The second dungeon...
The identity of this horrid hell Thors had entered... He recalled the name every passing minute. Maybe even every second, as his straining muscles reminded him of it with every movement.
He couldn’t recall how many monsters he had slain, nor how much suffering he had endured throughout the span of the battle.
Faces blurred before his gaze.
Presences mixed together.
His ears were filled with nothing but snarls, roars, explosions, and the thunderous crackle of his own lightning.
His mind registered nothing but monsters to be slain.
’Damnit...’
Thors raised a trembling hand into the air.
Golden lightning gathered around his fingers before exploding outward in a concentrated beam.
The attack struck the body of a hefty black abomination charging at him on all fours.
BOOM!
Its entire upper body vanished beneath the overwhelming force, its flesh disintegrating into ash and dust that scattered across the battlefield.
Thors barely had time to lower his arm.
A flash of claws suddenly tore toward his face.
His eyes widened.
He raised his forearm just in time.
SLASH!
Blood sprayed through the air.
The claws ripped across his arm, carving four deep lines into his flesh.
Thors groaned, staggering backward.
Before he could regain his balance, a large, viscous blue tongue shot toward him from the mouth of an overgrown, grotesque frog.
It moved with terrifying speed.
Thors ducked.
The tongue passed over his head and slammed into the concrete behind him.
BOOM!
The impact tore through the ground with ease, ripping apart the concrete and leaving a deep trench in its wake.
’The hell...’
Thors’ pupils contracted.
He didn’t need to be told.
Taking even a single direct hit from this monster, despite his increased Charisma points, would definitely kill him.
Then more tongues emerged.
One.
Two.
Three.
They sprang from different directions, their slimy surfaces glistening beneath the burning sun as they converged on Thors from every possible angle.
Each one aimed to end his sorry existence.
"Shit!"
Thors gritted his teeth and braced himself.
Golden lightning erupted around his arm.
He thrust his hand forward and let the lightning collide with the first tongue instantly incinerated it.
The creature shrieked.
Still, Thors didn’t stop.
He dashed sharply to the left, his boots scraping against the broken concrete as two more tongues ripped through the space he had occupied only moments before.
BOOM!
A wave of explosions followed him.
The ground beneath his feet erupted.
Dust and chunks of concrete flew into the air.
Thors twisted his body through the debris, narrowly avoiding another attack.
He took a brief glance over his shoulder.
Several more tongues were already coming.
They shot toward him like living rockets.
His teeth clenched.
The idea that came to mind next could well be considered stupidity of the highest order.
"Oh, don’t fuck me up..."
Thors suddenly changed direction.
Instead of running away from the massive frog...
He ran toward it.
His boots dug into the ground before he dropped his body low and slid directly beneath its enormous underbelly.
For a brief moment, Thors disappeared beneath the monstrous fiend.
Then the frog reacted.
Its massive body lifted slightly before its weight suddenly shifted downward.
It was trying to crush him.
Thors’ eyes widened.
"Fuck!"
The creature’s enormous belly descended toward him, blocking out his vision of the sky.
But...
It was too late for the frog already.
The tongues that had been chasing Thors didn’t stop.
They followed him.
Several enormous tongues tore beneath the frog’s body at the same time.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The attacks pierced through flesh.
Blood exploded across the underside of the creature.
Bones snapped.
The frog convulsed violently as the very attacks meant to kill Thors instead ripped into its own body.
Thors rolled out from beneath it at the final second.
THUD!
The enormous corpse crashed down behind him, shaking the ground beneath his feet.
Thors immediately moved behind the dead frog, pressing his back against its enormous body.
He had found it.
Cover.
And more importantly...
A shield.
The next barrage came without warning.
Tongues shot across the battlefield.
Energy projectiles followed.
They slammed into the frog’s corpse one after another.
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
Every impact tore chunks from the dead monster.
Its flesh was ripped apart.
Bones cracked.
The massive corpse trembled under the continuous assault, threatening to collapse completely at any moment.
But Thors remained behind it.
This was his cover.
And his only strategy for taking down the remaining monster horde.
He peeked around the corpse.
Dozens of monsters were closing in.
Demonic frogs.
Black abominations.
Twisted creatures whose forms Thors could barely comprehend anymore.
All of them were coming for him.
Thors raised his hand.
Golden lightning began crawling up his arm.
"Come..."
His fingers tightened.
"Come closer."
ZZZTTT!
A golden bolt shot from his palm.
The nearest monster was struck through the chest.
Its body jerked violently before collapsing into a smoking corpse.
