"If you're having second thoughts, you can return to hunting zombies and those little monsters, continuing to level up gradually," Queen Anna said, intently staring at him as she waited for his decision.
[Solar Ascension]
Elias didn't respond. He removed the two bags on his back and placed them in a corner. Then he activated his unique skill.
Instantly, his body grew taller, reaching a height of three meters. His muscles bulged, becoming enormous and defined, perfectly matching his physique. A faint golden radiance shone around him.
He seemed as though he had been sculpted to match the beauty of the celestial bodies themselves. Mist rolled off his body and breath at various intervals, and the atmosphere around him grew hot, slowly sizzling with heat.
Elias looked at the Black Crow Boots and sighed in relief, seeing that they had expanded to accommodate his enlarged feet. Though it had turned crimson due to the heat, but it hadn't fallen apart.
Queen Anna nodded. She had sensed two other dungeons on the campus grounds; however, she had picked this one for Elias after sensing the formidable beast guarding the dungeon.
She herself didn't know how powerful a dungeon was until it was activated. Even then, her assumptions were uncertain due to the dungeons' uniqueness.
As such, rather than allowing Elias to enter a dungeon with a false sense of security due to his unique talent and run into his death, it was better to let him encounter such a foe, which would deter him from entering a dungeon for the meantime until he reached level 20 or awakened his Class.
She had taken an interest in Elias and didn't want him to die early, and this was the only way she could accomplish this.
Queen Anna watched as Elias stepped out of his hiding place.
"Focus intently on the beast and say 'status'," Queen Anna's voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Elias was already focused intently on the beast before him, so he quickly said, "Status."
Instantly, a blue status screen unfurled like a scroll above the bear.
[Stone Bear]
[Level: 14]
[Strength: 280]
[Mana: 112]
[Constitution: 550]
[Agility: 101]
[Skills: Earth Spike]
"What's this?" Elias asked, his expression filled with shock and surprise.
"It's a status screen that's a little similar to the one you possess. Don't forget, you aren't the only one undergoing evolution," Queen Anna explained briefly, understanding this wasn't the right place for a long lecture.
Elias nodded. He was grateful to Queen Anna for teaching him such a neat trick, knowing it would've taken him a long time to discover it on his own.
Looking at the Stone Bear's stats, Elias couldn't help but smile wryly. He now realised just how far ahead of himself he had gotten. He was truly having second thoughts about fleeing this time around.
"ROOAARR!!"
As though sensing danger, the Stone Bear roared at Elias. Without hesitation, it charged toward him.
"Are you having second thoughts about confronting this beast?" Queen Anna asked, her voice calm.
"I'm considering it," Elias replied.
Queen Anna sighed in relief. "That's a smart decision." "But I'll try my best first to see if I can defeat it," Elias added, charging toward the incoming beast.
Queen Anna froze as she watched him charge at the beast.
Then she smiled and ascended into the air, choosing to observe the scene from above.
[Cruel Flare]
The moment the Stone Bear reached him, Elias activated his unique skill.
A bright flare, resembling a dome of sunlight, erupted from Elias, enveloping him and the zombies within a ten-meter radius.
"ROOARR!" The Stone Bear roared in anger, its eyes blinded by the dome of Sunlight before snapping them shut. Its brownish, rocky fur was scorched and blackened by the brilliant flare of Sunlight.
Whooshh!!
Elias moved to the side, raised his hand, and attempted to whip its head. However, the Stone Bear quickly lifted its head and slammed it back down onto the ground.
Gagaga!!
Instantly, a wave of earth spikes rose from the ground surrounding the Stone Bear. Elias quickly retracted his hand and leapt backwards, getting out of the range of the earth spikes.
Elias landed on the ground and closed the distance between the Stone Bear and himself once more. He had used Cruel Flare to temporarily blind it, so he could temporarily trap it and then eliminate it.
Elias swung the whip in his hand around its neck. The whip wrapped around its thick neck.
