said Astorn cannot bear the electric shock.

The menacing monster stood right beside them, its eerie smile sending shivers down their spines. With its glowing red eyes, its lethal intentions were fully apparent. However, not far away, an Elfen woman was performing intricate hand movements.

Nevertheless, two crucial points were that her current spell consumed an excessive amount of MP and had an exceptionally long cooldown period. Moreover, the spell's influence was limited to just one person.

With fluid motions of her left and right hands, she created a rune that targeted Astorn. Beneath him, the same violet symbol materialized. Just moments before the Thunderous Goblin was about to strike, the woman exclaimed, "Teleport!"

For an instant, Astorn disappeared along with the rune that faded – leaving only Liu Han who still cannot move.

Once again, a fierce blow wreaked havoc on the surroundings, shattering almost the entire cave with electrical effects scattered all around. No one survived the destruction except for the monster itself, which managed to let out a terrifying howl.

Meanwhile, Astorn, who still lying in a dazed state, suddenly found himself at the entrance of the cave. His face was streaming with sweat, his breath came in ragged gasps, and his heartbeat raced relentlessly. He sometimes swallowed hard and glances in various directions, attempting to make sense of the situation.

"How did I make it out alive?" he murmured when he tried to sit on the floor.

"Sorry, I cannot save your friend," said the blonde Elfen beside him. "The spell has its limits."

"Wait a moment, are you some kind of Wizard?" Astorn asked, turning to that woman who leaned on the trunk.

"Yeah, I am a Sorceress," she stated and looked down, her face was not concealed behind her blonde hair anymore as she tied her hair back. "It's different than a Wizard."

"What is the difference? You all look the same!" As a newbie, Astorn indeed lacked knowledge about the classes in the Realm of Axian. "A class who casts magic."

"Correct, but, we are divided into two," the Elven explained, looking at the brown-haired man. "Like Warrior and Knight."

"I see... so that is the definition of Ascension and Awakened one." The woman nodded as Astorn remarked. He then tried to stand and check out the cave. "Come to think of it, Liu Han didn't make it?"

"I am afraid not," she said and then walked closer. "That beast is not our level to fight, we should go back to the nearest town."

"What? I'm not leaving him here!" Astorn responded quickly as he turned his head to the elf.

"He will be revived to the safe zone for sure," she twisted around and headed somewhere. "It's impossible to even come back to life in the same spot where we died."

What she said is a fact. That's why most wanderers will strive hard not to die in the wilderness, all those explorations would be such a waste. Astorn catch a little bit curious and asked, "Do you know the way?"

The Elfen halted and looked at that Knight. "I have a map."

In the blank space where nothingness becomes one with the void, Liu Han found himself nowhere. The last he remembers is he died at the hand of that monster, a single hit alone sent him to this dark screen without any news. However, a notification sound echoed, and information materialized before him.

[You have died]

[Would you like to respawn at the nearest Safe Zone or explore an alternative? (Your death count will remain unchanged)]

"What's this?" he murmured in his head. "Could it be some kind of feature?"

"Yet, the alternate choice does seem fortuitous, considering my death limit remains unchanged," Liu Han added, reluctant to make the worst decision. "Whatever this is, I can't afford to squander my death count!"

[You have chosen the alternate option]

[You are transported to the Tower of Trial]

[New Quest: Vanquish all adversaries]

In an instant, the environment around him underwent a swift metamorphosis, turning into a realm of blood and raging flames. Houses appeared in ruins, and creatures arose in front of him – their names highlighted in orange. These were monsters of sufficient strength for him to overcome.

This was the decision Liu Han had opted for; there was no room for retreat this time.