"They decently managed to defeat 22 High orcs, but now there's over fifty-" Winter thought, looking out at the army of High orcs- "Am I going to have to play more of my cards?" The strike squad stood in fear as one of the many stepped forward, stomping to Richard. Face to face, it leaned in with a low growl. "What do we do?" The other swordsman asked, "Stand down. If we fight now, we'll die for nothing," Richard explained. The high orc screamed in his face, speaking an incoherent language. Suddenly, his eyes glazed over, and his head thrashed around before he spoke again. "Humans, Listen, humans!" it began, and Richard watched in horror, "I am Oogubugoo, and I wish to meet you!" The orc spoke, "Is he speaking our language with a spell?" the tank asked, "No, he's just a puppet. Someone else is speaking through him!" Gina explained before the whole strike squad began to panic. "Oogubugoo, are you the one who placed this barrier?" Richard asked, "Yes, I am the almighty shaman of the Oogugbu tribe!" The orc explained, "Human strength cannot destroy my barrier," they added. "Is there anyone stronger than you?" Richard asked, "Who would dare stand against me?!" The orc barked, "It's your choice: Die at the hands of my soldiers or follow them!" They explained. "No thanks, I've made my decision," Winter cuts the orc down. "Mr. Greats?!" Richard asked, looking in horror as the orc fell lifeless on the ground, "Come forth!" He commanded as the orcs began charging into battle. They were met by a smaller number of Shadow Soldiers forming from the ground in a surprise attack, cutting several of them down. "I can tell how strong the boss is based on the waves of mana coming from the lair-" Winter thought, while the three strongest Shadow Soldiers formed beside him- "But I'm stronger!"
Macey approached Hunter's Guild operations at this dungeon site and looked around. She wore a hat, jeans, and a button-up shirt. "Miss Mears, isn't today our day off?" The manager asked, "Yes, but I'm looking for Winter. I mean-" She stuttered, "Mr. Greats!" She corrected herself. "He's been in the dungeon for just over an hour so far," the manager explained, "it must be a larger dungeon today!" Macey looked at the dungeon entrance and saw the barrier from the outside, "That's not normal!" She thought, walking over to the barrier. Macey placed her hand on the barrier and looked through the opaque magic to find high orc bodies everywhere, "There are orc corpses everywhere-" she thought- "They must have tried to get out, but they're stuck!" Macey rushed to the mining team's gear and grabbed a pickaxe, "I'm going inside!" She rushed back to the barrier, "What? Is something wrong?" the manager asked, "Yes! There's a powerful barrier! Call the MDA!" Macey replied, slamming the pickaxe into the barrier. "Damn, this thing is strong!" She thought, slamming again. It began to crack, "Let us help you!" Some of the mining team offered, rushing over and slamming their axes into the barrier. The glass-like shards of the barrier fell, and Macey instantly sped into the dungeon, following the path of corpses.
Deeper within the dungeon, Oogubugoo sat on a throne within a stadium. He has bright red skin, glowing red eyes, and gray hair. Unlike the rest of his kind, he had an array of neon teal tattoos covering his face, hands, and wrists and wore a tattered brown hooded cloak, a grayish-white face mask that only exposed his eyes and lower jaw, a necklace made of human skulls, and red armored shoulder guards. Two high orcs stood on each side of him. A staircase went down to a path that led to the grand gates of their prized Colosseum. Only a little under a hundred High orcs stood at the gates and another two hundred between Oogubugoo and the gate. The High orcs pushed against it with their might to keep it shut. "It's coming!" the Shamen warned, just before a loud bang on the door rang through the Colosseum. The orcs pushed back against the first attempt, and then a second bang reverberated against the walls, pushing the orcs back, "Are these the humans?" One High orc asked in their language, "No, that is no human!" Oogubugoo explained, watching the gate fly open, launching the little under a hundred high orcs back. Winter stood in a boxing stance, quickly bringing his fist back. He smiled as his now larger army of Shadow Soldiers. Their eyes could be seen behind him. "Welcome," Oogubugoo lifted his head. Winter stepped on the wood path leading to Oogubugoo and his throne. He reached up to his skill mask, "Do you fear me?" He asked, sending a powerful wave of magic from his location. The sensation of powerful attacks shot through the weakest of the Shadow Soldiers and left them weak. "Unfortunately, not!" Winter laughed, and Igris stepped forward with Baruka and Iron.
~>System<{" The [Player]'s [Resistances] Are Too [High] The [Effect: Hymn of Fear] Has Been [Canceled]! The [Shadow Soldiers: Igris, Baruka, And Iron]'s [Resistances] Are Too [High] The [Effect: Hymn of Fear] Has Been [Canceled]!"}>It rang<~
"Impossible!" He roared, and the High orc soldiers began to charge Winter and his army, "This dungeon belongs to the Hunter's Guild-" He thought, the Shadow Soldiers behind him rushing forward, the effects of the spell wearing off- "But I'm supposed to help them as best as I can!" The Armies crashed and began their war. "I've never felt something this strong before," Winter commented, "That shouldn't come as a surprise to you, stranger!" Oogubugoo laughed, "You're right. It's quite an obvious loss-" Winter began- "For you, I mean!" With the three of his strongest Shadow Soldiers rushing in and cutting down the High orc Numbers.
