Chapter 1194 Being a badass again
The adventurers reacted with visible fear to the chilling, childish voice echoing through the corridor. They looked around frantically, their eyes wide as they tried to locate the source of the voice. Whispers and exclamations of shock and fear filled the air, adding to the tension.
"What was that?" one adventurer asked, his voice trembling.
"Are we being hunted?" another whispered, her eyes darting around the shadowy corridor.
Amidst the growing panic, Michael remained composed. He quickly activated his X-ray vision, scanning the environment for any hidden threats. As he looked through the darkness, his thermal vision picked up the heat signatures of the people around him. However, amidst the normal readings, he detected an anomalous purple energy signature lurking in the darkness ahead. It was something different, something otherworldly.
As they all strained to make sense of their surroundings, the voice began to sing a creepy, taunting song that resonated through the corridor.
"Oh, little morsels wandering in the night. So lost, so scared, such a delightful sight…" The childish voice sang before pausing for a moment.
"I'll nibble on your fears, a feast so grand. In the dark, in the silence, here I stand."
As the song's haunting melody tapered off, an eerie silence enveloped the corridor, intensifying the group's apprehension. The lack of sound seemed almost more unsettling than the voice itself, leaving the adventurers in a state of heightened alertness.
Some of the dwarves in the group, known for their bluntness, couldn't contain their frustration. "Either attack us or leave us be!" one of them grumbled loudly, his voice echoing in the corridor.
Another adventurer whispered to their companion, a hint of worry in their tone. "We haven't even ventured deep into the dungeon yet, and we're already facing a monster," the adventurer said, the reality of their situation sinking in.
"Seems like Silvaris wasn't playing around," Gaya whispered.
Meanwhile, Jin discreetly unsheathed one of his daggers. The assassin's movements were fluid and precise, a clear indication of his readiness for a potential fight. He ran his tongue along the cold blade, a gesture that was both unnerving and indicative of his comfort in such dangerous situations.
As they all cautiously advanced, the silence was gradually replaced by a series of soft, eerie, chittering sounds echoing through the corridor. The noise seemed to come from all directions, disorienting and unnerving the group.
The adventurers, sensing the impending threat, began to prepare themselves. Some drew their weapons, gripping swords and bows tightly, while others whispered incantations, their hands glowing with the beginnings of magical spells.
Standing beside Michael, Gaya was ready to activate her cloak's invisibility feature and use the God Slayer. Then, slowly, a figure began to emerge from the darkness ahead. The silhouette was indistinct at first, but as it moved closer, the details of its form began to take shape.
As the figure emerged from the darkness, everyone in the corridor froze, their eyes widening in shock and horror at the sight before them.
The creature, though resembling a little girl in form, moved in a grotesque and unnatural manner. It crawled using its arms and legs, each movement accompanied by a skittering noise that sent shivers down the spines of the adventurers. Its eyes were abnormally large and round, shining an eerie white in the dim light of the corridor.
Most disturbing was its mouth, which had no lips, revealing a set of long, yellow, sharp teeth. Its body appeared almost transparent, as if it were not entirely solid, adding a ghostly quality to its already terrifying appearance. The creature's hair was a mix of white and gray, long and unkempt, hanging loosely around its haunting visage.
"You are one ugly son of a bitch," Gaya said, looking at the creature. In a swift, unexpected movement, the ghostly creature lunged at a tall, muscular, noble soldier clad in full metal armor. "Get off…of me!"
The soldier, taken by surprise, growled in response and attempted to grab the creature, but his hands passed right through it, as if it were made of air.
A dwarf standing next to the soldier reacted quickly, swinging his battle axe in a wide arc towards the creature. Simultaneously, other adventurers began to unleash a barrage of spells, their incantations filling the air.
"Fulminis Strike!" One mage cast a bolt of lightning as the electric arc crackled through the air. "Pyro Orb! Another conjured a ball of fire as the flame hurtled towards the creature. "Verdant Vines," An elf, drawing upon nature's power, cast a spell, attempting to entangle the creature in a mass of growing greenery.
However, all their efforts proved futile. The spells and physical attacks simply passed through the creature as if it were a mirage. To their horror, some of the spells missed their target and struck the noble soldier instead, causing him to cry out in pain and collapse to the ground.
Chaos ensued as the adventurers scrambled to adjust their tactics. The creature, unaffected by their assaults, continued its attack on the fallen soldier.
Amidst the commotion, Michael, with his keen perception, noticed something alarming. The creature was extracting the air from the gap in the soldier's helmet, its body expanding slightly with each inhalation. The sheer force of the suction was causing the soldier's lungs and internal organs to hemorrhage, a sight that was as terrifying as it was bewildering.
