Whoosh! Aurelian smiled, feeling the wind breeze past his face as he streaked into the depths of the dungeon. The raw power humming deep inside him brought a sense of clarity, a reminder of just how much power he could acquire.
The runes painting the walls grew brighter, lighting up the dungeon in a faint blue hue, casting a mystical vibe as he pushed deeper.
The aura he sensed grew stronger with every passing second, before he suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on the end of the pathway that extended into a chamber.
Two large torches illuminated the entrance, where two slis strolled lazily outside, acting as guards.
Another glance with his Appraisal skill made his brows arch higher.
[Evolved Acidic Sli — Level 35]
[Rank: Uncommon (E)]
[Weakness: Intense fire elental attacks, mana-coated attacks, soul-based attacks]
Psssssss! The sizzling sounds echoed, snapping him from his thoughts as the slis noticed his presence and charged.
"Guess the dungeon boss will be a lot stronger than expected," Aurelian mused. His figure blinked forward, closing the distance in an instant. His eyes lit with an ethereal glow, crimson and abyssal swirling in a srizing vortex, before he struck at two glowing golden orbs.
He appeared again in front of the beasts, frozen mid-charge. "Good. Because I’ll be counting on it," he breathed. Cracks spidered across their fras before mystical light burst outward with a rippling boom, reducing them to mists of blood.
The full terror of his taphysical vision resurfaced once again.
Flicking his wrist, the blades hovering behind him ca alive. A dark smile crept across his lips.
"Devour!"
Then he strode into the inner chamber. It was about ti he t the dungeon’s final boss.
***
"Well, won’t you look at that?" a youth with short black hair whispered, scanning the dungeon. Corrosion marks spread as far as his eyes could see.
"There was a battle here... and from the looks of it... a big one. One the slis didn’t win."
"Huh? How’d you figure that out?"
"Pretty simple. If they’d won, we wouldn’t be standing here right now."
"Makes sense... Isn’t this where the purple light flared? Who could’ve done this?"
"There’s only one person I know strong enough for this. The Grim Reaper. He was here."
Murmurs rippled as the youths analyzed the aftermath of the battlefield. Deep within the crowd, Lena crouched low, her black eyes narrowing as she studied the scene.
The corrosion marks were similar to before, his blades were corrosive, but this... this was on a far greater scale. Far higher than expected. Which could only an one thing: he’d grown stronger.
With him evolving to E rank, changes were inevitable... but not this exaggerated. Her brows furrowed, then softened into a faint smile. Maybe with him on our side, we really do have a chance to survive.
Taking a sharp breath, she rose and cast a wary glance toward the dungeon’s depths. "The trail leads that way. If you still want to go, follow ."
Her steps echoed as she headed deeper. The group exchanged nervous glances before following. So chose to stay behind.
All across the dungeon, other survivors made the sa decision, drawn forward by curiosity, desperation, or simply because waiting for sudden death was worse.
***
"Whoa," Aurelian muttered as he stepped into the inner chamber, marveling at the sight.
The chamber expanded into an enormous podium — nearly the size of a battle arena.
Runes blazed at full flare, illuminating twelve evolved acidic slis lining the walls. Their levels ranged from 35 to 39.
And at the center stood the final dungeon boss.
Aurelian’s lips parted. "What in the fucking abomination is that?"
A monstrous twelve-ter sli lood before him, its eyes fixed on him, appraising in return.
Unlike the others’ slimy skins, crimson spikes jutted out of its body, sizzling with white acid that bubbled over its form, creating a jagged armor of sorts.
Then, done with its appraisal, the beast unleashed a piercing shriek. Its maw gaped wide, lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Suddenly, its skin rippled. The spikes twitched, compressed, and, before he could register, multiple massive protrusions tore through its torso, extending five ters long. Tentacles.
"Great. This oughta play out just fine," he breathed, watching the mutant monstrosity spring toward him, the twelve slis charging alongside it.
"At least let your henchn go first," he groaned. "But if that’s how you want to play it, fine by ."
With a snap of his fingers, the blades that had devoured corpses outside appeared, hovering nacingly.
Catching his intent, they lunged at the lesser slis. Using the opening, Aurelian cast Advanced Appraisal.
[Evolved Mutant Sli King— Level ???]
[Rank: Rare (E)]
[Weakness: Intense fire elental attacks, mana-coated attacks, soul-based attacks]
"Wouldn’t be the first ti you bail on mid-battle," he cursed at the skill’s useless vagueness. Then he snickered. "Fuck it! How much stronger can it really be?"
His figure blurred, flickering forward as mana coated his fists. He charged straight for the monstrous mutant sli.
***
"Up ahead, there seems to be an opening," Lena muttered, her voice dragging as the overwhelming aura surging from inside the chamber slamd into them, ragging their breaths.
Their eyes scanned the ground, catching faint streaks of blood lining the dungeon floor, signs of a recent battle.
"We’re on the right track," Lena murmured, her gaze shifting to the entrance of the inner dungeon. Her brows furrowed; at this point, she didn’t know what to expect.
Perhaps they were courting death. Perhaps it was nothing more than a misguided belief, pinning their hopes on a figure they hardly knew. Yet what her eyes finally landed on when she stepped inside was the last thing she could have imagined.
A monstrous figure, ripped straight from her worst nightmares, lood ahead. Its fra towered monstrously above any sli she had ever seen. The aura radiating from it was already crushing their spirits, making it hard to breathe. It was a being that could erase them in an instant, and it was charging forward.
Then, with a deeper glance, her eyes widened. A youth, fists curled, body springing upward was rushing headlong into the beast, ready to slam both fists into it.
Behind him, equally nacing slis charged, but before Lena or anyone else could even process what was happening, their bodies burst into mists of blood, erased from existence in an instant. Two massive blades ca into view. One black, one gleaming white, hovering at his side, sharp contrasts of darkness and light.
Gasps rippled across the group. Amidst it all, Lena blinked rapidly, her eyes fluttering before a whisper escaped her lips:
"You did grow stronger... much stronger."
These beasts were E-rank, dwelling near the dungeon boss, they should have been terrifyingly strong. Yet they were obliterated like nothing before the youth’s blades.
Looking closer, she realized even the blades themselves had changed. Had he not been using his full strength back then? Or had he truly grown this much in such a short ti since they parted?
Questions flooded her mind, but she shoved them aside as the youth and the monstrous figure collided. Her focus narrowed on the clash.
Was this battle even winnable? Could a recently advanced F-rank defeat an evolved E-rank dungeon boss?
Was there even the faintest silver of hope left for their lives? Or... was this the end?
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