Absolute Cheater - Chapter 496
Chapter 496: Wilds
Every few minutes, something tried to reach him.
A winged beast burst from the treetops, screeching loudly.Asher didn’t even turn his head.
A small flick of his aura cut through the creature before it got close, and its body dropped back into the forest below.
Another creature—this one larger, with four glowing eyes—leapt from a mountain ledge and tried to pounce into his path.
Asher kept flying.
The beast hit a wall of invisible pressure around him and was crushed instantly, turning into ash before it fell.
Lower down, a pack of night-stalker hounds sensed his presence and tried to chase him, their howls echoing through the trees. But they couldn’t even get within ten meters. The pressure of his aura alone flattened them to the ground.
Nothing slowed him.
Nothing reached him.
The sky was dark, the land beneath even darker, but Asher moved forward steadily—an unbroken line of motion across the night.
He didn’t stop until the familiar signs of civilization disappeared completely.
Dense fog began creeping along the ground below.The forests turned twisted, overgrown, almost unnatural.
He saw the broken remains of a hunting camp far beneath him—tents torn apart, tools scattered, no bodies in sight.
Shattergrove territory.
Asher slowed down, descending toward the edge of the corrupted forest. His feet touched the ground without a sound.
The night was silent.
Too silent.
He looked forward into the dark trees.
“…I’m here,” he said quietly.
“…I’m here,” Asher said quietly.
The words disappeared into the still air.
He stepped forward, entering the crooked black trees. The ground turned soft and wet under his boots, and the swamp smell thickened almost immediately. The deeper he walked, the more twisted the vegetation became—roots like claws, branches bending in unnatural angles.
“Whole place looks dead,” Asher muttered, eyes scanning left and right. “No signs of any outer gods or higher beings. Just filth.”
A bug-like creature crawled toward him.
He stepped on it without looking.
Another shadow jumped from a tree.He flicked his fingers, and it burst apart.
Everything that tried to get near him died instantly—either cut down or crushed by his aura before it even came close. He didn’t slow down or react much. He just kept walking deeper and deeper into the swamp.
“Nothing strong so far,” he said under his breath.
He closed his eyes for a moment and activated Absolute Appraisal.
A thin layer of energy spread out from him like a pulse.
The swamp responded—showing him the layout, the movement of beasts, the corrupted water flow… and something else.
Asher’s eyes snapped open.
“…Found it.”
It was underground.Not far from the center of the swamp.A hidden doorway buried beneath layers of muck and stagnant water.
He followed the signal, moving through the fog until he reached the thickest part of the swamp. The water darkened into a pitch-black pool that looked bottomless.
Asher stopped at the edge.
“So that’s where you’re hiding,” he said.
He didn’t hesitate.
He stepped directly into the water.
The swamp swallowed him immediately.First up to his knees.Then his waist.Then his chest.
By the time the murky water reached his neck, he still hadn’t reached the doorway.
“Tch. Annoying.”
He kept sinking.
Ten feet.Fifty feet.A hundred feet.
He pushed deeper without effort, letting the swamp water roll off him as if his body wasn’t even really touching it.
Two hundred feet.Still nothing.
Three hundred feet.
Finally—his foot hit something solid.
He glanced down through the darkness.
A stone platform.
“About time,” he said quietly.
He let the rest of his body lower until he stood fully on the platform at the bottom of the swamp. Even here, the water couldn’t touch him—his aura kept a small space around his body completely clear.
The hidden door was in front of him now—a massive circular gate covered in unknown symbols, glowing faintly in the dark water.
Asher stared at it flatly.
“Is this a temple or a failed lake dungeon?” he muttered. “Either way, it’s ugly.”
He stepped forward and placed his hand on the center of the gate.
A vibration shook the water as the ancient mechanism reacted to his touch.
It tried to kill Asher the moment the gate opened.
But a single pulse of mana from him shattered every mechanism inside the doorway. Metal snapped, runes cracked, and the defensive array collapsed instantly.
Asher walked in without slowing down.
The swamp water stayed outside, held back by an invisible field. Inside, everything was dry.
The place looked old—blue-skinned stone walls, green glowing patterns, and a huge underground city built from ancient metal. Broken towers, large gate-bridges, and stone pillars filled the area.
“What is this place… a teleport hub?” Asher muttered as he scanned the ruins.
But then two shapes stepped out from the shadows.
Two demons.
They looked nothing like the common corrupted beasts outside. These demons had dark skin, sharp features, twisted black horns, and chaotic mana swirling faintly around their bodies. Their eyes glowed like red embers.
Asher clicked his tongue.
“Guess this really was a base of a demon god,” he said quietly. “The demons here look different… probably elite guards.”
The demons hissed and immediately attacked.
Asher didn’t move.
He simply raised a hand.
A small wave of pressure burst outward.
Both demons were crushed flat into the floor, their bodies snapping like dry branches.
He stepped over them and continued deeper into the underground city.
The deeper he walked, the clearer the structure became. This wasn’t just a city—it was a military fortress. Long tunnels, fortified walls, sealed chambers. Many were collapsed or burned, like there had been a massive battle long ago.
Asher reached a large central hall with tall pillars and a cracked sigil on the ceiling.
He knelt briefly and touched the ground.
The stone was scorched with mana burns.
“Someone fought here recently,” he muttered. “Not humans… and not demons.”
He stood and looked forward.
A faint sound echoed deeper inside.
Heavy footsteps.
Dragging chains.
Asher’s eyes sharpened.
Something large was coming closer.