ARC 2: KING OF MONSTERS
CHAPTER 8: The Shadow Artifact
VK continued deeper into the dungeon, encountering small golems at the initial stages of their evolution. With each step, he felt the intensity of the mana curse grow stronger.
The golems, though small and rudimentary, posed a significant threat. Their stony exterior made them formidable opponents, but VK’s analytic skill revealed their vulnerabilities. He swiftly exploited these weaknesses, shattering the golems one by one.
As he advanced, VK encountered a series of traps. His analytic skill proved invaluable, allowing him to dodge fire jets and sidestep pitfalls. However, the dungeon's defenses grew more sophisticated the deeper he went. Suddenly, a new threat emerged: a group of shadow sentinels.
VK attacked the shadow sentinels with his fists, his movements precise and powerful. He dodged their ethereal strikes, landing blows that temporarily dissipated their forms. However, the sentinels began regenerating almost immediately, their shadowy bodies reforming before his eyes.
VK realized that brute force alone wouldn't suffice against these regenerating foes. He needed to find the source of their power. Amid the chaos of battle, VK used his analytic skill on the surrounding walls, searching for a clue.
The sentinels pressed on, their attacks relentless. VK’s endurance was pushed to its limits as he fought off the regenerating shadows. His mind raced, piecing together the puzzle of their seemingly endless resurgence.
VK dodged a sentinel's strike, countering with a powerful punch that temporarily dispersed it. He glanced at the walls, his analytic skill revealing faint traces of hidden mechanisms. As he continued fighting, he directed his focus on one particular section of the wall.
VK: *"There’s something here…"*
He fought his way to the suspicious wall, his fists striking down sentinels that tried to obstruct his path. Finally, he reached the wall and pressed his hand against it, triggering a hidden mechanism. A panel slid open, revealing a shadowy artifact pulsating with dark energy.
VK: *"This must be it!"*
He grabbed the Artifact, feeling its dark energy course through him. As soon as he held it, the shadow sentinels halted their attacks, their forms dissipating into the air.
VK examined the Artifact, noting its ominous design and the immense power it held. With the Artifact in hand, he ventured deeper into the dungeon, determined to uncover the source of the curse and put an end to its malevolent influence.
CHAPTER 9 : The Shadow Nexus
Using the Artifact, VK moved forward toward the source of the curse. The path led him to a grand chamber, but the details of this chamber's grandeur would be revealed in the next chapter. For now, VK’s focus was on the cursed object resting on a raised platform, surrounded by eight imposing statues. As he approached, the statues began to crack and shift. With a thunderous noise, they broke free from their stone prisons and advanced toward him.
The statues were minotaurs, each wielding a massive axe. The battle began immediately. VK used his Evil Strikes, but their thick hides deflected his blows. He switched to using his analytic and adaptation skills, dodging their powerful swings. Despite his best efforts, one of the minotaurs landed a blow, sending him sprawling. Using his instant regeneration, he healed quickly.
VK summoned the shadow sentinels using the Artifact. They engaged the minotaurs, their ethereal forms providing a brief respite. The sentinels couldn’t harm the minotaurs, but they distracted them enough for VK to analyse the situation. He noticed that the sentinels were actually the souls of fallen explorers, twisted into shadowy forms by the curse of the dungeon.
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Feeling a surge of compassion, VK decided to free these tortured souls. But first, he needed to deal with the minotaurs. He absorbed one minotaur, gaining the skill to wield an axe with their strength. Seizing a fallen axe, he launched a counterattack, striking at their weak points identified through his analysis. One by one, he incapacitated the minotaurs, leaving them unconscious.
With the minotaurs subdued, VK turned his attention to the shadow Artifact. He used his analytic skill to study it, discovering its dark history. It had absorbed the souls of countless adventurers, turning them into shadow sentinels.
VK absorbed the Artifact, gaining two new skills:
1.Shadow Army: The ability to summon an army of shadows.
2. Shadow Nexus: The ability to control shadows.
VK felt the weight of the souls within the Artifact. Deciding to free them, he sacrificed the Shadow Army skill, releasing the sentinels from their torment. As they faded away, their gratitude was palpable. The remaining skill, Shadow Nexus, allowed him to control the very shadows around him.
Just then, the larger statue behind the cursed object began to move. The Minotaur Chief stepped forward, an even more formidable opponent.
VK smiled, feeling the new power of the Shadow Nexus coursing through him. The chapter ends with VK standing victorious, the power of the Shadow Nexus now at his command.
CHAPTER ENDS
Chapter 10: THE ROGUE VS THE CHIEF
VK confronts the Minotaur Chief in a vast chamber, illuminated only by flickering torches and the eerie glow of VK's Shadow Nexus ability.
