19: Deathstalker

They ran towards the deathstalkers with excitement engraved in their eyes, well, more like bloodlust when it came Sage.

"Mark! aim for their tails first. I hear scorpions are fast when they strike, so if we get rid of it they might weaken."

"Alright!"

Sage took the lead in striking the tails of the scorpions, he jumped one feat into the air to amplify his move, swiftly slicing off one of their tails. The scorpion began to scream.

(*slash*)

(*screech*)

"Alright I got it, how is Mark doing?"

Sage glanced towards Marks's direction, he watched him skillfully strike the tails of the stalkers with his blazing gauntlets.

"Mark! you are amazing, I never knew you could move like that!"

"Well! I did learn the art of boxing!"

"Awesome!"

The attack continued. They killed most of the stalkers and collected their core crystals. For a while, everything sailed smoothly until...

(*rumble*)

(*rumble*)

A larger scorpion emerged from the sand, it was ten times bigger than the deathstalkers and was embodied with shells as hard as iron. A green screen morphed into the air.

[*ping*]

[Spiece > King Deathstalker]

[Level > 20 ]

[ Contains rank 2 core crystal, contains poison which can cause instant death.]

"Sigh, you have got to be kidding me!"

The surviving dark deathstalker moved aside for their king who was ready to kill.

"Alright big guy! come to me!"

Sage glared straight into the eyes of the scorpion as if they were having some kind of staring contest. The king felt the bloodlust aura from not only Sage but also Drac, thus it caved in, but only towards Sage.

[*ping*]

[You have acquired the skill dominance]

The minute it felt that it couldn't attack Sage it went for Mark.

For its big size, it was very swift, it appeared behind Mark's vulnerable area attempting to pierce some poison into him with its tail.

"Mark, watch out!"

Mark turned to see what Sage was shouting about, but it was too late.

(*slash*)

"Ugh!"

Sage blocked the strike from behind, thus receiving the poison.

[*ping*]

[You have been poisoned by king deathstalker's deadly poison]

[Your immunity to poison has increased by 40 ]

'What!? a new skill that can improve on the system? cough!'

"Sage are you okay! you're not going to die, are you!?"

Mark asked with his face pale with panic.

"Dude, I'm fine!"

Sage looked up at the scorpion and activated his dominance once again.

[*ping*]

[Dominance activated]

The king of deathstalkers completely submitted to his terrifying dominating aura, it froze in place and did not move an inch from where it stood.

'Logia activate regeneration, that could work for the physical damage on my back.'

Logia did as Sage suggested.

[*ping*]

[Regeneration activated]

The large hole on Sage's back healed itself. Everything was back to normal. The time appeared above their heads, notifying them of their deadlines.

Mark> (*40mins:10sec)

Sage>(*3hr:5mins:02sec)

"I guess a lot of time has passed, we need to keep moving." Sage clarified.

"You're right! let's go!"

And so the journeyed on across the desert, with the help of the king deathstalker as their ride, things went a lot faster. But.

"Ah! I still can't find a thing out here, talk less of a living being! how am I suppose to find a guide!?" Mark complained as the sun boiled down on their unprotected heads.

"It should be sooner or later that we find something or someone out here."

"What to do you mean someone!? It's a completely dry desert!"

While they grumbled about their current situation, there was something occurring beneath their feet. A few seconds later Sage noticed.

"Hey!? what's going on!? we're not moving! we're sinking!"

"We're in the middle of a giant quicksand!"

"You have got to be kidding me!"

The scorpion's leg had already snuck halfway down the sand. Even if they struggled as much as they could, there was no way to escape.

"Ah! we're going down!"

Soon after they were buried underneath the sand, they fell to the ground. A green screen then morphed in front of them.

[*ping*]

[You have discovered the hidden dungeon]

[The guide will now appear]

[*ping*]

[You have found the guide ]

[Mission completed!]

[Time> 5 mins left]

[Reward> 30Exp, New title > Boxing Champion]

As soon as Mark completed his mission, but they were stuck underground with a wall blocking their way.

'Logia! where are we?, the system did say it was a dungeon but all I see is a wall.'

'I don't know either.'

Before they could talk anymore about their situation, a blue ball of fluff with adorable brown eyes suddenly morphed out of thin air, floating. It began to speak with a polite voice.

[ Welcome! To the underground city of Mazen! You are all in_ ]

Before it could finish its sentence, it was interrupted by the laughter of Sage and Mark.

"Hahaha! seriously!? 'Mazen!' Haha! so then is this city a maze!? Haha! you're cracking us up!"

The blue ball of fluff was mortified by them, it got really angry and it went from cute to sinister very quickly.

[ Listen you insects! I'm the one who explains things here, so shut up and listen! ]

They stopped laughing a became as quiet as a mouse.

[Thank you, now then shall I begin explaining?]

The creature asked with an excited yet ominous look on its face. But Sage and Mark remained silent.

[You know this is when you suppose to nod right?]

They both nodded. The creature continued its explanation.

[ Good! now as I was saying, you guys are in the city of Mazen, and this city is a maze. You will both have to find the exit to the maze or survive in here for the remainder of your times! ]

It glanced at Sage's direction and said.

[Especially you, you little insect. Understood?]

They both nodded.

[Ho yes I almost forgot, as a good puffball I will inform you that there are traps and monster everywhere around this vast maze. Your time will reactivate now! I wish you good luck!]

The creature giggled with a frightening expression and disappeared into thin air with a smile on its face.