Elias had a hard time wiping the manticore’s blood from his face. The green slime stuck onto him like quick dry paint. He purposefully ignored the notification that announced his eleven thousand XP gain. At this point, Elias wasn’t in it for the fulfilling sensation of being awarded experience points. They were only a means to an end. He was more devoted to being the most powerful warrior in both kingdoms, Arrad and Sonner. Screw the war, screw the quests, and screw the lore. This game had more potential than that, and he saw it from the very beginning. Once he became the most powerful warrior in the entire world, he decided he would either complete custom user quests or sell his profile for out-of-game currency.

He decided not to waste any more time on the blood; it would be his war paint. He kept both axes drawn and ready for any other surprises. Those three manticores came out of nowhere. Even though they were quite strong he didn’t have a problem handling them. He even walked away with some hide, claws, and teeth he could use for crafting. This was unlike any other temple he had ever raided. He still couldn’t figure out its pattern for dispensing monsters and what levels to expect. It didn’t matter though; he would face anything to get Ashur’s Claw. Adad's Temple might be the best temple he's ever raided.

He wasn’t really afraid, but the dark overtones and long empty corridors sent chills through him now and again.

We've done this a hundred times before. Don't worry, it’s just a game.

He had told himself that countless times. But he wouldn’t comment on how successful that was. Sure, it was only a game. But it was a damn real one. The ground felt solid under his feet and not the assembly of pixels it truly was. He could smell the musty air as if they stole it from his attic. Oh, and the cuts, they stung and burned as if he was in a real fight. He thought about drinking a potion to quell the pain, but he was man enough to bear it. At least his character was. If he didn’t leave this game every six hours, he probably would’ve started believing it was real.

The long corridor finally opened up to a small chamber, but instead of waltzing in, Elias stopped. Instinctively he checked his stats.

Name:

Elias Gruelty

Mana:

326/1125

Primary Class:

Warrior

Strength:

4125

Minor Class:

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Mage

Stamina:

590/1160

Level:

115

Agility:

610

Rank:

Gold III

Mind:

22

Health:

5960/10250

Persistence:

650

He inspected the room for anything that might hint at either treasure or enemies. There was nothing. Elias knew better. No room was simply in the temple for decoration. Not this close to the edge of the map, not in the ruins. With nearly a breathless whisper, he activated his Keen skill, and immediately he could feel them. He counted nine and it would take some time to kill them all. His skill showed him that they were high-level monsters. This means once he’s done with them, it’s on to the boss and the treasure would be his. With his axes ready he activated Double Damage and charged into the room.

The monsters swarmed him immediately.

The earth cracked under his feet and a hand reached for his foot. Elias brought down his ax and chopped through the wrist. The zombie reached up with its other hand but that too was eventually severed. Scratching sounds on the ground alerted Elias of the ghouls that were charging for him on all fours.

They sped at him clouded in a black mist that hid their faces. They were quite fast, but he had no trouble keeping up with them. Three of them lunged for him at the same time. He split the first two in half and they dropped like flies, but the third latched on to his forearm.

He tried to swing it off, but the monster's teeth were buried in his bone. When he realized that it wouldn’t let go, he used the ax in his right hand to chop through its neck. The ghoul’s body fell and he pried the head from his arm. Elias felt a sharp pain as something sliced into his ankle. When he looked down, it was another decomposing hand clawing at his foot and more kept springing up from under the ground. They grappled at his legs and tore through his pants. He swung at them but it seemed the more he chopped the more would spring up.

The hands soon turned to arms, then heads, and finally bodies as the zombies clawed their way to the surface. A few managed to rip into his skin and steal his HP. He dug into the ground with his axes and rooted them up before chopping into them. When their wailings died and their bodies were nothing but dust, Elias moved forward to face the boss.

In anticipation, he mentally selected his best skills and consumed health potions. His health wasn’t full but he believed it should be enough to take down the boss himself. Boss fights at this level were never meant for solo players. You’d need a strong party to take down a dungeon boss. Elias knew this and proved it wrong many times over. He’s been soloing the game for a while and even though it was hard, he knew it was possible.

A huge wind forced him to stop in his tracks. In front of Elias was a massive tornado, twisting and turning as if it would rip the entire temple apart. Pieces of the temple got sucked into the turbulent force. Parts of the walls, columns, and even sections of the earth beneath him flew into the twister. Elias felt himself rising too. He smashed his axes into the earth to keep himself planted but the zombies had made the ground unstable, and it started to disappear from under his feet.

The tornado sucked him in with such strength there was nothing he could do to fight it. He figured it was taking him to the boss and so the only thing he could focus on was preparing to slay the monster at the center of the tornado. The only thing was he never made it to the center. Instead of churning endlessly to suck him to the core and batter his health in the process, the walls of the tornado raged and roared as it took form. When the wind finally became flesh the tornado disappeared and a giant beast stood in its wake.