Elias then turned around and rushed toward the pillar nearby.
Sensing the whip tightening, the Stone Bear let out a deafening "ROAR!!" once more, causing debris and chunks of earth around them to fly in different directions, smashing into various walls and pillars.
BANG!! BOOM!!
Elias quickly tied the whip around a pillar, then raised his hands to shield his body from the flying rocks. Several huge chunks of stone flew in his direction, slamming into him and disintegrating into smaller fragments that scattered in every direction before they could do any real damage.
As Elias lowered his hands, he suddenly sensed a huge figure standing before him. He realised that the Stone Bear had used the attack as an opportunity to close the distance between them.
Elias' eyes widened in surprise as he saw the Stone Bear staring down at him, enraged, with scorched, reddened, bleeding eyes. It raised its massive paw and slammed it down onto him, sending him flying into the wall behind him.
BANNGG!!
"Cough!!" Elias clutched his bleeding shoulders as he stood up. The strength of the Stone Bear was as terrifying as he had expected.
This was the first time Elias had been hit since the apocalypse started, leaving him temporarily disoriented. However, it took him several seconds to regain focus.
Elias saw the Stone Bear stretching back, trying to cut the rope from its neck with its claw. However, it was like a piece of thread. The more it was stretched to the limit of its elasticity, the deeper it dug into the Bear's neck.
"You're not going anywhere." Without hesitation, Elias rushed forward.
SNAP!
The whip snapped in two.
[Cruel Flare]
A scorching dome of sunlight erupted from Elias the moment he closed the distance with the bear once more, enveloping it in blazing light. At the same time, an earthen spike rose from the ground around the bear, piercing toward the sky.
However, this time Elias was prepared. He didn't falter for even a moment; instead, he leapt into the air and landed on the back of the Stone Bear.
The small stony spikes on its back dug into his skin, causing Elias to groan in pain. Even so, he didn't stop. He gripped the Mutated Rat Dagger, enveloping it with Sunlight, and drove it into the Stone Bear's neck.
Ting!
It failed to penetrate deeply.
"ROOARR!!" The Stone Bear leapt into the air and twisted violently, trying to throw off the irritating attacker so it could kill him.
Elias held on with one hand, refusing to fall. He continued stabbing into the Stone Bear's hide, trying to break through its defences. But his efforts only managed to draw a single drop of blood and scorch the area around its peeled skin.
Sensing the injury, the Stone Bear fell to its side.
"Tch!!" Elias had no choice but to leap off the Stone Bear's back, landing between the jagged stone pillars.
Elias looked at the Mutated Rat Dagger in his hand and saw that it was no longer sharp. Its tip was jagged and scorched, dulling the blade's sharpness.
He realised he could no longer use it. It was already a miracle that it hadn't shattered from striking the Stone Bear's formidable defences.
And this was a level 14 monster just outside the dungeon. Despite its overwhelming physical defence and strength, the one thing the Stone Bear lacked was speed, and that was something Elias had in abundance.
As the Stone Bear rose to its feet, Elias didn't hesitate and poured all his remaining stat points into Strength.
[Strength: 72 (360)]
Elias immediately felt a terrifying surge of strength flood through him. His muscles tensed and grew more defined. As his base Strength doubled to 72, his [Solar Ascension] form multiplied it by 400 per cent, causing it to skyrocket to 360.
[Radiant Heal]
A brilliant golden glow enveloped Elias, healing his injuries and restoring him to peak condition. The damage to his shoulders and torso from the Stone Bear's strike, as well as the wounds from the jagged stones, vanished. His skin became healthy once more.
Elias rushed at the Stone Bear, arriving before it in seconds.
BAMM!!
He slammed his fists, infused with Sunlight, against its skull.
The Stone Bear staggered backwards, its eyes stunned by the attack. It couldn't understand how this human, who had been running and trying to strike from the side, was suddenly facing it head-on.
If he had this kind of strength in you, why hadn't he started like this from the beginning, so they could decide the winner from the onset?