While Damian was incinerating the entire swarm of Plague Silk Spiders that had emerged from the Red Gate, his relentless barrage of fireballs and flame spears created an orchestra of explosions that echoed through the once-crowded city of Rome.
These deafening sounds did not go unnoticed.
The Vatican City, located close to the Colosseum where Damian's fiery onslaught was unfolding, took particular note of the chaos.
Not only was Damian annihilating the monstrous spiders, but he was also inadvertently destroying one of Rome's most famous tourist landmarks.
It was midnight, and the sky was shrouded in darkness, with the moon hidden behind a veil of clouds.
In this foreboding atmosphere, dozens of explosions erupted, while the acrid smoke from the burning corpses of the Plague Silk Spiders filled the air.
The flames had begun consuming the webbed domain, producing dense, suffocating smoke that could be seen even from far away, alerting onlookers that something was happening in the abandoned Colosseum area.
"What in God's name is going on?"
"Have the monsters begun emerging from their domains?"
The Vatican's lesser-ranked awakened stared at the Colosseum in horror, murmuring among themselves.
They were among the weaker members of the Vatican's forces, with the more elite personnel scattered across the globe.
Around three hundred people were stationed in Vatican City, as the others were engaged in missionary work, helping followers of their faith survive the apocalypse.
Thanks to the arrival of the system and the ensuing chaos, the Vatican's influence had been growing steadily.
It was on its way to becoming one of the most formidable forces in the world.
Suddenly, the entire cathedral hall fell silent.
The two hundred believers parted to make way for a single figure.
A woman with long, curly blonde hair and piercing blue eyes strode forward.
She wore a black, form-fitting tactical outfit adorned with a hoodie and a veil that completely covered her hair, leaving only her eyes visible.
Her attire included belts, straps, and holsters carrying twin daggers on either side.
On her back rested a gleaming silver spear.
The ensemble looked highly functional, designed for agile movement.
Her outfit also bore religious elements: crosses on her shoulders, a golden cross pendant around her neck, and the Vatican's emblem on her arms.
"Make way for the Saintess," someone whispered reverently.
Behind her followed a group of women dressed similarly, their faces mostly hidden except for their eyes.
However, their uniforms were far less ornate than the Saintess's.
The Saintess cast a glance toward the Colosseum, where she could sense a powerful presence locked in battle with the invading monsters.
"Where are the generals? Have they been informed?" she asked without looking at the others.
"Three of the generals have gone to the World Council of Churches to discuss church affairs, and the other four are accompanying the Pope to the Anglican Communion," one of the warrior nuns replied.
The Saintess narrowed her eyes, then turned her attention back toward the Colosseum.
"It is the Vatican's sacred duty to protect its people and its home. If whatever is happening in the Colosseum is deemed a threat, it is our responsibility to eliminate it," she declared.
"With the generals absent, the duty falls to us, the warrior nuns."
"Let's go," she commanded before leaping forward, sprinting toward the Colosseum.
The warrior nuns followed closely behind, their movements swift and disciplined.
Damian was unaware that one of the Vatican's most powerful factions was now heading straight for him.
Having exterminated all the spiders within the Colosseum, Damian stood face-to-face with the gate's boss monster.
[Name: Plague Silk Spider Lord
Level: 50
The sole evolved plague spider in the entire nest. Having devoured its kin to ascend, it possesses more potent venom, stronger webs, and exceptional adaptability to its environment.]
"Why doesn't the system ever include their weaknesses in the descriptions?" Damian muttered to himself.
He summoned six flame spears, which materialized from a glowing reddish-orange magic circle.
As he watched, a massive spider emerged from the gate.
It was at least twice the size of any he had faced before.
Its grotesque mouth, bristling with thorn-like appendages, dripped venom as it charged furiously toward him.
"Go," Damian commanded with a wave of his hand.
The flame spears seemed to have a mind of their own as they accelerated, streaking through the air and hurtling directly at the monster's face.
As soon as the flame spear landed on the spider's face, it exploded, causing minimal damage and making the monstrous creature writhe in pain.
"Tch, its scales are even tougher." Damian narrowed his eyes in annoyance, sprinting toward the spider.
He jumped onto its massive carapace-like head under the veil of smoke, drawing his sword from behind him and slashing at the spider's eyes.
Thick green blood spurted from the wound, but before Damian could land another blow, one of the spider's legs, covered with sharp claws, lashed out, trying to pierce his body.
Damian reacted quickly, leaping away from the attack.
He gripped his sword with both hands and raised it above his head as he landed on the back of the monster's head.
His legs didn't touch the ground first; instead, the blade of his sword made contact, sinking into the creature's skull.
Using every ounce of physical strength he had, aided by gravity pulling him downward, Damian slashed directly at the center of the spider's head.
With a teeth-rattling sound, the sword pierced the exoskeleton, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
GROWL!
The monster didn't die immediately.
Instead, it writhed in pain and went into a frenzy, attacking blindly and spitting its venomous saliva everywhere, even onto itself.
This gave Damian the opening he needed.
Damian took a deep breath, vanished from his spot, and reappeared under the spider's belly.
He pointed his palm upward, and one by one, eight reddish-orange magic circles appeared in the air.
From these circles, fireballs manifested and shot themselves at the spider from below.
As soon as they made contact, they exploded with tremendous force, sending the spider tumbling a few meters into the air.
But Damian didn't stop.
He continued to summon fireballs, preventing the spider from landing, and each time the fireballs exploded against its body, they rapidly destroyed chunks of its exoskeleton.
Damian only stopped when he saw thousands of pieces of the spider's flesh raining down around him, showering him with green blood.
That's when the system notification appeared before his eyes.
[Experience limit reached]
[You have leveled up]
[You have slayed the Boss of the Dungeon]
[You have cleared the 'Plague Silk' Dungeon]
[Reward: +10 free stat points]
[It has been detected that you are the first person on Earth to clear a third Dungeon solo]
[Additional Reward: +10 free stat points]
Damian didn't even glance at the system notifications.
His attention was focused on the boss monster's corpse and the remaining bodies of the other monsters.
He extended his palm and activated his unique innate ability.
[Extraction: Unique Ability activated]
A blue vortex made of pure energy manifested from his hand, drawing in the energy stored in the source core of all the monster spiders.
The energy was absorbed into the vortex and flowed directly into Damian's mana core.
[Your mana core is replenishing]
[Your mana core is replenishing]
[Your mana core is completely replenished]
[Your mana increased: +12]
Unlike his physical attributes, his energy stats such as mana and Qi could only be increased through cultivation.
Normally, to increase his Mana stat, Damian would need to absorb energy from the atmosphere.
But thanks to his unique ability, [Extraction], he could directly absorb energy from a target and make it his own.
After completely absorbing the monsters' mana, Damian sighed as the exhaustion from the battle began to set in.
[Your proficiency with your unique ability has increased]
[You have unlocked a sub-ability of your unique ability, 'Extraction']
But just as fatigue started to overwhelm him, he sensed a presence approaching.
Behind that presence, there were other presences following close behind.