Tony dismissed the recent confrontation from his mind as one would brush away dust. The world was a vast ecosystem of the capable and the incompetent; he had simply pruned a rotten branch. His focus was singular: the dark maw of the Wolf Den.
Stepping within twenty yards of the entrance triggered the prompt.
[Do you wish to enter the Wolf Den dungeon?]
He confirmed, and another menu appeared.
[Please choose the difficulty:]
Simple
Challenging
Hard
Nightmare
A final, restrictive line of text glowed beneath the options: [As your level is higher than the dungeon by 3 levels, you may only select Hard or Nightmare.]
Tony smirked. The system was preventing him from farming easy experience, just as he'd expected. But from the moment he'd learned of the dungeon, his goal had been absolute. Anything less than the ultimate challenge was a waste of his time. His finger hovered over the final, ominous option.
[Nightmare Mode selected.]
The shimmering Transfer Passage before him, a gateway of pure white light, convulsed and darkened into a vortex of pitch-black energy, shot through with veins of malevolent crimson. A low, predatory growl seemed to emanate from it, a sound felt in the bones more than heard with the ears.
The chaotic noise of the valley died instantly. Every player, from the greenest novice to the seasoned guild elite, stared in thunderstruck silence. The Amazon Lily's elite team had been humbled by Simple Mode. A full, coordinated party from Temple Knights had barely survived a Challenging run. Yet here was a solo player, walking calmly into the meat grinder of Nightmare as if it were a leisurely stroll.
"Are my eyes broken? Did he just… choose Nightmare?"
"Damn! We're getting shredded on Simple, and this maniac goes straight for the top? On his first try?"
The whispers were a mixture of disbelief and awe.
"What an interesting fellow," Nine Feng murmured, a genuine spark of curiosity in his eyes.
Eternal Knight, now radiating even greater power from his newly purchased gear, turned to his companion. "Brother Feng, compared to you, how strong is he?"
"In terms of pure combat capacity and technique, he is no match for me," Nine Feng replied, his confidence absolute and unshaken. "But his equipment… he is a mile ahead of me, and likely every other player on this server. We can confirm he is both immensely lucky and possesses real ability. A fascinating combination."
"Then let's not waste this advantage," Nine Feng continued, turning to his team. "We have the tools. Now we secure the glory. Let's make every other guild here choke on their envy." His words ignited a fire within the Temple Knights. A similar, desperate resolve took root in Amazon Lily and the other major guilds; they could not let their rivals claim the first clear.
None of them, however, considered the lone Swordsman a contender for that title. The few foolhardy souls who had attempted Nightmare had a universal experience: instantaneous, humiliating death. The common consensus was that the masked player was either terminally overconfident or had a death wish.
The world dissolved into darkness and reformed into an endless, twilight plain. The air was cold and carried the musky scent of wet fur and old blood. Tony's enhanced senses immediately mapped the terrain. Six packs of wolves roamed the expanse, each a trio of hulking, silver-furred beasts. And in the distance, on a low, rocky hill, stood the dungeon's first guardian: a monstrous wolf with two heads, each bearing a pair of eyes that glowed like hellish embers.
A flick of his will activated [Reality Eye].
[Savage Wolf] (Elite)
Level: 6
HP: 2500
Skills: Double Impact, Claw Gale, Blessings
Tony's brows rose. A random trash mob here was statistically superior to any common monster he'd faced outside. The dungeon was not playing games.
Before he could finish his survey, the nearest pack noticed him. Their intelligence was immediately apparent. Unlike the mindless aggression of common monsters, these wolves moved with tactical precision, fanning out to surround him, their low growls coordinating a three-pronged assault.
So, the dungeon doesn't even give a moment to breathe, Tony thought, a grim smile touching his lips. He prayed the other packs wouldn't join the fray, or his run would end before it truly began.
The three wolves pounced as one, a perfectly synchronized attack from front, left, and right.
To any other player, it would have been a death sentence. To Tony, their movements were telegraphed, their speed insufficient. He shifted his weight with minimal, fluid motions, the claws and fangs whistling past him by inches. As they passed, his blades, Humming and Jade, became a blur of light.
Three precise strikes, each aimed at a vulnerable flank.
*-1724! -1698! -1781!*
The three wolves were thrown backward, yelping in pain and surprise, their health bars plummeting. Fear now mingled with the fury in their eyes.
System: Shadowless Stance Completion Rate 100%.
Tony blinked. He had executed the S-rank skill with casual, instinctual perfection. Before, such flawless execution required intense focus. Now, it felt as natural as breathing. The soul refinement, the synchronization—it was all paying off. A flaming passion ignited in his chest. He needed to understand this new level of control.
He charged, eager to dissect the feeling. But the wolves, displaying another shocking level of intelligence, turned and fled, splitting up to run towards different packs.
"Clever," Tony muttered, abandoning all restraint. "[Rapid Steps]! [Ghost Step]!"
