"Here, drink it," Kael said,as he held out a small vial filled with a shimmering golden liquid.
The red-haired girl, trembling from the pain looked up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Her face pale and streaked with tears. "Are you... really-y giving... me this?" she asked, her voice weak, almost incredulous.
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"Do you want to drink it or not?" he replied, his tone neither kind nor harsh but carrying an air of finality.
She hesitated for a moment before nodding, her trembling hands reaching out. "Thank-k you," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
She uncorked the vial and drank the potion, a wave of warmth immediately spreading through her body.
The wounds on her arms and legs began to heal rapidly.
Kael straightened up, his sword restincasually on his shoulder, its blade gleaming faintly with residual energy from the battle.
He turned to leave, his black cloak swaying behind him.
"Okay, bye then," kael said.
"Wait!" the girl called out, struggling to her feet.
Her red hair, messy and singed, framed her face as she steadied herself against the wall.
"My name is Evelyn."
Kael paused mid-step, glancing back over his shoulder.
"Kael," he said simply, his gaze briefly meeting hers before he turned away again.
Without another word. Kael vanished into the labyrinth, his figure dissolving into the shadows as if he had never been there.
Evelyn stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the empty space where he had just been.
"Kael…" she murmured, clutching the now-empty vial in her hand.
...
(POV : Kael)
"Seven months..." Kael muttered to himself, reflecting on his journey.
It had been seven grueling months since Kael entered the labyrinth.
Kael leaned against a jagged rock, wiping sweat from his brow.
His goal of reaching S-rank stats was almost within his grasp.
The labyrinth had been his crucible, testing him with beasts of all shapes and sizes.
Yet, his real purpose for coming here had been more specific.
"I came here for the sword of Eclipserion," Kael muttered.
"But...then , I realized it couldn't compare to the one I already have." His gaze shifted to the hilt of his own sword, Aetherial Fang, its intricate runes pulsating with faint light.
A weapon forged from the essence of a fallen star, it was one of the few legendary-rank items in existence.
"My mother..." Kael's lips curled into a rare, bittersweet smile.
"She really love me." The thought of Seraphina, his dragon queen mother, gave him strength.
Kael pushed off the rock, his mind returning to the task at hand.
"Stats almost maxed to S rank, skills leveled up. Only one thing left is the sword of Eclipserion."
'I know I have good sword but i can't leave mythic rank item' kael muttered to himself.
His destination loomed ahead—a massive cave entrance shrouded in darkness, with faint growls and an ominous hum emanating from within.
The air grew colder, and the hairs on the back of Kael's neck prickled as he approached.
"This is it," Kael said, steeling himself.
The entrance to the cave was marked by claw marks larger than a grown man.
A faint vibration shook the ground with every low rumble from inside.
His grip tightened on Aetherial Fang. "The Skelvanith Wyrm. A boss-tier monster. A-rank..."
Kael took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I don't know if I can win. But if I don't try, what was all this for?"
Resolving himself, Kael stepped into the cave.
The darkness inside seemed alive, wrapping around him like a predator stalking its prey.
"No turning back now," Kael thought, his emerald eyes gleaming with determination as he disappeared into the abyss.
As Kael advanced deeper into the cave, the air grew thick.
"What is deal with this smell" kael muttered.
A distinct rancid odor-a stench that made his nose twitch.
It was the unmistakable smell of death, of monsters that had been slain recently.
Something was wrong.
Kael paused for a moment, his senses on high alert.
No sound could be heard other than his own breathing.
Step
Kael took another step forward, his hand instinctively tightening on the hilt of Aetherial Fang.
But as he ventured further.
"What is going on" kael muttered.
As he saw hundreds of monster lifeless body lying on the ground.
He continues to go deeper in the cave. Despite his senses telling him to run.
what he saw ahead made his heart skip a beat.
There, lying in the center of the carnage was the Skelvanith Wyrm, the monster he had been preparing to face was lying dead.
But the truly horrifying sight was what stood above it.
A beast so colossal that it made the Skelvanith Wyrm look like an insect.
It was covered in fiery scales that shimmered with an almost ethereal glow, each one seemingly pulsing with heat.
Its body was long and serpentine, with jagged claws and a monstrous, horned head. Its molten eyes glowed like two suns, and from its mouth, streams of smoke and ash billowed into the air.
CRUNCH....TEAR
The creature was tearing into the Skelvanith Wyrm's corpse, its enormous jaws snapping as it feasted on the remains.
Kael's breath caught in his throat as he tried to process the sheer size and ferocity of the monster before him.
Ding
Suddenly, a system window popped
_____________
Name: Ash Drake.
Rank: S
Element: fire
______________
Kael's eyes widened in shock, and his body froze.
The monster molten gaze shifted in his direction, locking onto him.
For a brief moment, time seemed to stand still as the creature's gaze met Kael's.
The cave grew deathly silent, except for the slow, deliberate slithering of the monster as it turned its massive head toward him.
The air around Kael felt as if it were heating up, the temperature rising to an unbearable level. Every instinct screamed at him to flee, but he stood there, paralyzed, as the beast let out a deep, rumbling growl.
ROOOOAAAARRRRR...
Kael's heart raced, his mind spinning as his body reacted to the overwhelming pressure of the creature's presence.
"Why... is an S rank..... monster here" kael muttered.
"Why is my luck so fucked up?" He muttered again.
Kael's mind raced as his instincts kicked in.
This monster was far too powerful for him to face head-on.
He made a split-second decision—run.
He turned and sprinted, his legs moving faster than they ever had before, the sound of his boots pounding against the stone floor echoing in the cavern.
Behind him, the monstrous beast let out an earth-shaking
ROOOOAAARRRR....
Kael felt the ground tremble beneath him as the monster launched itself into the air.
Kael pushed himself harder, the adrenaline surging through his veins.
Kael decided to use Venezia sanguis. Just then..
THUD
The creature landed blocking his path.
Kael skidded to a halt, his heart hammering in his chest.
The monster was now standing directly in front of him, its gargantuan form filling his vision. Its molten eyes gleamed with fiery malice.
The heat emanating from it was unbearable, the temperature around Kael spiking dangerously high.
This is it... I'm trapped.