First Floor: Cleared And Leveling Up [III]

Harnessing a thick stream of green flame at the last undead warrior that had approached her, Dawn had failed to notice another cunny beast who had been secretly climbing the dungeon wall after her.

It suddenly launched itself towards her from behind before she could catch a faint sniff of its attack. Its chopped sword landed on her right wing, forcing her to sway aimlessly in mid air.

"Ahhh!"

"Dawn!" Armin shouted desperately, his voice fully coated with concern as he watched the undead warrior pull a drama behind Dawn, but he couldn't do anything as some more warriors were closing up on him in large numbers, trapping him in a circle.

Ace and Armin's backs slammed against each other in a defensive mode again, thick streams of sweat trickling down their faces as they watched the undead warriors they had completely shattered scramble back to life.

Their bones cracked up, meddling up with other dismantled parts in a rush. Their weapons which had fallen into different directions also began to reform, giving a true meaning to their name— undead warriors.

"Why are they not dying?" Damien growled, smashing the head of a beast into the dungeon wall, creating a crack as it bursted its skull into dust.

With a look of concern washing over his face in a rush, Ace wondered what they had been fighting for all along. If their attacks had shattered the undead beasts, why were they coming back to life, a lot more stronger and fierce than the last?

Suddenly, his brows arched up, his mind spinning to a conclusion.

"Is this…"

'System!' He summoned quietly in his mind.

[Dungeon undead warriors (D-rank)]

[Description: These warriors have long been dead since the beginning of ages, trapped within the walls of labyrinths to protect dungeon relics and mob monsters from adventures]

[Quest(s) overview: (I)- Defeat dungeon monsters.

(II)- Harvest 10 soul cores of undead warriors]

"How could I have missed this?" Ace grunted, his grin tightening harder on the hilt of his sword.

The rage within him surged out like a blazing inferno— a burning yellow energy, filling the whole being of his sword as his mind reeled on what he had missed.

"Ace!" Armin shouted in anger again as he had called out his partner twice already without getting a response and the undead warriors were just seconds off the limit of pulling their weight on them.

"No matter what we do, Armin, these creatures won't die!" Ace alerted, his mind swirling in circular motions as he took in the movement of the creatures as they approached slowly.

"Then we are left with the option to find an exit, right? We can't let them get to us first!" Armin continued hastily, his chest rising faster every second as he tried to control his breathing pace which was running faster than he could take.

Ace gave a slight nod, obviously disapproving of what Armin had just said. No matter what it was, finding an exit was not an option yet, as without clearing that floor first, there will be— no exit.

"The exit will only appear after clearing this floor, we can't ho—"

Damien's dagger suddenly whizzed past them, clearing the army at the forefront, and with a loud thud, he jumped into the circle, his back meeting with the duo as if he was bitter about not being included in the searing plan spinning through Ace's head.

"So what's the plan, genius?" He asked impatiently, his dagger returning to his hand after stretching out to it with a call. "We don't have much time left." 

"We have to find their soul core. That's the only way to destroy them entirely." Ace announced immediately.

"Soul core?" Armin frowned, turning a little at Ace. "These things don't seem to have one." He added, giving a quick scan at the undead warriors.

Damien did the same, but he couldn't find the core of the undead warriors through their thin skeletal frames that were both blank and ricket. 

"Do you see something, Ace?" 

A thin smirk graced Ace's lips in a breeze as he gave his reply. 

"Their eyes!"

Hearing this, Armin and Damien's eyes opened widely as they finally realized this.

Their hollow eye sockets glowing with a ghostly green light, exuding an aura of malevolence, bore their— soul core.

Taking the undead warriors down was a breeze for the guild members after fishing out their weakness. Ace got better as he forced his strength against his relenting state.

Fighting the undead warriors on and on had taken a toll on them all, but him especially as this was his first dungeon raid without practice. Moreover, he never got any acquaintance that could teach him how to swing a sword dangerously at the creatures without flopping at first try.

This made him wonder to himself briefly; 'How do I know how to wield a sword correctly?'

This thought swept through his mind in a moment, his brows arching in a worried look, but that was not a hasty matter to chase as the dungeon floor needed to be cleared.

Shooting an arc of mana from his sword at the D-rank warriors raging towards him, a torrent of mana surged out from his blade, slashing through the ugly creatures at once and dismantling their skull which crumbled into dust.

Their soul core fell to the ground with their rubbles, a sinister, ethereal orb pulsing with eerie green light. Encased in shadowy armor, the core beats with a faint, otherworldly glow, emanating a chilling aura. It's as if the core holds the essence of the warrior's former self, now twisted and corrupted by dark magic. 

The soul cores of the already defeated warriors swirled, rushing towards him like they were on a heist to avenge their former master.

[Ding!]

[Quest completed]

[Harvesting dungeon loots: Undead warriors soul core]

[Trial in process. Rewards will be granted shortly]

Within a breeze, Ace took a look around to see how the others were fairing. Dawn's right wing was already chipped at a corner while she leaned on Armin for support. Damien was just crushing the last undead warrior and as well, the rifts were starting to lose their shine, as they quivered, surrendering into total darkness.

[Congratulations, the host has leveled up!]

A thin smile ran on his lips as he saw the notification. He had leveled up in his first raid— a thick step towards fulfilling his goals.

Suddenly, the ground quivered, forcing his feet to buckle slightly, but he maintained a stand, wondering what was happening next.

An annex door opened behind a wall with an ethereal light shining from within.

"I think that's the second floor, let's go!" Armin announced, pulling Dawn along with him.

Ace took the lead, his eyes squinted a little as he walked through the light the door gave out, beaconing at them to walk through, but instead of stepping onto another platform which would supposedly become the second floor of the dungeon, a thick large force suddenly slammed into Ace's chest, sending him flying like a ragged doll into the wall.

The dungeon wall trembled, its heavy rock falling and debris loosening by the collision, clattering above him and forming a stone grave for Ace— without a fee.