Karl didn't waste a single second, pointing his staff at the monsters in the hall.
Annihilating Fireball! Lightning Strike! Frost Crystals!
Boom! Crack! Bam!
-15,120! -12,960! -7,500! -7,500! -7,500!
The closest monsters to him were instantly killed by his spells, their bodies disintegrating under the combined force of fire, lightning, and ice.
Even with their high HP, they stood no chance against that kind of power.
Monsters like these, even though they were just regular mobs, would usually take a small team to defeat, or a single extremely powerful player.
But most of those top players were already far ahead in the game, pushing through higher zones.
That meant Karl hadn't crossed paths with any of them yet.
And in a long, narrow hallway like this, Karl's spells worked perfectly.
His [Annihilating Fireball] exploded across a wide path, burning through a huge chunk of the monsters at once.
Fwish!
One of the [Moon Undead] rushed toward him, sword raised high.
Karl spun his staff sideways, deflecting the blade before thrusting forward and finishing the creature off in one clean motion.
Only thirty seconds passed before the entire hall was completely empty.
"Nice."
Ding!
---
[You have killed x8 "Moon Undead (Level 12)"]
[You have killed x6 "Moon Wraith (Level 12)"]
[You have gained 17,000 experience points.]
[You have gained 1 Evolution Point!]
[You have gained 47 Lives!]
---
The more monsters Karl killed, the higher the chance of earning evolution points.
He still didn't fully understand if the rank of the monster affected that chance or if it was pure luck, but he'd find out eventually.
For now, he wasn't going to overthink it.
Karl also hadn't forgotten that he currently had ten free attribute points he could allocate, but he chose not to use them yet.
'I should be able to reach level 14, maybe even 15, depending on how many monsters there are,' he thought, grinning.
'Good.'
[Current Evolution Points: 11.]
As for those evolution points, he also decided to keep them.
His spells were already strong enough for now, and if he gained a new one later, he wanted to have some in reserve.
Of course, his main objective was still the same: clear the [Moon Temple], level up, and gather more equipment and evolution points along the way.
He walked over to the burned remains of the monsters, picking up the items they had dropped.
[Inventory Space: 7/20]
Karl still had plenty of room in his inventory, though he knew it would fill up quickly at this rate.
Once he finished collecting everything, he kept moving forward.
'Good thing the monsters here are level 12 and above,' he thought as he walked, 'Otherwise the [Experience Decay] would've been annoying.'
He reached the end of the hallway, where a large stone door waited.
As soon as he approached, it opened slowly, revealing a staircase spiraling downward into the next level.
Karl paused for a brief moment, staring down the steps.
For just a second, he wondered how far he'd be able to go in this life of his.
He was dominating the trials that most other players struggled to survive in.
But would it stay this way forever?
Would it always be smooth, or would something eventually come to stop him?
[They haven't noticed you yet it seems, but time is not your friend.]
He recalled the words from that strange panel he saw when returning to the real world.
He exhaled slowly, shaking his head.
His eyes burned with determination again.
Without another thought, he descended the staircase.
Once he reached the bottom, he found another door, this one engraved with a faint moon symbol.
He pushed it open and stepped inside.
The room on the other side was another massive hall, identical to the first.
But this time, a glowing moon symbol shone from the ceiling above.
It had been years since Karl had last explored zones like this, so he couldn't expect to remember every detail perfectly.
'I remember how this place works now,' he grinned, 'There should be three halls in total.'
He would have to go through all of them and reach the end, where the final boss of the [Moon Temple] waited.
It was a test of endurance and strength, one that no solo player below level 15 should even try.
But Karl wasn't just any player.
He lifted his staff again, pointing it toward the monsters scattered across the new hall.
These ones were stronger, and he could already feel the pressure from their presence.
---
[Undead Warrior (Level 13)]
[Rank: Rare]
[HP: 18,000]
---
[Moon Shaman (Level 14)]
[Rank: Elite (Boss)]
[HP: 45,000]
---
'A boss already?'
He frowned slightly, but then smirked.
The [Moon Shaman] didn't have the [Zone Boss] title, meaning it wasn't the main boss, just a strong elite.
Still, that didn't matter to him.
A boss meant evolution points, no matter what type it was.
The [Moon Shaman] stood in the back, its skeletal body draped in a dark blue cloak.
It held a scepter topped with a glowing orb that resembled the moon itself.
The [Undead Warriors] stood protectively in front of it, forming a line of defense.
Karl didn't mind that at all.
Close-range or long-range, he could handle both now.
His battle against the [Moon Sentinel General] and its army had boosted his confidence more than ever.
The undead warriors rushed toward him in unison, their swords gleaming faintly under the silver light.
Karl's eyes narrowed as he lifted his staff once again.
Annihilating Fireball! Frost Crystals!
Boom! Bam!
-15,120! -7,500! -7,500! -7,500!
The explosion tore through the line of warriors, but this time, they didn't all die immediately.
Their HP was getting too high for him to one-shot them now.
Even if he used his remaining ten attribute points and added them all to Spirit, the result would've been the same.
That was why he followed up with [Frost Crystals], freezing and shattering the ones that survived.
'I'll have to be careful,' he thought.
Even though the attack didn't wipe them all out instantly, most of them were already on the brink of death.
But before he could finish them, a loud roar echoed through the hall.
"RAHHHHH!"
Karl looked up to see the [Moon Shaman] raising its scepter, mana swirling at its tip.
'A support-type monster like that won't attack directly,' Karl analyzed quickly while dodging a sword swing.
'That means it's about to buff them.'
He had fought all kinds of monsters and players across countless battles in his past life.
He knew every class, every weakness, every tactic, especially those of mages.
And one of the biggest weaknesses of a mage was clear.
'They need focus to cast,' Karl grinned, 'If their focus breaks, the spell fails.'
Spells that required charging or channeling were the easiest to interrupt, and that was exactly what the shaman was doing now.
But before Karl could interrupt it, a faint silver glow spread across the room.
Moon Buff!
The [Moon Shaman]'s spell succeeded.
A shimmering aura wrapped around the [Undead Warriors], their eyes glowing brighter as their movements became faster and more aggressive.
They lunged at Karl all at once.
Strong Magic Barrier!
Karl summoned his barrier just in time.
A bright blue dome formed around him.
[Strong Magic Barrier: 5,000/5,000 HP]
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Three swords struck the barrier simultaneously.
[Strong Magic Barrier: 2,450/5,000 HP]
'Damn, they're buffed like crazy.'
Each hit had dealt over 800 damage, enough to leave visible cracks in the shield.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The onslaught didn't stop. In seconds, Karl's barrier shattered completely.
He reacted instantly.
Frost Crystals!
Bam!
Three of the already injured warriors were frozen solid before breaking apart, disappearing into particles.
But Karl knew he couldn't waste any more time.
The shaman was still in the back, preparing to cast again.
He clenched his staff tightly.
'Time to get rid of it.'
He took a step forward, eyes locked on the [Moon Shaman].