What they did not count on however, was the trapdoor being a very long shaft of darkness. The two of them pretty much slid about in the dark for a whole ten minutes before crashing out of the chute into a disheveled pile at the end. Immediately, the smell of rotten garbage assaulted their nose, causing them to gag and choke.

“Goddamnit, it is a freaking rubbish chute!” Beast exclaimed in dismay, while trying to catch his breath back. Kiki on the other hand was dead silent. “Kiki?” He looked down.

The blushing face of the assassin girl stared back at him with accusing eyes. It took Beast exactly three seconds to register that they had somehow emerged from the fall in a compromising position. With a cry of surprise, he leap to his feet. Many apologies were uttered, to which Kiki replied by silently holding out her hand.

“What? Oh!” Taking the offered hand he pulled her up, all while observing her face for any signs of killing intent. This was a girl who stalked her target for days and killed him without mercy; Beast feared that he might become her next target.

His fears however, were unfounded. Kiki simply acted like nothing ever happened. “This place seems like a cavern.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if whoever wrote the messages actually came down here to hide. And since this is a garbage dump we might probably find another way out, like an emergency exit or something. We should check out the place.”

Nodding in agreement, the both of them readied their stance and ventured forward.

The catacombs of Lanos was like a labyrinth made from decades of disuse and erosion. Vermin crawled from every crook and cranny and the stone that the chamber was made of soon gave way to windy dirt tunnels newly made by its current inhabitants. Speaking of which, the main monsters that roamed the underground consists of Ratmen at level 48 and the occasional reptile-like Armadillo at a high level of 52. Despite the poisonous nature of the ratmen and the stubborn thick hide of the armadillo, the above monsters were easily handled between Beast’s and Kiki’s teamwork, thank goodness for the assassin’s in-depth knowledge of poisons and their antidotes. Furthermore, the ratmen seemed to be more disorganized than the hobgoblins above and appeared in lesser numbers together, making them much easier to take care of. The armadillo took some effort, but even the thickest of hides could not stand against continuous attacks from foes it could not catch and see. Of course, Beast made sure to harvest its skin after the monster died.

Then, there was the massive ant-cockroach like hybrid called the not-very-creative name of Antroach. This guy was a different story compared to those mentioned above. Standing at a hefty level of 75, the Antroach was far beyond the level of the dungeon. Luckily, there seemed to be only one of it roaming the labyrinth of tunnels and from the looks of it, it was its king. Beast and Kiki avoided it like a plague; the one time they accidentally engaged it in combat, it surprised them by attacking and killing their target – an injured armadillo – in a single bull rush. Beast tried to attack, but his unreinforced punch could not even make a single dent on the monster’s carapace. Likewise, the lower leveled Kiki could not penetrate the armor much. They were left with no choice but to flee, which involved diving into a pile of garbage and staying there unmoving until the Antroach finished gnawing on the dead armadillo and moved off. Kiki was understandably in an irritated mood for a while after that.

Currently, the duo was resting in one of the alcoves in the catacombs.

“Hey, do you think… that these might be the thing’s … eggs?” Kiki slowly asked as she poked at one of the many grimy black objects occupying the alcove they were in.

“I hope not.” The consequences of what the inverse might be was too terrifying to imagine. Thousands of Antroaches roaming the tunnels was not a very ideal situation for them right now. “Even if they are, I think there is only one of it. The eggs are likely to be duds.”

The assassin girl was seen heaving a sigh of relief, until she saw what her partner had been doing.

“Uh… Beast what are you doing?”

“Gathering some of these -”

“What!? Why on earth would you do that?”

“Why not?” Beast nonchalantly lobbed one of the black things into the cooking pot, causing a gagging reflex from the girl. “My deer meat is running out and we needed food.”

Cooking has increased to Basic 6

Cooking speed +6%

All stats +1

You have learnt the Recipe: Insect Sunshine Surprise

When consumed:

+10% damage

+4 Dexterity

For four hours game time.

Beast wisely stayed silent at the pop-up for the new recipe.

“B-But… but…”

“It is fortunate they are more like ant eggs than cockroach eggs.”

Kiki only reply was by looking like she was about to vomit.

……….

