Reincarnation of the Strongest Healer

Chapter 873: Portal

Time seemed to pause for a moment as two possible decisions could be made.

One was to allow Carmen to fall and dodge the incoming whip.

Doing so would cause Carmen to be hanging in midair and possibly receive more whips. But in return, he could remain on the bridge and get another chance to pull her up later.

The second choice was to immediately assist her.

It was an extreme risk, and the possibility was high that he would still be pestered by the imps and end up being dragged down by Carmen anyway.

He would have to be ready to receive the electrified whip on the spot and lift Carmen up. In this method, only he would receive the damages but Carmen would be safe and sound.

In other words, it was either to be selfless or selfish.

ʼArgh, I should have brought Kai instead.ʼ Xu Feng cursed silently and ultimately chose to be selfless.

Yes, he was cunning and petty most of the time. He admitted it, but that was just him trying to survive.

However, Carmen was someone whom he recruited after doing his best to show her that he was different. And he had no intention of making her doubt herself.

Since he dared to recruit someone who was known as the demoness in his past timeline, then he had long prepared to take responsibility for all her actions.

”Hold on, Carmen.” Xu Feng gnashed his teeth and increased his strength to lift Carmen up.

In the meantime, multiple whips crackled through the air, their electric arcs illuminating the dark expanse of the obstacle course. The imps crackled with glee and malice as they lashed out at Xu Feng, clearly anticipating him to be submerged in a web of searing pain.

A sharp snap echoed as the first whip struck his shoulder, sending a jolt of numbing electricity coursing through his body.

His muscles spasmed, but he refused to let go and kept his posture perfectly still.

ʼJust what kind of electric whip is this?ʼ Gritting his teeth, he tightened his grip on Carmen, pulling her up inch by inch despite the overwhelming pain.

He could sense that another whip was coming out, but Carmen had yet to grasp her hand on the end of the bridge. It appeared that the intensity of the gravity had increased dramatically, resulting in the difficulty of lifting her up.

Carmen was equally frustrated by the situation. She heard the whipping and laughter of the imps, followed by the sound of impact.

Without a doubt, Xu Feng had been struck, but the pulling strength hadnʼt decreased. In fact, it remained steady.

ʼThis isnʼt some Up challenge!ʼ She cursed inwardly, realizing that everything was a hoax.

While Carmen attempted to climb back up with the help of Xu Feng, more whips lashed against his back, followed by another wrapping around his arm like a venomous serpent, sizzling as it burned through his defenses.

Xu Feng hissed in pain, his vision blurring for a split second, but he refused to falter.

”Everythingʼs fine. Just climb back steadily.” He endured the pain and tried to keep his voice calm.

”I understand,” Carmen responded gently, but she knew the strain he was enduring.

She frowned a bit and hurriedly shifted her weight and kicked off the edge to push herself up.

”I got it—let go!” She shouted. After Xu Feng noticed that she was ready to be pulled up now, he wasted no time.

There were imps who seemed to have noticed Carmen was getting to the bridge and had started shifting their attention toward her.

With a final and forceful tug, Xu Feng hoisted her onto solid ground just as another whip streaked past his face, narrowly missing him.

He couldnʼt avoid those on his arms or legs because he needed to maintain his posture, but he sure as hell could move his face.

At this moment, Xu Feng was in a completely sorry state. The clothes generated by the System already showed signs of being forcefully torn and blood had begun to drip down on the bridge.

”Guild Leader?!” Horrified, Carmen had never seen him in such a state before.

”Letʼs go,” Xu Feng hurriedly grabbed her hand and tucked her to his side, promptly avoiding the whip that landed in her previous location.

Without another word, Xu Feng turned around and continued to advance.

Having endured many whips, he came to realize that his previous conjecture was somewhat incorrect.

Does the electric whip hurt like a truck?

Absolutely!

But does being hit by the electric whip mean failure?

Absolutely not!

The whippings were meant to damage him and force him to give up. After all, the imps would stop chasing if they were to fall from the 5F.

They didnʼt appear at the ground level up to the 4F, which proved they had to be the guardian boss in the 5F. If it werenʼt guardian boss, they were at least another tough obstacle placed here meant to dampen their motivation.

As the two hastened their pace, they suddenly noticed a portal up ahead.

”Huh, is that an exit path?” Stunned, Carmen didnʼt understand the appearance of another portal.

”Seems like a possibility.” Xu Feng nodded and pondered whether to enter the new portal or not. Truth be told, he had completely mistaken this for an Up Challenge. It had a similar appearance to it, but everything so far was unpredictable.

The Mini-Game A was designed to torture the players and force them to be in a predicament at every turn.

”Do you want to leave this place?” Xu Feng asked softly.

”Iʼll listen to the Guild Leaderʼs arrangement.”

”...”

Hearing that kind of response, Xu Feng speculated that Carmen was definitely not trying to take the lead anymore. Or more importantly, she didnʼt want to feel the emotion of guilt or frustration that stemmed from her decision.

”Letʼs just take the portal then.” Xu Feng exhaled softly and ultimately gave up on this Mini-Game A. It wasnʼt that he didnʼt want to challenge further, but this black-hearted System refused to let him recover from the damage received from the impsʼ electric whip.

ʼIf prolonged, Iʼm just going to become slower and our time would run out.ʼ He thought to himself.