Deep into the Ruins

"Phew..."

Looking at the Spirit Dust scattered across the ground before him, Rhode wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling a little exhausted. Along the way, the three of them had encountered quite a few Wraiths—fifteen or sixteen in all. That wouldn't have been much of a problem for a fully staffed five-person party, but Rhode only had one fighter under his command. Naturally, he couldn't handle things like an ordinary dungeon run, with a tank taking the hits while everyone else went all out. Instead, he had to lure the enemies over one at a time, carefully, then have Lize weaken their defenses with positive energy before killing them as quickly as possible. Wraiths were at least level-ten elites, so even weakened, the undead were still hard to deal with. To inflict as much damage as possible, Rhode had to rely not only on the bonuses from Star Trace, but also make sure every strike hit a vital spot.

But humans weren't machines. Even in a game, attacks that demanded such precision took a lot out of you. And Rhode was using his own body now. In a game, he could always try again after failing. Here, failure might very well mean death.

The pressure was almost more than Rhode could bear. He raised his head and gazed at the ruins shrouded in mist. Only after confirming that no more monsters were nearby did he finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Rhode, would you like to rest for a while?"

The girl following close behind looked at Rhode with concern. As a Spirit Master, she didn't really understand the purpose behind each of his actions, but she could still sense how much pressure he was under.

"No... not now..."

Rhode shook his head. Although he had cleared out the minor enemies in the area, he still felt a faint sense of danger. He warily scanned their surroundings, but couldn't figure out where the subtle warning deep within him was coming from. Judging by their distance, they hadn't reached the boss's territory yet, so they shouldn't be in much danger. Besides, Rhode knew the distribution of the undead here very well. The monsters in this area should already have been cleared out.

So where was this sense of danger coming from?

Rhode looked around again, but found nothing. Just then, the portly merchant beside him suddenly cried out.

"Ah!!"

"What is it?"

Rhode and Lize hurriedly turned around. Mace was deathly pale, clutching his travel bag with one hand and pointing into the mist behind him with the other, his finger trembling.

"J-just now, there was a shadow over there..."

"A shadow?"

Lize looked in the direction Mace was pointing, but beyond the dim sunlight, there was nothing to be seen in the mist.

"I don't see anything..."

"Get down!!"

At that moment, a light went on in Rhode's mind. He finally understood where the danger was coming from. Shouting, he pressed down on the girl's head and forced her to duck.

"Whoosh!!"

At almost the same moment, a shadow shot through the air. Rhode could feel its icy claws graze his scalp, the impact sharp enough to sting.

Damn it!

Rhode's heart sank. He knew what had triggered his warning: a Gargoyle!

According to legend, the Mist Ruins had once been a prosperous little town. But as the trade routes declined, the town was gradually abandoned. Later, a mage came here and chose to study the forbidden art of death in the deserted town, hoping to save his beloved. But his research ended in failure, and the mage died. The art of death, however, did not cease with him. It was what created the thick mist and all the undead here.

Of all the creatures in the dungeon, the most dangerous was the Gargoyle the mage had left behind to guard his relics. It was a level-fifteen rare elite!

If this had been a party in the game, Rhode would have been thrilled. Rare elites were hard to come by; sometimes, you could run a dungeon again and again without finding one. But right now, all he felt was a chill in his heart. This was a level-fifteen rare elite, and a flying monster to boot. It was agile, and unlike the Wraiths, which had no physical form and were held together by negative energy, it was a completely different kind of enemy. At the very least, Lize's positive energy wouldn't do a thing to it. And with its body made of obsidian, it was exceptionally tough. Ordinary attacks would barely scratch it. This was going to be a brutal fight!

Rhode had run the Mist Ruins more than thirty times in the game without ever seeing a Gargoyle, so he'd subconsciously forgotten about them. Who would have thought that he'd run into one on his very first visit here?

Was this good luck or bad luck?

But Rhode had no time to dwell on that. Danger was right in front of him.

