Have you seen a mage with destructive spells unleash a cataclysm without any fear of mana constraints and plunging his enemies into despair?
Astartes provided us with such an exhibition!
The [Icicle Blast] skill was utterly imperious on the battlefield! Such a Class F skill, having reached the limits of its power at the complete-level, was now a skill that could fight above its weight, capable of threatening peak Class E existences!
Hence, the giant ice swords released a terrifying chill which slowed the movements of dozens of Kobolds before severing their bodies in a wide-ranging horizontal sword slash!
Its power was simply too overbearing to defend against, even for the Kobolds that had strong physical bodies. The Kobolds that did manage to surge past the destructive [Icicle Blast] were not fortunate either. They were met with massive black "snakes" that swallowed them into a realm of pitch-black darkness.
It was Astartes' [Darkness Hand] skill which had become more mobile in its usage as well as in its number now that it had entered expert-level proficiency. Despite being a mere F-Ranked skill, with its power reaching such an unbelievable level of proficiency, its vitality-draining powers were even more ruthless than ever, leaving powerful Class E creatures such as Kobolds at its mercy.
Kobolds that were "swallowed" by the dark snakes emerged in a miserable state, their entire vitality stripped away and incapable of further movement. Even though they were not killed by the attacks and were left severely drained of their vitality and mana, such a situation was utterly disastrous in such a perilous environment of destruction and battle, as they were slashed to death by the horrifying power of the massive five-meter [Icicle Blast]skill!
The few Kobolds that managed to reach Astartes's position, at the cost of the sacrifices of numerous other Kobolds, were left hopeless in the face of Astartes's [Magic Shield]. Their several attacks against it could do little to break through its triple defensive layer. Their fates as a result of their inability to penetrate through Astartes's defence meant that they could only become inevitable targets for Astartes's [Darkness Hand] skill, which drained them of their vitality in one blow, ultimately sealing their fate when another [Icicle Blast] slashed downwards towards every creature within its range.
The ferocious Kobolds that charged forth with their kamikaze attacks in hopes of using their sheer numbers to overpower and exhaust Astartes attempted once again to charge in with their full numbers after the power of the terrifying Ice Sword manifestation of the [Icicle Blast] skill was finally exhausted and faded away.
Since such powerful, large-scale skills could not be used repeatedly due to the mana toll it had on the caster, the Kobolds were prepared to commit as many bodies and lose as many lives as possible, to eventually slaughter and consume Astartes!
However, they were currently frozen in despair and could do nothing but simply watch on in despair as another massive 'ice sword' appeared above Astartes's head just seconds after the last one. They watched on in horror as dozens of their kin were mowed down by Astartes' attacks, which seemed to be relentless and even more ferocious than theirs...
Against such a skill that was capable of challenging any peak Class E existence, they were simply too powerless against it.
*****
One hour later...
Astartes stood on the silent, bloody battlefield, looking around at the numerous corpses that were scattered all around him, almost reaching one hundred. He began a slow yet methodical process of harvesting loot drops. This time, his harvest was quite fruitful, much to his delight. He had obtained 48 low-ranked E attribute cores, which was considered a good harvest.
And this was only the first floor...
Astartes was even more excited to see his gains after he cleared the entire catacomb himself. Although he believed his speed in clearing the catacomb was a little slower compared to a party of Class E and D rankers, the gains he stood to gain by himself were far greater. Besides, he believed that the speed of his catacomb raid would become much faster as his skills evolved to their peak.
After such a large battle, Astartes felt physical and mental exhaustion and hence proceeded to rest a little.
[Greater Heal]
A bright, nourishing green radiance appeared over his entire body, making his skin glow with a pristine effect. As his proficiency in the [Greater Heal] skill grew, Astartes began to discover the magical effect that the skill had on the caster's vitality. Its effect was on par with a Class E Vitality Potion!
This gave Astartes a pleasant surprise!
