Chapter 4: Blacklung Burial Mine Dungeon Raid [3]

[+120EP]

[+120EP]

[+120EP]

—

[+1,150EP]

"WHY WEREN’T YOU AFRAID OF THE FIRE? ISN’T THAT SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR WEAKNESS? HOW IS ANY OF THIS POSSIBLE?" Levi screamed at the Warden.

Being cornered by a mob of mummies seemed like something out of a horror film. Faced with a Final Boss who was no longer afraid of fire, despite it being his weakness, Levi released his bottled-up emotions.

It was as though the entire script of the Blacklung Burial Mine had been flipped upside down.

"I don’t think he can understand you..." Jonathan said. He also had numerous questions that he wanted to ask, but he was certain that asking them would be useless, because there was no way a Final Boss would understand their words.

Cynthia nodded, staring at weary, sceptical Levi and wondering if he was going mad.

"Grokk!!" They felt their hearts leap in fear as soon as they heard the groans that emerged from the Warden.

"It understands us! Hahahaa!! I knew it! Something is wrong with this final boss! We didn’t make any mistakes. Our plans were flawless. You’re the one who has changed!!" Levi said, laughing hysterically as he pointed his longsword at Abel.

A mummy took advantage of the momentary distraction to grab Levi’s arm and bite him.

"Argghh!" Levi screamed out in pain.

Jonathan immediately reacted by swinging his blade at the mummy attacking Levi, decapitating it in one clean motion. He grabbed the limp body and kicked it forcefully back toward the advancing mummies.

[+150EP]

[+130EP]

[+130EP]

---

[1,560EP]

Levi’s expression twisted in pain and agony, but he held back his screams. He switched his blade to his other arm.

"Heal," Cynthia cast a healing skill, mending the injury and reducing the pain he felt.

"Thank you," Levi said breathlessly, staring at her gratefully.

"Don’t mention it. We need you alive, or else we all die here," Cynthia replied with a nod.

Levi was their strongest remaining fighter and the one still keeping the group together; otherwise, they would’ve selfishly focused on keeping themselves alive. Apart from Jonathan, who could also fight, she could only heal. So she had to ensure she did her best to tend to their injuries to increase her chances of making it out of this dungeon alive.

She could not afford to die.

Just as Levi was about to launch an attack at an approaching mummy, the air whistled as the clanking of chains rang out.

SWOOSSSHH!!

PTUII!!

The Warden’s pickaxe cut into his chest and emerged from the other side.

[+200EP]

[+150EP]

[+150EP]

—

[2,060EP]

The pickaxe was swiftly pulled back, dragging Levi with it through the crowd of mummies.

"We need to warn the others about this dungeon," Levi muttered, summoning his system and seeing that his viewers had jumped from 4 to 15 in the last twenty minutes.

This was the first time he had ever gotten such a huge amount of views on a single livestream.

How pathetic!

He wasn’t even alive to live through it. He hoped that they could still pass on his message.

Levi slumped to the ground lifelessly.

The mummies didn’t attack his corpse because they all feared the presence of the Warden, seeing it as his prey.

Cynthia collapsed on her knees, covering her mouth to hold back her tears as she gripped her staff tightly, looking at Levi’s corpse being dragged to the other side of the room.

Jonathan was frozen in his position as well, looking at Levi’s corpse. But he gritted his teeth, recovering his composure, and swung his sword forward against an approaching mummy. He couldn’t leave his family, whom he still had to cater for, and who were the main reason he had been raiding dungeons ever since his awakening.

He had come this far to think about giving up, and even if there was the slightest chance that he could escape his current predicament, he would take it.

Unfortunately, there was none. The only escape route before him was death.

SWOOSHH!!!

PTUII!!

[200EP]

[170EP]

—

[2,430EP]

Jonathan’s eyes dimmed as he lowered his head and closed his eyes, his expression filled with hatred, pain, and terror. He looked at the hole in his chest.

"Heal," Cynthia quickly stood up and cast her ability on him.

His injuries shone with a shimmering white light.

However, it was impossible for a low-level Hunter like her to heal such a grave injury.

The white light dimmed.

"Bastard," Jonathan muttered with a tight, fearful smile, slumping forward and dying.

His corpse was pulled towards the Warden.

Seeing that she was alone, Cynthia shouted, "Please, I don’t want to complete this dungeon anymore. Don’t kill me. My siblings are sick, and if I don’t get money for their treatment, they won’t survive much longer. Completing this dungeon and getting the rewards was the only way to help them survive for an extended period."

"Please.. don’t kill me!" Her voice and expression were filled with fear and despair. Streams of tears poured down her face.

DING!!

Cynthia looked at the holographic screen that had suddenly appeared before her. Someone had decided to donate five coins to her stream at this moment. This was her first time receiving a donation.

It was as though someone wanted her to put in an effort before her death.

Cynthia looked at her viewer count for the first time since the dungeon raid began and saw that they were about 15 viewers.

This was the highest viewer count she had ever had.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she said, gritting her teeth in anger and frustration. She was a healer, not a fighter, and any improvement she made at this moment would be focused on further enhancing her healing capabilities.

The mummies approaching her halted and parted. The sound of footsteps echoed in the air.

Cynthia raised her head and looked at the Warden, who was walking towards her.

