Chapter 84: Overcoming The Last Line Of Defense (+NEW COVER)
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Although I was hurt rather badly, I managed to secure an attack while falling in midair. After loading both of my knives with enough Mana to make them erupt with Flames and Frost, I was able to destroy the huge swordsman statue’s arms. But that wasn’t all.
“Now!”
I quickly fell onto the floor, raised my arms upwards, and then pulled them back. Both knives suddenly moved and flew directly back to the statue once more. This time, its torso blew up, and the statue instantly crumbled into pieces as the two knives flew back to my hand.
It was all thanks to Violet’s threads, which I’ve made sure to save for these occasions. They’re also really good at conducting Mana, so I was easily able to imbue the knives with more Mana to make their elemental attacks emerge once more.
“You won’t get out of here alive!”
“King Solomon does not welcome outsiders!”
However, before I could even celebrate my small victory, the mace-wielding and axe-wielding angel statues flew towards me from behind. I was unwillingly giving them my back.
A huge mace and an axe descended towards my body with enough might to blow an entire building into pieces.
CLASH!
Both attacks hit the floor, and I barely evaded by kicking the air using my Ki, barely rolling over the floor and landing with a rather hurtful thud.
“Perish by my divine flames!”
This time, I ended up giving my back to the magician, as a storm of flames engulfed me in a single second! However, I quickly imbued Mana into my Dragon Tooth Knife and fed it the incoming flames, lowering the damage I took before leaping away right towards the pile of rocks that the swordsman had become, grabbing the golden helmet left behind.
And equipping it right away.
[You have equipped the [Celestial Knight’s Helmet (A Rank)]!]
[The power of the [Celestial Knight’s Helmet (A Rank)] Special Ability [Celestial Protection] has been activated!]
[Damage taken from Angel-type foes is reduced by -50% for 5 Minutes.]
Nice! I knew these items would somehow come in handy.
“BURN!”
More fireballs kept coming towards me as I quickly divided my light aura into several more reflections. The angels were quickly baited by them, and despite how much intelligence they showed compared to the other mobs, they went straight to kill the bait first.
FLASH!
I leaped over the side of a pillar and then propelled myself across the air, stepping on the air a few times with my Ki and the power of the Sylph Tear’s Ring wind magic.
“I’ll take you down next!”
While the magician angel was killing my reflections, Gram overflowed with my Mana and quickly unleashed a slash of pure light as I swung the weapon vertically. The Angel Magician Knight groaned in agony as her torso received a large quantity of damage, leaving a huge, slash-shaped wound that continued cracking her stone body.
“{Heavenly Wind}!”
However, she quickly directed her attention towards me. I had discovered for a while now that when there was more than one target while attacking, the angel statues could simply change target at will, even if the target wasn’t originally giving them their back.
It is a good thing because it gives me the time to slay them, but it is also troublesome because they can quickly direct their attention to me once they find out I am attacking them. A storm of pure winds blew me off the ground, and I ended up being helplessly thrown onto the floor several meters away from her. And right as I fell onto the floor, the spear-wielding Angel Knight reached me, descending from above and attempting to impale me with its huge spear!
CRASH!
The entire temple trembled as the powerful spear only hit a reflection of myself I left behind before evading, as I quickly leaped into the spear-wielding knight’s back and pierced it with Gram at full power!
“{Sunshine Blade}!”
“M-MY LORD…! NOO!”
With an agonizing scream, his entire body gained countless cracks and crumbled apart into pieces, leaving behind a golden bracelet, which I swiftly grabbed and equipped just before a huge mace and an axe landed where I was a split second ago.
[You have equipped the [Seraphin’s Bracelet (A Rank)]!]
[The power of the [Seraphin’s Bracelet (A Rank)] Special Ability [Seraphin’s Wings] has activated!]
[Movement Speed has increased by +50% and you’re able to fly for 5 Minutes.]
