Michael slid on the ground for less than a second, trying his best to keep his balance. However, he failed. His feet left the ground as he flew to the side. In mid-air, another arrow slammed straight into his chest, flinging him even faster. With gritted teeth, he managed to slam his feet back onto the ground and straighten his back. The reward for his efforts was simply an arrow straight to the forehead. The balance he’d worked so hard to recover was destroyed once again.


    As he flipped through the air, Michael tried to grasp his situation.


    There’s more than one enemy.


    Given the rate at which the arrows had been shot, it would be better to assume that there were two or more Forgotten shooting at him. If there was only a single enemy capable of shooting this fast, he would be in even deeper shit. His Shield hadn’t been broken because he’d unceasingly fed it mana, but he needed to react. Cursing under his breath, Michael landed and immediately tried to expand his Shield, as he had done before.


    The Mana Shield slowly grew into a spherical shape, only for another arrow to slam into it and make Michael shake. His gaze zeroed in on the two archers many meters ahead. Both were dark elves; the armor on the left one’s chest had been broken to reveal a large hole. The other one’s throat had been cleanly cut. Just like the other Forgotten, white glowing tears streamed out of their eyes.


    Michael gathered his strength. A moment later, he shot forward with Lightspeed. It was as if time had slowed down. The arrows flying through the air became clearer. Mana gathered around them, turning them into veritable missiles.


    But he could see them.


    Michael ran forward, stepping right into the space between the two projectiles. His Shield collapsed due to his inability to keep it stable at this speed, but that only meant that he was now free to attack. With pure light still coursing through his veins, he waved his wand.


    “Mana Wave.”


    The blue half-moon took shape as the two Forgotten nocked an arrow each. Michael fed as much mana as he could into it, making the Wave expand rapidly as it flew through the air. Unfazed, both Forgotten jumped up and took aim. He tilted his wand upward. The Mana Wave curved its trajectory and followed the dark elves’ movements. At that moment, before the Wave reached them, both released their arrows. The projectiles pierced through the air like guided missiles, clearly even stronger than the previous ones. Energy swirled around them in the shape of a miniature storm that only made them faster.


    Focus.


    The warmth of the light flowing within him, the movement of the atmosphere as the arrows flew toward him, the ripples throughout mana itself. Everything was perceived with as much clarity as possible. Michael dashed to the side as quickly as he could without disturbing his spell. The Wave reached the lower body of the Forgotten on the left first. It touched his thighs and seared through skin and muscle, severing its legs entirely. However, the dark elf only nocked another arrow as it fell.


    The other Forgotten twisted his body in the air, pulling his legs up. The Mana Wave passed him by uselessly. Michael immediately dismissed the spell, letting the mana melt back into the atmosphere. He pointed at the Forgotten without a lower body as he dodged another arrow, aware of the strain Lightspeed placed in his body.


    “Mana Missile.”


    The orb of mana coalesced in front of his staff, then shot through the air as its shape changed into a large arrow. The Missile reached the first Forgotten before it even touched the ground. Michael didn’t stop to see the results of his attack. Empowered by Lightspeed, he ducked just in time to avoid a projectile. His gaze zeroed in on the second Forgotten, who was still unharmed. The dark elf was pulling out the last arrow in its quiver. Michael pointed his staff at him and started chanting.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The sound of flesh and bone melting and burning into nothingness reached his ears, but he didn’t stop. He finished at the same time that the second Forgotten pulled back his bowstring.


    “Earth Spike.”


    The ground rippled as the dark elf released the arrow. It flew through the air, but Lightspeed allowed Michael to narrowly dodge it. A moment later, twin Earth Spikes tore their way out of the stone and reached the Forgotten’s legs just as he unsheathed the dagger on his waist and started running toward Michael. The spikes pierced through muscle and bone, crippling the dark elf in a single move. Michael let out a breath and pointed his staff at the falling Forgotten.


    “Mana Missile.”


    Twin Missiles took shape and shot toward the Forgotten, then destroyed his head completely. Michael watched the collapsed corpse before turning to the System notifications floating in front of him. After confirming once more that both dark elves had been killed, he nodded to himself and stopped channeling Lightspeed. The light disappeared from within him, reducing the strain on his muscles and bones. He glanced at the corpses one last time before looking forward.


    Follow the houses.


    Now that he had Clear Sight, he could afford to go deeper into the Villages that had been devoured by the Curse. At the same time, there was something he wanted to find out. He ran to the nearest wooden house, which looked similar to the ones in Bluestone Village. It was eerily pristine, as if the world around it hadn’t been consumed by the Curse.


    Keeping his guard up, Michael slowly pushed the door open and entered the house after waiting for a response from Danger Sense. His gaze was immediately drawn to the middle of the house.


    …What is that?


    Floating in the air was an apple-sized sphere of pure white light. Michael furrowed his brow before realization dawned upon him. The light’s hue was the exact same as the glowing tears that leaked out of the eyes of the Forgotten, to the point it wouldn’t be surprising if every Forgotten had a similar sphere inside them. But what did that mean?


    The Curse is called the Curse of Darkness.


    The sphere of light floated peacefully in the air, even though it was the antithesis of the Curse’s nature. It shouldn’t exist in this environment, but here it was. Michael approached the glowing sphere cautiously. It didn’t react to his presence at all. He momentarily wondered if he should channel his Blessing to try and make it react, but judged that it would be too risky. In the end, he settled for only touching the sphere.


    The sphere glowed brighter the moment his finger reached it. He blinked, but it was too fast for him to react. It broke out of its set shape, flowing like water, and sank into his fingertips. A moment later, a System window appeared in front of him.


    [The effects of the Curse of Darkness on you have marginally decreased.]


    “Oh, so that’s what this is about.”


    Michael opened his Status Window and checked his stats. As expected, they had increased by one or two. The sphere had reduced the nerf to his stats.


    “That settles it, then.”


    He would explore the Consumed Territory and go into every house he could find, even if only to find more spheres of light that could reduce the Curse’s effects and allow him to defeat the Forgotten more easily. He still remembered what Tairy had told him – the houses could also contain equipment and Free Stat Points. By themselves, the houses already made tackling the Consumed Territory worth it, even if it meant investing more time into the exploration.


    I have a month.


    During that time, he needed to become strong enough to hopefully clear the Abyss, but as long as he ended up stronger than before, it would be fine even if he couldn’t do it. Unwilling to waste more time with his thoughts, Michael strode out of the wooden house and immediately looked at the other nearest one.


    He walked toward it tentatively, his eyes darting around, expecting an attack. Danger Sense didn’t react to anything, but he didn’t let his guard down. Nothing happened. He reached the next house and entered it, shutting the door behind him. His gaze was immediately drawn to the blue sphere of light floating in the middle of the empty room. Michael hurriedly walked up to it and touched it.


    [You have received three Free Stat Points.]


    Michael smiled.


    Don’t mind if I do.


    He left the house, searching for his next destination. That was when he froze in place as he looked around.


    …It’s darker.


    The difference was subtle, but it definitely existed. The Consumed Territory around him didn’t look as clear as when he’d just entered.


    So this is what Sullivan meant.


    He finally understood why the dark elf had stressed the importance of returning to Bluestone to get Clear Sight again. Still, Michael felt like he could keep going. Visibility hadn’t decreased by too much just yet. He took a deep breath before powering onward.


    It took less than ten minutes to run into the next Forgotten.