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Chapter 25: New Earth
🕑 Added 2025-01-14 13:10:39 +0000 UTCThe demon howled. James had seen many creatures howled before. However, this time, echoes of mana came with it. The wind began to blow so hard that James instinctively shielded himself with his new arm. Something clanked against his metal arm and axe as his leather armor began to rip bit by bit.
“What the… Was that magic?” James muttered as he saw the damage his armor received. The creature followed his howl with a lunge. Golden light shone from his sword. James followed with his axe.
His [Powerstrike] sent the demon flying. James followed with a thrust of his sword, which grazed his shoulder before he managed to parry it with his shield.
Axe was parried with a shield. Longsword was parried with a sword. James and the demons dueled with all of their might. James felt his core blazed as he felt the heat from his soul. He was fighting with his life on the line, similar to the demon before him.
The demon was an angel that fell and was cursed by the gods. He dreamt of one day surpassing the gods. He gathered his own worshipper, collecting their faith. But the gods noticed. As punishment, the land shook. His faithful believer was incinerated by fires from heaven and now, all that remained was his statue.
Instead of repenting, he became his own worshipper, clinging to the pride he once had. He stood on the circular plate, reminiscing the days where he had all the glory as his statue remained untouched by the gods..
James had the upper hand. Thanks to his orc and golem arm, he pushed the demon back with every strike, forcing him into defense.
“Die!!” an axe lunged toward his face. James smirked as victory was within his grasp. However, the demons suddenly zipped away to the back. Letting James’ axe crack the floor.
“Damnit, using your wings is cheating!” James cursed. But the demon didn’t care. He flew away As his lips curved, showing his white fangs.
Swirls of green mana soon gathered on his sword. Blades made of wind mana soon homed into James.
“Damnit!” James put up his ice barrier, but it soon shattered. Like a frightened rabbit, he leaped away. Thanks to his mana eyes, he could see where those wind blades would land.
“It’s not over yet, you thrash!” James bit a crossbow bolt as he mustered his magic. Ice spears flew toward the demons. The demons easily swatted it away with his shield and sword. However, there is something that he couldn’t block. Mind magic went past through his shield and hit him directly in the brain.
“GRYAA!” A shrill scream echoed. Mind magic did not cause any damage. It wasn’t effective against golem, but it was particularly fatal against flying enemies, for it disrupted their flight capabilities.
The demon didn’t fall, but he swayed around, trying to shake off the uncomfortable pain that assaulted him. James took that exact moment to launch a fatal strike. Golden glow, shot through the sky as it homed into the demon. A brief moment of confusion was all James needed to deliver a fatal blow.
When he saw the golden comet approaching him, he raised his shield instinctively. Even though the shield was made of metal, the crossbow bolt still penetrated through it. All thanks to the power of the skill. Nevertheless, it didn’t penetrate all the way through. James cursed as he saw his arrow stuck halfway through his wound iron shield. But the angel waisted a scream.
The bolt hit his arm. The new poison soon entered his system. The winged monster soon fell into panic. With his weakened state, he could not hope to win against the desecrator of his shrine. However, he couldn’t fly endlessly either. James would shoot him again. He was proficient in both melee and ranged battle.
He wanted to flee, but his life’s work—his shrine—was here. He couldn’t leave it alone. That beast would surely destroy it. And true to his thoughts. James walked nearer to the statue. The angel rushed in with his sword and shield.
He would not let anyone desecrate him. His pride was the only thing he had left after the purge by the gods.
James was ready. Golden glow shone from both the demon’s sword and James’ axe. As the two skills collided, a shockwave spread out in the arena. The plate trembled as both monsters were unrelenting in their faith. For the second time, James saw his skill stopped.
James and the angel had similar strengths. James had more, but the lunge and determination the demon had managed to close in the gap.
Two golden meteors ground at each other. James feared for the worst when he saw fine lines spread out from the blade of his axe. Luck was on his side, for his axe held on. James managed to finish his slash before his axe shattered.
The demon was pushed back, and James was ready with his sword skill. He tried to defend himself with his shield, but it was futile; James was too close. Another golden meteor shot up from below. James leaped upward as his longsword carved a path on the demon’s body.
The winged monster was blown back and crashed into his own statue. The weathered stone crumbled, rock and debris buried the demon as he breathed his last.
[Congratulations, you have leveled up to level 30! You have earned 100 coins]
[Name: James
Age: 35
Sex: male
Levels: 30
Coins: 450
Stats:
STR: 108 (up 8)
Dex: 102 (up 7)
Magic: 53 (up 9)
Mana: 660 (up 60)
Skills:
Novice Axe mastery level 1 (Powerstrike, V-slash)
Beginner Sword mastery level 6 (hurricane)
Beginner Bow Mastery level 7 (Quickshot) (up 1)
Magic:
Mind flay
Mana sonar
Unique Skill:
Chimera:
Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)
Mana core (Water Spell: ice spear, water manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000)(Extra slot)
Orc’s left arm (STR+10%) (Arm slot)
Eyes of Mana (mana sense) (Right eye slot)
Sahuagin’s webbed hands(+10% dexterity in water) (right arm slot)
Sahuagin’s webbed feet(+10% dexterity in water) (leg slot)
Sahuagin’s lungs (Underwater breathing) (lung slot)
Golem core (Poison resistance) (negative trait: mana-250 Magic -10, Repairable)(Heart slot)
Orc’s torso (torso slot)
Orc’s head (Head slot)
Shadow snake fang (intermediate life leeching)(mouth slot)(new)
Jumping Spiders spinneret (Thread creation)(Extra slot 2)
Elder Komodo’s Scale (Physical resistance +20%) (Fire resistance)(skin slot)
Equipment:
Leather armor set +10 dex (damaged)
War axe (damaged)
Longsword
Crossbow
Waterspout dagger
Leather bag]
[Do you wish to modify your body? y/n]
[Available body part:
Fallen Angel’s wing (glide) (extra slot)
Mana Core (Wind Spell: Wind Gust, Wind blade, Magic +80, Mana +1200)(extra slot)
Fallen angel arms (Hand slot)
Fallen Angel legs (Leg slot)
]
[You have completed the trial dungeon. Congratulations. You and three other survivors have triumphed. A reward of 1600 coins will be split among the remaining survivors. You have earned 400 coins. Further rewards called the cloak of the dark night will be given to all survivors.]
