Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

Tundra was certain that something had to remain behind...

That dimensional scar had been connected to another realm for three entire days, and during that time, an enormous amount of Abyssal energy had poured into their world. It was impossible for such a powerful phenomenon to simply disappear without leaving any traces behind.

Tundra immediately made his way toward the place where the dimensional scar had previously existed.

The battlefield was still filled with the remains of the battle.

The ground had been scorched by Whisperer’s Dragon Breath, while countless corpses of Demons were scattered across the area.

He looted some of them but left the others to the main army...

Anyway, the defenders were already beginning to clean up the battlefield, with the soldiers collecting weapons and valuable materials while the priests continued purifying the remaining traces of corruption.

Nobody seemed particularly interested in the empty space where the dimensional scar had once existed.

After all, Merlin had already destroyed it.

There shouldn’t have been anything left... However, Tundra wasn’t convinced.

”Well... If there’s nothing, I guess that’s it.”

Still, he knew as an explosives expert that even the strongest explosions left traces, whether they were pieces of destroyed structures or changes in the surrounding environment.

A dimensional scar was something completely different.

It had connected their world to another realm. There must be treasure, right?

Tundra crouched down and carefully examined the ground.

”Hmm...”

At first, he couldn’t find anything unusual.

The area was filled with damaged soil and traces of Abyssal energy, but nothing seemed particularly special.

Most of the remaining corruption had already disappeared after Merlin closed the dimensional scar, and the priests had already begun purifying the area.

Tundra continued looking.

He wasn’t sure what he was searching for himself. He simply had a feeling that something was wrong.

After a few minutes, his hand suddenly stopped.

”Huh?”

Tundra narrowed his eyes.

There was something beneath the ground.

He immediately brushed away the dirt with his hand, revealing a tiny black object buried beneath the soil.

It was a crystal.

However, unlike the Mana Crystals that Tundra had seen before, this crystal was completely black. It was only about the size of his fingernail, yet the moment Tundra touched it, he immediately felt something strange.

The crystal was cold.

Not simply cold like ice, but cold in a way that made him feel as if something was drawing energy toward itself.

Tundra immediately pulled his hand away.

”What is this?”

He stared at the small crystal for several seconds before finally picking it up.

The moment his fingers touched it again, the familiar notifications suddenly appeared before his eyes.

”What?”

He quickly looked at the notification.

[ You have discovered a remnant of the Abyssal Dimensional Scar. ]

[ You have investigated the remains of a destroyed Dimensional Scar. ]

[ Hidden Quest: Uncover the Remains of the Abyss ]

[ Quest Objective: Discover the truth behind the dimensional scars that connect the Abyss to this world. ]

[ Current Progress: 1/3 ]

[ First Objective Completed: Investigate the remains of a destroyed Dimensional Scar. ]

[ Reward: 1x Abyssal Investigation Chest. ]

Tundra stared at the notifications in surprise.

He had not expected to discover a Hidden Quest here.

In fact, he hadn’t even known that the System could give him a Hidden Quest without notifying him beforehand. Apparently, the System had been recording his actions from the moment he began investigating the remains of the dimensional scar, and only now that he had fulfilled the first requirement had it finally revealed itself.

”A Hidden Quest?”

Tundra couldn’t help but feel interested.

He had already received a considerable amount of rewards from the Abyssal Invasion, and he had even obtained the Demon General Slayer title after dealing the final blow against Draveth. However, this Hidden Quest felt different.

It seemed to be connected to something much bigger.

Tundra looked at the small black crystal in his hand and immediately opened its information.

[ Abyssal Rift Fragment ]

[ Description: A remnant left behind after the destruction of a Dimensional Scar. ]

[ Warning: The fragment contains traces of unknown Abyssal energy. ]

[ Additional Information: This fragment appears to be connected to a greater source. ]

Tundra’s expression immediately became serious.

”A greater source?”

It seems that he should really forget about this world being a Zombie Apocalypse. It was now a free-for-all apocalypse... Zombies, Vampires, Dragons, Demons... At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if more of the Apocalypse gets mixed in.