Two pairs of small angelic wings emerged behind me, and as I swiftly utilized this newfound power to jump out of the attacks of the two huge mace and axe-wielding knights while evading in midair, several fireballs launched at me from the magician in the back!
Utilizing the light reflections to my advantage, I summoned them while in midair, disorienting all the knights as they tried to catch them as if they were flies, allowing me to finish off the mage as I threw both knives at her! I knew that using Gram at close range was too risky, as she could blow me away with her winds again.
“N-NO…! MY KING!”
BOOM!
With the combination of flames and frost, the magician blew into pieces, crumbling down and leaving behind a small, golden ring, which I quickly grabbed and equipped.
[You have equipped the [Valkyrie’s Ring (A Rank)]!]
[The power of the [Valkyrie’s Ring (A Rank)] Special Ability [Valkyrie’s Strength] has been activated!]
[STR and INT Stats have increased by +20% for 5 Minutes.]
Good.
“YOU DAMN MAGGOT!”
“PERISH!”
The last two knights were the strongest, wielding a huge mace and an axe; their attacks were coordinated, and their might was supreme. However, the reflections were already gone, and I simply glanced back at them without giving them back.
“Ah…”
“Ngh…”
And they stopped moving.
“You almost forgot you can’t move whenever you want to, huh?” I smiled.
I quickly threw the Dragon Tooth Knife and Frost Wolf Fang Knife towards the mace-wielding one. They couldn’t even pierce through his defenses, but that didn’t matter, as the silk wrapped around his body nicely.
At the same time, I imbued Mana Gram and simply launched him at the axe-wielding statue, a second before I gave them both my back.
The result? The already-moving attacks landed on their bodies before they could move at all.
“AARGGH…!”
“ACCURSED TRICKSTER!”
The axe-wielding knight reached me while holding Gram on his chest; the bastard had enough defenses to just do that, all while his mace-wielding friend exploded into pieces as the knives pierced his chest and unleashed flames and frost as an eruption.
BOOM!
The gigantic axe landed on the floor as I flew using my Seraphin Wings towards the last knight’s huge torso and kicked Gram through his chest.
“And here’s the last!”
CRASH!
His enormous body finally crumbled apart, leaving behind a huge, red-colored crystalized heart. All of the knights had bigger, red-colored crystalized hearts.
[You have cleared the Last Room of the Celestial’s Mausoleum!]
[The Gates to the Throne Room can now be opened…]
[Behind them, the last challenge of this Trial Dungeon awaits you.]
“Hahh…” I sighed in relief, sitting over the stairs leading to the throne room.
I really needed to unwind for a bit; that was too intense. Quickly opening my inventory, I dragged out of it a bottle of cold water and drank almost all of it.
Lastly, I took out a sandwich, and while eating it, I slowly stored the stones and crystalized hearts while also grabbing the last two pieces of loot.
[“Well done. Honestly, you surprised me there. I thought you would die. Maybe you’re indeed an alright wielder.”]
[“However, your cunning nature is quite unbefitting of a hero…”]
“I did what I could to win, and that’s what matters... Now, let’s check all these items.”
Each Knight dropped a special, golden-colored equipment piece, which was rather basic in nature but came with a nice buff that could be used twice a day and only cost Mana to activate.
They were the [Celestial Knight’s Helmet (A Rank)], the [Seraphin’s Bracelet (A Rank)], the [Valkyrie’s Ring (A Rank)], the [Cherubin’s Necklace (A Rank)], and lastly, the [Saint’s Chest Armor (A Rank)]. I just equipped them all.
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[Celestial Knight’s Helmet]
{Item Type}: [Armor] [Holy Item] [Helmet]
{Item Quality}: [A Rank]
{Item Requirement}: [Compatible Physique]
{Item Durability}: [3000/3000]
{Item Effects}
[DEF]: [+1000] [HP]: [+500] [VIT]: [+300] [WIS]: [+150] [LUC]: [+50] [CHM]: [+500]
{Item Abilities}
[Celestial Protection]: While imbuing Mana into the Helmet, generates a natural protection against Angelic-type foes, decreasing damage taken by -50% for 5 Minutes. Can be used twice per day.
