Chapter 409: The Myriad Eyes
Adam walked forward slowly, his footsteps echoing against the cold stone floor. The Shadow Shell Lord lunged—its massive spear thrusting toward his chest with brutal speed.
Adam sidestepped easily, the spear passing inches from his ribs. He didn’t rush. He let the creature’s momentum carry it forward, then stepped in close, the Soul Reaper’s Scythe already in motion.
The blade carved through the air in a smooth, practiced arc.
The Shadow Shell Lord’s head separated from its shoulders, the chitinous neck splintering under the edge. Its body stumbled forward two more steps before crumpling to the ground, lifeless.
Adam straightened, lowering the scythe. A faint frown crossed his face.
"Looks like the enemies here are still too weak."
[Shadow Shell Lord (Lv. 63) Defeated!]
[+310 EXP | +240 EP]
[Ding! Level Up!]
[Level: 92 -> 93]
Adam dismissed the notifications with a flick of his wrist. He walked over to the fallen boss, crouching beside its body. His claws sliced through the chitinous armor, and he retrieved a small, pulsing core, its surface dark and veined with faint crimson lines.
[Shadow Shell Lord Core – Rare]
Adam pocketed the core, then turned his attention to the chest sitting in the corner of the chamber.
He flipped it open. Inside, neatly stacked, were several bars of gold and a collection of ornate jewelry—necklaces, rings, bracelets, their surfaces gleaming with a faint, magical sheen.
Adam’s expression flickered with mild disappointment.
"A little extra money wouldn’t hurt."
Alice peered over his shoulder, her ears twitching with disinterest.
"Boring."
Adam straightened, rolling his shoulders as he turned toward the next staircase.
"Let’s move. The next floor should be more interesting."
The group descended into the fourth floor.
They reached the boss room without incident. The Watcher, a massive floating eye surrounded by rings of jagged bone didn’t even get a chance to attack. Adam’s Prismatic Beam tore through its central pupil, and the creature crumbled into dust before it could scream.
[The Watcher (Lv. 75) Defeated!]
[+400 EXP | +320 EP]
Adam knelt beside the remains, retrieving a small, glowing herb from the pile of ash. Its leaves shimmered with a soft, azure light, and the system’s analysis confirmed its value.
[Manaheart Herb – Rare]
[Effect: When consumed, permanently increases maximum mana by 25. Can be used as an alchemical reagent for high-tier mana potions.]
Adam’s lips curved into a satisfied smile. He tossed the herb to Alice.
"Store that."
Alice caught it without looking, tucking it into her Void Locker.
They descended into the fifth floor.
The moment their feet touched the ground, the world became a nightmare of flesh and sight.
They covered the walls, the ceiling, the floor—every surface was lined with unblinking, multi-colored eyes, each one fixed on the group with cold focus. From between the eyes, thick, writhing tentacles emerged, their surfaces slick with a faint, phosphorescent slime. They moved in slow, deliberate waves, as if the entire chamber was one massive, conscious entity.
[The Myriad Eyes – Lv. 80]
[Guardians of the fifth floor. They are a single, distributed consciousness, a hive mind that sees through every eye and strikes with every tentacle.]
Alice’s ears flattened, her tail bristling with obvious disgust.
"Ugh... the tentacles are moving. It’s disgusting."
Lilith’s eyes gleamed with unexpected warmth. She tilted her head, a soft, almost affectionate smile curving her lips.
"Hmm? I think they’re cute. Look at the way they move—so graceful."
Isolde’s voice cut through, her eyes fixed on Lilith with open disbelief.
"Cute? Where exactly do you see anything cute in this?"
Adam’s eyes swept over the horde.
"With this many, it’s going to take a while. I’ll leave the rest of them to you. I’m heading straight for the boss."
Before anyone could respond, Adam was already moving.
His form blurred, weaving between the writhing tentacles with fluid, serpentine grace. The eyes tracked him, the tentacles lashed out, but he was already gone, slipping through the gaps in their defense like smoke through fingers.
Ignis’s voice rose in protest, her flames flickering with indignation.
"Wait! Adam! I want to come too!"
But the The Myriad Eyes closed in around her, tentacles surging from every direction, cutting off her path. She was forced back, her flames flaring as she carved a path through the writhing mass.
Alice’s tail lashed with sharp irritation, her dark violet eyes fixed on Adam’s disappearing form.
"Did he just leave us here?!"
Ignis’s voice carried a note of wounded frustration as she burned through another tentacle.
"He’s having all the fun! That’s not fair! I’m going to make him pay for this later!"
