Chương 92

The entrance to the Yatan Temple was hidden perfectly within the jagged shadows of the rocky canyon. Rudra didn't bother trying to sneak in. He simply kicked the heavy wooden doors off their iron hinges. The loud crash echoed through the dark, torch-lit halls, instantly alerting every cultist on the upper level.

"Intruder!" a robed black magician screamed, pointing a crooked wand at him.

"Kill him in the name of God Yatan!" A dozen cultists rushed forward, chanting dark spells. Rudra just leaned casually against his Staff of the Fire Lord. He didn't even raise his weapon. He looked down at the half-gold, half-black divine beast sitting by his boots.

"Alright, Kratos," Rudra said, pointing at the charging mob.

"Dinner time. Go earn your keep."

"Squeak!" Kratos barked enthusiastically. The dog-sized cub leaped forward. A cultist fired a heavy sphere of dark magic, expecting to blast the animal into the stone wall. Kratos didn't dodge. He simply opened his tiny jaws. [Mana Devourer (Lv. 2) has been activated!] Kratos swallowed the dark magic sphere whole, letting out a satisfied burp. The cultists froze, staring in absolute disbelief as the divine beast converted their spell into pure energy. Before they could cast another, Kratos opened his mouth again.

A highly concentrated, swirling beam of absolute light and thick darkness erupted from his jaws. [Eclipse Strike (Lv. 2)]! The beam swept across the hallway, obliterating the front line of black magicians. They turned to grey ash instantly. [Your pet 'Kratos' has defeated a Yatan Cultist!] [Your pet 'Kratos' has leveled up!] Rudra walked slowly behind his pet, acting as a walking shield.

Whenever a cultist managed to throw a physical dagger or cast a curse from a blind spot, Rudra just lazily swatted it out of the air with his staff, leaving the actual killing blows to the cub.

"Good boy," Rudra praised as Kratos tackled another dark knight, viciously biting through the man's leather armor.

"Keep it up. Your stats are looking much better." They cleared the upper levels in less than twenty minutes. The cultists simply didn't have the firepower to scratch Rudra's passive defenses, and Kratos was leveling up at a terrifying speed from the high-tier experience points. Just as Rudra was inspecting a nearby altar for any stray gold coins, the floor beneath his boots violently vibrated. A massive, unnatural pulse of energy and dark mana echoed from the bedrock below. The stone pillars around him cracked.

Rudra frowned, feeling the sheer density of the mana gathering right beneath his feet.

"Someone is throwing a serious tantrum down there. It feels like an ultimate spell." He tapped the stone floor with his boot. Through his high Insight and combat senses, he could easily map the chaos in the basement. Several life signatures were rapidly fading. Two weak presences—likely NPCs—were completely cornered by a massive surge of dark magic.

"Well, Kratos," Rudra said, gripping his heavy bone staff with both hands.

"I think the real party is downstairs. Step back." The cub scrambled backward. Rudra didn't look for the stairs. He raised the Staff of the Fire Lord high over his shoulder, channeling his massive physical strength and the heavy weight of the weapon into a single point. He twisted his body, aiming directly at the stone floor.

"[Crushing Strike]." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. KABOOM! The impact was deafening. The heavy ironwood didn't just break the floor; it completely pulverized the bedrock. The Echo Strike passive triggered instantly, sending a second and third phantom shockwave ripping through the foundation. The floor gave way.

Massive chunks of stone, dirt, and debris plummeted into the dark basement below, letting the bright afternoon sunlight pierce into the temple for the first time in centuries. Rudra dropped right through the massive hole, landing heavily in the center of the basement. The shockwave from his landing ripped through the room like a hurricane. The explosive fire from his staff swept outward, instantly vaporizing the twenty black magicians surrounding the central altar.

As the dust settled, Rudra rested his staff on his shoulder and looked around. The basement was a total wreck. A massive boulder had fallen from the ceiling and completely flattened a guy wearing nothing but beginner underwear.

