CHAPTER 88: CRY FOR HELP

Harry stored the Soul Judgement Sword in the system space in dejection.

The sword was the reason he had been unable to use the Soul Eater skill.

Every beast he killed with the sword was missing its soul, as if the corpse had never possessed one in the first place.

To be honest, he felt relieved by this revelation. At least now he knew that the research papers he found in the ring—left behind by the Soul Clan leader—were legitimate.

According to them, the sword stores souls in it and would allow a person to assimilate soul energy and improve their cultivation.

It didn’t seem too different from the Soul Eater skill.

"Did he create the Soul Eater skill by taking inspiration from this sword?" Harry pondered. It very well could be true.

The only difference between the swords method and soul eater was soul eater’s painful and devious drawback.

Harry still needed to find a way to assimilate the energy from the sword. He hadn’t tried anything yet, as he had been in cycle constant battle.

He stood up. Time was running out, and his progress had already staggering.

He had two beast crystals from level seven Behemoths.

He didn’t know how many days had passed, but fortunately, he had something that could tell him exactly that.

---

[Beast Space: Level 1]

Store your contract beasts inside.

Only forced contract beasts can be stored without permission; for normal contract beasts, you must obtain consent. They can exit at will.

Perks: +100% recovery rate

[Maintain Cost: Three Elemental Master Level Eight Beast Crystals]

Time remaining: 9 Days 23 Hours 59 Minutes 46 Seconds

---

"Oh lord, only nine days remaining," Harry cursed. He had already fed the system once with three level six crystals to maintain the space, but now that Wolfie had leveled up, the maintenance cost had also increased.

He had zero level eight crystals in hand. He wasn’t sure if he could even get them in time.

What frightened him more was the fact that the penalty for failing to pay the cost wasn’t mentioned. And knowing how the system worked, there was no way he would escape without consequences.

If he had known the penalty, he could have prepared. But now, everything was vague.

What if he lost his skills? Or worse—what if the system took his items, like the beast space itself?

He didn’t know if that was possible, but he believed that if the system could give something, then it could surely take it back.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. The hard part was that he hadn’t found many level eight beasts—and the few he had found were now lost.

He placed the corpses into the Beast Space. He could still use one of the beasts that hadn’t been killed by the cursed sword.

He summoned Wolfie, jumped on its back, and proceeded with his plan to cross the mountain range.

The wolf sneered, clearly displeased by recent events. It had barely gotten a chance to kill anything.

"This dumb human... why is he so adamant about killing beasts himself?" Wolfie couldn’t understand it. He was rarely summoned and mostly just used for travel.

"Why do I always have to tell you to start walking? Are you that dumb?" Harry slapped the wolf on the neck.

The wolf growled but obeyed, walking across ground coated with a fresh layer of cooled magma. There were no other beasts in sight.

They continued walking around the volcano, trying to cross it. But as they crested the ridge and looked beyond—

"More mountains..." Harry sighed in frustration. But then, in the distance, he noticed a dry plant.

"Wait... maybe it’s not that bad," he muttered, his hope rekindled.

Motivated, he moved in that direction.

The ground was beginning to show signs of life. First came dry plants, then the stone shifted into sand.

Soon, he saw green plants in the distance.

The green color was soothing—refreshing to the eyes.

The last time he had seen a forest this green was about twenty days ago. A smile bloomed on his otherwise ordinary face.

Ordinary, yes—but not his real one.

Tectonic plate movements were so common on this planet that Harry hardly noticed them anymore.

With slow and steady steps, Harry continued, though he was agitated.

When his feet finally touched grass, Harry felt like he was in seventh heaven. Nostalgia hit him hard—even though it had only been a few weeks.

Still, his main focus was to find the whereabouts of other students. He didn’t waste time. The trees were smaller than usual, and the plants unfamiliar.

As he walked, surrounded by trees, he heard a voice.

"Help... help me..."

It sounded like a girl.

Harry ran in the direction of the voice, drawing his sword. But when he looked ahead, the area was empty.

He was sure the voice had come from this direction.

"Ahhh... please help me..."

The voice echoed through the jungle. Harry focused and followed the sound.

He passed trees and bushes—but still, no results. Not a single living being in sight.

"Someone... please help me..."

Again, the voice came. And each time, it sounded more alluring.

After a few more attempts, Harry grew frustrated. Someone was calling for help, yet he couldn’t find them.

"Don’t you want to help me, boy?" The voice now came from every direction, echoing around the jungle and enticing Harry.

"Where are you?!" Harry shouted, desperate.

Many things didn’t make sense. But compared to the thought of saving someone, they didn’t matter.

His brows furrowed, as if he were trying to think deeply.

"Come here."

The voice called again—and whatever thoughts Harry had vanished.

His legs moved on their own.

His steps were lifeless, mechanical. His thoughts staggered, unable to comprehend anything complex.

Then something snapped inside him. His mind returned—fast, sharp.

"What was that?" Harry asked himself in confusion.

Even more baffling was what stood before him now: a bustling settlement.

At its center was a magnificent tree, its branches so vast they seemed to cover the entire area.

His senses screamed warnings—but the reason had already slipped his mind.

He already forgot about hearing any voice crying for help.

Still, his legs carried him toward the entrance.