Monster Integration

Nineteen seconds later, a cloud of Nero disappeared, and he entered my core, tired.

This action may seem small, but it had tired him out. It was necessary. I could not leave proof of how I escaped, at least for a few weeks.

'Thank you, Nero,' I said and looked around a tiny tunnel. It is very small, that I could barely crawl into it.

This place is hell for those who are claustrophobic.

Buzz!

A took a deep breath and a moment later, a green ring appeared on my finger and activated it immediately. As it did, the green runes came out of it and spread around my body.

This is a cloaking ring. It will give me the signature of the monsters, that life-detection formation will avoid.

Till a month ago, I had been planning to use the rule-bending power, but as I thought about it, I realized the flaws of my plan. If I somehow got discovered, while under the cloak of rule-bending power, I will be fucked.

I am under no circumstances could reveal the forbidden power. The librarian had warned me, it will be not be discovered, unless I am caught using it.

I could make excuses for the tunnel and other thing. It will not matter if they think, I am lying, but I could not be caught using the rule-bending power.

It is an absolute no-no for me.

Which is why I had created the ring from the core of the monster. It took some serious ingenuity and great help from Nero to dissect the waves of those artifacts released to create this ring.

I had not used even a shred of rule-bending power in creating it.

Soon, the formation spread across my body, covering every inch of me. Seeing that, I moved.

Or rather crawl.

The ring has an obvious flaw. I could not use my energy. So, I will have to crawl with my physical power.

Thankfully, with the refining method, I am far stronger than I had been a month ago.

I crawled quickly, covering a large area within an hour, but the mine was vast, and Nero had to create a long tunnel for safety.

The tunnel avoided most of the life-detection artifacts, and those ranges it passed through are quite away and their power is weak at such a distance.

So, it could be said that unless something unexpected happened, I will escape safely.

Another three hours passed, and I couldn't help but wonder whether they have discovered me yet.

They shouldn't be unless they scan my place with the soul sense. The likely time, they discover me, would be when my roommates lined up and the stone-skin man did not see me.

I had seen him investigate such cases.

It did not matter, even if they discover me now. They cannot find me. In these months, I have found that even Sovereign's soul sense cannot seep over two hundred meters into the walls.

The tunnel is four hundred meters away, they will not be able to discover it.

I had prepared thoroughly for this escape. Every point is well thought out, and the solution is found. Without such preparations, I wouldn't have dared to make an escape.

I only have one chance and I wouldn't waste it with subpar efforts.

A few minutes passed, and I have come across the wave from the life-detection artifact. I did not stop and continued moving, and the wave just passed through me, without stopping at me, even for a second.

Soon, I walked out of the rages of the artifact and continue crawling, before stopping one and a half an hour later.

As I had stopped, I got up. I stopped at the underground hole. It is quite big, bigger than even the room I used to live in with six people.

I am planning on living in such a room. I am not leaving this place immediately; I am not an idiot. They will be searching for me, and my safest bet is to stay here for at least a week.

Two, if I could.

I stayed in the cave for a few minutes, and stretched my legs, before resuming my journey through the very narrow tunnel.

An hour later, I come under the range of another life-detection artifact and continued. Soon, I passed through another hole. I did not stay there for more than five minutes.

Time passed, and the time had arrived. It is now where I usually leave.

Within a few minutes, they might come to know that I had escaped and will search for me. I just hope that they do not blame my roommates. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't.

I wish I could take them with me, but the risk is too big. For my own safety and theirs.

I have left behind a way for them to escape, and it is quite good. With a little luck and the things, I had left behind on the way, they will be able to escape.

SHOOOK

Another hour passed when suddenly, the whole underground shook madly.

A horror couldn't help but appear on my face. It is no earthquake, but someone had shaken the whole mine and Level 1 Sovereign couldn't do it.

I was thinking that when an aura felt vast as the sea with the weight of the mountain touched me, as spread through the whole. I know it is not an aura of Sovereign; I have seen an aura of sovereign and it is not.

It is at least an Earth Sovereign or maybe a Sky Sovereign; I don't know.

I am completely frozen by this aura. I could not move even an inch. While my mind is racing.

As far as I know, the Lovel family does not have an Earth Sovereign. Its leader is at the High level of the Sovereign stage, not even a Peak Sovereign, which the Lord of Kand city, from the Lovel family is.

Did they have to come today, just when I am escaping?

I hope whoever it is does not take any interest in me or destroy this mine, or I will be destroyed by it. I could survive collapse by the earthquake, but no direct attack from a High-level powerhouse.

They could melt the whole mine and me with it.

I was fretting over it when the powerful energy around me gathered on me, and I felt my world going blank.

Ahhhhh…

Before even my eyes became clear, I heard the painful screams. They were so painful that, that they have reminded me of the Grimms when they got harvested in my core.

I turned toward the screams, and when my eyes became clear a moment later, I saw a scene; I had not expected to see.

I saw stone-skin men, guards, cooks, and other people on a pole made of light, with thorns of light enveloping their whole bodies.

The vapors of blood could be seen coming out of their bodies as the light burned them, while they scream mournfully.

It took me a while to register their faces, and I saw Sart and other familiar faces, there were some that are unknown to me.

Around me, thousands of people gathered, all miners collared and uncollared. In front of me is a group of people, floating in the air, watching expressionlessly.

Only one person had an expression. She was crying while hugging a handsome young man.

She is Ranya.