Young Master's PoV: Woke Up As A Villain In A Game One Day

Chapter 280: Unappreciated Brilliance

I had a brilliant idea.

And by brilliant, I mean the kind of desperate, half-suicidal, and crazy idea that might get us all killed but was worth a shot.

I pressed my hand to the stone floor beneath our feet and activated my Origin Card.

The entire circular platform we were standing on shuddered violently.

A deep, grinding rumble echoed from below as wide fissures ran along the length of the stone pillar holding us aloft. Dust trickled from the cracks, followed by the sound of something splitting apart.

Then—

—KRKHHHH!

From the base of the massive pillar on which our circular platform was situated, from inside those wide fissures on it, jagged and jointed limbs of stone burst outward — looking like the legs of some enormous crab.

Yes. I’m not kidding.

Six pointed, stony legs unfolded from the pillar’s sides, stabbing into the ground with a thunderous impact that made the forest tremble.

Ray’s jaw fell open. ”Samael, what— what did you just do?!”

”We’re going on a crab ride,” I said flatly. ”Hold onto something!”

Because that’s exactly what the entire structure now resembled — a towering stone crab, with our platform as its shell.

Before anyone could voice objections about safety or sanity, the giant rock crab started walking.

The whole platform lurched forward.

—THOOOM!

The stone crab legs moved in heavy rhythm, stomping through the forest with enough force to make the earth quake, crush boulders, and send shattered roots flying.

Ray screamed like a child on a roller coaster.

Vince nearly lost his footing and would’ve tumbled right off if he hadn’t jabbed his short sword into the ground, clinging to it for dear life.

Juliana, on the other hand, didn’t even flinch. She simply stepped behind me and wrapped both arms around my waist, her short white hair whipping in the wind.

I stayed perfectly upright with ease since I was the one controlling the transmuted structure — every motion of this crab-like mecha was the result of my own will.

”Why don’t I ever get to hold the pretty girl?!” Ray yelled over the thunderous stomps. ”Why is it always him?!”

”Because you can’t even hold yourself straight!” Vince shouted back and clutched his sword tighter like it was the only thing between him and death.

Meanwhile, the makeshift stone automaton — which I decided to call the crabmobile — tore through the fog, each of its colossal strides carrying us forward dozens of meters at a time.

For a few glorious seconds, it actually worked.

We were fast. The crabmobile was unstoppable. We were going to escape–

THUMP—!!

A heavy jolt shook the entire structure. The crabmobile’s front legs faltered for a brief moment before regaining balance.

I scowled.

Juliana’s fingers tightened around my waist. ”That wasn’t just your usual bad driving, was it?”

”Nope,” I said tightly.

And before I could defend my impeccable driving skills, another THUMP came — harder and sharper this time.

The platform trembled uncontrollably beneath us.

Vince’s eyes widened. ”Please tell me we just ran over a tree.”

We certainly did not just run over a tree.

Something had hit us deliberately.

The Mist Monster...

That damned beast was attacking us.

It was hammering at the crab’s front legs so it could topple us.

I gritted my teeth in frustration and barked over the chaos, ”Brace yourselves!”

But my warning came just a second too late.

KRAKOOOOOM—!!

Another deafening impact struck from below.

And this time, the entire crabmobile stumbled forward as its front legs were demolished. The colossal stone mecha buckled under its own weight... and then tipped.

Our world tilted. Wind roared in our ears and gravity started dragging us downward.

Soon, we were plummeting to our collective death.

The crab-tower of stone and packed dirt collapsed completely, crumbling into itself and taking us down with it, half free-falling as the dense white fog rushed past and the ground hurtled closer.

Giant trees snapped like matchsticks. Splinters and shards of bark exploded in every direction as the crabmobile crashed through the forest canopy.

But right as we were about to crash flat onto the ground, Ray grabbed Vince midair and fired a small burst of explosion from his palm.

That controlled explosion worked as a makeshift jet propulsion and slowed their descent. Wisps of black smoke trailed around them as they landed in a rough roll.

Both groaned in pain... but at least they were alive to feel it.

Juliana and I hit the ground next — or rather, I hit the ground.

She simply fell into my arms, one hand still gripping my shirt as if it was perfectly normal.

My knees caved slightly, but I straightened and took the shock like a champ thanks to Essence reinforcing my body.

Behind us, the crabmobile crashed into the ground with an earth-splitting THWAAAM!

The shockwave that followed rippled like a drumbeat, scattering mist and chunks of rock everywhere.

I held my breath and took the brunt of the shockwave’s impact on my back, swaying slightly but still holding Juliana close to my chest.

When the tremors finally faded and the debris settled, I coughed out some dust. ”Well, that went about as well as expected.”

Juliana uncurled herself against me and gave me a flat stare.

Then, with infuriating calm, she brushed a speck of dirt off my collar. ”You mean disastrously.”

I rolled my eyes and dropped her... but she twisted and landed on her feet with the agility of a cat.

From a few meters away, Ray groaned and pushed himself up as well, coughing into his sleeve. ”Remind me to never let you drive anything. Ever.”

Vince spat out a leaf, wincing as he straightened himself. ”Yeah, no offense, Samael, but next time you have a ’brilliant idea,’ just keep it locked inside that genius skull of yours.”

I scowled at all three of them. ”Hey! You know what, you ungrateful little misbegotten pillocks! I’m hearing a lot of complaints and not nearly enough thank yous for saving your worthless lives!”

There was a short silence.

Then Vince opened his mouth — probably to question my vocabulary — but didn’t get the chance to say anything.

—Thrumm

A deep rumble rolled through our surroundings like thunder being dragged through stone.

Immediately afterward, the mist started flooding back in on us again.

We all froze.

”Doesn’t look like our worthless lives are saved yet, Young Master,” Juliana remarked dryly, much to my annoyance.

Vince spun toward Ray in a rush. ”You’ll get a twenty-five percent power boost in your innate power if you vow not to use it for the next two hours! Do you accept?!”

Ray didn’t even think. ”Yes!”

As soon as he answered, he thrust out his hand toward the approaching fog and unleashed an explosion so bright and brutal that it painted the world in orange.

KWA-BOOOOM—!!

A miniature sun erupted from his palm, evaporating the mist in a roaring inferno and momentarily clearing the field around us.

For a brief heartbeat, the forest looked alive again — alive and burning under a light so blinding that we had to cover our eyes.

Then, just as the light dimmed, we ran.

The mist came crawling after us once again, seeping through the trees like a living tide. But we were faster... for now.

Juliana’s injured leg was slowing her down. Ray was stumbling a little due to the severe blood loss from the wound on his back. And Vince was still limping to the side every other step thanks to whatever hit he took to his ribs earlier.

In short, aside from me, everyone’s condition was far from optimum.

Thankfully, though, our camp was finally in sight.