Raj immediately ran into an issue once the waves began anew. Namely, the levels of the monsters. He hadn’t thought about it before in his post-battle daze, but an Identify(Common) made sure he knew of the troubles ahead.
[Flesh-Prince - lvl 21].
One of these things had been bad enough, but now an entire wave of of them? Considering they were of equal level to him, he would be hard pressed to keep up, especially in the later waves.
This is probably where I will fall, he thought, though any fear he may have contained had long since abated. He smirked. Well, considering I can’t really die here, I may as well go all out!
Raj spammed Mana Slash three times before using Dash to dive into the midst of the monsters, surprised to only count five of them. I suppose their higher levels constitutes less of them.
Another interesting tidbit of information that he had noticed was that the wave monsters were drastically less intelligent than the boss. The Flesh-Prince that he had slain before had seen through his ambush, but these ones had simply thrown the full force of their defenses and power into blocking his Mana Slash attacks, their guards left wide open.
He spent the next few moments dismantling these lesser foes, his Dash ability allowing him to dance between them, his ‘life’ never really threatened Interestingly enough, after he had dispatched all five of them, he did not gain a single level. The only difference on his status was the title Tutorial Challenge being updated.
Status
Name: Rajeev Narayanan
Race: Human(H)
Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 22]
Profession: None
Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 21(Pending)
HP: 932/960
MP: 390/570
SP: 561/680
Stats
Strength:94(90)
Agility: 126(116)(+5)
Vitality: 96(92)
Endurance: 68(65)
Intelligence: 57(55)
Wisdom: 57(55)
Free Points: 0
Dao: Fragment of Reality
Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon)
Profession Skills: None
General Skills: Identify(Common)
His leading theory was an obvious one: as one grows in power, levels get harder to acquire. A brief mention of it to Trixie confirmed it with a nod. He supposed it was a way for the System to ensure that only the truly driven could rise to the top.
Well, I guess I’ll just have to join them, now won’t I?
*****
One level.
After fighting and fretting for 10 hours, he had gained ONE. MEASLY. LEVEL.
A deep sigh escaped Raj’s lips as he ran his hands over his face. He was infuriated more so than he might have been, as he could quite literally feel how close he was to another level.
His status remained as stoic as ever upon his examination of the interface.
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Status
Name: Rajeev Narayanan
Race: Human(H)
Class: Swordsman[(Common-G) lvl 23]
Profession: None
Titles: Giant Slayer, Vitality I, Strength I, Enlightened One(G), Agility I, Endurance I, Intelligence I, Wisdom I, Dao Disciple, Tutorial Challenge: Level 21(Pending)
HP: 980/980
MP: 590/590
SP: 600/700
Stats
Strength:98(94)
Agility: 131(120)(+5)
Vitality: 98(94)
Endurance: 70(67)
Intelligence: 59(57)
Wisdom: 59(57)
Free Points: 0
Dao: Fragment of Reality
Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common), Dash(Uncommon)
Profession Skills: None
General Skills: Identify(Common)
He dismissed this, the prompt in front of him reason enough.
Wave 25
Boss Fight!
Begin!
Now that was new. The bosses had been increasing by increments of 10 initially, but he had a sneaking suspicion this smaller increase in waves was due to the level of the boss. Specifically, the next threshold…
The beam of light announcing his next opponent’s arrival dissipated, motes of light still lingering in the air. Those minute A curse slipped from his mouth as his suspicion was proven correct.
[??? - lvl 25].
Raj was given no time to even think as the giant flesh monster suddenly appeared in front of him, teeth bared in a grin. Oh shi-
He suddenly found himself getting thrown backwards into the house, just barely able to get his arms up before getting slammed into a solid brick exterior. Weirdly enough, instead of slamming into it, he seemed to almost bounce off of it, as though there was a protective layering around it. He didn’t have time to ponder the oddity, however, as the monster seemed to teleport on top of him once more.
He was ready for it this time, and managed to Dash just out of the impending strike. He pivoted and immediately jumped back, narrowly avoiding getting slammed into by what could only be the Flesh-King, if the bone crown on its head was any indication.
All the while, his mind was racing. This guy is moving, alright. But how? Is it a skill? Or is the difference between me and level 25 just that much?
He mentally dismissed that thought. Ideas like that couldn’t be allowed to fester, seeing as how they would basically just be him admitting defeat. Besides, seeing as how he couldn’t die, he didn’t have much to lose.
He (Dash)ed around a few more times, noticing the gap between attacks was getting longer. Eventually, it stopped teleporting at him, choosing to leap instead. It’s running out of mana, Raj realized. And it’s either completely out, or choosing to conserve it. Based on how strong it is though, I should probably assume it has a couple more teleports in the tank.
He was able to stay ahead of the Flesh-King, slowly chipping away at its health. It was a game of endurance, one he was determined to win. In the corner of his eye, he saw Trixie in position, ready to attack. His lips turned upwards in a smile, a sense of déjà vu emerging from his previous boss battle.
Not yet. Hold just a bit longer, Raj thought, trying to will his thoughts through his bond. To his surprise, her face morphed into an expression of understanding. That small moment of communication cost him dearly.
Pain erupted up from his leg as he got caught by the Flesh-King’s claw, and he was sent spinning away. He (Dash)ed midair to soften the landing, but his movement had been effectively hampered. And, as if things weren’t bad enough, the monster roared, and portals opened up from the ground, a sickly yellow color resonating from them. Monsters clawed their way up into the real world, and Raj’s heart sank when he realized they were Flesh-Princes. Worse, he was running dangerously low on MP.
MP: 30/590
Shit. I only got enough for another Dash and a Mana Slash. This isn’t looking too good for me. Trixie tried to help, sending Mana Bolt after Mana Bolt towards it, but the Flesh-King simply deflected every blow. His companion had tried to save her attacks for the right moment like last time, but it ended up working against her. He moved, forced to use his last Dash just to avoid another blow, leaving him defenseless. The Flesh-King, sensing blood, went in for the kill. It was wounded, but not as severely as Raj. He closed his eyes, accepting his failure. He wouldn’t die here anyways, so why not just give up? Then, blackness overtook him.
*****
His eyes shot open, but he didn’t see the Tutorial forest. Rather, he saw a man, standing on top of a city wall. He was not like any person he had seen before, with purple skin as deep as a grape, his bald head as shiny as it was imposing. An army of people were amassed before him, but for some reason, the dread in their eyes was as clear as day to Raj, despite how far away they were. They charged, already prepared to die. Then, the man looked.
The word did not do the situation justice. He looked in a way that seemed to break the very laws of nature, a devastating feeling radiating off of him. It spread quickly, a wave of invisible energy that could not be seen, but there was no mistaking its presence. The soldiers started to fall in droves, their fates pre-determined and their deaths willed into existence by his presence. A zone of death encompassed the man, and any who dared to challenge his power crumbled in its path. It was a massacre, one that was forever seared into Raj’s mind. The vision ended, and clarity struck.
*****
He opened his eyes once more, the swarm of monsters breathing down his neck. He dug deep within, scouring every crevice of his being for his Dao. Then, he brought his Dao Anchor into fruition, pulling it into the physical world, and the Flesh-King knew fear for the very first time.