A head-on fight was hopeless. He wasn't even level ten yet, and challenging a level-fifteen monster was practically impossible. Even with Star Trace's bonus, his attack power would still be limited.

"Run!"

Rhode didn't hesitate for long before giving the order. He grabbed Lize's hand and shouted,

"Follow me. Keep your heads down, and don't look up!"

Retreating the way they'd come wasn't an option. Their only choice was to find the Gargoyle's control core and destroy it. Escaping its range was another possibility, but Rhode looked over his party and couldn't see anyone who could draw the monster away easily. If only they had a Ranger or a Thief.

But this was no time to complain.

Led by Rhode, Lize and Mace kept their heads down and stumbled forward. The mist around them began to churn once more. Their movements had clearly attracted the Wraiths' attention. Four or five of them emerged from the fog and started moving toward the group.

"Lize, attack! Don't stop!"

"Understood!"

Casting spells while running was no easy feat for the girl, but she gritted her teeth and thrust out her right hand. Soon, three or four beams of pure white light appeared in the air and fell upon the Wraiths. Rhode immediately thrust his sword forward. Amid a series of shrieks, the obstructing creatures quickly crumbled into dust and disappeared. A system notification flashed before Rhode's eyes.

[Experience points: 1900/1800, level-up available, Level 8]

Rhode had no time to pay attention to the notification. More and more Wraiths were appearing around them. The holy light made them hesitate and slowed their movements, but their superior numbers made up for the difference.

Unlike these clumsy Wraiths, the Gargoyle was unaffected by the holy light. Although it was also a creation powered by negative energy, its hard obsidian exterior—as the mage's guardian—could resist most holy forces. After its first attack had missed, it had immediately marked the group as its targets and had followed close behind them, waiting for the right moment to strike. Compared to undead that attacked on instinct, this artificial life-form, with its rudimentary combat intelligence, was far more troublesome.

"Ah!"

Just then, Mace stumbled and fell heavily to the ground. The Gargoyle, which had been following close behind and waiting for its chance, immediately swooped down. Its two sharp claws shot toward the fallen merchant like lightning. When Mace turned his face upward, all he saw was a shadow about to engulf him.

"Oh, no..."

The Gargoyle was incredibly fast, and Mace had done his part by closing his eyes and preparing to die. But its attack still failed at the last moment. A faint, golden barrier appeared out of nowhere and blocked its sharp claws. Then several brilliant blades of light shot through the air and slammed into the Gargoyle. With a series of loud smacks, the creature was knocked backward and crashed into the Wraiths. By then, Lize had half-supported, half-dragged the portly merchant back to his feet—he'd already been preparing to head off to the next world and exchange pleasantries with his family—and continued running.

"This way!"

After struggling to shake off most of the undead that had been hemming them in, Rhode raised his head and quickly found his target: an abandoned church, where the mage had once conducted his experiments. From Rhode's memory, the control core for the Gargoyles should be there.

But getting inside wouldn't be easy.

As Rhode reached the church entrance, his vision suddenly went dark. He instinctively activated Shadow Blink and leaped backward. Only then did he see a black Gargoyle crouching where he'd just been standing, one hardened claw having smashed into the ground and pulverized the solid bluestone tiles.

"This is a real pain."

Rhode cursed under his breath and quickly glanced around. As expected, the statues that had decorated the pedestals on either side of the church doors were gone. It wasn't hard to guess where they'd gone.

Two of them at once. Looks like I should buy a lottery ticket today.

If I live long enough.

"Get inside and find the control mechanism!"

Rhode kept his eyes on the Gargoyle in front of him as he ordered Lize and Mace.

"The Wraiths shouldn't come in after you. I'll keep these two busy. Use this chance to get inside, find the control mechanism, and destroy it. Watch out for traps."

"But, Mr. Rhode, you..."

"That's an order."

Rhode cut Lize off coldly. Gripping Star Trace, he swung it forward, unleashing a burst of brilliant white light. At the same time, the Gargoyle shrieked and took to the air, dodging his attack and clearing the way to the church.

"Go!"