Sofia had been searching all around to find where the dungeon was, but it had completely disappeared.
"Damn it! It’s been a year and I haven’t been able to find anything, but I know I heard that sound last year," she said, pulling her sword out from a monster’s head.
"Hey, Maria, Joshua, we’re going deeper now, so be on guard," she said, pointing her blade toward the mountain’s depths.
They began venturing deeper. The further they went, the stronger the monsters became, surprising both Maria and Joshua.
"What’s going on? These monsters are increasing in number and becoming much stronger," Maria said.
"Maybe that dungeon where Zane went missing is affecting the outside," Sofia replied.
"What... " Joshua gasped.
"Yeah. If we don’t find it and Zane can’t defeat that dungeon boss, it’s going to affect the entire kingdom. That’s why my father and the royal council want us hunting down those who are going around opening dungeons," Sofia said, frowning.
ROOOAAR!
A massive roar echoed from the area ahead, making the entire ground shake under their feet.
They rushed toward the sound, encountering several lizardmen along the way. Cutting through them with ease, they quickly reached the main lizardman camp. They charged inside, slaughtering the ranks until only the elite Guardian and the Lizardman King remained.
"You guys handle those two guardians, and I’ll handle the king," Sofia commanded.
"Yes... Princess!" Maria and Joshua replied together.
"Mmm... a human princess? It seems I hit the jackpot this time!" the Lizardman King laughed, his voice raspy and cruel.
Meanwhile, Maria and Joshua engaged the two guardians. Joshua attacked head-on while Maria activated stealth.
"Well, well... assassin types, huh? Interesting, but it doesn’t matter to me!"
The lizardman guardians vanished, reappearing directly in front of Joshua. Their weapons collided in a shower of sparks. When Maria moved in to stab the monster from behind, it reacted with unnatural speed, kicking her hard in the chest and sending her flying across the camp.
"Humans are cowards! Did you think a cheap trick like that would work?" it sneered, looking toward where Maria had fallen.
"Stop talking nonsense, monster!" Joshua roared.
"SECRET TECHNIQUE : RED DRAGON CLAWS !"
Joshua charged forward, his daggers glowing with fiery aura.
"That’s more like it! I won’t disappoint you!"
"LIZARDMAN SECRET TECHNIQUE : SPEAR DANCE !"
FWOOOSH! BOOOM!
Their techniques collided, shattering several wooden structures around them. Before the lizardman could step back to recover, Maria was already closing in behind it.
"VIPER STAB !"
BOOOM!
"AAAAAH.. When did you get behind me, human?!" the guardian shrieked, coughing up black blood.
"The moment you charged toward my brother," Maria cold-bloodedly replied as Joshua stepped in and severed its head in a single clean strike.
"Are you okay, sister?" Joshua asked, breathing heavily.
"Yeah, what about you?"
"I’m fine," he said, catching his breath on one knee.
BOOOOM!
A violent shockwave rattled the camp.
"It seems Sofia started her fight," Maria said, turning her attention toward the center of the camp.
"You’re stronger than you look, little princess," the Lizardman King chuckled, swinging his giant spear.
"TCH.. how disappointing," Sofia said coldly. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
They traded heavy blows, the shockwaves destroying whatever was left of the wooden houses around them.
"Playtime is over," Sofia declared, tossing her royal blade into the air.
"BARRIER SWORD!"
FWOOSH!
A glowing blade crafted entirely from condensed barrier mana hovered before HER... a weapon capable of slicing through anything in its path.
"Ha! What difference is a translucent sword going to make?" the Lizardman King laughed, charging forward.
"You’ll find out," Sofia said, shooting toward him like a bolt of lightning.
The Lizardman King tried to block with his aura-coated spear, but the moment the Barrier Sword made contact, his weapon was cleanly sliced in two.
"What—AAAAH!"
"KING’S SOVEREIGN! "
FWOOOSH!
A massive, oppressive wave of aura burst from the Lizardman King as he launched a desperate, full-power strike toward Sofia. But she was already poised to finish it.
"HEAVENLY DRAGON STRIKE !"
FWOOOSH! BOOOM!
Sofia drove the strike straight through the Lizardman King’s chest, blasting a clean hole through his body.