The Minotaur Chief, towering and formidable, roars with primal fury as the battle commences. His muscles ripple with strength, and his axe swings with deadly precision.
VK starts cautiously, analysing the Minotaur Chief's movements with his Adaptation and Analysis skills. He dodges the initial onslaught of Minotaur’s Fury, narrowly avoiding the seismic shockwaves that shatter the ground.
As the battle intensifies, VK employs Shadow Nexus to manipulate the shadows cast by the torches. He creates defensive barriers and shadowy clones to confuse and evade the Minotaur Chief's attacks. The Chief, enraged by VK's tactics, charges relentlessly, each strike threatening to crush VK under its force.
Realizing the urgency, VK merges Evil Strike with Savage Strike to form a devastating combination—Evil Savage Strike. He manages to land a series of calculated blows on the Minotaur Chief, exploiting weaknesses in the Chief's defence.
Just when victory seems within reach, the Minotaur Chief unleashes his Ultimate Skill—Earthquake Rupture. The dungeon trembles as shockwaves ripple through the chamber, threatening to collapse the very ground VK stands on.
Struggling to maintain his footing, VK summons all his remaining strength. He focuses Shadow Nexus to its limit, weaving shadows into a protective cocoon that absorbs the impact of the Earthquake Rupture.
In the final showdown, VK and the Minotaur Chief clash with renewed ferocity. Each blow is infused with desperation and determination. VK's Shadow Nexus proves pivotal as he manoeuvres the shadows to restrain the Chief and launch counterattacks.
As the battle reaches its climax, VK seizes an opening and delivers a decisive strike. The Minotaur Chief, exhausted and wounded, acknowledges VK's strength and determination. With a final roar, he concedes defeat.
VK approaches the cursed object—the source of the dungeon's malevolence.
End of Chapter
Chapter 11: Rune Mastery
As VK approached the cursed object, he noticed ancient scripts on the surrounding walls. The system displayed that the Analysis skill could decode the language. VK sat down and began analysing the ancient words.
The puzzle to remove the curse was intricate, requiring careful interpretation of the script. The walls depicted a sequence of symbols representing elemental forces. VK had to activate the puzzle mechanism by touching the symbols in the correct order.
Once he activated the puzzle, the curse burst from the object. VK quickly activated Absorption to contain the curse and avoid damaging nearby creatures. He felt exhausted but managed to release the curse from his body through his shadow, gaining a new skill: Curse Resistance.
Approaching the now-purified object, VK realized it was a rune. The minotaurs and their chief, freed from the curse, bowed to VK. The curse had turned them into statues and defenders of the rune. With the curse lifted, a master and servant bond formed, evolving the minotaurs into Minotaur Knights and their chief into a Minotaur Lord.
VK sighed in relief, "Finally, they're free. But what is this rune?"
As soon as VK took the rune, the dungeon began to collapse. With the help of his new minotaur allies, VK escaped.
Outside, VK analysed the rune but couldn't extract its power. The system suggested activating Absorption. VK agreed and absorbed the rune, gaining new skills:
1. Elementary Mastery: Ability to control elements like light, water, fire, thunder, ice, and earth.
2. Barrier Technique: Ability to cast defensive barriers.
3. Teleportation: Ability to teleport, limited to his line of sight.
4. Ultimate Skill - Rune Mastery: Mastery over mana, enhancing all his magical skills.
Returning to his wolves, VK found their den destroyed. Panic set in. "No, what happened here?" he muttered, rushing to the injured wolves. He teleported there and checked on the injured wolves, realizing he didn't have a healing spell. The system suggested combining Rune Mastery with Absorption to heal them. VK quickly used this combination, healing the wolves and releasing them from Absorption.
Narration: Due to Rune Mastery, VK's control over Absorption increased, allowing him to release them as soon as they were healed.
Eight dire wolves had died in the attack. Alpha wolves apologized, but VK blamed himself for failing to protect them. He clenched his fists, anger boiling within. "Who did this?" he demanded.
The alpha wolves revealed it was a sneak attack by humans.
VK's eyes narrowed, "Humans... I won't let this go unanswered."
VK realized he had to hurry home before his mom worried about him. He appointed the Minotaur Lord and alpha wolves as leaders of their respective kinds, casting a barrier around the village before leaving.
Upon returning home, VK saw his mom and sister on the terrace. He quickly closed the door and waited until they went inside. Then he teleported to the front door, avoiding suspicion.
As he lay in bed that night, VK couldn't shake off the anger and guilt. "I need to get stronger," he whispered to himself. "I can't let anyone else get hurt."
CHAPTER ENDS