Alex and Alice appeared at the entrance of Bell City, immediately surrounded by a crowd of players.
“Hey, that’s FateBreaker!”
“Him?!”
“Wow!”
Alex saw many players surround him and Alice as he appeared, and some others even running away, probably members of the [Overlord] or [Madmen] guild, tasked to notify their leaders of Alex’s movements.
But Alex didn’t care about the growing crowd.
His thoughts were on his next goal: getting strong enough to face thousands of level 300 demon monsters alone.
Besides Alera, he was the only one that could act among all of the fox tribe.
He was their only hope, literally.
He didn’t need anyone’s help.
He would do it by himself.
Like he always did until now, Alex divided the SS-Level Hidden Quest into several smaller tasks he could complete step-by-step.
[Active Tasks]
[Use your “Item Potential Extraction” every day.]
[Use your “Skill Potential Extraction” every 3 days.]
[Reach attributes worthy of level 300 monsters.]
[Acquire another “Max out Magic Crystal” to level up Alphox.]
[Conquer the “Dark Dungeon” completely, meaning you need to defeat the boss and acquire the artifact that could easily slay demons.]
…
With a few nods, he acknowledged the quests, mentally planning his route through them.
His “Extraction” tasks would be simple, with a steady buildup of power.
And while he wanted to head to [Undead Land] to ask the [Undead Lord], he had more pressing matters at the moment.
Besides, his companion, the Undead King, reminded him that the Undead Lord wasn’t about to budge without a major threat.
“The lord, that old bastard, is too full of himself. Even if you beat him, he won’t listen to you,” the Undead King warned.
“He’s just like you, basically,” Alex muttered under his breath, ignoring the spirit’s indignant response.
Without a good threat, it wouldn’t be possible for the Undead Lord to listen to Alex, he needed the [Annihilation Crucifix] both to beat and tame him.
But right now, he couldn’t acquire it. He would need to wait.
Just as he reviewed his tasks, he noticed Alice gazing thoughtfully at her own panel.
“Alex,” she said, “I have an advancement task.”
“Oh, crap. I forgot about that,” Alex admitted, scratching his head.
Advancement tasks were critical to player development, but they were solo challenges.
The problem with that was that Alex couldn’t help, no matter what, as if he tried to do the work and help her out, it wouldn’t count, and she might actually be given an F-rating for trying to cheat.
“What’s your task?” he asked, peering at her panel.
“It’s S-Ranked,” Alice replied, “and I need to defeat the boss in the [Crossroad Plains].”
Alex let out a sigh of relief.
It was tough but manageable for her, “Just remember, if anything goes south, call me immediately. And don’t forget—you’ve only got one shot at these tasks. Failure usually means a bad ranking.”
“Got it.” Alice’s face brightened as she hugged him. “Thanks, Alex!”
With a final smile, she turned and followed the arrow guiding her toward the [Crossroad Plains].
“Good luck!” he called after her, watching her figure disappear into the distance.
Now alone, Alex steeled himself, ready to delve even deeper into the [Dark Dungeon].
He wasn’t sure he could take on the next floors, but he wouldn’t receive any penalty for dying while trying, since all monsters are above his level.
It was also the [Demon Nest] from floor 21 to 25, which should give him a good understanding of how these lower demon beings work.
He was used to fighting level 600 clans, so maybe the lower-leveled ones worked differently.
Plus, one of his tasks was to kill the boss and grab that artifact at the end, so he would need to complete it regardless.
Besides the [Dark Dungeon] and [Max out Magic Crystal], all others tasks would pretty much be passively completed.
…
After teleporting, Alex arrived once again in the familiar, shadowy depths of the dungeon
He was currently in the [Queen’s Chamber], where he had defeated the Spider Queen a little over an hour earlier.
Her massive, lifeless body lay sprawled on the floor, the webs surrounding it torn and broken.
Noting that she hadn’t yet respawned, Alex felt a strange satisfaction.
Victory was fresh in the air.
Pulling the [Demon Nest Key] from his inventory, Alex approached the ominous crimson door at the end of the chamber.
Its surface glowed faintly with dark, runic inscriptions, pulsating as if alive.
He inserted the key, and with a low, resonant click, the door unlocked.
[You have opened the “Demon Nest” door.]
Ding! Ding!
[Global Announcement: “FateBreaker” is the first to open the door of the Demon Nest in the Dark Dungeon.]
