Chapter 60 - The First Adventure - The Tower (Part Seven)

The floor rumbled and they moved to the fifth floor. 'Upon clearing, you will have a break of one hour before you go to the next floor', read the hologram. Everyone read it and they looked at each other. "Well, we will get a very good break, so I should be appreciative", thought Lucas as he readied his weapon for the upcoming onslaught.

And in came the Hobgoblin Iron Shadows. A whole dome of darkness was erected, and they were all trapped in it. "Who can use Light Magic to counter this?', asked Lucas as he cut a hobgoblin. There was silence, and a burst of laughter followed. "Finally. This is the kind of terrain I can work with", laughed Michelle as she began her slaughter.

"Dance Of Death: Sixth Form. Soul Piercing Dance", she said as she swung her scythe in a rhythmic way, and she lodged her scythe into the hobgoblin's heart, and with it, it died. While everyone was faced with an endless wave of regenerating Hobgoblins, she was killing them by pulling out their souls.

The hobgoblins that were hit by her blade fell to the floor, and she just went forward to the next one, caring nothing. Her iris had turned red, and she was still her. "Let's just hope that she doesn't lose control", thought everyone. "Dance Of Death: Ninth Form. Soul Lock", she said as she stood still in her place.

The scythe in her hand turned a dark bloody red. Her skin began to show red lines, and they were pulsing just like her scythe. "Don't worry. This is just a technique. I am still in control", she smiled, but in that darkness, it looked sinister. After a few minutes, the pulsing became strong, and a wave hit the hobgoblins.

The hobgoblins were put in a state of stasis, and their movements were frozen. "Now, attack them. I have pushed every monster's soul out and locked it away for a temporary amount of time. After this, I can't use this again quite often. Thus, make this count", she said as she began to slaughter again.

Everyone began to kill, and Tobias was the one who went bonkers. He charged lightning throughout him, and he moved at incredible speeds. The speed was incomprehensible for the naked human eyes, and even with [Mana Vision], all Lucas could see was a string of yellow lines, moving in a blur.

Tobias was killing everything in one single strike, as he overloaded them with lightning, leaving behind an exploding hobgoblin. And one exploding hobgoblin transferred its lightning into another once, creating a chain reaction among them. The one which was hit was charred to ash, while the others that were hit were put in shock.

[Enemy in a state of shock for five seconds]

"Guess this is going to be useful for quite a bit", thought Lucas as he swung his blades, and decapitated one of them. He continued and he heard shots fired nearby. "Guess she has also joined in", he thought. A group of them fell in one swoop. And from among them, jumped out Robert.

"Some of them have begun to regain their consciousness. It's fascinating to see how they could even reconstruct their whole bodies. It's like their zombies straight out of a movie", he said as he cut down another one. Lucas heard him, but he didn't respond as he kept moving through, mowing them down.

After that, they took a breath, and that was their mistake. "Watch out!", came Tobias's voice as they saw a club coming towards them. Emilia stepped forward and stopped it with just one of her hands. "Is this all you've got?', she smirked. She then snatched the club from its hand and began to swing it wildly, hitting it and severing its arm off.

"I'll be fine, just keep going", she said as they began to fight off against a crowd of them. "Maybe this will be a good place to practice that", he thought and activated the skill in his sword.

[Chains Of Hades Lvl 1 has been Activated!]

[Damage of blades increased by fifty percent]

[Icy Flame Burst output increased by 150%]

[Flames of Hell has been activated]

[Strength has been increased by fifteen percent]

A pair of chains wrapped on his forearms, and Lucas began to swing it. "Robert, I suggest you move away from me. I still haven't mastered this yet, and you might get hurt", he said. "No time for that. And I can't find an opening. Make one", he replied in the intensity of the battle.

Lucas then cast the [Icy Flame Burst], and it cleared a path for Robert. He quickly ran down the path he created, and he got out of his way. "Now that I have no one nearby, I can try this out", he thought as he threw his Fire Blade towards a hobgoblin that was rushing towards him. It pierced through, and the sizzling of his flesh was heard.

"ROAAAAAAR!", it let out a cry. But still, Lucas was struggling to pull it out. "Well, let me tug at the chains, or is this connected to my blood, thus connected to my will?", he thought. "You are correct and wrong at the same time. Yes, it is controlled with your willpower, that part is correct. The wrong part is, it isn't connected. It has a mind of its own, thus you will have to make it acknowledge you as its master", said Valentine.

Lucas was stunned, but he didn't lose focus on the battle. "A skill with a mind of its own? But how?", he asked. "This chain isn't something normal. And the blueprint didn't anticipate this one. You have added something that you shouldn't, and thus gave birth to this skill. Maybe it was purest Azure Flame, of maybe it was the work of the Dark Flame, I do not know, but I do know that due to your playing around, this skill was born", explained Valentine.

"So, this is like directly from Hell?", he thought. "Affirmative", said Valentine. Lucas smirked, and he channeled his Aura into his weapon, and he heard a voice when he was channeling it through the chains. "Who goes there, interrupting my peace?", said a deep man's voice. Lucas wanted to withdraw his Aura, but he knew that he needed to do this.

"I am Lucas Heart, and I require your help. Would lend me your strength?", he thought. "My strength? You are not worthy to wield my strength. Prove to me that you are worthy", he said and a quest popped up.

[Side Quest Initiated]

[A fragment of Hades's soul wants to test you. Pass its test and prove that you are worthy to wield one of its weapons]

[Kill 100 Monsters using this skill [Chains Of Hades]

Monsters killed 0/100]

"So if I pass this test, I am worthy enough to wield you?', he thought. "No, but I would help you out when you need me. The real test will happen later", said the fragment of Hades. Lucas didn't want to argue, but something was bugging him. "Isn't Hades like a God? Why is there a fragment of his soul in here?', he thought, and the answer came.

"I am a God. I am the Ruler Of The Underworld, you insolent mortal!. I can put you into the depths of Tartarus and let you rot there for all eternity! This weapon was made using a piece of my soul, and you have somehow acquired an inferior version of it. Mock me one more time, and you will know the consequences", said Hades.

"Well, lesson learned. Never, mess with a God", he thought as he sliced a hobgoblin. "Time to have some fun, and these chains are now listening to me, but not completely. It's like they want to resist a little, but they still listen in the end. Alright, time for a killing spree", he thought as he began to kill them, one by one.

He threw and stabbed and spun and cut and slashed, and it was like a dance of an intertwining wave of Ice and Fire. Every monster he cut never got up, as it was a passive of the [Chains Of Hades] skill. And since a fragment of Hades was remaining in his skill, it was a little bit like Michelle's skill, but only inferior.

After his slaughter, he was panting. He looked at his count, and it was at sixty-four. The dark dome which was covering them fell, and it signaled the end of the First Wave. "Let's just hope that the second wave isn't as intense as the first wave", he thought. And there was the matter of the side quest and taming of the [Chains Of Hades] too.

The countdown was down, and a buzz signaled the beginning of the Second Wave, as monsters began to pour down from all sides.. "We have to deal with this?', he thought as he looked around.