As far as I can see on both my left and right is the cliffside of other mountains, all sloping downward into the same deep valley.

Although the air is less dense with Demonic Energy up here, I can sense there are large pockets of close to zero energy down below in the shadows of the ravine. Above me, dark clouds fill the sky, and the iron smell is even stronger out here than within the cave. After careful consideration, I've come to the conclusion that the water is what gives off this odd smell.

With eyes full of curiosity, I start walking down a winding mountain path toward the bottom.

My feet crunch against the uneven ground, and the soggy red and purple shrubbery that grew inside the cave becomes even denser the further down the mountain I climb.

Every link between Ember and the outside world is completely severed right now. I don't dare activate any mana-based skills until I'm sure it's safe to do so, but just feeling the pressure around me, all my senses are screaming not to.

Almost 30 minutes pass as I slowly make my way down the mountain, the whole time I'm on high alert, but I've still yet to see a single monster in here.

"How odd..."

Usually, I'd be met with at least one monster mindlessly charging at me by now, but not a single one makes itself known.

The swirling purple and black energy thins out more and more the further down I get until eventually, it's non-existent. I step onto the flat ground to take in the world below with the ominous towering mountains I just left behind me.

There are streams of water that smell of metal that twist off into the open plain-like environment as far as I can see. The only plant life grows along the water's edge in small clumps.

There are awkward jagged mounds of dirt and rock that rise up tens of meters in the air with the occasional tree devoid of leaves. None of them grow much higher than 5 meters in height.

An invisible pressure very similar to the one I felt when entering the portal returns as I continue taking steps forward to explore.

The ground becomes softer the further in I travel, and the smell of iron starts to turn sour. The landscape stays exactly the same as I leave the dark mountains behind. The air is still, and the only noises I can hear are my own heartbeat, wet footsteps, and the trickling water of the streams that have separated off in many directions.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I finally see something out of place.

A large tablet rests out in the open. It's made of a lighter grey-colored rock that contrasts the purple and black landscape.

The closer I get to it, the more questions I have.

Three holes are chiseled out in the large stone, and once I'm close enough, its size is much more impressive. The tablet stands over 3 times as tall as me, and upon further inspection, each of the holes looks like they can fit a key.

The closer I get, the louder my heart beats in my chest. I place a hand on the cool stone, then run my fingers up and down its smooth surface, but nothing happens.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I'm left in silence, and take my hand off the tablet with a disappointed expression.

However, the moment I do, it immediately pulses light purple one time before going dormant again. It was so sudden and without warning or any consequence that if I blinked, I could have missed it.

I start to circle it with a tightened gaze, questioning if that purple pulse was my imagination or not. My eyes scan the tablet again and again, looking for any other markings or clues, but come up with nothing.

I let out a sigh and look off deeper into the open plain and talk aloud to myself.

"Is this place abandoned...? I must be missing something."

Less than half a minute later, I start to feel the ground rumble beneath my feet. At the same time, dozens of black figures appear on the horizon.

I try to use my manipulation skill to tell how strong they are, but being so close together, it's nearly impossible to tell.

Nevertheless, I step forward to meet the wave of incoming monsters. I was starting to think this place was really empty, so some signs of life inside is a good thing.

"Better late than never."

The ground shakes more, and water that soaks the wetlands beneath my feet starts to ripple and splash around the closer the figures get. I stand in a fighting stance, channeling demonic energy through my body and squinting to get a closer look as they continue to approach at a steady speed.

"A stampede...?"

Once within visual range, the black horns and the muscular bodies of dozens of bulls on all fours charge toward me. Their eyes are glowing red, and their minds are set on one task: attacking me.

Now that they're within my manipulation range, I can feel that each of the charging bulls has around 30 to 40 units of energy inside them. So, they'll most likely have the average strength of a level 350 monster.

Fighting without a dagger in hand is tough, but with opponents of this strength, I'm a bit more confident.

I run forward with energy coursing through my body, leaving a faint trail of purple and black refined energy behind me.

The bulls don't flinch at my sudden charge; they continue their rampage forward until we finally meet in the center of the wide-open wetlands. Now that we're closer, I count 44 of them in total.

"Let's do this."

Quickly and carefully, I bob and weave through the charging beasts. They have a very hard time changing directions, so as long as my movements are fast and unpredictable, I'm not worried about getting hit by their horns.

A demonic energy-imbued punch to the side is enough to knock one over, and even send blood flying, but surprisingly it isn't enough to kill the first couple that I launch attacks at.

"Tough ones, aren't you..."

Seeing this fail, I resort to releasing streams of black energy from my hands in thin blades, just like I attempted the first time fighting against wolves.

These monsters are much stronger, so I up the strength on my energy blades just a bit. Roughly 5 concentrated units in a slash are just enough to cleanly cut a bull deep enough in a vital point to kill it. There's only one downside. I have to be within about 3-4 meters of range for these attacks to be dense enough to do any damage. When further away, the refined energy disperses into ineffective mist before it hits the target.

With my natural agility and speed advantage, this is not a crippling problem to have.

The pack starts to grunt loudly and roar as their members are picked off one by one. Absorbing the fallen bulls' demonic energy isn't a simple task while dozens are still charging at me, so I resort to punching those that come near while I refill my core.

Just 3 minutes pass, and the entire herd is dead on the damp floor, and the excess energy dissolves into the sky.

I breathe heavily and stare down at my bloodied fists and wait for the monsters around me to completely disappear.

As they do, small black glossy stones are left behind. I try to use all my senses to figure out what's so special about these stones, but just like the last few times, they appear to be just tiny obsidian-colored pebbles with no unique attributes.

Once I begin picking them up, a roar echoes through the wetlands, and the air pressure completely shifts.

A single figure comes running toward me from the same direction as the bulls. It has the same black horns, bulky body, and red eyes. However, this one stands on two legs, wields a long sword, and around its neck, there's a glowing purple key.