Eliam was back at the dungeon, kicking himself for that stupid death. He had wasted an entire day by going and getting himself killed like that. This time around, he crushed the stupid skeletons relentlessly. Honestly, he had probably overdone it, as parts of their bones had been ground into dust.

  He kept going until he reached the armored skeleton. He easily dodged its slow swings and kicked it to the ground. He then punched it multiple times until it died.

  Next, he grabbed the assassin skeleton, who was just about to attack him, and threw it to the ground, where he ripped the knife from its hand and shoved it into its throat. He then reunited himself with his Unholy cloak and dagger.

  His rampage proceeded down the path he had originally taken to get back to where Nemina was. However, he was not going to go fight another pointless battle with her. First, he was going to scour this entire dungeon to get every last advantage he could get. He was also going to level up as much as he could.

  He slammed the mage skeleton into the ground and then easily killed it with a single thrust of his dagger.

  The usual level-up occurred, but something different happened this time, which caused him to pause. The bell sound was grander and lasted for much longer. Not only that, but something very interesting popped up in his vision. It said he had received an aura. His eyes widened as he practically shot up open his status.

  Stat points available: 5

  Eliam Edward

  Level: 50

  HP: 370/370

  MP: 50/50

  Life: 27 (37)

  Mind: 10

  Endurance: 10

  Strength: 3

  Dexterity: 30 (37)

  Intelligence: 3

  Equipment:

  Ring of the True Hero→A ring of a forgotten time. +25% dexterity, +25% intelligence.

  Unholy dagger→ 10 damage added with dexterity and +100 bonus damage if target is hit in the back.

  Unholy cloak→ +10 life, -10 damage intake.

  Unseen→Temporarily makes the user invisible while out of combat.

  MP cost→25

  Aura:

  Razor Sharp→Air itself is sharpened, damaging foes and projectiles around you. Bypasses defense.

  He wasn’t exactly sure what his aura meant, but it sounded powerful, especially since it ignored armor. A brief image of a skeleton being reduced to shreds before it even reached him filled his mind. Needless to say, it was an exciting thought.

  He also had five more stat points to assign. He immediately moved to put them into dexterity but hesitated. He already had so much there, and his other stats were starting to lag behind. His life was alright, but what about his mind, intelligence, or endurance? They were all still how he had received them.

  He sighed and placed 3 points into his mind and 2 into endurance. It wasn’t much for either, but it was a start. He turned back toward the path deeper into the dungeon and grinned. It was time to play with the shadow monkey.

  Eliam didn’t want to waste his Unseen skill on it this time, so he decided he would just see what would happen if he didn’t use it. He blocked the first boomerang and immediately made a beeline in the direction of the dark spot where the money was hiding.

  He arrived in moments, and the creature was about to move into another shadow when it screeched. It suddenly appeared out of nowhere, dozens of cuts rapidly covering its body.

  Eliam hesitated for a moment before stabbing the poor monkey to finish it off. His aura was no joke.

  He pulled the dagger out of the monkey, and it died with a squeal. He received his 900 essence right after.

  After a brief moment of comprehending what had just happened, he moved on to the skeleton rat, which was another easy kill. For whatever reason, the rat only gave the 400 essence, which made him pause. It had given more before.

  Suddenly, he thought back to all the skeletons he had killed today. He hadn’t been paying close attention to the essence he received from them since he was so used to killing them. Did his growth get stunted? He would find out in his next battle.

  Instead of going back down the hole to Nemina, Eliam pushed forward. He knew that there was a good chance he would end up in another trap, but he also knew he had to take risks. There was a possibility there was equipment lying around that would make a big difference in his fight against Nemina.

  Three more skeletons popped out of the ground, but they were all armored. The slight difficulty increase didn’t matter as Eliam tore through them with ease.

  Just like the skeleton rats, each kill only gave him 400 essence. He was no longer receiving the full 800. If that weren’t bad enough, he knew that he had some leftover essence from killing the other enemies. Still, even with that and the newly received essence, he wasn’t even halfway to the next level.

