He backed up a bit towards the wall, breathing steadily as the imps regrouped. Their shrieks started to grow louder; they moved into a triangle formation—two of them came flanking him down, one was ready to jump from above.
"These fucking shits are smart." He muttered under his breath as he wiped the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand.
He took a few ragged breaths to steady himself, preparing to go all out.
Then he vanished into thin air.
[Skill Activated: Phantom Step]
The world beside him instantly blurred out. Heat waves stretched past him slowly, and even the glow of lava seemed to pause. Silas then reappeared before the leftover imps.
His eyes were locked on the one in the centre, with an unpredictable face, he said. "Hmm, let's try something." As he said that, he muttered under his breath, "Piercing Thrust."
[Skill Activated: Piercing Thrust]
His sword moved in a swift motion, it shot forward like a streak of light cutting through the hot air. It pierced the first imp cleanly, then he twisted his sword a bit and sliced the blade through the second one's ribs, and finally drove it deep into the chest of the last one.
All three of them hit the ground in unison, which created a loud thud on impact, their bodies melting into mush.
A small, satisfactory sigh of relief escaped Silas's mouth, voice came low but tired. "Fuck… the imps are definitely something." He wiped the sweat on his forehead as he looked at the remaining imps, which were on his left.
The rest of the imps simply stared at the bodies of the ones which just died, their eyes went wide with shock. Their screams turned into something that almost sounded like panic.
Then, they all ran away in unison, didn't even take a single look back—their only thought was to save their lives.
The smile on Silas's face took a darker turn, and a wicked smirk appeared on his lips as his voice came loud yet firm. "Nah, you think I'll let you all run?" He said as he rested his sword on his right shoulder. "Remember, that it was you guys who started it all?"
He sprinted after them. His footsteps hit the stone fast and loud. Two imps didn't make it far—he cut them down with two quick slashes.
The last one ran towards the stream of lava, trying to jump into it. As it reached closer to it, a smile grew on its face—but, Silas grabbed a small rock which was next to his foot**,** snapped his wrist and threw it.
The last imp had a cheerful smile on its face, like it had finally got away from there, but the rock hit it mid-air.
When the rock made contact with the imp's head, a shocked groan came out of its mouth, the imp let out a shocked scream and fell straight into the lava, and sparks of molten fire burst up like tiny fireworks.
Then everything inside the chamber went quiet; the only noise in the air was the low hums of Silas's ragged breathing.
The chamber was now filled with only ashes and black scorch marks; the smell of the meat hung in the air. The heat didn't feel as heavy as it was before—not because it changed, but because Silas's adrenaline had worn off.
Then he wiped the sweat on his face with the back of his hand, slightly flexed his hand, closing and releasing his fingers to calm the tension down—making the pain fade away slowly.
"Damn… that surely was annoying as hell," he muttered under his breath, and slowly put the sword back into its sheath. "But, I enjoyed it. It's nice… I don't know but, when I kill them… it feels awfully good."
He was about to walk away from the scene, but the slow echo of the system echoed inside his mind.
[Host, don't forget to use Life-Steal.]
Silas's steps stopped, scratching the back of his head slightly, his voice came low but embarrassed. "Ah… I definitely forgot about that."
Silas let out a slow, shaky laugh as he extended his hand towards the fallen bodies of the deceased monsters, and he whispered under his breath. "Life-Steal."
A faint red mist started to pop out of the bodies of the deceased imps, the threads leapt upwards, and with just a blink of an eye, they shot out near the hand of Silas and entered it.
Silas's arm veins popped out, fingers started to tremble a bit, sweat welled up on his temple, and the sudden surge of pain shot inside his muscles.
After a few minutes of torture, it all settled down.
[Life absorbed: 30 Days]
[Stats Increased:]
[Strength: +6 Strength]
[Agility: +6.5 Agility]
[Endurance: +5 Endurance]
He wiped sweat from his forehead and flexed his hand, letting the pain fade slowly.
"Damn… that was annoying," he muttered. "But fun."
His shirt was ripped in several spots, and his gloves were still smoking. But he couldn't care less about the fact that he was clearing a D-Rank gate alone.
He then turned towards the far end of the chamber, where a huge set of doors awaited, glowing with the lines of the molten lava. Ancient runes were carved deep inside the metal. They pulsed slowly, like they were alive. Like a heartbeat.
"Is it finally the time for Mini-Boss? Or am I getting trolled once again?" He muttered under his breath as he took his first step towards the gate.
Then—
[DING!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
The system's panel appeared out of nowhere.
[Current Level: 47.]
[Stat Points Gained: +18.]
Silas gave a small nod in agreement. "18 stat points? Not bad… I'll save them for now though, who knows what situation I'll end up in?"
[Would you like to allocate now?]
"No, let me first see which monster awaits me in the Mini-Boss and Boss's rooms."
He walked forward slowly, his steps were slow and calm. An echo was produced whenever his boots made an impact with the floor, each of his steps made the air around him vibrate like something behind the door felt him coming and was reacting to his presence.
The runes glowed brighter. They didn't look like symbols anymore. They looked like eyes—watching him. Judging him.
The heat around him changed slightly, it wasn't wild anymore. It felt more focused, like a pressure building slowly in a furnace.
Silas's heart didn't race with fear; it was beating at its usual pace. A slight feeling of excitement was flowing through his veins. "Let's see if you're worth my time, lil shit."
He let out a slow sigh as his hand touched the metal; it burned his palm a bit. But, he didn't flinch. With a loud creak, the door opened.