"Yikes. Bad day for that guy," Rudra muttered, wincing at the squashed player turning into grey light. Near the exit, a battered NPC in light armor was carrying a beautiful, unconscious woman in his arms. The NPC stopped at the edge of the crater, staring at Rudra with pure, unadulterated awe.

"Whoever you are... the Steim family owes you an eternal debt!" the NPC shouted over the crumbling stone.

"I will find you, my benefactor!"

"Uh, sure. Take care," Rudra waved casually as the NPC sprinted up the stairs to safety. With the rescue out of the way, Rudra turned his attention to the only other person left alive in the ruined basement. She was currently pulling herself out of a pile of shattered stone. Her elegant black suit was covered in dust, and her defensive Diamond Barrier was completely shattered into glowing purple fragments. Rudra blinked. He recognized that flawless black hair and pale skin immediately.

"Oh. Hey, dark mage aunty," Rudra said, offering a casual, unbothered smile.

"Long time no see." Yura froze. Her dark eyes went wide as she stared at the man in the black trench coat. He wasn't wearing his dark leather mask anymore, but she recognized the heavy bone staff and the terrifying, overwhelming physical presence instantly. A year ago, he had effortlessly ignored her spells and slapped her across the face in a muddy swamp. He was Rudra. The Rank 1 player.

"You," Yura whispered, her voice losing its usual calm melody.

"You followed me here?"

"Followed you? I didn't even know you were here," Rudra laughed.

"I was just looking for some dark magic herbs and maybe some gold. You just happened to be standing under my shortcut." Yura gritted her teeth. Her pride as the 5th ranked player in the world flared up. She refused to be humiliated by this man twice. She quickly raised her obsidian wand, gathering the last of her mana.

"I will not let you insult me again!"

"[Dark Bullet]!" Three dense spheres of black magic shot toward Rudra's chest at breakneck speed. Rudra didn't even bother casting Iron Guard. His base stats were hovering near the 1, 300 mark, and his Man Who Touched Heaven title passively neutralized 10% of all dark magic. He just lazily swatted his staff through the air. Smash. The heavy bone shaft batted the dark magic spheres aside like baseballs. They exploded harmlessly against the cavern walls. Yura gasped, stepping backward.

She was completely out of mana from casting Dark Storm earlier, and her stamina was in the red.

"Look, I really don't feel like fighting you today," Rudra said, stepping forward with his absurd Agility. He crossed the distance between them in a fraction of a second, appearing right in front of her. Before Yura could even react, Rudra simply tapped the blunt end of his staff against her shoulder. It wasn't a heavy swing, but the raw force behind his massive Strength stat was absolute. [You have dealt catastrophic damage!] Yura let out a quiet gasp as her remaining health evaporated instantly.

Her elegant figure dissolved into a cloud of grey ash, logging her out of the game and sending her straight to the resurrection temple. [You have defeated a hostile player.]"Well, that was anti-climactic," Rudra sighed, lowering his staff.

"Squeak!" Kratos finally jumped down through the hole in the ceiling, landing safely in the rubble. The cub immediately started sniffing the broken altar.

"Yeah, let's grab the loot before the rest of the ceiling caves in," Rudra agreed. He spent the next ten minutes rummaging through the ruined basement. The Yatan Church was notoriously wealthy, and destroying a regional stronghold paid off immensely. Hidden beneath the cracked stone altar, he found a heavy iron lockbox. He smashed the lock with the butt of his staff and pulled the lid open. [Item Acquired: 10, 450 Gold.] [Item Acquired: Shadow-Root Herb (x12).] [Item Acquired: Vials of Condensed Demonic Blood (x5).]"Ten thousand gold," Rudra grinned, tossing the heavy coin pouches into his inventory.

"That's a nice chunk of change. And Elysia is going to love these herbs for her alchemy tower." Satisfied with his haul, Rudra whistled for Kratos. The two of them climbed out of the ruined basement, leaving the collapsed Yatan Temple behind.