“Yes!” Beast exclaimed. After much combat in the catacombs of Lanos, both his skills Bare-Handed Mastery and Iron Body had finally broke into the intermediate phase of the skill. While Kiki simply shrugged and went over to strip down the rat men for loot, Beast could not hide his excitement as he tapped on the skill notification window.

Bare-Handed Mastery has increased to Intermediate 1

+5 Strength

+5 Dexterity

Congratulations on leveling your first skill to the intermediate stage. Every skill that reaches a new phase will obtain an additional effect or sometimes reward you with a new skill.

Bare-Handed Mastery (Intermediate 1)

+20% damage when bare handed

+2% critical damage

Iron Body has increased to Intermediate 1

+5 Stamina

Iron Body (Intermediate 1)

Iron Body now applies even when wearing armour.

However, Iron body can only be trained when not wearing armour.

+10% resistance to all damage when not wearing armor

+200 health points

You have learned a synergized skill: Chi

It was at this point Beast’s eyes widened. Synergized skills was a relatively new concept for him even when he had been through many other games, so the fact that Ages Online boast such a feature was surprising and interesting at the same time.

“Skill Window, Chi”

Chi (Basic 1)

Synergized skill resulting from Intermediate Bare Hand Mastery, Intermediate Iron Body and Throwing, this skill allows the user to transcend the limits of the human body by gathering internal life energy known as chi in various anatomical locations for the user’s own purpose. Chi can be utilized in two ways.

Chi Fortify

Gather mana at a body location to fortify it against attacks. The strength of the fortification depends on the amount of mana injected.

5 mana/ damage mitigated.

Chi Blast

By gathering mana at one’s hands or legs when attacking, one is able to deal more damage than with simple strikes. The strength of the additional impact depends on the amount of mana injected. One can also choose to fire off the gathered mana for range damage using the Throw skill.

5 mana/ damage dealt

Beast could not help but let out a wry smile. In the end it was just a glorified Mana Shield and Mana Bomb. The new skill was telling him he needed a whole bucket load of mana in order to pull it off, what with the Prime skills and all, but all he had added ever since he leveled had been strength dexterity and stamina because of necessity in order to survive the treacherous world. He raised an eyebrow at the mention of Throwing though; that skill had depleted all of his spears and also risen to basic 5.

With a sigh, Beast looked disapprovingly at his own stat window.

Status WindowName:BeastLevel:43Profession:Lore KeeperRace:HumanGender:MaleTitles:Troll Slayer

+10% dmg to trolls, +3 to all statsFame:40-Health:1850 (+200)Mana:1270 (+500)Strength:158 (+3)Intelligence:58 (+3)Dexterity:155 (+3)Wisdom:80 (+3)Stamina:130(+3)Luck:24 (+3)Bare Hand Mastery, +20% to bare hand damage, +2% crit damage

Iron Body, +10% resistance to all damage, +200 HPEquipment EffectsVanadic Tome of Artifacts: +500 manaRelationsCaerheim: 86

Even if he were to pour all his mana into the new skill, at the current stage he could only block or deal at most 356 damage. For it to be more worth his while, he would have to grind it up. Though it seemed that he might be able to exploit a certain loophole to do so; the next battle will tell. At the very least he had a form of range attack beside his throwing spears now.

“So… how is it?” Kiki had finished her task, and approached with a curious look.

“Well, I might be becoming more monk-like than ever.” He told her about Chi.

“Well, that is better than my own intermediate skills. All they ever add is critical chance and damage.” The assassin girl pouted. “Though I am kind of envious…. It is not every day one will have the exact combination of skills for a synergized skill.”

Beast shrugged. Like what Kiki said, it was extremely rare for normal players to be able to obtain the right combination of skills to access synergized skills. Whoever in the right mind would actually stay defenseless and fight empty handed for extended period of time like he did? Furthermore there was the throwing skill that he happened to pick up because of the incident with the antrollopes. While it might have seemed like a first-world problem, if he had a choice he would not be like this in the first place. Not wanting to start a debate with Kiki, he simply went to find and engage their next monster.