Another creature leapt over the dead body.
Thors immediately redirected his hand.
Lightning struck it in midair causing the monster to explode before it could even land.
Another came from his blind spot.
Thors ducked behind the corpse as its claws slammed into the frog’s body instead.
The claws became embedded in the flesh.
Thors leaned around the opposite side.
His palm flashed and in the next moment, the monster’s head erupted in golden lightning.
It dropped.
Another.
Then another.
Then another.
Thors rained down golden lightning on them as they closed in, firing one attack after another.
Whenever the monsters retaliated, they would either miss...
Or most likely strike the dead frog corpse, leaving Thors untouched behind his makeshift fortress.
Thors was no longer the one in mortal danger of being extinct.
The horde was.
His breathing grew heavier.
His arms trembled.
Blood continued dripping from his wounds.
Yet he didn’t stop.
He couldn’t.
Every second he remained alive was another second he could attack.
Another monster fell.
Then another.
The frog corpse he used as a shield gradually became nothing more than a battered mass of flesh and bone.
But by then...
There was hardly anything left to need protection from. After all there was no longer anything left to attack him.
By the time what remained of the monster horde reached Thors and the battered Frog corpse, there were no monsters left for him to kill.
Nothing.
Just a trail of ash, blood, and destruction stretching across the ruined battlefield.
[Lineage Core: 67/100]
[Your Core grows stronger]
Thors’ eyes slowly scanned the entire battlefield.
All around him was the stain of red bathing the ground.
Ash drifted through the air.
Monster corpses were scattered everywhere.
The smell of blood and burnt flesh filled his nostrils.
’Idiot! Damned fool... I should have thought of this earlier.’
Thors nearly wanted to facepalm himself.
If only he had thought of this earlier, he wouldn’t have gotten so injured.
His eyes dropped toward his body.
At this point, it seemed like he was stacking injuries like game items.
His arms were bleeding.
His clothes were torn in several places.
Bruises covered his body.
His muscles strained with every movement.
His joints had become rigid, like the parts of a broken machine desperately being forced to move.
His throat burned from the heat.
His lungs struggled to draw in air.
Even standing had begun to feel like a chore.
Yet...
He was still alive.
But even after the monster horde he had just faced and somehow managed to survive against...
There was no notification claiming he was done with the Second Dungeon.
Thors’ body shuddered.
A painful sigh escaped his lips.
[Quest: You have slain a Monster Horde]
[What is your choice as a noble slave of the Unknown?]
[Would you like to continue and gain double Charisma points?]
[Would you like to rest and camp for the meantime?]
[Reward for choice: 20 Charisma points]
Thors stared at the projection.
He blinked once.
Then twice.
A question like this...
At such a time?
’Just tell me if you’re after my life, System. I’m an understanding man.’
The thought process behind his choice was rather long.
Thors stood there, staring at the choices while biting his lips slightly.
The rewards were tempting.
Very tempting.
But he couldn’t ignore the obvious.
He was wounded.
Exhausted.
And extremely unprepared for any further battles.
One more fight like the previous one...
He wasn’t sure his body could handle it.
So he gave his reply.
"No..."
He sighed.
"I would like to continue and gain double Charisma points."
He had made his choice.
[Thank you for your decision]
[The Unknown laughs at your choice]
Thors’ expression slowly changed.
[Dungeon level has been raised to Difficult]
His pupils shrank.
[A Tyrant has been attracted to your presence...]
[He will stop at nothing until he gets his target]
THUMP!
The entire ground beneath Thors’ feet trembled.
His body froze.
Dust fell from the ruined buildings around him.
Then came another sound.
THUMP!
This time, the tremor was stronger.
Thors slowly raised his head.
His eyes moved toward the distant buildings.
Something was moving behind them.
Something enormous.
The tops of the ruined skyscrapers began disappearing one after another as a gigantic silhouette emerged from behind them.
Thors’ breathing stopped.
A towering, Titanic corrupted figure stepped into view.
Its body was grotesque beyond comprehension.
Black, malevolent aura poured from its enormous frame, twisting through the air like living smoke.
Its very presence seemed to suffocate the surroundings.
Another step.
THUMP!
The ground trembled.
The creature’s head slowly turned.
Then its gaze locked onto Thors.
Even from that distance...
Thors could feel it.
The killing intent.
It was cold and... Irritating.
His heart ran cold.
His face paled and his instincts forced his knees to buckle and run.
’...I take it back.’
Thors swallowed hard.
’I would like to rest now.’
But...
It was already too late.