Vlad sprinted on the path, moving as fast as he could and making his way to the castle to the king of the dead. Behind him, he heard the rattling bones and heavy stomps of the skeleton army chasing after him. Taking a glance behind him, his eyes widened after seeing almost a dozen of the bone monsters on his tail. They carried their weapons, ready to cut Vlad into pieces while running in unison.
Most of the skeletons wore pieces of armor like a helmet or chest plate. Some even had gauntlets or boots, and all of them seemed old. It wasn’t the rust that caught Vlad’s attention to the armors but what they looked like. Especially the helmet. At the top bore a red brush that looked like a mohawk.
It was a battle helmet used by the soldiers from the time of the Greeks. Vlad knew this because Arthur once showed him a similar helmet from a Book involving the Greek empire, and he couldn’t help but mock the brush. According to Arthur, the brushes were called Plumes and they were on the helmets to serve as a way to intimidate the enemy. Vlad remembered he joked how they would certainly intimidate bulls before getting clocked in the head by Chloe. Those were some good times.
It was thanks to this revelation that Vlad put the pieces together as to where he was. He wasn’t just in Hell. He was in Hades. The Hell of Greek Mythology. The place where the God of the Underworld, Hades, resided. And it was then that he soon realized who exactly he was currently running to.
He was scurrying toward Hade’s castle to meet the God of the Underworld.
“You have got to be kidding me…” Vlad grumbled, reality suddenly dawning on him. “Why the hell am I in the Underworld?! Why does it even exist, dammit?!”
The underworld shouldn’t even exist. Vlad didn’t even believe that Hell from Christianity existed since he was an atheist. And yet, for some unknown reason, he was currently running for his life while Greek warrior skeletons chased after him. Just what kind of Trial simulation was system giving him?!
While running, Vlad looked ahead to witness another skeleton rising from the gray dirt ground. Much like the ones behind him, this one wielded a sword and wore a similar Greek Armor, including the stupid plume brush on the top of its helmet. Vlad will never understand why the hell they can wear something like that without feeling embarrassed.
The skeleton warrior pointed its sword at Vlad as its empty sockets glared at him with its ominous void. Its jaw swung open as if making a battle cry, but no sound escaped its lipless mouth. Instead of feeling intimidated, he only felt angry and annoyed.
“Your helmet looks stupid!” Vlad shouted, then stomped the warrior in the sternum, driving its bone body into the ground and shattering its ribs into dozens of pieces.
[Spartan Skeleton has been defeated! Error! Due to Player being in a Trial, no EXP can be obtained!]
He watched as the skeleton’s head rolled along the gray dirt before turning his attention back to the path. His eyes then trailed ahead of him to which he noticed that he was heading toward a turn in the path. It wasn’t a sharp turn, but more of a gradual one. However, it wasn’t much of the turn that concerned him at the moment. It was the Field of Ghosts that the turn was leading him toward.
Located on either side of the path he was on were large sprawling fields filled with ghosts. They hovered around aimlessly as if they had no place to go. And thanks to his enhanced hearing, he was starting to hear the haunting and ominous moans coming from some of them. The sounds gave Vlad chills, but he figured as long as he ignored them, they wouldn’t try anything.
And if they were anything like the skeletons after him… he’d just have to run faster.
However, while running from the undead, something was nagging Vlad. Like he was bothered about something.
Why was he running away from these skeletons? Why isn’t he fighting them? Why was he being hunted when he was the hunter? He shouldn’t have to endure this kind of shame and indignation.
For a brief moment, Vlad blinked and realized what he was just thinking. Why does he feel ashamed of not fighting the monsters? They’re monsters, for crying out! It was a natural response for him to do such a thing. Plus, there were too many of them for him to even think about attacking them. He barely survived his battle against those Hunting Maidens, and there were only five of them. The current skeleton horde that was on him was nearly a dozen.
And yet, for some odd reason, Vlad believed that he could take them. Just because there were almost a dozen of them did not mean that there was. His chances of winning were higher since the numbers were low. Plus, compared to the maidens, these piles of bones were way more fragile. All it took was a swift stomp in the chest and the skeleton from before was destroyed in an instant. If anything, this fight would be too easy.
His base instinct slowly overwhelmed him. His thirst for battle and hunting motivated him to seize running and face the horde head-on. His instinct to fight and die like a warrior consuming him.
Vlad continued running, but his legs started to slow. He went from sprinting for his life to a half-assed jog. The rattling bones got louder as the skeleton group closed in on him. But instead of growing anxious, he felt more excited. As if the moment they caught up to him, he didn’t have any other choice but to fight.
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“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Vlad growled in annoyance, inevitably submitting to his hunting instincts and immediately stopping in his tracks to turn and face the skeletons.
He quickly strapped the silver bow on his back, so he could have both hands free for battle. With a sword in one hand, he waited for the skeletons to get closer. The moment one of the skeletons was in front of Vlad, he swiftly slashed his sword at its neck, easily decapitating it. The rest of its body stumbled past him, walking a couple more feet before collapsing on the ground.
[Spartan Skeleton has been defeated! Error! Due to Player being in a Trial, no EXP can be obtained!]
