The fight began and… it ended just as quickly as it has started.
“AURA SMASH! CRIMSON SPEAR! WIELDING CROSS!”
He sent five spears, five crimson fists, and swung his cross three times at the elite.
Let’s just say that it didn’t survive even half of these attacks, the wielding cross was just overkill at this point.
Ding!
[You have beaten the ‘Elite Phantom Warrior’ from the sixth floor!]
[Gained 870,000 experience!]
The arena was quiet after the quick destruction of the elite phantom warrior.
The system notifications flashed before them, but they paid little attention.
[You can now access the seventh floor.]
“Let’s go,” Sora stretched her neck slightly, her expression unchanging, as if taking down a powerful enemy was nothing more than a daily routine.
Stark, however, cracked his knuckles, the crimson glow in his eyes slowly fading as the energy from the fight disappeared, he wasn’t bothered either.
At this point, level 225 monsters were becoming nothing to them, might as well reach level 300 monsters to make a difference.
“We’re getting close,” Stark muttered, his eyes narrowing at the distant door that led to the seventh floor. “I can feel it.”
Sora simply nodded, her green aura shimmering faintly around her.
Without a word, they both walked forward, heading toward the next challenge.
Killing the seventh, eight and ninth elites was also a piece of cake to them, all bosses trembling once they noticed who they were facing, and unable to launch a single attack before dying;
“…”
“…”
[You have defeated the ninth floor elite, “Pilgrim Swordmaster”, gained 1,200,000]
[Experience: 4,377,200/4,600,000]
He was close to leveling up too, and him being at level 79 meant that he would be able to get a new skill!
They reached the FINAL safe zone, which was even more luxurious than the last.
[Completed all floors (except boss) in a row, incredible achievement!]
Yet again, there were potions and items everywhere to heal them, though they couldn’t take them out in the real world.
But this time, Stark and Sora didn’t even bother to wait around, they just headed straight to the final door, which was black with a skull on it.
As they approached the door, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble slightly.
Stark paused, his eyes flicking toward the floor in confusion.
He could feel something, an unsettling presence.
It was different from the creatures they’d faced before, this was colder, more malicious, yet strangely familiar.
Suddenly, the air in the room grew thick with darkness, and the temperature plummeted.
A low chuckle echoed through the safe-zone.
“He’s back,” Stark informed Sora as he pointed at the middle of the room, and there was some kind of dark portal on the ground, from it appearing a weird figure.
“Well, well, well,” a voice sneered from that hole, “Looks like you lots just don’t give up, do you?”
“In a safe zone?” Sora titled her head, even she was confused, weren’t safe zones supposed to be… you know… safe?
But this time, Stark was able to see the apostle’s appearance a little better thanks to the light.
Hovering above the floor, encased in dark, swirling energy, was a red-skinned man clad in tattered, battle-worn armor, with horns on his head, one of them broken.
His eyes were black voids, swirling with chaotic energy, and his mouth twisted into a mocking grin.
In his hand, he held a jagged spear that crackled with dark energy.
“Olikar…” Stark spoke calmly, not even scared of that thing.
Why would he be scared of the apostle he would soon enough kill, anyway.
The Colosseum Warrior, Olikar, an apostle of the godless demon.
His mere presence was enough to make lesser beings fall to their knees, driven mad by his chaotic energy, and he was one of the commanders of the godless demon, meaning that he controlled one of the larger amount of monsters.
I’m flattered that you’re so excited to see me, really. But you should be more concerned about what’s about to happen next.”
His dark eyes flicked toward the tenth-floor door, as if sensing what lay beyond.
“The final boss, huh? You two have been quite the amusing show, but do you really think you can defeat what’s waiting for you without a little… assistance?”
With a casual wave of his hand, dark energy exploded from Olikar’s palm, shooting toward the tenth-floor door.
Stark and Sora watched, helpless to intervene, as the energy seeped through the cracks and disappeared into the depths of the arena beyond.
The air shifted again, and for a moment, the oppressive feeling seemed to lessen.
Then, Olikar turned back toward Stark, his grin widening as if enjoying some private joke.
“I’ve just boosted the power of your final opponent,” he said with a chuckle, “You’ll find him… much less forgiving than the others. I do hope you survive long enough to at least entertain me a little longer.”
“…You know I’m still gonna win, right?” Stark raised his eyebrows, “Just like against all your previous friends, just like against the ape, and just like against all the future ones.”
Olikar merely shrugged, unimpressed by Stark’s talk, “Haha… I’d love to see you try, I saw the power you had, there is no chance you can defeat me if you struggled against the ape.”
Without another word, Olikar vanished, his body dissolving into a swirl of shadows that disappeared into the dark hole.
“You seem… to know a lot about these things,” Sora questioned, her face emotionless.
“Just look time enemies stuff, you know,” Stark smiled, unbothered, “Let’s go, shall we?”
They stood in front of the tenth-floor door, knowing that beyond it awaited their final trial: the culmination of everything they’d faced so far.
Stark could feel the intensity of the boss’s energy even through the door, it was probably stronger than all other elites combined.
But he wasn’t scared.
With a firm push, Stark opened the door, and they stepped into the final arena.
…
The tenth-floor arena was vast, much larger than the previous ones.
The ground beneath their feet was made of dark stone, cracked and scorched as if countless battles had taken place here.
In the center of the arena stood the final boss: a towering figure clad in thick, obsidian armor.
Its face was hidden behind a monstrous helmet, and its hands gripped a colossal sword that crackled with dark energy, the same energy Olikar had used.
[Colosseum Final Boss: Abyssal Warbringer]
[Difficulty: Calamity]
[Level: 250 + 50 (shadow boost)]
[HP: 1,200,000]
Stark could feel that this thing was powerful, maybe even more powerful than the ape, but he remained focused, his crimson energy swirling around him.
The Abyssal Warbringer wasn’t scared like all the others though, he just stared at the human, then positioned his bloodied sword sideways, as if ready to attack.
Sora remained calm beside him, her green aura swirling gently around her, though she could sense that this thing was strong.
The Warbringer let out a deafening roar, shaking the very foundations of the arena.
And then his sword slammed into the ground, sending shockwaves of dark energy spiraling toward them.
Without missing a beat, Stark summoned his [Crimson Soul], the familiar pulsating heart with the eerie smiley face appearing beside him.
He gripped the chains attached to it, preparing to attack.
“Let’s do this.”
