chapter 5
747 Words
The red glow pulsing from the fallen Ruin Sentinel wasn't just light—it was raw, unstable energy. The floor of the chamber began to c***k, and shadows started bleeding out from the boss’s armor, swirling into a miniature cyclone.
"Get back!" Ares yelled, shoving Elina behind a pillar just as a shockwave of dark energy erupted from the Sentinel.
The force threw Garak across the room, his shield skidding across the stone floor with a screech. The Sentinel rose, its armor now fused with dark, smoky tendrils. It wasn't just a machine anymore; it had become an 'Abyssal Construct.'
[System Warning: Boss 'Ruin Sentinel' has entered Phase 2: Abyssal Fusion.]
[Target Level Increased: 10]
"Ten!" Elina gasped, her voice thick with panic. "We can't win this! Ares, we have to run!"
Ares watched the Sentinel raise its sword. The blade was now dripping with black, viscous shadows. He looked at his own mana bar. It was flickering amber—dangerously low. If he kept fighting, he risked complete exhaustion, and in this world, that meant death. But running would just lead to a slow demise in the maze of these ruins.
Power, Ares thought, his mind racing. I need more power.
He didn't look at his sword. He looked at the shadows surrounding the Sentinel. If he was a 'Soul Summoner,' why was he only summoning beasts? Why not summon the essence of the armor itself?
"Garak! Keep it distracted! Don't let it reach me!" Ares shouted, rushing toward the center of the chamber.
Garak gritted his teeth, hoisted his shield, and charged into the fray. "You better have a plan, kid, or we're all dead!"
The Sentinel swung its blade, shattering the pillars Garak used for cover. The tank was taking heavy hits, his health bar dropping into the yellow zone. Ares stood in the middle of the c*****e, closing his eyes, shutting out the sound of clashing steel. He reached out with his senses, feeling for the 'frequency' of the Sentinel’s armor.
It’s not just metal, he realized. It’s bound by a grudge. A lingering soul.
"I claim this echo!" Ares screamed, slamming his hands onto the cold, dusty floor.
Blue energy surged from him, not as a tether, but as a vacuum. The room went silent. The Sentinel froze mid-swing, its glowing red eyes flickering. Ares was tearing the soul out of the armor—a direct attack on the construct’s source of power.
The process was agonizing. Ares felt like his own soul was being shredded. The system wailed in his ears:
[Critical Warning: Soul Extraction attempted on a high-level entity.]
[Mana consumption: 100%. Draining HP to compensate!]
Ares's skin grew pale, and his HP bar began to drain, red numbers flashing before his eyes. He wouldn't stop. He couldn't.
"Break!" Ares roared.
With a final, shattering sound like glass exploding, the red light in the Sentinel’s eyes vanished. The armor collapsed into a pile of lifeless, rusted scrap metal. A dense, swirling orb of dark, chaotic essence hovered where the Sentinel’s chest had been.
Ares collapsed, his vision fading to black. He was at 1% HP.
"Ares!" Elina’s voice sounded distant.
He reached out a trembling hand, grabbing the orb just before it dissipated.
[Quest Complete: Defeat the Ruin Sentinel.]
[Reward: Abyssal Shard (Rare Material), 500 Gold.]
[New Soul Acquired: Ruin Sentinel (Elite).]
[Level Up! You are now Level 6.]
As the familiar blue light of the level-up washed over him, a surge of vitality flooded his veins, pulling him back from the edge of unconsciousness. He sat up, gasping for air. Garak and Elina stood over him, looking at him as if he were a monster rather than a savior.
"What... what just happened?" Garak whispered, looking at the empty pile of armor.
Ares stood up, his legs steadying. He could feel the Sentinel's power coursing through his own soul now—a cold, heavy weight that made him feel invincible.
"I told you," Ares said, his eyes glowing with a faint, chilling blue light. "I’m going to write the rules of this game."
He turned toward the inner sanctum of the ruins. The boss was dead, but the quest wasn't over. A new notification blinked in his vision:
[Hidden Area Unlocked: The Architect’s Laboratory.]
The real journey had just begun.
- Writer
