The white transfer magic leaves my vision as I ready my blades, turning on enemy detection.
The sky above me is a pale grey, and the landscape in front of me is made of completely black glossy stone. Formations of rectangular-shaped rocks jut out from the ground in crystal-like structures. They form walls creating an abstract maze of pathways as far as the eye can see.
I gulp, moving my head back and forth, then opening my spacial magic to let Ember out.
With a burst of dark flames, the Dragon appears. I hop on his back and we fly up into the sky to take a better look at the landscape.
What I see below is intriguing, but not exactly comforting...
The four-sided crystal-like black stone structures fill the entire dungeon in all shapes and sizes. Some are mountain-sized, creating high peaks in the distance. Some consolidate together, creating rolling hills and valleys. Other sections are more abstract making winding mazes that hunters could get lost in for hours.
We soar through the air in silence, as the ominous structures whiz by, below us. I sense a few enemies on the way, but I haven't gotten a close look at one just yet. They're all between levels 390 and 400.
Until...
"Ember."
I point down toward a massive flat black structure off I the distance about 500m away. There's a lone enemy standing in the middle of it, this one caught my eye when sense it on my radar. It's the same exact level as me.
[Lv. 408]
"Let's go down there. I need a warm-up before the boss room. This must be some kind of mutant."
With a powerful flap of his wings, Ember changes his flight path and starts a direct course for the soon-to-be battlefield.
Squinting, I can make out a humanoid figure just over 200m away now. I've never seen a dungeon like this and definitely haven't faced the monsters within it.
The fact that these monsters are my level, means they'll have enough exp to actually give me some proper growth.
"Finally, it's time to get stronger."
We glide down, faster and faster. The mysterious monster finally comes into sight and I get a solid look at the creature.
It looks like a man... A very, very oversized man with red skin standing nearly 4m tall. With human-like facial features, but sharp jagged Parada-like teeth, the beast turns toward me letting out an eardrum-bursting shriek. It's almost the size of a Yeti, but much more compact and agile looking.
Muscles ripple all over its body, and bulging veins pop out through a layer of lightweight silver armor and its sharp green eyes stare vehemently into mine.
Lastly, it carries a long silver sword...
I use Appraisal.
____________________
Active Items:
[Berserker Giant's Armor Set] +1000 Defense
[Berserker Giant's Long Sword] [Blood Bonded] +1000 Attack +500 Agility
Active Skills:
Swordsmanship
Berserker
____________________
I jump off Ember's back to plummet down at the creature. The Dragon hovers above awaiting orders.
I let out an excited laugh while activating all of my stat-boosting skills, charging my blades, and bursting into flames.
The beast below me continues to screech, beginning to glow red from its Berserker skill. Its eyes dart back and forth with extreme precision.
I watch the monster swing its long silver sword around, readying it as I descend from the sky above.
It doesn't flinch for a second as I charge my blades up to 2000MP each, dipping into my stored mana crystals. This is 4000MP in total, the same amount it took to defeat the Yeti boss.
Grinning ear to ear, less than 15m above the ground, I let out a battle cry to match its screeching.
My attack of fire and wind erupts from both blades and hurdles toward the red-glowing beast.
I watch it shift its body weight and grip its sword tight. A devious grin shows on the monster's face, the jagged teeth reflect the light of my incoming strike.
Using my wind magic, I slow my fall to watch the two energy attacks collide with the Berserker Giant's silver sword. A flash of white light appears on impact, and I watch the monster before me block both of my elements-imbued slashes to the side like a foul ball.
There is some pushback on impact, but no damage is done to the Giant or its blade. That same invisible shield of mana is being used again, and it's much stronger this time around...
I grit my teeth, remembering back to the Yeti blocking my attack with its bare hands. Now, a double-strength attack blocked with an effortless swing of the sword?
Without a moment's hesitation, the green-eyed Berserker shifts its weight again, locking its gaze on me in the sky and sprinting forward with terrifying speed and agility.
Before I can think to move, the monster jumps up in the air with its sword pointed straight ahead. Like a rocket, shooting up from the ground, I watch in awe as the 4m tall Giant jumps over 10m in the air with its blade aimed right at me. I airstrip upwards and the creature continues to follow another 10m up into the sky.
I watch in awe as this beast jumps over 5 times its height without breaking a sweat.
"Dungeon Walker."
I blip away, about 100m backward even higher up in the sky. I take a deep breath, activating my All-Seeing Eye to re-access the scene.
The Giant falls to the floor with a thud far away from me. I air-step closer but keep my distance, examining the beast and its surroundings. It glares at me, holding its sword steady while glowing red and pacing back and forth.
Ember's voice tugs at the back of my mind, so I open top our link momentarily. He speaks.
"That was a good start. I've fought a similar Class of Berserkers in my past life. They're skilled battle opponents, but simple to defeat once you figure out their techniques."
I clench my jaw, a bit embarrassed about having to retreat after my first attack went south.
"I'll get it this time. Just watch..."
Cutting off my link, then staring down at the pacing menace, I begin charging up an ultimate attack.
Opening up my item storage, I don't try to conserve a drop of MP. The only thing on my mind is taking this creature out. The way it stares at me with its sharp green eyes and open mouth like I'm its prey makes me sick.
The faster I can rid the world of that pest, the better.
I begin to float downward, making sure not to get too close to the Berserker's jumping range. After 20 seconds or so, I've charged up a decent attack. Full of rage, I've managed to build up 4000MP per blade.
"More..."
Continuing to glide closer and closer to the savage beast, another 10 seconds pass and I've charged up a 10k MP attack. This is nearing my upper limit....
Aiming straight, and letting out a yell, I let the highly refined flames and wind soar from my blades. The dual high-pressure attack tears through the dungeon's thick air, leaving heat residue in its path.
The Berserker's lips curl at either side, and its green eyes bulge at the sight of my new attack. It grips its sword and begins to glow dark red while planting its back foot.
A smile of my own creeps across my face as I realize it's going to take my attack head-on. The one I just released is well over twice as powerful as the last. This beast is in for a surprise.
Hoping to watch Berserker Giant's guts fill my vision, I eagerly wait for the moment of impact.
Watching closely with my All- Seeing Eye, new information is uncovered during this exchange.
As the two dense crescents of energy make contact with the Giant's blade, the usual white flash of dense mana being released blinds me. Before impact, I watch the two dense barriers collide.
The energy is almost acting like two solid objects, hence the loud metallic twang, but it's still hard to tell exactly how it's done.
Before I'm able to extract any more data, the wind and fire magic expands exploding into an array of white and red flames and white wind.
"This is good..."
Last time the attacks were completely deflected, this time they managed to hit something and explode on impact. Surely I landed a fatal attack.
Smirking I keep my guard up, but slowly float down to check out the scene.
As the magic residue, along with chunks of rock and dust begin to clear, I let out a slight gasp...
I'm filled with excitement, along with a bit of nerves at the sight before me.
The Berserker still stands gripping its sword, glowing bright red. Its entire right arm is badly burned... but somehow not on fire....
Deep cuts from my wind magic have sliced up its torso and dragged its armor, it drips red blood onto the hard black dungeon floor.
I can see every last one of its teeth as the jagged smile cuts deep into my soul from nearly 30m up in the air.
It lets out a screech, jumping upward with its sword pointed taught ahead. The monster is ready for more...
I let out a chuckle.
"Now, this is going to be a good fight."