Realizing that he would have to make some sort of sacrifice here, Jonathan twisted his fist, letting the bones within it shatter, and the gauntlet came loose in order to disengage. With a flash of stamina, he flickered backwards, even as the golem’s weapon impacted the ground, sending a wave of cloudy white in all directions.
With his right hand flopping uselessly, Jonathan was running out of options. There was only one thing for it. It was time to use his newest runic array, and allocate the rest of his stat points. At his level, there was no amount of strength that could save him, so he instead poured it all into Resilience, the only thing that could prevent his death.
His left fist then lit up with the multicolored light of his Vengefire array, glowing red and purple, with a scintillating core of shiny black. As the golem came in for another strike, Jonathan dodged and struck, driving his fist into its hammer. While the construct could move faster than he could, Jonathan had noticed that it only did so if its main body was threatened, rather than the hammer. He planned on using that to his advantage.
Hammer and fist collided in a spray of sparks, before the real meat of the collision was brought to the table, the clash between the flames of the golem, and Jonathan’s flames of his Runic power. Whereas before the golem had won out over the Void, this time there was no contest. Jonathan’s runic array detonated, blasting the hammer apart into a storm of shrapnel. He felt his soul take a hit from the technique, but at this point, it was unavoidable. Jonathan wasn’t getting out of this without taking some major damage.
As the hammer broke apart, Jonathan swept his right foot out, watching the golem as it stumbled a bit from the destruction of its hammer. Stamina slammed into his leg muscles, and he blasted his shin into the golem’s leg, knocking it off its feet. Lighting up his Vengefire Array once more, Jonathan surged forwards, and drove his fist into the construct’s chest, fracturing the stone. Hammering it into the ground below, Jonathan cracked the stone of the golem’s form, turning its chest into a crater.
It reached up, its hand flashing out like a lightning bolt, and grabbed Jonathan around the neck, beginning to squeeze. Feeling the stone shifting beneath his fist, Jonathan knew that if he retreated now, he wouldn’t have this chance again. Ignoring the pain of fracturing vertebrae, and relying on his stats to avoid oxygen deprivation, Jonathan flared his runic array, burning through his body and soul to do so. He became a candle, the flames of his element and Runes burning his flesh like wax. Not even able to scream, what with the golem choking him, Jonathan forced the rage and pain down into his fist, and into the runes surrounding it.
His vision began to black out, but he pushed past the cessation of his body’s functions, and with one final crack, pushed his fist through the golem, and detonated the runic array, blasting the golem apart. Jonathan fell unconscious as the dungeon challenge ended, and saw no more for a time.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
***
When he awoke, he was lying on the cavern floor, back in Tartarus. A host of notifications awaited him, which he quickly opened, as he got to his feet. The others were nowhere to be seen, and he assumed that they were waiting outside of the ominous looking cave.
You have gained a new title!
Stand Against the Unknown: Ancient
You defeated an Outer God in single combat, no matter the fact that he was sealed to your level. Few could boast of surviving an encounter with such a being, let alone beating them. It is a testament to your future potential, one that deserves an adequate reward. This title can be upgraded by defeating more powerful Outer Gods and conceptual entities.
Bonuses: +25% power while fighting those of a higher Tier
Jonathan grinned at the message. Given his predilection for fighting those above him in level, this title would come in handy. Perhaps one day he would be able to fight against a circle lord, while being of a lower Tier. That would really be something to see.
After that notification were his main rewards for the dungeon. As there was no treasure room, all of the loot came in the form of direct enhancements.
You have completed the Trial of Mediocrity!
Calculating score…
745689 enemies slain: 746
Wave 150 reached: 1500
Total score: 2246
You have achieved S Rank for this Dungeon Challenge!
Rewards: 100 free stat points
Jonathan frowned at the reward. It was decent, but not entirely what he had expected. Then again, it was the easiest of the dungeon challenges, hence why he had received so little. All that added up to was about five levels of free stat points, not even counting the actual boosts from his leveling. Still, it was all welcome. Moving on to the next notifications, Jonathan had a hunch that they would be more impressive.
You have completed the trial of the Unknown!
Calculating score…
Madness level of 0: 250
All trials completed: 1000
Outer God Slain: 1000
Total score of 2250
You have achieved S Rank for this Dungeon Challenge!
Rewards: Unique Skill
You have gained a new skill!
Spark from the Dark: Unique
The world beyond the bounds of this universe is filled with all manner of horrors beyond your ken. The Outer Gods are just one example of this. These creatures are known for their ability to overcome local Systems, and impose their will upon entire universes. Now you possess a fraction of that power. Once, when you need it most, this skill will be consumed, and grant you a moment of power beyond your limits.
Jonathan grinned at the notification. That was more what he was looking for. It was somewhat annoying that the skill was useless at the present moment, but having a sort of hail mary weapon in his back pocket could only be a good thing.
Finally, the last dungeon notification appeared.
You have completed the trial of Certain Death!
Calculating score…
Survival: 2500
You have achieved SS Rank for this Dungeon Challenge!
Rewards: 1 free skill or Title upgrade(Excluding Unique, ??? or ???)