To his joy, the exploit Beast had in mind did work. By using just a single point of mana to fortify or reinforces his blows, it still counted as using the skill and contributing to its experience. And because a single mana was more or less expendable, it became such that he was able to use it several times per encounter to the point where after thirty odd battles, the skill had already grown to Basic level 5. Furthermore, his throwing skill was being leveled at the same time when he was firing off puny one-damage chi blasts.

Kiki was their main damage dealer, so he could grind his skill in relative peace. Only when they are dealing with groups of three or more did he actually went for real damage output.

“Hey… I know you want to grind the skill but aren’t you being a little too relaxed?” The girl finally voiced out her opinion during one of their breaks by a fire made from burning flammable garbage.

“Hmm?”

“You know… the one-damage things you have been using…”

Beast offered her a grilled sunshine surprise in reply as though in apology. “Ah yes... You know how new skills are.”

Kiki popped the ball of protein goodness into her mouth; she no longer seem to mind the fact that it was something laid by a fusion between an ant and a cockroach.

“I know, but I just feel that our battle time has increased and I am uneasy about it. What if something interrupts in the middle of the fight? What if that thing finds us?”

“… ” It was true; he was deliberately lengthening battles just to grind. “You have a point there, I am sorry.”

Battles after on were faster, because Beast start to actively used Chi to augment his blows. It was not as exploit-y and efficient in skill grinding as before, but at least he was able to give Kiki a peace of mind. After battling alongside her for so long, he did not want to damage the relationship they have with such a petty and inconsequential thing. Skill grinding could always be done another time.

……………………

The catacombs led deeper and deeper with no sign of heading upwards. Beast gauged a rough estimate that they must have travelled down at least five floors. Today marked the tenth day the both of them had been in here and truth be told he was getting anxious. Even though it was all virtual and he could always take a shower back in real life, all the grime and muck seemed real enough to cause slight discomfort whenever he log into the feeling of having bathed in garbage and slime. And sometimes all the tunnels do was to lead back to where they were moments ago.

It was getting on Beast’s nerves and while the experience gain in here was good, soon they will draper off as both Beast and Kiki out-level the monsters. Then, the only thing that was worth staying here for would be gone, leaving them no motivation to continue wandering the tunnels.

Was this how Beast will end his gaming days on Ages Online? No, he refused to believe it. Every game he played, he made sure he made it to the best of the best. Even if he was not the top, he would be within at least top twenty. Ages Online would not be an exception; He would not stop until he found the exit and he would be damned if he quit for such a stupid reason.

It was about the time Beast made his resolution when the duo finally came across a chamber within the tunnels that was not quite like the rest. For one, the amount of eggs that laced the walls of the chamber doubled the number found in the other alcove. Second, the hulking black-brown mass that quivered ever so slightly in the middle of the room struck panic into the hearts of the lore keeper and the assassin.

“Oh my god, “ Kiki gasped. “We found its nest.”

Sure enough, the antennae of the Antroach perked up as though it heard itself being mentioned.

“Okay Kiki, take slow steps backwards. It should not have noticed us yet. It-“

It was too late. With a speed that did not fit its monstrous stature, the Antroach zoomed past them to block the exit of the place before either of them could react. Then, its mandibles clicked together in an annoying sound, as though it was taunting them.

“Kiki!” At Beast’s shout, the assassin immediately activated her stealth skill and faded from view while Beast himself went into combat stance. If the monster did not want to let them out, then from now on it could only be a fight to the death. “Prime: Bloodline Aura!”

Even though the monster is at level 75 and he himself at a measly forties, Beast could easily bridge the gap with his Bloodline Aura. The only problem would be the carapace’s hardiness that had stood impervious to their attacks the previous time round. He had an idea on how to overcome that though. Using his newly enhanced speed to match the Antroach’s own, Beast nimbly dodged the monster’s mandibles as they close in for a bite and grabbed it at the last moment. Swinging himself up, Beast vaulted himself onto the head which he then used the last second of the aura to let fly a chi-augmented punch right into the bug’s hexagonal eyes.

If the Antroach could scream, it would have unleashed a wail that would shake the caverns. Beast struggled to maintain his footing as the Antroach thrashed about in agony, before a sudden blow from his back knocked him back down onto the ground.

