Chapter 63: Arcane Golems and level up to 32
The translucent light bridges connecting the canyon walls to the silver gate did not bend under weight; they vibrated with high-frequency kinetic resistance.
Leon Graves stepped onto the first gleaming span of the bridge network, his leather boots making no physical sound against the compressed crystal planks. The sub-zero wind howling through the Aethelgard Ravine buffeted his silhouette, but the absolute environmental immunity of his completed Void Monarch Set completely stabilized his balance. The freezing updrafts simply dissolved into harmless gray vapor the micro-second they touched the outer boundary of his fifty-foot Aura of the End-Game.
He did not slow his momentum. His updated statistics matrix unrolled across his internal vision, perfectly tracking his progression values.
[STATUS MENU]
Name: Leon Graves
Class: Sovereign of Finality: Apocalypse Monarch (Rank: SSS)
Level: 31
Health: 6,950 / 6,950
Mana: 3,960 / 3,960
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 361
Agility: 245
Constitution: 370
Mana: 253
Perception: 71
With his base Agility tracking past two hundred and forty-five points, Leon’s physical transition across the open chasm was nothing more than a dark blur that completely bypassed the visual sensors of the peripheral watch-posts. He did not pull his body back into a standard physical dash; his movement speed was multiplied by thirty percent due to his mythic leg armor passive, Void Compression, allowing his feet to skim over the white-gold crystal path without generating frictional drag.
BZZZZT—
Letting his stride break sixty yards across the bridge layout, the active security parameters of the tower yard suddenly triggered a low, high-frequency hum.
The twelve towering Arcane Golems stationed along the main silver ramparts turned their massive quartz heads in absolute unison, their crystalline lenses contracting as they processed the massive, starlight-swallowing mana density of his SSS-rank core. They did not shout warnings; their multi-jointed stone arms lifted simultaneously, the giant crystal lenses built into their palms glowing with a volatile, blinding sapphire plasma energy that sizzled with compressed raw element attributes.
Six high-velocity plasma bursts discharged into the narrow space of the bridge within a fraction of a millisecond, meant to vaporize Leon’s entire molecular mass before he could establish a footing on the courtyard tiles.
Leon did not attempt to deploy a kinetic barrier or throw his torso back into a defensive slide.
"[Activating Skill: Abyssal Step]"
The entire physical layout of the canyon yard vanished into a weightless, monochromatic gray landscape in less than a fraction of a heartbeat.
Leon’s form permanently dissolved into a pitch-black shadow line that slipped directly into the dark parallel fold of the dimension. The six blinding sapphire plasma streams cut through the empty space where his chest had been standing, the magical matter of the attacks passing through the dark fog without finding an ounce of physical resistance.
Thanks to his recent Chaos Breach shard upgrade, his stealth phase lasted for a full six seconds—and his ability to cast mid-range spells from the shadows was completely unlocked.
He ran smoothly through the dark space of the dimension, his boots skimming across the vertical light chains connecting the bridge to the parapets. Bypassing the visual tracking lenses of the twelve-foot quartz guardians, he closed the distance to the frontline of four golems within three seconds, aligning his left palm with their exposed central mana nodes.
"[Activating Skill: Death Wave]"
The A-rank skill consumed a mere fifty-six points of his mana tank thanks to his full set bonus. A thirty-foot-wide horizontal blade of highly compressed, dark violet decay energy erupted from his extended hand, cutting through the silver wind with absolute velocity without breaking his active stealth parameters.
The kinetic wave struck all four frontline golems dead center from behind their defensive lines.
The 250% decay damage output tore straight through their solid quartz structures, while the secondary effect triggered an instant, 3-second movement speed reduction of fifty percent. The intricate blue runes etched into their stone limbs didn’t just dim; they turned a dull, porous white color that flaked away like wet plaster under the accelerated time distortion of Finality. Their heavy stone joints ground together with a horrific screeching sound as their internal power lines collapsed.
Leon closed the remaining three yards as his six-second stealth timer hit zero, his hand blurring as he whipped the Abyssal Stinger out of his duster sleeve to deliver the final execution strikes.
Squilch. Squilch. Squilch. Squilch.
Thanks to his full set bonus, the dark steel dagger completely ignored one hundred percent of their physical and conceptual defense armor values. The blade pierced smoothly through their neck joints, his Bracers of the Iron-Spine ensuring zero weapon deflection against their high-density alloy framework. The silence trait, Necrotic Injection, discharged smoothly with every hit, completely blocking their internal battery lines and preventing them from triggering their wide-scale light explosions upon death.
One by one, the level 62 quartz units dissolved into massive mounds of dark gray sand, their life data instantly recycled into his silver ring via his unique Grave Reclamation passive.
[Four elite quartz targets destroyed. You have gained 36,000 Experience Points.][Level Up! You are now Level 32.]
[Unique Trait Activated...]
Target mana paths extracted: Your maximum Mana pool has permanently increased by +120 points.
Absolute Extraction Activated:
Strength: +8
Agility: +6
Constitution: +8
Mana: +10
Leon Graves lowered his palm, the residual violet smoke slowly drifting from his bare knuckles before vanishing into the empty ether of the heights. His maximum mana pool had permanently expanded past 4,080 points, his dark core buzzing with an unassailable energy that felt completely unstoppable.
He walked past the four mounds of gray sand, his hand sweeping through the ash to gather the dropped stones and resource items into his inventory.Through his expanded Ashen Fog matrix crawling outward for three miles through the canopy layer, his mind suddenly registered a massive, highly structured energy signature pulsing near the inner sanctum doors—the location of the floor’s primary guardian lines.