A double activation of movement skills surged through him. For twenty seconds, he became a phantom. The world slowed around him as his speed reached a terrifying crescendo. He covered the distance to the fleeing wolves in a heartbeat, appearing amidst them like a vengeful spirit.
A storm of steel erupted. The Savage Wolves died without even understanding what had hit them, their forms dissolving into light.
For the next hour, Tony became a hunter on the plain. He meticulously drew one pack at a time, isolating and annihilating them with a brutal, efficient grace. His mastery over his skills grew with each encounter, his body and mind harmonizing in a deadly dance. The loot was a respectable haul of bronze coins, crafting materials, and two skill books: [Double Impact] and [Blessings].
After a ten-minute rest to restore his focus and cooldowns, he turned his gaze to the hill. It was time.
[Twin-headed Alpha] (Special Elite)
Level: 7
HP: 10000
Skills: Double Impact, Claw Gale, Air Sickle, Typhoon Cut
The boss's aura was a physical weight, a menacing pressure that promised a painful death. Tony pushed his senses to their limit, every nerve alight. As he watched, he saw one of the beast's heads turn, and a unmistakable sneer twisted its muzzle. The intelligence there was chilling.
Both maws opened. [Air Sickle].
Vibrant blades of compressed air shot towards him. Tony reacted instantly, leaping backward to evade the impact zone. It was a feint. As he was mid-air, a shadow fell over him. The Alpha was above him, having used the projectile attack as a distraction to close the distance. A massive claw, wreathed in dark energy, descended.
'It set a trap!'
There was no time for a graceful dodge. Tony crossed his blades in a desperate [Parry].
BOOOM!
The impact was colossal. He was smashed into the hard ground, his body screaming in protest as his HP bar dropped by a staggering 30%. He had no time to recover. The Alpha was a whirlwind of fury, its attacks relentless and earth-shattering. Tony was forced into a desperate, undignified roll, evading crushing blows by a hair's breadth before finally managing to kip-up back to his feet.
"You damn stupid beast! You made me roll in the dirt!" Rage, hot and pure, flooded Tony's system. His killing intent erupted, a suffocating wave of pure malice that made the Twin-headed Alpha hesitate for a fraction of a second, a flicker of primal fear in its hellish eyes.
It was all the opening he needed.
"[Rapid Steps]! [Ghost Step]!"
He vanished from its sight, appearing soundlessly behind it. The air grew still.
"[Traceless Sword]."
There was no flash of light, no roar of power. There was only the concept of a strike, and then its consequence.
AOOOOOOOWWWW!
The Alpha's pained howl split the air. A devastating -4900 floated above its heads, a deep, grievous wound now bleeding profusely between its two necks.
The battle shifted. Tony became a bladed vortex, harrying the wounded beast, chipping away at its health, never allowing it a clean strike. He learned its patterns, neutralized its [Double Impact] and [Claw Gale] with well-timed parries and dodges. But when the Alpha's HP dropped below 2000, it unleashed its fury.
[Typhoon Cut]!
A maelstrom of cutting wind expanded in a wide area-of-effect around it. There was no escape. Tony triggered his armor's skill just in time.
"[Darkbright Barrier]!"
A protective dome of black energy flared around him, absorbing 1200 points of the devastating damage. The shield shattered, and the remaining force slammed into him.
*-450!*
His HP bar plummeted, stopping at a terrifying 20 HP. A single, stray gust would end him. But the ultimate attack had drained the Alpha, leaving it in a visibly weakened state, panting and sluggish.
It was his only chance. Tony slammed a Health Potion and surged forward, his blades a final, relentless barrage of light that carved away the boss's last sliver of health.
The Twin-headed Alpha let out a final, choked whimper and collapsed.
Tony stood amidst the settling dust, his chest heaving, before letting himself fall onto his back, staring up at the dungeon's false sky. The fight had been the hardest of his life in Ancient Myth. And it had been utterly exhilarating. A fierce grin spread across his face as he thought about the two bosses that remained.
In a luxurious apartment in a Tier-1 city, a hologram displayed a sulking Chris. "...Cousin, you have to take revenge for me! That bastard humiliated me in front of thousands! I just wanted to trade, and he slaughtered my whole party! He didn't even let me finish speaking—didn't let me tell him who I was connected to!"
On the other end of the call, a handsome man with a calm, unnervingly confident smile listened patiently. "If you spent half this energy improving your own skills instead of scheming, you wouldn't need to call me," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "However... a player whose killing intent can cow a thousand... that does pique my interest. Sit tight. I'm coming to your server. Do nothing until I arrive."
The call ended. Chris shivered, a mixture of fear and anticipation coursing through him. But soon, a sneer replaced his anxiety. 'With my cousin here, that ant will suffer a fate worse than death. How dare he humiliate me when my cousin is a god of the virtual world!'