-313 HP

“What the f…” Beast held his head in pain, not wanting to believe the horror that is before him. The greatest fear that had struck down many brave men and women, especially women, was not when a cockroach appeared in the house; it was when they start to fly. Flapping its wings with supersonic speed that it started to buzz, the Antroach lifted itself up into the air like an angel of vengeance. Then, it hurtled right at Beast.

“Dodge it, Beast!” Came a shriek.

Everything happened all at once. Beast activated his Bloodline Aura and jumped to his left. He dodged the main blow but still could not escape the attack entirely and the residual force flung him across the room into a pile of eggs which burst open into black goo. At the same time, a girl jumped and stabbed a knife right down on one of the Antroach’s legs as it swept across, pining it down onto the ground. The momentum was so great that it tore the leg off as the Antroach zipped past, splattering the area and Kiki with noxious brown fluids.

“F*ck my life.” She cursed as she spat out bits of Antroach innards.

“How the heck did you do that?”

“Opportunity Strike, for two seconds you can do one attack while everything moves in slow motion.” Another assassin skill that emphasized on getting that one hit in where it matters. “I will tell you later. It looks pretty angry right now.”

Angry was an understatement. The Antroach was furious at these invaders of its home. Not only did the human boy injure its eye, the girl did something that tore one of its legs off. All it could feel right at that moment over its pain is its desire to mutilate the both of them into tiny pieces. With an antroach’s equivalent to a roar, it bull rushed at the nearest target – the girl.

Kiki froze against the on-coming attack. Being used to fighting from behind and killing the enemy off within a few strikes, she found herself unable to react in time to this full-frontal assault. The only thing she could do was to close her eyes and brace for impact. Except that the impact never came.

A blow from the side knocked her away from the path of the attack, and they both tumbled on the ground as the Antroach barely missed. Kiki opened her eyes to the sound of the monster trampling over its own eggs and the sight of Beast holding her in his arms.

“Damn… I got hit.” The Lore Keeper groaned. Sure enough, a long bloody gash was drawn across Beast’s back, courtesy of the Antroach’s mandibles. “You okay?”

Kiki mutely nodded as she stared back.

“Good, go back into stealth and see if you can land a critical hit on its eyes. I will do something to stop it.”

“But…”

“Trust me.”

Another nod and the assassin faded from view.

By then, the Antroach had regained its bearing and is preparing for another bull rush at Beast. This time however, Beast had no plans to dodge. Quaffing down two healing potions to top off his health, Beast stood at a defensive stance and concentrated all of his mana into his body. When the blow hit, it felt as though every inch of his body was breaking. Then, the mandibles sliced into his skin and could have snapped him into two if not for the mana fortifying his body. Beast wanted to scream out in pain, but then it seemed that his jawbone had broken as well. Just when it appears that all is over, they smashed into the rock wall, bringing fresh waves of pain coursing through Beast’s body.

-1784 HP

That was an extreme amount of damage, even with a supposed mitigation of around 500 damage via Chi Fortify. However, despite the pain there was a smirk on Beast’s face as he stared back into the soulless compound eyes of the Antroach.

The next moment, both eyes erupted into brown-black goo. Kiki, after driving her knifes into the vulnerable eyes of Antroach and twisting them in the most brutal fashion she knew, was thrown off by the rearing back of the monster in its utmost agony. In fact, it tensed up like an erect tower before collapsing backwards onto its back and exposing its underside.

“Now!” Beast spoke through clenched teeth after being dropped unceremoniously. “The underbelly!”

As the Antroach struggled to right itself, two humans climbed up onto its underside and began stabbing and punching downwards as hard as they could. Occasionally, they were thrown off by the forceful rocking but no sooner than a moment past were they up there again pounding against the monster. With every strike, the Antroach’s struggle ceased little by little, until finally it moved no more. How they did it was unorthodox, but it did not change the outcome of the battle.

One dead cockroach.

You have leveled up

You have leveled up

You have leveled up

You have leveled up

You have gained the title Antroach Hunter

+3 to all stats, + 10% damage to Insects

Four whole levels gained from killing the bastard of an insect, while Kiki went up by six, bringing her to level 46. Beast and Kiki sat against the wall as they blankly stared at the dead body of the monster they killed. It was a while before anyone moved, and it was Beast who began his usual routine of stripping the carcass down for parts.