She shifted backwards but managed to muster up the courage and asked, "What are you? A glitch? A dungeon update?! Don’t tell me that you’re the final boss’s lost cousin because he hadn’t been doing a good job handling it?" She stared at him with an almost inhumane gaze, like someone who had given up on the hope of living.

SWOOSSSHH!!

PTUII!!

DING!!

A notification rang in her ears once more.

Cynthia saw that someone had made another donation to her. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

It was another 5 coins.

"Heal," Cynthia used the coins to increase her healing as she cast the spell on herself.

The white light dimmed. But the injuries remained.

She was dead.

[+200EP]

—

[2,630EP]

Without answering her question, Abel pulled back his weapon.

Cynthia continued staring at him wide-eyed with an expression of despair.

Abel grabbed Levi, Jonathan, and Cynthia and dragged them out of the room.

Abel closed the door behind him and carried them to the burning room. He grabbed the first corpse he slew along the way. He didn’t know what would happen to their bodies after the dungeon run was over, but it was best to give them the proper burial that he could.

He threw their bodies into the fire.

Despite hardly seeing any windows, the smoke didn’t linger in the passageway before vanishing into the walls. Once he was done, Abel returned to his office and sat down in his chair.

[Mission Complete. You’ve successfully defended the Level 1 Dungeon - Blacklung Burial Mine.]

[Reward Extraction has been activated. You’ll obtain a fraction of the Final Boss’s power. You may use your Emotion Points to obtain additional rewards by extracting the stats, attributes, or skills of the Final Boss - Warden of Burial Mine.]

[Please note that if the stats, attributes, or skills to be extracted don’t meet the required Emotion Points, you may still use them to obtain a lesser version of them.]

Abel’s vision went dark, and he soon found himself naked in a dark, floating space.

A series of notifications appeared before Abel as he opened the system.

[Reward Extraction]

[Skills: Chain Throw (D+): You can throw a weapon tethered by a chain to strike a target at range. [Extract: 1000EP]]

[Rupture Decay (D+): Each strike causes increased bleeding and decay on wounds. [Extract: 1000EP]]

[Heart of the Mine (SS): The boss’s heart is hidden deep within the cavern. The body is only a vessel. You live as long as the heart isn’t destroyed. [Not enough Emotion Points]]

[Passive Boss Effects: Oppressive Aura (D+): Causes Hunters to feel increasing fatigue and dread when close to the Final Boss. It accumulates over time. [Extract: 1000EP]]

[Select the stats you want to extract?]

Abel realised that he only had enough to extract two skills. The system didn’t even bother showing the Heart of the Mine skill extraction price because he didn’t have the points to purchase it.

After a brief contemplation, Abel selected Chain Throw (D+). This was a specialised combat utility skill that was invaluable in battle against monsters or other Hunters. They wouldn’t expect a chained weapon heading towards them with force, as though he were grasping it in his hand to strike at them.

Skills were graded from F-Rank to SS-Rank, in categories of -, base, and +. Most Hunters start with E- or D-ranked skills upon awakening and have to train them gradually to improve their rank, as well as grow stronger and increase their capability to utilise them.

Only a few Hunters obtain F-Ranked skills upon awakening, and they are known as the weakest Hunters. The higher the rank of one’s skills upon awakening, the higher their potential and the faster they can increase in rank and grow stronger.

So, for someone who awakened an F-Ranked skill, they would need to play catch-up with their peers of higher rank. Of course, there are Hunters who obtain no skills upon awakening. They are not even classified as Hunters but as cannon fodder - the weakest, below even Hunters with F-Ranked skills.

Stats like Mana, Strength, and others were different, as they could be developed through training, coins, or dungeon rewards.

Attributes were the only things obtained upon awakening that couldn’t be changed. They amplify a Hunter’s overall ability and potential. A Hunter with an attribute could defeat a Hunter of the same level without any attributes.

Abel had never heard of anyone being able to obtain an attribute after awakening. However, it was possible with the Final Boss Persona system. He only hoped that he could obtain another attribute in his next Final Boss run and extract it.

Then Abel selected Rupture Decay (D+). This perfectly fit his combat utility skill, creating a synergy that increased the damage he could deal with a chained weapon.

[Extraction complete. Congratulations, Abel. You’ve extracted Rupture Decay (D+). Due to the absence of the [Decay] attribute, the efficiency of the skill will be reduced by 50 per cent.]

[Emotion Points: 630EP]

[You may obtain the [Decay] attribute if you want to utilise the skill to its 100 per cent efficiency.]

Abel frowned when he saw the message. If he had known that obtaining the Rupture Decay (D+) skill without obtaining the [Decay] attribute would decrease its efficiency by 50 per cent, he would’ve gone for the Oppressive Aura (D+).

"Can I get a refund?" Abel asked.

[No. There are no refunds.]

Abel sighed in defeat. "How much does the [Decay] attribute cost?"

[Decay Attribute: 3,000,000EP]

"How am I supposed to get three million Emotion Points? Even if I tortured five of them for an entire day, I don’t think it’s possible to obtain such a huge amount," Abel said, his brows twitching.

Then, he sighed defeatedly. He wore a mixture of complicated emotions, remembering that he had just taken four lives. With his Final Boss [Survivor] skill, he was certain that one of them would return alive, but he was unsure about who it would be.

[Host may save their remaining Emotion Points for their next dungeon run.]

Another notification alert emerged.

Abel read it and sighed in relief. He thought that his Emotion Points would be reset every dungeon run. However, it seemed that wasn’t the case.