Chapter 84: [84] Splitting Light
The air turned intensely hot as a large beam of vaporising light burst out of the golem’s head, rushing down to consume Ark.
But Ark aimed his hands right at the golem’s head, right at the beam of light... and then he unleashed it.
Tzzzz!
The world dimmed for a moment, and then a thunderclap spread through the room as the lightning was unleashed.
It cut right through the beam of light, causing it to fizzle out at the sides, just before swallowing the second head of the golem, vaporising it on contact.
Everything had happened in a heartbeat...
Thick, black smoke oozed out of the empty spot where the golem’s head had been, a low rumble left its body as its body system shut down...
And then a colossal golem fell down to its knees, before falling down belly first with an impact so great that the floor trembled beneath his feet.
[You have slain a level 25, The Dreamer’s Epilogue, +200 exp]
[You have leveled up!]
[Level 6 >> Level 7]
[You have gained 7 stat points!]
Ark’s eyes brightened as he read through the notification.
’200 experience points?’ He already knew that defeating monsters on a whole other rank than you gave higher EXP.
Level one to twenty was copper, and level twenty-one to forty was bronze. The monster was a whole rank above him, so it made sense that the rewards were much better.
But he had never expected it to be that high...
’Maybe it is because it is a boss monster?’ He mused as he stared at the corpse.
But just when Ark was beginning to entertain the thought that all he needed to do was focus on clearing the weaker golems, a morbid screen appeared in front of him.
[Golem Refresh Initiated]
In front of him, the colossal figure of another boss materialized out of thin air, its crimson eyes already locked on him.
"Shit!" Ark cursed. How could he have forgotten?
This was not a regular boss fight, nor was it a dungeon raid. This was a survival mission!
No matter how unfair it seemed, it meant that the boss could also respawn!
He felt a hollow feeling in his gut as he raised his head to stare at the monster.
Just fighting one was enough to completely drain him, how was he supposed to handle two?
[Threat detected! The Dreamer’s Epilogue, Level 25 x1]
The monster’s head began to glow, and Ark felt his heart clench with dread. He had seen that attack before, he had seen just how devastating it could be.
He raised his hand forward, about to summon his dark lightning once more. Using it once had taken a toll on his body, he had no idea what would happen if he used it again in close succession...
But he had no choice in the matter.
Just as the golem was about to unleash the stream of vaporising energy—
[00:00]
[Congratulations! You have successfully cleared Hidden Event, Golem’s Sanctuary!]
The active golems all around them vanished, and the entire lab fizzled away, leaving only the broken bodies of the golems behind as proof of their achievements.
[MVP: Ark Karras]
[Silver: Olivia Harrow]
Ark tiredly plumped down to his butt.
"Finally!"
His entire body felt heavy, and his bones ached from being set on fire, but he was alive... that was all that mattered.
He quickly located Olivia. She was sitting on her knees, breathing heavily as she tried to catch her breath.
Her entire clothing was completely soaked with sweat and blood, and there were a number of visible wounds on her body.
Esau, on the other hand, was lying on his back, staring up at the roof of the cave, looking half dead.
Ark laughed as he redirected his gaze to his hands. Although he had never expected to run into such a mission while searching for the missing players, it had been more than worth it.
Not only had he managed to level up, he had also gained a new skill and made chain lightning even stronger than it previously was.
Their little expedition had been a success!
Still... Ark glanced around the cave. There was no sign that the players had come here, nor that whatever monster had killed them was in this place.
’I have to keep searching.’
[Congratulations, Player Ark!]
[You have received a reward!]
[Golem’s Heart, (A-Rank), EXP +500]
[You have leveled up!]
[Level 7 >> Level 8]
[You have gained 7 stat points!]
[Golem’s Heart]
Description: The complex heart of a crystal golem reforged and perfected by the genius inventor, the Dreamer.
Ark read through the screen while stroking his jaw. It was great that he had gotten an A-grade item, but he had no idea what he would actually use it for.
Regardless, he stuffed it into his inventory. He had also managed to level up twice during the battle, which he was very much satisfied by.
This was one of the reasons the best way to level up was by clearing towers and dungeons, or in this case, events... There were a bountiful number of monsters, the bonus EXP from completing them being the icing on the cake.
Ark also went through other notifications he had been far too busy to check during the battle.
[Jenna has leveled up! Lvl 6 >> Level 8]
[Mountain has leveled up! Lvl 6 >> Lvl 7]
[Inquisitor has leveled up! Lvl 6 >> Lvl 9]
[Sumo has leveled up! Lvl 3 >> Lvl 6]
"Hmm, interesting..."
From what he could see, his summons were leveling much faster than him even though he was definitely killing more monsters than them.
"It looks like the leveling system is different for summons and people..." he thought out loud as he watched the screen.
Another thing he noticed was that Mountain was lagging behind, while Sumo was advancing much faster than his other summons.
This was because while the others often had offensive roles, he was the tank, meaning he focused more on defence. Ark made a mental note to let him loose once in a while so that he would not be left too far behind.
He stood up, slowly, then turned to face the others. "Great job, guys!" He laughed. "That was a good workout, wasn’t it?"
"Workout?!" Olivia got up and glared at him, unable to believe her ears. "I almost died!"
"But you didn’t, right?" Ark said in a jovial tone.
Olivia glanced at Jenna, who was beside her. "Do you see the problem I have with your master?"
Jenna nodded.
"Hey, stop teaching my summons to rebel." Ark canceled their summons, allowing them to rest and heal all the damage they had taken.
"We still have to catch up to Sazan and Thalia," Ark explained as he walked up to the boss golem’s corpse.
"Once you are done healing and catching your breaths, we will continue advancing through the cave."
If something like this could exist in the cave, then there was no telling what the others would encounter.
The worst part of it was that since the monster responsible for the players’ death was not here, there was a chance Jenna and Sazan would encounter it first... if they hadn’t already.
He glanced at Olivia and saw her nursing her broken wing, then he resummoned Jenna, sending her a mental command to help Olivia.
The damage to her wings was likely something they would need to visit the hero’s statue to heal, but the potions would be sufficient for first aid.
Ark placed his hands on the golem’s corpse, about to begin his harvest when he suddenly saw a shiny golden item right next to its head...
"Hmm?" He quickly bent down to pick it up, when he saw another one which he grabbed as well.
Ark lifted the crystals into the air, which was pointless since the cave had returned to being dark, but he did it anyway. He could see smoky mana swirling within the golden crystals.
"A mana crystal?" Ark thought out loud, his voice filled with surprise. Just finding one crystal was rare, and yet, he had found three on a single expedition.
Just like he had done with the monster heart, he stored the two crystals away, before returning to his business.
Ark placed his hand on the cold crystal body of the golem. ’I wonder...’ he mused with excitement.
’What skill am I going to get today?’
Meanwhile, at the very edge of the room, Esau was gulping down health potion while he stared at Ark intently.
His mind was unable to fathom what he had seen within that cave. Most parties had to combine their strength to take on a boss monster, fighting one alone was often seen as suicide.
And yet... Ark had not just fought one. He had actually defeated it!
’How am I supposed to kill someone as crazy as him?’
..
..
Two more golden tickets to hit our goal! You guys are amazing!! *inserts weeping emoji*
I guess I better get to work.
Goals⚠️
300 Powerstones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Golden Tickets: 4 Bonus Chapters
Castle: 4 Bonus Chapters
50 Privilege Readers: 4/day for one week
Love you all!