Chapter 402 The Underwater Cavern Rift, Starting the First Mission
Ding!
[Mission Updated: Eliminate the Apostle.]
Stark exhaled sharply as the familiar beep of his Multi-Task Watch broke the silence.
New information then appeared in front of him, providing details about the rift.
[Name: Trident's Underwater Cavern]
[Difficulty: Determination]
[Recommended Level: 700–800]
[Number of Zones: 2]
"Only two zones, huh," Stark mumbled, narrowing his eyes.
Most rifts he had encountered had at least three or four zones.
[You are currently in the first zone: Before the Cavern]
Then again, this one was underwater, which probably made it more complex by default.
"Doesn't matter," Stark grumbled as he stretched his shoulders. "I'll still kick that guy's ass and get out of here."
Determined, he strode toward the water, ready to dive in and confront whatever awaited him in the depths.
But just as his boot grazed the edge...
SPLASH!
The water erupted violently, a massive figure emerging from the depths.
Towering above Stark was a monstrous fishman, easily over 30 meters in size.
The creature's upper half loomed out of the water, revealing a muscular, humanoid frame covered in glistening emerald-green scales.
Its arms were thick and corded with muscle, each holding an enormous trident adorned with glowing runes.
The tridents crackled faintly with an ominous energy, one with jagged, icy spikes and the other radiating with fiery embers.
The creature's face was eerily human-like but twisted, its sharp, angular features set with bulbous, yellow eyes that glared down at Stark.
"I am Voracron, Guardian of the Cavern!" the fishman boomed, his voice resonating like a crashing wave. "None shall pass without facing me!"
Stark frowned, taking a cautious step back as he analyzed the creature's status window.
[Name: Voracron, The Rift's First Guardian, Immortal Level]
[Level: 730]
[HP: 50,000,000/50,000,000]
[Strength: 64,894]
[Stamina: 54,228]
[Speed: 34,895]
[Defense: 43,211]
[Skills: Regenerative Tide; Aqua Barrier; Hydro Chains; Surge Step; Shockwave Dive; Frozen Abyss (Mythical); Trident Cyclone (Mythical); Tidal Smite (Godly); Infernal Tide (Godly); Guardian's Fury (Immortal)]
Stark whistled softly, lowering his watch.
"You know that I'm still gonna beat you, right? It would be bad if we were in water, but right now I'm on land."
Voracron grinned, his serrated teeth glinting as he raised both tridents, clearly unfazed by Stark's comment.
"Prepare yourself, intruder. Your journey ends here!"
It seems like it wasn't only the apostles that were given the order to eliminate Stark, but every single monster in their army.
Only the ones that actually had high-enough intellectual capabilities to speak would register that, though, probably.
Without warning, the massive fishman lunged forward, slamming one of his tridents into the ground.
BOOM!
A surge of water exploded outward, forcing Stark to leap back to avoid the incoming wave.
"Tidal Smite!"
[Description: Strikes with overwhelming force, unleashing a shockwave of water that stuns and damages enemies.
Even though Stark dodged the direct impact, the residual force sent him skidding across the wet cavern floor.
"Alright, big guy," Stark muttered, shaking himself off. "Let's see what you've got."
Voracron didn't give Stark time to catch his breath.
The fishman spun his tridents with blinding speed, activating Trident Cyclone.
A roaring vortex of water formed around him, tearing apart chunks of the cavern walls and sending shards of rock flying toward Stark.
"..."
Stark was unfazed by that, his expression neutral as he began to roll repeatedly with [Invincible Dodge], the projectiles flying through him, literally.
"What?" Voracron was baffled.
Spear of Judgment!
Stark immediately retaliated with his own attack, summoning the massive spear and sending it toward the monster.
The spear struck true, but the glowing aura of Aqua Barrier absorbed the impact.
The spear dissolved into harmless crimson light before even scratching the scales.
"Pathetic!" Voracron sneered, his webbed hand slamming into the ground, though Stark noticed him sweating.
With the passive that the [Magus] class granted Stark, if the [Spear of Judgment] had hit, it would have surely been at least 20,000,000 damage.
This was how powerful Stark became.
"..."
The water beneath Stark began to swirl ominously, forming shimmering chains that shot upward.
Hydro Chains!
Stark leapt into the air, flipping backward to avoid being bound, but Voracron was ready.
The fishman lunged forward with both tridents, aiming to skewer Stark midair.
CLANG!
"Stupid..."
Stark managed to summon another Crimson Spear in time, blocking the tridents with a shower of sparks.
The force of the blow sent him crashing into the cavern wall.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Not bad," Stark grunted, pushing himself upright. "But let's even the odds."
Raising his hand, Stark decided to activate an ability similar to the [Hydro Chains], but much more powerful.
"Domi-Chains Restraint: Chains of Judgment!"
Blood-red chains erupted from the ground, snaking through the air with unnatural speed.
Three sets of chains wrapped tightly around Voracron's limbs, binding him in place.
But that wasn't all.
The air around Stark darkened as a shadowy figure materialized behind him.
Gortox, the Chain Demon.
The demonic entity towered over even Voracron, its entire body composed of writhing chains.
With a guttural roar, Gortox extended its own crimson bindings, reinforcing the restraints around the fishman.
Voracron thrashed violently, his scales flashing with bursts of energy as he tried to break free.
"What the hell is this..."
"You're not going anywhere," Stark growled, clenching his fist.
He charged forward, summoning the massive crimson cross of Wielding Cross.
Holy Combo!
Stark swung the cross once.
-6,362,839!
Twice.
-6,431,954!
And on the third strike, the weapon lit up with a brilliant crimson aura as the effects of the perk activated.
"Oh shit..." even Voracron knew that he was fucked.
BOOOOM!
The final blow struck Voracron's chest with devastating force, sending shockwaves rippling through the cavern.
The guardian roared in agony, stunned by the overwhelming power.
-12,475,553!
With Voracron immobilized, Stark unleashed a relentless assault.
Crimson fists materialized in the air, pummeling the guardian repeatedly, each blow landing with bone-crushing force.
The cavern shook as Voracron's health plummeted, his once-mighty roars reduced to desperate gasps.
"Let's end this," Stark said coldly, summoning the colossal spear again, "This one won't miss."
Spear of Judgment!
This time, he aimed directly for Voracron's head.
FWISH... BOOOOM!
The spear struck, piercing through the fishman's skull in a burst of crimson light.
[Weakness Hit!]
-52,372,992!
Instant death!
Even if the fishman had been full health, if he was hit by that attack, all of his health would have been drained.
Such a feat wouldn't even be possible by classifiers at level 750 as they would still need to fight that monster.
And yet... Stark did it casually and easily, with a single attack, completely overwhelming the opponent.
He wasn't messing around, wanting to end these three tasks as soon as possible and end the Godless Demon once and for all.
"You... will... be... stopped..." Voracron's body convulsed before slumping forward, lifeless.
The cavern fell silent, save for the faint crackle of energy dissipating from the defeated guardian's weapons.
Stark exhaled, brushing dust off his coat as he stepped forward.
"One down," he muttered, glancing at the still waters ahead. "Let's see what's waiting in Zone Two."
But of course, before that, he received the usual notification.
[You have slain "Voracron, The Rift's First Guardian" and gained 80,000,000 experience points!]