Lord Odin sat back on his seat of honour, staring at the now golden portal that his son had just entered.
It was a great risk, allowing the low bronze man to enter alone.
After all, he had such a powerful talent. If he died, it would all go to waste.
However, if he managed to survive and come out of the gold dungeon, he would be a completely new man.
"Then perhaps, he could enter No Man's Land with his two brothers... or perhaps reach heights even greater." Lord Odin spoke to himself.
This, would be Levian's first trial.
---
[Gold Dungeon: Falling Horax]
[Quest: Defeat Horax]
[Side Quest: N/A]
Levian stepped through the portal, and instantly found himself standing at the edge of a drop that would end his life.
It was on either side of him. A red bridge that held him up above a drop into an endless abyss.
Shit... that was too close.
He took a look around the dungeon and found that there really wasn't much to see.
The bridge stretched endlessly into the distance both behind him and in front of him.
There were no barriers along its edge to stop him falling, and an eerie silence spread throughout the dungeon.
The dungeon is clearly a boss fight, but I see no sign of this Horax guy...
So, without wasting any time, he summoned Nyx, and started carefully making his way across the bridge.
The black flaming longsword gave him comfort as he traversed the dungeon, especially with its unique talents and skills.
Deep down, he wanted to test them out, but even ten minutes after walking, the dungeon seemed to remain the same.
So he decided to walk back in the other direction.
Twenty minutes passed, and still nothing.
After this, Levian had to accept a fact that frightened him to his core.
He stared down into the abyss.
Could Horax be down there, waiting for me?
After all, the dungeon's name is Falling Horax. Perhaps I can only find the boss once falling into the abyss.
It was a huge risk, one that could potentially end his life if his theory proved to be incorrect.
So first, he decided to keep walking.
He continued in a singular direction for what seemed to be hours, and yet not a single thing changed.
Finally, he came to his decision.
He stared down into the abyss once again. A cloud of shadow that blocked all sight of what lay below.
His heart raced, and his blood pumped.
His hand gripped tight around the star leather handle of Nyx.
Then, he leapt into the abyss.
The rush of the wind blew against him, blowing his black hair behind him, and catching in the gaps of his black suit.
He was falling rapidly, gaining speed with every second.
All that he could see was darkness around him, which made him wonder whether his decision had been fatal.
But then, a sound came.
Heavy breathing that could belong to something non-human.
Suddenly, Levian's body slowed so that he was merely floating. He was able to pivot his body through the air and raise his sword, but it felt like he was swimming in water.
Then, a bright white light appeared in the far distance of the abyss, and it approached him fast.
"What the hell?"
The light arrived closer, like a floating orb made from pure essence. With every meter it travelled, it became more erratic.
A black mouth suddenly appeared on the face of the orb, which twisted into a sick and twisted smile. Black saliva fell from the 'lips' like glue.
[Horax, Life Eater]
[Health: 950]
Levian thought fast, raising his weapon towards the strange boss, but how was he even supposed to attack such a thing?
I have to try something!
He swung his blade towards Horax's face, as the two were about to collide.
Horax opened his black mouth wide, and swallowed Levian whole.
---
He swum in darkness for a few moments, before emerging in a land that seemed to belong to a different world.
He was sitting atop a wet platform made from black slime, and approaching him were two beings.
Their bodies were made from a translucent white essence, and they resembled humans, though slender and without features.
They stumbled with outstretched arms towards Levian, who quickly pushed himself to his feet and tightened his grip around Nyx.
Are you serious? No one told me that dungeons were this messed up!
It made sense.
After all, these strange dimensional pockets were said to be created by an entity who wished to see the World of Malo fall.
Levian raised his dark longsword and swung it with all its might.
He felt the blade tear through the approaching monster like butter.
Black flames spat from the blade and shot into the other monster.
Both sizzled away into nonexistence, letting out fading groans of agony.
[Horax, Life Eater]
[Health: 850]
Levian's brows rose in understanding.
So killing these things chips away at the boss's health... they're it's life force.
Five more of them appeared in the distance, stumbling towards him once again.
They were clumsy and slow, but with such great numbers, it was easy to get overwhelmed.
Luckily, his sword seemed to be powerful against them. He didn't even need to use any skills.
He tore through the next pack with ease, only being touched once.
It was a grazing blow. A mere hand on his shoulder.
However, as the monster touched him, he felt his life force being drained from him in an instant.
His health went from 100 to 90, just like that.
Levian felt his skin shiver. It was the first time he had seen himself take true damage since awakening.
Yet his grip remained tight around Nyx, and his feet remained planted on the ground.
Ten more of the monsters spawned in the distance, all coming at him from different angles.
Levian took in a deep breath.
"Okay... It looks like I'm going to have to take you guys down without getting touched."
---
After ten minutes of dancing around the glowing monsters, Levian sliced the head off of the final one.
As he stood there, panting for air, and life force drained to 75, he heard a cry of pain coming from all around him.
[Horax Defeated]
[Gold Dungeon Cleared]
A gold reward chest appeared in front of him and next to it was a golden portal that would take him back to his father.
The chest contained minerals used for crafting. Nothing that Levian was interested in.
However, he was sure to have increased a bunch of his stats as well, but would need to exit the dungeon first before the system was able to process them.
Most importantly, Levian felt overwhelmed with pride.
Without losing more than a quarter of his health, he had cleared a golden dungeon.
Two whole ranks above his own.
A feat that should have been far from his grasp.
He clenched his fist in joy.
"I did it..." His words came hoarse and tired.
Then, after truly processing what he had just done, he fell to his knees and cheered.
"I DID IT!"
---
Don't forget to gift power stones if you're enjoying the story!