With the appearance of the [Corrupted Believers of Oblivion] and the [Devout Beasts], while also facing the [Abandoned Guardian of Oblivion], Karl was surrounded.
He didn't even have time for his cooldowns to reset before the monsters closed in on him from all sides.
It was a situation that would mean certain death for almost any class, especially for mages, who were notoriously weak at close range in the early game.
But Karl didn't feel the slightest trace of fear.
His eyes stayed sharp, his breathing calm.
He stepped back and dodged a few of the believers' claws, twisting his body just enough to avoid the snapping jaws of the beasts lunging toward him.
Still, even with his reflexes, it was impossible to dodge everything.
His agility wasn't enough for that yet.
One of the claws grazed his arm, and another blow hit his barrier directly, cracking the shimmering wall of light around him.
And just when he was regaining balance, the guardian moved.
The massive statue raised both of its hands high above its head, then slammed them into the ground with earth-shattering force.
Crack! Bam!
The shockwave that followed tore through the entire chamber, shaking the floor and walls.
[Magic Barrier: 0/2,500 HP]
Karl's barrier shattered instantly, glowing fragments dissolving into the air.
Now he was completely defenseless.
One or two direct hits from any of these monsters would be enough to kill him.
But Karl still didn't panic. In [Gods Ascension], panic was death.
No matter how bad a situation looked, losing focus only made it worse.
And after what Karl had seen in his past life, the things he had fought, and the thing that had destroyed his world, nothing like this could make him flinch.
'The shockwave also hit the monsters,' he noticed as several of the beasts were thrown backward by the guardian's attack, 'Good.'
Using that moment, Karl sidestepped another strike from the guardian's massive fist, letting the impact slam into the ground beside him instead.
Then he lifted his hand, mana already gathering in his staff.
Annihilating Fireball!
Boom!
The orb of red light exploded against the guardian's chest.
-9,380!
The health bar above the guardian's head dropped to zero.
The statue froze for a second, cracks spreading rapidly across its stone body before it finally fell apart, collapsing into dust and rubble.
Karl let out a slow exhale. Only the smaller monsters remained now.
He turned his gaze toward them, his eyes flickering faintly with a purple glow.
The believers and beasts faltered. For the first time, they hesitated.
The moment Karl looked at them, they shivered, as if something deep within them recognized him.
But fear didn't save them.
Karl raised his staff again, unleashing spell after spell until none of them were left standing.
The chamber went quiet.
Ding!
---
[You have killed "Abandoned Guardian of Oblivion (Level 10 Epic-Rank Zone Boss)"]
[You have killed x5 "Corrupted Believers of Oblivion (Level 10)" and x5 "Devout Oblivion Beasts (Level 10)"]
[You have gained 10 Evolution Points!]
[You have gained 64 Lives!]
---
"Damn." Karl smirked. "That's a lot."
The amount of Evolution Points he had earned from that fight was incredible.
And then—
[Do you wish to consume 10 Evolution Points to evolve "Annihilating Fireball"?]
He blinked.
The price to evolve a skill from Epic to Legendary rank was exactly 10 [Evolution Points], the same amount he had just obtained.
He could evolve his main spell right now if he wanted to.
But after a few seconds, he shook his head.
"Nah."
He had already decided he'd focus on upgrading his other skills first.
It was better to diversify his abilities instead of pouring everything into one.
His fireball was already powerful enough to destroy nearly any monster on the [Novice Continent], and it would still hold up well on the [Ascension Continent].
Before he could think further—
Fwish! Click!
A mechanical sound echoed through the chamber.
The giant stone door behind the fallen guardian, the one sealed shut earlier, slowly creaked open.
That sound meant only one thing: he had conquered the zone.
Now he could claim his reward.
But first, Karl noticed something near the guardian's shattered body.
A faint glint of metal among the debris.
He crouched down and picked it up.
"Damn."
---
[Guardian Gauntlets (Epic): Warrior-type weapon. +85 Strength, +30 Agility. Requirement: Level 10]
[Smash Shockwave (Active Skill): Smash the gauntlets into the ground to release a shockwave that deals damage and may stun targets. 5-minute cooldown.]
---
Karl's eyes scanned the description.
It was rare, especially this early in the game, for equipment to have built-in skills.
Later on, that would become more common, some items even came with incredibly powerful active or passive effects, but for now, this was something special.
A weapon like this could devastate early-game opponents.
Unfortunately, Karl couldn't use it himself.
"Warrior-type, huh," he muttered.
He stored the gauntlets in his inventory anyway.
Selling them later could bring in a lot of value.
Now, with the battle over and the loot collected, it was time to handle the rest.
He opened his skill panel.
[Skills: Annihilating Fireball (Epic), Magic Barrier (Rare), Frost Crystal (Elite)]
[Current Evolution Points: 13.]
'It costs 5 EP to evolve from Rare to Elite, and 7 EP to go from Elite to Epic,' Karl thought, doing the quick math in his head, 'That's exactly enough.'
He didn't waste time.
[Do you wish to consume 5 Evolution Points to evolve "Magic Barrier"?]
"Yes."
Ding!
[You have evolved "Magic Barrier" (Rare) to "Strong Magic Barrier" (Elite)]
[Current Evolution Points: 8.]
---
[Strong Magic Barrier (Elite): Summon a shield that can endure up to 2,500 → 5,000 HP. 45 → 40 (20)-seconds cooldown.]
---
"Damn," Karl said under his breath.
The barrier's durability had doubled. Five thousand HP.
Even the guardian would've needed several direct attacks to break through that now.
But he wasn't done yet.
He still had enough Evolution Points for one more upgrade.
This time, he chose [Frost Crystal].
[Do you wish to consume 7 Evolution Points to evolve "Frost Crystal"?]
"Yes."
Ding!
[You have evolved "Frost Crystal" (Elite) to "Frost Crystals" (Epic)]
[Current Evolution Points: 1.]
Karl blinked.
"Oh?"
He looked closely at the panel.
"The only thing that changed… was that it became plural."
The original [Frost Crystal] could only hit one target at a time, that was its main weakness.
But now that it was [Frost Crystals], Karl could tell it would be much stronger.
---
[Frost Crystals (Epic): Summon 1 → 3 frost crystals that deal exactly 400 → 500 damage each, and apply the "Slowness" status effect. 10 → 9 (4.5)-seconds cooldown.]
---
"Perfect," Karl thought, smiling faintly.
If he landed all three crystals, the combined damage could exceed fifteen thousand.
Normally, a skill like that would require far more mana than any early-game player could handle, not to mention the accuracy to hit three times in a row.
But Karl wasn't a normal player.
His [Class] and [Talent] allowed him to bypass limits that others couldn't.
For him, everything felt possible.
With the evolutions done, he finally turned toward the now-unsealed door.
The stone had split open completely, and faint purple light leaked from the other side.
Karl stepped forward, his footsteps echoing through the quiet chamber.
He had officially conquered the [Ruins of Oblivion].
That meant his [Advancement Task] was complete.
He could now head to the [Ascension Continent], where the real game would begin.
But before that, there was one last thing.
Every zone in [Gods Ascension] came with a completion reward, separate from the loot the boss dropped.
It was the system's way of acknowledging a player's progress, something special given to those who managed to clear all its challenges.
And for a zone as difficult as this one, Karl's expectations were high.
He stopped in front of the large stone door and placed his palm against its cold surface.
A faint vibration ran through his hand as the door responded to his touch.
He pushed. And as the stone slowly began to open, a deep light filled the room.
The reward of the [Ruins of Oblivion] awaited him on the other side.