The temple was colossal, with towering spires and intricate carvings etched into its stone.
Ancient symbols glowed faintly along its surface, their light pulsing in a rhythmic cadence as though alive.
Vines could be seen moving along the walls, blending the temple seamlessly into its surroundings, but the aura it emitted was unmistakably ominous.
“This place…” Alex muttered, his voice low as he scanned the area.
“It feels… alive,” Alice added, gripping her bow tightly, her eyes darting around for potential threats.
Ding!
[You have entered the area: “Mystical Temple”]
[Infernal Difficulty – Level 300]
The notification reaffirmed their situation.
Alex narrowed his eyes.
An Infernal Difficulty area was no joke, and even though he was far above the level requirement, he knew the challenge would be brutal.
“Stay sharp,” he warned Alice.
Alice nodded silently, her expression determined.
The temple’s entrance loomed ahead, flanked by statues of robed figures.
Their hollow eyes seemed to follow Alex and Alice as they approached.
Carved runes glowed along the base of the statues, their light intensifying as the pair stepped closer.
As they crossed the threshold, the air grew heavy.
The temperature dropped, and a faint hum filled the space, vibrating through their bones.
“Definitely feels like a trap,” Alex muttered under his breath.
Not wanting to take the gamble, he summoned a single skeleton and ordered it to move forward.
But as it traversed the massive doorway, entering the temple, one of the statues’ sword came crashing down, killing it.
“Damn.” Alex muttered.
Suddenly, the runes on the statues flared brightly, and a booming voice echoed through the chamber.
“Only those deemed worthy may proceed.”
Ding!
[Challenge Initiated: Prove Your Worth]
[Defeat the Guardians to enter the temple.]
The ground beneath them rumbled as the statues began to move.
Stone cracked and splintered as the figures stepped off their pedestals, their towering forms radiating an ancient, unyielding power.
[Temple Guardian – Tier 5 – Level 300]
[HP: 5,000,000]
[Skills: Smash, Sword Swing, Guardian’s Eye…]
Alex was unfazed as he stared at the two guardians.
“Alice, keep your distance and aim for the joints,” he commanded. “I’ll take the brunt of their attacks.”
“Got it,” Alice replied, already nocking an arrow.
Her calm demeanor was similar to Alex’s, herself getting used to all the crazy things inside the game.
The first guardian lunged at Alex, its massive stone fist crashing down with earth-shaking force.
Alex sidestepped just in time, repositioning himself right behind the monster.
“[Bleeding Strike]!”
He mumbled, slashing at the guardian’s leg several times.
-184,280! -184,280! -184,280!
His blade sparked against the stone, and while the cut wasn’t deep, it still dealt damage.
Cracks began to appear along the surface, but the guardian’s ancient construction wasn’t going to make this easy.
Meanwhile, Alice let loose a volley of [Blood Arrows] she had acquired from shooting monsters in the [Mystical Forest].
Thanks to them, she now had 63 [Blood Arrows] to use!
Each one was aimed at the second guardian’s joints.
The arrows struck true, chipping away at the stone and slowing its movements.
The first guardian swung its massive arm again, forcing Alex to leap backward.
He cut his palm using his dagger then activated [Blood Arts], summoning a trio of [Blood Blades] around him.
The crimson weapons hovered in the air before launching toward the guardian.
The blades slammed into the guardian’s chest, cracking the stone more and causing it to stagger.
-472,934! -438,583! -501,139!
This was the power of an [Art], something you shouldn’t be able to acquire and master so early in the game!
Alex didn’t waste the opening.
He instantly launched a flurry of spells at it, and after a while, the guardian crumbled to the ground in a heap of shattered stone.
“One down,” Alex muttered, turning his attention to the second guardian.
Alice had done significant damage to its legs, forcing it to move sluggishly.
She unleashed another barrage of arrows, aiming for its head this time.
But the guardian pushed through them, and so right as it was about to slam its massive fist against Alice, Alex intervened by blocking the blow with his dagger.
His [Strength] stat surpassed the one of the guardian, meaning he could probably beat it in a arm wrestle if it came to it.
Height doesn’t mean anything in this world, stats do.
He slashed a few times, then sensing the second guardian growing weaker, he decided to end it.
“Fury of Thunder!” he roared.
Three massive lightning bolts descended from above, striking the guardian and shattering it completely.
The temple fell silent once more as the remnants of the guardians lay scattered across the floor.
Ding!
[Challenge Complete: Prove Your Worth]
[You may now access the temple.]
[You have slain x2 “Temple Guardian”, gaining 4,500,000 experience points!]
[You have extracted “Guardian Sword (Epic)” and “Guardian Gauntlet (Epic)”!]
Ding! Ding!
He leveled up twice, reaching level 123.
