Ellus' body tensed.
His instincts told him—
This massive fella won't let me leave.
He turned back slowly. His eyes were cold now. Calm. Almost numb.
"…Fine."
He muttered.
His figure blurred. The world dimmed.
Swoosh!
He turned into a translucent ghostly form, leaving a streak of gray vapor as he vanished from sight and reappeared—
BOOM!!
—directly below the massive goblin's belly. His arms twisted, his hands already transformed.
Dragon Claws.
Two great, darkened hands, scaled and gleaming with black qi, stabbed upward.
BANG!
The goblin's entire body launched into the air like a cannonball, its eyes popping wide from the unexpected uppercut.
"You're the dungeon boss, right?" Elius asked quietly. "Then I'll just have to deal with you first."
He stepped forward—but before he could follow through, a bright green light suddenly washed over the goblin's falling body.
SHHHHHHHIIIIINGGG!
The wounds began to close.
Its bones twisted back into place.
Its cracked tusks grew anew.
From the backline, a hunched goblin—cloaked in ragged shaman robes—held a crooked staff high. Glowing glyphs danced at its tip, pulsing with ancient forest runes.
A Healer.
Elius's pupils narrowed.
"…So you're the real problem."
He vanished again.
The air shimmered where he once stood, and a streak of pale-gray mist zipped across the battlefield—
WHOOSH!
The shaman goblin turned its head—
Too slow.
Too late.
SHLIIIICK!
Elius's dragon claws emerged from its stomach—then dragged upward, carving through ribs, spine, and skull.
SPLURT!
Guts and brain matter exploded behind the shaman in a mist of green and red as its body ripped into pieces, torn into more than a dozen chunks mid-air before they even hit the ground.
Silence.
Then—
T-T-T-TUMP!
The shaman's staff hit the ground and rolled, still glowing faintly, before flickering out.
The surrounding goblins screamed.
The massive goblin—still recovering—froze in place.
Elius didn't stop.
He stepped toward the boss again. His eyes were devoid of emotion. Just cold calculation.
He dashed forward—BANG!—striking the boss across the jaw.
BANG!
A claw across its chest, tearing deep furrows of flesh.
BANG!
A knee to the ribs, cracking them.
BANG!
A rising claw uppercut, launching it into a boulder.
Then—
CRASH!
The boulder shattered as the goblin crashed through it and collapsed to the dirt in a heap of blood and ruin.
Elius stood over its body, his breathing slowing. His arms trembled as the dragon claw form melted away, his skin returning to its original state.
The goblin twitched once, then went still.
Ding!
[ Yes, you have killed the Dungeon Bosses. ]
[ The player can leave at any time, or the dungeon goblins will keep respawning. ]
He turned to leave, but something caught his eye.
Two runes.
Glowing above the corpses of the massive goblin and the shaman.
"…Hmm?"
Elius walked closer, his eyes narrowing as he reached out.
The first rune glowed crimson—a thick, violent aura swirling around it. When he approached, a system screen appeared before his eyes.
—
[New Technique Acquired: Bloodbath Flesh Scripture]
Type: Body Cultivation
Grade: Crimson Heaven Tier
Effect: By bathing in the fresh blood of powerful slain monsters, circulate internal qi to absorb vitality essence. Muscles will harden. Skin will temper. Bones will thicken. Blood will grow heavier, forming "Blood Essence Cores" in the marrow. Increases resistance to blunt, piercing, and elemental attacks.
Warning: Absorbing too much corrupted blood may distort the mind. Control and willpower are essential.
Compatibility: Moderate with Dragon Claw arts.
Dungeon's Note: "Why burn like a star, when you can endure like the earth?"
—
Elius's breath was caught on his throat.
"This… this is exactly what I needed."
His fingers trembled slightly.
A way to strengthen his flesh. A method that didn't rely on Solarion bloodline, didn't mimic his father's powers directly, but could make his body durable, powerful, sturdy like Solarion descendants.
"Even my father… if he sees the results… he might think it's his legacy in me. He won't question it."
He grinned. A genuine, rare smile of satisfaction.
"I'll keep flying under your radar, old man."
Then, he turned to the second rune above the shaman's corpse.
It shimmered with a deep violet hue—flickering like storm clouds clashing in the void.
Elius reached toward it.
Another system screen flickered open before him.
—
[New Martial Skill Detected: Heavenly Earthquake Invincible Slam]
Type: Martial Art / Body Cultivation
Grade: Primordial Tyrant Tier
Realm Compatibility: Body Condensation
Description: A divine martial art technique once used by an immortal warrior of the Earth Tyrant Sect. By manipulating the opponent's center of gravity through soul-guided instincts and internal qi threads, the user can execute a world-shaking slam using no weapons—only raw grip, muscle, and movement. Inspired by ancient grappling arts from the mortal world, it combines rotational force, immortal tendon-twisting, and explosive spiritual discharge at the moment of impact.
Effect: Allows the user to grab any enemy of equal or lower stage within the Qi or Body Condensation Realm and perform a godlike slam that shatters terrain and disrupts meridian flow of the victim.
Weapons disrupt the technique.
Natural extensions (e.g., claws, tails, wings) can still be defeated.
Invincible against bare-handed opponents within the same tier.
Warning: The lower your Body Cultivation stage is, the more strain is inflicted upon your internal organs, muscle fibers, and skeletal marrow.
Additional Notes: Said to be capable of creating local earthquakes upon mastery.
Author's Note: "In this grip, your world shall collapse."
—
Elius stood in stunned silence.
"…No way."
His lips parted slightly.
"The world… is really giving me this?"
He blinked, eyes scanning the system text again and again.
"This technique… I can beat any Qi Condensation or Body Condensation cultivator? Even if they're peak stage?"
His mind reeled.
His heart slammed against his ribs in disbelief.
In the game, the Qi Condensation Realm and Body Condensation Realm were considered equivalent foundational stages.
Each had twelve sub-stages, starting from Initial to Peak.
One focused on refining spiritual energy.
The other focused on tempering the mortal flesh.
He knew for a fact—he was currently in the seventh stage of Qi Condensation.
"…But I've never even sensed my Body Condensation stage," he whispered.
As if the system had been waiting—
DING!
—
[Status Update: Body Cultivation Level – Stage 3 (Initial Tier)]
—-
Elius froze.
His brow twitched.
His eyes twitched.
"…Stage three?"
He looked at his own hands. His palms. His wrists. His elbows.
His bones trembled slightly. His muscles were lean—but not unbreakable. There were still fractures that could be made. There was still pain that could be felt.
"…My body is weak as hell?"
His voice was nearly venomous.
He wanted to slam his forehead into a boulder and scream.
But then, he closed his eyes.
He exhaled.
"…No. Not anymore."
He raised his hand again and looked at the crimson rune where he had obtained the Bloodbath Flesh Scripture.
He now had a path.
A real one.
He had a Body Cultivation technique. He had a method to harden his flesh. And he had a martial art that could bring death to barehanded enemies.
As long as he bathed in the blood of monsters.
"As long as I have a method, I won't be lost anymore."
He turned and looked toward the red horizon—the direction his companions had run.
"…But first, I have to make sure they're safe."