Chapter 30

The wings couldn’t be stored in the inventory, so after tying them to myself, I began descending into the pit.

And again, everything repeated. Only this time, when the glowsticks disappeared, I jumped down myself and immediately used Stealth. I discarded the wings and moved thirty meters away from them. At first, nothing happened, but then a massive three-headed dog came running. Massive—as in seven meters tall at the shoulder and about twelve meters long. Its entire body beneath the skin was pure, dense muscle. One of its heads looked at the ground where I had landed. The hound began sniffing around. Stealth was still active, but I wouldn’t be able to escape. I didn’t have the Silent Movement skill, and this dog was experienced—it immediately decided to track my scent.

Demons, Cerberus, Level 350.

Attack type, half points in endurance, roughly 100,000 HP without skill buffs. That thought flashed through my mind for just a second. The next moment, I activated Demon Form. A leap straight onto its neck. I dug my hands into its hide, attacking with magic at maximum speed.

It took me ten minutes to kill it. The only thing the dog could do was roll onto its back while I relentlessly attacked with everything I had. It had complete immunity to fire and stun effects. Dark Arrows chipped away at its health bit by bit—the whole time, I held on as best I could. But it managed to throw me off. Its final strike, a combined force, was equivalent to eleven cobblestones slamming into me. I was right: the dog had insane resistance to physical damage—except my attack power was around 50,000. A barrage of rocks smashed into its chest and shattered, and the beast collapsed, motionless.

Phew. That was genuinely dangerous. If that last attack hadn’t landed, it would’ve killed me. Though, it definitely didn’t have endurance like mine. Cerberus dropped a leather mantle and a bunch of other small loot. I took everything and moved on.

The mini-map showed I was in the third circle of Hell. But right now, all that was here was rain—a real downpour. Occasionally, thunder rumbled or hail began pelting down. No aura effects, just damage from the hail. The further I went, the stronger the stench of decay became. A horrible, rotting stench! And then I saw them—enormous, bloated people and non-humans. A dwarf tripped over his own beard, fell, and now couldn’t get up, just mumbling incoherently. They were all rotting alive, constantly moaning. I was used to pain, used to suffering—but this was horrific. I feel others’ agony very keenly. I don’t experience emotions myself, but I sense them in others.

Only when I reached the center of the circle did I start taking damage from the Rot Aura. It was physical damage, not as terrifying as the Pain and Suffering Aura from the first circle of Hell. The real danger here was the bloated creatures. Ever seen a morbidly obese elf? Well, I have. Though, it was rotting alive under the rain, and looking at it without pain was hard.

I didn’t kill anyone here. It was agonizing just to look at them. For three days, I pushed through the endless rain and hail. The water was now waist-deep, and it was getting colder. Please don’t let it start snowing. The stench of decay was so overpowering I might’ve vomited—but my stomach had been empty for almost a month, and I’d thrown out all my food.

On the fourth day, I heard thunder and saw lightning.

Damage taken: 500 (Ignored: 0)

1534/2000 HP

Lightning Resistance +0.01%

Lightning Damage Negation: 6/sec

I kept going—I needed more damage. The further I went, the colder it got. And the number of lightning strikes became uncountable. Just an overwhelming roar of thunder.

Damage taken: 1 (Ignored: 0)

1531/2000 HP

Cold Resistance +0.01%

Cold Damage Negation: 6/sec

It was getting cold. The hail intensified, constantly battering my head, and snowflakes floated in the water.

What could be more pleasant than bathing in water? The last time I swam was with my father in the river near our house. And in real life? Never. The orphanage only had showers.

I could stay here for a while and enjoy fate’s unexpected gift. First, I’d level up my Lightning and Cold Resistance. Second, train Swimming and Breath-Holding. Third, just enjoy the moment.

In three weeks, I mastered the freestyle and breaststroke. Couldn’t get the hang of butterfly, but I learned to swim like a dolphin. With my speed, strength, and agility, it looked beautiful. I’d leap out of the water, take a breath, and dive again. The glowsticks worked underwater, so I could see the bottom clearly. Swimming on my back was nice too—it felt serene and peaceful... even though, a kilometer away, lightning never stopped striking, and the stench of decay was so strong it made me nauseous. But by now, I’d stopped paying attention. I just enjoyed what I had.

Damage taken: 35,000 (Ignored: 33,811)

1142/2000 HP

Lightning Resistance +0.01%

Lightning Damage Negation: 33,896/sec

Damage taken: 650 (Ignored: 430)

881/2000 HP

Cold Resistance +0.01%

Cold Damage Negation: 455/sec

Water is an excellent conductor. Before, my body would jerk with every lightning strike—a couple of times, I almost drowned. Now? I barely felt the strongest discharges. Just a slight chill, and my body generated enough heat to stay comfortable.

After a week, I’d had my fill of swimming. I could swim at 3 meters per second normally and hold my breath for 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Underwater, in Demon Form at full power, dolphin-kicking, I could reach 15 meters per second. And that was the foundation of my next plan.

There were no victims here to drain for HP to boost resistances, so I maxed out endurance and swam along the bottom of the stormfront. The water here boiled. The discharges weren’t as intense deep down. All eleven streams of consciousness constantly healed me—over ten times per second. And I succeeded. Just… not how I expected.

At full speed, I shot out of the waterfall’s current. The darkness of the pit swallowed me, along with my screams.