System Breaker: Surviving Apocalypse with Nine-Tailed Kitsune-Chapter 12: Rift Core

Damon barely managed to hold on to the snapped rope as the bridge plummeted down. Luckily, the rope only snapped on one side, the remaining rope pivoted the falling structure toward the second mountain cliff.

In what felt like an instant, the bridge crashed against the cliff. Air was knocked out of Damon’s lungs, and his vision went dark, but his grip never wavered, even when his body went numb from the impact.

’Dammit!’ he cursed inwardly.

Kitsune plunged her tiny claws into his skin as she, too, barely held on, caught off guard by the sudden drop.

The remaining rope groaned under the weight. Then, the strands began to snap one by one.

Damon didn’t waste another second as he began to climb the rope he held onto. The climb was easier than expected, with his strength stat being so high that he could easily pull his whole weight with one arm. The problem, however, was the relentless swaying of the bridge from side to side.

His hand bled as the bridge brushed across the rocky cliff wall, the skin of his arm peeling with each movement.

"That was too close," he mumbled as he stretched his arm to the edge, but at that moment a loud snap cut through the mountains once again.

One of the two ropes snapped, sending the bridge swaying to one side. Blood bloomed from his side as his body brushed against the jagged mountain wall. The groaning intensified, and the snapping of strands was like a ticking clock, counting down before the fall.

With only a meter between him and the edge, he anchored his legs on a small jagged edge sticking out of the mountain wall. Then, with all his strength, he pulled himself up while at the same time kicking his legs off the wall.

At that moment, the bridge fell. The remaining rope snapped, and the structure got swallowed by the thick fog below.

Damon watched, one arm grabbing the cliff of the edge as his blood ran cold from the sight.

It was only after Damon had already pulled himself over the edge and had taken a moment to calm his racing heart that a muffled thud echoed from below.

’That was like a minute or two’ Damon realised, the fall had been far greater than he expected.

His gaze then turned toward the mountain path he was on, it was almost identical to the one on the other peak, just maybe slightly wider. After confirming it was clear, he decided to summon his status screen, remembering he had a couple of stat points he could use right now.

[Name: Damon]

[Level: 12]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Error-!]

[Attributes: System Breaker, Dark Evolution (Dark Mage)]

[Classes (2/2): Divine Beast Tamer(Active), Dark Mage]

[Abilities: Black Ice Manipulation (Dark Mage)]

[Stats:

— Strength: 31 (with [Nameless Tachi] equipped)

— Dexterity: 9

— Vitality: 23

— Stamina: 11

— Mana: 12

— Luck: 1]

[Stat Points Available: 4]

He barely had time to study his stats as Kitsune’s voice cut through his thoughts.

"Can we raise some mana?"

’Mana?’ he repeated, taken off guard by the sudden request.

"Once your mana stat is high enough, I’ll be able to use it to sustain my true form for longer."

Damon’s brow raised.

’You can draw on my mana?’

"Not yet. Your mana stat not only increases your mana capacity but also your mana purity. I believe you will need to reach at least 20 before I can try to use it."

Damon nodded with a thoughtful expression.

’Still...’ he frowned, looking at his Dexterity stat. It was falling behind, if he spends all his stat points on Mana now then he will definitely face issues with this imbalance.

After a moment of thought, he decided to put two points into Dexterity and two points into Mana.

Unlike increasing Strength, increasing Dexterity, or Mana didn’t have any sudden effects. He could feel that his capacity had increased for mana, how much he couldn’t quite say yet but his dexterity...

’I guess I’ll feel the difference when time comes.’ He reasoned to himself, not really feeling the change in his dexterity as much.

***

’At least the blizzard had stopped,’ Damon tried to find some good in their current situation. The path began to turn more uphill with each step, each step felt like climbing a staircase, and his legs screamed in protest.

He couldn’t help but feel slight unease. There were no monsters nearby. He wasn’t one to complain, but he expected the path to be a bit more difficult.

At last, the path took a sharp turn, which opened up to a vast plateau.

In its dead center, there was a shard of absolute darkness. It looked as if it devoured the light and cast a blur-like aura around it. Even the wind seemed to curve around it, the faint traces of snow moving in a curved path, as if not daring to get near it.

From its center, jagged black lines cut toward the sky.

But Damon didn’t pay much attention toward the Rift Core, instead, his eyes narrowed at a faint trace of movement behind the fog on the other side of the plateau.

The shape turned from standing on four limbs to standing on two, before letting out a deafening roar that shook the world around them.

The fog thinned, whether it was because of that very roar or just an unprecedented timing of it all, to reveal a colossal monster. Its body was an uneven mix of white fur and ice. Its two crimson eyes locked onto Damon, who was staring at the two horns made of ice that protruded from its head.

If he wasn’t already freezing, Damon’s blood would’ve run cold. He barely had time to tighten the grip on his tachi as the monster charged forward. The ground trembled with every step it took, snow jumped, and ice shattered beneath the massive limbs.

"Just get to the core!" Kitsune’s voice cut through his head, "You don’t have to fight it."

’Run?’

Damon lingered on the idea. It was the wise decision, perhaps the best one. His body was exhausted, and his mana was only half replenished. Fighting in those conditions, even against weaker opponents, wasn’t ideal.

Then, why? Why did the hammering of his heart put a smile on his face?

"No. Let’s kill it." Damon replied.