  Eliam paled as he realized how much his leveling would be slowing down. It seemed that getting an aura hit some sort of checkpoint that slowed his leveling. He wasn’t sure if this had something to do with the skeletons giving less essence, but at this point, it wasn’t important. Things were going to get harder from here on out either way.

  Still, he was stronger than ever before. He kept moving, curious as to what resided at the end of the dungeon.

  Soon, he entered a large room with a throne in the middle of it. A man was sitting on the throne, seemingly unguarded. His face looked sleazy, and his eyes were hollow with greed. Slick robes were draped over his body, displaying his skills as some sort of mage.

  “Ah, so it’s you who has been slaying all of my denizens,” the man said.

  Eliam narrowed his eyes at him. “Your denizens… are you the one summoning the skeletons?”

  The man nodded, an amused look dancing in his eyes. “I am. I have been using them to search this wretched place for the hero’s sword.”

  “The katana? Why do you want it?” Eliam asked.

  The man’s eyes sparkled. “Want it? Oh, heavens no. I must destroy it… for Quarlak.”

  Eliam frowned as he stared the man down. Were the skeletons not part of the cathedral? Was this place even supposed to be a dungeon? A plethora of questions ran through his head.

  “But you seem to know where it is, now don’t you?” the man asked.

  “Know where what is?” Eliam snarled.

  “The katana, you’re familiar with it. Well, if you would be so kind as to show me where it is,” the man asked.

  Eliam shook his head. “I am afraid you are mistaken.”

  The man rolled his eyes as if he instantly knew Eliam was lying. “Boy, I can read you easier than a book. Tell me where it is, and maybe I will let you live. The alternative is becoming a zombie, and then I will force you to tell me where it is, regardless.”

  Eliam readied his dagger as the man smiled widely. “I was hoping to be diplomatic, but I have no qualms with turning you.”

  The man stood up from the throne, a staff appearing in his hand as he did so. A sickly green aura radiated off from it as he pointed it at Eliam and muttered something.

  A wave of green energy shot toward Eliam, and he tried to dodge. Somehow, the energy turned to follow him and was about to hit him when it was sliced apart. Eliam’s eyes widened realizing that his aura had just saved his ass.

  The man frowned. “What an interesting aura. I have never seen one such as that before. When you are my slave, you will no doubt be a great asset to me.”

  The man launched another beam of energy at Eliam, but this time, he was ready. He charged toward the man, preparing to swing at him.

  The green energy was cut to shreds by his aura, and he swung at the man. He was blocked by the staff. The man boomed some sort of chant, and this putrid ooze leaked from the staff and moved to the dagger. However, as this was happening, the man shouted in pain.

  Eliam jumped backward, barely moving his weapon away in time. It was a good thing he did so, as everything that had been touched corroded away in seconds. He glanced at the man, who now had dozens of cuts all over him. None of them were fatal, but it didn’t look like they felt too great.

  The man’s health bar was lowered. Not a ton, but a good tenth just from his aura.

  “You little…” the man hissed. He raised his staff and chanted away. A large shriek sounded as the dirt below him crashed open. The skeleton of a creature Eliam had never seen before came out of the ground.

  The man pointed at Eliam, and the creature screeched. It ran at him on all fours, stumbling around. Whatever this creature was, it was dangerous.

  As soon as it neared Eliam, multiple scratches started to cover it, but that’s all they were. Small scratches. It barely dented its health bar.

  Eliam knew that it was too quick for him to dodge, so he was forced to clash with it head-on. As soon as he did, he regretted it.

  The skeleton beast easily threw him backward, dealing nearly 50% of his health in one hit. Eliam dragged himself back up, but the beast was already headed in his direction. He didn’t want to use it this quickly, but he had no choice.

  He used his invisibility and disappeared, prompting the beast to slide to a stop and sniff around. The man narrowed his eyes as if waiting for any sudden movement.

  He ignored the beast and rushed the man. As soon as he neared, his aura activated, and he reappeared so much for his Unseen skill.

  The man’s face filled with pain as Eliam’s aura lowered his HP; however, he held strong, knowing that Eliam was short on time before the beast came running back

  Eliam heard the beast roar as it began to chase him down. However, this was not before he moved to stab the man, except it was a feint. He slipped behind the man and stabbed him in the back.

