Galaxy's First Ruler

Aldrich knew clearly that he had caught the Boss off guard by attacking its pressure points.

He saw it falling, after getting glued to the cliff's surface by his punch. Aldrich had also landed on the ground and took out a cigarette from his Inventory. He lit it up using the lighter he had asked from the officer before entering the Dungeon. Without taking off his mask, he took several puffs through the mouth opening. With each puff, he felt much livelier. Unfortunately, Buckey's Cigarettes couldn't heal the Stamina.

Finishing his second Cigarette, Aldrich saw a red hue taking over the world. It was like a certain type of sunset, but with twisted beauty. Aldrich saw the vision of thousands of swords clanking with each other. He saw the hundreds of women wailing while running around on the bloody battlefield. He saw one hero after another getting impaled with arrows and bolts. The blood-red color had overtaken the color of earth, the color of the sky, and even the color of the wind.

FIELD OF SLAUGHTER

Two rotten hands came out of the earth and grabbed Aldrich's legs. Three warriors with their swords came running towards him. Four arrows and five spikes came flying over them, targeting him. And six riders with enormous lances surrounded him from all directions. But none of these things could touch Aldrich; they vanished in an ethereal red smoke. If Aldrich didn't have a high enough Perception, he would have already fallen into the illusions of Field of Slaughter.

Aldrich saw the same blood-red smoke coming out of the Boss's body, but in an even greater amount. Cu Chulainn was an outstanding legend. And many things had contributed to this legend, like the sword Stone Splitter. But Cu Chulainn was not feared for his sword skills. One of the two things about this heroic legend that had shivered the heart of friends and enemies alike was the state of Battle Frenzy. In this state, the honest and just hero had used to let himself be overtaken by the uncontrolled bloodlust. But in the myths, its another name had notoriously become a nightmare for people. A name worthy of belonging to this Demigod.

RIASTRAD

Aldrich saw the markings on the Boss's body glowing red. Its emerald eyes had lost the gem-like appearance and had turned completely red. Its hairs gained a maroon shade and its entire body reeked with the smell of blood. But this transformation wasn't the end. The second thing which had made this Demigod rule the lands and skies was a weapon. A weapon feared by the gods. A weapon so destructive that once put to use, couldn't be held back even by Cu Chulainn.

"Come! GAE BULG."

Aldrich heard a maddening voice out of the Boss and he felt rhythmic quakes in the earth. Aldrich guessed their origin and eyed the pillar, whose purpose wasn't clear to him until now. Not even his Divine Sense had found out if there was something wrong with it. He got to know why the surroundings were scorching hot. He got to know why the air was bone-dry and why the earth was barren of any greenery.

CRACKKK!!!

Thousands of cracks surfaced on the pillar and from the crevices came out a searing heat, flooding the Boss's chamber.

BOOM!!!

Thousands of thorny spikes blasted the whole pillar from within. And when the dust settled, Aldrich saw a 9 ft and 9-inch long blood-red spear hovering in the pillar's place. Waves upon waves of boiling air were getting blasted out of it. The Boss raised its hand and the spear, hearing the call, vanished. When Aldrich saw it again, the spear was already in the hands of crazed Cu Chulainn. The speed of this spear had already surpassed Aldrich's maximum Agility without using Target Lock. As Aldrich saw the humming sound coming out of the spear, a notification popped up in front of him.

[…

Generating Hidden Quest…

Hidden Quest: Survive the Boss Crawler for 3 minutes

…]

Aldrich remembered the 15 minutes that the System had given him in the previous Dungeon. He thought even RECORD doesn't believe that he can last more than a few minutes against the Boss now. Aldrich checked the Stats of the spear and its wielder. The Boss had already gained an increase of 25% in all of his Attributes because of the Skill Riastrad. And now, combined with the mythical weapon, he couldn't help but agree with the RECORD. But contrary to the System, he believed that three minutes would be enough to bring down this monster.