Isolde let out a long, slow sigh, her eyes fixed on the corridor where Adam had disappeared.
"Haaah... Adam. He always does whatever he wants."
Azrynn’s yellow eyes scanned the gloom, her bow drawn taut, every muscle braced for the next attack.
"Should we go after him?"
Lilith’s voice drifted over, smooth and measured, her eyes gleaming with quiet amusement as she wrapped another tentacle in silver threads and crushed it.
"Let him be. We’ll wipe out all of these creatures first. Once we’re done..." Her smile sharpened. "We can punish Adam later."
Adam, meanwhile, was already deep in the horde.
His fists, wreathed in dark energy, drove through the tentacles that reached for him. His wings, half-manifested, carried him over the grasping masses.
"Move. I don’t have business with you."
Adam reached the boss door without a scratch.
He pushed it open.
The chamber beyond was vast, its walls lined with the same countless eyes, but at its center, one eye dominated all others. It was massive, easily the size of a house, its iris a deep, swirling abyss that seemed to pull at the very fabric of reality. A halo of dark, jagged light pulsed behind it, casting the chamber in an eerie, shifting glow.
The creature’s level was displayed in his vision.
[The All-Seeing One – Lv. 98]
[A culmination of countless eyes and consciousnesses, fused into a single, overwhelming entity. Its gaze can paralyze, its will can dominate, and its presence can drive lesser minds to madness.]
Adam’s lips curved into a wide, satisfied grin as the massive eye fixed its gaze upon him.
"Haha... Looks like I found the jackpot."
The air around him grew heavy, thick with psychic pressure that pressed against his mind like an invisible tide.
[Iron Will – Activated]
[Psychic intrusion detected. Resistance: Successful.]
The pressure broke against his mental defenses like waves against a cliff. Adam didn’t even flinch.
"Nice try, Cyclops."
The All-Seeing One’s iris pulsed. A ripple of distorted light spread outward from its core, and the air around it began to shimmer. A translucent barrier materialized before it, its surface rippling with shifting runes and patterns that seemed to writhe like living things.
Adam lunged forward, the Soul Reaper’s Scythe already cleaving through the air, leaving a trail of golden light in its wake as it descended toward the barrier.
CLANG!
The scythe struck the barrier, and a shower of sparks erupted from the point of contact. The barrier held—its surface rippling, absorbing the force of the blow, but a faint crack spider-webbed across its surface.
Adam’s eyes narrowed.
"Interesting."
Adam leaped back, putting distance between himself and the towering eye. The All-Seeing One’s iris pulsed, and a concentrated beam of void-touched light erupted from its core—a searing, violet-white lance that carved through the air toward him.
Adam’s body dissolved into shadow. [Abyssal Step] carried him sideways, the beam passing through the space where he had been standing and striking the wall behind him. The obsidian surface cracked, then melted, bubbling like wax under the intense heat.
The eye fired again and again—each beam faster, more precise, tracking his movements with unsettling accuracy. Adam weaved between the beams, his body a blur of shadow as he slipped through the gaps in the eye’s assault.
"[Prismatic Beam]!"
A lance of rainbow light erupted from his palm, meeting the All-Seeing One’s next attack mid-flight. The two beams collided in a shower of sparks and fractured light, the impact sending shockwaves rippling through the chamber.
Adam pressed forward, the Soul Reaper’s Scythe already carving its path. He closed the distance in a heartbeat, the blade sweeping toward the barrier in a devastating arc.
CLANG—CRACK!
The barrier held, but a deep fissure spread across its surface.
Adam drove his fist forward, dark energy coiling around his knuckles.
"[Monarch’s Pierce]!"
The impact was thunderous. The barrier shattered, fragments of translucent energy scattering like broken glass. The All-Seeing One’s iris contracted, a ripple of distorted light pulsing outward—a psychic shockwave that slammed into Adam’s mind before he could react.
[Psychic Overload – Detected]
[Iron Will – Activated]
[Resistance: Partial Success. Stun effect applied: 1.5 seconds.]
Adam’s vision blurred. His body locked, muscles seizing as the psychic pressure overwhelmed his defenses. He stumbled, his grip on the scythe faltering.
The All-Seeing One didn’t waste the opening. A massive tentacle, thick as a tree trunk, erupted from the floor beside him and slammed into his side with brutal force.
Adam was hurled across the chamber. He crashed into the obsidian wall, the impact cracking the stone, and crumpled to the ground.
He pushed himself up, shaking debris from his shoulders, a thin trickle of blood running from his nose. His voice came out rough, but a fierce grin spread across his face.
"Heh... not bad. That actually hurt a little."