After the Rift was finally brought under control, Lucas dragged his exhausted body back to his small, cluttered home.
He collapsed into his worn-out couch, sinking into it like dough. It felt like he had just run a marathon, which, in a way, he had—he had narrowly escaped the nightmare that was "Rift Valley."
His phone was still clenched tightly in his hand, his knuckles white from the grip. His eyes, however, were glazed over, like his mind was still trapped in that eerie world.
The battle replayed in his head over and over, every detail flashing before his eyes.
Especially that terrifying moment when the Rift Wraith rushed at him—its speed and the split second when Fire Blast hit, the burst of flames illuminating its agonizing screech before it vanished.
"I... actually made it out alive," Lucas muttered, letting out a long breath, realizing his palms were drenched in sweat.
He had thought that all his experience from countless virtual dungeon runs would make the real-world version feel like just another game.
But when he stared into the bloodthirsty eyes of the Rift Hounds, he realized how wrong he was. "Virtual monsters" don't send shivers down your spine, don't stink of blood and decay, and they sure don't make your heart feel like it's about to leap out of your chest.
"Yep, real dungeons are a hundred times scarier than virtual ones," Lucas muttered as he grabbed a can of soda from the table and took a long, desperate swig.
The cold fizz exploded in his throat, calming his nerves a bit. He finished the can in one gulp and let out a burp. "Monsters are crazy tough, and the cooldowns are too damn long!"
Grumbling to himself, Lucas opened his character panel on his phone.
Now that he was safe, it was time to rethink his skill setup.
[Character Info Panel]
Level: 11
Class: None
Skills:Fire Blast,Frost Shield,Wind Dash
"The cooldowns are killing me…" Lucas frowned. Fire Blast had decent power, but the long cooldown left him feeling like a sitting duck against the fast monsters.
Frost Shield was great for blocking attacks, but once it broke, all he had left was running for his life.
He stared at the screen, replaying the battle in his mind.
The Rift Hounds' speed had completely caught him off guard, and the Rift Wraith's sudden attack almost took him out.
Without Wind Dash, he would've been hound food by now.
"Skill combos, huh... I need to figure out a solid combo," Lucas mumbled, feeling like a cornered engineer trying to create a solution with minimal resources.
After thinking it over, he decided to dive back into testing today and see if he could find an effective combo that worked in both the game and the real world.
"Alright, let's do this," Lucas said, opening up the virtual dungeon screen.
His fingers moved swiftly across the screen, pulling up a familiar map: the Rift Hound Nest.
This was one of the low-level dungeons he knew like the back of his hand.
The hounds were fast and hit hard, making it the perfect place to test his skill combo. Sure, he had almost died in the real version of this dungeon, but the virtual world was his domain—his "game extraction" lab.
"Alright, Rift Hounds, let's see who's boss now." Feeling more confident, Lucas selected the dungeon.
The screen flickered, and the familiar setting appeared. Deep growls echoed from the cave, and the atmosphere was thick with tension.
Without hesitating, Lucas moved forward, and sure enough, several Rift Hounds lurked in the shadows, their eyes glowing with menace.
"Let's get started." Lucas gripped his phone tightly, targeting the first hound.
It darted toward him like a bullet, moving so fast it was almost impossible to react.
"Wind Dash!" Lucas's fingers swiped across the screen, and his character blurred into a shadow, dodging the hound's attack at the last second.
"This feels so good!" Lucas thought, thrilled by the agility of Wind Dash. It was a lifesaver, pulling him out of danger just in time.
But he knew he couldn't rely on dodging alone—he wasn't prey.
The hound charged again, claws cutting through the air. This time, Lucas didn't dash away. Instead, he activated Frost Shield.
The hound slammed into the shield with a heavy thud, cracks spreading across the barrier.
"Now's my chance!" Lucas's eyes lit up as he unleashed Fire Blast.
Flames erupted from his hands, striking the hound's head and engulfing it in fire.
It howled in pain, rolling on the ground before falling still.
The combo felt perfect, but Lucas knew something was still nagging at him—the cooldowns.
The combo worked well this time, but in a larger fight with more enemies, could he really pull it off as smoothly?
He wasn't ready to stop. Like a boxer who'd tasted victory, Lucas wanted more.
He continued moving through the dungeon, testing his combo on more hounds, repeating Wind Dash, Frost Shield, and Fire Blast in different scenarios.
Little by little, Lucas started to develop a better rhythm. Wind Dash to create space, Frost Shield to block the next attack, and Fire Blast to finish off the enemy.
It wasn't flawless, but it gave him enough time to defend and deal damage without taking unnecessary risks.
Of course, all of this depended on staying calm.
If he lost focus or made a mistake, the cooldowns would leave him vulnerable.
After a long series of fights, Lucas finally defeated the last hound. He took a deep breath, a small smile creeping onto his face.
His combo execution had gotten smoother, and his strategy was starting to come together.
"Not bad, but the cooldowns are still an issue," Lucas wiped the sweat from his forehead, scrolling through his character info.
He realized that to make even more progress in the dungeon, he'd need to either level up more or unlock stronger skills to overcome the cooldown bottleneck.
"That's enough for today. At least I've got a plan now," he stretched, yawning.
Over the next few days, Lucas planned to focus on leveling up, aiming to reach level 15 for a class upgrade.
As a "game extractor," he knew that with a class change, he'd unlock new skills and powers, which would be crucial for facing the tougher challenges ahead.