[Global Announcement: “FateBreaker” is the first to open the door of the Demon Nest…]
[Global Announcement: …]
Alex blinked as the announcement repeated several times, echoing his achievement throughout the game world.
By now, players were growing accustomed to seeing his name pop up in system notifications, though they were surprised: many had discovered the dark dungeon by now.
And doesn’t reaching the demon nest mean being able to take down a level 200 boss?
Just how strong was FateBreaker compared to them?!
And it seemed like word had spread fast.
[Overlord], [Madmen], [Striker], [Snowflake] and many more, all of them knew that FateBreaker shouldn’t be toyed with.
Though Daniel and Lucas, leaders of the first two guilds respectively, weren’t gonna abandon yet.
FateBreaker had toyed with them, and they would answer accordingly, even if it meant killing him in real life.
Alex wasn’t aware of those intentions though, and so he focused on the task ahead: actually surviving more than five minutes inside the 21st floor.
As the massive door swung open, Alex took in the sight of the 21st floor.
The walls were slick and organic, lined with strange, pulsing veins of dark red and black that gave off an eerie glow.
The floor was littered with fragments of bone, ancient weapons, and shards of demonic crystal, while the air buzzed with a thick, unholy energy.
In the distance, Alex could hear faint, guttural whispers as if the very walls were alive and watching him.
Without wasting any time, he summoned his undead army.
[+80 Skeletons, +13 Grand Skeletons, +4 Bony Knights, +3 Spectral Wraiths]
[-102500 Mana]
The skeletons and undead sprang up from the ground, spectral and bone-clad, their soulless eyes gleaming with faint light.
The mana cost was massive, but Alex’s mana regeneration quickly kicked in, restoring his reserves.
“Alright,” Alex murmured to himself, casting a glance at his undead minions, “Let’s go.”
With a grin, he strode forward, the heavy door clanking shut behind him.
[A teleportation point has been set at: Dark Dungeon (Floor 21 Entrance)]
The entrance sealed, but Alex wasn’t fazed.
Now, with a teleportation point, he could retry indefinitely.
As he and his undead horde moved deeper into the Demon Nest, the hostile environment intensified.
Shadows danced along the walls, and strange symbols glowed intermittently.
Every now and then, sharp, eerie sounds echoed around him, but Alex kept a level head, analyzing his surroundings and watching for threats.
Then, he encountered the first group of demons.
About a dozen of them slinked from the shadows, their grotesque bodies twisted and deformed, with dark, red eyes and elongated claws.
Their levels were at level 210, and Alex could feel the potent malice radiating from them.
He signaled his Spectral Wraiths forward, their ethereal forms gliding silently across the floor.
“Aura of Death!”
The demons barely had a chance to react as the Wraiths tore through them, phasing in and out of existence with deadly speed.
The demons shrieked in agony, their forms flickering as the Wraiths drained them of life.
But they didn’t die, instead screaming to bring out more of them.
The remaining demons surged forward, but Alex’s Bony Knights intercepted them, shields raised.
The clash of steel on bone resounded through the cavern, and Alex stepped back, letting his army handle the brunt of the combat.
His skeletons swarmed the demons from every side, the battle a chaotic flurry of limbs and claws.
In the midst of it all, Alex activated [Meteoric Blaze], his staff crackling with fiery energy as he knew the undead couldn’t deal with that alone.
He hurled it into the largest cluster of demons, the flames erupting on impact and scattering them in a massive burst.
-32,737! -32,737! -32,737!
The demons caught in the blast were charred to cinders, their anguished cries filling the air.
He watched his army handle the stragglers, marveling at their sheer effectiveness.
Despite the demons’ ferocity, his undead force moved in precise formation, an unstoppable wave of death and decay.
When the last demon fell, Alex took a moment to assess his resources.
He’d lost a few skeletons, but his mana was still solid.
Summoning replacements would be easy.
Experience tales at
As he looked down the twisting path that led deeper into the nest, he felt a thrill of anticipation.
Each step forward brought him closer to the artifact that could change everything in the coming battle against the demons.
“Alright,” he muttered, glancing at his army, “Let’s see what this nest is really hiding.”
His resolve firm, Alex pressed onward, his army following as they delved further into the dark, demon-infested depths of the dungeon.
This was just the beginning, and he intended to conquer every single threat standing in his way.
But first…
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Several panels appeared in front of him as he approached the corpses of the demons.
[Extraction Talent Activated!]
[Extraction Talent Activated!]
[Extraction Talent…]
Couldn’t forget about the most important thing, can you?