~>System<{" The [Player] Has [Leveled up] {x3}!"}>It displayed<~
Agent River and several colleagues arrived in an MDA car at the Dungeon site, "It must be serious!" One of the mining team members commented, "Yeah! They asked for help even with two S-ranks!" Agent River walked up to the dungeon entrance, and just as he did, powerful waves of magic rushed over him. Feeling the sensation of his glasses being shattered and his suit being torn. He barely spoke out, "What was that?! What powerful auras!" River thought, "Shit! It felt like my body was being ripped apart for a second there!" He cursed, "You too?" The others asked. "This isn't normal! We have to investigate!" River entered the dungeon. "Richard's team killed all of these high orcs?" Macey thought, rushing over several waves of corpses. "I'm not surprised if they could kill more than their team. Winter is on their team, but there are so many!" She commented before a powerful wave of magic rushed through the cave, pushing against Macey's body. "It feels like Winter and the boss are clashing-" She thought- "The others must be alive then!" Macey tied up her hair, discarding the hat before rushing deeper. The strike team came rushing towards her, "Miss Mears!" Richard sighed in relief, "What are you doing? Where's Winter?" She asked, "He's fighting the boss! He ordered us to leave while he had Oogubugoo's attention!" Richard explained, "Oh no!" Macey thought, rushing past them to the lair.
"You dare you challenge me with weak soldiers!?" He laughed as the high orc army clashed with the Shadow Soldiers, "You'll regret looking down on us!" Winter replied, his shadow expanding from him, "Because we've become a lot stronger thanks to you," he smiled.
~>System<{" The [Kill: Monarch's Domain, Level 2] Has Been Enabled! [Shadow Soldiers] Fighting Within The [Shadow] of The [Player] Have a [50% Stat Increase],"}>It rang<~
"I've grown much stronger alongside my soldiers, thanks to the Demon's Castle and the affairs here," Winter thought, smirking as his Shadow Soldier began to push back against the high orcs. "This doesn't make any sense! I can't even summon more than two beasts!" Oogubugoo thought, "How is a human capable of wielding such dark magic-" he continued- "No, it's just that. He's not human!" Igris cut through six high orcs at a time, Tusk crushed another five, and Baraka cut down seven. Winter followed in, and with one swipe, several slashes cut into seven to eight high orcs. "Despite my original Shadow Soldiers being only high B-rank, they're only dying once or twice before they killed two High orcs, and with the new Shadow Soldiers. We'll be done in no time!" Winter thought, "Hymn of Dragon Fire!" Oogubugoo roared, and a powerful explosion of fire blasted toward Winter. "Was he waiting for me to slow down?" He thought, crossing his arms and preparing for the explosion. Just as the massive beam of fire was a foot away, Iron slid across the floor, blocking a small portion of the attack from hitting Winter. As it rushed past them, it exploded against Iron's shield and behind them, cutting both armies in half. "You just took out half of our armies!" Winter looked back. "How foolish of you to act all high and mighty, stranger," Oogubugoo commented. "Speak for yourself-" he began- "My soldiers will regenerate infinitely, you've just screwed yourself over!" Winter retorted. Oogubugoo laughed, leaning back on his throne, "It doesn't matter if they'll regenerate. You'll run out of mana before this is over!" He roared, and Winter leaped up, speeding towards Oogubugoo, "You'll be dead before then!" He brought his daggers down with great strength, "Hymn of protection!" Oogubugoo roared just in time for his daggers to strike a magical barrier. With an explosion, waves of mana rushed over the battlefield, "There's no use! While you waste time with me, your soldiers will continue to decrease your mana reserves!" Oogubugoo explained, "Are you sure about that?" Winter asked, hanging from his daggers that cut deep through the shield, "What?!" He asked, his eyes wide, "I don't think you should be worried about my mana reserves right now!" Winter leaped over the barrier, "Hymn of blazing fire!" Oogubugoo sent off a powerful explosion that filled the Coliseum with fire. An explosion formed on the barrier Oogubugoo created, launching Winter back. "This boss is stronger than Vulcan and Metus!" He thought, landing on his feet, "Behind me are over one hundred orcs, but their numbers are dropping!" Winter rushed through the battlefield, "Normally I would be screwed, but the circumstances are different this time-" Winter smirked and looked to his side- "Shop." Several low-level mana potions filled his inventory until he was satisfied with the amount he bought. "I can replenish my mana whenever I want, but I don't want to drink too much, so I'll make this short," Winter explained while Oogubugoo watched in frustration, "It'll be quite the spectacle!" He added. Dropping the empty potion to the ground, "I'll show you my true power!" Winter thought, "Arise!" He commanded the dead surrounding him, and from these corpses, shadows began to gather from the blood. Solidifying as they crawled up onto their feet, "What is this?! My warriors have turned into the undead!" Oogubugoo leaned forward. "I can't believe this!" He added, "Many of your warriors remain, but they'll join me soon enough! So will you, ultimate," Winter replied, pointing at Oogubugoo with a smug smile.
