Chapter 89: Rock Colossus

Having inherited the rich legacy of the alchemy laboratory, Aiden Cross and his two companions had undergone a qualitative leap in both strength and foundation.

It was time to leave this underground treasure and return to the surface world, a place filled with danger, uncertainty, and countless opportunities.

Retracing the path they had taken, the three soon stepped through the hidden passage and emerged into the cold, damp air of the dark cave.

For a moment, none of them spoke.

After spending only a little over a day inside the secret treasure, it felt as though an entire lifetime had passed.

Their gains were simply too great.

The resources and treasures they had obtained far surpassed everything they had accumulated during all their previous efforts combined.

"Where to next, Sir Aiden?"

Silas stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders. The rare tower shield strapped to his back gleamed faintly beneath the dim cave light.

Having experienced a tremendous increase in strength, the burly warrior was practically overflowing with energy.

Aiden was just about to answer when—

Rumble!

The ground suddenly shook violently.

The entire cave trembled as though some enormous beast had awakened beneath their feet. Fine limestone dust rained down from the stalactites overhead, while loose pebbles bounced across the ground.

Then came a heavy, primitive pressure.

It surged from the depths of the cave like an invisible tide, carrying with it an intense aura of earth elements.

Silas’s expression instantly became serious.

"Something’s coming."

He tightened his grip on his weapon and planted his tower shield firmly in front of him.

"It’s strong."

Aiden’s eyes narrowed.

Without hesitation, he pulled Luna farther behind him before lowering his stance.

His hand tightened around the Devouring Soul Blade, held in a reverse grip.

At the same time, he activated [Slightly Sharp], causing the blade’s already formidable edge to become even more terrifying.

The dark-gold weapon was barely noticeable in the dim cave, yet it seemed to possess an innate ferocity that made the surrounding air feel slightly heavier.

Rumble... Rumble...

The tremors grew stronger.

Then came the sound of footsteps.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Each step was as heavy as thunder, reverberating through the narrow passage.

The three stared toward the approaching sound.

Finally, at the far end of the passage, the stalagmites blocking the path were pushed aside.

A massive figure slowly emerged.

It was a giant constructed from countless grey-brown rocks.

Standing more than five meters tall, its enormous body nearly brushed against the cave ceiling. Thick stone arms hung down to its knees, while every step it took left a deep footprint in the ground.

Its head was completely devoid of facial features.

Instead, embedded in the center of its forehead was an irregular crystal roughly the size of a human head.

The crystal flickered with an earthy-yellow light.

A dense elemental fluctuation radiated from it, causing the surrounding air to tremble faintly.

Aiden’s gaze immediately locked onto the crystal.

At that moment, a familiar system notification appeared before his eyes.

[Rock Colossus (Elite Boss)]

[Level: 15]

[Characteristics: Thick Stone Skin (Extremely High Physical Defense), Earth Tremor (Area Control), Rock Throw (Ranged Attack), Elemental Core (Weakness)]

A Level 15 Elite Boss!

Aiden’s expression became solemn.

The difference in levels alone created an immense sense of pressure.

For ordinary players at their current stage, this monster was practically a disaster.

A normal team of players would have almost no chance of defeating it head-on.

Even several well-coordinated Level 10 teams might need to work together, sacrificing numerous members, just to slowly grind the monster to death.

And yet... Aiden’s grip on the Devouring Soul Blade tightened.

His eyes remained fixed on the glowing crystal embedded in the Rock Colossus’s forehead.

An Elite Boss.

A level advantage of five levels.

Extremely high physical defense.

Area control.

Ranged attacks.

And a clearly identified weakness.

For most players, this was an insurmountable obstacle.

For Aiden Cross, however...

It was also an opportunity.

...

"Level 15, Sir Aiden!" Luna’s beautiful face paled. Almost instinctively, her fingers tightened around the corner of Aiden’s clothes.

Even Silas felt his throat go dry. However, the hand gripping his tower shield did not tremble in the slightest.

His expression hardened as he stepped forward. "I’ll hold it off! You two find an opportunity!"

"Don’t panic." Aiden’s voice remained remarkably calm.

His gaze was fixed on the flickering elemental core embedded in the Rock Colossus’s forehead "Its weakness is that core."

The instant his words fell, the Rock Colossus suddenly threw its head back. Although it had no mouth, a silent roar seemed to erupt from its body.

Its enormous stone arm rose high into the air before crashing violently into the ground.

[Earth Tremor]!

BOOM!

The entire cave shook.

With the Rock Colossus at the center, an earthy-yellow shockwave exploded outward in a perfect ring. The ground itself seemed to ripple like waves, and the violent vibrations made it nearly impossible to maintain one’s balance.

