บท 14: The First Bonfire
[You have slain "Ghoul lv11", gained 1500EXP!]
[You have slain "Flesh Monster lv10", gained 1350EXP!]
Stark kept advancing through the level 10 area, able to kill most of the monsters in one hit, only the 'flesh monsters' posed a challenge, their sturdy bodies requiring three strikes to take them down due to their massive 2000HP pool.
He hadn't had the opportunity to use [Aura Smash] yet since most enemies came alone, and he felt like it was a waste of time to try something that could reveal his location.
It wasn't long until he found an opportunity though, because as he began turning the corner of a seemingly empty street, he saw a hord of monsters, at least ten of them, just grouping around, looking at the sky, specifically at the Black Sun.
'…' Stark stared at the lot.
"Aura Smash, activate!"
One of his hands began glowing with a crimson aura, brighter than it ever had been before.
'Looks like using this skills makes it so that most of my aura focus's on this hand…' he analyzed the skill as he used it, thinking about its weaknesses as using too much aura meant he was left defenseless if anything happened, his aura wasn't infinite after all.
Luckily, it wasn't the case this time, and so he was able to test out his ability.
Closing one of his eyes for precision, he adjusted his hand to aim in the middle of the hord of monsters.
And although it took him some time since it was his first time using it, he finally unleashed his skill.
He threw a punch, and a giant crimson fist of aura flew out of his hand, aimed towards the monsters.
It followed a trajectory Stark perfectly calculated, and after a few seconds, the aura impacted with the group of monsters, falling in the middle of them as they were all watching the sky.
~BOOM~
A massive explosion of aura hit the monsters, and the damage numbers appeared soon enough.
"-1938!"
"-1648!"
"-1293!"
The closer they were to the middle, the more damage they received, and by the end of the explosion, only one monster remained: a ghoul that had been a bit farther from the group.
It was looking at its dead companions, confused as to how all of them died in an instant, but unable to move as it was stunned.
[HP: 539/1350]
[Status Effect: Stun]
It also received a fair amount of damage, so it only took Stark one simple punch for the Ghoul to fall to the ground.
"Jackpot," Stark thought to himself, impressed with the power of his new skill.
"Aura Smash" was indeed a game-changer, allowing him to attack massive groups of monsters and also be allowed to use it from afar, although it did take him awhile to aim.
Maybe it would become even stronger when his domination skill and aura would level up, but until then, he was satisfied.
[You have slain three "Ghouls lv11", gained 4500EXP!]
[You have slain four "Decaying Corpses lv10", gained 4400EXP!]
[You have slain two "Black Priests lv12", gained 3500EXP!]
[Experience: 15800/25000]
'Hehe~' he was secretly proud of himself for that, wouldn't anyone be after growing stronger, but of course he didn't let it show on the outside, although there was nobody around.
He kept going after that.
But after focusing his attention far into the street ahead, he saw something weird: there was a giant fire burning.
'Huh?'
He approached it cautiously, not knowing what to expect. The fire was so large that it lit up the entire street, casting a warm and safe glow upon the surroundings, different from the darkness.
'A bonfire…?' he made sense of what it was when he was close enough.
But his view wasn't his only sense that was being triggered right now, his ears too.
He heard a faint music, and a voice singing in the direction of the bonfire?
'Humans? Are these guys dumb, they are going to attract monsters!' he began running in the direction of the bonfire, it was only a kilometer in front of him, so not that far.
[You have slain a "Ghoul lv11", gained 1500EXP!]
[You have slain a "Shadow Figure lv10", gained 1300EXP!]
On his way, he had to kill some monsters, but they didn't even put a dent on him.
He was now only 100 meters away from the bonfire.
~Laling Lalang~
The music intensified as he approached, now able to hear another person sing alongside it.
"And when the fire of your heart burns~ Nothing will be left for them to take~"
Only 50 meters.
"The light at the end is growing~ And it transcends everything I know~"
As he approached the 10 meters mark, the heat from the roaring bonfire licked at Stark's skin.
He could feel the warmth enveloping him, creating a sense of safety and comfort that he had not felt in a long time.
And suddenly, as if entering a different realm, Stark felt at ease for the first time.
"Oy~ Looks like someone else joined us!" one of the boys sitting on the ground next to the bonfire called out with a smile.
His short brown hair was ruffled and a scar adorned his right eye. In his hands, he held a yukulele which he had been playing to lift the mood.
Beside him sat another boy with black hair and a blank expression. He had been singing along with an unchanging expression this whole time, his magic staff resting beside him.
"Didn't expect someone else to come here so soon, and alone at that!" the yukulele player nodded in agreement, almost as if he was acknowledging Stark's strength.
"What is this…?" Stark asked, confused, he had felt a shiver run down his spine once he approached the bonfire, a feeling of safety taking over him.
"Hm… it's weird that you don't know, but I might as well use my knowledge to help ya~" the brown-haired man got up and brushed off the dirt from his ass , then pointed at the bonfire, "This thing is the halfway point of the rift, it serves as a landmark."
"Hm," Stark nodded.
"But that's not all," he smiled, "You see that sun above you right?"
"The Black Sun?"
"Yep yep," he nodded, "The more you stay under it, the more cursed you are."
And just as he said, when Stark thought about the black sun curse, a panel appeared in front of him.
[Black Sun Curse: 74%]
But right as he saw that…
[Black Sun Curse: 73%]
'It's going down?'
"The bonfire allows you to remove the black sun curse from your body, that's why the two of us are waiting!"
"Oh well… I hope you don't mind if I join you then," Stark kneeled down to sit on the ground, then quickly noticed that there were several monsters beside them, so he immediately got up and prepared himself to fight.
"They won't attack, they can't attack when you are near the bonfire…" the black-haired boy spoke for the first time.
"What's your name by the way," the yukulele player asked.
"…" Stark thought for a second, giving his real name wouldn't be beneficial, especially if they knew he was THE Stark, "Stalk," he answered on a whim.
"What a weird name…" he laughed, "The name's Kent, and the gloomy guy beside me is Bill!"
And just like that, Stark sat on the ground beside the bonfire, waiting for the curse of the Black Sun to go before he could continue.
After all, Stark did not plan to stick together with anyone, he would take the boss by himself.
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