Samuel's POV
I kicked a loose shard of bone off the spiraling path, watching it tumble into the black nothingness beneath.
"Damn, these tasks are boring," I muttered. My voice barely echoed here—like the Spiral itself was too tired to reply. "Fetch a scroll, slay a horror, bathe in the blood of forgotten gods... It's starting to feel routine."
Vergil's the—Bury the Light—started thrumming in the back of my mind like a blade drawing breath. That familiar electric charge built in my chest. That song had aning. It was about resolve, about fighting in darkness and laughing in its face.
And just like that, I stopped walking.
I clenched my fist and whispered, "System... I want to beco stronger. Cancel these quests. Give a real challenge."
Silence.
Then—
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION – Request Acknowledged]
"Congratulations. You are the second one who thought about this."
I blinked.
Second?
I laughed, low and sharp. "So there is another madman like out there."
[NEW QUEST UNLOCKED – "Trial of the Fanglord"]
Objective: Defeat the Lord of Fangs – Sovereign predator of this realm.
Threat Level: Transcendent
Requirent: Obtain the Root-Etched Dungeon Key hidden in the Deeper Roots
Reward: Legacy of the Fanglord (???), 1 Forsaken Crown Fragnt, Permanent Title: "Predator Beyond Realms"
I smirked so hard my jaw cracked.
"Lord of Fangs, huh? If he's anything like Owen, I'm going to enjoy ripping him apart."
Owen, the Alpha and Oga, my brother-in-blood and rival in spirit. If this Fanglord was truly on that level—if the System itself called him a Sovereign—then this wouldn't be just a battle.
It would be a reckoning.
[SYSTEM TIP: Deeper Roots lie beneath the Sorrowing Hollow. Navigation enabled.]
Roots twisted around the floor, now pulsing with glowing blue veins as a path uncoiled before .
I exhaled, tightening the straps on my blade harness.
"Alright, Spiral. Let's go digging."
And with a leap, I plunged into the abyss below—straight into the Deeper Roots.
Where legends go to die... and monsters like go to evolve.
________________________________________
Samuel's POV – Deeper Roots, Trial of the Fanglord
Location: Beneath the Sorrowing Hollow, in the Cryptroot Depths
The air down here slled like rust and old regrets. Stale, dead magic clung to every root and stone, crackling faintly under my boots.
"System," I muttered, cracking my knuckles as I adjusted the fingerplates of my Hellfire Gauntlets, "track heat signatures nearby. Anything not dead, I wanna know."
---
[Tracking... 3 hostile lifeforms detected. Signature: Buried Wights – Class: Undying]
---
Three glowing red dots blood on my HUD like angry wasps. I grinned.
"Good. Been a while since I punched sothing that deserved it."
I sprinted through the knotted tunnel, the roots tightening like gnarled fists around . Then I saw them—half-rotted, bone-clad wretches with glowing blue eyes and blades fused into their arms.
"Co on, freakshows," I whispered. "Let's dance."
The first Wight lunged—blades whistling through the air. I ducked low, twisted, then slamd my gauntlet into its gut. A shockwave of crimson fire erupted from the impact, blasting its rotting form into the walls.
"BOOM, baby!" I yelled, pivoting with a spin.
The second ca in fast from the left. I caught its blade-arm between my gauntlet's prongs, locked it, then headbutted it so hard its skull cracked. I finished with an uppercut laced with voidfire—the Wight burst like a sack of rotten at.
The third tried to back off.
"Ah, ah, ah," I growled, eyes burning, "you started this."
I lunged, both fists igniting—red lightning surging around my forearms. I unleashed a rapid flurry of blows, each punch detonating like a mortar shell.
----
[Combat Style Activated – Infernal Blitz]
----
The Wight didn't stand a chance. When I finished, all that remained was charred bone and a crater of steaming roots.
----
[Enemies Eliminated – Path Forward Unlocked]
----
A low rumble echoed, and a panel of roots uncurled, revealing a chamber wrapped in shadow and pulsating silver moss. In the center: a floating, rune-etched relic shaped like a wolf's fang.
"The Dungeon Key," I whispered.
I stepped closer—but as my fingers reached for it, the entire room shuddered.
----
[WARNING: Guardian Detected – Class: Apex Predator – Shadowmoor Devourer]
----
"Of course," I said flatly. "Because it's never that easy."
From the ceiling, a centipede-like beast uncoiled—massive, with fang-lined jaws and armored plates. Its black carapace shimred with spectral glyphs, and each leg ended in a claw tipped with venom.
"Alright, ugly," I said, slipping into a stance. "You wanna dance too?"
It shrieked—a sound that made the roots quiver. Then it charged.
I leapt forward.
"Let's make this fun."
I dodged its lunge, slamd a flaming punch into its flank—its hide held.
"Damn, that's thick!"
The beast twisted mid-air, tail lashing. I blocked with crossed gauntlets, skidding back.
"Alright, gloves off—figuratively."
I drew the Infernal Sigil on the floor with my boot, fed it mana, and activated my burst:
[Limit Surge: Hell Gauntlet – Stage 2 Unlocked]
My arms flared with molten fla, runes spiraling up my shoulders, and I dashed forward like a rocket.
"Eat this!" I roared, slamming both fists into its underbelly.
CRACK! – Armor shattered.
It screeched in pain, but I wasn't done. I vaulted over its head, grabbed two of its mandibles, and yanked them apart as I ignited both my fists and dove into its open maw—planting a core bomb of raw mana.
"Choke on that, bug-boy."
I vaulted free—then snapped my fingers.
BOOM.
The explosion turned the chamber white-hot for a mont.
When the dust settled, I stood alone. Charred remains everywhere. My gauntlets steaming.
----
[Quest Objective Complete – Dungeon Key Acquired]
[Unlocked – Gateway to the Lair of the Lord of Fangs]
----
I walked over to the floating key, now surrounded in flickering light, and took it into my palm. It pulsed once—then faded into my inventory.
"Guess it's ti to knock on the big guy's door."
I cracked my neck, looked at my fists, and smirked.
"Hope you're watching, Owen. 'Cause I'm about to knock the Lord of Fangs off his damn throne."
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