"Hold steady!" Silas roared. He slammed his tower shield into the ground and braced his entire body behind it.

At the same time, the earthy-yellow glow of Unyielding Battle Body erupted around him.

The shockwave crashed into him. His boots slid backward several inches, but Silas remained firmly in place, shielding Luna from the brunt of the impact.

Aiden, however, had already moved. Relying on his exceptionally high Agility, he leaped the instant the shockwave reached him.

His body rose lightly into the air, avoiding the worst of the impact like a willow leaf carried by the wind.

The Rock Colossus had barely recovered from its attack when it bent down.

Its massive hand reached toward the ground and seized a boulder nearly as large as a human.

Then—

Whoosh!

The enormous rock was hurled toward the three with terrifying force.

[Rock Throw]!

The boulder tore through the air with a thunderous whistle.

"Leave it to me!" Silas stepped forward once again.

He raised his tower shield and met the incoming boulder head-on.

BOOM!

The collision produced a deafening explosion.

Silas’s arms shook violently, and a muffled groan escaped his throat as the tremendous impact forced him half a step backward.

Sparks flew across the surface of his shield. Yet he ultimately held his ground.

The boulder fell heavily to the side.

Even [Unyielding Bulwark] had not been triggered.

"Now!"

A brilliant gleam flashed through Aiden’s eyes. The instant Silas blocked the attack, the Rock Colossus experienced an extremely brief moment of stiffness.

That was all Aiden needed. He exploded forward. His feet struck the ground with tremendous force, and his body shot toward the Rock Colossus like an arrow released from a bow.

Rather than attacking its legs, Aiden used the massive stone arm closest to him as a foothold.

He sprinted directly up its body. His target was the elemental core.

’Root Entanglement!’

Dark-green roots erupted from beneath the Rock Colossus’s feet, twisting rapidly around its ankles.

The roots were nowhere near strong enough to completely restrain a Level 15 Elite Boss.

But they didn’t need to be. The brief restriction caused the Colossus’s movements to stutter once again.

Aiden’s eyes sharpened. The Rock Colossus seemed to sense the danger. Its enormous free arm suddenly swept sideways.

The massive stone limb cut through the air with enough force to shatter anything in its path.

Aiden was still clinging to the Colossus’s body. The attack was coming directly for him.

Yet he didn’t retreat. He didn’t even look at the approaching arm. His eyes remained locked on the flickering earthy-yellow crystal above him.

’The elemental core!’ Aiden poured every ounce of strength into his right arm.

The dark-gold blade in his hand began to hum faintly. It wasn’t fear. It was excitement.

The closer he got to the core, the stronger that strange sensation became.

Greed.

As though the blade itself was hungry. The stone arm was almost upon him.

Aiden suddenly kicked off the Colossus’s body.

His figure shot upward. For a brief moment, his entire body stretched to its absolute limit in midair.

Then his right arm thrust forward. The short blade transformed into a streak of dark gold.

PUCHI!

The Devouring Soul Blade pierced directly into the elemental core.

The sensation was completely different from stabbing ordinary stone.

Instead of the hard resistance he expected, the blade seemed to sink into something closer to dense energy.

A strange, fluid-like sensation traveled through the weapon.

Then the damage numbers appeared.

[-15]

[-108]

[Elemental Annihilation! Weakness Critical Hit!]

Aiden’s pupils contracted. That seemingly indestructible elemental core was astonishingly fragile beneath the tip of the Devouring Soul Blade.

"Roar—!!!"

The Rock Colossus finally produced a sound. It was a deafening roar filled with agony.

The light within the elemental core flickered violently. Its massive body swayed.

Even the stone arm that had been sweeping toward Aiden suddenly lost its strength and dropped limply to its side.

Aiden’s eyes narrowed. ’So that’s it. The Devouring Soul Blade had a special effect against elemental cores!’

And there was something else. He could feel it. The blade wasn’t merely damaging the core. It was absorbing something from it.

Aiden landed on the ground. He didn’t hesitate for even a moment. He immediately rushed forward again.

Energy began gathering around the blade. ’Slightly Sharp!’

The Rock Colossus had fallen into chaos. It swung both enormous arms wildly, desperately attempting to crush the tiny human who had damaged its core.

But Aiden’s Agility was simply too high. His figure darted between the Colossus’s attacks, weaving through the gaps in its movements with astonishing precision.

Every dodge brought him closer. Every opening became another attack.

SLASH!

[-12]

Slash!

[-20]

[Armor Penetration!]

Another slash!

[-115]

[Elemental Annihilation!]

Each strike inflicted damage far beyond what the blade should have been capable of dealing against a monster with such terrifying physical defense.

