The Prince of Heaven's Gate - Last Stand At World's End

“This place is like a maze,” Lux thought as he gazed at the map in front of him.

After exploring the dungeon for nearly an hour, he ended up in several dead-ends, which only confirmed his suspicion.

‘There’s only one path that leads to the boss and it is hidden inside this maze.’ Lux rubbed his chin as he looked at the places that they had already explored. More than half of the map was now visible to him, and it was only a matter of time before he had it completely mapped.

Sounds of explosions sounded around him, but he didn’t bother looking at his surroundings, putting all his attention on the map in front of him.

Six Bone Wraiths that were Rank 2 Monsters were currently engaging in close combat with Lux’s forces, but after encountering them on more than one occasion, he and his Summons had already memorized their fight patterns, making them easier to deal with.

‘Colette’s sister managed to beat this dungeon within 39 minutes,’ Lux mused. ‘But, I’ve already been here for three hours…’

The corner of Lux’s lips raised after finally knowing the reason why Colette’s sister managed to set the record for the fastest run in the Bronze Crypt.

‘There’s no doubt about it, she challenged this dungeon several times with her party and memorized the maze.’ Lux concluded. ‘Only after knowing the right path can you clear this dungeon without wasting any time. Even so, I admit that she is indeed quite capable of setting that record.’

Lux gave the monsters that were attacking him with a side-long glance. The monsters that he had encountered inside the dungeon were all Rank 1 and Rank 2 Monsters. Even for an Apostle Grade Party, they would have to be strong enough to fight against such a lineup.

Another hour passed, and after several more monster battles, Lux finally arrived at his destination.

“So, you are the Last Boss of this dungeon,” Lux muttered as he gazed at the three-meter tall zombie with bone spikes protruding from its back and arms._-.

—-

< Plague Monstrosity >

–Final Boss of Bronze Crypt (Hell Mode)

– Rank 3 Boss Monster (Initial Stages)

Health: 90,000 / 90,000

Mana: 6,000 / 6,000

Strength: 150

Intelligence: 20

Vitality: 150

Agility: 100

Dexterity: 100

Skills: Poison Smog, Jackhammer, Rampage,

Passive Skills: Heavy Handed

Title: Plague Bearer

—

< Poison Smog >

– Unleash a breath of Poisonous Smog at your enemies.

– Have a medium chance to inflict poison or disease.

< Jackhammer >

– unleash a full powered punch at your target dealing 300% melee damage.

– Has a knockback effect.

< Rampage >

– Go on a rampage and deal a flurry of deadly blows to your enemies that become stronger with each strike.

– Deals five blows with each blow increasing melee damage by 50%, 100%, 150%, 200%, and 250% respectively.

< Heavy Handed >

– Raise your Melee attacks by 20%

< Plague Bearer >

– All attacks of the Plague Bearer have a chance to inflict poison or diseases.

—–

“This is one tough cookie,” Lux thought as he looked at the stats of his enemy. “It is almost as strong as the Alpha Monster, Ghoul Beast.”

For the first time, Lux decided to take the battle seriously. Eiko also prepared herself for battle.

“Let’s finish this quickly before Colette and the others show up,” Lux ordered. “Everyone, battle formations!”

—–

Lux came out of the dungeon with his clothes torn in different places. His face was a bit pale due to the effect of poison and diseases that he was infected with during the battle.

Fortunately, Eiko had the skill “Cure-All”, which removed these status effects in her Papa’s body.

Unfortunately, after repeatedly being subjected to debilitating status ailments, Lux still felt sick even after his body had been cured from any kinds of poisons and diseases.

For some reason, Eiko was completely immune to poison and negative status effects, which surprised Lux.

Since his minions were also Undead, they were not affected by poison and diseases, so they ended up being a perfect counter to their enemy.

‘Whenever the Plague Monstrosity unleashes its Poisonous Smog, the entire battlefield is covered by it,’ Lux mused as he walked towards Leaf Village. ‘There’s no escape, so we should bring Panaceas to counter the negative buffs.

‘Rampage and Jackhammer are also very annoying skills. If Colette tanked either of these attacks, she would definitely be sent flying by that monster.’

Colette was a Paladin, so she was always at the front during battle. Although her profession wasn’t a Shield Warrior, her class was still an all-rounder that functioned well in a party. Capable of tanking damage, healing, and casting spells, Paladins were well received in any party.

Some Paladins focused purely on defense, which made them as strong as Shield Warriors. Colette’s fighting style was balanced, so she could attack and defend at the same time.

Lux’s plan was to let the Dwarf children experience the difficulty of the Bronze Crypt Hell mode in the first run, without using any of his Summons. He also didn’t plan to contend with Colette for the position as the leader of the group, so he would just listen to her commands during their Dungeon expedition.

“Eiko, when we are with Colette and the others later, you can summon Blackie and Whitey, but don’t summon anyone else, okay?”

“Pa!”

As Lux entered Leaf Village, he immediately headed to his room in the inn to rest. His dungeon expedition was a very traumatic one, and the boss was pretty stingy with its loot.

He only got its Rank 3 Beast Core after defeating it and nothing else, which almost made Lux curse out loud. It turned out that the suffering he had experienced when fighting against it was just worth that much.

Although the Half-Elf’s dungeon experience wasn’t the best, he didn’t regret it. Now, he had the information he needed in order to help his friends clear the dungeon, and beat Colette’s sister’s record.

Of course, Lux didn’t plan to break Colette’s record with their group’s first attempt to challenge it.

He planned to do a speedrun after his friends experienced what the dungeon had to offer. This was to ensure that they would also be able to experience the suffering he had.

‘I’m doing this for your own good, guys,’ Lux mused as he closed his eyes to sleep. ‘I’m sure this experience will help you in the future after you leave Leaf Village.’

Eiko snuck inside Lux’s shirt, because she was still feeling the after effects of fighting scary monsters. She also liked to sleep hearing her Papa’s heart, because it put her at ease.

Soon, the Half-Elf and the baby slime were sound asleep.

They knew that when morning came, their friends would once again be in Elysium, and they would be able to continue their journey together, even if it was only for a little while longer.