Villain Ch 29. Ghoul
Allen and Larissa panted and caught their breath. They had been hunting for three hours now, chasing down the monsters that lurked in the shadows. Their bodies were slick with sweat, their hearts pounding in their chests.
Allen's voice was strained, his words coming out in short gasps. "I think we should go back," he said, his breathless voice barely audible. He had reached level 21, but it had come at a steep cost. The battles had been relentless, and he was beginning to feel the weight of the exhaustion bearing down on him.
Larissa, who stood next to him, nodded her head in agreement. She too was exhausted. Her focus started to blur from the constant battles. They had fought off an endless stream of monsters, all of them aggressive and determined to take them down.
They were on the second floor, but it felt like they were lost in some otherworldly dimension. The space was vaster than any tower they had ever seen, with winding corridors and cavernous chambers that stretched off into the darkness.
The tower was imbued with powerful magic that was beyond their comprehension. It was clear that this was no ordinary tower, but something ancient and powerful that had been lost to time. The floor beneath their feet was made of a hard, black stone that shimmered in the dim light. It was smooth and unyielding. Every step they took echoed through the chamber, a reminder of the vast emptiness that surrounded them.
Indeed, Allen's Soul Siphon and Larissa's Blood Drain had allowed them to hunt for hours on end, draining their enemies' life force and using it to fuel their own strength. But even their impressive abilities were no match for the monsters that lurked on the second floor of the tower.
The creatures here were unlike any they had encountered before. They were larger, fiercer, more aggressive, and more high-level. The air was thick with the stench of death and decay, as though they had stumbled into a graveyard of monsters.
The first floor was a walk in the park compared to this. It filled with easy-to-defeat enemies like Mutant Poison Mushrooms, Black Bats, and Zombies, none of which were stronger than level 20. But here on the second floor, the monsters were on a whole different level. They had suddenly jumped from level 30 to level 40, and it was clear that they were in over their heads.
If they were normal users, they would have been dead the moment they entered this place. But they were not. Even with their powerful abilities, Allen and Larissa had to use tactics to defeat just one monster due to the level gap.
But even in the face of such overwhelming odds, they pressed on. The rewards for defeating these monsters were too great to ignore. The EXP they gained was incredible, but the item drop rate was another story. They had discovered that a 5-level gap was the sweet spot for getting the best item drops. Anything more or less, and the drop rate plummeted.
The level gap between them and the monsters was also the main reason that even though they weren't far from this floor's entrance portal, they were already out of breath. The only good news for this level was, the monsters didn't attack them in groups. Well, at least that hadn't happened to them yet.
Allen and Larissa's ears were attuned to every sound around them. They picked up on something else - the sound of footsteps approaching them from a distance.
They turned in the direction of the sound, their eyes scanning the darkness for any signs of movement. And then, they saw it. A figure emerged from the shadows, slowly walking towards them.
It was a ghoul, its skin a sickly green hue that seemed to glow in the dim light. Its eyes were sunken and hollow, and its limbs were thin and wiry. As it drew closer, they could see its jagged teeth gleaming in the darkness, and they knew that they were in for a fight.
Green Ghouls
"It's a ghoul, do you want to face it?" she asked him, her voice steady and calm.
"Last one," Allen decided. Although Green Ghoul was a level 40 monster, he had slow movement. His attacks were fatal but easy to read since he always opened his mouth before he made an attack. He didn't have many attack variants other than Bite, Slash, and Poison Attack.
But his HP was another thing.
[HP: 5213]
It was a lot for level 20-ish players like them. They mostly only deal damage of 100-150 points or 200-250 points if they could attack his critical points. One more thing, one hit from the monster was fatal. They would die with two to three hits from the monster.
"Right, let's kill him," she said, setting up her Blood Manipulation skill. Her fingers danced in intricate patterns as she drew upon the power within her. The air around her began to thicken, the very essence of blood coalescing into a powerful force.
Beside her, Allen flicked his fingers in a similar motion, calling forth his Demonic Lances. Ten black spears appeared around him, hovering ominously since he had raised his skill to double their number. He knew that they would need every advantage they could get to take down this beast.
As they prepared to strike, the monster loomed before them, its massive form casting a long shadow across the ground. It bared its teeth in a vicious snarl, ready to unleash its deadly arsenal of attacks.
With a flourish of Allen's hand, he sent them hurtling towards the ghoul, their razor-sharp tips gleaming in the dim light.
The lances slid through the air with deadly grace, slicing through the monster's defenses with ease. But to their surprise, the ghoul was far more agile than they had anticipated. With a deft movement, it sidestepped most of the lances, leaving only two to strike its flesh.
[Green Ghoul has taken 91 damage points!] 2X
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