The light from the crescent sun bounced off the hot sand, falling on the cracked glass panes and illuminating the surrounding, which was once a sprawling metropolis.
This was the cracked lands. Once a lively modern human city, now an endless desert, infested with the eclipse beasts, lying towards the west from the Veridian city.
In one of the broken-down buildings, five stories beneath the parched earth, the air hung heavy and cold, thick with the scent of damp stone and ancient dust, where now darkness reigned supreme, Grey was moving through the shattered remnants of this underground complex.
A low, guttural snarl broke the stillness, echoing off the concrete walls. Grey dropped into a low, predatory stance, his body a coiled spring. A red, ethereal glow, emanated from his fists as the aura covered them.
From the deeper shadows, three eclipse beasts emerged. Their forms were a grotesque mockery of life, twisted chitinous plates fused with skeleton bone, their multiple eyes glowing with a malevolent light.
They scuttled forward, a symphony of clicking claws and rasping breath, their hunger palpable even in the thick air.
[----]
RACE: Eclipse Dwellers
LEVEL: 22
CLASS: Scourge
STAMINA: 24
STRENGTH: 26
INTELLIGENCE: 8
AGILITY: 20
SKILLS: Bladed claw (C+), poison spit (C)
The scourge class were no longer a threat to Grey. His fists cracked, the aura flared, he wanted to end this as soon as he could.
The first beast lunged, a whirlwind of blades and claws. Grey sidestepped the attack, a blur of motion, his fist hurled towards the beast.
"One punch kill!"
The beast shrieked, it's chitin cracking under the focused power of his skill. A circular hole appeared in its belly, disintegrating the mass from the area the punch hit, separating the body into two.
It's body fell with a thump, vanishing into dust, leaving a beast core. Instantly, the other two beasts were upon him, flanking him in a pincer movement.
Grey moved with impossible speed, a dance of woven energy and precision strikes. His aura flared, He punched one to the distance and spinning around, an aura infused heel struck at the head of the other with an axe kick.
BURST!!
Its head instantly burst, not even getting the chance to shriek out. The body fell and turned into dust. Grey didn't tarry, he dashed towards the last one, who was gaining its balance to lunge at him again.
But Grey didn't wait, He leaped into the air, Aura flared bright into his heel as it came rushing down in an arch.
"Demolition Axe!"
Like a blade slash, Grey's demolition axe sliced through, the beast's body separated into two, falling on the two sides before vanishing into dust, leaving the beast core buried within the ashes.
There was no need for Grey to use the skill, since it was like killing an ant with a hammer. But he wanted to try out his new skill, gauging its power and getting its feel in a practical scene.
Silence descended once more. Grey stood motionless, the faint glow of his aura slowly receding back into his skin. He then moved to collect the beast stones lying below.
After collecting the three cores, he activated his eyes of omniscience, and started scanning the surroundings. Just then he saw a faint glow coming from the back of one of the walls.
He moved through the debris-strewn cavern, kicking aside rusted machinery, collapsed shelves, and the unrecognizable remnants of what might have been a control room.
His fingers brushed against something cold and smooth, half buried beneath a pile of rubble. He knelt, pushing aside the debris. It was a section of wall, oddly smooth and unmarred by the decay that had consumed everything else.
A faint, almost imperceptible seam ran along its edges, expertly blended into the surrounding stone. He applied pressure, pushing and pulling at various points along the seam.
There was a faint click, then a soft hiss of displaced air, as if a long-held breath was finally being released. Slowly, a section of the wall began to slide inward, revealing a dark, yawning aperture. It was a hidden room of the dungeon.
Grey moved inside cautiously, ready for any sudden attacks that may come unannounced. After awakening his bloodline and acquiring the eyes of omniscience, darkness now didn't exist for him. He could see as clear as daylight even in this dark underground space.
Even after moving inside, not seeing any beasts or hidden traps, he still waited out for some time, but then getting not a single response. He then relaxed and moved towards the center.
There was a torn piece of an worn out, brown, ancient piece of parchment floating in the air. Though a sense skepticism arose, Grey dismissed it instantly, fully trusting his eyes of omniscience and moved his hand forward. Clutching it within his fingers, he then brought it near for a closer look.
After a quick inspection, Grey made it out to be a piece of a map. The area drawn seemed to be the cracked lands, and the very abandoned cityscape he was in. But this was just a part, there are definitely other parts somewhere around. But where it led to, he didn't know.
[Map of the lost tomb (fragment)
A part of the map that will lead to the tomb of Pharomin, the tyrant of the ancient times. The tomb holds unimaginable riches and weapons. Lying in wait of the destined one to claim.]
Though this was not what he came looking for, with a disappointed look, he put it in his inventory. Hoping that maybe after he finds the other parts, he really would become rich, after raiding the tomb.
Even after checking more than ten small underground dungeons in the area, there was no sign of the Dawn stone. The very thing he was searching for from a few months in the crackled lands.
Though he hadn't found the stone, the dungeon raids had helped him level up quite a bit, reaching level 25.
This was the final dungeon he raided, since there was not much time left. He had to go back to the hostel, as the midterms were about to begin the next day.