Chapter 443 - 439: Attack Of Shadows

"Are you really a goddess, or Am I being pranked here?" Ryder asked, wondering if Janus was messing with him. Why else would the girl's voice sound so familiar? 

"Of course, it would sound familiar. You don't remember, but there's still a part inside you that knows..." Eliena answered. Her brows arched up as a smile bloomed on her face.

"I don't remember?" Ryder asked, wondering what she was talking about. "What don't I remember? My memory is pretty good, but I do forget people I meet once in a while. Are you really not a goddess and a person I met before?" 

The Goddess of Life and Death chuckled at Ryder's confusion. She had never seen Ryder confused in his previous life. He was always a confident guy who seemed like he had everything in control. Watching him look confused was a refreshing sight which she found hilarious.

It was only made better due to the fact that she was able to see him and his expressions through the pond.

She walked closer to the Pond to get a closer view of Ryder.

After sitting down on the edge of the pond, the woman started answering, "I am-"

Beep... Beep... Beep...

She had just started answering when she heard the beeping sound. 

"Your time is over. The connection is cut. He can't hear you now," Janus answered as he walked closer to her. He took the phone from her hand, which disappeared in his hand.

"No, please. Give me one more minute... I'll give you ten more pills like that!" Eliena protested as she stood up eagerly. She didn't wish to stop now. She wanted to talk more with Ryder. 

"I am sorry, but I can't. I myself don't talk to him for over a minute at a time. I don't want his existence to be exposed. Talking for long will risk him. This was all the time I could give you. I had already informed you about it in advance," Janus answered, shaking his head. 

It was unclear if it was actually the truth or if he was making an excuse since his face was expressionless, making it tough to judge.

Eliena breathed in and breathed out, trying to calm herself. A sigh escaped her lips. "You are right. I was being stupid."

She turned back to gaze at the face of Ryder as a sad smile covered her beautiful face, making her seem more melancholic.

"I am happy that he is alive. Even if he doesn't remember. I'm also glad to know that he is still the same person from inside. He didn't forget my voice even after reincarnation," the Goddess of Life and Death muttered as she sighed.

...

Janus didn't say anything and simply closed her eyes.

"Hello? Hello? Hmm?" Ryder kept wondering why he couldn't hear the voice anymore. He gazed at the screen of the Deity Phone.

"Oh, a minute is over... It was not bad to talk to her, though. Too bad the call got disconnected just when she was about to tell me about Janus' prank and who she is," he let out as he realized the reason behind disconnection. The warning already said that he could only talk for a minute. 

[Mission Completed]

[Life Pill received]

"Good. Let's see what this thing is..." Ryder alluded as he opened his inventory. He could see a green pill in one of the slots.

Tap!

After tapping on the pill, he noticed two options becoming available.

[Life Pill]

[Withdraw]        [Details]

He didn't wish to bring it out and only to see its details, so he tapped on the details.

[Name: Life Pill]

[Description: A magical pill created by the Goddess of Life and Death with her essence. It is said to be a godly item that can even bring the dead back to life once placed inside their mouth]

[Item Grade: God Grade]

[Item Type: One-time Consumable Item]

[Usage: Once placed inside the mouth of the dead person, it will bring that person back to life]

[Warning: Only effective if placed inside the mouth of the dead person within 5 minutes of their death]

[Limitation: A headless body won't be revived]

[Limitation: Can only be used on humans]

"Interesting item. So it's like one added life. Honestly, I can't use it on myself since I'll be revived anyway. My healing is pretty good, and my time travel also kicks in unintentionally if I run out of my healing chances and die. So it's of no use to me, but I can help someone close to me if I ever need it. Not a bad item indeed," He admitted.

"I didn't find anyone here. Not even any beasts are nearby. It's strange."

Rale came back to Ryder, informing him about his lack of findings.

"As I said, there is no one here. It's either an accident or a spirit. Just be careful," Ryder said as he placed his hand on the trunk of the tree and stood up.

"Let's be on our way. The faster we finish, the better it'll be for us," he let out as he resumed the trip to find prey.

After walking for over close to half an hour, they finally found a beast that was fit to be a prey.

It was a bear that had an Armor on its chest.

Using All-Seer, Ryder found out the name of the bear and its level. 

"There is one. It's a level 170 Stone Armored Bear. I'll get its HP down. You stay ready to attack!" He informed the Diamond Tiger Beast before he flew straight ahead towards the Bear.

Ryder had only flown for a second when he sensed something. He could see a shadow moving from the bushes towards the Diamond Tiger Beast. Its speed was so fast that Ryder could only see a blurry shadow that was moving like lightning.

"Another beast is here! Rale, watch out!" Ryder yelled to warn Rale, but Rale had already noticed the shadow.

Rale flew towards the shadow instead as he bawled up a fist to punch the shadow when he got in its close proximity. 

Ryder had also stopped as he focused more on the shadow, ignoring the bear.

Rawwwr!

Ryder's Shout had attracted the attention of the bear as well, who started running towards Ryder with a loud roar of his own. 

Ryder took his glance off of the shadow for a brief second as he raised his hand towards the Stone-Armored Bear.

"Shadow Ball!" He said softly. A black ball of shadow appeared before his palm, which shot out straight towards the Stone Armored Bear.

The shadow ball hit the chest of the Stone Armored Bear, breaking his strong looking armor while leaving a wound behind; however, the Armor had taken most of the blow. Thus the near wasn't harmed much.

The bear couldn't prevent himself from being pushed back because of the impact, though. 

"Raawrrr!" It roared wildly, seeming to be even more enraged. 

"Flame Blast!"

Without giving it another chance, Ryder used another elemental attack, spending his mana. 

A ball of raging hot flame appeared near his hand, which shot straight towards the Stone Armored Bear. 

It was a properly planned attack. The Shadow Ball to break the Armor and the Flame blast to blow up the bear who didn't have the protection of the Armor to end the beast fast without wasting much time. 

The Flame ball landed on the chest of the Bear. It blew up into a big cloud of flames as soon as it touched the chest of the near. The cloud of flames covered the bear, his fur catching on fire.

Raaaa!

The bear roared in pain as its Hp started sinking like it was a glass of water which was being drunk from by a thirsty person. 

Ryder didn't even waste time watching the near after the attack since he was certain that the bear wouldn't come for him. It didn't even take a few seconds before the Bear died.

Ryder gained the entire experience since he was the only person who had attacked.

[Level up]

The level gain notification resounded in his head, which was effectively ignored by him as he focused on Rale.

Rale reached the shadow and punched out with all his strength. Just as Rale's fist reached near the shadow, the shadow disappeared if it appeared behind Rale and continued speeding towards the Diamond Tiger Beast.

"Heck, it's targeting the little guy," Ryder let out, stunned. 

He also flew towards the Diamond Tiger Beast. 

Ryder reached near the Diamond Tiger Beast a few moments before the shadow could.

He pulled out the knife from his pants. The knife started changing shape and took the shape of a scythe. It was none other than the Moon-scythe, which he was carrying as a knife since it was easy to carry that way because of its shape changing abilities.

As the Moon Scythe returned to its original position, Ryder swung it towards the shadow that had reached dangerously close to them.