“W-Wow…”
“What the hell?”
“Did you manage to use it!?”
The girls cautiously surrounded Alex, their eyes fixed on his shadowy, menacing claws.
The dark energy radiating from them was palpable, and while they were clearly fascinated, none dared to step too close.
“It’s fine, I removed the curse,” Alex said with a confident laugh.
He flexed his clawed hand, the sharp tips glinting ominously, “Now I’m so strong nothing could hurt us!”
Alice, however, wasn’t about to let him have the spotlight for too long.
“Don’t forget about me,” she said, crossing her arms with a sly smile. “You’re missing something!”
Everyone exchanged puzzled looks, except Alex, who quickly remembered Alice’s newly evolved talent.
Sure, she had gained [Space Arrows], but what made it truly remarkable was the unique skill she had unlocked: [Arrow Black Hole].
“You don’t miss a thing, huh?” Alice said, grinning as she swiped her system panel to display the skill information.
“Of course not,” he replied.
“I haven’t read it yet, but I figured we should all see it together.”
The glowing system panel projected the skill description in front of them.
[Unique Skill: Arrow Black Hole]
[Rank: Divine+ (Cannot be leveled up).]
[Description: When using a [Space Arrow], the arrow transforms into a massive black hole, pulling in all nearby entities within a 50-meter radius. Opponents caught in the black hole are dealt catastrophic damage, proportional to the force of the gravitational pull and their proximity to the core; cooldown of an hour.]
A heavy silence followed as the group absorbed the gravity of the skill, both literally and figuratively.
“That… sounds ridiculously overpowered,” Aurelia finally said, her voice filled with awe.
“Yeah,” Alex nodded, impressed. “The damage isn’t even specified, which means it must scale based on the enemy’s health. That’s some serious firepower.”
Alex felt a surge of satisfaction knowing he had made the right choice by giving the [Talent Evolution Fruit] to Alice.
Even the [Heart of Calamity], a powerful artifact bound to him, had urged him to do so.
“Did it actually become friendly after all this time?” Alex wondered, thinking back to the times it had guided him.
Or maybe it was simply finding it fun to be inside of him and see where he was heading.
The [Heart of Calamity] was the core of the [Hatred Demon], and one of its main powers, meaning that it must be just a powerful as him.
Despite its fearsome origins, it had consistently been helpful, offering advice during critical moments.
It easily killed Daniel, and even saved him against Kars, its dialogue indicating that even the demon wouldn’t be a problem to it if it actually acted.
Alex couldn’t help but feel a sense of intrigue toward the artifact.
But for now, there was no time to dwell on those thoughts.
After some rest, the group began discussing their next move.
“So, what now?” Aurelia asked.
The [Golden Star Festival] event had ended, and with it, they were free to tackle other challenges in the game.
“Heh,” Alex smirked. “We conquer the [Tower of Destiny]. That’s what we do.”
“Conquer?” Alice tilted her head. “I mean, I got a powerful skill now, but I don’t think we’ll manage to defeat the level 1,000 boss at the top…”
“Don’t worry,” Alex reassured them, his voice steady. “I’ll manage everything. Trust me.”
With that, he grabbed both Alice and Aurelia’s hands and activated the [World Map] to teleport them to the [Seventh Floor – Obsidian Cradle].
The moment they materialized, they found themselves inside a massive, suffocating cave.
Do note that the seventh floor was the only one across all the previous ones that teleported the players to the same spot upon arriving, since it was a cave and not an open-space.
The air was thick, and even standing still, the group could feel the scorching environment draining their health.
“Ugh, it’s like we’re inside a furnace,” Aurelia muttered, wiping sweat from her brow.
“That’s not all,” Alex said, glancing around. “We’ll have to deal with constant heat damage and… parkour.”
The narrow, jagged paths crisscrossed over pools of bubbling magma, leaving them little room for error.
As if that weren’t enough, the few enemies they encountered along the way were shockingly strong, each requiring significant effort to take down.
But the group was more than prepared.
Alex led the charge, dispatching enemies with precise spells, while Alice and Aurelia provided support.
Without using [Bleeding Claws] or [Arrow Black Hole], they still managed to carve a path through the floor.
In fact, the [Space Arrows] had been the real MVPs, carrying even more than Alex’s spells.
Alex leveled up twice, Alice four times, and Aurelia an impressive nine times thanks to her efficient use of her daggers.
Eventually, they reached the end of the floor, where a towering figure stood between them and the [Obsidian Cradle Exit Pillar].
The boss was a sight to behold: a colossal, humanoid monster with molten skin and magma flowing through its veins.
Its wings, forged from pure lava, spread wide, illuminating the dark cavern with an ominous glow.
A massive, blazing sword rested in its hands, its edge sizzling with molten energy.
Every step it took caused the ground to crack and ooze with liquid fire.
[Infernos the Magma Warden – Divine Floor 7 Boss]
[Level: 800]
[Health: 400,000,000]
[Skills: Magma Wings; Lava Blade Slash; Inferno Dive; Flame Barrage; Magma Beam; Wing Buffet; Eruption Call…]
“Stay sharp,” Alex said, his voice steady as he finally summoned his [Bleeding Claws].
The dark energy surged through his left arm, transforming it into a shadowy weapon that could tear through most defenses.
He had taken it from Daniel, but now that he had extracted it from him, as well as removed the [Curse of Hatred] from it, it officially became his.
He would be able to use it without worrying!
Aurelia readied her daggers, channeling [Shadow Control], while Alice drew her bow, charging her arrows with spatial energy.
“Infernos won’t go down easily,” Alex warned, his gaze locked on the towering boss.
Infernos roared, raising its magma sword high before launching a devastating slash in Alex’s direction.
“Too slow,” Alex muttered, dashing forward and narrowly avoiding the molten fissures that erupted beneath his feet.
The boss flapped its massive wings, sending a wave of scorching heat toward him, but Alex rolled to the side just in time.
“I’ll help too!” Aurelia called out, launching several shadowy blades that homed in on the boss, slicing through its molten armor.
Though it didn’t do that much damage.
Alice on the other hand stayed back, her bowstring taut as she prepared a [Space Arrow].
“Hurry, Alex!” she shouted.
Alex darted forward, closing the distance between him and Infernos in an instant.
With a powerful swipe of his [Bleeding Claws], he slashed the boss across its chest.
-61,913,400!
A massive damage number floated above Infernos, and for a brief moment, the boss staggered.
“Now’s your chance!” Alex yelled.
Find exclusive stories on empire
“Arrow Black Hole!” Alice shouted, releasing her arrow.
The spatial energy swirled violently as the arrow transformed into a vortex of gravitational power, heading straight for Infernos.
The boss, still reeling from Alex’s attack, had no time to dodge.
The arrow struck it directly, pulling everything around into its core.
The cave trembled under the immense force.