Path to Transcendence

Chapter 713: Taking Out the Trash

Kyler POV

The three of them hid behind a broken wall of debris while they watched over a dozen dwarves throw themselves at these monstrous creatures. The previous floor had already taken a lot out of them. They were running low on mana and stamina, and they were already eating into their supply of potions faster than anticipated.

Even doing that, they had barely been able to take down enough of the golems to pass the previous trial. He still didn’t know what the requirements had been, but Analia suspected the trial wanted to test their ability to adapt and fight against an enemy who countered their skills.

Miles agreed with her, and while Kyler didn’t say anything out loud, he had a suspicion that there was more to it than that. It was how the golems had fought. Despite their strength and power, he didn’t get the feeling they were actually trying to kill the three of them.

In fact, he had a feeling that these golems acted like training dummies. More of a punching bag than an intelligent opponent. It took them far longer than it should have to figure out the trick to beating the golems. It didnʼt help that they were given a strict deadline to reach the fifth floor before they even got to the fourth.

Someone had already initialized the fifth floorʼs trial, and if they didnʼt make it in time, they would be forcibly removed from the vault.

It was obvious that the person responsible for this was the same one Miles had seen heading into the portal on the first floor, and who wasnʼt affected by the pressure.

This person was ahead of them and by a significant margin. It forced them to accelerate their plan, leaving them low on resources by the time they finally reached the fifth floor.

The method to take down a golem required skills that utilized both mana and physical properties. Whatever ability that helped protect their bodies had clear limitations and when it dissipated mana based attacks, it would become more susceptible to physical attacks. It would also leave itself open to aura attacks, which was something Analia was really good at.

She had a powerful skill that allowed her to cripple and immobilize these golems as long as Kyler and Miles kept them busy. It was difficult, but working as a team enabled them to finally take down the golems.

However, this floor’s monsters were very different. These Obsidian Horrors were absolutely dangerous. They werenʼt useless, durable puppets like the golems. They were truly bloodthirsty monsters. Their speed and aggression were on another level compared to the golems.

He didn’t understand the sudden increase in difficulty. The golems had already been tough, but these monsters were truly terrifying.

That meant the three of them decided to take some time and examine these horrors from afar. They used these imitations of dwarves to get the information they needed. He could tell that Analia felt bad about doing something like this, but with how dangerous these foes were, she couldn’t argue against the logic of their decision.

He was glad they did, too, because they learned a lot about these monsters. Their defensive capabilities were still the most troubling aspect, but their speed was especially worrying. What made the golems easier to deal with was their relatively slow speed. But these monsters were faster than average Tier 4s. Added to their already impressive strength, it was a harrowing prospect to fight them.

However, what was even more concerning was the mental attack they used. Mind magic was a scary thing. It was almost impossible to defend against without a dedicated skill or item, and you couldn’t see it, so there was no dodging it.

He had an item that protected him against mind magic, but he didn’t feel confident that it would be able to protect him from these creatures. It was primarily meant to defend his mind against cursory scans and other subtler types of mind magic.

Looking at the bodies on the ground with blood coming out of their orifices, he had a feeling that this mind magic was more cruel and savage than what he was used to dealing with.

They waited for almost five minutes, but the dwarves were unable to take it down. No matter how desperately they hurled themselves at the monster, they weren’t able to kill it. Over a dozen bodies were already tossed to the side. They lay there with their organs ripped out or with half of their bodies missing.

It was only when all the dwarves were dead, and the monster was the only one standing, that it went over to the nearest body and began eating the remaining flesh. The dwarves might not have been able to kill it, but they had done significant damage. Large cracks littered the monster’s body, but they were already healing up.

Realizing this was their chance, Kyler gestured for the other two to make their move. Miles was already wearing his armor and bearing his shield as he ran directly towards the monster. Miles was an anomaly amongst the rest of the Thundering Heavens Sect. He was one of the few warriors who specialized in defense. Whereas the rest of the sectʼs disciples, like Kyler and Analia, focused on offense.

But that came in handy right now. It was because of this that Miles was able to crash into the hulking monster and not get torn apart immediately like the dwarves. Several pulses of lightning magic flowed over the other guy’s skin, trying to paralyze the monster, but that wasnʼt Milesʼ primary goal.

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Miles wrapped his arms around the horror’s waist and was squeezing with all of his might while the monster stabbed at him with its sharpened limbs. Its teeth clamped down on Mile’s armor, and Kyler winced when they left large marks on the notoriously tough adamantine alloy.

Fortunately, Miles made sure to give as much as he received. The large cracks already on the monster’s body widened as Miles squeezed, and this caused the Obsidian Horror to activate its screeching attack. Miles had prepared himself and covered his ears beforehand, blunting much of the sound damage, though Kyler didn’t know how well the guy handled the mind magic part. He seemed okay, but with the helmet covering his face, it was hard to tell if he was in pain.