"Weaker than I expected," Sofia muttered, dismissing her Barrier Sword and retrieving her royal blade as the giant monster collapsed to the snow-covered ground.
Meanwhile, inside the dungeon...
Zane had finally reached Floor 75.
"System, how long have I been inside this dungeon?"
[ IT HAS BEEN 1 YEAR, MASTER. ]
"Well, I’m behind schedule. I need to move faster," Zane said, stepping through the portal onto the 75th floor.
"Mmm... not this again," Zane murmured, looking around.
The atmosphere shifted drastically. He stood in a desolate wasteland that looked like an ancient battlefield. Rivers of blood flowed through dark soil, and countless white bones lay scattered across the ground.
In the far distance stood a towering mountain built entirely of bones. At the peak, sitting upon a throne of skeletal remains, was a dark figure.
Zane walked for several hours, casually cutting down hordes of skeletons that burst from the ground to block his path.
"What kind of war took place here to leave this much blood and bones scattered everywhere?" Zane wondered aloud as he approached the base of the bone mountain.
"What do you think of my domain?" the skeletal figure sitting on the throne asked, its voice echoing like grinding stones.
"Disgusting, honestly," Zane replied, scanning the peak.
"I see... The bones you tread upon belonged to thousands who thought the exact same way. I am the Death Mage. And who might you be, young man?"
"I’m Zane. Let me be clear .. Let’s do this quickly. I’ve wasted way too much time in this place," Zane said, drawing the twin katanas he acquired on Floor 50.
"Mmm... To reach Floor 75, you must have defeated the Mind Weaver on Floor 50. A worthy opponent indeed," the Death Mage said, slowly standing up.
The entire floor began to shake violence. The rivers of blood began flowing backward, and the bones scattered across the battlefield sank into the earth.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"It has been a long time since I last fought a true warrior. Let us begin!"
BOOOOM!
Zane shot forward, jumping high into the air above the bone mountain.
"WIND CUTTER!"
FWOOOOSH! BOOOOM!
The Death Mage dodged sideways as Zane’s massive wind strike cleaved the entire mountain of bones in half.
"Bone Spike!"
FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
Massive skeletal spikes erupted from the ground beneath Zane. He twisted in mid-air, cutting them down with precise katana slashes.
"Alright, if that’s the game you want to play, I’ll play along," Zane said, sheathing his katanas.
"MAGIC BULLETS !"
Hundreds of burning fire projectiles formed in the sky around him.
"GO!" Zane yelled.
FWOOOSH! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A barrage of fire rained down, creating a massive cloud of dust and flame. Zane hovered briefly, waiting to see if the attack landed.
"Weak!" the Death Mage’s voice boomed through the smoke.
Out of the dust burst a giant fist made of fused bones and coated in sharp spikes. It slammed straight into Zane, sending him flying across the cavern.
Before he could recover or hit the ground, the Death Mage materialized instantly behind him.
"MANA IMPACT!"
Without making physical contact, the Death Mage compressed the surrounding air and mana, blasting Zane violently into the dark ground.
CRASH!
Lying in the rubble, Zane’s vision flickered. When was the last time I felt this kind of danger... this kind of pain?
"You’re strong... So why are you letting yourself be destroyed like this?" a soft voice resonated in Zane’s mind.
He opened his eyes internally to see a clear vision of the girl he had saved on Earth before his death.
"Don’t die, okay?" she whispered with a warm smile before vanishing into light.
Zane’s eyes snapped open in the real world, gleaming with intense radiant energy.
"HOLY SWORDS !"
Dozens of golden swords of pure light materialized in the air around him while he was still mid-air, shooting toward the Death Mage at blinding speed.
The Death Mage raised a massive wall of dense bones to shield himself, but the light energy defied his defenses.
BOOOOM!
"AAAAAH!" the Death Mage screamed in agony.
The Holy Swords completely ignored the bone barriers, piercing directly through the Death Mage’s dark body and burning away his necrotic core.
The giant skeletal figure crumbled into ash as the dark sky cleared.
[ DING! ]
[ MONSTER DEFEATED: DEATH MAGE ]
[ REWARD: SHADOW MAGE CLASS MASTERY ]