Free Web NovelChapter 9: Chapter 9
The entrance to the Whispering Ruins sat on the desolate outskirts of the mega city. It was a B Rank dungeon known for its high fatality rate and its labyrinth of decaying underground temples. A heavy military barricade surrounded the glowing purple portal manned by heavily armed Association guards.
Glen stood a few feet away watching as Isla Sinclair approached the checkpoint. She did not wear a helmet allowing the guards to see her sharp aristocratic features. She pulled a solid gold emblem from her duster and held it up.
"Sinclair family master permit" Isla said her voice cold and authoritative. "Open the gate."
The lead guard a grizzled veteran with a scarred face inspected the gold emblem. He looked at Isla and then glanced at Glen who was leaning casually against a concrete barrier tossing an empty energy drink can into a nearby bin.
"The permit is valid" the guard said handing the emblem back. "But you are taking an F Rank Mimic into a B Rank zone? That is suicide Lady Sinclair. The Association will not cover his life insurance."
"He is my luggage carrier" Isla replied without missing a beat. "If he dies I will buy a new one. Open the gate."
Glen chuckled softly as he walked past the guards. "Luggage carrier? That hurts my feelings Sinclair. I thought we were partners."
"Do not talk to me until we are inside" Isla muttered stepping through the purple portal.
Glen followed her. The transition was instantaneous. The smog filled air of the city vanished replaced by the damp earthy smell of ancient stone and rotting vegetation. They stood on a cracked marble platform overlooking a massive subterranean city. Bioluminescent vines crawled up the ruined pillars casting an eerie blue and green light over the crumbling architecture.
"Beautiful place" Glen said drawing the twin silver swords from his back. "Where do we start?"
Isla did not answer immediately. She drew her weapons. They were not standard mana pistols. They were massive hand cannons engraved with intricate runic patterns. She spun the cylinders with a practiced flick of her wrists.
"We are hunting Shadow Panthers" Isla said her eyes scanning the dark ruins below. "They are agile stealth based monsters. Their cores fetch a high price on the alchemy market. Stay out of my line of fire Mcdonald. I do not want to accidentally shoot my luggage carrier."
"I will do my best to stay out of your way" Glen said a dark smirk playing on his lips.
They descended the marble stairs into the ruined city. The silence was heavy broken only by the sound of their boots on the cracked stone. Glen kept his senses dialed to the maximum. His Level 6 stats allowed him to hear the faint scuttling of insects and the distant dripping of water.
Suddenly Isla stopped. She raised her right pistol aiming it at a cluster of ruined pillars fifty yards away.
"Three of them" Isla whispered. "Flanking us from the left."
Glen squinted into the darkness. He could barely make out the shifting shadows. The monsters were perfectly camouflaged against the dark stone.
Isla did not hesitate. She channeled her mana into the right pistol. The runes on the barrel glowed a brilliant fiery orange.
"Ignis" she commanded.
She pulled the trigger. The sound was deafening. A massive bullet of compressed fire shot across the ruins illuminating the dark cavern. It slammed into the shadows behind the pillar exploding with the force of a grenade. A terrifying screech echoed through the ruins as a massive black panther wreathed in flames was thrown into the open.
Before the creature could even hit the ground Isla raised her left pistol. The runes glowed a freezing icy blue.
"Glacies."
She fired twice. Two bullets of absolute zero ice struck the burning panther freezing it solid mid air. The monster shattered into a thousand pieces of bloody ice when it hit the stone floor.
Glen whistled in genuine appreciation. "Not bad Sinclair. You hit hard for a rich girl."
"Focus" Isla snapped. "The other two are moving."
Two massive Shadow Panthers leaped from the darkness of the ruined rooftops. They were the size of small cars their fur absorbing the ambient light making them look like living voids. They bypassed Isla entirely diving straight for Glen assuming he was the weaker target.
"My turn" Glen smiled.
He did not use Lightning Movement. He wanted to test his raw physical strength against a B Rank monster. He planted his feet gripping his twin swords tightly.
The first panther swiped its massive claws aiming to decapitate him. Glen ducked under the strike the razor sharp claws missing his hair by an inch. He pivoted on his heel driving his left sword upward into the beast’s exposed underbelly. The silver blade pierced the thick hide drawing a spray of dark blood. freewebnovёl.ƈom
The monster roared in pain but its momentum carried it forward crashing into a stone wall.
The second panther was smarter. It landed behind Glen melting instantly into the shadows of a fallen pillar. It activated its innate skill.
Shadow Cloak.
The monster completely vanished from sight. Glen could not hear its footsteps. He could not see its outline. It was a perfect stealth ability.
"Mcdonald move" Isla shouted tracking the area with her pistols but unable to get a clear lock on the invisible beast.
Glen closed his eyes. He stopped relying on his vision and focused entirely on the ambient mana in the air. He felt a slight disturbance a cold void moving rapidly toward his blind spot.
He spun around channeling a fraction of Savage Strike into his right sword. He swung the blade in a blind horizontal arc.
The sword connected with solid mass. The Shadow Panther was knocked out of its stealth state crashing into the dirt with a deep gash across its chest. freёwebnovel.com
Glen walked over to the bleeding monster. He looked at the dark blood pooling on the stone floor. His spiritual core pulsed with hunger. He had one empty slot left in his capacity. A perfect stealth skill was exactly what he needed to round out his arsenal.
He knelt down and pressed his bare hand into the monster’s blood.
System Error.
Class Restriction Bypassed.
Hidden Condition Met.
Skill Acquired: Shadow Cloak C Rank.
Status: Permanent.
Core Capacity: 3 of 3 Slots Filled.
A cold shadowy aura washed over Glen’s body. He felt his presence in the world diminish as if he could step into the darkness and simply cease to exist. It was an incredible utility skill.
He stood up wiping the blood from his hand. Isla walked over her pistols still drawn. She looked at the dead monsters and then looked at Glen.
"You killed a B Rank monster with raw physical strikes" Isla said her green eyes narrowing. "And then you touched its blood. Why did you touch its blood?"
Glen smiled his dark cocky smirk. "I am a very tactile learner Sinclair. It helps me mimic their moves."
Isla rolled her eyes. "You are a terrible liar. But as long as you keep pulling your weight I do not care."
She turned to walk deeper into the ruins. "Come on. The boss room should be at the center of the temple complex. We have a lot of ground to cover."
Glen followed her the shadows clinging to his jacket just a little bit tighter than before. He had his speed. He had his strike. He had his stealth. He was ready for anything this dungeon could throw at him.
But as they walked deeper into the ancient city Glen noticed something strange. The ambient mana in the air was shifting. It was not the wild chaotic mana of monsters. It was precise. It was controlled.
It was human.
Glen stopped walking. He placed a hand on Isla’s shoulder pulling her behind a massive stone pillar.
"What are you doing?" Isla hissed.
"We are not alone" Glen whispered his eyes scanning the dark rooftops above them. "Someone followed us inside."