“Nice work,” he said, glancing at Alice. “Your aim was perfect.”
“Thanks,” she replied, lowering her bow.
…
Inside the Mystical Temple.
Their footsteps echoed as they moved deeper inside.
There were several stone monsters and other guardians blocking the way, but Alex easily got rid of them, extracting their attribute points.
And soon enough, they arrived at a massive door.
“This must be it,” Alex said.
Alice nodded.
Pushing the door open, they entered the chamber.
Ding!
[Boss Encounter: Ancient Sentinel]
[Ancient Sentinel – Elite Boss – Level 350]
[HP: 10,000,000]
The massive stone figure stood in the center, its four arms holding glowing blades.
“…” it looked at the intruders, not speaking any word since it didn’t have a mouth.
“Time to get serious,” Alex said.
He raised his staff and summoned his undead army to aid him.
He hadn’t done it before because Alice had asked him to allow her to get more [Blood Arrows].
[+80 Skeletons, +13 Grand Skeletons, +4 Bony Knights, +3 Spectral Wraiths]
The Sentinel moved instantly, its blades a blur.
It cut through the skeletons before they could reach it.
“Damn, it’s fast!” Alex muttered.
Alice kept her distance, firing arrows at its arms, but the Sentinel’s speed made it hard to land a clean hit.
Alex activated [Aura of Death], boosting his undead.
The skeletons pressed forward, but the Sentinel swung its blades again, cutting them down.
“Spirit Chains!” Alex shouted.
The transparent chains shot out from Alex’s staff, wrapping around the boss.
But it only slowed it for a moment, as the chains were shattered the very next second.
“Fine,” Alex said.
Fire Meteor! Fury of Thunder!
A meteor broke the ceiling above the sentinel and hit it directly.
-218,893!
Then three lightning strikes hit the boss from that very same hole the meteor created.
Zap! Zap! Zap!
168,893! 168,893! 168,893!
[Ancient Sentinel has been stunned]
Taking advantage of that opportunity, Alex immediately dashed the boss, using [Shadow Strike] as well as [Bleeding Strike] several times, repeatedly chipping away at its health.
-2,874,923!
He managed to deal a huge amount of damage that way.
And as the sentinel finally escaped the stun’s effect and swung its blade down, Alex managed to use [Stone Fortress] to save himself.
Alice followed up with a barrage of [Blood Arrows], chipping away at its health.
She even went as far as to use her unique skill [Ice Torrent], around a hundred arrows raining down onto the boss. Find your next read on
-1,839,384!
“Yes!” Alice was happy she managed to deal this much damage.
But that was her biggest mistake: in a fight, you shouldn’t let your emotions affect you, even for a single second.
Sensing her concentration falter, the sentinel used [Sonic Slash] to close the distance between them, swinging its four arms at Alice.
“Huh?” she didn’t even realize what was happening until the blades were already mere centimeters away from her body.
But Alex wasn’t going to let that happen.
“RAH-”
Using his momentum, he pushed Alice out of the way, taking the attack.
-24,384! -24,384! -24,384! -24,384!
Even his HP and armor didn’t save him, and so Alex was instantly killed.
A notification promptly appeared.
[You have been killed by the Ancient Sentinel. The Blessing of the Fox Spirit has triggered. The last attack was blocked by the Fox Spirit.]
He was saved by his blessing.
“A-Alex, y-you’re bleeding a lot…” Alice gasped, feeling sorry that she had yet again been useless.
But it was quite the opposite, actually: Alex smiled.
Liters of blood poured out from several wounds in his body, and so using all that blood, he managed to create dozens of [Blood Blades]
Without hesitation, he sent them all at the Ancient Sentinel, each one hitting it.
-348,095!
This was the damage of a single [Blood Blade], so I’ll let you imagine how much damage all of them did.
Ding!
[You have slain the “Ancient Sentinel”, and gained 5,000,000 experience points]
[You have extracted “Ancient Sentinel Stone Heart (Mythical)”]
[Description: a heart of stone, used to bring statues to live, it may be useful in the future.]
“Hm.”
[You have leveled up twice: +10 to all attributes, +8 free points to assign.]
[Global Announcement: Players “FateBreaker” and “StarPillow” are the first to complete the “Mystical Temple” and defeat the “Ancient Sentinel”!]
[+20 Prestige Points!]
“Huh?” but Alex raised his eyebrows, “That’s… it?”
He knew that everyone besides him would struggle with such an area, but even for an Infernal Difficulty area, this felt… too easy.
There had to be something more.
And Alex would be correct in thinking like that.
Because right as he was about to observe his surroundings to see if he wasn’t missing anything, a glowing panel appeared before him.
[Guiding Light has decided to help you!]
“Oh,” Alex muttered.