Chapter 109 The Mysterious Hall Secret Realm, Unexpected Draconic Encounter
This was the third time it had appeared for Alex, a rare occurrence that suggested the spirit had taken a liking to him.
As said before, [Lights] are also a type of divinities, some stronger than ever tier-10 monsters.
"Be careful," but right as he was about to follow [Guiding Light], who directed him toward a specific wall in the chamber, Alphox appeared beside him, "I sense a draconic aura around here."
"Huh?"
"I\'m saying I can feel the presence of a dragon nearby. I don\'t know why, but it\'s strong."
"Thanks," Alex had a bad feeling, if a dragon was here in this early parts of the game, then it meant there must be something important, or dangerous.
Following [Guiding Light] for a few seconds, the blue orb stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary way, then phased through it.
"..." Alex titled his head in confusion.
After a second, the orb appeared in front of Alex, then went back through the wall, repeating the action several times.
"!!!" And Alex realized what it meant by that.
[Have you appreciated Guiding Light\'s help?]
[Yes] [No]
"Yes!" he instantly clicked on yes.
[Guiding Light is pleased!]
The orb shimmered brightly before disappearing entirely, and Alex followed in its footsteps.
"What are you doing?" Alice peeked from his shoulder.
She couldn\'t see [Guiding Light], by the way, since the entity had specifically selected Alex as the player it was helping.
Without wasting time, Alex extended his arm forward, then marched toward the wall.
To Alice\'s shock, his arm passed through it as if the wall wasn\'t there.
"WHAT?!" Alice\'s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Stay close," Alex warned, glancing at her, "but watch out. I\'ve got a bad feeling about this place."
Alice hesitated but followed closely as Alex fully stepped through the illusory wall. Read latest stories on m_v-l\'e|-NovelBin.net
[You have entered the secret area, "Mysterious Temple Hall"]
[Difficulty: Impossible.]
"Huh?"
Alex froze.
The word Impossible flashed ominously in his mind.
This was the highest difficulty an area could have, a clear message to players: You cannot survive this.
I mean, that\'s why it has [Impossible] in the name.
Usually, if an area has the Impossible Difficulty, it would be safer to just go back.
But Alex wasn\'t one to back down.
As he emerged on the other side, his eyes swept over a massive, open hall.
Its size dwarfed even the largest temple chambers he\'d seen so far.
At the far end of the hall, something glimmered faintly in the distance.
"What\'s that?" Alex narrowed his eyes.
"It looks like… a box?" Alice guessed thanks to her archer eyes, stepping up beside him
But other than that, there was nothing else.
No other rooms or anything of the sort: the entire area was this hall.
"Maybe the monster is inside that box," Alex was cautious, mainly speaking to Alice as she emerged.
The hall\'s atmosphere felt alive, charged with an unsettling energy.
Every step forward made the air heavier, as though the very walls were watching them.
The intricate architecture around them stood in stark contrast to the rest of the temple.
The carvings were more luxurious, as if this part of the structure was made to honor something divine.
No monsters. No traps.
Just silence.
The lack of danger unnerved Alex even more.
But as they reached the center of the hall, Alex noticed that it wasn\'t a box, but some sort of coffin, only big enough to store a human-shaped body inside.
It was made out of shimmering blue crystal, and you could see particles of aura dancing around it.
"The boss is probably inside," Alice said confidently.
"Maybe," Alex replied, but something about the coffin didn\'t sit right with him.
Before he could think further, his [Cursed Eyes of the King] flared up.
[WARNING!]
Dozens of red panels burst into view in front of him, and before he could react, a massive shadow appeared above them both, blotting out the faint light in the hall.
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT," Alice stumbled back, her voice echoing through the chamber.
"..." even Alex felt uncomfortable at the sight.
The sound of enormous wings beating filled the air.
It didn\'t take a genius to figure out what this thing was from all the clues, but Alex still looked up regardless, confirming his suspicions:
It was a dragon.
The dragon wasn\'t as large as Alphox, but its presence was suffocating.
Beige scales covered its body, each one shimmering faintly in the dim light.
Its claws were razor-sharp, designed to tear through anything in its path.
Flap! Flap! Flap!
The dragon, having used a [Camouflage] skill to hide itself, finally realized that these humans were trying to get to the coffin, meaning that it needed to act.
"You won\'t pass," the dragon roared with a feminine voice before diving toward them.
"Move!" Alex shouted, grabbing Alice by the arm and leaping backward.
Slam!
The impact shook the hall, the shockwave sending both players flying, but thankfully enough that wasn\'t enough to kill.
Especially because of Alex, who already had a low amount of health from his fight with the [Ancient Sentinel].
"Get out of here, humans, I won\'t repeat," the female dragon roared again, her blue eyes glowing ominously and blue flames almost escaping her mouth as a threat.
"What are you, a dragon, doing here?" Alex asked, confused.
Dragons were supposed to be rare, legendary creatures. Even the weakest among them were at least tier-5 or tier-6.
"None of your business, don\'t act like you know what a dragon should and shouldn\'t do," the dragon took a menacing step forward, its claws scraping against the stone floor.
But Alex remained still, unfazed, his gaze flicking to the coffin behind the dragon.
"Is it about that coffin behind you?" he risked, and the reaction of the dragon to his question, which was another step and a raised eyebrow, confirmed his suspicion.
Whatever was inside that coffin was the real reward.
And the [Impossible] rank came from the fact that, well, not a single player in this game right now could defeat such a dragon.
"My name is Eleonora," the female dragon growled, her wings flared as she charged up a ball of blue flames in her mouth, "Remember that name well as you die."
[Eleonora - Dragon Tribe Member - Level 400]
"Ice Flames!"
Eleonora unleashed a torrent of blue flames, the searing heat freezing the air as it surged toward Alex and Alice.
"Shit," Alex knew this was bad, as the attack was unavoidable, and it would do too much damage to tank it even with the [Stone Fortress].
But just as the flames were about to engulf them, a dark barrier materialized in front of them.
Umbral Shield!
[Umbral Shield: Creates a protective shield of shadows around the user or an ally, absorbing all damage for three seconds and returning 25% of it back to the attacker.]
The flames crashed against the shadowy shield, which absorbed the impact entirely.
The barrier shimmered for three seconds before reflecting a portion of the attack back at Eleonora.
"Huh?"
Fwish! Boom!
-746,372!
The reflected damage wasn\'t enough to seriously injure Eleonora, but it was still significant, showcasing the sheer destructive power of her attack.
"You little-" Eleonora growled, startled that her flames had been deflected.
Of course, she didn\'t, after all, [Umbral Shield] wasn\'t even one of Alex\'s skills.
It was one of Alphox\'s, meaning that the [Primordial Shadow Dragon] was observing the situation from his [Pet Space].
Eleonora snarled, baring her teeth as she prepared another attack, her wings flaring once more, and her presence domination the hallway.