"The power of Windstride Slash is beyond what any mage could imagine," Mike thought as he zipped through the area, leaving a trail of monster corpses behind him.
These bodies were valuable materials, but he didn't have the time to meticulously harvest them-it was just a waste of time. The Minotaur Battle General was still waiting for him!
"How many layers of Charge Up are stacked now?" Mike glanced at his status bar. Thirty layers?
He had been in the Tower of Truth for about ten minutes, right? "Did I miss it when I was fighting Cerberus? Is the max stack for Charge Up thirty?"
The demon gods, knowing that [Thor] was a mage, made sure their generals were equipped with [Inhibition Orbs], special items designed to counter Thor. Only by being versatile could one avoid being targeted by the enemy!
Besides Charge Up, Mike knew he needed other strategies to enrich his arsenal.
Relying too heavily on a single skill might work in battles against Battle Soldiers or Battle Generals, where he could dominate effortlessly. But in higher-level fights, he could quickly be targeted, countered, or even killed outright!
Mike looked at his Force of Nature staffs. The Force of Nature could be upgraded twelve times, with a very high limit. The condition for the first upgrade was to deal a million Lightning damage.
"Let's take down the Minotaur Battle General first!"
Defeating the Minotaur Battle General, upgrading the Force of Nature, and achieving 100% exploration of the first level of the Tower of Truth-these tasks were closely linked and interdependent.
A gust of wind swept through, sending countless plants and debris flying into the air, obscuring Mike's figure as he continued deeper into Thunder Valley.
...
Ten miles behind Mike, two figures were trekking through a valley, their bodies covered in branches and leaves, looking utterly disheveled. It was Cain and Jessica.
They were worried that Mike had ventured into Thunder Valley and were trying to find him there.
Cain, gasping for air, clung to a tree and paused, "Jessica, your summon is seriously awesome!"
Jessica's pet had chosen a path that avoided all enemies. They did encounter many monster corpses, though.
The environment in Thunder Valley was far harsher than either of them had imagined. Even without any battles, every step forward was a struggle.
Jessica crouched next to a monster's corpse, examining it closely. "Weird."
"What's weird?" Cain tensed up, worried they might encounter something dangerous. They were here to rescue Mike, not to add to the body count.
"These monsters... the wounds look like they were made by Windstride Slash," Jessica analyzed seriously. "That means there's a Warrior genius not far ahead of us!"
"That's great! We catch up to him and ask if he's seen Mike," Cain said enthusiastically, looking ahead. "If he hasn't seen Mike either, it means Mike isn't in Thunder Valley. There's no way Mike could have gotten this far on his own!"
"It's not that simple..." Jessica still frowned, seemingly troubled by something else. She thought to herself, "All these monsters have just one wound, which means the person who did this is killing them instantly!"
"Level 10 or below, able to instantly kill monsters in Thunder Valley, including elite monsters -how strong is this person's talent?
S-rank, or even SS-rank?"
Jessica was startled by her own speculation, reminding herself internally, "There are always bigger fish. There's always someone better."
The Warrior using [Windstride Slash] ahead of them was just casually displaying strength that far surpassed James, and even Jessica, with her S-rank talent, might not be a match!
"Let's go, and be extra careful on the way!" Jessica and Cain braced against the fierce wind and moved forward again, eager to catch up with the mysterious Warrior ahead.
...
Deep within Thunder Valley, a thunderous roar suddenly shook the earth, causing the entire valley to tremble. A terrifying fissure split the ground, swallowing countless debris, as if the apocalypse had descended.
The Thunder Valley Squad, already moving slowly, halted immediately, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily. Each member was battered and bruised, looking even more ragged than Jessica and her group.
Unlike Jessica, who had avoided combat, the Thunder Valley Squad had to fight relentless waves of monsters with every step they took.
Noticing the disturbance deeper in the valley, someone shouted, "Hawkeye, what's going on?"
"Ah!" The young man known as [Hawkeye] clutched his left eye in agony, screaming as black blood trickled through his fingers, a chilling sight.
"My eye!" His screams sent shivers down everyone's spine, clearly indicating severe damage to his eye.
"Where's the medic, the trained medic?" Immediately, a Priest stepped forward, his staff emitting a soft white glow. He quickly wrapped bandages around half of Hawkeye's head, stabilizing the injury enough to keep him alive for the moment.
"Hawkeye, what did you see?" The group crowded around him, anxiously awaiting his response. With the sudden changes in Thunder Valley, moving forward without
understanding the situation could easily lead to their annihilation.
Breathing heavily, still in shock, Hawkeye managed to stammer, "I... I saw... the boss... awakened."
"What!" The group erupted in surprise.
"Someone got there before us? Is it another squad?!"
"Fuck, someone beat us to the punch!"
The morale of the Thunder Valley Squad took a significant hit. The assembled talents were clearly not the only ones in the area; other boss-hunting squads were advancing from
different directions.
The fact that someone else had awakened the boss first meant that this other group was likely stronger overall, increasing their chances of ultimately defeating the boss!
At that moment, James stepped forward, his voice firm and encouraging, "Don't get discouraged! The first to engage the boss will face the greatest pressure. Remember, the one who lands the final blow on the boss gets the richest rewards!"
His words instantly lifted the spirits of the Thunder Valley Squad. That's right! Being first doesn't mean winning. What if the team that awakened the boss gets wiped out?
And let's face it, anyone who's battled through instances and defeated bosses knows that the first 99.99% of the boss's health is just the setup. The real victory comes with the last hit!
So, they still had a chance!
"Well said, let's pick up the pace and seize the opportunity to take down the boss!" one of the squad members rallied.
"Hawkeye, how's your injury? Can you keep up?" another asked, concern evident in his voice.
Hawkeye, his head bandage seeping blood, was still losing health steadily. Just one glance at the boss from a distance had inflicted severe injuries on him.
"No, it's not right..." Hawkeye began, but before he could finish, he turned into a beam of white light and vanished from the spot. His life depleted, he died.
Hawkeye respawned in the Core City of Truth.
The Thunder Valley Squad, far from being discouraged by Hawkeye's death, felt their resolve strengthen and marched deeper into the valley!
Back in the Core City of Truth, a white light flashed, and a pale-faced Hawkeye appeared on the streets, still in shock. He finally shouted the words he hadn't finished earlier, "It's not
right, the boss wasn't awakened by a team!"
"That man, he woke the boss alone, he's going to solo the boss!"
Unfortunately, Hawkeye couldn't contact his teammates and had no way to pass on this crucial information.