-chapter seventy-seven-
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SOLACE

THE DUNGEON is a long array of metal doors, with small windows on the front. May mga iron bars na nakadikit sa hard wall. Hindi kita kung ano ang nasa loob.

"Door 103." I muttered, glancing at every door numbers.

Kanina pa sina Cord at Aisling na nakapasok sa kanilang respective rooms. The Dungeon has a total of 150 guardian rooms and it's one fighter per room. Kaya ito ako ngayon, looking for Door Number 103 because the designer of this dungeon seems to be drunk when he made this.

Sinong normal ang magnu-number ng doors randomly? Walanghiya. Nakita ko kanina ang Door 148 na katabi ng Door 3 at Door 80.

"58... 86... 41..." bumuntong-hininga ako. "Bakit ba ang hirap-hirap hanapin ng pintuan na 'yon."

"There's no need to panic. The time limit starts once you enter the room and press accept quest, after all."

Napatalon ako sa gulat nang isang mababang boses ang narinig ko sa tabi. Astro raised his brows at my sudden movement. May dalawa siyang katabi na warriors din ang guildmate niya ata.

Of course, sumali ang Night Growlers. They're the gem of the Central Continent anymore.

"I'm not panicking," I muttered. "Gusto ko lang matapos ito agad."

"I doubt it will though."

Hindi na ako nakapagtanong kung ano ang ibig niyang sabihin doon dahil sa may nakita akong pintuan na tatlo ang numero. Maybe it's my door number now!

Hinayaan ko si Astro doon at tumakbo papunta sa pinto, not noticing the man I bumped on the way. Napangiti ako nang makita ang door number. Finally!

Tiningnan ko si Astro para sana magpaalam pero natigilan ako nang makita siyang nakikipagtitigan sa lalaking katabi ng pinto ko. The two are sharing a somewhat heated and intense gaze. So rather than interrupting their private conversation, I opted to enter the room.

Mukhang magkaka-lovelife na din si Astro, ah. Nagsi-sideline pala sa dating game ang Arth Online.

A blue light screened over the room when I stepped in. May mga pixels na unti-unting nagma-materialize sa harap ko at isang screen na lumabas.

▪▪▪

[PRELIMINARY QUEST: COMBAT ARENA]

Welcome, Solace. This is the Dungeon where the Soul Guardian, Tomethos, resides. The Guardian holds the souls of players he defeated and uses it to amplify it's power.

To complete the quest, you must defeat the Guardian. You will need strength, patience and great perseverance to succeed. Your time limit of [20] begins once you accepted the quest.

Accept   |   Decline

▪▪▪

I clicked 'accept' after reading the announcement. The response was processed quickly, and another screen appeared. Safe battles, player., it reads.

I staggered when the ground moved, na para bang isang malakas na lindol ang dumating. Itinusok ko ang espada sa lupa para mabalanse ang sarili at doon ko nakita ang kalaban.

Fucking hell. The guardian is huge.

Para itong higante. He's almost the same height as the room, napakalapit ng ulo niya sa ceiling. I can't even reach the monster' knees! Well, mukha naman siyang tao. Parang isang old-fashioned warrior na sobrang taas at laki, gano'n din ang gamit niyang espada. His crimson eyes bore into me while his mouth stretched into a thin line.

Sa ibabaw niya ay ang pangalan na: THE GUARDIAN OF A THOUSAND SOULS. Then his health bar below it, of a violet color pero walang number na nakaindicate. Kumunot ang noo ko. Paano ko malalaman kung malapit nang mamatay kung gano'n? Do I just keep on blindly attacking this guardian?

Tiningnan ko ang timer sa na lumabas sa gilid ng kwarto. 19 minutes and 55 seconds left. I should probably start attacking.

Kumuha ako ng buff potions sa bag at ininom ito. For strength, defense and speed. I raised my sword up high and tested a whip slash to the guardian. Whip Slash is almost like an ultimate, taking up 45 mana and delivering two cross sword-strikes with light and wind element. I usually use this when I get tired and wants to one-hit kill mini boss monsters.

Kaya naman sobrang gulat ko nang hindi man lang nagmove ang HP ng guardian. Parang full pa rin ito. And for this high-level monsters, their HP bars are usually 5-6 long. And the first HP bars are usually very easy to lessen than the rest.

Kaya what the fuck.

Although, I didn't use the sword's elemental power, I did consume buffs and they are very effective.

I readied my sword and pulled up three continuous whip slash. Lumipad ang buhok ko dahil sa malakas na hangin. Isang tipid na ngiti ang sumilay sa aking labi nang makitang 1/4 ng current HP ang nabawas.

"Siguro mas better if the skills are made continuously." bulong ko sa sarili.

The guardian still hasn't made an attack. It must be waiting for a certain HP amount to launch a skill.

Kailangan kong basahin at tantyahin ang galaw niya. Who knows, I could just be the guardian's one-hit one-kill.

"Light's Blessing." A spark of golden light appeared on the sword. Mula sa tip ng blade ay tumungo ito sa katawan ko. My body was then engulfed in a pale golden flame.

"Thunder." I said activating the skill. Pumasaere ako at sa isang iglap ay lumapag sa lupa. The ground shook with the force of my landing.

Without even thinking to look at the guardian's health, I activated another skill. "Frenzy." and I launched attacks after attacks to the guardian's armored and steeled body.