The eyes were ruptured so they were of no use, but Beast found that he could gather the carapace and the mandibles of the antroach. In particular, this:

Mandibles of the Antroach

Monster Part, Smith Material, Artifact

This is the mandibles belonging to the legendary Antroach that is rumored to dwell deep beneath the Fortress of Lanos during the Age of Conquest. It was once king of the earthen soil and tunnels, and many of the underground had fallen prey to these sharp jaws which were said to be able to break through whole armor. No one had ever come face to face with these jaws and lived to tell the tale.

Value: 200 gold

Beast snorted at the fluff text. Also, the ‘age of conquest’ thing told him that the Antroach had been around for a very long time. The smithing material info also clued him that the mandibles could be used to make something in the future. However, what attracted his attention more is the fact that the game classed the mandibles as an artifact.

A straight up artifact.

Glancing over at Kiki who shot him a curious stare, Beast mentally struggled for a while before he decided. The excitement of finding an artifact was too much to bear, and he was sure he could trust the assassin girl.

“Artifact Identify.”

You have discovered the hidden artifact - Mandibles of the Antroach

Type: Historical, Material, Artifact

The Antroach species had been on Agaia even before the Age of Conquest. Usually preferring to stay deep underground and make a complex labyrinth of tunnels, the Antroach used to be used as a perfect proof of valor for aspiring adventurers who used to bring back their mandibles as a perfect trophy ingredient to craft their weapon with. However, their numbers steadily declined due to their complex mating behavior until only the last Antroach which dwells beneath the Fortress of Lanos was left. This mandibles belongs to the last Antroach in existence.

When equipped:

+20 Strength

Grants skill: Piercing

Artifact Effect:

Piercing

Passive

This effect arises from the cutting property of the mandible, of which is known to tear through even the hardest of armor with relative ease.

All attacks made by the mandible ignore armor.

+4 Intelligence

+10 Wisdom

+11 Luck

Archaeology has increased to Basic 7

Armour Ignore- Beast could not help but give a fist pump of joy. At the same time, he was also clueless on how he was going to prime and activate a passive skill such as this. Although the Vanadic Tome did what it always did and catalogue down the artifact, there seemed to be no way he could call out a passive skill by via consumption of mana, simply because it did not take any in the first place. The effect would only be exclusive to the weapon made from it. Oh well, one could not have the best of both worlds.

For wiping an entire species, you have gained the title Genocider

+15 to all stats.

Beast twitched. Was the game trying to guilt trip him with some last of its kind bullshit? If they were expecting some sort of sympathy for the Antroach they were not going to get it. Ironically enough, that title was good as though they were trying to actively promote genocide.

“What is so funny?” Kiki who is currently observing him like a curious kitten, asked.

“You did not get it?”

“Get what?” She seems legitimately confused.

“Well the Antroach we killed is the last of its kind.” With the surprise look as though something just appeared for her, it would seem that obtaining the title was somehow knowledge based.

After her surprise has been contained, she then turned back to Beast. “Well there is that. Also, the mandible is an artifact yes? Cause it is the last of its kind and whatever and you also used some identification skill on it.”

Beast nodded.

Kiki fell silent after, as though she was pondering over something. Beast did not ask for her thoughts either, because he just noticed something peculiar. Right in the middle of the room where the Antroach had been standing over was a small stone pedestal. Compared to the size of the Antroach, it was no wonder he did not notice it earlier. Beast approached the altar with Kiki in tow and on its surface were words written using the same symbols as the texts before.

Present the proof of the warrior and the path will open.

Proof of the warrior? Did it mean the Antroach mandibles? The Identification did reveal that it was once used by adventurers as a proof of valour after all. Guessing that there was no harm in trying, Beast gingerly placed the Mandibles on the stone surface.

With a thundering crash, the chamber immediately began to shake. Dirt and eggs splattered everywhere as the furthest end of the wall of the chamber began to collapse. When the seismic event finally subsided, a door appeared. It was not exactly a door per se, but an opening… a gateway to somewhere.

And then a grave ghostly voice said, “Welcome to Earth Lake.”