Shadowbound Ascension: The Necromancer's Journey

Aiden was standing at the entrance of the dungeon, feeling his heart beating violently against his rib cage as the heavy,half scary aura ensued from the large door. That once was an E-rank dungeon, that is until it showed its true colors and had a corrupting influence. He understood that this was no simple mission, the burden of his mother's life lay heavily on his shoulders like impending storm. He moved a step nearer, and all the landscape appeared to be damped with frost.

[DA Initiated – Analysis – Scanning.. ]

He closed his eyes and the voice of the system flooded him into the thick atmosphere of his mind saying- Aiden had been so used to it and now he would need the path to guide him more than before.

[Dungeon Type: Veiled Abyss]

[Current Rank: We came, we saw, we scanned: A-rank—a browser in sheep's clothing, disguised as E-rank.

[Danger Level: High]

His hand holding the weapon clenched even further. At least he had had a start at the system and its workings now he had a problem before him far beyond his practiced abilities. However, there was no way I could turn back now and this urged me to go on. His mother was out of time and so was he.

The system started its explanation as he moved deeper into the dungeon.

[Please find below Dungeon Ranks an Types: overposting, pulldown, background, print, direct, links]

There is rank associated with the dungeons depicting the difficulty level and the threats posed by the creatures in that specific rank, the layout of the dungeon and the kind of treasure that can be expected to be found.

It grows darker and Aiden is forced to listen while walking deeper into the dark abyss with the only path clearly visible in front of him.

[Dungeon Rank Chart]

[H-rank: The first level, which is populated by small and powerless monsters and utilized for starting hunters.

[G-rank: A tad higher up the experience bracket with monsters that could deal some damage if not controlled.

[F-rank: A little bit harder, now with the basic traps and much more tagetic monsters.

[E-rank: Home to most creatures which are strictly introductory level, but this area poses a somewhat higher risk to the hunters.

[D-rank: They are easy to pass with moderate level of toughness which comprises of medium level monsters and occasional traps on the environment.

[C-rank: Some are dungeons that presents trap mechanisms, pathway options, and difficult level monsters.

[B-rank: Tougher instances tailored for the higher level players and providing higher ranking beasts and even true bosses of the instance.

[A-rank: Difficult places full of superior monsters, large numbers of them, intricate design, and high probabilities of hunters' extermination.

[S-rank: Very hard modes – very strong bosses and very rare and valuable items are given for this kind of dungeons, which have to be cleared by the top teams of hunters.

[SS and SSS-rank: Famous dungeons that can only be cleared only by hunters who are strongest in the world Most of the team members die if they don't have a top-tier party.

[M-rank: It is possible to go even further and divide dungeons by ranks as well as their difficulty: M-rank dungeons are the absolute top of the list; incredibly rare and quite dangerous – they are accessible only to the strongest players in the world.

Aiden stop and choked on his breath.

[God-rank: Mythical. Only four have ever appeared in the world. Three have broken, causing havoc and leaving destruction in their wake. One was defeated by a ten-member team of M-rank hunters but seven of the team didn't survive and are currently on death's door step. The current 3 M-rank hunters, which are successors of those hunters]

The burden of the information went heavily on his chest. God-rank dungeons. .. they were the legends which people discussed in hush and fear. The suffering partly inflicted by the ones that broke had left man-made marks on the face of planet, large chunks of territories uninhabitable. And only one had ever been cleared that was done by the strongest hunters that are alive and could barely walk.

It felt like the whole world is against Aiden as he continued to move forward to the deeper part of the dungeon. The air was getting heavier and the darkness appeared to move around them. It was impossible to think any further about God-rank dungeons at this point. His job was here: in this prison. Well, his mother's life was at stake here and that did it.

Suddenly, I felt the ground to rumble and out of the darkness a huge beast appeared. It's skin was like the exterior of a lizard, with sharp spikes, its eyes where yellow and looked ill, and it let out a low menacing growl from its stomach. It was huge, larger than any opponent Aiden had come cross before; the attitude of this creature was pure animality.