I only stopped when I felt the guardian stiffened and twitched. Sa gilid ng mata ko ay nakita ko ang mabagal na pagtaas ng weapon niya. I immediately put up my guard and kept distance between us. In a blink, a huge sword came crashing down me and I rolled to the side. The sword hit the ground, cracking up and making another quake.

I gaped. Walanghiya, do they expect us to kill this monster?!

I looked at the guardian's HP and almost sighed in relief when it already went to blue. So, assuming na lang, baka nagsisimula na siyang umatake kapag asul na si HP.

I glanced at the time. 16 minutes and 36 seconds. Well, sana na lang aatake ito at hindi de-depen-

The guardian moved and faced me. It's red eyes glowered as it look at me, hands slowly raising the sword. Well, mukhang dedepensa nga itong si guardian. My bad.

"Oh syete!" sigaw ko nang bigla niya na lang hinampas ng hinampas sa'kin ang dalang weapon.

Naabala ako sa pagtalon-talon dahil sa sunod-sunod na atake niya. I ran and slash my sword to stop his incoming strike, immediately rolling into the ground and running once again. It was like dancing with the wind, in the form of a sword. Wind and light clashed, creating sparks and flashes that seemed to occupy the whole room.

Itinuon ko muli ang pwersa sa espada. The golden light grew even brighter. Maingat kong tiningnan ang pagtaas ng weapon ng guardian and the moment he brought it down, I jumped and landed on the blade. Mabilis akong tumakbo pataas at pataas, gaining the perfect momentum to make a jump. On an outsider point of view, I think I look like a stupid little ant heading into battle.

I jumped, my sword burning brightly than before. Golden flames sorrounding the blade and fighting with the green wind. I lunged my ultimate attack with a whip slash, powered by the light element. Pagkatapos ay ang Circled Slash kung saan bright sparks of fire-lightining was emitted.

The guardian let out a loud roar, stepping back. His HP immediately went to yellow and orange. Ngumiti ako. This is good, red comes next and it'll all be done.

Sinulyapan ko ang timer. 13 minutes and 21 seconds left. I think I can do this.

The dance lasted for a while. Patuloy ang paghampas ng guardian ng weapon niya sa akin, at mas lalo siyang naging agresibo ngayon. His attacks were strong and quick. At halos mawalan ako ng malay nang makita ang simpleng wound mula doon ay sobrang laki ng bawas sa HP ko.

This guardian could kill me in a breathe while I have to lay out all my ultimates without stopping just to wound him a bit.

Ang unfair ng buhay!

Mas lalong lumakas ang apoy na nasa espada ko. I ran, expertly evading all of his attacks, and went straight to slash at his leg. He gave out a long and bloodcurdling scream, legs giving out from the attack.

Hinihingal kong tiningnan ang HP niya at halos mahulog ang mga mata sa nakita!

THIS IS CHEATING!

I gaped in disbelief seeing his HP bar on red but has a x5 mark beside it. What the fuck? Ano akala nito sa'kin? My health is already at half and my mana's been exhausted. My energy is also depleting because I've been running, jumping and rolling the whole fight.

Suminghal ako. "Baka naman may iba ka pang- OH SHIT!"

Napatalon ako at napatakbo nang bigla siyang gumalaw sa pwesto at maglakad papunta sa'kin, ready nang umatake. Since a while ago, nakatayo lang siya sa pwesto at kamay lang ang ginagamit pang-atake. Wait, didn't I wound his left leg? Why the-

Oh he's limping. Okay. At least he lost some balance.

Huminga ako ng malalim. I concentrated on converting my remaining energy and a few of my health into power. The golden fire on my sword surge up, flames going higher and higher. At mas lalo itong lumalakas dahil sa hangin na mula sa guardian.

A whole lot of circles appeared. Mga bilog na may iba't ibang kulay sa loob. They moved towards the guardian's back, and circled it, forming and forming. Forming a really large magic circle.

Napa-atras ako. Oh shit. Gagamitin niya na ba ang ultimate niya?

Ipinuwesto ko sa harap ang espada. The fire, so bright and golden, covered the whole sword and my body. Ang apoy na napakalakas at napakaganda ay kasinglaki na nang guardian. It bravely faced the guardian whose sword was held high and a thousand souls gathering behind his back. The wind grew thicker, small sparks of flame flying, sorrounding the whole room, encasing it and creating a tornado.

The power was so immense that I could hear the walls cracking, the ground breaking and the ceiling rattling. The tension was so powerful that- that the dance began before the song could even start.

Hindi ko alam kung paano iyon nangyari. Ang alam ko na lang ay iniwasan ko ang atake ng guardian at tumalon pataas. I slashed my sword against him and he deflected it up, the immense power hitting the ceiling and letting another quake loose. His sword hit mine and I spinned mid-air against it before landing on the ground.

Naging isa ang mga kaluluwa sa likod niya at bumuo iyon ng isang malaking bilog sa dulo ng weapon niya. He pointed it to me and I did the same with my own golden one. Lightning sparked now from the ends of the fire, flaring angrily. I could feel my eyes heating, my body sweating and my power shifting higher and higher.

At the midst of it all, I felt so good. The power that I let loose, the amazing strength we exchanged and the overwhelming weight of the sword against my hand, the burning of my skin.

Sa isang iglap ay nagpakawala kami ng aming ultimate ng sabay. His purple-ish circle getting closer towards my bright fire. They met in the middle, powers clashing and battling strengths. A bright yellow light engulfed the whole room and there was calmness.

Calmness and⁠—

The next thing I know, the ceiling was crumbling, I felt all of my body burning and everything went blank.

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-chapter end-