am-books Chapter 98: The Finish Line
Chapter 98: The Finish Line
"This was your way of getting back at me, wasn’t it?" Verso sighed, crossing his arms as he glared at Han outside the swirling yellow portal.
Han just flashed his signature, picture perfect smile.
"That is exactly what you get for forcing my hand and exposing my Elite summon during the exams. Consider us even now, Brother Verso."
The green haired noble chuckled, adjusting his cuffs before his tone shifted into something a bit more serious.
"And either way, you should not really worry about it that much. Elite beasts are just the starting line for the Academy. According to what I found out, almost everyone in our year already has one of their own."
With that casual drop of terrifying information, Han turned and walked calmly into the glowing portal.
Verso stood there for a moment, completely paralyzed by the implication.
’Elites are just the starting line?’ He thought to himself, feeling a cold knot twist in his stomach.
’What the fuck is the finish line then? A literal god?’
Shaking his head in utter confusion and dread, Verso stepped forward, letting the yellow light consume him.
This was Verso’s first time entering the Iron Graveyard. Thanks to his daily swamp excursions with Moon, he had learned quite a bit about this specific dimensional space. Unlike the Whispering Swamp, this dungeon was unique as there was not a single Mutant tier creature inside of it.
This place was exclusively home to Elite tier beasts, and they only grew more monstrous the deeper you went.
As the spatial distortion faded, the new environment violently assaulted his senses.
The first thing he noticed was the smell. It was not the rotting, humid stench of the swamp but a rather sharp, metallic smell, like a mixture of rusted copper, hot iron, and old blood.
Verso opened his eyes and gasped.
The landscape stretched out before him like a sprawling red mesa desert. But as he looked closer, he realized the sand beneath his boots was not sand at all.
It was made entirely of granular iron shavings and fine, rusted metal particles that crunched heavily under his foot.
But what completely stole his breath was the sky.
Suspended high above the red metallic dunes were massive, floating islands made of solid, jagged steel. They hovered ominously in the blood orange sky, anchored to the desert floor by colossal, rusted iron chains that looked thick enough to carry a mountain.
Verso opened his mouth in sheer awe.
"This place is-"
"Fucking trash, I know." Moon’s voice ruthlessly cut off Verso’s sense of wonder.
The red eyed noble was already stretching his neck, cracking his knuckles with manic anticipation.
"I just hope the monsters here actually make this place worth our time."
Without waiting for a countdown, Moon flicked his hand. A crimson portal tore open, and the towering Berserker Knight stepped out, its heavy spiked armor scrapping loudly against the metallic sand.
As the knight took its position, Han also flicked his wrist as a golden portal opened. Out of it emerged the sleek and lethal Leaping White Tiger which let out a low vibrating growl that ruffled the iron dust off the ground.
Alice watched the two summons with a critical evaluating look in her eyes.
"Hmm... not bad." She noted, her voice perfectly calm.
With a graceful wave of her hand, an icy blue portal opened. Instantly the temperature in the desert lowered as a massive, majestic Yeti stepped out. Its snow white fur was an intense, glaring contrast to the red and rusted environment, and its glowing red eyes scanned the horizon with scary intelligence.
With their vanguards set, all three nobles turned in unison to look at Verso, waiting for their civilian member to bring out his Elite.
Verso froze under their combined gaze.
’There is absolutely no fucking way I can summon the Sea Serpent in a dry, rusted desert made of metal shavings,’ He realized, breaking into a nervous sweat.
’It needs water to maneuver. If I bring it out here, it will curse me until its dying breath!’
He needed a pivot, and he needed it now.
Time seemed to slow as Verso cleverly focused onto the system. He quickly opened the Synthesis Menu. He had spent the entire week farming those Lost Sirens for a reason and this was the perfect moment to cash in his hard work.
He instantly selected the Reinforced Gargoyle as his base and selected two of his Lost Sirens as material for the synthesis and went ahead with it.
The synthesis finished instantly. Verso took a deep breath, raised his hand, and flicked his wrist.
A massive, swirling blue portal ripped open high in the air above them.
THUD!
The impact shook the very ground beneath their feet, sending a shockwave of red metal dust exploding outward.
As the dust settled, Verso looked at his newly upgraded Gargoyle, and even he was slightly terrified.
The beast had undergone a massive, violent evolution. It now stood a towering fourteen feet tall. Its body was no longer just normal stone, it was covered in thick, dark grey reinforced rock that looked harder than steel.
It even had two massive, jagged horns now which were curled aggressively from the sides of its demonic head.
"What the fuck, scum?!" Moon’s excited, booming shout nearly deafened Verso. The noble ran up to the beast, his red eyes wide with absolute hype.
"You have been hiding this beast all this time?!"
Verso turned around to see Han and Alice completely frozen in shock.
Han’s diplomatic smile had completely glitched out.
The green haired heir had fully expected to see the massive water snake that Verso had used during the exam. So seeing a completely different elite beast broke every logical assumption Han had made.
"You never cease to surprise me, Brother Verso..." Han muttered, looking at Verso with deep, bewildered surprise.
"Scum, what dungeon is this from?! I want one of these too!" Moon yelled, actively walking circles around the massive Gargoyle like a kid at a car show.
As Verso looked past the chaotic noble, his eyes locked with Alice.
She was not looking at the Gargoyle at all but was focused entirely at him, her pale blue eyes practically glowing with intense interest.