Chapter 279: Layer 2

The flight of stairs consisted of 10 steps, followed by a platform and another ten steps in the opposite direction. There were four such loops, with the fifth only having 10 steps.

Jyorta had turned around on the platform after the fourth loop when he was assaulted by intense heat. The heat was unbearable, hurting his eyes in a matter of seconds. Jyorta made some changes to his barrier, shielding himself from the heat.

He noted an increase in his psychic energy expenditure, sighing in helplessness. There were only 10 steps to the second layer. Though, sand covered the area after four steps, filling up the region. The moment Jyorta landed on the fourth step and had just stepped on the sands with his right leg, his instincts warned him. He instantly retracted his foot.

He didn't find any souls in his range, activating his domain to detect if he could find anything amiss. A second later, his back was covered by cold sweat, his arms feeling goosebumps once again. 'A moment's carelessness will kill me.'

Sand only existed on the top layer. 20 centimetres underneath was a hollow area, proceeding deep under. Probably at the end of it existed a Frenzy Beast, waiting for its prey. Had Jyorta taken a step, he would have fallen into its clutches.

It would have been too late by then to save him. Despite having filtered out the heat, sweat still formed on his forehead. Jyorta wiped them off as he took in a deep breath, noticing his psychic energy expenditure had increased slightly.

The aura in the second layer was a notch more intense than layer 1. Early to mid Tier 1 Frenzy Beasts were on the first layer while mid to late Tier 1 Frenzy Beasts were on the second layer. On the third layer were peak Tier 1 and early Tier 2 Frenzy Beasts.

On the fourth layer were Frenzy Beasts at mid Tier 2 while most of the Frenzy Beasts on the fifth level were at the peak of Tier 2. Occasionally, there might even be Frenzy Beasts that would attempt a breakthrough to Tier 3.

Therefore, the lower he went, the stronger the aura lingering in the air. From the third layer onwards, he would face waves of aura wafting out from numerous Frenzy Beasts, making it a treacherous region to tread through.

'I guess I can't exercise maximum stealth here. After all, the very foothold under me could be fake.' Jyorta sighed, using his stronger psychic arm to pull out a spindle.

It hovered before him, pointing one of its sharp ends at the sand layer. In the meantime, he controlled the Two-Faced Firefly, making it land on his shoulder. It then curled up and began to doze off.

'Hallucination is a frightening weapon to use. Moreover, in my hands, thanks to the blue soul, its effect is on a whole different level.' Jyorta thought, feeling his accumulation and advantages come into effect one after another.

The nurse lady, Vaika had to simulate everything while using the aura personification of hallucination, having to greatly concentrate. But in his case, he could steadily prepare numerous scenarios using his blue soul, creating memory fragments that conformed to each situation. All he needed were some slight tweaks depending on the situation at hand and he would end up with effects far surpassing his Tier.

With a thought, he made the spindle spin, increasing its rpm to his current max without an issue. He still had a long way to go to handle the max rpm of his psychic arm's capability, but the current speeds were still deadly enough.

The spindle flew into the sand, throwing off particles of sand as a result of its rotation, drilling through. The moment it punctured the top layer, the entire area caved in.

"Holy Shit!" Jyorta exclaimed in shock, the shout involuntary. As the sand area before him caved in, it seemed to have caused a chain reaction, causing three more areas beyond to cave in. Moreover, the three areas were lined up horizontally, taking up all the width of the path.

No matter which direction Jyorta chose to traverse, he would have fallen into the trap. Within the next second, three Crust-Mantles climbed out from the exposed holes. They looked around, wishing to find the culprit that had collapsed their traps.

Jyorta held his spindle in his hand while forming the barrier with his stronger psychic arm. he decided to wait for some time and observe the state of things first. After all, this was his first time in the second layer.

The Crust-Mantles looked around, failing to find anyone through their senses, letting out faint screeches in anger. Jyorta peered down the hole before him, failing to find anything inside. It seemed to be a vacant hole.

Suddenly, he noticed many souls crawl up from within the hole. Jyorta immediately climbed up the steps, watching more than 20 creatures appear.

The second layer was well lit, as if it was noon. It was the reason he allowed the Two-Faced Firefly to rest on his shoulder.

