Apocalypse Baby-Chapter 94: Black Inferno

With a swift motion, Alex stretched out his hand and used the newest power he’d earned from defeating the Monkey Shaman: [Black Flames].

A dark, swirling energy formed in his palm before erupting into a torrent of pitch-black fire.

Even underwater, the flames roared to life.

They weren’t ordinary flames—these burned with an otherworldly intensity, defying the very nature of water. Find your next read at novelbuddy

The Kraken’s slimy body ignited on contact, the black fire clinging to its skin like a parasite.

"SKREEEEUUUNNGGGH!"

The creature thrashed violently, its agonized screams reverberating through the water.

Its massive body twisted and turned, churning up the sea as the black flames consumed it.

Alex floated there, catching his breath as he watched the once-terrifying beast writhe in pain.

But from the corner of his eye, Alex noticed a shadow moving through the water.

His heart sank as the shape grew larger and larger.

No way, he thought, narrowing his eyes.

The first Kraken—the one that had destroyed his boat—was approaching.

[Nightmare Kraken (R)].

The "R" indicated this Kraken was a higher lever.

Bigger and stronger than the Kraken Alex had set on fire.

"Crap…" Alex muttered, feeling a weight settle in his chest.

His lungs burned.

He was running out of air.

"Yep, it’s definitely time to bail," Alex said under his breath, bubbles escaping his mouth.

He wasn’t about to pick a fight with a stronger squid while he was underwater and running on empty.

But just because he was escaping didn’t mean he was letting this oversized calamari off the hook.

The first Kraken, still writhing in agony from the [Black Flames], was on borrowed time. But Alex wanted to speed up the process.

He reached into his inventory and pulled out a [Blastshard],

He then infused the shard with Gravitational Implosion, a skill that could compress and detonate anything it touched, then activated [Dismiss], a skill that allowed him to transfer the infused energy from his Blastshard to the burning Kraken without getting too close.

But he wasn’t done yet.

He repeated the process and infused another charge, and with a quick flick of his hand, he sent the second blast into the creature as well.

That should do it, he thought.

But he wasn’t about to stick around to watch the fireworks just yet.

Kicking his legs with everything he had, Alex swam toward the surface, each stroke burning as his muscles strained for oxygen.

The first Kraken arrived but hesitated as it neared the burning remains of the second.

The [Black Flames] clinging to the fallen creature crackled ominously, their unnatural heat searing even through the water. The burning Kraken howled in agony.

Its enormous eyes then turned towards Alex’s direction, its gaze filled with rage and malevolence.

From a safe distance, Alex turned back and grinned, his expression half-defiant and half-mocking.

Don’t look at me like that. You guys started this.

Alex smirked and then he snapped his fingers.

The world seemed to hold its breath for a moment.

Then—

BOOM.

Both Krakens convulsed violently as their heads twisted inward, crushed by the gravitational pull of the explosive force.

The water churned around them as the epicenter of the blast compressed, pulling everything nearby into a swirling vortex.

And then, the explosion erupted outward.

Flames burst from the sea, shooting up like an underwater volcano had detonated.

The sheer force sent a massive wave surging across the surface, crashing outward in every direction.

Alex barely had time to react as the wave slammed into him, lifting his body like a ragdoll.

The current carried him toward the shore, throwing him onto the wet sand with a rough thud.

He coughed up seawater and took sharp, labored breaths.

That was insane.

Then he rolled onto his back, his chest rising and falling heavily.

His arms splayed out as he let out a long, shaky exhale.

The adrenaline he felt wearing off.

"I did it," Alex muttered, a small, tired smile creeping onto his face.

He stared at the night sky above and observed that the rain seemed to have stopped, and in the sky were two moons hung high, their pale light casting an eerie glow on the dark horizon.

For a moment, the only sounds were the distant crash of waves and the crackle of dying flames on the water’s surface.

Then a mechanical chime echoed in Alex’s ears.

Ding!

[You have killed [Nightmare Monster]]

[You have received 100 Nightmare Points.]

[Nightmare Points: These points can be used to purchase items, potions, and food from vendors. They can also grant access to locations leading to the Grim Lord.]

[You have received 10 Stat Points.]

Alex’s head perked up at the mention of stat points.

Before he could fully process the first message, another notification popped up:

[You have killed [Nightmare Monster]]

[You have received 150 Nightmare Points.]

[Nightmare Points: These points can be used to purchase items, potions, and food from vendors. They can also grant access to locations.]

[You have received 15 Stat Points.]

[Title ’Apocalypse Baby’ activated.]

[You have received an additional 100 Nightmare Points.]

[You have received 10 Stat Points.]

[You have received an additional 150 Nightmare Points.]

[You have received 15 Stat Points.]

Alex blinked, his mind racing to process the unexpected windfall.

"Stats points?!" he muttered, his heart pounding with excitement.

He jumped to his feet, bits of sand sticking to his back as he stared at the glowing panel.

His eyes darted across the text, reading and rereading to make sure he hadn’t imagined it.

Stat points for killing monsters?

That was unheard of.

In the original tutorial, he only ever received stat points from leveling up.

But here, he hadn’t gotten a single level-up notification yet he got stat points.

This place obviously had its own set of rules which was completely different from what he was used to.

His grin widened as he did a quick mental calculation.

With the 10 points from the first kill, the 15 from the second, and the doubling effect of his [Apocalypse Baby] title, he had received a whopping 50 stat points in total.

And that was enough to match the value of an upgrade stone.

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"This..." Alex muttered with a grin, his heart pounding in excitement.

"This place might not be hell after all."