I spawn into the boss room and ready my sword.
Walls of orange rock surround me on all sides creating a circular battlefield about 50m in diameter. A flash of light obstructs my vision as an enormous troll appears across the makeshift arena.
It's very similar to the ones in the dungeon. This one is just 2m taller, hairier, darker skin, but its disgusting stench remains the same. After using inspect, the monster registers at level 298.
The massive beast immediately charges at me with its heavy club raised high in the air. I activate berserker and bloodlust while igniting my blade.
With one swift kick off a dense pocket of wind magic, I fly toward the monster and slice it in half without a second thought.
I turn around to watch both parts of the defeated troll burn to ash.
"Well, that was probably my fastest boss room win... ever..."
I let my flames die out, then walk over to the dissolving corpse to collect the mana crystal with a long sigh.
Moments later, the transfer magic appears and a white flash of light takes me to floor 14.
I look around In awe as I take in a surreal sight.
The ground is so dark brown, it almost looks black. The terrain is completely flat for as far as the eye can see, and there are very short jagged dead trees every 50m or so in all directions. The sky is such a light tone of blue it looks white. There are very small dark particles that float in the air. When I try to touch them, my hand just slips right through.
"What.... Is this place....?"
I look up to see my other four group members in a similar confused state. They're all looking around aimlessly trying to touch the particles in the air with no success.
Maria turns to me.
"I have no idea... Creepy right?"
She grins cheerfully.
It lightens the mood so I reply back with a thin smile.
"Yeah... Lets... get moving I guess."
We begin to walk straight ahead. We're all on edge quite a bit. I take the rear with Maria while Bruce, Nessa, and Abby travel up front in a triangular formation.
I activate enemy detection, but to my surprise, less than 10 enemies show up. Even when I expand my range throughout the entire dungeon... it's only 10... that's it....
Although there's no threats nearby, I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched. It's like there's eyes peering into my soul from just behind my shoulder.
"Uh- guys. Does anyone else feel like there is someone watching us-"
"YES!"
Abby turns with a crazy look in her eyes.
"I can't take it anymore! I thought I was going crazy!!!"
She starts looking over her shoulder furiously as Bruce and Nessa turn to me as well. The tank speaks up.
"I feel it too. Eerie, but bearable."
Nessa smirks as I see a fire light up in her eyes.
"Whatever it is, I want to fight it."
Maria chuckles.
"Yeah, I felt it the moment I entered this place... I agree Nessa, freezing it solid is high up on my priority list."
I nod.
"Hmmm."
We continue walking and I continue scanning the area with enemy detection.
This goes on for a while....
Over an hour of consistent walking goes by, and not a single monster appears the entire time.
The landscape remains exactly the same as we walk further in. The feeling of being watched hasn't changed one bit either.
My enemy detection skill finds three targets in the distance. Two of them are close together directly in front of us, while another is off to my right side but still a ways away.
[600m]
[Lv. 303]
[Lv. 299]
[800m]
[Lv. 300]
I call out to the group while pointing my blade forward.
"We're about to have some company. Maybe we'll get to see what this dungeon is all about. Stay Alert."
I get a round of head nods and grunts of agreement as we continue forward into the eerie wasteland.
It's so silent, and we've already walked so far. The endless flat void goes on forever around us In all directions. The only noises I hear are the footsteps in front of me.
Finally, about 10 minutes later Abby's voice breaks the silence.
"Hey! I see someone! Two people actually!"
She turns back excitedly while pointing forward.
I grit my teeth.
"People? So.. they aren't monsters?"
"Nope, they're definitely people!"
I continue scanning our surroundings as we trek forward and two shadowy humanoid figures come into view.
[150m]
[Lv. 303]
[Lv. 299]
[300m]
[Lv. 300]
I can sense a third, but as I look around it's nowhere to be found.
"Stay on guard."
Bruce tightens his grip on his hammer, Nessa lights a small flicker of a flames on her sword, Abby begins glowing Green, Maria starts leaving small patches of ice behind with every step, and I stare straight ahead trying to figure out what exactly we're walking into.
Less than a minute later, we are all within battle range. I mutter under my breath as the figures become more clear to me.
"Ugh, they were just hunters after all that... Where are the monsters...?"
I roll my eyes and let out a long sigh. Unfortunately, my pouting gets rudely interrupted by a light elbow to the gut from Maria.
"Hey! Look! It's them! It's the-"
One of the tall figures steps forward and my eyes widen as he yells out at us with a smirk across his face.
"Who would have thought I'd get the pleasure to see your face again? It looks like Portal Boy and his girlfriend have a crew! Isn't that nice?"
He looks over to his partner with a sly grin.
I Immediately use inspect and appraisal to confirm my suspicions.
The first man is middle-aged, wearing silver armor with a large axe and a shaved head.
[Lv. 303]
Active Items:
[High Ogre's Axe] +350 Strength
[Enchanted Steel Armor Set] +500 Defense
[Stealth Boots] +300 Speed +300 Agility
[Dragon's Scale Pendant] +50% Magic Resistance
[Serpent's Ring] +70% Mental Strength
[Desert Troll's Charm] +45% Mental Strength
[Rodrigo's Silver Bracelet]
Active Skills:
Combat Magic [Lightning Summoning]
His partner is on the shorter side with much heavier armor, short black hair, a long silver sword, and a toothy grin.
