Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 80: Chapter 75: Descending Demon

Read chapter 80 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 75: Descending Demon Chapter 75: Descending Demon Stepping through the portal to the third and final floor of the dungeon should have felt more impact-full in Alex’s opinion. Instead it simply felt like walking into a hospital. It was cold, sterile and far too bright than it had any business being. The cavern was massive, dome-shaped, the air thick with the cold weight of ancient magic. The walls curved in smooth, unnatural arcs. At the far side of the chamber, a tall figure waited, motionless, half-shadowed by the bright glyphlight bleeding from the walls. Alex slowed his pace to a stop, his eyes scanning the chamber. The floor was the real showstopper. It stretched out in concentric rings, all carved with glowing glyphs and interlocking sigil scripts. Some pulsed faintly, others looked dead. There were small ridges separating each band, almost like rails or locks that could spin or realign. “Obby,” Alex muttered under his breath, “is it just me, or was I totally right and this place screams ‘final boss battle’?” You have entered: The Containment Arena ‎ Dungeon Floor 3 – Subdomain: Warden’s Cell ‎ Objective: Kill the Trial Warden Obby pulsed once in his mind. “ Oh, you are about to be so thoroughly wrecked ” The figure at the far end stirred. It stepped into full view, letting Alex see it clearly for the first time. The undead entity was tall, emaciated, wrapped in robes half-melted into platemail and bone. Its skin was stretched thin over a skeletal frame, and its face was hidden behind a cracked bronze mask, half-fused to its skull. Lines of ancient glyphs pulsed like veins across its body and armor, some etched directly into the bone itself. In its right hand it held a long halberd weapon made from fused rib bones and reinforced with a steel blade. Runes spiraled along its haft like vines strangling a tree branch. Sickly red-green energy radiated from its edge. Alex’s gut twisted just looking at the thing. His hand brushed the kobold dagger at his side. It was warm, too warm. Don’t start shit, he thought. Not yet. The figure raised a single hand, and the glyphs around the chamber flashed once, just briefly, and then dimmed. Alex set himself into a ready pose, flowing into the first stance of the Demon Asura. He was ready. Challenge accepted motherfucker. He launched forward, boots slidding across the glyph-ringed floor as he closed the distance. He prepared no spell, had no overarching battle plan. He went in with just fists and fury. His arms blurred into motion, his movements flowing sharp and precise as he struck low, then high, chaining a sweep into a spinning elbow that slammed straight into the Warden’s armored chest. The sound was like hitting a wall of stone, jarring Alex’s arm and sending him stumbling. He grunted and ducked just as the Warden countered with an overhead swing. The halberd cut the air with a hiss, clipping the edge of his leather torso armor and sending him skidding back even further. Alex looked down seeing the leather armor torn open and flopping to the side. That was the barest of grazes, if it had been a true hit… Alex was in serious danger. Not to even mention the fact his attack did nothing at all to the Warden. “Okay. So that’s a no on punching through your bony-ass chestplate.” Alex looked back at the boss with a bare smirk. The Warden didn’t speak. It simply started walking toward him. Another flurry followed, this time he moved purely on instinct, deflecting the halberd’s shaft with his forearms, turning inside the arc of its spin. He aimed his next punch for the elbow joint, an open spot in the armor plating, but even that was reinforced with glyphs that shimmered when struck. It like it’s protected by a spell or... no. Not a spell. A glyph array. He ducked under a horizontal slash, planting one hand on the ground, and used the momentum to roll into a backward spring. He landed near the second ring of floor-glyphs and glanced down. The runes were different here, not decorative o