UNLIMITED SPEED

Having spent multiple hours within the realm after sending Cudgel to the sky.

Noah recalled to have regretted his actions, but it seemed things worked out.

However, he couldn't deny the sheer amount of trouble his action had caused, after all, there was now a huge hole in the sky.

Cudgel's exit had resulted in probably the most powerful explosion he had ever experienced, and they had already gone a few hundred meters below the ocean's surface!

The impact had literally shattered even the water below the sky, as multiple sections of the black ocean suddenly went empty.

That event resulted in the scene that lay before Noah and his impromptu group.

Everyone sat on a large rock a few ten hundred meters in radius. The chunk of solid earth reminded him of the tall rocks found in canyons, only that this one was wet.

The expert's expressions being stern, they would occasionally glance at the ever-expanding hole of seeming doom above them.

Large cracks, probably kilometers in length spread out in every direction from a blackish-purple hole that could be seen from anywhere in that realm.

The horrendous sounds each crack released always forced them into clasping their ears with their hands.

Noah couldn't count how many times he had gone deaf during those extremely long hours even if it had only been two hours so far.

Heavy silence remained amid the experts, as everyone prepared for whatever the realm wanted to throw at them.

Possible ideas about the terrifying hole in the sky spread in their minds, only Noah knowing what exactly had caused it.

Some wondered if it was the realm falling apart, or something else; like an environmental hazard.

However, no one had ever heard of the sky falling apart in their multiple decades of life, leaving them at a great loss.

The piece of rock on which they sat, featured a series of worrying cracks, but there wasn't much the experts could do, after all the ground below them remained crawling with tens of horned worms!

It seemed they had arrived at a spawning point of sorts since every few minutes, around five horned worms would materialize.

Thankfully most weren't as large as the one Noah fought.

Only most.

Surprisingly the artificial beast had the same ability as a real magical beast, which was the ability to feast on anything that contained energy and become stronger due to it.

This simple and currently annoying feature allowed for three large worms probably twice the size Noah fought to be present below them.

The massive worms occasionally feasted on the new spawns; only allowing them to feast on each other when they needed more substantial nutrients.

The three were like the lords of that region since no other beast smaller in size approached them.

This of course favored the cultivators who weren't in the right state of mind to properly fight, but it also trapped them up there.

From the looks of things, the spawning rate had drastically increased which meant traveling the lands would most likely lead to death.

Thankfully the worms weren't smart enough to crawl up the over 500 meters tall stone, even if their sheer length could comfortably allow them fit its size inside their mouths.

'They are pretty dumb,' Noah concluded after watching their relationship with the world around them.

The beasts simply lazed around, not bothering to kill each other, only opting to eat the newly spawned beasts.

Although they featured something that real magical beasts possessed. The power of the worms wasn't increasing all that much.

Their power looked to have passed the halfway point of the middle-stage of tier 3.

Ariana alone seemed to hold that much power, not to talk of Noah who felt able to pummel them if he tried hard enough.

You might currently wonder why the experts felt threatened by the presence of the worms if they seemed to have the advantage in power.

That would be none other than because every newly spawned worm held almost that much power, the only difference being in their various size.

And unfortunately for them, there were already over fifty scouring down there.

The experts would be wiped out if they engaged In combat.

The fauna of that realm thrived in that chaos, so naturally, the experts were outnumbered.

The large piece of stone they sat on, occasionally trembled as a result of the movements of the worms, causing more cracks to spread.

Heaving a helpless sigh, Noah swept his gaze on the sitting experts and his eyes eventually fell on Ariana.

Her hair fluttered in the winds of that realm, and her blank eyes hinted at the worry hidden behind them.

Noah sat next to her, not minding the equally blank glances of the surrounding experts. He remained silent for a few seconds before eventually speaking.

"Do you feel pressure for being the leader of sorts?" Noah's words seemed to hit the spot since her expression clearly flickered at them.

"You don't have to worry, all of us here are capable of taking care of ourselves," Noah continued, gazing at the mesmerizing color of the expanding hole.

"Why even worry about a bunch of people who are only ready to save their skin," he paused, hearing her heave a sigh.

"I know, I know. But...." Her words faded.

"You still feel responsible for the group," Noah completed her words feeling a sense of disgust well up from deep inside him.

Her slight nod further heightened that feeling, but it wasn't directed at her. Rather Noah felt disgusted by himself.

Memories of his earlier life on Cregar played themselves, and he could immediately understand how naive and dumb he had been.

That state didn't seem natural to him now, but he couldn't lay his fingers on its cause.

"Where I come from I've always been at the forefront of a group. And my years as a tier-one and two cultivator weren't pleasant," she suddenly started, pulling Noah's attention.

"I've had friends get killed due to my wrong decisions and their deaths still haunt me till today," she spoke, her face radiating a tinge of sadness.

"Although most times the events were seemingly unavoidable, it still begged the question--"

"What would have happened if you hadn't taken those decisions," Noah completed her words, feeling his mood plummet.

The conversation reminded him mostly of James. 'What if I had declined that day,' Noah thought, feeling guilt trying to find its way into his mainstream mind.

Lifting her eyes to glance at Noah due to how well he seemed to understand her. Ariana felt surprised to find that a sad expression had appeared on his breath-taking face, and she unconsciously lost her breath at the scene.

Another few seconds of silence passed, the world seemingly fading into the background around them. The duo felt to be the only ones in the world at that moment as multiple thoughts flowed through their minds.

"I'm such a mood killer. I'm sorry for bothering you with my personal issues," Ariana apologized feeling genuinely guilty.

A smile bloomed on Noah's face at those words, and he couldn't help but conclude on the kind nature the lady before him, possessed.

"Why are you smiling!" Ariana exclaimed embarrassed, her loud voice catching the attention of the others.

"No reason in particular," Noah replied wondering how he could feel that free with her.

Ariana pouted in embarrassment, her former worry slowly beginning to vanish at Noah's company.

Whether it was due to his ever-confident aura, or his good looks. Or some hidden but unique attributes, Ariana felt drawn to the young man before her, even if she still felt unsure of him.

Their conversation continued for a while, Noah managing to surprise himself at how good he was at mundane topics.

Due to their chatty mode, the mood of the others couldn't help but lighten, and they too, soon engaged in a few dialogues.

Needless to say, something eventually changed at some point.

Three powerful roars suddenly spread throughout the region, followed by the appearance of three massive figures as large as the snake's beneath them.

Behind the overly large beasts were tens of the same species and all three packs moved towards the positions of the three worms, which in effect meant Noah's.