He read the information several times, trying to understand what it meant.

If the information was correct, then the dimensional scar itself might not actually be the source of the Abyssal energy. Instead, it was simply a connection between their world and another place.

That meant the energy had been coming from somewhere else.

Tundra immediately thought about the three Demon Generals who had invaded the Mist Shelter.

They had entered through the dimensional scar along with their army, and the scar had allowed them to bring their Abyssal energy into the world.

But if the dimensional scar was only a connection...

Then what exactly was on the other side?

Tundra’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the Abyssal Rift Fragment.

”Could there be something bigger behind this?”

Tundra began to wonder whether the Abyssal Invasion had been as simple as everyone believed.

The Demons had invaded their world, but their actions had been far too organized to be a simple attack. The three Demon Generals had clearly known that the dimensional scar would only remain open for a limited amount of time, and they had immediately focused their attacks on the Mist Shelter’s defenses.

Perhaps they had only been trying to establish a foothold.

Or perhaps there was another reason they had come.

Tundra didn’t have enough information to answer that question yet.

However, the Hidden Quest had already given him one important clue.

There was something behind the dimensional scars.

And whatever it was, the System seemed to believe that it was important enough to hide behind a Hidden Quest.

Tundra carefully placed the Abyssal Rift Fragment into his storage.

He wasn’t planning to tell anyone about the Hidden Quest yet.

At the very least, he wanted to understand what he had discovered first. The information was too vague, and the fact that the System had described the fragment as being connected to a greater source made him even more curious.

Unfortunately, Tundra had no way of investigating the fragment right now.

He had already examined the area around the dimensional scar, but Merlin had destroyed the rift so thoroughly that there was nothing else he could immediately find.

Or at least, that was what he thought.

”You’re investigating this place too?”

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

Tundra immediately turned around and saw that two figures were walking toward him.

One of them was Natalie Cross, the leader of the New Haven Clan, while the other was Travis, the leader of the Drakeheart Vanguard.

Tundra wasn’t surprised to see them here.

Both of them had been involved in the investigation of Eden Island with Shane before the Abyssal Invasion began. They had originally intended to learn more about Project Mist, the mysterious project that the world governments had apparently created in an attempt to save humanity from the Zombie Apocalypse.

Even after the invasion began, they had decided to remain in the Mist Shelter.

There were still too many unanswered questions about Eden Island and Project Mist.

Natalie stopped a few meters away from Tundra and glanced at the ground.

”Most people are already leaving this area,” she said. ”So I was curious why you were still here.”

Tundra looked at her for a moment.

”Nothing important. I was just checking whether the battle left anything valuable behind.”

Natalie raised an eyebrow.

”Valuable?”

”Yes.”

Tundra answered without hesitation.

”If a dimensional scar was open for three days and released that much Abyssal energy, I thought there might be something left behind after Merlin destroyed it.”

Travis immediately became interested.

”Did you find something?”

Tundra’s expression changed slightly.

He didn’t answer immediately.

Natalie noticed the small change in his expression.

”Tundra. You found something, didn’t you?”

Tundra glanced at Travis before looking at Natalie again.

There was no reason to tell them about the Hidden Quest. That was something he intended to keep to himself.

However, the Abyssal Rift Fragment was a different matter.

He had already placed it inside his storage, and there was no reason for them to know that he had found it unless he decided to show it to them.

”I found a strange crystal.”

Tundra finally admitted.

Travis immediately became more serious.

”A crystal?”

”Yes.”

Tundra looked toward the place where the dimensional scar had once existed.

”It was buried beneath the ground. It was very small, but it contained a strange type of energy. I have never seen anything like it before.”

Natalie immediately looked at the ground.

”Where?”

Tundra pointed toward the area.

”There.”

The two immediately approached.

Natalie crouched down and examined the ground while Travis stood beside her.

”Can you sense anything?” Travis asked as he soon discovered a few suspicious stones.