"Blasphemy! This must mean he's a Ṁ̸̞͈̳̥͐̄̏̔͂͝o̸͇̟̝̙̱̘̣̞͗͗̍̇̚̕̕n̶̨̡̛͙͚̝̖̩͙͙̠̽́͂̆͗̔͊͋á̷͚͓̤̘̪̞͓͙̂̋͊ͅr̶̨̢̨̠̱͉̹̙͎̻̈́̆̈̽c̴̨̝̠͇̟̠̿ͅh̷̲̥̻͈̖͂̊̎͗̊͊̀͜s̷̡̢̧͈̳͍͓̈̉̿̽͊́ , but they're all in hiding!" The words coming from his mouth were distorting unnaturally. "Why were we even born?" Oogubugoo began to think, "Upon waking in this dungeon, all we wanted was to survive! We don't need a reason. We don't want to die!" He thought, "Go! Slaughter him!" Oogubugoo commanded, and his four generals rushed into battle. Iron clashed with the first to attack, a powerful high orc covered in armor. Butting heads with weapons and their skulls, and with the armored high orc dazed, Iron slammed his battle axe into them several times before he fell; an old High orc with white hair and a large beard leaped at Igris. He blocked his attack with the tip of his sword parallel to the ground. He angled his long sword for the old high orc's sword to slide across it, giving Igris time to leap over him and pelt the old high orc with the daggers on his hip. Igris landed as the orc swung his sword again, clearly in pain. Once more, Igris blocked the attack with the tip of his sword facing the floor, and he swiped with all of his might in one hand, launching the old high or back. Iron readied his axe before swinging at the high orc like he was playing baseball. The old high orc flew back, and Tank, the massive ice bear, caught him with his paws. Slamming into the ground, the old high orc died of traumatic injuries. Baruka clashed with the third high orc general. This high orc wore hide all over his body, a jackal head as a helmet, and two clawed gauntlets on each hand. Their claws and daggers clashed as sparks flew; before the high orc knew it, his gauntlet's sharpness wore down, and when he finally struck Baruka, the Hyaki looked down with a crazed smile, stabbing the high orc in the head and ripping it open with both daggers.
The fourth general went after Winter, and without skipping a beat, he was cut down. Tank and Iron gestured to each other, approving of their teamwork. The victorious Shadow Soldiers gathered around Winter, the high orc warriors dwindling as several more soldiers flooded into the dungeon. "Looks like I have the upper hand!" Winter smirked. "Foolish stranger! You're sorely mistaken!" Oogubugoo began, "Hymn of Agony, Fever, and Blindness!" He roared, "I'll shut that arrogant mouth of yours!" Spells flew through the air, "Hymn of Slumber and Lethargy!" He added, targeting Winter with each of these spells. Just as they reached him, they slammed against his wards, causing a blue hue to glow from him.
~>System<{" The [Player]'s [Resistances] Are Too [High]! The [Effects: Hymn of Agony, Fever, Blindness, Slumber, And Lethargy] Have Been [Canceled]! The [Permanent Effect: Longevity] Has Taken Effect, And Any [Negative Status Effects] Will be [Removed],"}>it rang as all of the curses were unbound<~
"What?! Why aren't my curses working?!" Oogubugoo asked, "Don't you remember? I said this is a terrible matchup for you," Winter replied, brushing dust off his shoulder. "Now, to destroy that annoying little shield of yours!" Three of his shadow mages emerged from the battle behind Winter, and together, they created a massive fireball and threw it at Oogubugoo. "Hymn of protection!" He roared, a barrier-forming in time for the fireball to strike it. With a massive explosion, the barrier shattered, and Oogubugoo fell to the ground with fire burning his clothes. He coughed as he breathed in smoke from the fires, "You bastard!" Oogubugoo Watched his army being cut down. Macey walked in, and her eyes met the massive war among shadow monsters and high orcs, "What am I even looking at? Are all of those shadow monsters summoned monsters?" She thought, "Even conjurers can only summon one or two monsters. What is going on right now?!" Macey thought, "Your petty tricks won't work on me anymore!" Oogubugoo roared, "Hymn of Rage, Reinforcement, Giants, And Combustion!" He stood up, growing in size and strength. "T-that's the boss?!" Macey thought, waves of immense mana rushing over her like waves of the ocean. "You insect! I'll kill you!" He roared, "This is the end of for you, cocky stranger! No more games!" Oogubugoo's neck expanded as powerful magma-like fire built up. Behind his head formed a dragon head made of fire with four horns. "I am the almighty Oogubugoo! Let me show you my true power!" He roared, blasting a powerful beam of magical fire, consuming the remaining forces of his warriors and a quarter of Winter's Shadow Soldiers. "Do I look like an easy opponent to you?!" Oogubugoo asked, laughing. Winter appeared to Oogubugoo's left, his right fist bound up, "I would think so," he replied. Winter's fist slammed into Oogubugoo's head, "Growing in size only made it easier for me to attack. A shaman without his guards can't block any attack," Winter explained. "Gah!" Oogubugoo roared in pain, slamming into the ground.