The dark-gold blade seemed to possess an innate restraint against elemental energy.

No.

Aiden could feel it now. It wasn’t merely restraint. It was greed.

Every time the Devouring Soul Blade struck the elemental core, pure earth elemental energy leaked from the damaged crystal.

And the blade absorbed it. Only a tiny amount each time, but it was unmistakable. The weapon was feeding.

Aiden’s eyes gleamed. ’Interesting.’

He continued attacking.

One strike.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven!

"Crack!"

A clear shattering sound suddenly echoed through the cave.

The elemental core completely dimmed.

Then—

Crack!

Countless fractures spread across its surface. The crystal shattered. The enormous body of the Rock Colossus froze in place.

For a moment, the giant remained standing.

Then its massive frame collapsed.

BOOM!

Its body crashed into the ground and broke apart, transforming into a mountain of ordinary grey-brown rubble.

The oppressive elemental aura that had filled the cave vanished almost instantly and silence returned.

Then a series of system notifications appeared before Aiden’s eyes.

[Successfully killed Level 15 Elite Boss "Rock Colossus" above your level!]

[Gained 5,000 EXP!]

[Triggered "Greed" effect!]

[Additionally obtained: [Colossus Core Fragment] ×1!]

[Soul Essence absorbed!]

[Constitution +4 obtained from target: Rock Colossus!]

[Soul Essence absorbed!]

[Skill Mastery obtained: [Root Entanglement] +150!]

The massive influx of experience caused the three players’ experience bars to surge forward visibly.

But Aiden’s attention was quickly drawn to something else.

Among the remains of the Rock Colossus lay a small fragment of crystal.

It was only about the size of a fist, yet it continued to emit faint earthy-yellow light.

Aiden bent down and picked it up.

The moment his fingers touched it, a dense and pure earth-elemental fluctuation spread through his palm.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

This was clearly no ordinary material. Even after the Rock Colossus had been reduced to a pile of rubble, a fragment of its elemental core had survived.

And judging from the purity of the elemental energy contained within it, the [Colossus Core Fragment] was undoubtedly a high-level material.

Aiden stood before the pile of rubble, slowly calming his slightly ragged breathing.

His gaze dropped to the short blade in his hand.

The dark-gold surface of the Devouring Soul Blade seemed to retain a faint trace of earthy-yellow light. It lingered for only a moment before gradually fading into the blade.

Yet the strange sensation Aiden had felt earlier was still there.

That subtle pulse of satisfaction intertwined with hunger.

And now, it seemed even stronger. Aiden’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Di... did we actually win?" Silas’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

The burly warrior was still staring at the pile of rubble as though he couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.

His gaze shifted from the remains of the Rock Colossus to Aiden, who was standing calmly with only a hint of exhaustion showing on his face.

Then Silas let out a muffled laugh. "Sir Aiden, this new weapon of yours is too powerful!"

He glanced at the rubble again.

"That giant’s stone body was tougher than steel, but in front of your blade, it was practically paper!"

Luna hurried over as well, her purple eyes sparkling with admiration. "Sir Aiden is amazing!"

Aiden smiled faintly. He casually spun the Devouring Soul Blade around his hand before catching it perfectly.

The weapon moved with incredible smoothness. It felt almost as if the blade had become an extension of his own arm.

During the battle, he had experienced its terrifying effect firsthand.

The Rock Colossus’s physical defense had been almost meaningless against its elemental core.

The weapon had not only allowed him to inflict devastating damage on a monster five levels above him, but it had also displayed a special ability he hadn’t known about before.

Elemental annihilation.

And perhaps more importantly... Greed.

The faint hunger still emanating from the blade seemed to confirm that the Devouring Soul Blade had absorbed at least some of the pure elemental energy from the Rock Colossus’s core.

Aiden’s satisfaction deepened. This was the first true combat test of his artifact. And the result had exceeded his expectations.

It had powerful offensive capabilities, exceptional handling, and a terrifying special effect against elemental cores.

Even enemies far above his level could be killed as long as he found the right opportunity.

The Devouring Soul Blade had proven itself. This weapon would become one of his greatest weapons in the battles to come.

Perhaps, one day, its name would become synonymous with fear.

Aiden looked toward the dark passage leading back to the surface.

"Let’s go."

He slid the blade into the crude leather sheath he had temporarily crafted for it.

His gaze sharpened.

"It’s time to make the name Reaper ring throughout Ashford City once again."

Silas grinned and Luna’s purple eyes also lit up.

Without another word, the three turned toward the cave’s exit.

Carrying the momentum of their victory and the treasures they had obtained from the underground ruins, they began their journey back to the surface.

None of them knew that their return would mark the beginning of a new Chapter.