  The man’s eyes widened as his HP dropped dramatically. That, plus the few seconds of Eliam’s aura, meant his HP was dangerously low.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “You! How are you this strong?” he hissed.

  Eliam jumped backward, barely avoiding the beast’s charge. He was about to use his second Unseen skill when he noticed that his MP was getting dangerously close to the halfway point. This didn’t make sense, as he only used the skill once. He should have had plenty of MP for another.

  The man growled as he pointed to Eliam, sending the beast charging in his direction. Eliam feigned panic but soon disappeared again. The man hissed as he rapidly started casting some sort of spell, but it would never hit Eliam.

  Moments later, he threw his dagger well out of range for any spell. It pierced the man’s head, and he fell to the ground, dead. The beast hissed as it started crumbling to dust.

  Eliam stayed tense until a +1000 showed up on his screen; however, something else did as well. The words ‘fiend slain’ were displayed in front of him. This man had been something more than just another person.

  Eliam silently went through the man’s belongings. Largely, everything he used was not meant for his fighting style; however, the amulet he was wearing was of interest. After putting it on, Eliam could tell that he had looted it from here.

  Amulet of the Hero→Forged by the blood, sweat, and tears of a fallen hero. +25% mind, +25% endurance.

  He glanced forward and noticed that there was a small path that continued forward. He followed it, noticing the countless skeleton corpses lining the floor. It really was that man who had been controlling them.

  The path out of the cathedral wasn’t going up but further down. It was also largely dirt, as if it weren’t supposed to be there. Maybe it wasn’t. Eliam wasn’t sure where it was going to lead, but it was not looking like it would be a much better place. Soon, the path opened up into something he could have never imagined.

  In front of him was the entrance to a massive labyrinth. The walls were of stone, and the floor was hard as rock. The lighting was faint, allowing for only small details to be seen. Eliam could not see where the labyrinth ended nor where it began.

  Startled at this revelation, he paused. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to take on this place yet, especially considering his inability to defeat Nemina. If he couldn’t beat her, then who knew if he could beat some of the monstrosities that surely roamed this place.

  Eliam turned to leave but was startled to find that only a wall stood behind him. He was about to panic until he found that he could straight-up walk through it. He sighed as he felt safe in the corridors of the dungeon. That may have sounded weird, but he was familiar with it. That damn labyrinth only induced panic.

  He sighed as he walked back to where his battle with that man had taken place. It seemed that Nemina hadn’t been wrong to have been so on guard. The problem was that she was blind in her proctivenes and had allowed for the entire basement of this cathedral to be turned into a dungeon.

  This made Eliam wonder if it was possible to reason with her. He didn’t enjoy having to fight her, and even if he could, he didn’t want to kill her. She didn’t seem like the bad guy here. That could not be said for the man, as he had been a necromancer of some kind. Somehow, Eliam felt as if he could conclude that the man was not supposed to be good.

  Before going back to Nemina, Eliam decided to do a quick run-through of the dungeon to ensure he had gotten everything possible. As it turns out, he had actually managed to explore the entire place, at least every spot that was visible. Hell, if he knew if there were any secrets he was missing.

  He had even gone back to that death trap where all the skeletons had ambushed him. There was a chest at the end, but it conveniently gave him an unholy set of armor. Yay, he was incredibly excited about that.

  With a sigh, he had nowhere to go besides the labyrinth or Nemina. Both options seemed like suicide, but he would only be wasting time idling.

  He slipped down the hole to where Nemina resided and walked inside. Instead of waiting for her to come to him, he shouted, “Nemina!”

  She dropped down from wherever it was she came from and glared at him. “How do you know me?”

  “I dunno… but hear me out, you’ve got a bit of a skeleton problem,” Eliam said.

  She gave him a puzzled look, practically confirming his theory. “What? Impossible, skeletons can only exist in the presence of a necromancer, which classifies as a power accessible to those that worship Quarlak. Someone of such a nature could never reside here.”

  “And what makes you so sure of that?” Eliam asked.

  “There are measures in place to prevent such,” Nemina responded coldly.

  “Such as?”

  “Like I would tell you… Anyway, I am not here for discussion. You have come for the sword, and you have found it. Now, I will…” Nemian started.