As the noble soldier collapsed with blood seeping through his metal helmet, the adventurers around him reacted with shock and fear.
"No way... It just... How did it do that?" one of them stammered, unable to comprehend the horrific scene.
"Watch out!" another yelled, but it was too late. The creature, undeterred, lunged at the dwarf next. The attack was quick and brutal. The creature sucked the air out of the dwarf with even greater ferocity, causing his skin to turn pale. In a matter of seconds, his chest cavity exploded, killing him instantly.
An elf in the crowd, his eyes wide with realization, shouted, "It must be at an Elemental Attunement stage!"
"It's using the wind element," Another adventurer, a mage, agreed while preparing another spell. His voice was laced with urgency. "If we don't find a way to kill it, it will kill us all!"
The group's initial shock turned into panic as they frantically tried to devise a way to fight the seemingly invincible creature. As the adventurers grappled with the dire situation, Michael's sharp eyes caught Jin subtly slipping away from the fray, silently advancing deeper into the dungeon. In the chaos, Jin's silent departure went mostly unnoticed by the others, who were focused on the immediate threat.
"Follow Jin," Michael said quickly to Gaya, realizing that Jin's decision to retreat might be the smarter move in the current circumstances.
Initially surprised by Jin's stealthy exit, Gaya couldn't help but snicker at his cunning. "That sneaky son of a bitch," she muttered with a mix of amusement and admiration.
Without wasting a moment, Gaya pressed the button on her palm, activating the cloak's invisibility feature. With a swift, agile leap, she used the confusion to her advantage, bouncing off the heads of the adventurers in front of her to make her way out of the crowd.
Her sudden, unseen movements caused shock and confusion among the adventurers. "What the—?" one of them shouted, feeling an unseen force pushing down on his head. "Who's there?" another exclaimed, bewildered by the invisible pressure and the fleeting shadow that had just passed over them.
Now cloaked and almost invisible, Gaya moved swiftly to catch up with Jin. After Gaya followed Jin deeper into the dungeon, Michae cracked his neck, readying himself for the confrontation. He unsheathed his dark swords, the blades glinting ominously in the dim light of the dungeon. He decided to confront and kill the creature, not just for the experience points but also to earn 'badass points' by taking control of the situation.
Then, Michael summoned dark flames with focused intensity. The dark flames flickered to life, writhing and twisting around his swords, coating the blades with a sinister, fiery aura. The dark flames added a lethal edge to his weapons, enhancing their ability to inflict damage on even the most elusive of foes.
With a swift and calculated motion, Michael hurled one of his dark swords directly at the creature, which was in the midst of attacking an elf, drawing the air from his lungs. The sword, enveloped in dark, primordial flames, swiftly cut through the air.
The effect was immediate and dramatic when the dark sword struck the creature. Despite its ghostly form, the dark flames, being of a primordial nature, latched onto the creature. The impact of the sword and the searing flames sent the creature hurtling back into the darkness, its form momentarily illuminated by the flickering fire before disappearing into the shadows.
A stunned silence fell over the group as they witnessed the effectiveness of Michael's attack. All heads turned to see him confidently walking forward, the other dark sword still in his hand, its flames casting a menacing glow in the dim corridor.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 10,000 Badass points] [Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 15,000 Badass points] …
Then, from the darkness, the creature's childish voice emerged, tinged with pain and surprise. "You hurt me!" it wailed, its tone a mix of shock and anger.
As Michael stood poised for the creature's next move, the system inside his head continued to chime, rewarding him and showering him with Badass points. The notifications rang continuously, but he tuned out the system's alerts. instead, his eyes fixed on the darkness from where the creature was rapidly approaching.
The creature, now visible again, lunged out of the shadows, its ghostly form hurtling through the air towards Michael. To the onlookers, time seemed to slow down as they witnessed the impending clash between the mysterious youngster dressed in black and the terrifying entity.
Just as the creature closed in, mere inches from Michael, he swung his other dark sword in a fluid, precise arc. The blade, still enveloped in the dark, primordial flames, sliced through the creature's head, severing it cleanly. The creature let out a final, ear-piercing screech as its form disintegrated into dust.
The speed and efficiency of Michael's strike were so swift that many of the adventurers barely registered what had happened. One moment, the creature was a looming threat, and the next, it was gone, killed by Michael's skilled hand.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing an Elemental Attunement Stage huntress. The reward is 20,000 Experience points and 18,000 Badass points]
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