After a glance at the newcomers, he immediately identified them. 'Steel Porcupines.'

They were named porcupines, but their bodies were serpentine, resembling snakes. Their head portion resembled a porcupine in external appearance alone. Covered on their backs, spanning from their head to half their length were numerous spikes.

The spikes weren't simply rigid objects they carried around as a weapon. They were like feelers, capable of bending when needed. Their lengths also allowed them to naturally sense any disturbance in the sands they were burrowed into.

The Steel Porcupines arrived on the surface and noticed the three Crust-Mantles. Followed by hissing sounds, they immediately attacked the Crust-Mantles, shooting forth numerous spikes from their back.

Each spike was 20-30 centimetres long, while some spanned almost a metre in length, trailing from the head to the tail of the Steel Porcupines. The Steel Porcupines kept the long spikes as a reserve while shooting the remaining.

Each spike flew like an arrow, accurately impacting the vulnerable areas of the Crust-Mantles.

Before they could even react, they were showered by the spikes. Two seconds later, the Crust-Mantles dropped dead one by one.

The Steel Porcupines crawled their way towards their dead foes, grabbing onto the spikes lodged in their bodies. Followed by a superhuman feat of moving weight many times their own, they began to pull the massive bodies of the Crust-Mantles.

Within 15 seconds, they dropped the three Crust-Mantles in the hole before the flight of stairs, proceeding to follow after while covering it up with a layer of sand. The whole process was executed with expert precision.

They aimed their attacks on vulnerable places, not giving their foes the breather to resist or retaliate. Once they finished, they cleaned up the scene and disappeared with their spoils of victory.

'It is no wonder Crust-Mantles are placed at the bottom of the hierarchy, despite their menacing appearance. If not for the reason they had been created, I too wouldn't have bothered with them.' Jyorta sighed, gazing at a large murkiness in his blue soul.

It was all the semi-solid murkiness he obtained from the Crust-Mantles while they were being dragged by the Steel Porcupines. Since they had just died, their souls were beginning to collapse but hadn't completely collapsed. Such a situation reduced the energy he had to use to invade their souls and capture the memory fragments he needed.

He used a soul husk to store them in, sealing them immediately to prevent any leakage. Setting it aside on one corner of the blue soul, Jyorta took hurried steps on the sand, having already noted the safe footholds thanks to the previous battle.

Walking on the dry, loose sand proved to be more difficult than he had expected. The sand was fine, loosely packed to the extent a mild wind could easily lift a huge volume of them. Each of his step sunk until knee depth, making it difficult to walk.

Even by walking just 10 steps, he had grown tired. 'The bodies of Espers are weak. So, I shouldn't exhaust myself in this manner.'

Jyorta glanced at the Two-Faced Firefly sleeping on his shoulder, flashing a devilish grin. He unleashed his domain, walking towards a pit covered by a thin layer of sand. His spindle spun and penetrated it, causing the top layer to collapse.

A second later, a Crust Mantle climbed out from within.

Jyorta raised his right hand, pointing the index finger at the ceiling. He placed he left palm on his forehead, making the fingers lightly rustle his hair, imitating a pose that he had seen many times in his previous life.

He pointed his right at the Crust-Mantle that had climbed out, shouting in excitement. "Pokemon, I choose you!"

Aura personification—Hallucination!

"Come out, Crust-Mantle!"

The Crust-Mantle crouched before him, allowing him to climb on its back. Jyorta grabbed hold of a protrusion on its exoskeleton armour for support, watching the Crust-Mantle slowly move forward.

The moment he sat on its back, Jyorta frowned in thought, 'It is too high, preventing me from sensing the situation underground.'

He didn't sit comfortably on it, remaining in a posture that allowed him to leap back at a moment's notice. The moment the Crust-Mantle stepped on a trap, he wished to leap back.

But on another note, that was his objective too. He wanted to pull out all the Crust-Mantles he came across. That way, he would have enough memory fragments to picturise the entire plan of the four Ancestors.

'Either way, it works in my favour.'

It was the second layer, occupied by only Tier 1 Frenzy Beasts. It gave him the room to use his aura personifications to his advantage. In the off chance he chanced upon a Tier 2 Frenzy Beast, he had the means to kill it.

"Hallucination is a frightening weapon indeed!"