The Hobgoblin Chieftain let out a deafening roar, a sound so loud it shattered the remaining glass windows of the cafe. It swung its massive, blood-soaked battleaxe, shattering the pavement and sending chunks of concrete flying like shrapnel.
The three Shadow Orcs stood in front of Elias, completely unfazed by the terrifying display of power.
"Don't attack blindly," Elias commanded, his eyes locked onto the giant monster. "Spread out. Pincer formation. Aim for the joints in its armor."
As if acting on a single hive mind, the three shadows dashed in different directions. The Chieftain sneered, seeing these lesser monsters as mere annoyances. It swung its axe in a wide horizontal arc, aiming to cleave two of the shadows in half.
Whoosh!
The heavy blade sliced right through the shadowy bodies of the Orcs. For a split second, they lost their shape, their dark forms scattering like smoke in the wind. But before the Chieftain could even pull its axe back, the black smoke instantly reassembled.
Because they were made of Elias's mana, physical attacks couldn't truly kill them unless Elias ran out of energy. And right now, his mana pool was full.
The shadows retaliated. One leaped onto the Chieftain's back, plunging its dark claws into the exposed skin at the back of the monster's knee. Another struck at its heavy iron breastplate, acting as a pure distraction.
The Chieftain howled in pain and annoyance, thrashing wildly to shake the shadows off.
Elias watched calmly from a distance. 'Its physical strength is overwhelming, but its armor is crude. The iron plates don't cover the armpits, the back of the knees, or the base of the neck.'
He took a deep breath, circulating the small amount of mana he possessed through his legs.
"Hold him down!" Elias shouted.
All three Shadow Orcs threw themselves onto the Chieftain's weapon arm, using their combined shadowy mass to weigh down the massive battleaxe.
Elias exploded forward. He didn't run like a Level 3 novice; he moved with the flawless, deadly footwork of an S-Rank veteran. He closed the gap in the blink of an eye, using a parked, crushed car as a springboard.
He launched himself into the air, soaring right above the Chieftain.
The monster looked up, its yellow eyes widening in shock. It tried to raise its free hand to swat the human out of the air, but it was too slow.
Elias poured every drop of his remaining mana into the jagged wooden table leg he held, reinforcing the flimsy wood until it hummed with a faint blue light. Gravity and momentum were on his side.
With a brutal downward thrust, Elias drove the mana-infused stake directly into the small, unprotected gap between the Chieftain's iron collar and its thick neck.
Crunch!
The makeshift spear pierced deep into the spinal cord. The Chieftain's massive body went rigid. A terrible, choking sound escaped its lips before the light faded from its yellow eyes. The giant monster crashed to the ground, shaking the street one last time.
[You have slain the Hobgoblin Chieftain (Boss).] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!]
Elias landed gracefully next to the massive corpse, exhaling a long breath. The wooden stake in his hand splintered into pieces, entirely consumed by the mana he had forced into it.
[A high-tier soul has been detected. Would you like to extract the shadow? (Yes / No)]
"Extract," Elias said, a victorious glint in his eye.
The black smoke that rose from the Chieftain was different. It was thicker, heavier, and sparked with dark lightning. The smoke formed into a towering, heavily armored warrior that radiated an intimidating pressure.
[Extraction Successful!] [Elite Grade Shadow: Hobgoblin Chieftain (Lv. 5) has joined your legion.]
Elias admired his new commander. "I'll call you... Iron."
The shadow giant bowed its head deeply in total submission.
But the System wasn't done. Above the red Gate hovering in the plaza, the swirling vortex began to crack and shatter like glass. Because Elias had killed the boss, the Gate was closing.
[You have successfully cleared a Gate completely Solo.] [Calculating achievements...] [You are the first human in the world to clear a Gate alone!] [Rewarding Hidden Title: Pioneer of Catastrophe]
> Title: Pioneer of Catastrophe <
Effect: All stats increase by 10%. Experience gained from hunting monsters increases by 20%.
[Special Reward Item granted: Ring of the Void (Unique)]
Effect: A spatial ring that contains a 50x50 meter subspace for storing inanimate items.
A sleek, black metallic ring materialized in Elias's palm. He slipped it onto his finger, feeling the spatial connection instantly.
He looked at his growing army: three Shadow Orcs and one Elite Hobgoblin.
"Return," Elias commanded. Instantly, the massive shadows melted into the ground, hiding perfectly within his own cast shadow. To the naked eye, he was just a normal guy standing in a ruined street.
He checked his phone. He had exactly an hour and a half before the military arrived to lock down the area, and more importantly, exactly two hours before the 'Hidden Dungeon' spawned in the subway station.
"Time to go shopping," Elias muttered, walking away from the closing Gate without looking back.