Cu Chulainn spun the spear and dashed in Aldrich's direction. Even before the Boss neared its prey, Aldrich's face got blasted with scorching heat coming out from its body. The Crawler thrust the spear point towards Aldrich, who with a slight left turn of his body dodged it. Aldrich's fingers left afterimages trying to hit the Boss's pressure points again in counterattack. Cu Chulainn's eyes were full of savagery and couldn't seem to distinguish anything in its path. But not even a single finger landed on its target. Aldrich's eyes narrowed as the Boss evaded every attack by the margin of a hair.

Aldrich was about to land a heavy blow when hundreds of red thorns came out of the spear towards him. The spear Gae Bulg, like its master, was infamous for its savagery and for leaving behind unrecognizable corpses. Aldrich couldn't help but create some distance between him and the spear. As he appeared a few hundred meters away from the Boss, hundreds of different weapons and dead soldiers came running at him from all over. But Aldrich didn't dare to use his Divine Sense this time to come out of the illusion. The arrows, spikes, and lances penetrated his body, and the soldiers mercilessly slashed at him with the swords. Aldrich clenched his teeth and bore with the pain. It wasn't as bad as the pain he had felt in the presence of the Will.

Just as the illusion vanished by itself, Cu Chulainn had already covered the distance. It again thrust the spear at Aldrich's forehead, but Aldrich jumped in the air. Aldrich's eyes became wide in shock when he saw the spear changing its trajectory and following him. The spear's flat side struck him in the chest and the sound of metal crashing into a stone echoed in the surrounding area. Hundreds of small thorns tried to penetrate Aldrich's body, but failed. The only things they left behind were third-degree burns on his body. Aldrich's body involuntarily used the Divine Sense to inspect the injury when he felt his brain getting pierced by thousands of needles.

PERCEPTION NEMESIS

Aldrich had chosen the lesser of the two evils when he got slashed by the illusions. He tried to move back, but a hacking attack from the spear cut off his path. It had left the Boss and was charging at him on its own. Aldrich tried to dodge, but somehow couldn't. Every slash seemed to follow him, leaving bloody trails and burned skin on his body. As he was trying to find a brief window to come out of the flurry of attacks, he saw the Crawler walking towards him. Red smoke was brimming out from the corner of its mouth. And even with the bearing of a savage animal, Aldrich saw a minute emerald glow deep in its eyes.

"Where does a man's ultimate flaw lie? I have spent my whole life thinking about this. And when there is none left for me to kill, I have realized the answer. A realization brought to me by boredom and solitude."

Aldrich heard the voice like a growl of a beast. And he again reminded himself of the terror of the Passive Skills.

"A person's ultimate flaw neither lies in his body nor in his actions. It lies in his past and his future."

Aldrich got to know why the spear seemed to appear wherever he was dodging it. Cu Chulainn wasn't just detecting flaws, it was also analyzing the pattern of Aldrich's movements and his possible future reactions. Aldrich saw the Boss's murderous gaze and knew if he did nothing soon, he wouldn't be able to survive. But even if Aldrich couldn't see the future, he was a master of strategies and tactics. He had prepared a failsafe just for this kind of unforeseen situation.

A black shadow came out of the pile of rocks tens of meters away. The shadow squirmed and took a shape. A shape of a heavy sword, Stone Splitter. But unlike its predecessor, it was entirely black, with shadowy vapor coming out of it. The Boss seemed to sense something and looked back. But it was too late. The sword lifted itself and, with an inconceivable power, slammed itself on the ground.

MEGATON CRUSHER

Using the cover of the blasted clouds of dust and rocks, Aldrich used his Divine Sense to find the Boss. Bearing with the piercing pain of needles in his mind, he appeared directly in front of it. But Cu Chulainn was already waiting for him. The Boss thrust the spear towards Aldrich's chest and he couldn't dodge it. A thorn came out of the spear and penetrated Aldrich's right lung.

"Got you!"

The bloodthirsty Crawler spat out the words in the sheer joy of its victory. But Aldrich was as calm as ever. He raised his left arm and put it on the Boss's chest.

"No. Got YOU!… BANISH."