The other skeleton warriors didn’t pay attention to their fallen comrade as they set their sights on Vlad. One of the monsters wielded a spear and thrust it at his chest, but he easily deflected it. Vlad then closed the distance between the two and drove his sword into its head through its chin. The sword didn’t pierce through the helmet, but he knew he had killed the monster as its body went limp, dropping its spear while dangling on Vlad’s sword.
Two more Skeletons appeared behind Vlad, both wielding swords as they attempted to ram their weapons into his back. Thanks to his enhanced physique from [Divine Hunter’s Physique], he flexed his muscles, then jumped, flying several feet in the air.
“W-whoa…!” Vlad was surprised by this while frantically flailing around. However, he soon took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his position, just in time as he safely landed on the ground, a few feet from the rest of the skeletons.
Vlad stood there for a moment, amazed once again by his enhanced body. Then, the rest of the skeletons charged after him and attacked. One of them had a halberd as it was swung in the air, descending toward Vlad. Instead of moving to the side, Vlad confidently brought his sword up and clashed with the Halberd. A moment later, he guided the weapon and made it slam into the ground, digging up dirt from the collision.
With a swift kick in the chest, he got the skeleton warrior to release the weapon and fell on its bony back. Vlad then lifted the halberd, gripping it tightly with both hands. The other skeletons surrounded him, prepared to kill him on sight. However, Vlad acted first and swung the weapon around, taking down a lot of his enemies in the process. He was like a tornado of destruction, annihilating the skeleton forces like they were nothing. Whether it was a spine, ribs, or even legs, they were all destroyed by the might of the halberd’s blade. Multiple panels of the skeletons' deaths flooded his vision once more, but Vlad ignored it and continued killing.
The remaining skeletons gawked at the massacre, turning their sights at Vlad with a menacing glare, their teeth clattering as if they were trying to say something, but couldn’t, due to their lack of lungs and vocal cords. Vlad smiled, slamming the butt of the halberd on the ground. With his free hand, he gestured to the rest of the monsters to come at him, his grin not once leaving his face.
Enraged by his provocation, the skeletons shook with rage and then stormed right at him, caution to the wind. Vlad snorted and mused at how simple-minded they were. Could it be that because they were undead, they lacked intelligence? That sounded plausible, but he shook the idea away and focused back on the fight.
The two spear skeletons rushed at Vlad, their weapons pointed directly at him and prepared to pierce through his chest. With his halberd, Vlad deflected both spears while moving them away from him to put some distance between the two groups. He didn’t have time to relax for a second as another skeleton with a sword swung it down on his head.
Vlad jumped to the side, then swung his halberd at the enemy. He aimed for its legs and broke both at the knees, resulting in the skeleton falling to the ground. And with a single swing, he aimed for the warrior’s neck, decapitating it.
[Spartan Skeleton has been defeated! Error! Due to Player being in a Trial, no EXP can be obtained!]
Turning around, Vlad watched as the two remaining skeletons stood before him. The spear skeleton duo. The pair firmly stood there in front of Vlad, neither one making a move first. A wide grin formed on Vlad’s face while he pointed his halberd at the monsters.
“Come at me!” He snarled, eager to continue their fight. He gripped his halberd tightly, his heart pounding in his chest. Not with fear, but excitement.
The skeletons didn’t waste time and simultaneously rushed at him. Instead of attacking him at the front, the pair split off to either side. Vlad could tell that they were trying to put him in a pincer position, attacking both sides to ensure victory. However, that didn’t plan wasn’t going to work on him.
Before the skeleton pair could get into position, Vlad took action and charged at one of them. The skeletons were surprised by this, halting their movements in shock as he attacked. With his weapon, Vlad lunged at the skeleton in his sights, slamming it onto the enemy. The monster managed to evade by jumping to the side, but its movements were a bit forced, causing it to fall to the ground.
Not letting it get up, Vlad swung his halberd down with all his strength right on top of the bone warrior’s head which had a helmet on. Despite that, he caved the helmet in while smashing the skull from the inside. Several bone fragments spilled out of the helmet as the monster seized moving, confirming its death.
[Spartan Skeleton has been defeated! Error! Due to Player being in a Trial, no EXP can be obtained!]
Vlad shifted his position, facing the last skeleton as it lunged at him with its spear targeted right at his skull. He quickly moved to the side, watching the spear fly past his face, nearly cutting his cheek in the process. To keep the skeleton from trying again, Vlad firmly grabbed its spear, keeping it in place. And with his halberd, he swung it under the skeleton’s feet, tripping it.
On the ground, the undead tried to get back up to attack, but Vlad didn’t let that happen by smashing its chest, easily shattering its ribs. The halberd dug into the ground while the fractured remains of the skeleton remained there.
[Spartan Skeleton has been defeated! Error! Due to Player being in a Trial, no EXP can be obtained!]
Vlad sighed deeply while pulling it out. Looking around, he saw the absolute carnage he caused in the battle. Weapons scattered all over the ground and bodies littered around along with them. It was like the aftermath of a major battle between soldiers, with only one remaining. Vlad scoffed at the sight, resting the halberd on his shoulder.
“Heh…looks like I was worried for nothing.” Finally believing in himself, Vlad then shifted his attention back to the castle. He was still pretty far from it, but now after taking down these skeletons, he felt more confident in defending himself.
Now, it was time to continue the journey. Next stop; Castle Hades.