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[Seraphin’s Bracelet]
{Item Type}: [Accessory] [Holy Item] [Bracelet]
{Item Quality}: [A Rank]
{Item Requirement}: [Light Attribute Affinity]
{Item Durability}: [800/800]
{Item Effects}
[DEX]: [+300] [AGI]: [+300] [LUC]: [+50] [CHM]: [+500]
{Item Abilities}
[Seraphin’s Wings]: While imbuing Mana into the Bracelet, generates a pair of small and beautiful wings that can let the wielder fly, while also increasing Movement Speed by +50% for 5 Minutes. Can be used twice per day.
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[Valkyrie’s Ring]
{Item Type}: [Accessory] [Holy Item] [Ring]
{Item Quality}: [A Rank]
{Item Requirement}: [Compatible Physique]
{Item Durability}: [500/500]
{Item Effects}
[STR]: [+225] [INT]: [+225] [LUC]: [+50] [CHM]: [+500]
{Item Abilities}
[Valkyrie’s Strength]: While imbuing Mana into the Ring, generates a small fragment of the might that Valkyries possess into the wielder’s body, increasing STR and INT by +20% for 5 Minutes. Can be used twice per day.
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[Cherubin’s Necklace]
{Item Type}: [Accessory] [Holy Item] [Necklace]
{Item Quality}: [A Rank]
{Item Requirement}: [Healing Magic Affinity]
{Item Durability}: [700/700]
{Item Effects}
[HP]: [+200] [MP]: [+300] [LUC]: [+50] [CHM]: [+500]
{Item Abilities}
[Cherubin’s Benevolence]: While imbuing Mana into the Necklace, the wielder and their surroundings are covered in a brilliant, benevolent light that increases HP and MP Regeneration Speed by +500% for 5 Minutes. Can be used twice per day.
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[Saint’s Chest Armor]
{Item Type}: [Armor] [Holy Item] [Chest Armor]
{Item Quality}: [A Rank]
{Item Requirement}: [Be Recognized as a Saint]
{Item Durability}: [4000/4000]
{Item Effects}
[DEF]: [+2000] [HP]: [+500] [VIT]: [+300] [WIS]: [+150] [LUC]: [+50] [CHM]: [+500]
{Item Abilities}
[Saintly Defense]: While imbuing Mana into the Armor, all of the wielder’s defenses are strengthened, increasing VIT and WIS Stats by +20% for 5 Minutes. Can be used twice per day.
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[You have equipped all Items within the [Holy Item] Equipment Set!]
[You’ve received the {Set Bonus Effect}: [Celestial Strength]: Increases Damage Dealt against Angelic-type foes by +50%]
“It even comes with such a bonus, huh?” I sighed in relief, finishing off my small snack and drinking the rest of my bottle of water. “Phew… I guess we should get going. We’ve got... twenty minutes, at most.”
[“Solomon seems to be someone strong... Are you ready?”]
“Not completely, but I do have some plans.” I smiled. “And a lot of trump cards.”
I slowly opened the gates leading to the throne room, and what greeted me was a beautiful yet ruinous throne room. Gold and beautiful statues decorated the walls and ceiling.
The floor was beautifully painted, with what appeared to be an angelic king guiding his people to a land more fruitful.
And at the end of the room, there was the throne, completely made of gold, and its king.
A tall man, ten meters big, with three pairs of wings, a solemn expression on his face, and long hair reaching his legs.
He wore a golden crown atop his head, encrusted with shiny and colorful jewels, alongside many rings and bracelets.
His entire robes were made of gold as well, and even his wings were covered with gold too.
The king’s closed eyes opened, glowing red.
And his expressionless face changed, as a creepy smirk appeared from ear to ear.
“Welcome to my throne, tainted one.”
[The Final Boss of the Trial Dungeon: [Petrified Celestial King of Greed: Solomon (S Rank)] greets you!]
S Rank?!
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