A strange sense of excitement and happiness filled inside him the more he read the notifications.
[You have aborbed 50 souls from the Power Stone.]
[Required number of souls met.]
[Processing...]
[A nameless barbarian has reached Tier 1.]
[You have been found to have a natural affinity to the Wind Element.]
[Wind Element unlocked.]
"Power stone huh?" He muttered, holding in a smile as he remembered a certain feature from a certain novel reading app he had used back on Earth.
Suddenly, a small dotted symbol appeared at the edge of his vision. It was close enough to his blind spot and didn't hinder his eyesight.
[Stats can now be seen.]
But it certainly jagged at him to open it and see his stats.
A crashing sound resounded in the area drawing David's attention. The humanoid shaped wraith now looked even bigger and stronger as it jumped on the floor.
Beside him the woman appeared, her face still hidden carefully within her helmet. David wondered for a moment if it wasn't restricting her movements and her field of vision.
"Not...bad. You figured it by yourself. I guess you were worth wasting one of my power stone."
She didn't turn towards David but her words were enough to know they were directed at him.
He licked his lips nervously as an awkward chuckle escaped his lips. 'Figured it out? It just happened accidentally...She could have just said me how to do it. I don't understand what happiness does one get from making a simple situation into a complex web.'
"Alright. Handle the Tier 2 wraiths now...I have held them for too long."
David nodded curtly as he looked around on the walls from where the wraiths were climbing down slowly.
'Ehh the same strategy again? Yeah shouldn't be that hard.' He glanced at the Tier 3 wraith that was slowly advancing towards them.
'Or maybe not the same strategy. The Tier 3 wraith has different characteristics afterall...it is solid unlile the lower Tier wraiths and is even much stronger and faster than the normal human. So...something should be different with the Tier 2 wraiths right?'
But as he turned towards the wraiths, a gauntlet covered hand fell heavily on his shoulders. He looked behind him and the woman spoke in a hesitant voice.
"There is something you need to do before that..." While saying so, she opened her helmet.
Long cascading hairs flowed from her head, each strand reflecting the faint light in the room. Few locks of her hair covered the left side of her face as she turned towards David.
She had a lean face and her eye appeared cold as it locked onto David with a strange glint in them as if assessing him. Then she finished what she started saying, "...Slap me tightly."
"What...?" He thought she was probably joking but her face reamined expressionless. Realising she was serious about it, he exclaimed.
"No way I am slapping you."
The woman groaned as she requested again, "Just do...it. Trust me, I won't hold it on you."
The wraiths...both the Tier 2 and Tier 3 - were almost upon them.
Seeing no other option, David sighed as he said in a tired tone. "Just don't come after me for...this."
He raised his hands and slapped her. The sound echoed in the air as she momentarily lost balance, her feet skidding on the floor.
Then with her face turned away, she made a laughing sound. Not one out of joy or happiness. But almost a crazed laugh.
In a low tone, she said. "Thank you...you are really brave to slap a princess." She stomped on the floor in anger as she disappeared into thin air. And before long, she was engaged in a deadly fight with the Tier 3 wraith.
Meanwhile David felt his breath roughen, his heart hammering so fast that he felt he had just run a marathon.
Of course her armour didn't match with the normal armour of the soldiers and the commanders that led them!
Because she is the princess!
David almost facepalmed himself as he controlled the urge to slap himself for his poor decision. He had seen a glimpse of a lady standing at the backline of the invaders. Apparently she was the princess of the Windsor Kingdom who were hell bent on turning them to their slaves and capture the area the Hermann clan resided in.
'And now she is here...knowing very well I am a barbarian.'
For a moment, he thought of helping these wraiths to kill her. But one glance at the Tier 3 wraith was enough for him to conclude that he wouldn't be surviving either.
He sighed. "Let's kill these creatures before that."
He activated Vision and raised his hands as wind gathered around him.
The wraiths closed on him and yet, David stood still letting the wind gather around him. Within seconds, strong howling winds rotated around him as if protecting him.
Coming close the Tier 2 wraiths slided their tentacles inside the circle of strong winds as they tried to poke David with them.
However, the winds changed the path of their tentacles and each of them missed its target - David, who stood nonchalantly and observed his targets.
They tried continuously, even trying to enter the ring but were unsuccessful and hurled off by the pressure generated by the winds.
'I cannot carry this for long. My mana is decreasing steadily.' Indeed, maneuvering both the wind and the Vision was draining him steadily of his mana.
He waited for the right time. Soon, all the wraiths had huddled close to each other and were mostly sticking their tentacles in the ring of winds.
Suddenly, David released the wind he was holding. He burst it outwards as a small hurricane three the wraiths back. The nearest to the impact hit the walls and the one a but farther only moved back by few feet.
Taking the opportunity, David dashed towards the nearest wraith. And before it could react, he took out the heart and broke it. The wraith instantly dissolved into oblivion.
The cycle continued as he killed two, then three and four wraiths in a simultaneous flow of movements.
But as he protruded his hand towards the fifth wraith, something strange. As his hands moved inside the black showdy mass of the creature, it suddenly twisted its own body. Like a squish sponge, most of the mass now came to the front - the area from where David's hand was invading.
Even the blue heart moved sideways like a solid trapped inside a jelly.
David missed his target as tentacles suddenly poked him.
He froze on the spot for a mere second, his body unable to react to his command. As soon as he gained the control back over his body, he jumped and dodged the incoming tentacles from the nearby wraiths.
He quickly moved back.
The wraiths were once again gathering after being dispersed by the burst of wind.
'I see it now. They looked eerily similar to Tier 1 wraiths but it seems they have few extra abilities as well. Longer stuns and a body that they could change at their disposal....yeah, I am in for a hard time.'
He sighed as winds once again gathered in both his hands. "Well, I guess we are going to have a tiring day ahead..."
In the hollowing darkness of the third floor - the boss floor of the dungeon, a girl and a boy fought. Both chasing away creatures that haunted people's dreams at night.