[A golden orb will be summoned nearby. Please touch the orb if you wish to exit the trial dungeon. All survivors will be teleported back to Earth as soon as you touch the orb.]
A golden orb spawned beside James. James winced when he saw the system notifications about the rewards. Even though he did all the work, why would that boy and his harem get the same reward? It reminded him of his boss, who was praised and got a promotion because of James’ and his coworker’s work.
James ignored those notifications. He couldn’t change how the system worked, so he could only look forward to the fallen angel’s corpse.
The fallen angel had a wind mana core. A brief glance showed that this mana core was slightly superior to his ice mana core. However, the spell it had was rather lackluster. While the name was lackluster, James had seen how it worked firsthand. The wind gust spell was mediocre. It would not work unless he had the wing. To obtain the wing, he had to abandon either his spinneret or mana core.
However, the windblade was something else. James wondered if he could use it on his sword and axe. That would offer a decent advantage over his enemies compared to the ice spears he currently had.
As James was still pondering his decision, a system notification popped up.
[Survivor Kaina has touched the orb. All survivors will be transported to the white room and returned back to Earth momentarily. Trial dungeons number 1204, 1307, and 1195 have been successfully cleared.]
“Huh? What do you mean transported? I am not finished yet!!” White light enveloped James, leaving the fallen angel’s corpse behind. As always, His indecision caused the others to make the decision for him. Luckily, the system acknowledged his leather bag and transferred it with him.
Inside the white room, James met Kouki, Kaina, and John. James didn’t know them yet. However, he couldn’t hold out his anger and frustration. Not only did they take coins from him, but they also took his chance to plunder that angel’s mana core.
“What the fuck are you doing? I was still deciding what to plunder from that corpse!” James shouted.
“Hieek!” The girl jumped and took cover behind the boy. The boy grabbed his sword, but he didn’t unsheathe it. After a while, the boy dropped to the ground and kowtowed.
“I am sorry for attacking you!” Seeing the boy do a dogeza, the girl and the man followed suit.
“I am sorry, too. I thought you were monsters.”
James was still fuming, but his anger wasn’t strong enough to make him want to kill them. He took several deep breaths before trying to regain his calm. He noticed his leather bag and decided to put on the mask inside it.
His scaly head of an orc soon reverted back to the boring office employee. James caressed his face. It was weird seeing the muscular and tall body of a scaly orc but a normal head of a human. A black cloak soon enveloped him.
[Cloak of Dark Night:
Cloak made by researchers in preparation to travel in a scorching desert. Whether you are inside a desert, on top of a mountain, or snowy region, the cloak will keep you comfortable unless it is damaged]
“Alright. I think I look somewhat normal now. Yes. I am a survivor. My name is James. As for your previous attack, I have decided to forgive you. I also apologized in return for the injuries I had caused. I didn’t know why I didn’t stop at that time. I suppose you have bought a health potion to cure that wound?”
“Yes. I am healthy now. It sure was painful, though. I thought I would die for sure once I fell into that lava,” Kouki stood up and offered his hand for a shake. James’ golem arm shook his hand. He, once again, was reminded that he had changed.
“Hmm? I thought there were 5 people who attacked me. Where are they?”
“Matra and Denver died because of a monster attack after they tried to run away from you. A lizard at them.” Kouki gave a sad look before shaking his head. “Ah, I am Kouki, by the way.”
“I am Kaina. Thank you for clearing the floor for us. I couldn’t wait to go home.”
“I am John. Once again, thank you for saving us. I am sorry. I saw you on the second floor. I thought you were a monster.” John kowtowed alongside Kouki before the group stood up.
[Transfer complete. You will be returned to your world in a moment]
“See you.” James waved. a soft smile formed on his lips. It was something that couldn’t be done using his monster form. James was thankful to the system for giving him his old face back.
White light gathered around James, Kouki, Kaina, and John. Soon, James returned back to the park.
“So many people…” James was taken aback. The park he was in now was filled with tents, hundreds of them. He thought he was transferred to a different place, but the disgusting white building from his old workplace was still within view.
Hiding his body, he soon walked to his apartment. He usually rode a bus, but since he had no money, he had to walk.
“Excuse me, what date is today?” James asked.
“It’s February fifteenth.” The man looked at James and left. The new information left him agape. James had been inside the dungeon for 2 months! The landlord would throw away all of his goods if he didn’t pay his rent for more than three months.
“Damn it. My computer and spare cell phone were there. My wallet, too. At least, let me save my family’s photo.” James dashed through with his sahuagin foot.
James began to run toward his apartment, unaware of what had transpired on Earth. Thanks to his new stats, James could run faster than a car.
However, no matter how fast he went, it was already too late.
