Chapter 4

     Ren and Asher climbed up the hazardous stairs to the next level of the tower. They were about halfway through now. 

     They saw the boss instantly. Ren yelped. There stood a millipede, eyes bloodshot, legs long. They needed a strategy to beat it. 

Battle. 

     “Uh, Ren, it’s looking at us like it wants to attack us.”

     “No dip. The question is, what’s our plan?” 

      Ren and Asher observed their surroundings, checking every corner of the room. There was nothing anywhere. 

     “I’m going to have to use my skills. By the way, what class are you, Ren?” 

     “Unique. Wrath of Zeus, SS++.” 

     Asher gaped at Ren. 

     “That’s the best rank you can possibly get! How long have you been in this world?” Asher asked. 

     “4 hours.” 

     “Oh sh-”

     An explosion threw them off the ground. The millipede stayed, though, and they landed on it. It screeched, and started running around. It was super fast, and it zipped around the room. Ren activated a skill. Oppression. His blade switched out for his hand, and he dug it into the spine of the deathly creature. It groaned, and zipped around the room even faster. 

     Asher fell off, and hit the barren ground hard. The thud made Ren wince. 

     Ren dug the blade back out of the ‘Pede’s skin. He slashed it back in, cutting through more skin. This time, the millipede fell, leaving dust in its wake. 

     Asher got up and walked over to it. He checked the pulse, and there wasn’t one. 

     Ren and Asher headed up the stairs to the fourth floor. When they got to the top, they gaped at what they saw. 

     At the center of the floor was a knight, decked in full armor. He towered over them by about 3 and a half feet, and he held a sword with a fancy hilt and a sharp edge. 

Stats.  

     “Yo, Asher. I need you to cover for me while I regenerate my Ki.” said Ren. 

     Asher nodded. He ran to the side and used one of his skills. Instantly, he looked up. As Ren was regenerating Ki, some sort of spirit in the shape of a bear lifted out of his nose. It was transparent, yet it looked absolutely deadly. 

     Asher’s and his bear’s movements were perfectly synchronized. When Asher punched, the bear did the same. When the bear roared, so did Asher. They stood side by side, fighting the knight head on. The guy was putting up quite a fight, though. He had single-handedly put up with Asher and his Bear spirit. 

     After a full five minutes, Ren was done regenerating his Ki. He activated Oppression, and his blade was back out. 

     He charged at the knight, joining Asher and the Bear. The knight was overpowered, and they drove it back into the wall, where they dug their blades and claws into the armor, ending it all. 

     Sullen, Ren and Asher climbed the stairs to the final level, where the final and hardest boss would lay. 

     “We have to beat this boss. It’s one of my quests to get to Level 20 and unlock all my abilities.” 

     Asher nodded slowly, and they made it to the top of the stairs. 

     There, in the middle of the barren, cold, hard floor, laid a dragon. The dragon had red scales, covering its entire body. They knew the dragon was the boss battle. 

     This was the hardest dungeon Asher had ever faced. Ren had never even faced one. They were underprepared, yet they stood, shivering in the cold, ready for a fight. 

     Suddenly, Ren got a notification. He opened it. 

     “Asher! I got a new S-Tier skill!” Asher grinned at this. 

     “Use it! Destroy this son of a b-!” 

     Asher was suddenly thrown off the ground before he could get another word out. He was struck by the dragon’s tail. He fell to the ground, groaning. 

     Ren could tell his friend was hurt, so he had to take the dragon on by himself. 

     Iron Fists. Pieces of metal from his surroundings zipped up into the sky, piercing the roof of the tower. Then, they came back down, forming iron fists around his hand. 

     Ren felt a jolt of energy come over him. He rushed towards the dragon, metal fists clenched. The dragon swung its tail. 

     Ren vaulted it and reached the dragon’s body. He swung his fist into the dragon, drawing blood. 

     Ren could tell the dragon was hurt, so he did it again. This time, the iron fist went straight through. He dug it out, and it was covered in blood. 

     The dragon roared, baring sharp fangs. Then, it breathed fire at Ren. As Ren watched, everything went into slow-motion. The fire was building over itself to reach Ren. Ren watched as it engulfed him. But oddly, he didn’t feel pain. He only felt something on his skin. He looked down and gasped. His skin… wasn’t skin. It was armor. Metal armor shining red because of the fire. 

     The dragon kept breathing fire, and Ren kept resisting it. Suddenly, Ren heard a thump, and the fire stopped. Asher had killed it. 

     Deactivate Iron Fists. Ren’s body and fists came back to normal, all the metal being lifted off of him. He also felt a lot lighter. 

     Asher and Ren side-hugged and watched the dungeon fade. 

     Ren saw his experience bar go up to Level Three. He grinned. 

     Asher sat down, still hurt. Ren sat down by him. Suddenly, Ren noticed that he had one notification in his quests tab. He opened it.