  “Yeah, no. Are you aware that the cathedral connects to a huge labyrinth?” he asked.

  Nemina froze, visibly in shock. “What?”

  “Uh, yeah, so I don’t know what your security measures are, but I’m pretty sure that’s not supposed to be there,” he said.

  “You lie,” she hissed. “I would have noticed someone creating a whole path to the Nircozonian Domain…”

  “Nirco–what? Listen, I’m not trying to manipulate you. I had to fight skeletons throughout the entire cathedral basement to get here. Some man was controlling them and…”

  “Enough!” she shouted angrily. “You trample into my domain, and you speak of lies! I am tired of listening to this impossible foolishness. I will slay you here and now!”

  She marched toward the sword, and Eliam groaned. “Why won’t you just listen, you stubborn bitch!”

  By then, she had already lost all reason and had pulled the sword out. She pointed it at Eliam and, in a mere moment, flashed across the battlefield. He dodged the initial attack and jumped backward, trying to avoid getting close to Nemina.

  He needed some sort of way to avoid her frost aura, or else he wasn’t sure how he would fight her.

  As he was contemplating his next action, she rushed him. He used his dagger to parry her attack and swiped at her. Both of their auras quickly affected each other, and they both jumped back.

  She hissed at him, a drop of blood running down her face. “How annoying.”

  “Yeah, I can say the same about yours,” Eliam smirked.

  She growled at him as she sheathed the katana. He prepared himself, ready for that strange attack she had done in her last battle. However, she didn’t inch forward this time but rapidly swung the blade.

  A beam of ice magic rocketed toward Eliam, and he was completely unprepared. It went straight through his aura and slammed into him, causing him to stumble backward. He felt blood rushing up his throat as he watched Nemina rush toward him.

  “You, fool,” he muttered. He noticed her slightly frown at his declaration, but ultimately, his words would change nothing.

  He knew his death was inevitable, but he would not go down easily. Once she neared, he growled and stabbed into her with his blade. Unfortunately, this meant that Eliam had also been impaled.

  With the last of his strength, he clutched on to her, allowing her to feel the full brunt of his aura. She began to scream as his vision faded. He almost felt bad, at least until he remembered that she was mercilessly killing him.

  ***

  Eliam sat on the second on the second floor of the cathedral, his legs swinging off the edge. He was annoyed and feeling quite hopeless. Sure, he could simply continue to the labyrinth, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to help Nemina, but he simply couldn’t think of a way to get her to trust him.

  He needed a way to convince her that what he was saying was real and that it wasn’t him who was the enemy. The problem was that no matter what, trusting him would be a risk, and she was completely opposed to that. No matter what, he would probably need to defeat her. Even then, he wasn’t sure she wouldn’t try to suicide kill him or something.

  He sighed, unable to think of any real solution. He knew that she wasn’t just some evil, irrational being, or at least he hoped so.

  He pulled himself up and walked toward the dungeon. He had a few ideas in mind.

  He ran through the dungeon, killing every skeleton in his path. Unfortunately, the combined essence of 7100 was not enough to push him over whatever limit the next level was, so he stayed at 50. He dropped back down into the hole and walked out into the familiar room.

  He had never tried grabbing the katana, and he never would. If it was anything like the armor, he would probably die as soon as he touched it. That or something worse.

  Instead of doing anything, he simply sat down, waiting for Nemian to show. He wanted to see how long it would take her.

  After around five minutes, she dropped down, staring at him. “What is it you are trying to do?”

  “Annoy you?” he said blankly.

  “What? You have already done that by coming here in the first place,” she replied. She was already beginning to walk toward the sword.

  Eliam groaned. “Can we not sit and talk? I am not with Quarlak. I do not desire the sword, it would probably kill me if I touched it anyway. I am not trying to desecrate anything. Is conversation truly impossible?”

  Nemina turned toward him. “Yes.”

  “You are aware that a necromancer lurks in this place?” Eliam pointed out.

  She paused. “Do not try to deceive me with your lies. Such a thing is impossible.”

  “Yeah, not when there is a tunnel to the Nircozonian Domain.”

  “What? That is impossible!” she shrieked.

