As Julius peeled back the screen of cobwebs in front of the cave he once again questioned his sanity for doing this and wondered if the reward was worth the trouble, and possibly his life.
His Master had always told him to always risk his life in order to gain combat experience and gain more power, however if against overwhelming odds he was told to always flee, ignoring his honor because his life was more important than his pride.
Was this worth it? Had his greed caused him great peril, and was this an unsurmountable chasm he couldn't jump? No, he was here and he needed money - *cough* not only for greed- but for finding out his origin, and the only way to accomplish that was to either find his master whose fate is unknown. Or, to race forward and continue asking scholars and pay great prices to get information thought lost. However, he hoped it would never be that but with his shitty luck, who knows.
Yet, back onto the task. He shook his hands out of disgust mumbling. “Where the F*ck these webs even come from… He shook his head and activated his lava madra to flow to the tip of his glaive, giving him a ghastly appearance in the dim light. He grimaced as his surroundings were known to him and he realized that much more than people had fallen to this beast, there were dragons, god he hoped that they were under underlord and that they were just weak golds. However, his intuition told him otherwise.
As he dredged through bones and rock, he realized that this cave was no natural formation, but something carved out of the rock itself, it was pocketed with slashes from claws and parts of it polished silver from moving the earth with madra.
Ignoring his otherwise frightened psyche from this new discovery he started wondering how far down this creature-made cave went, and the further he went, the further the bone density grew until it looked like its own catacombs. However the pattern was noticeable in the bones representing a big monster crushing them with all its weight in sleep, and the stench was growing more overpowering still.
Finally, after what felt like miles of walking cautiously he reached a large underground cavern, the bones shining an ominous and brittle, pale white in the gleam of his glaive. In the center of the cavernous region was a massive mound of bones and that horrid stench was unmistakably originating from that spot.
He started preparing his madra for a semi-powerful jab to the bones and thrust forth lava blossoming from his glaive, twisting and melting the bones upon contact. A white smoke imploded from the bones as they joined the molten rock and the pile shrunk revealing a single glowing red egg that had managed to survive his attack.
“F*ck, F*CK, F*CK!” Julius shouted as he realized that whatever made that egg had trapped him and the instant he finished his cursing a load booming snarl echoed through the cave shattering the bones from the intensity of it.
Julius knew he had little time, however this was his only chance, and with only minutes at his disposal he hoped to use the madra being emitted by the egg to break into underlord… it was a artifact of sorts.
As Julius thought back to why he traveled his road of martial arts. To Find his origin. His soulflame started to revolve around him baptising hi in an unholy flower of red flame. I hope this works he thought, as he started to break through.
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Looking on from the outside it looked as though Julius was encased in a column of moving snakes with his red soulflame slithering around his body.
…
Julius landed on his knees relishing his newfound power for a second before coming to the realization of where he was and instantly he started cycling his madra and started bathing his glaive with even more soulflame trying to make it just that much stronger.
Seconds later, a massive lumbering form burst through the opening of the cavern barely fitting its hulking body through the passageway, and coughing up a plume of bone dust around it still making its type unknown to Julius. He did, however, get to glimpse its power of a high underlord being.
This was going to be tough he though, unless the monsters intelligent and I can work this out, however, I just attacked its offspring and took power from it. A fight I guess than.
“Hey bud, come on how about I just leave, ya know sorry for intruding.” Julius said
In a gruff voice it replyed. “THINGS HAVE JUST BEGAN, HAHAHA, THANK YOU FOR YOUR OFFERING OF DINNER THOUGH.”
It trudged out of the dust, its body a horror of Ruby scales and a long serpentine tail ending in a sword like point. It flashed its many centipede like feet and its head opened up into four separate mandibles that made up its face, its maw continued on like a deep abyss with sycle like serrated teeth gnashing in an unnatural sight. Its spine and horn creasting around its head and following its Spine(?) backwards. However, it worst sight were its eyes, 4 bedey eyes glowed with an unnatural light on each of its pincers and a 5th eye was found on the apex of its head before its horns started. Some lovecraft abomination he thought.
It clattered toward him on its many legs as it cycled its madra and a sinister blue fire wreathed its teeth, tail, and the rim of its eyes. With an unilateral speed for its massive size it sped toward him leaving a trail of fire in its wake.
Thankfully it was some type of fire dreadbeast, however he had no clue what the hell it was so its weaknesses and strengths were unknown. He dodged under its sharp pincers as he jabbed his glaive forward magma on its tip toward the beasts stomach. With it unnatural agility it flinched back with Julius only scoring spark and a minor wound against the beast.
The monster turned half its body around and screeched at him, knocking him back with the force of it. It got on its hind legs and started chittering together its limbs as it prepared its tail to strike him. “WHOOM, WHOOM WHOOM!”
It tried three times, and three times he thankfully dodged, however its fire madra managed to score a hit on him and tore open the skin before he was able to dispel it. He cried in agony as he shot a lava droplet at the beast searing its back side and causing it to roar again.
He circled around it in a defensive posture once again, now more weary of the fire madra this beast owned. What was it, how did it tear open skin before even burning? He was hit with a volley of questions trying to figure the creature out. However, now was not the time to question, but the time to win. He looked at the scaled chitin on the monsters underbelly at its mangled skin, and realized that he had barely broken though, slashing wouldn't work here. He would have to use piercing techniques.
He used a technique that his master said to only use in dire situations, The Gods Fang, it increases his damage tenfold and his agility, however it also decreases his madra ten fold. Based on his new breakthrough and his current standing, he would only have 17 seconds of the constant technique before he fainted, and the way knows his fate if that occured.
As he activated his technique, he was wreathed in flame, his clothes were magically protected from the flame although that would do no good to them as they were already in tatters. His glaive elongated and the point grew evermore sharper, and the surface seemed to shimmer with heat as it turned itself into lava, flowing up and down with the insignia of an asura on the side.
The Dreadbeast, knowing he was going full out, also increased its speed as they clashed, sparks flew through the musty cave air, incinerating bones and scales alike. Each foe gave each other serious blows with each hit, however as each blow was exchanged it was growing increasingly obvious that although the monster had great vitality, so did Julius. And, each of his blows scored were all in the same spot, gradually increasing the size and depth of the wound until the Monster finally collapsed at the same time as Julius collapsed on his knees.
He deactivated his technique just in time,collapsing to his knees he realized he wouldn't be able to use it for another day however, but he was left with only one second, allowing him easier access to cycle the ambient madra.
As Julius left depreft of madra so he could cycle in a place filled with less death madra, he glanced back, and for the slightest moment his light flickered off the Monsters egg creating a small shimmer.