My SSS-Rank Clone Talent: I Level Up Endlessly!-Chapter 86: Death!? Dragon’s Lair! [24 Golden Tickets]

"I have to act fast."

Eryke the Third wanted to escape immediately.

He turned and bolted.

Only to find himself surrounded by Ghouls. Wherever his eyes fell, there were only more Ghouls, like a vast, unending sea.

"Is there no way out?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed his face. He struggled to maintain his composure.

He didn’t want to die. Not like this.

"I suffered so much just to survive that death forest... even faced the Outer God and now I’m supposed to die here?"

"No."

"I refuse!"

"I won’t accept this death!"

His helpless roar echoed through the air.

Regret?

He felt none for absorbing the pearl.

"Those who seize the opportunity in front of them are the ones who win. I took that chance, how could I possibly feel regret?"

His pupils locked forward, unwavering.

"But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to accept death."

Bang!

The giant had already reached him, slamming into him with immense force. Ghouls around them were torn apart, disintegrating in waves, only for more to surge in from the void beyond.

The lightning cloaking his body began to fade, piece by piece.

Awoo!

Just then, a dog’s howl echoed, so sharp and resonant it shook the entire area.

Eryke the Third turned, his left brow twitching violently as he saw the two-headed dog barreling toward him.

"This is just adding insult to injury..."

The beast charged with brutal force, crushing the unfortunate Ghouls beneath its paws as it came straight for him.

"It’s as if the universe is conspiring to kill me."

Eryke the Third felt it might be time to give up. He had no way out of this place and he had likely offended not one, but two incomprehensibly powerful beings.

So he let go. His body collapsed to the ground.

The surrounding Ghouls were ecstatic. They howled with twisted joy, swarming him from every imaginable angle.

But the moment they touched him, they turned to ash against the flickering lightning barrier encasing his body.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t hold much longer.

He stared blankly up at the crimson sky and opened his mouth.

"Ten."

The two-headed dog slammed its claws into the barrier and in an instant, the lightning dimmed dangerously low.

His left brows twitched even more violently, only replaced by a helpless expression:

"5"

The giant ghoul struck him hard.

"...2"

In the last of his breath, Eryke the Third felt all his memories till now. Not a lot of time had passed since he was away from the main body.

But all his memories were about death and death.

It truly felt like this.

Everything was trying to kill him, and he was completely unsafe in any place.

"Wait, why is this so?"

His pupils flickered as if coming to life.

The other clones didn’t face this terrifying condition. Although these two clones did have life-and-death scenarios, there was always a way out. But for him, he was already attacked by two beings...

People say comparison is a sin.

"I... Refuse!"

Veins bulged through his white’s as he roared in defiance.

Then, he vanished with a sharp pop.

"Eh?"

A stunned voice echoed through the void.

The air twisted and rippled, the surrounding space distorting before slowly revealing a figure cloaked in full armor, head to toe.

A skeleton.

Majestic and terrifying, blue flames danced around its bones, burning with eerie, regal intensity.

The Undead King.

"Where did that thing who stole my gift go?" the Undead King muttered, baffled.

For a rare moment... he was genuinely confused.

***

"Sigh... in the end, you had to summon me back."

Eryke the Third lay sprawled across a stretch of desolate sand, his ethereal black form ghostlike against the emptiness.

"Yeah, I couldn’t just abandon you, buddy. Cheer up."

The original Eryke shrugged with a small grin. "I sent you to the Martial World through world travel... then canceled the summon to pull you back here."

"I’m a failure," Eryke the Third muttered, gritting his teeth. He clenched his fists tightly. "Chun Ma and Drayken didn’t need your help, but I... I did."

"I needed you. And I might’ve dragged you into trouble too."

"..."

Eryke remained silent, his gaze fixed on his clone.

As the central hive mind, he didn’t need words to understand. He could feel exactly what Eryke the Third was going through.

"It’s fine. Besides, you aren’t exactly useless."

"What do you mean?"

Eryke the Third turned towards him with almost a shine in his eyes.

"You can search for food for me, you can go underground, and I am sure there will be more food there, which can help me significantly come out of the predicament."

"But what about that Outer God? He might be watching my movement even right now."

This was his main concern. Eryke the Third didn’t want to be teleported here because he was afraid that the main body would also be implicated.

"It’s fine, haha." Eryke shrugged. "Just find food for me. My body is already breaking down, and you could go to the Martial World again after that."

"Okay."

Eryke the Third rose to his feet and let his form fade into incorporeality, slipping beneath the sands in a swift, fluid motion.

For a while, there was only darkness.

Endless, consuming darkness. But then, he sensed something.

Not far ahead, a pocket of space opened up. He glided toward it without hesitation.

And what he saw left him stunned.

Gold glittered in every corner.

Treasures of all kinds littered the chamber: ornate weapons, radiant gems, ancient artifacts.

At the very center lay a massive nest, cradling two enormous eggs, each twice the size of a grown human, resting peacefully in a bed of warmth.

"A... dragon’s nest?"

Eryke the Third grinned.

Not only were there treasures scattered everywhere, but to the side, a separate chamber was there, the air within kept cool and fresh. A perfect place for storing food and their were countless foods.

"This could be perfect for the main body."

His body became ethereal again to deliver this news to Eryke.

"Thank you." Eryke was overjoyed when Eryke the Third reached the surface level but also sensed his thoughts, so he could only sigh and speak:

"So, which world do you want to go to?"

"Martial World. That world isn’t as complicated as the others, and I should have no trouble navigating it."

"Okay."