[Dungeon Boss Detected: Abyssal Tyrant. [ Text-blank ] Abyssal Tyrant.

[Rank: A]

[Danger Level: Critical. ]

I rushed towards Aiden and hastily said: "Decrease the level of anxiety." The Abyssal Tyrant raised its voice to a painful roar and moved invincibly forwards with incredible speed. Aiden could hardly make ample time to avoid the threat, his actions becoming more of a reflex as he manages to roll away from the path of a large pair of claws that threatened to come down on him.

He held his sword firmly, the system speaking to him the basic techniques and forms he had learnt. However, the Tyrant was quick – much quicker than the boy had thought it possible for an organism of that bulk. With this, its' claws lashed out at him again, and before he could avoid it, he had to roll to the side evasively.

For a moment there was a doubt. Could he really defeat this sort of opportunity?

[Come on, boy, don't lose sight of the objective now. You have become stronger You should use that.

Aiden looked to the side and nodded, clenching his jaws. In this case he just could not afford to be hesitant and begin to question his own capabilities. Taking a deep breath he charged forward this time hoping the Tyrant would not notice him and rush for an unprotected side. His sword hit the mark and slid through its tough skin armor and it barely flinched as if the strike did not even phase it.

Snarling ferociously the Abyssal Tyrant spun around it's tail and struck Aiden taking him out and slamming him into the cave wall. They both got up and began to walk, A pain shot through his body he was clutching his arm and there was blood on it. Blindness knitted his eyes ever so slightly for a few seconds but he willed them into focus.

[You've unlocked a new skill: Dark Strike. Release your inner energy in a strong, accurate blow which has an even stronger affect on enemies that are already impaired.

Taking all the energy that he had, Aiden began to use the skill. His weapon lifted its glowing aura of darkness again and started to hum. He once again ran towards the Tyrant and avoiding the creature's sharp claws, jumped as high as he could. With a sharp and forceful strike, he swung his sword on the head of the naked creature.

Finally Dark Strike sliced through the layer and the energy struck as it met the thick armor. Abyssal Tyrant blinked, clutching its chest, and fell back. Aiden didn't let up. He moved forward; his blows rain louder and precisely with every move he made with the rod. Dangers grew, its movements slowed, and the creature became exhausted showing open wounds on it.

It would be the finishing blow that would defeat the Tyrant once and for all; Aiden thrust his sword into the Tyrant's chest. The creature drew in her last breath and shrieked in pain before falling on the floor and turning into ashes.

Huffing out, feeling all his muscles cry out in protest, Aiden stood over the remains. His vision was only enough to let him stand up with difficulty. All the fight had been knocked out of him and he found his body weighed so much due to the injuries he had received.

[Victory Achieved. Experience Gained: The population in this study was 10,000.

He bent down to one knee getting his wind back. His body protested loudly and each and every muscle of his body hurt, but he had triumphed. The danger in the dungeon was much more than he had envisaged but he escaped the clutches of the dungeon alive.

It was at this time when Aiden was trying to rise up from the chair that the system again sounded a beep!

[Hooray, Aiden! You have leveled up. ]

His eyes opened as he saw the notification in front of him.

[Current Rank: E]

[Rank Skipped: Hence the progressive decline from G to F to E is shown as [ G → F → E.

He had passed one entire rank of students; so that even the superior rank was hardly more than a boy of his own age. Closed his eyes and felt the nice warm feeling of a job done well and a feeling of confidence fill him up, but there was still a nagging thought in the back of his mind — he was not yet strong enough. He wanted and needed more power, and more strength if he was going to be able to assist in saving his mother, and also to overcome the other hurdles which await him.

He digested the range of information and the cave changed shape and a dim light appeared in the dark tunnel. However, he never got a chance to make another move and before he knew it, the curtain fell for the exhausted man.

The last thing he remembered to listen was that voice of the system which was gentle and full of comfort.

[Rest, Aiden. You have moved on you have to continue to fight in the journey ahead of you. ]