The [Greater Heal] skill could not only heal wounds, but it also subtly recuperated one's vitality. Astartes was confident that as this skill's proficiency grew, this effect would grow even stronger.
After recuperating his vitality for about 45 minutes, Astartes stood up and proceeded deeper into the mountain, towards the second floor. He had even decided to keep the Greater Heal skill permanently active to maintain his vitality in a peak condition at all times. This made his face and skin glow significantly, giving him an ethereal feel.
The Kobold Arena Catacomb had four floors. During his battle, Astartes noticed that the Kobolds possessed a power of the Low Class E with some almost entering Middle Class E. Could it be that the Kobold on the second floor would have a power of Middle Class E?
Astartes found out soon enough when he entered the second floor, emerging before a massive cavern within the mountain with several hive scattered across the walls of the cavern.
Just like his experience in other catacombs, his presence was discovered and immediately met with a ferocious barrage of earth spears, boulders and other dangerous projectiles. However, Astartes met them with his [Magic Shield] and all of his skills, which he activated without hesitation. Having learnt his lesson from the first floor, he did not hesitate to go all-out against these Kobolds.
The Kobolds of the second floor engaged in a mix of guerrilla attacks as well as frontal clashes. Given the hive-like nature of the second floor, the accuracy of Astartes' attacks was severely reduced, leaving him on the receiving end of a lot of ranged attacks.
His [Magic Shield] came under severe stress as a result and was destroyed several times. Many times, Astartes' watertight defence suffered from a few penetrative attacks as he was unable to avoid being hit by some longspears after his [Magic Shield] got destroyed. He sustained injuries, but within moments, he was able to heal himself using his [Greater Heal] skill and once again erect his [Magic Shield] skill once again.
He changed tactics increasingly as time went on. Instead of using the expansive and destructive 'ice sword' form of the [Icicle Blast] skill, he changed its shape into 'icicle bullets', which increased the flexibility of its control, shooting several hundred of them into these 'hives', killing several dozens of kobolds in a single move. This was the powerful effect of the proficiency of a skill reaching the complete level!
He was able to make several changes to its form and structure at will!
He also flexibly changed his method of using the [Darkness Hand] skill. Although he could not change its form easily like the [Icicle Blast], its usage could be altered. Compared to its usage on the first floor, where he used it as a supporting skill for the [Icicle Blast], which served as his finishing move, this time he used the [Darkness Hand] as he did originally, as a restraining move.
However, this time, the 'black snakes' that only used to constrict opponents now became more powerful and corporeal, which meant that they were stronger. One 'black snake' of the [Darkness Hand] skill imprisoned the figure of a charging Kobold, not only constricting it, but forcefully piercing through its chest with its fangs before draining the unfortunate Kobold's heart of its vitality while corrupting its internal organs with darkness energy, ultimately causing its body to cease functioning, killing it.
Astartes, having discovered a very effective means of killing the Kobolds using the [Darkness Hand], did not relent in using it all the more. Gradually growing more adept at this killing technique, Astartes kept killing the charging Kobolds while prioritising his [Icicle Blast] skill to kill the long-range, guerrilla Kobolds hiding within the 'hives' of the cavern.
His attacks were incredibly efficient and lethal, with his 'icicle bullets' blasting through the skulls of unprepared Kobolds without fail. Those who were able to anticipate the attack still did not escape being affected by the frost effect of the icicles, and their movements were slowed down only to suffer the same fate as their dead kin.
After over forty minutes of battle, the cavern went silent. The initially and oddly serene environment was now turned into a hall overflowing with blood and strewn organs. The lifeless gazes of the decapitated Kobolds and their severed limbs scattered about only told the unfathomable horror they had suffered under the white clothed youth, who was the only living person remaining.
After proceeding to the third floor and unleashing a similar yet inevitable massacre on the Kobolds there, Astartes did not hesitate to proceed to the fourth and final floor. The only thing standing between him and clearing this catacomb was the Catacomb Lord!