Kyler didn’t have time to worry about that, though. He had his own responsibilities and sent five blistering arcs of golden lighting toward the monster. He wasn’t worried about Miles being in the way. If anything, the lightning would give the guy a nice little boost to his strength.

The Obsidian Horror let out another piercing scream when the lightning flowed through the cracks in its shell. This time it was directed toward Kyler, and unlike Miles, he didn’t handle it nearly as well.

He fell to his knees as the sound rang in his ears and his mind felt as if it were being flayed from the inside. It was so painful that he almost lost control of the other skill he’d been preparing. Thankfully, the creature got distracted by Analia when she attacked it with a bolt of aura-infused lightning. Ensuring that he didnʼt miss this opening, he let out a roar of defiance, forcibly kept the skill intact, and slammed the final piece of it in place.

The world froze as his Seed of Authority: Tyrant’s Thunder made its presence known, clamping down on the cruel beast with an oppressive boom. Then the heavens broke open, and a pillar of golden light struck down on the monster as his skill [Heaven’s Edict] slammed into the beast.

Analia was barely able to teleport Miles out of there in time, replacing the armored warrior with a sphere of condensed aura and lightning. The sphere and the pillar of lightning struck simultaneously with a thundering roar.

The synergized attack obliterated the two nearest buildings and left a crater in the streets. The bodies of the nearby dwarves were vaporized, and even the air was ionized due to the extreme use of lightning magic. Dangerous sparks of lightning flitted over the now quiet streets.

But even this wasn’t enough to take it down. The creature was still alive, albeit barely. Almost all of its body was destroyed, but its malice was still pulsing out angrily. It was crawling toward them, letting out pathetic screeches from its mouth. Thankfully, the mind attack was so weak that Kyler barely noticed it. Miles was the one who decided to take care of it and, without hesitation, slammed his shield infused with lightning into the beast, shattering what remnants of it remained.

Only then did Kyler take a deep, gasping breath. Analia appeared from her hiding spot, and blood was leaking out of her ears. Miles took off his helmet, and Kyler winced. The black-haired young man was in even worse condition. Blood was leaking from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. There was also a huge purple bruise on the left side of his face.

Kyler reached up, touched his nose, and noticed it was bleeding as well. On top of the massive headache, it would seem that he used more mana than he’d been planning on.

He cursed internally. If it had taken that much to take down one of these things, just how many of them would they be able to beat before the competition was over? In fact, he doubted that many other people would have been able to take one down.

Then he remembered that someone had entered this floor a whole twelve hours before them and couldnʼt help but wonder how that person was holding up.

***

Julius POV

There were times when he didn’t bother to hold back, and these foul creatures were the perfect reason to go all out. He’d rarely come across any monster or beast where he felt this much innate hatred and disgust for. But these creatures were definitely at the top of his list of the most foul and revolting monsters he’d ever faced.

He didn’t sense any normal emotions he associated with monsters. They didn’t have the same desires or natural instincts as a monster had. They were fueled by pure darkness and were sadistic to the core. If there was any emotion he felt coming from them, it would be their pleasure whenever they killed someone and when they inflicted pain.

He didn’t know if these creatures were real or if they were simply a product of this inheritance trial, but something deep inside his soul was offended. It actually went far beyond being offended; it literally sickened him to be in their presence. He didn’t know if it was his sensitive nose for auras, but he couldn’t control his irritation.

Not even his Concept of Balance or [Calm Before Ruin] was able to hold his resentment from taking over. Was this abnormal hatred another side effect of these monsters? Perhaps.

But they were so terrible and killed so many innocent dwarves, he really didn’t care. If anything, it only made it worse for them.

He tore across the city, and the barriers that had been holding back were no longer there. He was able to move with absolute freedom, and so he was like a bullet tearing over the sky as he targeted every nasty aura in sight.

He dropped right on top of one. His heel slammed into the creatureʼs head, and all the kinetic energy he had gathered during his flight detonated with a shattering boom. [Void Strike] tore its insides apart, and he grabbed it by its neck, throwing it up into the air.

He teleported just above it and, with another pulse of kinetic energy, he slammed him down into its sternum, ignoring its pitiful wailing, and gave the mental attack a dismissive slap with his willpower.

It was sent crashing back into the ground, leaving a five foot deep hole, but Julius wasn’t done, he chased after it and crushed both of his feet into the creature, making sure to pour his ruinous aura all over the dying creature. Its aura, which was previously flickering with pleasure after it killed dozens of bystanders, was now panicking slightly.

Julius kept it alive for a few more moments just so it could experience an inch of the pain it inflicted on others. It was only when he felt it shake in fear and desperation that he sent another [Void Strike] straight into its head, killing it.

When he was done, he pulled himself out of the hole and looked around. After a few more seconds, he got another ping with his senses and, without a second glance at the dead Obsidian Horror, he tore off to chase its brethren.