abcnovels
Chapter 56: The Mountain Challenge
Chapter 56: The Mountain Challenge
Stark emerged from the other side of the portal, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the dim lighting of The Valley of Shadows.
The air was thick with an eerie stillness, broken only by the distant echoes of unknown creatures.
He was currently standing on the grass of a giant plain, and beside him were hundreds of people like him, all looking in front of them without saying a word.
Even the other members of the Crimson Moon Squad were looking, bewildered.
And that's when Stark decided to check out what awaited him.
The sky was red, and three moons hung high above, casting an otherworldly glow on the landscape.
But upon further inspection, he realized that these 'moons' were actually much more terrifying as there was a giant eye on each of them, staring down on the world below.
They were currently on flat ground with no monsters in sight, but right in front of them stood a mountain, a giant door at its surface, inviting them all to enter.
As Stark gazed up at the foreboding entrance to the mountain, a chill ran down his spine. The other participants shuffled nervously around him, whispering among themselves in hushed tones.
But he knew he shouldn't waste time, and so while all the others waited for their teammates or got ready to strategize…
"DOMINATION!" he activated his skill, and his crimson aura surrounded by feet.
~DASH~
He began running toward the entrance with incredible speed, surprising all the others.
"Already going? The fuck"
"Holy shit… isn't that the level 16 guy?"
"Yeah he is definitely going to die…"
The mountain was extremely tall, even reaching the dark clouds with lightning that decorated the red sky.
"Even high level rifts have low-levels monster in some location, try to find one and gain experience there," was what Vex told him, and that's exactly what Stark planned to do.
Going head to head with several level 35 monsters was absolutely suicide when he thought about it, even with his upgraded health and incredible stats.
Many people followed after Stark after he began rushing toward the real start of the rift, these grass plains were in fact only the 'safe' area, the real challenge beginning when you entered the valley.
The entrance of the mountain was akin to some sort of cave, except there was no way to check inside, a black fog stopping anyone from seeing past it.
[Once you enter the level 35 area: "Mountain Challenge", you will not be able to return until at least reaching the Valley of Shadows, so be careful =)]
'Why is it called the valley if it's inside a mountain...' Stark pondered, but he guessed that it was because this was only the beginning: meaning that the rift was just testing them, only those able to pass the Mountain Challenge would be allowed to traverse.
The darkness of the cave enveloped Stark as he stepped through the threshold, the black fog swirling around him like shadows come to life.
Upon coming out of the other side, he found himself in a labyrinth-like area inside the mountain, all walls were made of the same texture as the mountain.
And so he began walking.
[You are the first to enter the 'Mountain Challenge', how BRAVE!]
And of course, what would be his reward for being so brave? Well…
A monster! Of course!
As he rounded a corner, a pair of glowing eyes pierced the shadows, fixating on him with predatory intent.
The creature emerged from the darkness - a massive beast with sleek brown fur and razor-sharp claws.
But of course, it wasn't alone, and behind it, another three pairs of eyes appeared, and then these monsters emerged too.
They looked like wolves.
…
[Name: Mountain Wolf]
[Level: 30]
[HP: 37000]
[Strength: 938]
[Stamina: 738]
[Speed: 1103]
[Defense: 492]
[Skills: Ferocious Bite, Shadow Pounce, Pack Tactics…]
…
[WARNING! Your level is low (16), do not attempt to fight, run!]
'Nah, i'd win,' Stark positioned his fists in front of his face, ready to take on the four wolves, who somehow almost had as much HP as the boss of the [City Ruins].
"AURA SMASH!" he sent two of his crimson fists toward the wolves, but two of them avoided them, while the other two were hit.
"-19231! -20271!" and just like that, the two wolves had died since they both received this incredible amount of damage.
'Huh…?' Stark was confused, but he didn't have the time for that since the other wolves that had avoided his attack were already on their way to attack him.
"Ferocious Bite!"
He dodged the first wolf's attack, feeling the rush of wind as its teeth snapped shut just inches from his arm.
The second wolf lunged at him from the side, but Stark was quick to react, planting a firm kick into its chest and sending it tumbling backward.
"-7261!" even his kick dealt massive damage, but not enough to truly injure it.
With two wolves down and two remaining, Stark knew he had to act fast. The remaining beasts circled him, their eyes glinting with hunger as they closed in for another attack.
As one of the wolves lunged towards him, Stark made a split-second decision. Instead of dodging, he grabbed the beast by its fur mid-air and used its momentum to swing it into the other wolf, knocking them both off balance.
Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, Stark unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, each strike hitting with precision and strength.
"-13622! -14361! -12838!"
And so, all the wolves were dead, their defense was low, so hit attacks damaged them greatly, only taking him three hits for each of them to send them back to the shadow realm.
[Experience: 187617/225000]
[You have slain two "Mountain Wolves lv30", gained 38751EXP!]
[You have slain two "Mountain Wolves lv30", gained 39817EXP!]
And so immediately, the influx of experience headed toward Stark's body, and he was enveloped by that golden aura again.
…
[Your level has increased to level 17, granting you one skill point and boost in stats]
[Experience: 41185/268000]
[You have upgraded 'Domination' to level 7!]
'Yeah… the amount of experience needed is really getting out of hand…'
But he didn't really have the time to think about it that he heard more noise behind and in front of him.
[Name: Sneaky Mole lv32]
[Name: Sound Bat lv31]
[Name: Rock Golem Lv30]
'Ah shit… here we go again…' Stark got ready to fight them all, after all, nobody would come to save him in this place, especially since he had made himself a target for others, plus they wouldn't benefit from it.
And so he dashed forward, toward one of the many monsters, and punched it as hard as he could.
"-15472!"
"LET'S DO THIS, MY EXPERIENCE POINTS," he laughed before going on a rampage.