[Lv. 299]
Active Items:
[Steel Sword] +300 Strength
[Enchanted Steel Armor Set] +600 Defense
[Enchanted Leather Boots] +300 Speed
[Dragon's Scale Pendant] +50% Magic Resistance
[Gargoyle's Ring] +60% Mental Strength
[Desert Troll's Charm] +45% Mental Strength
[Rodrigo's Silver Bracelet]
Active Skills:
Swordsmanship
Extreme Defense
"It's them...."
I look at the two men in front of me remembering back to when we met at the beginning of this exam. Maria and I were no match for the two of them, I had to use my Dungeon Walker ability to run away. I guess that's where I got the nickname "Portal Boy"....
I look at him with a blank annoyed stare for a moment... then gulp realizing the seriousness of this situation.
"RUN! EVERYONE RUN. WE'RE NO MATCH FOR THEM."
The lightning user stares me in the eyes and lets out a long bellowing laugh.
"You got that right kid!"
He begins glowing bright yellow, I yell again.
"RUN! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF! WE'LL MEET BY THE BOSS ROOM!"
Maria turns to look at me with concern filled her eyes. I ignnite myself into a ball of flames activating berserker and bloodlust before replying.
"Trust me. I can handle them."
She nods, then darts away calling out to the others.
"This way! Jay can do this!"
Maria forms a massive wall of Ice as the lightning user lets out an enormous attack. Arcs of electricity fill the air as her white crystal wall explodes into a million pieces.
I give Abby, Nessa, and Bruce a firm nod before the cloud of snow and Ice fills our vision.
I hear the angry lightning user yell out.
"You're running away from us again? You cowards!!!"
I run in between the two of them and my escaping teammates before I reply.
"Don't worry! I won't miss out on the fun this time around."
The snow cloud settles leaving me face to face with the two overpowered warriors.
The last time I faced them, I had much less gear, no bloodlust or wind-summoning skills, and had the burden of protecting Maria while I fought. This time, I'll get to go all out.
I see malicious grins appear on both of their faces as they look me up and down. The swordsman speaks up.
"I didn't have the pleasure of finishing off your partner last time we met, I guess you'll have to do."
His eyes widen with anticipation as he stares at me. The lightning user turns to him, steps back, then crosses his arms.
"Go for it Abe, this runt is all yours. I'll only step in if it gets dicey. He does have a few good moves, so be careful."
Without another word, the muscular swordsman runs at me with his sword at the ready.
I smirk and run back at him.
Our battle has already begun.
*CLANGGG*
Our swords collide with the loud sound of metal on metal. He grits his teeth as I push him backward with pure strength alone. After a moment, I summon a dense wall of wind to push my sword forward even further and ignite my flames to burn red hot.
"Y-You damn-arghhh!"
*ZAPPPPP*
The moment the swordsman loses his balance, I feel a familiar painful shock of electricity surge through my entire body.
I let out a loud yell and fall to my knees.
"Just as I thought. Looks like you learned a few more tricks! Abe, sorry to cut you short, but he's all mine."
The fallen swordsman nods and gulps.
With heavy breaths, I regenerate my scorched flesh and pick myself back up and stare the lightning user in the eyes.
"Scared already?"
*ZAPPPPPP*
I fall to my knees again letting out a chaotic laugh while reaching into my item box for an HP potion.
I regenerate my sizzling skin one more time while darting backward to drink the HP potion and think of a strategy.
"Not so fast Portal Boy!"
The lightning user is hot on my tail, less than 10m behind me.
I jump up into the air and summon a dense pocket of wind magic directly in front of me.
"It's time to put this practice to use."
I plant my right foot in the open air and push off it while spinning a full 180 degrees.
With my flames burning hot, berserker and bloodlust at full blast, I activate intimidation while flying straight at the lightning mage. My sword glows red and I focus on my prey.
His eyes open wide in confusion as I land a critical hit across his chest. A dark wave of fire is released from my sword and I let my wind magic carry it forward with immense power.
On impact, I'm shocked to the core with a counterattack. An intense current of electricity drops me to the floor. I watch my opponent collapse in front of me with a fiery wound as well.
Both of us cough up a mouthful of blood and stand to our feet moments later....
Black dust from the ground fills the air.
He grins, rubbing the wide-open gash in his chest through a shattered thick plate of steel armor.
"Not bad, not bad at all."
I look back at him with my sword at the ready.
"You're not too bad yourself."
He smirks and looks over his shoulder.
"Abe, we're not taking any more chances here. Time to double-team him, this is our toughest opponent yet."
I grit my teeth as the swordsman walks over.
Then...
I hear footsteps.
Very faint, very quick footsteps coming from behind me.
I reactivate enemy detection.
[10m]
[Lv. 300]
I grip my sword even tighter, then duck and swerve out of the way as a cloaked figure jumps over my head with alarming speed.
*SHINGGGG*
I watch the mystery man in black slice at the swordsman's neck with a pair of gleaming daggers.
A flash of white light fills our battlefield as Abe disappears and the dust settles. The mysterious rogue darts behind the lightning user and readies his blades again.
I stare in awe. He took out that tank of a swordsman in just one hit...
The man speaks up in a low, but clear voice.
"Care to team up? I like your style."
The hooded man lifts his head to look me straight in the eyes.
I nod at him firmly one time, then point my glowing blade at the lightning user's head.
"Works for me."