  “I’m not lying,” he shrugged his shoulders.

  “Yes, you are!” she hissed.

  “You don’t have to believe me, but don’t be surprised when he comes knocking with hundreds of skeletons,” Eliam said.

  “I…I will kill you!” she screamed as she pulled the sword out of the altar.

  “You are a stubborn fool, apparently incapable of critical thought,” Eliam hissed angrily.

  “I am not!” she screamed. “I am the successor of Sagmin, the hero! I… I will protect this place until I die!”

  “And you already failed! A necromancer searches this place for you, and it is only a matter of time until he finds you! I’ve no doubt you will fall once he raises enough skeletons!” Eliam growled.

  Nemina was shaking in anger, tears forming on her face. This may not have been the state Eliam wanted, but at least it was something different.

  “Why don’t you just go and see if I am lying or not and then make your judgment? If I am wrong, then you can kill me.” Eliam proposed.

  Nemina froze, thinking about it. After a few moments, she shook her head. “I do not care if I am stubborn or a fool. I will die before I am tricked by one such as you.”

  Next, she rushed him, and Eliam groaned, preparing for battle.

  ***

  Eliam jumped down the hole, dragging the rat with him. He practically chucked it out into the middle of the arena, ensuring that Nemina could see it.

  She jumped down, enraged. Eliam was about to explain, but she immediately grabbed the sword and rushed him, yelling something about how he raised it. A fight that he would lose ensued.

  ***

  The next effort involved baiting the actual necromancer down there. Eliam wasn’t sure if this was even possible, but he would try. He began this attempt by rushing for the necromancer, grabbing his attention, and then running away.

  Unfortunately, rather than come after him, he sent that maniacal beast to chase him. Unfortunately, Eliam was not strong enough to defeat it on his own, so he decided that it would have to do.

  He sprinted back to the hole and jumped down, only to realize that the beast was no longer following him. Eliam groaned aloud as he rushed into the battlefield, awaiting his next death from Nimena.

  ***

  This time, Eliam would be smarter about how he tricked the necromancer. As soon as he neared the throne room, he walked straight in and declared, “I know where the sword is!”

  The man looked at him curiously. “Oh? And what makes you so sure?”

  “Well, if you would follow me, then I will show you. There’s this altar where it’s residing in,” Eliam explained.

  Finally, the necromancer stood up and motioned for Eliam to lead the way.

  “I see you easily took care of my minions. That should not have been such an easy feat as I fear it was for you,” the man muttered.

  “Yes, well, it was necessary to reach you… What is your name?” Eliam asked.

  “Nolmus Xarcan, I would have assumed you would have known of me… I’m quite famous.” Nolmus smirked.

  Eliam rolled his eyes and pointed to the tunnel. “It’s down there.”

  “Ah, I see… why don’t you go down first?” Nolmus asked

  Eliam rolled his eyes and hopped down. Nolmus followed, and soon, they both entered the large room with the altar. As soon as Nolmus saw the sword, his eyes glimmered.

  “Ah, I see you were not lying… you have my thanks… now, die!” he yelled.

  At least, until he was stabbed in the back by Eliam. Nolmus choked up some blood and then died when he was stabbed again.

  As soon as he died, Nimena jumped down and stared at him. “You would betray your allies?”

  “He wasn’t an ally; he was a necromancer here to destroy the sword,” Eliam pointed out.

  She froze, realization slowly dawning on her. “A necromancer?”

  “Yes, and he was raising an army of skeletons to search for the sword. He was going to destroy it,” Eliam said.

  “And you worked with him?” Nimena quickly asked.

  “No, of course not. That is why I killed him,” Eliam responded.

  “He said you showed him the way?” Nimena said.

  “Yes, to show you that there was a necromancer here!” Eliam snapped, seeing that Nimena was inching toward the sword.

  “You are likely trying to set me up. You wish for me to let my guard down.” Nimena said as she walked toward the sword.

  Eliam groaned as he cried, “No! I am not trying to destroy the fucking sword! I am trying to stop you from attacking me each fucking loop!”

  She gave him an odd look and growled, “I need no saving. Now, you will die.”

  And he sure as hell did.